Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

            Roxas didn’t just sing in the shower. He performed in the shower. He liked to simultaneously sing lead and back-up vocals, lead guitar, drum solo, and whatever else the songs he liked to listen to prominently included. He liked to sing, and the talent came naturally to him. Everyone else who lived near him knew this by now.

            When Roxas lived in the World that Never Was before the second Keyblade War happened, he never really listened to music; it simply wasn’t a priority of his. Sure, he would occasionally hear music playing in the worlds he visited, but he never took the time to really appreciate it. But now that he had his own life and his own body, he allowed himself to stop and smell the roses more than he used to, or rather allowed himself to turn on the radio and lay on his bed listening to music for hours until Xion or Axel bothered him.

            Ever since the end of the Second Keyblade War, Roxas, Xion, and Axel were living in a dingy apartment in Twilight Town near the clock tower, their favorite hangout spot. Axel wanted the former Nobodies to live a normal life (as normal as they could anyway), so he decided to enroll them in school, much to their chagrin, and Axel got himself a job working in an office, much to his chagrin. Roxas didn’t mind school all that much, but he did mind not being able to listen to music during class, so he had to cram in as much song and dance as he could before school started.

            Xion sat in her room getting ready for the school day and could hear Roxas passionately belting out the lyrics to Tie the Knot. She smiled at his antics while she put on blush as she sat at her vanity which sat on the same wall as her door with her blue bed behind her. During Xion’s time in Organization XIII, she never wore makeup and put almost no effort into how she looked aside from bathing and combing her hair, focusing more on her missions than her appearance. She didn’t even think Larxene wore makeup during that time. But now that she didn’t have to worry about missions or stress over her own humanity, she allowed herself to be her own person, so to speak. She liked to experiment with fun eyeshadow and would purposefully make herself up in a garishly over-the-top way just to see the looks of shock on Axel and Roxas’ faces. She giggled at the memory.Though she liked makeup, she still often preferred to go without it. She then heard a knock at the front door.

            She exited her room into their cozy, white kitchen with brown cabinets and a cutout in the wall that separated the living room and the kitchen. A small, wooden, round table under the back window sat in front of the long hallway that led to Axel’s room on the far left side of the apartment behind the kids’ bedrooms. Xion passed through the archway to her left, leading to the living room. A grey couch and armchair faced the TV on the back wall with a scratched coffee table sitting in the middle of the room. Xion passed the bathroom door and then the door to Roxas’ bedroom, both of which were on the same wall as the door to her room.

            Xion opened the front door to find her downstairs neighbor, a woman in her late thirties or so, looking extremely ticked off.

            “Excuse me, young lady,” she said in a prissy voice, “but could you tell your roommate to tone it down a bit? Some of us are trying to sleep.”

            “Oh!” Xion had forgotten just how dingy their apartment was. The walls and floors were incredibly thin, and their tiled bathroom resonated sound extraordinarily well. Their neighbor had complained about Roxas’ singing before, and Xion didn’t blame her. You could hear him clearly from anywhere in the apartment, even if you were standing outside the front door. “I’m so sorry, ma’am,” Xion said politely, “I’ll tell him to be more quiet.”

            “Thank you,” the lady said, not looking at all thankful and walked away. Xion giggled and closed the front door.

            “Who was that?” Axel, her fiery redheaded roommate who actually had a heart of gold, emerged from the back hallway, an electronic toothbrush in hand.

            “The lady from downstairs,” Xion replied walking over to the bathroom door.

            Axel scoffed. “Who else?” He began to brush his teeth as he combed the fridge looking for breakfast.

            Xion knocked on the bathroom door and the singing abruptly stopped. “Hey, Roxas!” Xion called through the door.

            “What?” Roxas said over the din of rushing water.

            “The lady from downstairs says you need to be quieter.”

            “She always says that!” Roxas began to sing again but at a much more acceptable volume. Xion chuckled and went back into her room to finish her makeup. During that time, Roxas finished up his shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He peeked his head out the door.

            “Is Xion out here?” he asked Axel, who sat at the table, eating eggs.

            “Nah, coast is clear.”

            “Good.” Roxas quickly ran to his room, lest Xion should walk out of hers and see him in all his glory. Roxas ran a hand through his blond, wet spikes (the only grooming his hair would ever get) and got dressed for the day. His school uniform was nothing special, but he slipped his favorite necklace over his head in an attempt to dress it up, a simple chain with a quad spiked pendant hanging from it, formerly a stylish attachment to the zipper of his favorite shirt. Xion helped him take the pendant off the zipper and put it on a chain when he told her that he would have liked to wear it with his other clothes. Around his neck he settled his silver, cordless headphones that he would slip over his ears to jam out during passing period.  

            When he went into the kitchen for breakfast, Xion sat chatting with Axel, eating last night’s spaghetti out of a Tupperware container. Roxas noticed that Xion wore blue eyeshadow and winged eyeliner, which, in his opinion, marred her perfectly good face. “What’s with the war paint, Xion? We’re just going to school, not a night out on the town,” Roxas said with a laugh.

            “I just think it’s fun,” Xion replied simply, giving him a smile.

            “Well, I think you’re too young to be wearing makeup personally,” Axel said, gesturing his arms grandly for effect.

            “You’re just jealous that you can’t pull off this look,” Xion retorted with a grin. Roxas chuckled.

            “Hey, I could, too!” Axel cried. “It’s just not acceptable for work,” he said straightening his tie. “Speaking of work, this afternoon is when I’m leaving on that business trip that I told you about. I’ll only be gone for a few days but I expect you to not trash the place while I’m gone.”

            Roxas rolled his eyes. “What makes you think we’re gonna trash the place, Axel? We have a flawless track record.” Roxas’ mind jumped to the time that he broke DiZ’s computer with his Keyblade and, with a smirk, hoped that Axel remembered it too.

            “Flawless track record? Yeah, right. Just make sure to feed yourselves, do your homework, and no parties. Capeesh?”

            “Capeesh,” Xion replied with a giggle. After consuming breakfast and stacking the dishes in the sink to be washed later, the trio left their home and stepped out into the perpetual sunset of Twilight Town. Axel headed to work, and Roxas and Xion headed for the trams.

            “You know we totally could throw a crazy party and he would never know,” Roxas joked.

            Xion laughed. “I think he would find out. He knows we’re terrible liars.”

            “Yeah, you’re right about that,” Roxas replied with a grin as they sat down in the tram that would take them closer to their school.

            Twilight High was a fairly large high school, perfect for the growing number of families that settled in Twilight Town. When Roxas and Xion enrolled, they were just two more faces in the hallways (or so they thought), and they appreciated the lack of attention drawn to them. Even so, they did have a few friends that they hung out with every day, the friends Roxas spent time with when he lived in the virtual Twilight Town. Hayner, Pence, and Olette met them in the lawn by the front doors of the school and Hayner immediately launched into a retelling of the epic Struggle match that he saw take place with Roxas and Pence last Saturday. Xion and Olette conveniently decided to go shopping that day, however.

            “It was the awesomest thing I’ve ever seen!” Hayner said enthusiastically. “You guys gotta see the match that’s going on tomorrow!” Hayner sighed. “I just wish that we could have a Struggle match every day and not have to wait a week in between them. So are you ladies gonna join us this time?” Hayner asked.

            Xion and Olette shared an amused glance. “You know, we were definitely planning on it,” Olette began, “but then we heard that there was a sale happening at the mall that we couldn’t possibly miss, right, Xion?”

            Xion laughed. “Right. It’s a shame we’ll miss the Struggle match though.”

            “Oh yeah, I’m sure,” Hayner said with a shake of his head. The group headed for their separate classes, Roxas and Pence for English, Hayner for gym, and Xion and Olette for math, and decided to meet at the clock tower for their lunch break.

            Xion sat in the back of her math class in an attempt to go relatively unnoticed by her classmates, but girls would occasionally cast glances her way. She knew by now that she should just ignore them, but she often heard them whisper Roxas’ name. Yeah, she definitely didn’t like those girls very much. Olette sat next to her and tapped her shoulder.

            “Um, Xion, you have lipstick on your teeth,” Olette said, lifting up her top lip and pointing her own teeth.

            “Oh!” Xion said with a small gasp and tried to lick away the lipstick. “Did I get it?” she said, barring her teeth for Olette.

            “Yeah, you got it,” Olette said with a smile.

            “Thanks.” As her teacher droned on and on about quadratic formulas, Xion kept looking at the clock, waiting for the end of the day so that she could finally have her weekend, even though first period had barely begun. Xion sighed, watching the second hand on the clock tick slowly on.

            After what seemed like an eternity, class finally ended. As Xion packed up her things, a voice quietly hissed her name from across the room. She looked up at the source. A group of girls were huddled together in an obvious gossip session. Some of them sported obnoxious smiles, but the others wore scowls. They chittered on unintelligibly, but Xion picked out “…Roxas…with her…” They were talking about her and Roxas. A few of them glanced at her, but quickly looked away when they caught her eye.

            “Come on, Olette.” As Xion walked through the hall to her next class with Olette, she thought about the girls and what she had heard. She sighed.

            “What’s wrong,” Olette asked.

            “Last class, did you hear what the girls were saying on the other side of the room?” Olette shook her head. “They were talking about me and Roxas.”

            “What were they saying,” Olette asked, furrowing her brows.

            “I couldn’t tell,” Xion said with a shake of her head. “What do you think they could have been talking about?” she asked.

            “Hmm, well, I know a lot of girls think Roxas is cute…”

            “Really?” Xion asked with surprise, looking at her friend.

            Olette giggled. “Haven’t you noticed?”

            “I guess I never really thought about it before.” Before now, Xion had been more concerned about dealing with Organization XIII and saving Roxas’ life, not necessarily how good she thought he looked while she did that. But Xion had more free time on her hands now to think about boys. So she thought about one. A clear picture of Roxas appeared in Xion’s mind and she examined every one of his features from his blond locks and blue eyes to his peach-colored lips and pointy nose. She thought more about his eyes, those eyes framed with thick, dark lashes. His eyes that crinkled when he smiled but would also have a look of determination when he battled Heartless. The way those eyes would just barely squint when he concentrated hard on something and his lips would part just barely, completely focused on the task at hand as his chest rose and fell evenly with each breath he took. Xion stopped in her tracks. “I just realized something. Roxas is actually…Kind of —”

            “Awesome?” Xion whipped around, having been cut off by the very subject of her inner thoughts. Roxas, Hayner and Pence stood right there, and Xion thanked Kingdom Hearts that he had finished her sentence for her, or she knew she would never be able to live that down.

            “I was actually going to say stupid,” Xion quickly recovered. Olette giggled.

            “Hey, that’s not very nice Xion!” Roxas looked so hurt, pouting those adorable lips of his.

            Whoa, whoa, whoa, adorable? Snap out of it, Xion! Xion mentally berated herself for the slip. I mean, this is Roxas we’re talking about, right? He was her very best friend, definitely not a crush. In Xion’s mind flashed an image of the two walking hand in hand across campus. Don’t go there, girl! She then imagined the looks on the faces of the girls in math class, watching the couple forlornly. She smirked.

            “Well, why don’t we just head to history class so we can fill up that empty brain of yours,” Xion said, poking Roxas in the forehead. He rolled his eyes.

            “Fine, if you insist,” he said with a huff. They quickly made their way to class but even if they were late, it wouldn’t have mattered because their teacher always arrived late anyway. Xion and Roxas sat at the back of this class, too, and, as they made their way to their seat, Xion noticed some more girls she hated, and who apparently hated her because of her friendship with Roxas. Roxas sat down in the very back seat and Xion put her bag on the desk in front of his. She glanced at Roxas, who pulled out his notebook and set it on the desk, then reached down to pull his textbook out of his backpack. Xion glanced back at the girls. They were looking this way. Imagine the looks on their faces if she just…

            Xion stepped next to Roxas’ desk, pushed his notebook into his lap and slid herself up on his desk. Roxas noticed her legs suddenly swinging by his face and sat back up in mild surprise. Xion cast a glance at the girls once more. They were fuming. Xion smirked again.

            “So Roxas, what are we gonna do while Axel’s away this weekend?” Xion said, her voice just loud enough that she knew the girls could hear her. “I mean, no adult in the house. We could do whatever we want.” Xion looked over at the girls again who were huddled together, whispering moodily amongst themselves.

            “Well I was thinking we could have a movie night with snacks or something like that.”

            “Yeah, we could have a fun pajama party, just the two of us,” Xion said with a smile, but then she realized how that would sound out of context and quickly tried to diffuse the situation. “Y-ya know, like we could get those funny adult onesies from the mall, and, uh, watch a musical and sing along to it. Something like that,” she finished lamely, not daring to look at the girls again.

            “Hehe, that’d be funny, but Axel would get mad at us for wasting our munny on those onesies.”

            “Yeah, probably,” Xion agreed. Their teacher finally waltzed in, coffee in hand, and began the lesson, so Xion slid into her seat and looked at the clock. The end of the day couldn’t come quickly enough.

            When the group of friends met up at the top of the clock tower for lunch, Roxas told them that Axel would be away for the weekend. “Xion and I were thinking of having a movie night tonight. You guys want to come over?”

            “Sorry, man, I got a ton of homework to do,” Hayner said.

            “Yeah.”

            “Me too.”

            “What? None of you want to come?” Roxas asked in mock offense.

            “We could come over tomorrow morning before the struggle match,” Olette suggested. The others agreed and decided to come to their apartment at 10 am, about an hour before the match started. As they finished their lunch, they brainstormed fun ideas for the weekend (that would likely not be okay with Axel) and took the tram back to school. The rest of the day carried on uneventfully, nor did anymore annoying girls bother Xion, much to her delight.

            Once Xion and Roxas had gotten home and changed out of their school uniforms, Axel called them into his room to reinforce some discipline into their rebellious little noggins.

            “Like I said, no parties, no having fun, and no property damage whatsoever,” Axel said, putting a folded shirt into one of the two suitcases that sat on his bed. Roxas rolled his eyes.

            “Alright, alright, we’ll be good children,” he said.

            “Oh, you had better be. If not, I’ll find out about it and punish you both. Got it memorized?” Axel said, momentarily disappearing into his bathroom to grab his toothbrush.

            “What would we even do,” Xion asked innocently. Axel gave them each a worried look as he stepped back into the room.

            “Just don’t do anything I would do.” With that, he tossed his toothbrush into his suitcase and zipped them both up. “Go start on your homework, okay, kiddos?” Xion and Roxas retreated into the kitchen and pulled out their homework, setting it on the table. “Hey, uh, Roxas.” Axel emerged from his bedroom and walked down the hallway. “Would you please help me with this suitcase?” Axel asked as he pulled his luggage into the kitchen.

            “Oh, yeah, sure.” Roxas stood up and took the suitcase Axel offered him and they walked out the front door.

            “Bye, Xion,” Axel called into the apartment, “I love you! Make good choices!”

            “You too!” Xion called back. Roxas wondered if she meant she loved him too or if she was telling him to make good choices. Probably both.

            Axel and Roxas took the suitcases down the stairs and put them into the trunk of the taxi that sat waiting for Axel. Axel then turned to Roxas. “Now Roxas,” he began gently, “You and Xion are gonna be left alone for the weekend, so if I find out that you have done anything…” he trailed off for a moment.

            He thinks we’re gonna do something illegal, like rob a bank or light the house on fire, doesn’t he?  Roxas thought.

            “…inappropriate…to Xion—” Axel continued.

            “Wait, what?” Roxas asked taken aback.

            “Now, I know you’re a perfect gentleman and all and would never even think of such a thing, but, well, you are fifteen and hormones are raging…”

            Roxas had never formally had the talk before, but his Somebody counterpart Sora had, so Roxas instantly realized what exactly Axel was trying to get at. His eyes widened and his cheeks burned.

            “What? NO! I wouldn’t—we would never—I—I don’t—no—uh—that’s not even—um—li-like you said, I’m a perfect gentleman,” Roxas finished with nervous laugh.

            Axel looked at him seriously. “I hope so because if Xion tells me anything otherwise,” Axel leaned down, hands on hips, so that he was eye-level with Roxas, “your kneecaps will be broken.” There wasn’t a single trace of humor in his voice.  

            “Right,” Roxas said quietly, “I mean Xion is like a sister to me anyway, heh.” He didn’t necessarily believe that, but he thought saying so might appease Axel.

            Axel just stared at him for a moment, one eyebrow raised. “Really?” Disbelief colored his voice. “I’m sorry, but weren’t you singing her a love song the other day?” Axel said, gesturing with his hand.

            Roxas scoffed. “I was just singing along with the radio! It’s not my fault they were playing a love song!” Roxas said, throwing his hands in the air.

            “But you were directing it at Xion.”

            “I always sing for Xion,” Roxas reasoned.

            “Aww, how cute, you like to sing for her,” Axel teased, clasping his hands in front of his chest and grinning cheekily.

            “Oh, shut up, will ya? I’ll see you next week,” Roxas said, turning back towards their building.

            “Oh come on, bring it in,” Axel said, pulling Roxas into a big bear hug, thumping him on the back before they broke apart. Axel let out a deep breath and said, “Well, I’ll see you in a few days. Be good, and remember to call me in case of an emergency.”

            “Okay, Axel.” Roxas waved as the car drove off then made his way back into the apartment and sat down at the kitchen table. Xion looked up and smiled at him, but Roxas just stared at her for a moment.

            “Something wrong?” Xion asked. “Did Axel threaten you again?” she said with a smirk.

            “Uh, something like that that,” Roxas admitted. Xion chuckled. “Xion…? Do you like my singing?” Roxas asked.

            “Yeah, I think you have a beautiful voice, Roxas.” Xion smiled.

            “Thanks.” Roxas slid sideways glances at Xion as they did their homework. He had never really seen her as anything more than a friend, but apparently Axel thought otherwise. Roxas had always thought Xion was wonderful, though. After all, she personified Sora’s memories of his beloved Kairi, and since Roxas was an extension of Sora, how could he not become attached to Xion? In Kairi, Sora saw strength and kindness, some of the reasons he loved her so much. Roxas saw those things in Xion, too, and liked being with her because of it. Roxas glanced up at her again. The forever setting sun streamed in through the window in the front room and fell on her dark hair, illuminating her chocolate highlights. Her brow furrowed in concentration and she pressed her lips together in a thin line as she worked, but then suddenly released the tension, letting them fall back into their natural shape. He knew she did that unconsciously as she worked. He realized it was actually kind of…

            No, he couldn’t even give the word thought. This is Xion. His best friend. If he developed feelings for her that she didn’t reciprocate, then he would be forever pining after someone standing right there but just out of his reach. And if he did tell her, then she would be made very uncomfortable for sure and would never want to talk to him again. Calm down there, Roxas, nothing is even happening between us yet, he thought. Roxas then decided to find out what his feelings for her actually were. He tested some phrases in his head, starting with the thought he had a moment ago.

            Xion is cute. Well obviously. Who wouldn’t think that?

            Xion would make a good girlfriend. Of course she would. She kind and caring and gives great hugs—Roxas paused, a new phrase to test forming in his head.

            I want to cuddle with Xion. Roxas pictured them snuggling on the couch, watching a romance movie, looking at each other with loving eyes. What if he just leaned over and—

            “Roxas?” the boy in question snapped out of his thoughts and looked over at the girl whom he realized he had been day-dreaming about. “Are you okay?” Xion asked. “You’re just sitting there staring.”

            “Oh, yeah, I’m fine, I just zoned out for a moment,” Roxas said, blushing.

            “You sure?”

            “Yeah.” Roxas made sure to buckle down and actually do his homework so they could have the rest of the evening free. Once they finished and consumed three-day-old leftover tacos (which probably should have been thrown away at that point), they were ready to begin their fun, Axel-less weekend.

            “So what do you want to do first?” Xion asked excitedly. “We could paint each other’s nails and talk about boys.”

            “You’re messin’ with me, right?” Roxas asked and Xion chuckled.

            “Well, what do you want to do?”

            “We could put on a musical like you said today and dance so hard that our downstairs neighbor has a heart attack,” Roxas suggested.

            “Sounds like a perfect idea to me.” After some bickering of what movie they wanted to watch, they eventually settled on Teen Beach Movie. Roxas had wanted to watch High School Musical, but Xion did not. Xion wanted to watch the Aristocats, but Roxas did not. So they decided to go with Teen Beach Movie. Neither of them really wanted to watch it, but were quickly sucked into the silly plot and entertaining dance numbers. Roxas even performed a near perfect rendition of Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’ for Xion. Things were okay until Falling for Ya started playing because of course Roxas had to sing along, and of course he sang directly to Xion.

