Jessica's Point of View

Daddy dropped me off at Xemnas's office, leaving me shortly after. I walked inside and saw Xemnas at his desk. "Welcome back," Xemnas greeted.

I gave him a quick nod, anxious to get to my mission, whatever it was.

"How was your trip?" Xemnas inquired.

"Um, it was nice," I replied.

"Tell me about it," Xemnas insisted.

"Can't I talk about it later?" I tried.

"I'd like to hear about it now," Xemnas pressed.

"Can't I just go do my mission so I can come home and spend time with my dad? Is that too much to ask? You always take up so much of my time! Maybe there are other things I want to do today besides talking to you! I am so tired of you taking control of my time! I go on my mission, come home, and then you're taking me somewhere just to talk to me! Now you want to take my morning, too?!" I shouted. I had enough of Xemnas taking up the time I could have spent with my dad, Zexion, or anyone else in the Organization.

"There is no need to yell. You can get your point across fine without ranting," Xemnas scolded.

Saix entered the room. "Sir, there's a situation in the Grey Area."

"Thank you. Come, Jessica. We should talk. Go on ahead, Saix. We'll be taking the long way," Xemnas stated.

I felt my boldness shrink tenfold. I was in a lot of trouble. "Yes, sir," I managed, following him through the halls.

"So, you've been feeling this way for a long while?" Xemnas asked me.

"Yes," I admitted.

"You haven't expressed this until now. You need to tell me these things. I would have left more of your time to spend with others you love had you told me," Xemnas commented.

I wasn't sure what to say, so I felt like silence was the best answer. Xemnas placed his hand on my shoulder as we approached the Grey Area, which was dark. "I've never seen that before. Are the lights supposed to go out like that?" I wondered.

"Let's take a look, shall we?" Xemnas urged.

The lights came on. "Welcome home!" The entire Organization exclaimed.

I let out a shriek of surprise and looked around. Everyone was there; balloons littered the air, and snacks and cake were on the tables. "A party? For- for me?"

"Don't flatter yourself. We're just celebrating the return of one more person to take on the work," Xalding joked.

"Who? Why?" I asked.

"We all helped out, but it was mainly Lord Xemnas's idea," Saix mentioned.

"Nonsense. It was Vexen's suggestion to allow Jessica a day off to settle back in. I simply decided that she was gone for longer than she has been since she first came to us and should be allowed to celebrate with those she cares about most," Xemnas added.

I began to regret what I had said to Xemnas at this knowledge. Soon, everyone was talking and having a good time. Saix cut the cake and gave me a huge slice. I shared it with Zexion seeing as it was too much for even me to handle. Xemnas didn't interact with me at all, but he watched me a lot. After mingling with some of the others and getting all the gossip on what went down after I left, I made my way to him.

"Thank you."

"As I said before, this was very much a group effort," Xemnas reminded.

"I know you organized most of this. And after what I said..." I trailed off.

"Think nothing of it. You were not wrong, though I would prefer you tell me these things before getting frustrated to the point of making a scene. You don't have to be afraid to ask me for things, Jessica," Xemnas reassured me.

"I hope you don't misunderstand. It's not that I don't want to do anything with you. I just... I also need others. Please forgive me," I apologized.

"There is nothing to forgive. Of course you need more time with everyone else. I will reduce my time with you to compensate for that," Xemnas replied.

"Thank you. This was really nice. It's good to be home," I said.

A smile crept up on Xemnas's face. "Your... home. You've adjusted quite well here." He patted the top of my head before going to talk with Xigbar.

Thank you, Samantha, for your review.

8/16/2023: This chapter has been edited