            When the song started, Roxas pulled Xion into a funny exaggerated slow dance as he sang the loving lyrics to her in a falsetto voice. Xion giggled and sang with him as they danced wildly around the room. Roxas poured his heart into the song, but Xion couldn’t take him seriously, singing in such a high voice. She burst into a fit of laughter and would have fallen over had he not been holding onto her. He started laughing too, as the woman on screen continued to sing.

I'm not the kind to fall for a guy

Just ‘cause he says hi (When he's cruisin' by)

He's ready to race

And I'm catching his gaze (They'll go on like this for days)

            As the verse played, Roxas steadied Xion so that she wouldn’t fall over and they settled into a traditional slow dance position, with Xion’s hand resting on his shoulder and his hand on her waist. They locked eyes.

And now I'm

Falling for ya, falling for ya

I know I shouldn't but I

I just can't stop myself from

Falling for ya, falling for ya

Can't hold on any longer

And now I'm falling for ya

            Xion slid her arm around Roxas’ neck and rested her head on his shoulder as he held her close. They began to dance once more, much more slowly this time.

It feels like I tumbled from another world

Into your arms and it's so secure

            Xion breathed in the scent of his cologne as they twirled around the room. She thought he smelled very nice, like the ocean. Roxas rested his head on Xion’s and likewise breathed in the scent of her. Her shampoo smelled fruity and her perfume was floral.

Maybe I'll stumble but I know for sure

Head over heels I'm gonna be your girl

            Xion took her right hand out of Roxas’ and rested it on his chest, right over his heart and he wrapped his arm around her. She felt the steady thumping in her palm and vowed to never take that heart for granted. He fought so hard to have a heart of his own. Xion wanted to protect it; to protect him. When the chorus came around for the final time, Roxas sang along in a soft voice, the vibrations of his vocal cords thrumming through his chest and into her body.

And now I'm

Falling for ya, falling for ya

I know I shouldn't but I

I just can't stop myself from

Falling for ya, falling for ya

Can't hold on any longer

And now I'm falling for you

            Xion looked back up into Roxas’ eyes. They were standing so close together. Roxas swallowed, his eyes flickering to her lips. If he leaned forward just a few inches, he could feel those lips on his. Would they be soft? Would she like it? Roxas wondered if his thoughts qualified for broken knee-caps.

            Roxas and Xion snapped back to reality as the song ended and the movie continued on, awkwardly (and regrettably) letting go of each other. They sat back on the couch and watched the rest of the movie in silence. Roxas, too shocked at his own actions, didn’t sing along anymore. Eventually, the movie ended, much to Roxas’ relief. Xion stood to take the disk out of the DVD player and asked, “So, what do you want to do next?” She fiddled with the DVD case in her hands, not turning around to look at him.

            “Um…I don’t know.” He looked at the clock hanging on the wall. “It’s only about 8:30.”

            “Ooh, I know!” Xion turned around, excited once more. “Let’s build a blanket fort!” Roxas laughed and agreed. Soon they had pulled every single comforter and linen out of their rooms and closets, pulled the kitchen chairs into the living room and started draping blankets and sheets over the chairs, creating a floor out of pillows inside their fort, laughing and joking all the while. They stood back and admired their hard work once finished. “I’ve never built a blanket fort before,” Xion said.

            “I know.” And he did know.

            They stood there for a moment longer, and Xion thought about the two words that Roxas just said. She realized he knew almost everything about her. He knew that she was merely a vessel with a consciousness put into it; he knew that Xemnas intended her to copy and take his powers from him; he knew that she was never meant to exist in the first place. But he also knew that she had never built a blanket fort before, and now here one stood that they had built together. It made her kind of emotional.

            “Oh!” Roxas exclaimed, “Let’s get our pajamas on!” Roxas rushed into his room, and Xion went into hers with a smile, opening the drawer to her dresser and began to pull out her PJs. She looked at the black camisole in her hands. Would that be okay to wear in front of Roxas? She wondered what Axel would think. Then she wondered what Roxas would think. He’d seen her in her pajamas before, but usually only in the context of fighting over whom got the bathroom first in the morning. He didn’t really see her wearing this for extended periods of time. Should she just wear a t-shirt? In the end, she decided to wear the camisole with a sports bra underneath, deeming it a slightly more appropriate for spending time with a guy-friend than just wearing the camisole. Then she picked up her booty shorts. She signed and just put them on.

            She exited her room and went into the living room. As she walked around to the other side of the couch where their fort stood, she called out, “Roxas, you in there?” But he wasn’t. She felt a pillowcase slip over her head and torso as arms wrapped around her middle. She shrieked as Roxas laughed, lifting her into the air and over his shoulder.

            “Roxas! What are you doing!?” Xion cried.

            “Ha! I’ve captured you, princess, and now I’m going to take you to my evil lair!” Roxas cried as he knelt down and crawled on his knees into the fort, sitting Xion down on the pillows and pulling the pillowcase off her head. She gave him an annoyed look.

            “Gotcha,” he said quietly with a grin. Xion shook her head and rolled her eyes.

            Even in the darkness of the fort, Xion could see that Roxas wore a beige long-sleeve shirt and his long plaid PJ pants. Seeing Roxas in his nice pajamas, perfectly messy hair, and cheesy smile made Xion’s heart skip a beat. She swallowed loudly.

            “Well…” Xion leaned back against the chair supporting their fort, “now what?”

            “Now, my princess,” He said my princess, “I’m going to marry you off to a Lord to strengthen our alliance with the Destiny Islands.”

            Xion laughed. “Rude,” she quipped.

            Roxas laughed too. “Actually, I’m kind of hungry again. Wait right here,” he said, holding up his hands to stop her from going anywhere, and disappeared outside the fort. Xion heard the freezer and a drawer open, and a few moments later, Roxas returned with a tub of sea salt ice cream and two spoons. “Here we go,” he said taking the lid off the tub and the two dug right in.

            “Ooh, let’s take a pic for Gummigram,” Xion said, crawling under the blanket wall of their fort and grabbing her gummiphone off the couch.

            Roxas chuckled. “Alright sure. Make sure to show off the ice cream,” he said. Xion held out her gummiphone to capture them both in the frame and held up the carton of ice cream. Roxas grinned and held up his spoon, keeping it in frame as well. Xion snapped the pic, tagged Roxas and Axel, and gave it the caption, “Ice cream slumber party!!! <3 #icecream #seasalticecream #sleepover #icecreamparty.” Xion put her phone down and dug back into the ice cream.

            “Axel is gonna kill us when he finds out about this,” Xion said around a mouthful of ice cream, pointing to the carton with her spoon.

            “I’ll take my chances. Besides he was planning on breaking my knee-caps anyway,” Roxas replied.

            “Why?” Xion asked with a laugh.

            “Oh, uh, no reason. Just for fun I guess,” Roxas ended quietly.

            “Just for fun? That’s not very nice of him,” Xion said with a grin.

            “Heh, I suppose not,” Roxas said nervously, but she didn’t notice that. As they sat eating ice cream in their fort, chatting about trivial things like school, and their friends, their eyelids began to droop, and they started to yawn.

            “I’m tired,” Xion said, leaning against the pillows under her.

            “You wanna just sleep in the fort?” Roxas asked.

            “No, it’s way too hot in here.” Roxas agreed. They regrettably decided to tear down all their hard work, and put the chairs back in the kitchen.

            “Let’s bring our mattresses out here, so we can have a sleep over-type thing,” Roxas said, rubbing his eyes. Xion nodded in affirmation and together, they pulled their mattresses into the front room, Roxas’ closer to the window and Xion’s closer to the kitchen, having to move the coffee table out of the way to fit them both.

            “I’m gonna take off my makeup,” Xion said walking into the bathroom.

            “Okay,” Roxas replied. He decided to close the black-out curtains to the windows so they could get ready for bed because, although the never-ending sunset of Twilight Town was pretty, constant sunlight streaming in through the windows made sleep almost impossible. Roxas closed the curtains in the front room and then the kitchen, plunging the apartment into darkness. Roxas had blackout curtains in his bedroom since his large window let in a lot of light, being located at the front of the apartment. Xion’s room on the other hand didn’t have any windows save for a skylight that didn’t catch the sun’s direct rays, so Roxas wanted to make the front room dark enough for her to sleep in. Roxas walked back into the living room and let his eyes adjust to the darkness as he stood on his mattress.

            Xion opened the bathroom door and light flooded the room, ruining Roxas’ night-vision, but he didn’t mind. “Hey,” Xion said. Roxas turned around to face her. “I think I have an eyelash in my eye, could you look and see?”

            “Sure.” Roxas stepped on the couch cushions and over the back of the couch and approached Xion. He gently took her shoulders and faced her towards the light.

            “It’s this eye,” Xion said, tapping her right cheek just underneath her eye. Roxas held her hair out of the way and examined her eye, taking the chance to admire her beautiful blue irises. But he could see that a rouge eyelash had stuck itself to her waterline.

            “Yeah, I see it.” Roxas transferred the hair he held with his left hand into his right hand, and rested his left hand on her soft cheek, his fingers tangling themselves in her hair, trying to pull the eyelash off her waterline with his thumb. This surprised Xion, and she gasped and pulled away, blinking. “Wait, let me…” Roxas leaned toward her and tried once again to brush away the eyelash with his thumb. Xion decided to trust that he wouldn’t poke her in the eye even if another person touching her eye area at all made her uncomfortable. After all, Roxas would never intentionally hurt her.

            Roxas managed to slide the rogue eyelash onto her lower lashes, then gently pinched it with his thumb and forefinger, pulling it away from her. “Got it,” he said in a low voice. He held out the eyelash to her that now sat on his forefinger. “Make a wish,” he said with a smile. Xion looked up at him with a small smile on her lips, then looked down at the eyelash again and blew it away. Roxas wondered what she had wished for, and if it had anything to do with the fond smile she gave him. Roxas sighed contentedly.

            “You know, Xion.” She looked back into his eyes. “You don’t need all that makeup. You’re pretty just the way you are.” Roxas smiled softly.

            “Really?”

            Roxas realized then that he had actually said that aloud and not in his head. He cleared his throat and turned away from her, walking around the couch. “Well, I mean yeah, of course you are, why wouldn’t you be?” Roxas tried to back pedal while screaming internally.

            You idiot! How could you say that to her?! Do you have any self-control?! Is there even an intelligent bone in your body?! What if you’ve upset her?! What could she even be thinking about that right now?!

            Xion was surprised at his confession but pleased.

            Roxas sat down on his bed, facing the TV, not saying anything more. After a few moments, Xion’s voice came softly but clearly, “Thank you, Roxas.”

            There were any number of deflective responses Roxas could have given her to try to bring some levity back into the conversation, but Roxas settled with, “You’re welcome,” in an equally soft voice. Xion turned off the bathroom light, and got in her bed pulling the covers over her.

            “Good night,” she said.

            Roxas pulled his covers up to his chin. “Good night, Xion.”   

Chapter Text

            The next morning, Roxas awoke to a buzzing sound. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, noticing that the sound came from his gummiphone with the screen alight. He picked it up and squinted at the time. For some reason, Axel had decided to text him at 8:40 in the morning. Roxas wondered why Axel would bother texting him so early in the day. He unlocked his gummiphone and read the message.

            Axel: Do you value you kneecaps Roxas? >:(

             Mild panic settled into Roxas’ heart. Somehow, Axel knew that they had danced together, and, no matter how platonic Roxas fooled himself into believing it was, Axel was not happy about it. Trying to seem innocent—which he was anyway—Roxas typed a reply.

            Roxas: What do you mean?

            Axel: I’m gone for just one day and you two are already having a “sleepover”

            So Axel didn’t know what happened the night before. Roxas smirked and shook his head.

            Roxas: I promise we were fully clothed the whole time

            Axel: She doesn’t look fully clothed to me. He included a picture with the message, a screenshot of Xion’s Gummigram post.

            Roxas: I promise nothing happened! It was a totally innocent pajama party. You know I wouldn’t lie to you Axel

            Axel: You better not cuz I would find out about it and bust you up. Got it memorized? I gotta go to a meeting now, but I’ll call you later

            Roxas didn’t respond and set his phone on the ground. He stared up at the ceiling. Did Axel really not trust him that much? Roxas knew he wouldn’t be getting on Xion about this, but then again, Xion wasn’t a teenaged boy. He looked over at the girl. A crack in the curtains let enough light in the room that he could just barely make out her features. Her sleeping face had a look of serenity on it, and Roxas thought that her future husband would be lucky to wake up to that every morning. She looked so lovely. He really did believe that she looked better without makeup.

            He looked back up at the ceiling and thought about that. Even though Xion looked better without it, in Roxas’ opinion, he could tell that she had a lot of fun with makeup and she would often show off any new products that she got with a big smile. Roxas thought about that smile. Makeup or no, it could brighten a room. Roxas decided that a smiling, made up face was prettier than a frowning, bare one. He considered giving her some slack about the makeup she wore but then dismissed the thought. He had too much fun teasing her.

            Roxas fell back asleep and didn’t wake again until he heard a knocking on the door. He jolted awake, confused for a moment, but then remembered that his friends were coming over that morning. He pulled himself out of bed with a groan and opened the front door. Hayner, Pence, and Olette stood impatiently on the step and bid him good morning.

            “Morning, guys” Roxas said with a yawn.

            “Hey, man, are you still half asleep?” Hayner teased.

            “Yeah, kinda.” Roxas opened the door for them and turned on the living room light. “Xion! Wake up!” Xion groaned and pulled her blanket over her head.

            “Did you guys have a sleepover without me?” Olette cried, flopping down on Roxas’ bed, pulling the covers around her. “Xion, wake up, I have to tell you about this cute guy I saw on the tram earlier.” Xion sat up and pulled her blanket around herself to preserve her modesty in front of Hayner and Pence.

            “Hey Xion, go get dressed so we can get out as soon as possible,” Hayner said, talking over Olette. The two girls left the living room and went into Xion’s, talking about the guy on the tram as Xion’s blanket trailed behind her like a cape.

            “I gotta shower before we go,” Roxas said, entering his room and searching for some clothes to take into the bathroom with him. Hayner and Pence followed him into the room and closed the door.

            “Sooo, you two had a sleepover, did you?” Hayner said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Roxas scoffed.

            “I get enough of this crap from Axel, and now from you?” Roxas pulled a shirt off its hanger and threw it on his now mattress-less bed.

            “What did Axel say?” Pence asked.

            Roxas sighed. “I dunno. He thinks I’m gonna steal Xion’s virtue or something like that,” Roxas said, rolling his eyes.

            “Well he makes a valid point.”

            “Yeah!” Hayner agreed. He dropped his voice to a whisper. “You guys are totally into each other!”

            Roxas spluttered. “Pfft, what, no, we—we’re just friends. Obviously.”

            “If you insist,” Pence said, scratching his neck. Hayner sat on Roxas’ box-spring and leaned on one knee.

            “So what happened last night?” he asked, very interested in Roxas’ answer.

            “Well, we did homework—”

            “Lame.”

            “Then we decided to watch Teen Beach Movie,” Roxas continued on as if Hayner hadn’t said anything, and sat down next to him on the empty bed. “And we were kind of singing and dancing a little bit.”

            “You were dancing?” Pence interjected.

            Roxas took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. “We were just goofing off, then the next thing you know, she had her face really close to mine and we started slow-dancing,” Roxas continued in a whisper, reliving the scene in his mind. “She put her head on my shoulder,” he said touching the place her cheek had rested. Roxas felt his face heat up and tried to shake the color from his cheeks.

            “Did you kiss her?” Hayner asked.

            Roxas shook his head. “No, but…I wanted to,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

            “You totally should have! When are you going to make your move before someone else snatches her up? I’ve heard a lot of guys are after her, but they don’t want to mess with you.”

            Roxas’ head snapped up. “She has guys after her?” he asked in a sudden panic. How had Xion’s popularity grown so much amongst the boys their age without him noticing?

            “Dude, you’ve got to ask her to prom before anyone else does!”

            Prom was right around the corner, only two weeks away, and Roxas had thought about asking Xion to go with him as a friend, but he supposed he could ask her to go as more than a friend. He had wanted to ask her sooner, but school work had pushed any thought of prom out of his mind.

            Until now that is.

            Roxas sighed. “Maybe I should.”

            “What happened after the movie?” Pence asked.

            “We built a blanket fort and ate some ice cream,” Roxas said with a fond smile. “Then we decided it would be fun to pull our mattresses out into the front room and sleep out there. And that’s about it.”

            “That’s it?” Hayner asked.

            An image of Xion and her rouge eyelash he helped remove filled Roxas’ mind. He cleared his throat. “Yup, that’s it. Anyway, I’ve got to shower before we go.”

            While Roxas had been trying not to share too much with the boys, Xion had changed into her favorite outfit, a black top with ruffle sleeves and white skirt, and brushed her teeth. She fried up some eggs on the stove as Roxas disappeared into the bathroom. When Olette asked her what happened the night before, Xion gave her vague answers; she would tell Olette everything when she was certain the boys wouldn’t hear. Hayner and Pence joined them in the kitchen and Xion offered them some eggs. They declined, having already eaten breakfast.

            The sound of music and the rush of water came from the bathroom, and Xion assumed that Roxas had turned on the radio on his gummiphone, part of his morning routine. She smiled secretly to herself as she scooped eggs onto a plate. Over the sound of the shower, Roxas’ voice could be easily heard as he sang a popular song called Makeup.

I wanna see you when I wake up, wake up, wake up

Cause you look good without make up, make up, make up

Ain't nothing on you phony, phony, phony

You're sexy and you know it, know it, know it

            Xion didn’t think Roxas knew this song and was kind of surprised that he sang it out loud so willingly, especially since he knew other people could hear him. She liked that about Roxas; he had stopped caring what others thought of him a long time ago. Xion admired him for that. She tried not to laugh as he sang the first verse, trying to make his voice as seductive as he possibly could for someone at the tender age of fifteen years. Hayner and Pence ignored him, talking animatedly about the Struggle match they were going to see today to each other.

            Olette, on the other hand, commented on the performance happening in the bathroom. “Roxas is quite the singer, isn’t he?” she said with a giggle.

            “Heh, yeah he does this every morning,” Xion said.

            “Every morning? And I thought I couldn’t stand it in the locker room,” Hayner quipped.

            “He sings in the locker room?” Olette asked.

            “Yeah, well, not this song, but he always sings when we’re showering up after gym. Sometimes other guys join in,” he said, chuckling.

            Xion giggled. “That sounds like Roxas.” If anyone was goofy enough to start singing in the locker room showers in front of their bros, it was Roxas.

            Roxas, unaware of the conversation taking place as he sang, continued belting out the lyrics with fiery passion. After about the tenth time he sang the line “You’re sexy but you know it,” Pence asked, “Who do you think he’s singing about?” Olette’s gaze flickered to Xion who focused on her eggs and didn’t notice.

            “Must be talking to himself in the mirror,” Hayner said. The others laughed.

            Olette’s suspicion only grew as Roxas continued to sing.

Baby when we go to sleep at night,

Oh,

 I don't wanna close my eyes

Why dream when I can have the real thing?

            Olette glanced at Xion once more, who ate her eggs without concern for Roxas’ singing. How could she be so oblivious? Olette thought Roxas made it pretty obvious about whom he chose to sing about right then, but apparently no one else did. How could they not see it? They literally woke up next to each other! Olette knew for a fact that if Xion thought Roxas was calling her anything remotely related to “sexy,” her face would be red as a tomato. But, currently, her face shone as porcelain as a doll’s. Olette shook her head lightly.

            “So, Xion,” Olette said as if nothing was the matter, “What did you want to get while shopping today?”

            “I don’t know, maybe some more eyeliner, and I would like to find some new heels; the strap on mine broke.” Just then the group heard a loud thud followed by a few colorful words that Axel certainly wouldn’t have approved of coming from the bathroom. Xion laughed. “Sounds like he knocked over the shampoo bottle again. Oh! That reminds me, I need to get more shampoo too.”

            “Cool,” Olette said brightly, “We can stop by the salon while we’re out.”

            Once Roxas had finished getting ready for the day and scarfed down some breakfast of his own, the group left the apartment. They headed toward the tram that would take them to the city-center where the mall resided and where the Struggle match usually took place. They chatted about school and rumors about who was asking whom to the upcoming prom as they took their seats.

            “I heard that Iris is going to ask out Noctis,” Olette said knowingly.

            “Yeah, right,” Roxas said, “There’s no way she’s gonna work up the nerve to do that!” Iris, a girl in their grade had been crushing on her older brother’s best friend for the longest time, but poor Noctis remained blissfully ignorant to it.

            “You know, I think she should just go for it and ask out the love of her life before someone else does, right, Roxas?” Hayner looked pointedly at him.

            Before he could respond, Xion said, “They would be such a cute couple. She’s just so happy all the time and he’s just a big ball of…” she groped for the right word, “…angst. Those are always the cutest couples.” Xion clasped her hands in front of her chest with a smile. Roxas thought that any relationship she would be in, she’d definitely be the happy one. Roxas briefly thought of the end of his time in the organization. He had felt angry (well as angry as a Nobody could feel) and used, especially after he lost Xion, even if he didn’t remember why at the time. Would Xion consider that angsty? Roxas certainly felt angst whenever he had spoken to DiZ.

            Olette laughed. “Yeah, you’re definitely right about that.”

            When they got to the city-center, the group parted ways, the boys heading for the Struggle match in the town square and the girls headed to the Twilight Town mall. As soon as Olette thought they were out of ear-shot, she gripped Xion’s arm and said, “Okay, now tell me everything that happened.”

            Xion took a deep breath. “Well, after Axel left, we did our homework, then decided to watch Teen Beach Movie, and…” Xion trailed off and looked behind her. The boys were quite a distance away this point; there was no way they’d be able to hear her.

            “And?” Olette prompted.

            “And, well…we were kind of singing along to the songs and dancing, and Roxas was going way over the top with it,” Xion said with a chuckle. “But then a love song came on, and, well, we were just singing normally and all but then something happened.” At this point, they were at the front doors of the mall and stepped into the cool air-conditioning.

            “What?” Olette asked, excited.

            “Well, Roxas was just being really funny and I was laughing really hard so he tried to steady me and held onto me, and then we just…gazed into each other’s eyes, and…we wrapped our arms around each other,” Xion hugged herself, “and started slow-dancing for real.” This response seemed to satisfy Olette, who squealed and started jumping up and down, causing passers-by to look their way.

            “Oh my gosh! That’s too cute! You guys are made for each other!” she said with a grin.

            “Well, it was actually kind of awkward after that while we watched the movie. Oh! But then we decided to build a blanket fort and have a pajama party,” Xion continued with a smile.

            “Cute!”

            “I wasn’t sure if my pajamas would be appropriate, but I decided to throw on a sports bra underneath and it worked out just fine. But,” Xion turned towards Olette and gripped her arms. “When I walked out my room, he snuck up behind me and put a pillowcase over my head and threw me over his shoulder. He pretended he was capturing me like a princess.” Xion couldn’t help grinning at the memory.

            Olette gasped lightly. “Wait. Did he call you a princess?”

            “Yeah,” Xion continued in a daze, “He said the words ‘my princess’ at one point.”

            Olette gasped again and covered her mouth with her hands as she giggled. They walked through the doors of their favorite store in the mall and began combing the racks of clothes.

            “What happened after that?” Olette asked.

            “We just talked for a little bit and ate all of Axel’s ice-cream. Roxas wanted to sleep in the fort, but it was way too stuffy in there.” Xion pulled a shirt off the rack to examine it. Too floral for her taste.

            “Oooh, he did, didn’t he?” Olette teased.

            Xion laughed. “We decided to take it down. After that I went to take off my makeup, but I had an eyelash in my eye. So I asked him to see if he could see it, and he helped me get it out,” Xion continued on to an absolutely absorbed Olette. Xion took a breath and continued, “He was holding my hair out of the way and had his hand on my cheek. When he tried to get it out of my eye, I started to pull away, but then he told me to wait and leaned closer to get it out. Then he told me to make a wish on it.”

            Olette, enraptured by the story, couldn’t help her mouth hanging open. “What did you wish for?” she asked.

            Xion snickered, stepping around a rack of clothes. “That’s my secret,” she said.

            “Oh, come on!” Olette cried, too invested to give up now. “You have to tell me!”

            Xion giggled. “No way!” she said, walking backwards away from Olette, but then she accidentally bumped into someone. Xion turned around. “Oh! I’m so sorry I didn’t see where I was going.”

            Aranea Highwind, a senior from school that Xion knew but didn’t talk to very much, brushed at the front of her top and smirked. “I’ll forgive you,” she said, sharing a glance with her companion Cindy Aurum, “If you tell me who it is you two are fawning over.” Xion’s eyes widened and her cheeks instantly flushed. She looked at Olette in panic, who looked equally shocked at the senior girl’s question.

            “Umm,” Xion couldn’t say anything because what if someone else found out? She couldn’t stand the embarrassment if someone thought she had a crush on her best friend and told the whole school.

            “Oh, I bet they’re talkin’ about that little blond fella they’re always hangin’ around,” Cindy drawled. Xion’s face burned an ever deeper shade of scarlet. “What was his name? Roxy?”

            “Roxas,” Olette supplied. Xion shot her a warning look.

            “Oh, yeah, that guy,” Aranea said. “So have you two finally decided to go out? We’ve all been waiting for it.”

            “Wh-what are you talking about?!” Xion cried. “Roxas and I are just friends!”

            “Just friends who like to give each other hugs whenever they see each other!” Aranea said.

            “That’s completely normal,” Xion argued.

            “And who help get eyelashes out of each other’s eyes?” Cindy asked, one brow raised.

            Xion shushed the two girls and said, “Would you two quiet down?” The senior girls grinned. “Roxas and I are…just friends,” Xion said again, not really knowing if it was true anymore.

            “Oh, come on, you two are so in love. The whole school knows it,” Aranea said with a casual wave of her hand. Xion’s panic rose. This wasn’t exactly news to Olette, but it was the first Xion heard about it.

            “The whole…school? Everyone thinks we’re dating?” Xion asked to clarify.

            “Well, they think ya should,” Cindy said with a grin.

            “And the only reason you’re embarrassed,” Aranea said knowingly, “is because you think so, too.” She booped Xion on the nose.

            “What? No way! Roxas doesn’t even like me like that!” Xion said, waving her hands in front of her.

            “Oh, you think so?” Aranea said with her hands on her hips. Xion paused and thought about the night before.

            There’s no way Roxas actually has crush on me, she thought, He was simply dancing with me as a friend, that’s all. What teenaged boy doesn’t want to dance with a girl, regardless of their relationship status? He couldn’t actually have feelings for me, right? Xion’s didn’t know. Did the whole school really think they were dating? No wonder the girls in her class didn’t like her. They saw her as a threat.

            Xion cast her mind about, trying to find a reason why everyone would think they were a couple. It was true, they spent a lot of time together, and yes, the often gave each other hugs. Aren’t friends supposed to do that? Xion was friends with Hayner and Pence, but she didn’t give them hugs. What made Roxas different? He was kind and caring, and always had a way to cheer her up when she was down. Roxas had gentility about him, but could stand up for her if she needed him to. Xion realized she liked to spend time with Roxas because…

            She liked Roxas. As more than a friend. Did he think the same? And if he did, were they really that obvious to everyone but themselves? Whatever the case may be, Xion didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea about them. Until she and Roxas could figure each other out, they would have to present themselves as more platonic from now on—or, at least, Xion should treat him that way in public. She took a deep breath and released the tension in her forehead.

            “Whatever Roxas’ feelings are, I don’t know,” she began, “but I…I don’t want my feelings for him to ruin the friendship we do have.” Olette looked at her with sympathy, but Aranea and Cindy both laughed.

            “I don’t think you have to worry about that, sweetheart,” Cindy said with a wink, “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. It’s like you’re his dream come true.”

            Xion raised her eyebrows. “You think so?”

            “We know so,” Aranea said. “We’ve got quite a few boyfriends under our belts after all. We can tell a love-struck fool when we see one.” Xion wondered if she meant her or Roxas.

            “So what should I do?” Xion asked.

            The suggestions they made in the next minute Roxas would have probably liked but would have caused Axel to skin her alive. As the four girls split off to go their separate ways, Xion decided she would no longer be taking suggestions from the peanut gallery.

            Meanwhile in the Square, the boys had become entrenched in the Struggle match that took place. Roxas had wanted to enter for a long while now, unable to do so due to school work consuming his time. But just watching the matches filled him with glee. The two contenders for this round squared off and swung their foam bats, strategically trying to dislodge the little foam balls from each other’s suits. One of the boys hit the other so hard that the balls seemed to explode from his side. Roxas whooped along with the crowd. The boy somersaulted on the mat in an attempt to stick the foam balls to his Velcro suit once more, but it was too late. The timer buzzed and his opponent won the match, having retained the most foam balls in the end. Roxas cheered but felt sorry for the kid that lost.

            He eagerly awaited the next match to start, but was surprised when one of his classmates from school jumped into the ring and called for everyone’s attention.

            “What’s goin’ on?” Hayner asked, miffed that the match had been interrupted. Roxas shrugged.

            “Can I have my girlfriend come up here?” the boy called out to the crowd. Roxas looked on in confusion as a girl walked up to the ring, equally confused. “Serah.” The boy dropped to one knee, taking her hands in his. Roxas gaped. “Would you do me the honor…of going to prom with me?”

            The girl giggled and happily agreed, but Roxas scoffed. “They interrupted the match for that?” he said in disbelief.

            “That’s what I’m saying!” Hayner agreed.

            “Oh, come on you guys. That was super romantic,” said a voice behind them as a camera shutter clicked. The three boys turned around to find Prompto Argentum, a senior at their school, holding a DSLR camera and grinning like an idiot.

            “Ya know, he could have just asked her in private instead of interrupting the match,” Hayner complained, crossing his arms.

            “But the ‘promposal’ is the most fun part about prom!” Prompto said.

            “Hey, are you sure that’s the most fun part, Prompto?” said Gladiolus, one of Prompto’s friends, and one of the scarier seniors due to his hulking size and facial scars. On either side of him were Ignis, the nerd of their friend group, and Noctis, the star-quarterback, local bad boy, and school heartthrob.

            “Why even bother with prom?” Noctis asked in a dull voice. “The tickets are just a waste of munny.” Prompto simply couldn’t allow any of that kind of talk.

            “Whadaya mean, Noct?! Don’t you wanna dance with a pretty girl all night long?” he cried. Noctis rolled his eyes.

            “Perhaps it is because he’s shy and feels too awkward to ask anyone,” Ignis suggested with a smirk. Noctis threw Ignis a dark look and Roxas chuckled, thinking he was on to something.

            Prompto turned his attention back to Roxas and his friends. “So who are you guys gonna ask?”

            “Uh...” A certain raven-haired girl flashed in Roxas’ mind, but before he could say anything, Pence answered for him.

            “Roxas is going ask Xion.”

            “Pence!” Roxas cried, whipping around to face him.

            “What?” Pence said defensively. “Were you not?”

            “Aww, Xion is such a sweetheart, isn’t she?” Prompto said. “Ya know, if I was two years younger…”

            Roxas rolled his eyes but then furrowed his brows. “Actually, I’m not sure if I should ask her,” he admitted.

            “What!” Hayner cried, “Why not?”

            “Well...” Roxas rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean…we’re best friends and I don’t want to ruin our friendship if I try to push her.” Roxas sighed.

            “Wait,” Noctis said, confused, “I thought you guys were already dating.”

            “What? No,” Roxas said perplexed, shaking his head. “What gave you that idea?” Roxas couldn’t believe that Noctis, a guy he almost never interacted with, thought that he and Xion were a couple. Just because they hung out a lot didn’t mean they were "together".

            Noctis lifted an eyebrow, impossible to see behind the spiky black hair framing his face. “Uh, you did,” he said as if it should be the most obvious thing in the world to Roxas.

            “What do you mean?” Roxas said.

            “He means,” Prompto began slowly, “that whenever you two see each other, it’s like no one else is even in the room.” Prompto sighed dreamily. A shocked expression covered Roxas’ visage. Is that what other people thought—that they had been dating this whole time?

            “Is that how we really look to other people?” Roxas said quietly. Prompto nodded with a big grin.

            “You better ask her out before someone else does, kid,” Noctis said and turned his attention back towards the match.

            “We could help you, if you want,” Prompto offered, “we could all go as a big group!” he gestured to all six of the boys around him. “But,” he turned to face Noctis, “that means you need to find yourself a date, Noct! No going solo.” 

            “Not gonna happen,” he said in a bland tone, not looking away from the match.

            “You’re no fun at all, Noct,” a new voice behind them said. It was Iris, whose smile didn’t quite reach her eyes as she regarded him. Noctis just shrugged. Roxas felt kind of bad for her, being rejected before she even had the opportunity to ask.

            “He’s just mad that Luna’s not going to be there.” Prompto smirked, earning a dirty glance from Noctis.

            “Who are you guys going with?” Iris asked, turning away from Noctis, repeating Prompto’s question from before as she tried to hide a crushed expression.

            “Well,” Pence began, scratching the back of his neck, “we haven’t really asked anyone yet.” Pence had enough sense not to reveal Roxas’ feelings in front of Iris, a girl they saw daily.

            “What about you, Iris?” Roxas asked.

            She briefly glance at Noctis but said, “I’m not really sure.”

            Roxas sighed. “Well, I’m sure we’ll find someone.” The group went back to watching the Struggle match, but Roxas was no longer interested. He knew he should ask Xion before anyone else did, but what if he chickened out? Roxas didn’t think he could bear to see anyone else slow dancing with her. He knew her best out of anyone in this or any world. When they were in the Organization, they spent so much time together on the clock tower, eating ice cream. They had laughed and joked, and Roxas knew he could never do anything to hurt her. (Well, aside from killing her that one time so Sora could receive his memories of Kairi back from her, but that was a…special circumstance.) Now that they had their own hearts in their own bodies, Roxas didn’t plan on doing that ever again. Having her ripped away from him once was enough. Being the direct cause of it…

            Roxas imagined Xion, broken, in his arms. Xion had good intentions for provoking him into killing her, but, had he had a heart at the time, it would have shattered into a million pieces. He vowed that he would never do anything to hurt her ever again. Roxas needed to think of a good plan to ask her out and brainstormed some ideas until the Struggle match ended, pleased with none of them.

            Xion and Olette arrived at the city-center just as workers began to clean up the match. “Roxas!” Olette called out to them. Roxas turned around and smiled. They each had a few shopping bags apiece and he wondered if it cost enough that Axel would make Xion return most of what she bought. The three boys began walking over to them, but they only made it a few yards before a shadow appeared on the ground in between them—a shadow being cast by nothing.

            Roxas gasped. “Heartless!” he cried, summoning Oathkeeper and Oblivion, ready to take on the heartless that were popping up from the ground. What were they doing here? Wasn’t this world supposed to be safe? The infamous Heartless sent panic through the crowd which began to flee the area. Xion shoved her bags into Olette’s arms and summoned her own Keyblade. Roxas knew he could count on her in a fight.

            Roxas and Xion slashed at the Shadows, releasing them from their prison of darkness and sending their hearts up to Kingdom Hearts, where they belonged. At first only tiny Shadows appeared. Roxas easily sliced through them with his Keyblades like they were nothing. The Heartless, realizing they were up against Keyblade wielders, enlisted stronger comrades to defeat the two. Neoshadows and Soldiers appeared, scaring the people the in the Square. Roxas intercepted them before they could attack anyone, swinging his Keyblades as metal met smoke.

            A group of Mega-Shadows suddenly appeared before him, too many for him to battle all at once. Roxas raised his Keyblade in the air and shouted, “Thunder!” Bolts of lightning struck the ground around him, making contact with his enemies, but the civilians around him were unharmed. The lightning Roxas called from the sky left the Heartless stunned and confused. He took advantage of their temporary weakness and ran them each through with his Keyblades.

            As they battled, frightened townsfolk fled the scene, including the group of seniors and Iris who tripped and fell as a Heartless readied itself to pounce on her. She tried to stand but had twisted her ankle.

            “Iris!” Gladiolus screamed in panic, rushing to his sister’s aid, but he didn’t make it there in time. The Heartless flew toward Iris as she screamed, shielding her face with her arms, bracing herself for a very painful death. Luckily for her, Roxas got there first, batting the Heartless away as if it were a bothersome insect.

            “Iris! Are you okay?!” Roxas said turning around and kneeling on one knee in front of her.

            “I’m okay, but I twisted my ankle,” she said. Gladiolus skidded to a halt next her and scooped her up in his arms.

            “I gotcha, Iris,” he said running away from the scene. Iris cast a glance back at Roxas as she and her brother retreated. They locked eyes for a tense moment, but the sound of metal clashing with shadow called Roxas back to the fight. He turned his attention to the Heartless once more and jumped into the fray.

            The tiny Shadows were no match for the pair, but as stronger enemies appeared, Roxas felt his strength begin to wane. He had not battled the Heartless in months and realized how severely out of practice he had let himself become.

            Roxas and Xion battled with all their might, but just when they thought they had won, a pool of shadow settled over the ground. From that pool rose a Darkside. Roxas gasped and suddenly felt small compared to its size, being at least two stories tall. He furrowed his brows in determination and grit his teeth, launching himself at the monster, slashing at its hands and feet, slowly chipping its health away. As tired as he was, he had to take down this beast before it hurt anyone. Xion concerned herself with taking out the Shadows the Darkside summoned while Roxas dealt with it. Xion was faring well, but cried out in pain as a Shadow launched itself at her, dark energy permeating her being.

            Roxas gasped. “Xion!” He had vowed to never hurt her, but he couldn’t even do something as simple as protecting her from a little Heartless. He tore his eyes away from the Darkside, making sure she was okay, but didn’t realize his mistake until too late. The Darkside’s hand connected with his body, sending him flying into a wall. Roxas collided with the bricks and collapsed on the ground, struggling to breathe as the wind had been knocked out of him. Roxas’ vision blurred and a high note rang in his ears. The rough ground scratched his cheek and something warm and sticky dripped down the back of his head which throbbed intensely. He blinked but couldn’t shake the stars from his vision and struggled in vain to push himself off the ground. Bleary-eyed, he tried see if Xion had been hurt, but his eyes refused to focus, and he could only see dark smudges and shapes. He just needed to get his proper vision back, and then he could get back to protecting Xion. But she beat him to it.

            “Heal!” she cried, casting Cure over his form from her place on the battlefield. Roxas immediately received his strength back. He took a deep breath, vision cleared and head stitched back up again. Euphoria filled him at the sudden absence of pain, and he decided then that Cure was his favorite spell. He could fight hundreds of Heartless now. Roxas grinned. The Darkside was toast. He launched himself back at the monster, newly invigorated, slashing at its hands once more as Xion helped destroy the beast. He knew he could rely on her. The Darkside disappeared in a great cloud of smoke with Roxas’ finishing blow, its heart now floating up into the sky. Xion dismissed her Keyblade and leaned on her knees panting. Roxas ran up to her and cast Cure over her form, even though she wasn’t really hurt, but she appreciated being able to breathe normally again. “Thanks,” she said with a grin.

            “No problem.” Roxas smiled and dismissed his own Keyblades, but then grew serious. “What were the Heartless doing here?” he said concerned. “This world is supposed to be safe.”

            “No idea,” Xion said with a shake of her head. “What if more appear?” She gave Roxas a worried look.

            “We should call Axel,” Roxas said, pulling out his gummiphone and dialing Axel, but got his voicemail instead. He groaned. “Come on, pick up!” the voicemail beeped, telling Roxas that he could record his message. “Axel, we’ve got a big problem,” Roxas said with urgency, “Heartless showed up even though this place has been safe for a long time. Please call me back as soon as possible.” Roxas ended the call and sighed. “He’ll get back to us at some point.” Xion nodded gravely. They looked at each other for a brief moment before she launched herself into his arms, surprising Roxas but he readily wrapped his arms around her.

            “Don’t ever scare me like that again!” she cried. Roxas rubbed her back and smiled.

            “I’ll try not to, but I don’t make any guarantees,” he said with a weak chuckle.

            Xion pulled away sighing. “Just be more careful.”

            Roxas nodded. He grinned at her but worry gnawed at him. Heartless meant trouble, trouble that only Keyblade wielders such as themselves could take care of. He sighed, anticipating the work they had to do. This was supposed to be a fun weekend.

Chapter Text

            Roxas stood with his eyes closed as water forcefully hit against his back and neck and dripped down his chest. Even though his wounds had been healed, the fight with the Darkside had left him tired and sore once the adrenaline wore off. Where his head had cracked open against the brick wall still throbbed immensely. He stared at his feet, watching the blood caked into his hair flow down the shower drain, thinking of what had taken place that day.

            The appearance of the Heartless in Twilight Town had shaken Xion, but Roxas only grew wary. Heartless meant bad news and he knew that only he, Xion, and Axel could put a stop to it. It had only been a few months since Xehanort’s defeat and he already had to go back to work again. No rest for the weary, he thought.

            Axel of course had called them back in a panic when they reached home. He assured them that he would send for Keyblade wielders to provide backup for them since he couldn’t be there. That was just like Axel. Even if he didn’t always act like it, he made protecting Roxas and Xion a top priority of his, a priority that caused him endless headaches when they were in the Organization. Roxas blinked the water out of his eyes, tilting his face toward the ceiling and scrubbing the blood out his hair.

            What a nasty wound, he thought. If Xion hadn’t healed him when she did, he would have likely passed out from loss of blood. He could have died.

            But she saved me. He smiled fondly. He knew he could always depend on Xion; she cared about him so much, using her own magic power to heal him. He thought about his last moments with her as Nobodies and the smile slid from his face, replaced by a slight grimace. She sacrificed herself for me. She died so I could live. Ever since they gained their own lives, Roxas often thought about the sacrifice Xion had made that day, giving up her own life for his and Sora’s. I would do the same for her. I would give my life for Xion. Roxas hoped nothing would ever come to that but remained firm in his conviction. He smiled once again and began to sing.

So this is love, mmm

So this is love

So this is what makes life divine

I'm all aglow, mmm

And now I know

The key to all heaven is mine

            Roxas wondered if Xion knew that he meant the song for her—he knew she could hear his singing. Deep in his heart, he hoped she did know and would want to come to him about it, but another part of him wanted to prolong the revelation; the thought of Xion rejecting him filled him with dread. He would give her the chance to come to him first, and if she never did…well, he would burn that bridge when he came to it.

My heart has wings, mmm

And I can fly

I'll touch every star in the sky

So this is the miracle

That I've been dreaming of

Mmm, mmm

So this is love

            Yes, he was in love. If only Roxas could have realized it sooner. When he was a Nobody, he had no idea what “love” meant. Axel had tried to explain it to him, but without a heart, Roxas couldn’t surmise any real meaning from the word. But he understood now.

            Xion sat on the living room couch, listening to Roxas sing. Her nerves were in a tizzy from the fight with the Heartless, but just listening to Roxas’ angelic voice calmed her. He sang relatively quietly, but she could still hear him well enough. She closed her eyes and listened as he repeated the short song a few times. If only he would sing that song to her. If only she could tell him how much she loved him.

            Before the fight with the Heartless, the fact that she had a crush on Roxas troubled Xion slightly, not wanting to hurt their friendship, but even she didn’t realize the true scope of her feelings. When she saw him crumpled and broken after the Darkside had struck him, ice-cold fear had coursed through her veins. She thought she had lost Roxas forever, and a life without Roxas was hardly worth living, in her eyes. She couldn’t live each day without seeing that smile of his or hearing his jokes that would make her laugh so hard her stomach hurt. If Roxas died…she couldn’t even bear the thought.

            The shower water stopped and, after a minute the door cracked. “Hey,” Roxas said, “don’t turn around, I’m not dressed.”

            “Okay,” Xion said with her eyes still closed. Roxas disappeared into his room and shut the door. Xion took a deep breath and opened her eyes again, wondering what to do with the Heartless problem. They would certainly be targeted because of their connection to the Keyblade—practically a homing beacon for Heartless. But no Heartless were bothering them now, so perhaps they could get some peace and quiet for the rest of the day.

            Xion stood and went into her room. Olette had brought by Xion’s bags from the mall earlier and Xion dumped the contents onto her bed. There sat new eyeliner, shampoo, a few cute dresses, and a killer pair of silver high-heels bedazzled with rhinestones. They were very expensive and Xion made Olette promise to never tell Axel what they had cost. She believed they were worth it.

            She slipped the heels onto her feet and strutted into the living room. They weren’t too uncomfortable when she first put them on, but she knew that walking in them for a while would surely feel like pins and needles. Beauty’s pain, she thought, sitting back down on the couch.

            Roxas emerged from his room and flopped on the couch next to her without a word, wearing a black tank top and cargo pants. They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment.

            “What are we gonna do about the Heartless?” Xion asked quietly.

            Roxas waved a dismissive hand. “I don’t wanna worry about the Heartless right now,” he said, looking away from her.

            “Well, what do you want to do?”

            Roxas shrugged. “I don’t know.”

            “You want to just watch a movie or something?” she asked.

            “Eh, I don’t really want to be at home right now,” Roxas replied, gazing around the room. “We could go to the movie theater if you want.”

            Xion smiled. “That sounds great,” she said, propping her feet on the tiny stiletto heels of the shoes she wore. “Oh!” she said, remembering her new purchase and jumping up, “Look at my new shoes! Aren’t they so cute?” Roxas glanced down at her feet and stood up next to her. Normally, Roxas was about an inch or so taller than she was even when she wore her usual heeled boots, but in sky-high-heels, Xion practically dwarfed him. Well, really the heels made her only a couple inches taller than Roxas, but, to him, it felt like much more than that.

            “They’re beautiful,” he said, looking back up at her, “I hate them.” He grinned.

            “Hey! That’s not very nice,” Xion said, giving him a playful smack on the arm.

            “You’re not supposed to be taller than me.”

            Xion laughed. “I’m sure you’ll get over it.”

            Xion traded her heels for flats and soon the two were out the door, headed to the local cinema. As they passed the sight of the Struggle match from earlier that day, Roxas couldn’t help but feel slightly anxious about the thought of the Heartless that had been there. He took a deep breath and willed himself to forget about it. He was going to have a nice evening at the movies with Xion and no Heartless were allowed to ruin that.

            When it came to deciding what movie they wanted to see, they practically repeated the conversation they had had the night before. Roxas wanted to see the Aladdin remake but Xion wanted to see Frozen 2. They decided to settle things with a good, old-fashioned game of rock-paper-scissors. Roxas won, much to his delight, and fifteen minutes later they sat in the theater for Aladdin, watching trailers as they munched on their popcorn, chatting about the day they had had, pre Heartless. Roxas tried to get Xion to tell him how much she had spent, but she wouldn’t budge.

            “Axel is going to find out sooner or later, you know,” he said with a smirk.

            “I’ll take my chances,” she said, echoing his words from the day before.

            The theater lights dimmed as the movie started, but Roxas found that he struggled to pay attention, as Xion’s shoulder pressed against his. Roxas ran a hand through his hair and cast his eyes about the dark theater, suddenly bashful, when his eyes landed on a couple near the front of the room. They had their arms around each other, one person’s head leaning on the other. Roxas had an idea.

            He remembered a trick that Riku taught him once, a trick almost exclusively used in a movie theater setting but would be weird anywhere else. Roxas swallowed. Could he pull it off? Sweat beaded up on his forehead for even thinking about attempting it, but he didn’t think Xion would be too offended (hopefully), so he decided to give it a go.

            He stretched his arms above his head, accented with a faux yawn and settled his left arm around Xion’s shoulder, heart hammering in his chest during the entire act. Roxas wished at that moment that he could go back to his days as a Nobody, when he didn’t have a heart that would beat so loudly. Were that the case, however, he wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place. It seemed that having a heart of his own was a double-edged sword. Xion stiffened slightly, but then after a minute (of Roxas shaking in his boots), she relaxed and settled into his side.

            Wow, I can’t believe that actually worked. Roxas grinned to himself, turning his face slightly away from Xion so she wouldn’t see, pleased that he managed to pull off the move without getting slapped. Roxas must remember to thank Riku for his advice the next time he saw him. For a few minutes, Roxas couldn’t even focus on the movie with Xion pressed into his side the way that she was since the arm of the chair was up, but eventually he relaxed and began watching the movie again, rubbing Xion’s shoulder with his thumb.

            About halfway through the movie, Xion leaned her head on his shoulder and settled her hand on his knee, tearing his focus from the movie and sending his heart into a frenzy once again. Did she even realize the effect she had on him? Roxas thought about the possibility of his heart jumping right out of his chest and wondered if Xion’s wanted to do the same. Xion, however, remained completely oblivious to Roxas’ inner turmoil. In fact, she found his arms quite a comfortable place to be. Roxas took a breath, willing his pulse to slow down, trying to avoid being distracted by the thumb rubbing his knee. All that fighting over what movie to watch and she wouldn’t even let him pay attention. She’s doing this on purpose, he thought, amused at his own petty assumption. Two can play at that game. He smirked wickedly.

            Roxas pulled away from Xion slightly and tilted his head down to whisper in her ear. “Do you want to get some dinner after this?” Xion’s cheeks warmed at his close proximity and her heart suddenly started beating faster at the feeling of his hot breath on the side of her face.

            “Uh, yeah, we could go to Uncle Scrooge’s Bistro.”

            “Sounds good.” Roxas pulled her into his side and rested his cheek on her head. Instead of rubbing his thumb on her shoulder, he brushed his fingers lightly against her arm, sending tingles up her spine. Xion’s cheeks burned flaming red as she sighed gently, thankful for the darkness in the theater that hid her blush. She took a few more deep breaths to try to calm down, but Roxas made sure her endeavors were unsuccessful. He took the wrist of the hand on his knee and slid his hand into hers.

            We’re holding hands, she thought in mild panic, trying not to sweat, and totally unprepared for this turn of events. What if he tried to kiss her? She wasn’t ready for that, but how could she say no to Roxas? Surely he would understand her trepidation, but it would be awkward giving him the cheek. She tried not to think about it and turned her attention back to the movie.

            Eventually, after Roxas insisted on staying to see if there was an end-credits scene, the movie finally ended. Xion stood abruptly, wrenching herself from Roxas’ grasp and said, “Let’s go get some food.” She walked out of the theater without checking to see if Roxas had followed her. She knew he would.

            They walked in silence to Scrooge’s Bistro as each thought about what had happened in the movie theater. Roxas had put his arm around her. Xion never thought that Roxas saw her in a romantic way before, but she couldn’t believe that the way he rubbed her arm was at all platonic. Nor did she want it to be.

            Xion couldn’t believe how hard she had fallen head-over-heels for Roxas in the past day. One second, she and Olette were chatting about annoying girls in math class, then the next second, visions of Roxas’ beautiful blue eyes danced in her head.

            When they got to the Bistro, Xion looked inside at the patrons, and felt slightly underdressed for the establishment. When she brought up her qualm with Roxas, he asked the hostess if they could get a table outside, in front of the Bistro. He pulled her chair out for her like a proper gentleman and took his seat across from her.

            “Roxas…” He looked up at her as a smiled played on his lips. Xion wanted to bring up the subject of her feelings with him. After cuddling with each other at the movies, it should be apparent how she felt, but she wanted to say it with her own words. However, Xion’s bravery shriveled in that moment. “What do you think you want to get?” she said, picking up her menu and flipping it open.

            “Hmm, that’s a good question. I’ve never heard of most of these dishes,” he said, raising his menu and staring perplexedly at it. “Maybe the chicken tenders.”

            Xion giggled. “We’re at a fancy French restaurant and you want to get the chicken tenders?”

            “Hey, you can never go wrong with chicken tenders,” he said knowingly.

            “That sounds like something Sora would say.”

            “Well,” Roxas shrugged, “I kind of am him.”

            “Kind of,” Xion conceded.

            Just then, a waiter came rushing up to their table and greeted them. “What can I get the lovely couple to drink this fine evening?”

            Before Xion could deny the fact that they were a couple, Roxas said, “Coke for me. Xion what would you like?” He smiled at her.

            “Coke is fine,” she said, hoping her cheeks weren’t as pink as they felt.

            The waiter swept away and returned with their drinks as they chatted about the movie they saw. Luckily for them both, they each managed to remember something that happened in it. The waiter took their orders and swept away once more, leaving them alone again. Roxas rested his cheek on his fist and gazed at her. His eyes sparkled in the never-ending sunset and Xion thought that golden hour looked good on Roxas.

            “You know, Xion,” he smiled, “this kinda feels like a date.”

            Xion’s eyes widened and her cheeks became bright pink once again. She swallowed and said, “What do you mean?” as if she didn’t know exactly what he meant. Even if Xion ignored the lit candles sitting between them, cuddling at the movies would have been strong evidence for Roxas’ case.

            Roxas shrugged. “I dunno, I’m just saying that maybe it would look like it to other people,” he said, smiling then taking a sip of his drink.      

            “Maybe,” Xion said, focusing on the place setting in front of her. She quickly changed the subject. “So, who do you think Axel is going to get to help us with the Heartless?”

            “Probably the whole gang, knowing him.” Roxas stared off into the distance.

            “It would be nice to see everyone again,” Xion said.

            “Yeah, I’ve got to take the guys to the skate park when they’re here,” Roxas said.

            Xion laughed. “While you’re doing that, I’ll take the girls shopping with me.”

            Roxas made a face. “Shopping? Girls are so boring,” he said with a grin, taking another drink of his soda.

            “Hey, we are not!” Xion crumpled up her napkin and tossed it at his chest. Roxas chuckled. As the two dined, they talked about what they wanted to do if their friends decided to show up and funny things that had happened with them in the past. When they finished their meal, Roxas insisted on paying, forking over nearly all the allowance that Axel gave him.

            As they walked home, Roxas glanced up at the clock tower. He stopped Xion. “Hey, do you want to head up to the usual spot?”

            Xion grinned. “Of course.”

            After buying two sea salt ice creams from a nearby vendor—Roxas paying once again and exhausting the rest of his allowance—they went through a service door that no one ever locked and up the rickety stairs. At the top of the clock tower, Roxas sat down on the ledge and Xion took a seat beside him. They silently ate their ice cream, gazing at the forever setting sun.

            Roxas thought about the dinner they had just had and smiled, quite pleased with himself for putting a blush on Xion’s face. He knew she would have corrected the waiter, said they weren’t a couple, but he didn’t give her the chance and implying that it had felt like a date had been just as fun as he thought it would. He chuckled softly, remembering the shocked expression on her face when he had teased her. His mind went back to the movie theater. He couldn’t actually tell if holding her hand had made her nervous, but he had enjoyed feeling the soft pressure of her hand in his.

             He glanced down at her hand, wanting to hold it again, but stopped himself. At the movie, they were under the cover of darkness in a foreign environment, but here at the usual spot where their friendship first developed, they would both be vulnerable. Perhaps Roxas wasn’t yet ready to lay his cards out on the table like that. So they just sat and ate ice cream in silence, occasionally remarking on how beautiful the city looked, until all the ice cream had been consumed. They walked the short distance home to their apartment where they met Isa—who had let himself in and whom Axel called to keep an eye on them while he couldn’t—covered in flour, baking something sugary in the kitchen.  

            “There you two are,” he said, stepping through the archway to the kitchen. “I was starting to worry.”

            “Oh, we just went to a movie and got dinner,” Roxas said, flopping onto the couch, noting that their mattresses were no longer on the floor. Isa must have returned them to their beds.

            “Hmm,” was all Isa said before disappearing back into the kitchen.

            “You know, Roxas,” Xion said sitting down with him on the living room couch, “When the gang gets here, we should ask them if they want to go to prom with us.”

            “Do you think they’d want to?” Roxas asked. Kairi would most certainly make Sora go with her. As for Riku and Naminé, well, they had an interesting relationship. To be fair, Riku had an interesting relationship with everyone. His devotion to Sora caused him to make some questionable decisions, such as attacking Roxas and Xion to save his friend’s life. Since then, Riku had apologized profusely, but they still thought it best to tread lightly around him. Not that they didn’t trust him—they did, but it would take a while before they could get over the walls he had put up around himself. They didn’t begrudge him of that.

            Riku was a complex person, but Naminé was just as complex for similar reasons. Both wanted the best outcome for everyone as a whole, but didn’t allow themselves to selfishly pursue their own desires. Watching the two interact could sometimes be likened unto pulling teeth—painful. Each wanted something from the other but they didn’t quite know what, both looking like a fish gasping on the shore, seeking love, but not knowing how to go about it.

            A corner of Roxas’ mouth lifted as he pictured his group of friends in a formal setting like prom. Sora’s and Kairi’s general craziness mixed with Riku’s and Naminé’s quiet uncertainty for each other would make for an interesting night.

            “I think they would love it. Terra and Aqua can be chaperones,” Xion said with a laugh.

            “We’d have to find a date for Ven,” Roxas said, totally willing to go out of his way to do so.

            Isa asked them about the Heartless that attacked them as he baked. When Roxas asked why he was baking in the first place, Isa simply said that cookies had sounded good to him, but Roxas suspected that maybe Axel had put him up to it—a treat after a trying day. After just having eaten popcorn, a full meal, and ice cream, they told Isa they would save the cookies for tomorrow as they sat down in the kitchen to talk. Roxas and Xion briefly filled him in on the fight with the Darkside, but neither wanted to dwell on it.

            “I think I’m going to take a nice, long shower,” Xion announced, wanting to get out of the conversation.

            “Don’t use all the hot water,” Isa chided.

            As Xion showered, Roxas sat on the living room couch thinking. The gang would love to go to prom with them and they each had a date, well, all expect for Ven, but Roxas could definitely set him up with someone. That just left him and Xion. It would make perfect sense to ask her. Besides, Roxas couldn’t think of anyone he would rather go with. He resolved to ask Xion once she had showered and gotten dressed. He would have to take her outside so that Isa wouldn’t be listening in on them. Just as he made this decision, the doorbell rang. Roxas stood to answer it.

            Iris stood in the doorway with her hands locked behind her back.

            “Iris,” Roxas said with surprise, “How are you? Is you ankle feeling better?”

            “Yes, It’s fine, thanks, it just needed some ice.” She smiled. “But I wanted to talk to you about something.” She kicked the ground with her toe.

            “Sure, come on in,” Roxas said, opening the door wider.

            “Actually, do you mind if we go for a walk?” Iris said, pointing her thumb behind her.

            “Yeah, sure,” Roxas said, curious. The two made their way down the steps of the complex and walked down the sidewalk. Iris turned to him.

            “Roxas, I wanted to thank you for saving me today,” Iris began.

            “No problem,” he said brightly. As a Keyblade wielder, Roxas had an obligation to save those defenseless against Heartless.

            “It was very brave and I can’t possibly thank you enough. And…I was wondering if…” they stopped under a tree. “…you wanted to go to prom. With me.” Iris looked at him, hopeful.

            Shock flitted through Roxas. This whole time, he thought she would end up asking Noctis to prom, certainly not him. Had she given up on Noctis and gone after the first boy that had shown her kindness? Or did he sweep her off her feet as some sort of knight in shining armor? Whatever the reason, Roxas didn’t feel that way about Iris. He liked her as a friend, but nothing more.

            “Umm…” Roxas didn’t answer for a moment and the small smile fell from Iris’ face.

            “It-it’s okay if you don’t want to, I totally understand,” she said, turning around to quickly walk away, hugging her arms around herself.

            Roxas sighed quietly. Forgive me, Xion.

            “Iris, wait!” Roxas said, grabbing her arm. She turned around, preparing herself to be friend-zoned, but, with great difficulty, Roxas grinned widely.

            “I would love to go to prom with you,” he said.

            “Really?” Iris said, eyebrows high on her forehead.

            “Of course! What are friends for?”

            Iris giggled and gave him a hug, which he returned a little too enthusiastically to be realistic. “Thank you so much, Roxas!” she said, squeezing him tight. “It’s going to be so much fun! I have to go now but I’ll call you later to go over the details.” Roxas bid her farewell and she skipped off happily.

            Roxas sighed and walked slowly back into his apartment, taking refuge in his bedroom and sitting on the edge of the bed. Well, he thought, there goes prom with the squad. Roxas stood and grabbed his guitar, which sat in the corner of his room on its stand, and sat back down on his bed, setting the guitar on his lap. Roxas had picked up guitar playing from Sora, one of the many second-hand skills that he got from his Somebody. Roxas wasn’t as good as he was, but Sora had more practice. Roxas put his fingers in position and began picking out a sad melody that always reminded him of Xion and her fate as a Nobody. He focused on the strings that he plucked as he thought about what he had just done.

            Iris was a sweet girl, almost too sweet for her own good, but Roxas didn’t want to go to the dance with her. He wanted to go with Xion. But Roxas didn’t want to hurt Iris’ feelings. He was proud that she had the courage to ask him when normally it would be the guy’s job to ask a girl, but he had hoped she would have directed that courage at Noctis. If only Noctis wasn’t such a tool, he thought bitterly. Had he been more approachable, Iris would have totally asked him out, and Roxas could have asked Xion.

            He sighed, resigned. It killed Roxas to give up a potential date with his best friend, but he wanted to be fair to Iris. It doesn’t matter what Noctis is like, he thought, Iris deserves a fun night out. Even though he was determined to show Iris a good time at prom, Roxas still moped.

            A knock sounded on his bedroom door and Xion’s voice emanated through it. “Roxas, can I come in?”

            “Yeah,” Roxas said.

            Xion stepped into his room and closed the door most of the way behind her. “Hey, is something wrong?” Roxas shook his head, staring at the wall. “Oh. You usually play that song when you’re upset.” Roxas paused his playing and raised his eyebrows, surprised that she noticed.

            “Oh. I guess I do.” He took a breath and said quietly, “Iris just came by and asked me to prom.”

            Xion’s eyebrows rose. “Really? What did you say?” she asked, dreading the answer.

            “I said yes.” Xion’s heart shattered into a million pieces. “Is that okay with you?” Roxas looked up at her in concern.

            “Of course, why wouldn’t that be okay with me,” Xion lied with a smile. “You two will look so cute in the pictures.”

            Roxas laughed lightly once. “Thanks.” He stared at the wall again. “Well,” he said, “I should get ready for bed.”

            Xion left him alone then, but instead of going to sleep, Roxas put on his headphones and listened to the saddest songs he could find on his gummiphone as he lay on his back, staring up the ceiling. A tear slid down his temple and into his hair as the emotional music washed over him.  

            He knew it was stupid; there were more important things like Heartless and the powers of Darkness to worry about, but something as trivial as a date to prom proved enough to crush Roxas’ emotional teenaged state. He sighed and decided that having a heart sucked. He needed to talk to someone about it.

            Roxas wanted to talk to Axel, but he didn’t want to bother him if he was sleeping, but he knew there was someone else who would be willing to talk to him. Roxas sat up and dialed Sora’s number. Roxas completely trusted Sora, his literal other half, with sensitive information like this. He may act like an idiot most of the time, but Sora was the most genuine and caring person Roxas knew. The dial tone rang three times before Sora answered, wearing aviator sunglasses, which he slid onto the top of his head, with the sun shining brightly on his face and palm trees behind him.

            “Hey, Roxas!” Sora said with a big grin, “What’s up?”

            “Sora,” Roxas said in a low voice. He didn’t want Xion or Isa to hear him. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

            Sora noted Roxas’ somber tone and grew serious. “What’s wrong?”

            Roxas sighed. “I know I’m being stupid, but…our school is having this prom thing, and…” Roxas dropped his voice to a whisper and Sora leaned closer to his gummiphone. “I really wanted to ask Xion, but I waited too long.”

            “Who asked her?” Sora said.

            “Well, nobody, actually. A girl asked me, and I couldn’t really say no. She would have been so upset if I did and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. I don't think she would have had a date otherwise.” Roxas rubbed his temples with his free hand.

            “So it’s a pity date,” Riku’s voice said, coming from Roxas’ left earphone. Sora glanced to his right where Riku must have been sitting.

            “No it’s not a pity date,” Roxas said, “It’s just…me being nice.”

            Riku stuck his head in the frame of the video, over Sora’s shoulder. “Sounds like a pity date to me,” he said with a smirk. “You’re such a nice guy, Roxas.”

            Roxas rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. “Okay, it’s a pity date, happy? I should’ve just asked Xion before this happened.”

            “Did you guys talk about going together?” Sora asked.

            “No,” Roxas said, shaking his head, “I can’t let her find out I wanted to ask her, though. Talk about embarrassing.” Roxas paused for a moment before panic swept his mind. “Wait! Is Kairi with you?” Had Kairi been privy to this conversation, she would have swiftly relayed the information to Xion.

            Sora chuckled. “No, she’s over there,” his gaze flickered to his left, “looking for seashells. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with us,” Sora said, pointing to himself with his thumb. Roxas sighed with relief.

            “Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it.”

            “Don’t worry about Xion, Roxas,” Sora said brightly, “there’s always next year, right?”

            “Unless Xion finds another guy to be her boyfriend,” Riku said, smirking.

            “Riku! Don’t say that!” Sora cried.

            Horror slowly filled Roxas, spreading from his chest to his fingertips, settling in the pit of his stomach. “Do you really think she’ll get a boyfriend?”

            “No! She’s madly in love with you!” Roxas wondered if Sora actually believed that or if he just said it to make him feel better.

            “I hope so.” Roxas sighed, lying on his back. He thought it might be true, especially after what happened at the movie theater. “We went to see a movie today—before I got asked out—and I did that thing you told me about, Riku,” Roxas said.

            “Oh, the yawn/stretch thing?” Roxas nodded. “Did it work?”

            “Yeah it worked.” Roxas smiled, despite being upset about Iris. “Thanks for the tip.

            “No problem,” Riku said with a grin. His voice became slightly husky. “Did you kiss her?” he said, asking the same thing Hayner had asked that morning.

            Roxas rubbed his eyes. “No. I don’t think I would have said ‘yes’ to Iris—the girl who asked me—if I had.” He took a deep breath through his nose and frowned.

            Pity filled Sora’s eyes as he wondered what to say to make Roxas feel better. “Well, it’s only one date, right?” he said reassuringly, “After prom, you can go back to wooing Xion. And we’ll be there to help! I promise.” Most people say those kinds of things but didn’t really mean it. Roxas knew Sora meant it.

            “Thanks, guys,” Roxas said. He glanced at his clock which read 11:38. “Well, I gotta get to bed. It’s pretty late here.”

            “Okay! We’ll talk tomorrow,” Sora said with a bright grin plastered on his face. They said goodbye, and soon, Roxas sunk into the worst night’s sleep he’d had in ages, thinking he should enlist Riku’s dream-eater expertise after waking several times from nightmares where he frantically looked for a lost Xion, but she transformed into Iris as soon as he grabbed her hand. Eventually, his mind calmed and allowed him a few hours of dreamless sleep.

            The next day, Xion awoke to the sound of voices chattering away in the kitchen, voices loud enough to interrupt her slumber. She groaned and rolled out of bed, pulling on her black silken robe. Whoever had the nerve to be this loud so early in the morning better be prepared to get an earful from her. She opened her bedroom door with a scowl, getting the attention of the early morning denizens of the kitchen.

            “Could you—” she began, ready to let them have it, but someone cut her off before she could say anymore.

            “Xion!” Sora cried, throwing his arms around the girl, squeezing her tight. “You’re awake!”

            “Yeah, thanks to you guys,” she said, patting his back, noticing the entire gang of Keyblade wielders in her kitchen. Terra and Aqua were making waffles with Isa, and Riku, Kairi, Naminé, and Ven sat around the kitchen table, eating the cookies from last night. There were several bags on the table, some luggage and some of the shopping variety. “What are you all doing here?”

            “Lea called us,” Ven said, using the name Axel went by before he became a Nobody and the name that Ven, Terra, and Aqua knew him as.

            “All of you?” Xion didn’t think she and Roxas needed this much backup, nor did she think Axel would actually end up calling all of them. She smiled brightly at them, though, as she stepped further into the kitchen.

            “Well, he called Terra, Aqua, and Riku,” Kairi said, “But we wanted to tag along too.”

            “Here, have some breakfast,” Riku said, standing up to offer her his chair. Xion sat down.

            “Oh,” Kairi said, offering Xion a shopping bag, “This is for you.” Xion took it, pulling out the tissue paper and the contents inside, a hot pink tank top and neon blue shorts.

            “Matching pajamas for our sleepover tonight,” Naminé said with a bright smile.

            Xion grinned. “Thanks, guys, you’re the best.” She said, touched by the generosity of her pseudo sisters.

            She and Naminé owed their existence to Kairi and Sora. Naminé used to be Kairi’s Nobody, but now had her own life and body, thanks to Vexen’s replicas, as did Xion. Each girl had her own distinct personality, but occasionally would do or say something at the same time, to the amusement of everyone watching. The same thing often happened to Sora, Ven, and Roxas. The three boys could easily pass as brothers, especially Ven and Roxas, and Sora declared that, after everything they had been through together, they now were brothers.  

            Sora couldn’t wait to hang out with Roxas, but he had not seen the boy yet. “Where’s Roxas?” he asked.

            Xion shrugged as she picked up a cookie and bit into it. “Probably still asleep.”

            “Oh, I’ll wake him up, then.” Sora smiled widely. “I can use my Power of Waking.”

            “Sora,” Riku and Kairi said simultaneously, distaste coloring their tone. The last time Sora used that power didn’t end well and Yensid forbade him from using it again until he gained more responsibility over his powers.

            “What? I’m joking,” he said with a laugh. Riku and Kairi sighed, shaking their heads at the boy who turned on his heel and swept into Roxas’ room, opening the curtains to let in the twilight. He leaned down at his brother’s bedside. “Roxas,” he whispered, moving his hand to touch Roxas’ shoulder.

            Roxas, sensing his presence, muttered his name. “Sora,” he breathed. Sora drew his hand back, waiting for Roxas to open his eyes and sit up, but the boy slept soundly on. Sora chuckled softly and shook his brother’s shoulder.

            Roxas woke with a start, gasping softly. “Sora?” He rubbed his eyes, “What are doing here?” Roxas asked with a smile.

            “Hey, I said we’d talk, didn’t I?” Sora grinned. “We’re here to help with the Heartless!” he said in a voice much too loud for the time of day, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Everyone’s here! And we’re going to have a big sleepover tonight! It’s gonna be great!”

            Riku and Ven walked into the room and sat at the edge of Roxas’ bed. Roxas always felt weird around Ven since the two looked exactly the same, but he had started to get used to it at this point.

            “But, most importantly, the Heartless,” Riku affirmed, always serious. “Yensid said that the Heartless are just residual Darkness from our fight with Xehanort, and if we relock the Keyholes of the worlds that had been opened, things should go back to normal.”

            “We’ve already taken care of most of the worlds,” Ven said, “But there’s still this one and The Caribbean.”

            “You already took care of the other worlds?” Roxas asked, impressed.

            “Well, not all of them fell to Darkness, just a few this time,” Sora said. Roxas was relieved that his gang managed to handle the Darkness themselves and were now here to help him fight the Heartless in Twilight Town. “Once we take care of things here, we’re going to go to the Caribbean.” Sora jumped up off the bed and stuck his fist the air. “I love that world!”

            Roxas rolled his eyes. “You just like being a pirate.”

            At that moment, Aqua knocked on the door and had everyone come out for breakfast. She and Terra went over the itinerary for the day as everyone ate. “Today, we’re going to split up into groups and find the source of the Darkness keeping the Keyhole open,” Aqua said, sitting down at the table with the girls, “I’ll take Roxas, Xion, and Riku. Terra, you take Ven, Sora, and Kairi. Naminé…” The blonde girl looked up from the sketchbook she was drawing in. Poor Naminé wasn’t a Keyblade wielder and had to stay home. “Hold down the fort and don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine.” Naminé, prone to worrying, tried to have faith in Aqua’s words.

            “When you encounter the Heartless, steer them away from the townsfolk, and keep property damage to a minimum,” Terra said, “We’ll set out after breakfast. And after Xion and Ven—uh—Roxas get dressed.” Terra and Aqua, the parents of the group, often mixed up the two boys’ names.

            “Oh, Xion, I almost forgot,” Aqua said, pulling out her gummiphone, “Look at this!” A picture of Aqua in a stunning white gown shone on the screen. Xion grinned.

            “It’s so pretty, Aqua! You’re going to be the most beautiful bride!” Xion said with a giggle.

            “How come everyone else gets to see the dress but me?” Terra complained.

            “Because you’re the groom,” Aqua said, cutting into her waffle, “It’s bad luck.”

            “You don’t really believe in that do you?”

            “I’m not taking any chances!”

Chapter Text

            Roxas, Xion, Aqua, and Riku patrolled the streets of Twilight Town searching for any Heartless that terrorized the streets. The day before had been relatively peaceful after Roxas and Xion took out the Darkside, but with so many Keyblade wielders suddenly appearing in town, the creatures of Darkness were getting antsy. Luckily, all they had to do to get them to leave was lock the Keyhole of Twilight Town. A year ago, Sora found the Keyhole located by the train station, but, after the group arrived there, they found the area to be peaceful and monster free, no Keyhole in sight. They split up, looking for a solution to get the Keyhole to reveal itself.

            “I wonder why we couldn’t get it to come out,” Roxas said as they walked down the road.

            “Well, the last time, Sora found it with a piece of the Struggle trophy,” Xion said, “Maybe we need something like that this time.”

            “Or maybe,” Riku said, resting his fist on his chin, “It’s waiting for us to defeat a certain enemy.”

            “But there weren’t any Heartless by the train station,” Roxas said as they turned a corner of a building.

            “It could be biding its time,” Aqua said, “The monster, I mean.”

            The group trudged through the streets, fighting small hordes of enemies and looking for clues that would help them get the Keyhole to appear. Occasionally they would run into the others who had just as much luck as they did—that is to say none at all.  It seemed like a pointless endeavor, so they headed back to the train station. They had searched all over town but, try as they might, they could not find a way to make the Keyhole appear.

            When they got back to the train station, a few people lingered outside on the veranda or out in the small plaza in front of the building. The group of Keyblade wielders stopped in front of the steps, brainstorming ideas of what to do next for a while.

            Roxas sighed. “This is pointless,” he said, “We need to call Sora. He’s the one who did it last time, so surely he can do it again.”

            “I don’t know,” Riku said, pensive, “He was here with us earlier and nothing happened."

            “Maybe we could use our powers as Keyblade wielders to summon the Keyhole,” Xion said, gesturing vaguely at the group.

            “We could try,” Aqua said, summoning her Keyblade. “Everyone, get in a circle.” They formed a loose circle around each other.

            Roxas stuck his hands out in front of him, searching for the pull of magic inside him. He felt warmth, almost an electricity of sorts, bubble up in his chest right over his heart as he willed his Keyblade into existence. It tickled slightly, but he was used to the sensation. With a flash of light, Oathkeeper and Oblivion materialized in his hands. He pointed his Keyblades into the middle of the circle along with the others, trying to focus his energy on making the Keyhole reveal itself.

            He took a deep breath and glanced at the two masters of the group. Riku’s brows were furrowed as he stared down his Keyblade with an almost angry expression. Aqua looked absolutely serene in comparison, with her eyes closed in concentration. Roxas wondered what they were concentrating on and if he should be concentrating on the same thing. He looked back at the tip of his Keyblade and stood there for a moment.

            “What exactly are we supposed to be focusing on?” he asked.

            Riku sighed. “I don’t know,” he admitted, dismissing his Keyblade. Aqua opened her eyes and lowered her own weapon to the ground.

            “Don’t give up, guys,” she said, “When it appears, you’ll know what to do.”

            “But it’s not appearing,” Roxas said, knitting his brows together and pouting. “I don’t think it’s going to happen.” He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

            “Hey, don’t worry, Roxas,” Xion said, touching his shoulder. He looked at her. “Maybe it just takes a little time, or we have to do something to trigger it, or—” As she spoke, she turned toward him, accidentally knocking her Keyblade into his with a clang.

            This small interaction of the two Keyblades alerted their presence to the Heartless, and a pool of shadow formed in front of the steps to the train station. The people who stood in front of the building fled inside when they saw the beast that rose from the pool. At first, it seemed that a mixture of black and red inky liquid emerged, but began to solidify as it turned toward the Keyblade wielders.  

            Roxas gasped. The Heartless had to be at least 20 feet tall and vaguely humanoid, with long arms and legs. It wore a long red cape with the Heartless emblem on it and had a large collar pointing up, but Roxas paled at its most prominent feature—giant fangs as long as he was tall with a blood-like substance dripping from them.

            The Keyblade wielders immediately sprang into action as the monster spat streams of red gunk at them. Roxas and Xion slashed at his legs and arms, avoiding being kicked or swatted at while Riku and Aqua dealt magic damage, occasionally jumping in and swinging their Keyblade at the monster. Roxas managed to avoid most of the gooey sludge coming from it, but it just barely grazed him on the arm, scorching like fire. He cried out in pain and dropped his Keyblades, gripping his arm as tears stung his eyes.

            “Roxas!” Aqua cried. She rushed to his aid, but the Heartless lunged forward and grabbed the two in either of its hands. Roxas struggled to free himself from its grasp, but the monster gripped him tightly. He tried to breathe normally but could not fully inflate his lungs as the Heartless’ skin seared into him where he wasn’t protected by clothing, scalding the wound on his arm and burning him quicker than Firaga. He grimaced in pain and tried to summon his Keyblades back to him, but the Heartless’ entire hand encased his body.

            It leaned its head toward him and opened its mouth, preparing to bite his head right off, but luckily for Roxas, Xion and Riku were hard at work, slicing into the monster’s legs. Before it could devour them whole, they were dropped unceremoniously as the Heartless cried out in pain and Roxas landed hard on his left foot. The monster took a swipe at Xion, but she back-flipped out of its reach, barely being grazed by its claws. Roxas tried to stumble away but tripped and fell, gripping his ankle.

            He could hardly move his foot without a sharp pain zinging up his leg. He pulled up his pant-leg and saw that his ankle had already started to swell. Roxas grimaced, hoping it wasn’t broken—wishful thinking on his part. 

            The Heartless saw him vulnerable and quickly reached for him again. Roxas gasped and shielded himself with his arms squeezing his eyes shut as he braced himself for the burning touch of its skin. But that touch did not come. He opened his eyes and saw Xion slicing at the monster’s hands with her Keyblade. It pulled away and roared in fury. Xion jumped against the side of the building and launched herself at the monster’s head, darting toward it with dazzling light streaking off her body as she utilized her flow-motion abilities. She brought her weapon across the enemy’s face and it bellowed in pain. As she fell to the ground, she managed to grab hold of a lamp-post before the end of her descent, zipping around it and flying at the monster again, hitting it in the chest. She landed on the ground with bent knees then straightened upright, pointing her Keyblade at the monster.

            “Fire!”

            A firebolt shot out the tip of her Keyblade and hit the Heartless square in the face, sparks exploding all around it, dealing it extra damage. Riku and Aqua, who had been slicing at the monster legs and stomach, were unharmed by the fire attack; the Keyblade knew they were not her target. Xion leaped at the enemy to attack it with her Keyblade again.

            Roxas watched with wide eyes as Xion fought the Heartless. She battled like one of the finest Keyblade wielders he had ever seen, with such strength that he bet she could easily take out hundreds of enemies without breaking a sweat. Not only was she strong, but she fought with such a beauty that he had never noticed before, like some kind of angelic warrior. His heart beat faster in his chest, but it had nothing to do with fear for the monster.  

            “Heal!” shouted a voice behind him. Roxas’ ankle no longer hurt and shrank to its normal size, and the burns on his arms disappeared. He stood and looked behind him, seeing his other friends running up to the scene. “You could’ve waited till we got here to fight the bad guy!” Sora said with a pout.

            “Well, you were too late!” Riku shouted at him from where he stood.

            All the Keyblade wielders encircled the enemy, jumping at it to attack it while also trying to avoid the sludge it spat at them or running into one another. Every so often someone would get hit, but their comrades always came to their aid before they could be seriously hurt. They slowly chipped away at its health with each strike of their Keyblade.

            The monster, now on its knees, could not defend itself as Xion struck it with a finishing blow. It screamed in rage, clawing at the air and disappearing into smoke, as its free heart floated up into the sky.

            Its cape remained suspended in the air and started to glow. Xion shielded her eyes from the bright light as a Keyhole appeared in the air where the cape had been. She felt a tingle inside herself and the hand holding her Keyblade itched; the magical weapon wanted to seal up this world for good.

            You know what to do.

            She closed her eyes for a moment as she took a deep breath and raised her Keyblade, pointing it at the Keyhole. Energy flowed out of her as a beam of white light shot from the tip of her Keyblade and into the Keyhole. The sound of gears turning and a loud click echoed around them as it disappeared. She took another breath.

            “Xion,” Roxas said, putting his hand on her shoulder, “That was amazing.” They smiled warmly at each other. Roxas looked at his hand on her shoulder and withdrew it, turning slightly away from her and rubbing his neck as his cheeks pinkened. Xion’s countenance fell as he turned away from her, and her arms itched to wrap themselves around him. But instead Sora threw his arms around her.

            “Yeah, Xion. You’re so awesome!” he shouted in her ear. She winced and gently pushed Sora away from her. “You sealed the Keyhole!”

            “Sora, you’ve done that dozens of times,” Riku said crossing his arms.

            “Yeah, but Xion never has.” He smiled at her. “You’re a great Keyblade wielder, you know.”

            “Thank you, Sora,” she said.

            “You should have seen her before you got here,” Roxas said, starry eyed. “It was like she was some kind of warrior goddess.” Both he and Xion blushed at his words. “Or something like that,” he said with a wave of his hand, looking away. Kairi and Sora shared a smirking glance behind their backs.

            “Yes,” Aqua agreed, taking the attention off the blushing teens, “It was quite a sight.”

            Xion laughed nervously, self-conscious at the praise. She rubbed her arm and cleared her throat. “Thanks, guys,” she said, eyeing the ground as they began the walk home.

            The gang of Keyblade wielders returned to the apartment for a late lunch, where they met Isa and Naminé again. They were hot and tired from their fight with the Heartless and desperately wanted something to eat, not having eaten anything since breakfast, several hours before.

            “Is anyone else hot in here, or is it just me?” Ventus asked as he closed the front door behind him. He began stripping off layers of his protective garb down to his black turtle neck tank top.

            “Wow, Ven, have you always been so buff?” Xion joked, poking his bicep, which wasn’t huge, but it was more toned than she thought it would be.

            Ven chuckled. “Course I have. You just never noticed,” he said, wagging a finger at her. Roxas looked away, rubbing the back of his neck with a small pout. He didn’t know why the exchange between the two friends bothered him, but it did.

            Aqua and Sora made a big lunch for everyone; Sora wanted to show off the cooking skills he learned from little chef. By himself, the food he cooked was only halfway decent, but with Aqua’s help, they managed to pull off making a batch of perfectly well done croque-monsieurs—delicious French ham and cheese sandwiches.

            As they cooked, Roxas jumped in the shower, wanting time to himself to relax after the fight with the Heartless. He thought about Xion’s battle prowess, a definite force to be reckoned with, as he sang a song that he thought could describe her perfectly.

My girl is superbad, super stacked

Got no time for photographs

Watch out

My girl is superbad, that's a fact

Knock your train right off the track

Watch out

            He sang without inhibitions, momentarily forgetting about the group outside the bathroom door, picturing Xion fighting the Heartless from the train station as he sang his heart out. Maybe the Keyblade didn’t necessarily choose her, but what did it matter when she was so awesome that she could wield one anyway? That alone made her “Superbad.”

She's divine, all the time

And everything she does is always by design

My girl is superbad, that's a fact

Knock your train right off the track

Watch out

            After he showered and changed, lunch was ready. There weren’t enough chairs in the kitchen, so they sat in the living room and watched Horton Hears a Who as they ate. At the conclusion of the film, Xion commented that Roxas and Ven sounded remarkably like Jojo’s voice actor.

            The group chatted about Aqua and Terra’s wedding plans as they cleaned up their meal, and Terra scolded Roxas and Xion for not doing their dishes while Axel had been away. Shortly afterward, Isa said goodbye and went home, leaving his two young friends in the safety of the other Keyblade wielders.  

            As they sat watching the boys play video games, Kairi glanced at the clock which read 8:17. “Oh! Hey, let’s get on our pajamas,” she said, turning to the other two girls with a grin. Panicked expressions bloomed on the boys faces, save for Roxas’, who didn’t yet know about tonight’s strict dress code.

            “We don’t have to do that, do we, Kairi?” Sora said pulling his brows together in a frown as he paused the game.

            “Of course you do,” she declared. “Oh, that reminds me.” She grinned. “We have a present for you, Roxas.” Kairi went into the kitchen and Naminé giggled.

            “Now’s your chance to run, Roxas,” Sora whispered urgently, grabbing his brother’s shoulders.

            “What? Why?” Roxas said.

            “Don’t question us,” Ven said, “just run.”

            Kairi returned with a shopping bag and handed it to Roxas. He pulled out a hot pink tank top and light blue shorts, identical to the gift that Xion had received.

            “Uh, I don’t think this—” Roxas began.

            “You can’t make us do it!” Sora cried, jumping up.

            Kairi and Naminé giggled. “If you love me, you’ll put them on,” Kairi said.

            “I do love you. But at what cost!?” Sora said dramatically, throwing his hands into the air.

            “Oh, come on, guys,” Xion said, “It’s just for fun, right?” She laughed.

            “What do you think, Naminé?” Kairi asked, “Wouldn’t the boys look lovely in these PJs?”

            Naminé blushed and looked at the ground. “Certainly,” she said with a grin, eyes momentarily flickering in Riku’s direction.

            Roxas raised an eyebrow at the girls. He had made a fool of himself in front of Xion many times in the past, but at least he was always sensibly dressed. Hopefully he wouldn’t look too ridiculous in the get-up.

            Aqua then walked into the room, already in uniform, having changed as the kids argued.

            “Aqua!” Sora turned to her for support, “You can’t let them do this to us!”

            Aqua opened her mouth to speak but before she could say anything, Terra’s voice came from the kitchen, “What, are you guys chicken?” He strode boldly into the room, wearing the pink top and blue short-shorts as if they were some kind of regalia.

            “You’ve taken Terra!” Ven cried, abashed.

            “Oh, please,” Aqua said with a grin, “He’s perfectly comfortable in his masculinity.” She folded her arms.

            Riku stood and held his hand out to the older man. “Terra, if this is a hostage situation, blink twice.”

            “We’re getting, married,” Terra said, “I already know it’s a hostage situation.” Aqua laughed, rolling her eyes at the comment.

            “Quit complaining, boys,” Kairi said, ushering them into Roxas’ room, “Go get dressed. We’re dying to see how you all look,” she added with a smirk, closing the door.

            Roxas stared at the clothes in his hand as the other boys unzipped their packs, digging around in them and pulling out the girly pajamas.

            Sora sighed. “Are we really gonna do this?” he said, running a hand through his hair.

            “I’m sure it won’t be that bad,” Ven said with a small grimace, pulling his top over his head. The others weren’t convinced.

            Once dressed, Roxas examined himself in the mirror. The blue shorts showed way too much leg, and bright pink was definitely not his color. He sighed. “I feel like an idiot,” he said. Ven laughed and agreed.

            “Hey! We look the same,” Roxas said, playfully punching Ven on the arm. “You think they’d notice if we switch places and pretend to be each other?” he asked.

            “Aqua and Xion would definitely notice,” Riku said. The boys chuckled and prepared themselves to exit the room.

            They stood staring at the door for a moment. Sora reached for the handle but stopped and pulled his hand away. Roxas’ cheeks turned red at the thought of what Xion would say. She would definitely make fun of him, take several pictures, and then show them to Axel. He gulped and wrapped his fingers around the door handle, ready for the worst.

            “Wait,” Riku said quietly, “I can’t go out there.” Roxas looked at him, despair plain on the older boy’s face.

            “Don’t worry, Riku,” Sora said, “We’re all going together, so…it won’t be as bad.” Roxas tried to believe him.

            “No, you don’t understand,” his voice dropped to a whisper, “I can’t let Naminé see me like this.” He gestured to himself. “She’ll laugh at me.”

            “They all will,” Roxas said as if that should have been obvious.

            “Look,” Riku said, gripping Roxas’ shoulders, “I like to keep up a kind of ‘bad boy’ persona around the ladies—”

            “Ha!” Sora interjected.

             “And I cannot let Naminé see me like this.” Fear shone in Riku’s eyes.

            Roxas stared at him for a moment. “Sucks to be you, I guess,” he said without sympathy and threw open his bedroom door, grinning and pulling Riku by the arm into the living room.

            “Roxas!” Riku seemed upset, but Roxas thought he needed to get out of his comfort zone a little. And he just wanted to mess with him. The other two boys followed reluctantly behind.

            Roxas heard a gasp then a shriek of laughter. He thought he should apologize to Riku as Xion stood laughing her head off at the group of boys, wearing clothes identical to theirs.

            “Oh my gosh, guys!” she cried, running back into her room to get the other two girls, “Come look at them!” Roxas shifted uncomfortably, wishing his shorts were a little bit longer.

            “Lookin’ good, guys,” Aqua said as she came out of the kitchen, holding a mixing bowl full of popcorn. Suddenly, Kairi and Naminé burst through the door of Xion’s room, grinning widely. Riku jumped to hide behind Roxas and Sora, pulling the two boys closer together to shield himself. When the girls saw them, they laughed just as hard as Xion had. Kairi sunk to the floor wheezing, and Naminé doubled over, laughing into her hand as she held her middle with the other. The boys quickly exited their line of sight and sat on the floor in the living room. Terra sat down next to them.

            “Why are we doing this?” Sora said unhappily as the girls struggled to collect themselves.

            “Because,” Terra said quietly, “It makes our ladies happy. Remember that, guys,” he said, looking each one of them in the eye.

            “Is it worth it?” Riku asked.

            “Yes, it is,” Terra affirmed.  

            Aqua directed the girls to help her bring some things into the other room as Terra turned off the video game they had been playing before. The girls returned, holding all manner of sugary snacks and junk food that Aqua and Terra had bought that morning, including several boxes of sea salt ice cream pops. They set the snacks in the middle of the circle the boys formed and squeezed themselves beside them, Kairi and Aqua between Terra and Ven, Xion in between Ven and Roxas, and Naminé between Sora and Riku. So much visible male leg made Roxas grimace slightly as he gazed about the group.

            Aqua seemed to be thinking along similar lines and said, “No judgments, but I haven’t shaved my legs in a few days.” The girls laughed as Sora glanced down at her legs.

            “Hey!” he said in surprise, pointing across Terra, “Your leg-hair is blue! I always thought you dyed your hair.”

            “Nope,” Aqua said, biting into a snack cake. “People from my home town all have crazy hair colors. Well, they’re not crazy to me, but you guys would think so,” she said around the food in her mouth, “Blond and brown hair is quite exotic, actually.”

            “Ya hear that, Xion? I’m exotic,” Roxas said to her.

            “If you insist,” she said with a roll of her eyes and a flash of a smile that made Roxas momentarily light-headed.  

            “Okay,” Kairi said, cutting off their conversation, “We should play some fun games. Let’s start with ‘Would You Rather.’ We can go around in a circle,” she moved her finger around the group in a clockwise motion, “and pick who we want to answer our question.”

            “I want to go first,” Sora said, raising his hand in the air. The others allowed him the first round. “Okay, Ventus,” he said, turning to the boy sitting across from him. “Would you rather… eat a spider or a lizard?” Roxas rose an eyebrow at Sora’s lack of creativity.

            “Probably a lizard,” Ven said.

            “That’s not even a good question, Sora,” Roxas cut in.

            “Hey, I couldn’t think of anything good!” Sora sheepishly rubbed his neck.

            “You wanted to go first,” Riku said as Sora ran a hand through his hair with a smile. Everyone laughed and turned to Naminé who sat to Sora’s left.

            “Um, Aqua, if something horrible happened to Terra—”

            “Like what?” the older man said with wide eyes.

            Naminé continued, “Would you rather marry Ven or Terra’s dead corpse?”

            Sounds of mild disgust came from the group. Aqua laughed and said, “Maybe Ven. He would be less horrifying.”

            “Oh, thanks, Aqua,” Ven said.

            For Riku’s turn, he asked Kairi if she would rather lose her sight or lose her hearing.

            “Probably hearing, so I don’t have to listen to you guys complain all the time,” she said, teasing Sora and Riku.

            “Wow,” Sora said. She giggled, innocently batting her eyelashes. Everyone turned to Roxas.

            “Hmm, Xion…” He turned to the girl next to him. Roxas tried to think of a question both funny and embarrassing, payback for having to wear his current outfit. “Would you rather never shower for the rest of your life or have to wear a diaper for the rest of your life?”

            She laughed. “Probably a diaper, ’cause no one would know.” She turned to Sora to ask her question. “Okay, Sora,” she said, pinning him with her gaze, “would you rather find out you were Xehanort’s son, or…” she smirked, “find out you’re his boyfriend?”

            “What?!” he said with wide eyes as his friends exploded into laughter. “Um, well, his son, I guess, but neither.”  

            Ven asked Terra if he would dress in drag or a dragon costume for his wedding. Terra chose the dragon costume. Then all eyes were on Kairi.

            She put her fist up to her mouth, thinking. Then she smiled and turned to Xion. “Speaking of weddings, Xion, if you could marry Terra or Riku, who would you choose?”

            Xion blushed slightly and giggled behind her hand. “Well, I feel like Aqua would kill me if I stole Terra away from her.” Aqua agreed. “But Riku has beaten me up before.”

            “Hey! I said I was sorry about that,” Riku said, scandalized.

            “Okay, yeah, you’re right. Since you apologized, and since I’m kind of scared of Aqua, I’ll go with Riku.”

            At her words, Roxas felt something settle in the pit of his stomach, a feeling that he couldn’t name, similar to what he felt when Xion gave Ven’s arm muscles her attention earlier. He didn’t like it.

            Roxas glanced at the boy sitting next to him. Riku? Was that really her choice? Roxas could recall quite clearly holding her hand the day before. What did she see in Riku? Roxas quickly reminded himself that he wasn’t one of the choices, trying to avoid souring his mood.

            “Roxas,” Aqua said, pulling him out of his thoughts, “Same question.”

            “What?” he said.

            “Would you rather marry Terra or Riku?”

            “Oh,” Roxas laughed at the odd question. “Well, I’m not really into guys,” he began as he ran his fingers through his hair, wanting to make that point clear, “But if I had to pick one, let’s see, Riku has beaten me up too, and Terra is big and strong and can protect me, so I’m going with Terra.” He turned to Ven. “I’m your new dad now, kid,” he said, poking fun at the paternal relationship Aqua and Terra had with Ven.

            Ven made a face and looked at Aqua. “Mom, can I live with you?” he said. Everyone laughed.

            Terra asked Naminé if she’d rather die from too much chocolate or become a daredevil and go out in a blaze of glory. She chose the chocolate. They continued on like this for some time, eating themselves sick on the junk food. After a while, they put on Mario Party to play, each taking turns with the controllers.

            As Roxas struggled to beat Sora, Aqua, and Ven in a mini-game, he heard his gummiphone ring in his room.

            “Oh, no!” he cried in faux panic. “Here, win this for me,” he said, quickly passing his controller to Naminé and jumping up.

            “No promises,” she said with a chuckle.

            Roxas ran to his room to answer his phone, seeing Axel’s caller ID. He grinned and picked up. Axel’s face appeared on screen. “Hey, Axel, what’s up?”

            “Just checking to see if you’re doing all right without me,” Axel said.

            “Oh, yeah, totally,” Roxas said, stepping out into the living room again, “Xion totally showed that Heartless who’s boss.” He sat on the couch next to Sora.

            “Well, that’s good to hear,” Axel said with a smile.

            “Hi, Axel,” Sora said, leaning over Roxas’ shoulder, jostling him so that Axel saw their attire more clearly. His face changed from joyous to confused.

            “Why are you two dressed like that?” he asked.

            Roxas sighed and turned the camera around. “The girls made us do it,” he said, panning over the group, before flipping it back to his face.

            Axel guffawed. “You guys actually agreed to this?!”

            Xion sat up on her knees from her place next to the couch on the floor. She grabbed Roxas’ wrist and pulled the phone towards her face, resting her forearm on his thigh. His heart skipped a beat and his face felt hot.  

            “They had no choice, Axel,” she said with a grin, “And we have an outfit for you, too.”

            “I’m flattered that you ladies thought of me, but please leave me out of this,” Axel said, raising an eyebrow.

            “Not a chance!” Kairi said with a laugh.

            “Axel,” Xion said, taking Roxas’ phone out of his hand, “When are you getting back? You’ve been gone forever.”

            “Yeah, Axel,” Roxas said over Xion’s shoulder, “We miss you!” He stuck his bottom lip out, trying to look like a sad puppy. Axel rolled his eyes. Several other members of the group also said they missed Axel with varying degrees of tragedy. Axel told them that he would thankfully be returning the next morning before they left for school. After telling them so, he had to say goodbye. They hung up and Roxas turned his attention back to the group.  

            Shortly after the game of Mario Party, they deemed the night late enough that they could retreat into the bedrooms to get ready for bed, or, as Kairi referred to it, to get to the good stuff, the conversations that couldn’t be had in front of the opposite gender. Before they retired for the night, however, Aqua laid out some ground rules.

            The older girl stood before them with her hands on her hips and said, “Kairi, Naminé, you’re in Xion’s room. Boys you’re in Roxas’ room. Girls, no going into the boy’s room, and boys,” she pointed a threatening finger at them, “do not go into the girl’s room. If you break that rule, the consequences will be incredibly severe.”

            Terra piped up from the couch, “Axel gave us permission to break your kneecaps if there’s any funny business going on.” Xion cocked her head. Roxas said Axel had planned to break his kneecaps. Were the two threats related? Her eyes flickered to Roxas but he had looked over at her at the same moment. They caught each other’s eye and quickly looked away. Xion’s face warmed. 

            Aqua released them and the girls retreated into Xion’s room.

            “Do you think we can all fit on your bed?” Kairi asked. “It is a queen size.”

            “I’m ok with it,” Xion said and Naminé agreed.

            Kairi plugged her gummiphone into the dock on Xion’s dresser and turned her music up to a volume that Xion didn’t think her downstairs neighbor would appreciate at this time of night. Kairi said it would protect sensitive information when Xion asked about the music.

            “So,” Kairi began brightly as the girls hopped onto the bed, “now that the boys are out of the room…”

            “We can talk about them?” Naminé asked.

            “Obviously.” Kairi turned to Xion. “You know Sora and I are totally perfect together and all that, but,” she raised an eyebrow, “I want to know about you and Roxas.” She ended in a low voice.

            Xion took a deep breath. “Me and Roxas…” Just saying their names together sent a shiver down her spine. She giggled. “Well…” she told the two girls the events from the past two days from slow dancing to cuddling at the movies. She left out no detail, sending Kairi and Naminé into fits of girlish delight.

            “Riku said that prom is coming up for you guys,” Naminé said, “Are you two going together?”

            Xion’s face fell and she shook her head. “Another girl asked him last night, and he said yes.” Her eyes stung as tears began to prickle up.

            Naminé and Kairi stared at her in shock for a moment. But Kairi recover quickly.

            “What?” she said as her face transformed into a look of indignation. Naminé, too, looked almost offended. “Are you serious?” Kairi continued, “He said yes to another girl?” Xion shushed her as her voice rose in volume and octave. “Why?” Kairi said in a fierce whisper. Xion admitted that she didn’t know. Kairi scoffed. “Who even is this girl? She can go by herself, but you have to go with Roxas!”

            Xion sighed. “It’s too late now, I guess.”

            “Who are you going to go with?” Naminé asked.

            Xion shook her head. “I don’t know.” She leaned back on her pillow as her friends tried to offer her supportive words, but Xion didn’t want to be consoled right now. She blinked, her vision blurring with tears as she thought about Roxas and Iris slow dancing at prom. She sniffled and took a sharp breath. What if they kissed during their magical slow dance? Xion turned her face into her pillow and began to sob.

            Kairi and Naminé looked at each other in dismay, surprised at Xion’s sudden breakdown. They increased the intensity of their words of affirmation as they rubbed Xion’s back, telling her how beautiful and amazing she was and that Roxas wasn’t worth her time. Xion shook her head and screamed into her pillow that “yes, he is worth my time,” grateful that Kairi had turned up the music so loud that the boys couldn’t hear her. The two girls said nothing more after that and let Xion cry herself out for about a minute until she quieted. She sat still for a little while longer, sniffling.  

            When all her tears were exhausted, Xion sat up and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry guys, I got kind of emotional just then,” she said, wiping her eyes.

            Naminé rubbed Xion’s arm. “It’s okay, it happens to me all the time,” the former Nobody said. She, too experienced powerful emotions from time to time that she still had to get used to.  

            “Enough about me,” Xion said wanting to no longer be the focus of the conversation. She ran her fingers through her hair as she turned to Naminé. “Tell us about you and Riku.”

            Naminé blushed bashfully, struggling to meet the eyes of the other two. She smiled. “Well, we’re not anything official yet, but I think it’s going somewhere.” She looked back up with a wistful expression. “He so sweet to me; always has been. Sometimes we hold hands while walking around Radiant Garden during his visits.” Kairi squealed and Xion giggled as she clasped her hands together.

            Naminé smiled again but furrowed her brow. “I can tell he’s being careful though. He said he wanted to respect his replica’s wishes.” The replica Vexen made of Riku at Castle Oblivion had fallen in love with Naminé, and she grew attached to him as well (as a Nobody, she was incapable of truly loving him back), and he had asked Riku to take care of her when he died. “I keep telling him that I’m over his replica, but…I don’t know.” Her shoulders slumped. The other two girls looked at each other. They knew that Naminé had most wanted to see the Riku Replica when she first awoke in her new body.

            “Well,” Kairi said, “You have room in your heart for the real Riku, too.” Xion nodded. Naminé smiled, admitting that they were right.

            “What did you guys do on his last visit?” Xion asked.

            “We went swimming in the lake near town.” Naminé’s face turned red. “He’s so muscular,” she said in a whisper, pressing her hands to her face. The other two laughed. “I got to see his tattoo.”

            Xion’s eyes widened. “Riku has a tattoo?”

            Meanwhile in the boy’s room, they were similarly chatting about their romance woes under the cover of music just as loud as the girls’. Riku and Ven sat on the floor in front of the dresser and Roxas lied on his stomach on the bed as Sora reclined against his brother’s pillows. Roxas told them all about the past weekend, going into more detail than he did with Hayner and Pence. The three boys expressed their sympathy about Roxas not going to prom with the girl he wanted.

            “That sucks, dude,” Riku said, lying back on his blanket. “Sometimes I see Naminé talking to Ienzo, and I think she might be going for him.” He chuckled.

            “How are things between you guys?” Roxas asked.

            Riku shrugged. “Good, I guess. I don’t know if she’s as invested in the relationship as I am, though. I think she might still be hung up on my replica.”

            “Your replica?” Ven asked with furrowed brows. Riku briefly described the events that happened in Castle Oblivion and the relationship his replica had had with Naminé.

            “Well, he’s dead now, isn’t he?” Roxas said, “You’re like her shoulder to cry on.”

            Riku sighed. “I wish it were that simple.”

            “Don’t worry, Riku,” Roxas said, “Naminé just takes a little time opening up.”

            “But we’ve known each other for so long. We spent so much time together while Sora was in that sleep pod.”

            Roxas looked at him with sympathy and said, “Maybe it’s different when she’s trying to be romantic.” In truth, Roxas had no idea how Naminé acted romantically. He had gotten close to her just before he rejoined Sora, but not that close.

            Before Riku could answer, the boys heard a knock on the door and it cracked open. “Can we come in?” Kairi said.

            “Hey you’re not allowed in here,” Riku scolded playfully.

            Kairi opened the door and poked her head in. “Xion wanted to see your tattoo,” she said, looking at Riku. She walked into the room followed by a grinning Naminé and Xion, whose eyes looked slightly red. Had she been crying?

            “Oh, you were talking about my tattoo, were you?” Riku said raising an eyebrow. “How did that topic come up in conversation?”

            “I want to see it,” Xion said before anyone could answer his question. Riku shrugged and stood up. He turned around and pulled the back of his tank top up to his neck. A large black Dream Eater emblem adorned his entire back.

            “Nice,” Xion said with a laugh, “Did it hurt?” She reached out and poked the tattoo with her finger. An uncomfortable feeling shot through Roxas’ chest, the same thing he felt earlier when she chose to marry Riku in their game of “Would You Rather,” only this time it struck him with such force that his breath caught in his throat.

            Ever since Roxas started learning how to properly handle his new emotions, he would occasionally feel something he couldn’t understand. This particular feeling came once before, when Roxas had lost a struggle match to Hayner. Of course he was happy for his friend, but he had still felt rather dejected and annoyed at the same time. Sora told him that he had experienced jealousy.

            Jealousy? Is that what I’m feeling? Roxas knew that Xion didn’t see Riku romantically. But he could be wrong. Roxas tried to maintain a neutral expression as his inner thoughts spiraled downward. He tried reining them in, reminding himself about how they had danced and how she put her hand on his knee when they cuddled at the movie theater. Roxas didn’t think she would let Riku cuddle with her.  

            “A little bit, but not that much,” Riku said.

            Roxas scoffed internally. He’s totally lying.

            Xion seemed to be mirroring his thoughts. “Oh, yeah, right. I’m sure,” she said sarcastically as Riku turned to face them, pulling his tank top down. The girls giggled as Aqua’s voice sounded from outside the room.

            “Hey, what are girls doing in there?” she admonished, walking into the room full of teens.

            “Xion wanted to see Riku’s tattoo,” Kairi said. Aqua’s eyes filled with alarm.

            “His tattoo where?!” Aqua seemed more than a little concerned to hear this news. Riku rolled his eyes at her as the boys laughed.

            “His back,” Kairi said.

            Aqua frowned. “No. no, no. Too much skin,” She began to usher the girls out the door. “Everyone out and back into your room.”

            Roxas wanted to thank Aqua for getting Xion out of this potentially flirtatious situation. Not that Riku would flirt with another girl in front of Naminé, or flirt with another girl period, but Roxas wanted to make sure Xion’s eyes didn’t wander away from him. Roxas stared at the floor, surprised by his own possessiveness. He reminded himself that whoever Xion chose to date was her own business. That didn’t mean he had to like, though.

            Aqua ordered them to go to sleep, and Roxas kicked Sora off his bed. Even though they turned the light and their music off, they stayed up for a few more hours, and spoke in hushed whispers. Roxas and Riku lamented about the ladies in their lives, asking Sora for any advice he could offer. Ven occasionally gave words of encouragement, but had never had a girlfriend, so he wasn’t really qualified to give any advice. Instead, Sora, Riku, and Roxas tried to give him tips on how to pick up girls. Ven just scoffed at their suggestions.

            “Come on, Ven, there’s no one you like?” Sora asked.

            “Well…I used to know a girl,” he said slowly, “She was shy and sweet and had long, red hair…”

            “What was her name?” The only answer the other three received was Ven’s even, deep breaths. He had fallen asleep.

            At about 2:30 in the morning, the last boy awake finally lost himself to his dreams.

Chapter Text

            When Roxas awoke the next day, he was dead on his feet. Staying up past two really did a number on his sleep schedule and he could barely concentrate on his toast as he ate the breakfast that Aqua had set in front of him. He and the other three boys, against their better judgement, had stayed up for hours talking, and now Roxas had to pay the price for it. Riku looked just as tired, but decided to wake up early when Roxas had for breakfast. Their other friends were still passed out as Aqua and Terra made breakfast, the only two who had a full night’s sleep. Roxas envied their bright-eye-and-bushy-tails demeanors.

            He rubbed his own eyes and yawned. How could he go to school like this? He hoped his teachers wouldn’t mind if slept in class. Even Axel’s return barely managed to perk up the drowsy boy. He greeted the group much too loudly for Roxas’ liking, asking Aqua and Terra how things went the night before.

            “Hopefully everyone’s kneecaps are still intact,” he said with a single laugh, resting his hands on Roxas’ and Riku’s shoulders. Roxas, too tired to even blush, swatted his hand away. He took a bite of his toast, but didn’t bother chewing as he laid his head on the table.

            “What’s wrong, Roxas?” Axel bent down and poked Roxas’ knee. “How are these things holding up?”

            “I’m tired,” Roxas said around his toast. Axel raised an eyebrow.

            “Oh, really? And why is that?” he said, implication heavy in his voice.

            “We all stayed up late, talking,” Riku said. He took a drink from the glass of milk that Aqua had given him.

            “Oh, I see.” Axel stood up straight and patted them on the shoulders. “Cute outfits, by the way.” He dragged his suitcases down the hall into his bedroom.

            Roxas heard the door behind him squeak open and someone walk into the kitchen. He lifted his head off the table to see Naminé wearing one of Xion’s hoodies grab a plate and scoop herself some eggs, then get a bottle of maple syrup out of the fridge. She sat down next to him.

            “Morning, Naminé,” Riku said with a sleepy smile, resting his chin in his hand.

            “Morning, sleepy head,” she said, smiling back at him as she poured syrup on her eggs. Riku took a breath to say something else, but Roxas cut in.

            “Is Xion still asleep?” he said, still not having swallowed the toast in his mouth.

            “Well, her alarm went off, but I don’t think she’s fully awake yet,” Naminé replied.

            “I’ll wake them up,” Aqua said. She knocked on the door, shouting brightly at the girls to awaken and Roxas heard groans and complaints coming from the room. He looked back at the door as Aqua moved on the other room, ready to ruin Sora’s and Ven’s morning before it even began. She left it wide open, so Roxas deemed it safe enough to approach. He stood slowly from his chair and walked into the doorway of Xion’s room, resting his forearm above his head on the door frame and swallowed the toast in his mouth.

            “Xion,” he said quietly to the lump in the bed. The comforter shifted and Xion poked her head up. She stared at him for a moment before a small grin spread on her face. She blinked slowly and giggled.

            “You just look so good in that outfit,” she joked, shaking her head. Roxas grinned and rested his forehead on his arm on the doorframe.

            “Thanks,” he said.

            “Do I look good, Xion?” Sora came up behind Roxas and slid his arms around his Nobody’s waist, resting his chin on his shoulder.

            “Yes, of course you do, Sora,” Xion said with a laugh.

            “Sora, quit being gay,” Roxas said, removing the other boy’s arms and stepping back into the kitchen. He sat down at the kitchen table and continued to eat.

            “If you insist,” Sora said with a yawn, grabbing a plate of food for himself.

            Xion and Kairi finally came out of the bedroom for breakfast a few minutes later, and Xion wore her black robe over her colorful pajamas. They grabbed some of the eggs from the stove and sat on the countertop to eat.

            As Axel came from the back bedroom, he told Roxas and Xion that they had to tell their teachers they would be out of class for a few days as dealing with the Heartless in the Caribbean would take some time. Roxas could tell that Sora was more than a little excited for the trip, and he began to share the many adventures he had had there as they all ate. The way he described it woke Roxas up more fully and he looked forward to having some more adventures of his own in another world, missing that aspect of being a Keyblade wielder.

            After breakfast, he went into his room to get ready, nudging a still sleeping Ven with his foot. “Ven, wake up.” Ven groaned and ignored him, so Roxas got dressed into his school uniform, not caring how much noise he made. He slid his headphones around his neck and walked out into the front room where Xion waited for him, saying farewell to their friends. Axel stopped the two before they could leave.

            “Let’s meet at the clock tower for lunch, okay, guys?” he said, and Roxas and Xion happily agreed. Axel sighed and said, “I just got home and you already have to leave for school. Make sure to tell me all about your weekend.”

            The two met their friends in front of the school when they got there, telling them about the epic fight with the Heartless from the previous day. As Xion and Olette parted ways with the boys to head for math class, Xion told her about Roxas’ date to prom. Luckily, she managed to not burst into tears this time, but felt a heavy weight settled in her stomach as she told Olette about it. Olette’s face morphed into an expression of deep sympathy.

            “I’m sorry you couldn’t go with him, Xion,” she said. “Maybe next year.”

            “That’s too far away,” Xion muttered with a shake of her head. They entered the classroom and sat in their seats. Xion rummaged through her bag, looking for the textbook that was not there and said, “Oh, I think I left my book in my locker. I’ll be right back.” She grabbed her bag, stood from her desk and exited the room, making her way to her locker a few halls away. As she took her book out and bent down to slip it in her bag that she had set on the floor, a pair of shoes entered her vision. She stood up to find Noctis standing next to her.

            “Hi, Xion,” he said, regarding her with an anxious look on his face.

            Xion smiled at him. “Hi, Noctis, how’s it going?”

            “Oh, good, good.” He gulped and ran a hand through his hair, settling it on his neck. “Um, I was wondering…” He took his hand from his neck and stared ringing it with the other hand as he cleared his throat. “Well, see, I’m going with this big group to prom, and Roxas is in it and I know you two are good friends, and I heard that you didn’t have a date yet,” Xion rose a confused eyebrow and fiddled with her tie that Roxas had once tied for her and had never been untied as Noctis rambled on, “So I thought that I might ask if you wanted to go with me since I don’t have a date either.” Xion’s other brow joined the first one on her forehead. “So…would you like to go to prom with me?” He looked hopeful. “I mean just as friends,” he quickly added, “Since you probably don’t see me like that anyway.” He chuckled nervously.

            Xion knew she could do worse. She could definitely do worse than Noctis, the prince of the school. He was attractive, athletic, and intelligent. Any girl would be lucky to go to prom with him. Having Roxas in her group but not with her would hurt, but she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go out with the guy who was bound to be prom king. Xion smiled.

            “I would love to go with you.”

            Noctis’ eyebrows shot up at the pleasant news. “Really? Wow, that’s great.” He smiled the first smile Xion had ever seen from him, “I have to go to class now, but maybe we should exchange numbers, you know, just in case something comes up.” Xion agreed and entered her contact information into his phone.

            She walked back to her class feeling much lighter than she had before. It sucked not being able to go to prom with Roxas, but Noctis asking her had given her self-esteem a major boost. As she told Olette what happened, she thought that maybe prom wouldn’t be so bad after all.

            Meanwhile Roxas told Hayner and Pence about his prom date before they left for their separate classes. Hayner couldn’t believe that Roxas had said yes to Iris. Pence only sighed.

            “Have you guys asked anyone yet?” Roxas said.

            “Well…” Hayner rubbed the back of his neck. “I asked Olette to go with me,” he said not looking at the other two boys. Roxas’ eyebrows rose and he grabbed Hayner’s arm.

            “Are you serious?” he said with a hoot of laughter, “What did she say?”

            “Well, she said yes, but it’s just a friend thing, ya know?”

            Roxas smirked. “Oh, I’m sure,” he said.

            When they asked Pence, he said a girl had offered to go with him in exchange for him tutoring her in math. Roxas frowned. Pence deserved to go with someone who he actually wanted to be with, not someone who felt obligated or like she needed to be nice. Roxas’ thoughts turned to his own situation and he realized his own hypocrisy.  

            It’s true; Roxas only said yes to Iris to be nice. It wasn’t fair to either of them, but he couldn’t change anything at that point. She wasn’t his first choice, and that seriously bummed him out, but he knew that he wasn’t her first choice either. Perhaps they were both to blame for this. He didn’t know if he wanted to even see her that day, but, unfortunately, they had first period together.

            As he took his seat next to Pence in English, she skipped up to him with a huge smile on her face. Roxas sat and listened with his chin on his fist, staring at the wall as she rattled off the plans for prom night. Apparently, her parents were renting a giant limo for the group and were letting them have a little after party at their house.

            “It’s going to be so much fun!” she said in delight, “We’ll stop by and pick you and Xion up after getting Prompto and Cindy. Noct said that he wanted to pick up Xion personally, but the boys convinced him to go with the group.” That pulled Roxas up short, and a look of astonishment crossed his face.

            He quickly turned to her and said, “Wait, Noctis and Xion are going together?”

            “Yeah, Prompto got him to ask her, and I just heard them talking in the hall a minute ago.” Iris gave a small smile but looked away from him, hugging her arms and taking a short breath.

            Before Roxas could respond, his teacher called for the class’s attention and began the lecture. He struggled to keep his eyes open as his teacher’s monotonous voice droned on and on and on. Still fatigued from staying up so late, he had to force himself to stay awake. After fighting off his drowsiness for an hour, the bell thankfully rang. He slipped on his headphones as he walked through the hall with Pence, blasting a rock song to hopefully keep himself awake. When he met with Xion to go to history, he slid a speaker off one of his ears.

            “Hey, I heard you’re going to prom with Noctis,” he said, hoping he wasn’t frowning. Xion nodded, not meeting his eyes.

            “Yup, he just asked me,” was all she said.

            “Hmm,” Roxas replied. He didn’t want to hear any more about it, so he slid his headphone back on and they walked to class in silence. When he sat down at his desk, a slow song came on his gummiphone and he blinked slowly, resting his head down on his arms. His eyes slid closed.

            When Roxas opened his eyes, he saw waves lapping lazily against a sea shore. He shielded his eyes from the bright sun over his head and looked around. He sat alone on the beach of Destiny Islands, feeling the grit of the warm sand against his legs and the cool breeze on his cheek that made the palm trees sway. He sighed contentedly, breathing in the salty scent of the ocean and closing his eyes against the warm rays of the sun.

            Roxas heard a splashing sound and looked back at the surf. Xion rose slowly from the waves, brushing water out of her face, and walked up to where he sat. She wore a long flowy black dress, soaked with water, as was her hair. She said nothing but smiled, sitting down next to him. He smiled back at her and put his arm around her shoulders. They stared at the calm sea for a moment, letting the sun warm their backs and listening to the waves crashing against the beach.  

            "Roxas,” Xion said gently. He turned to her and giggled, happy to be with her. They gazed at each other for a moment and Xion’s eyes flickered to his lips.  She leaned into him with a small smile and closed her eyes. Roxas’ eyes widened and his heart beat faster in his chest. He swallowed and took a breath to calm his nerves, preparing for the soft brush of her lips on his. When they were mere inches from each other, someone tapped his arm.

            Roxas’ head shot off his desk and he gasped softly, looking around the room, disoriented. He slipped his headphones off his head. Everyone stared at him and a few people wore smirks.

            “What’s going on?” he asked, confused.

            “Don’t fall asleep in class, Roxas,” his teacher scolded, “And turn down your music. You’re going to ruin your ears.” Xion giggled, sparing a glance at him as he apologized. Roxas blushed furiously as their teacher continued roll-call and sat low in his desk, trying to look inconspicuous for the rest of the period.

            When they met Axel on the clock tower later, he produced three sea salt ice creams for them to eat with their lunch. When he asked them about their weekend, they told him about the Heartless they fought over the past two days.

            “What did you do aside from fight Heartless?” he said with a wave of his hand, taking a bite out of his ice cream. Roxas hoped the red sunset hid is blush, thinking of his time spent alone with Xion.

            “Well,” Xion said, “on Saturday, I went shopping with Olette, and Roxas went to see a struggle match with Hayner and Pence. Then after we fought the Heartless, we went to see a movie and ate at the Bistro.”

            Axel smirked. “Just you two or all five of you?”

            “Just the two of us,” Xion said quietly.

            “Oh, I see,” he said.

            Roxas glanced at Axel, rolling his eyes at the knowing grin the older man gave him, and asked him what he did that weekend.

            Axel said that he had been in and out of meetings and conferences all day, but still tried (unsuccessfully) to flirt with the conference organizers. Roxas and Xion laughed at his failed attempts as he told them various stories of what happened over the past few days. Roxas laughed particularly hard when he told them about how one woman threw a drink in his face at his cheesy pickup line during cocktail hour. She turned out to be his boss’s wife.

            “You are absolutely hopeless when it comes to women!” Roxas said, chuckling.

            “Hey, I’m just a little out of practice,” Axel said, “I went a decade without a heart, remember?”

            “Maybe we could give you some tips,” Xion said, looking over at him with a grin, waving her ice cream at him. Axel rolled his eyes at the youngsters and scoffed.

            “All you got to do,” Roxas said, holding his hands out, pinching his ice cream stick between his finger and thumb, “Is carefully scope out your prey, perform your perfectly choreographed mating dance, and when you have her in your grasp, you strike!” He jabbed his ice cream out in front of him, but it slipped from his grasp and tumbled to the ground, a few hundred feet below them. He cried out in anguish. “My ice cream!” he said, reaching out to it. Axel and Xion roared with laughter at the look of distress on his face as he watched his beloved ice cream hit the concrete in front the train station entrance.

            “Here,” Xion said, “You can have a bite of mine.” She offered him her half-eaten ice cream. Rather than taking it out of her hand, he leaned over and ate some off the top, wrapping his fingers around hers to steady them, and smiling at her as he pulled away. Xion bit off the part that Roxas had just eaten and took a deep breath. Roxas glanced back at Axel who smirked at the exchange. The boy blushed and stared back at the sunset. They chatted until Roxas and Xion had to leave.

            Back at school, Roxas made sure to tell his teachers that he would be gone for a few days on “family business.” Only his choir teacher, Ms. Heartilly, had a problem with it.

            “Roxas, the Midnight Festival is next week, you need to practice as much as you can for your solo,” she said with a frown, “Even a few days off would be a detriment to your progress.”

            The Midnight Festival happened once a year in Twilight Town, when the sun finally dipped below the horizon for a complete 48 hours, and Twilight High often performed several musical numbers and plays put on by the drama kids. They always scheduled prom during the time of darkness to celebrate it, about 24 hours after the festival.

            Roxas would be performing a solo with his guitar, accompanied by a cellist from the orchestra, and Ms. Heartilly had been working with him during free period for the past few weeks when he didn’t have piano lessons.

            “I’ll be sure to practice while I’m gone,” Roxas said, 100% certain that that wouldn’t be the case. His teacher seemed unsure, but wished him luck with his “family business.”

            Xion also made sure to let her teachers know that she would absent for a few days. Her physics teacher was even less understanding than Ms. Heartilly, reminding her that she had a quiz the next day as well as several papers to turn in. His conversation with her turned into a rant directed toward the whole class about how students shouldn’t slack off just because they want to go on a family vacation. Xion stood at his desk by the front of the room as he talked, unsure if she should sit down as her cheeks turned pink from embarrassment. He told Xion that she would be receiving half credit on all the assignments she missed and she took that as her cue to sit down in her seat. Iris, her lab partner, looked at her with sympathy and whispered a few consolidating words. Xion nodded but didn’t meet her eye.

            As their teacher lectured on, Xion gave sideways glances at the girl Roxas would be taking to prom. Xion had to admit that Iris was absolutely adorable. She was cute and quirky—even her handwriting was that flowery, loopy thing that all the cutest girls seemed to have. In comparison, Xion had a plain, average scrawl. She scowled slightly, watching Iris dot her I’s with hearts. Yes, Iris was cute, but could she be cute enough to tempt Roxas?

            When their teacher allowed them time to work on their assignment, Iris turned to Xion.

            “Hey, Xion,” she said, “What’s Roxas’ favorite color? I want to get the same color dress for prom.” She smiled.

            “Blue,” Xion said. The same color as sea salt ice cream.

            “Blue,” Iris repeated, “Cool.” They worked on their assignment for a few minutes more before Iris said, “I heard you’re going with Noct.” Xion nodded and hummed in affirmation. “So lucky. He’s absolutely gorgeous,” Iris said with a giggle. She stared off into space for a moment, fiddling with her pencil. Xion rose an eyebrow. Perhaps Iris wasn’t intending to steal Roxas away from her if the mere mention of Noctis had her daydreaming. Iris snapped back to reality and said, “His favorite color is black, by the way.”

            “Oh, ok. Thanks,” Xion said, planning to wear a completely different color. They spent the rest of the class in silence as Xion waited for the final bell to ring.

            When she met back up with her friends, she had to force herself to keep her expressions toward Roxas neutral. It wouldn’t do to be longingly gazing at someone else’s prom date, especially since she now had a date to prom as well. The tram ride home seemed painfully longer than usual.

            When they arrived home, they were welcomed by a scene of complete frenzy. Their friends were garbed in their protective garments, checking to make sure their Keyblades were properly powered up while Sora and Riku spoke with Donald and Goofy over the phone, making plans for their departure to the Caribbean. Time was of the essence and Axel and Isa urged their young friends to dress in their Darkness protecting clothes quickly. Soon the group of Keyblade wielders made their way to the outskirts of town where Donald and Goofy had parked the Gummi Ship.

            “Donald, Goofy!” Sora said, greeting his friends who he went with on all his adventures with a big smile.

            “It’s about time you showed up!” Donald quacked, “We were worried you forgot.”

            “Oh, Sora wouldn’t forget about us,” Goofy said, “Besides, he likes the Caribbean too much to forget. Uh-hyuck!”

            Xion smiled and greeted Donald and Goofy as she boarded the ship after her friends. As she stepped up into the cockpit, she lost her footing and began to slip. She gasped and reached out for a hand-hold as she fell off the ship’s wing, but steady hands caught her waist.

            “Careful, Xion,” Roxas said, eyes bright with concern, “Are you alright?” He looked her up and down, trying to detect any injuries.

            “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said blushing. She thought her heart would beat right out of her chest as Roxas took her hand to help her into the ship. As she took her seat next to Naminé, she made eye contact with a smirking Axel, who had apparently seen their exchange take place. She looked away pointedly, blushing again. Roxas took a seat next to her, and soon they zoomed off into Gummi Space.

            Since the cockpit of the Gummi Ship basically just had a glass bubble over their heads, they had an excellent view. As Sora, Donald, and Goofy piloted, the rest of the group gazed at their surroundings in awe, pointing out different parts of the beautiful landscape. Xion stared, transfixed by the swirling colors, bright distant novae, and glittering stars. She smiled and sighed at sight.

            Roxas heard the small sound and rested his eyes on her. Though Gummi Space was beautiful, it didn’t even hold a candle to Xion. The lights of space played off her features, illuminating the soft edges of her face and dancing in her eyes. He glanced down at her lips, thinking of his interrupted dream from that morning, wishing he hadn’t been woken up when he did. Oh, how he wanted to kiss those lips, to share his breath with her. Had they been alone, he would have acted on his impulse, but the large group of friends around him held him back.

            Xion felt his eyes on her and looked down at him. “What?” she asked with a smile. Roxas looked like a deer in the headlights.

            “Nothing,” he said quickly, gazing back at the swirling blue expanse above them. Xion giggled but didn’t press him, opting to ruffle his hair instead.

            “Hey!” he said with a grin, swatting her hand away and ruffling her hair in return. This erupted into an all-out poking and prodding war between the two, as they laughed at each other, both determined to seem more annoying to the other and both failed miserably in that respect.

            “All right, all right, you two,” Axel said, “Enough flirting.”

            “Axel,” Roxas said, blushing and pulling his hands away from her, but Xion and the girls next to her laughed. She probably blushed too, but didn’t care, in too good of a mood to be embarrassed. Though Xion and Roxas kept up their friendly banter, they actively tried to avoid touching each other after Axel’s quip.

            After a few hours of space travel, Sora excitedly told the others that they were nearing the Caribbean. Xion looked up at the imposing skull-shaped world and shivered slightly. She had never seen a world so intimidating. It was literally a skull. As they passed through the atmosphere, Xion felt her stomach drop as the inertia made her insides churn. The last time she road in the Gummi Ship she threw up everywhere and did not want a repeat of that experience. She held onto Roxas’ arm for support as she took a deep breath, trying to tamp down her nausea. He gripped her hand in his and squeezed tightly, giving her a reassuring smile.

            Sora discreetly landed the Gummi Ship on the opposite side of the island of Port Royal, away from town. As they disembarked the ship, Roxas helped Xion down, and the group stood gazing about the beach. The clean sand was perfectly white and the water of the sea a crystalline blue. A few hundred yards away from the shore was a jungle of palm trees. The beach looked mostly deserted, save for a single ship anchored by a lone dock. Sora informed the group that it was his ship, The Leviathan.

            “Alright, time to protect the world order,” Donald said, waving his staff at the group. With a sparkle and a flourish, their clothes were transformed into something typical of what would be worn in this world. “Now you look just like pirates!”

            Xion looked around at the group of boys standing in front of her. Several of them, including Roxas, had daggers attached at their waists, which Xion thought was a bit superfluous since they could all use Keyblades apart from Isa, who carried a sword instead of a dagger. Sora wore a leather trench coat over a deep burgundy button-up, as well as a captain’s hat over a blue bandana tied at the nape of his neck. Riku looked like a typical swabbie in a pale yellow tank-top and a black bandana tied over his head. Axel likewise wore a tank top in black, and an eye patch over one eye. Isa sported a black, long-sleeved tunic and his long hair had been tied back in a low ponytail. His hair had also changed from blue to dirty-blond. Terra and Ven both wore form-fitting striped shirts, Terra’s blue and white, and Ven’s green and white. Ven also wore a grey bandana tied around his neck. Roxas too wore a bandana around his forehead, a red one that had been folded over itself several times into a thick band and his hair stuck over it at all angles. He wore a cream colored tunic with a tie around the middle and had a bit of lacing near its neckline. The lacing was not tightened however, and Xion could see a bit of Roxas’ chest. She looked away from him as her cheeks turned pink and looked down at herself, realizing that Roxas’ chest shouldn’t be the one she worried about.

            The first thing she noticed about her attire was that her neckline should have been at least four inches higher. She wore a long black gown with a corset laced over her torso, a white panel of fabric peeking out between the lacing on her bodice, and long sleeves with lace cuffs. The skirt of her dress had two pleats in it that also had panels of white within them, and a petticoat filled the whole thing out. She tugged at the tight corset that bound her middle and found that she could not take a full, deep breath.

            “Is anyone else having trouble breathing?” she asked, looking at the three other girls in the group.

            Kairi was dressed similarly to Xion except her dress was a dusty rose color with black accents, a bit of lace around the equally low neckline, and didn’t have any pleating in the skirt. Naminé wore a cream off-the-shoulder gown with gold paisley designs embroidered onto it and a tattered shawl hung at her elbows. Her golden hair was styled in an intricate twist on the back of her head with ringlets hanging down over her shoulder, and wore heavy eye makeup, red lipstick, and heavily rouged cheeks. Xion felt the sticky coating of lipstick on her own lips, and wondered if her makeup was as heavy as Naminé’s. She also noted that Naminé had a much more appropriate neckline than she or Kairi.

            Aqua was given the most dramatic makeover. She didn’t wear a dress, but rather a long brown coat over a white tunic that had a royal blue corset laced over it, black leggings, and knee high brown boots. She also wore a large hat with a peacock feather sticking out of the back. But Aqua’s most prominent feature, her bright blue hair, had turned light brown, just as Isa’s hair had changed color so that they could blend in with the residents of Port Royal. All their clothes would have been absolutely beautiful if they had not already looked so worn and dirty.

            “I am,” Naminé said, pulling at the fabric at her waist, trying to get some room in the corset underneath her dress. Aqua and Kairi likewise voiced their discomfort.

            “Donald,” Aqua said, turning to him, “Why did you put us in corsets? We can’t fight like this.”

            “It wasn’t me, it was the magic!” he squawked.

            “We look like prostitutes!” Naminé hissed, pulling her shawl over her shoulders.

            “You look like pirates,” Donald retorted.

            Terra chuckled. “I think you all look lovely,” he said, gesturing to them.

            Xion blushed and turned slightly away from the boys, who chuckled at the girls’ plight. Xion had always felt uncomfortable wearing low-cut clothes, but it seemed there was no escaping it this time. She hoped the boys wouldn’t take notice of her neckline, but almost laughed out loud at the thought.

            They were teenaged boys. Of course they would notice.     

            Aqua continued arguing with Donald as Roxas walked up to Xion. “Nice dress,” he said with a smile, “You should wear something like that to prom.” He chuckled at Xion’s raised eyebrow. “Oh, that reminds me.” He turned to the rest of the group. “Did you guys want to come with us to prom next week? It’ll be tons of fun,” he said with a grin.

            Kairi’s eyes lit up. “Ooh, yes! Sora, we should go together!” she said, turning to him. “Have you found a date yet, Xion?” she asked without awaiting Sora’s reply.

            “Yeah,” Xion said with a smile that didn’t touch her eyes. “Someone asked me this morning.” Roxas looked slightly away from her at that, running a hand through his hair.

            “Great! Riku, Naminé, are you guys gonna come too?” Kairi bounced up and down on the balls of her feet excitedly.

            “Sure, sound like fun,” Riku said and Naminé agreed.

            “Ven?” Kairi turned to him.

            “Count me in,” he said, pointing to himself with his thumb.

            “Don’t worry, Ven,” Roxas said, clapping him on the shoulder, “We’ll find you a date.” Ven rolled his eyes but thanked him.

            Meanwhile, Aqua was getting nowhere with Donald who insisted that he couldn’t change how the girls looked; that the magic knew what it was doing.

            “Come on, Donald, just make us look normal. All you have to do is wave your wand again,” Aqua said.

            “It doesn’t work like that,” he said with a shake of his head, “And you do look normal here.”

            Aqua sighed heavily. “I can’t believe I’m dressed like this.”

            “If it’s any consolation,” said a voice behind them, “I think you look rather fetching.”

            Xion turned to find the source of the voice as Sora laughed.

            “Jack!” he said, running up to the pirate who walked toward them on the beach.

            “Hello, Sora,” the pirate said, “You wouldn’t have happened to found any rum around here, would you?”

            “Um, no,” Sora said, shaking his head, “But come meet my friends!” Sora swept his hand out to the pirate. “Everyone, this is Jack Sparrow.”

            “Captain Jack Sparrow,” he corrected.

            “Jack, this is Aqua, Terra, Isa, and Axel…”

            “A pleasure, milady,” Jack said, tipping his hat to Aqua.

            “This is my best friend, Riku, and my brothers, Roxas and Ven…”

            “Ah! Twins,” Jack said, “Tricky things, twins are. Every set of twins I’ve met has cheated a gold coin or two from me.” He furrowed his brows, eyeing the boys suspiciously.

            Ven chuckled. “Don’t worry, we won’t take any of your gold,” he said.

            Sora continued, “This is Xion and Naminé, and,” he threw his arms around his girlfriend’s shoulders, “This is Kairi, the lovely young lady that I’m courting.”

            “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss Kairi.” Jack hid his mouth behind his hand and said, “You know you can do better than this lad, right?” He winked at her and Kairi giggled.

            “Hey! I heard that,” Sora said with a pout.

            “Oh, he was only joking,” Kairi said, pecking Sora on the cheek.

            “So what are you lot doing here?” Jack asked, gesturing at them with his hands, “To take care of those little black shadowy things?”

            “Exactly,” Sora said, “We’ve got to get into town, and ask around to see if anyone knows where they’re coming from.”

            “Oh, I wouldn’t do that, mate,” Jack said, “There are soldiers everywhere, looking for a group of pirates that’ve been terrorizing the sea as of late. I don’t think they’d take too kindly to the likes of you barging in.”

            “We should make camp here, then,” Terra said, eyeing the sky as it slowly turned pink and orange, “We can come up with a plan for tomorrow.”

            “Hope you don’t mind if I join you,” Jack said with a wave of his hand, “You look like good company and I happen to be hiding from Elizabeth at the moment. She thinks the pirates have something to do with me.”

            The adults brainstormed plans for the following day, and asked Jack anything he knew about the Heartless. He told them that they mostly stuck to the wooded areas of the Island and rarely entered town.

            As they spoke, the younger teens busied themselves with making a fire out of dry sticks and logs they found on the beach. Once Jack had found the rum he had been looking for, he helped them kindle their flame by pouring some of the alcohol over the top of it. By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, they had a great bonfire blazing and started dancing and singing around it.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me

We pillage, we plunder, we rifle, and loot

Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho

            As they danced and sang, Roxas took Xion’s hand and twirled her about, gripping her waist in a way that made Jack raise his eyebrows.

We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot

Drink up me 'earties, yo ho

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me

            “Oh no, Xion!” Roxas cried, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder, “I’m gonna throw you in the fire!” He laughed.

            Xion shrieked with laughter. “Roxas, no!” He feigned preparing to toss her in but gently set her back down. She went to smack his chest, but he caught her hand and began dancing with her again, picking her up into the air and spinning her around. Xion giggled.

            “You’re very strong, Roxas,” she said, squeezing his bicep when her set her back down.

            “I work out,” he said giving her a wink. They began to sing along with the others again.

            The adults sat, watching the teens with amusement. “The twin seems rather fond of that lass, doesn’t he,” Jack commented.

            “Yes,” Aqua said, “They both like each other, but won’t admit it.”

            “Hmm, perhaps they could use a little help,” Jack said, raising his bottle of rum and giving it a shake.

            “Perhaps not,” Isa said dryly. Axel laughed and got up to sing and dance with the youngsters.  

            Once the teens had become exhausted from dancing, they all lay down on the sand and Sora and Riku pointed out constellations in the sky as the fire slowly died out.

            Roxas looked up at the stars, admiring the sight he rarely got to see since he lived in Twilight Town. He tried to follow along with what Sora and Riku said but couldn’t see any patterns apart from the Big Dipper.

            “The stars are so beautiful,” Xion said next to him.

            “Yeah,” he said softly. “You know what else is beautiful?”

            “What?”

            Roxas grinned. “Ice cream.”

            Xion laughed, elbowing him as he chuckled. He felt the knuckles of her hand brush up against his as she settled into a more comfortable position. He gently settled his hand over the top of hers and interlaced their fingers. He took a deep breath as his face practically caught fire from his deep blush. Xion said nothing but rubbed his hand with her thumb as they looked at the stars. They fell asleep hand in hand.

Chapter Text

            Axel sat on the beach, staring at the waves crashing into the shore as the morning sun turned the sky pink, and sighed. He ran his fingers through the sand, thinking of the promise he made to Roxas and Xion when they were in the organization, that the three of them would go to the beach together on their days off. They had all only been to the beach once before this, though, during the reunion after Xehanort’s defeat. He resolved to take them more often.

            He rubbed his shoulder, sore from sleeping on the ground, and glanced behind him at the few teens that were awake. Riku, Kairi, and Ven roasted a few fish that Riku had caught earlier over a fire, and Terra and Aqua were training with each other a distance away so as to not disturb those that still slept as Jack watched them, occasionally making a comment about their technique. Axel envied the young peoples’ resilience.

            Isa walked up next to him and sat down. “What are you thinking about?” he said, nodding to him.

            Axel shrugged. “Just about how I wish I could be one of the kiddos again. Sleeping on the ground is a killer on the back, isn’t it?”

            Isa nodded with a chuckle but then turned serious. “That’s not what you were really thinking about, was it?”

            Axel clicked his tongue. “You know me too well. I was thinking about the organization days, actually. Roxas and Xion and I always wanted to go to the beach but never made it. You could’ve assigned us more days off, ya know,” he said with a wave of his hand.

            Isa smirked. “You were already as unproductive as you could be, Axel,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

            “Well,” Axel said, “If not for me, then for Roxas and Xion.” The smirk fell from Isa’s face and he looked away from Axel, toward the surf. “You were pretty hard on them, especially Xion.” Axel’s eyes drilled uncomfortably against Isa’s skull, but he forced himself to meet his friend’s gaze.

            “I know,” he said after a moment, “I don’t know if I can forgive myself for what I did to them.” He rubbed his temple. “How could they have forgiven me so easily?” he asked thickly, suddenly growing emotional.

            “Hey, don’t take it so hard,” Axel said, slapping him on the shoulder, “You apologized, right?”

            Isa ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “It seems so…hollow. How can I make it up to them?”

            “Just be their friend,” Axel said. Isa’s forehead creased and his lips pulled into a slight grimace. Just being their friend couldn’t possibly make up for the abuse he had put them through.

            Before Isa could say anything else, Riku called them over for breakfast.

            Axel smiled and stood up. “I thought it’d never be ready,” he said as they walked over to the three teens. “What’s this dish called?” He gestured to the fish Riku had on a spit over the fire.

            “It’s called fish, Axel,” Riku said sarcastically, “You don’t know what fish is?” he smirked, teasing the older man.

            Axel raised an eyebrow and said, “Never heard of it.”

            Sora, having been woken by the smell of fish, sleepily sauntered over to the group. He took a deep breath and smiled. “Smells delicious,” he said. He sat down next to Riku and Kairi. Riku placed the fish on a banana leaf on the ground in front of him as Terra, Aqua, and Jack joined them.

            Axel glanced over at the two teens that were still asleep and smirked. “Someone ought to wake up the two love birds over there,” he said, gesturing to Roxas and Xion. “Wouldn’t want them to miss breakfast.”

            “I’ll get them,” Sora said, jumping up. He walked over to his friends who had somehow ended up in each other’s arms during the night. Xion snuggled into Roxas’ side with her hand on his chest and Roxas had his arm around her. Sora grinned devilishly, pulled his gummiphone out of his pocket, and snapped a picture of them.

            “Hey, send me that pic, Sora,” Kairi called to him with a grin. Sora chuckled and knelt down, shaking his friends awake.

            Roxas jerked suddenly and Xion rubbed her eyes. They looked at each other for a moment, flushed bright red, and sat up, disentangling themselves from each other’s arms and avoiding each other’s eyes.

            “Breakfast is ready,” Sora said with a smirk, standing up. They walked over to the group, trying to not look sheepish, as Riku cut up the fish into pieces, distributing them to the group on banana leaves as plates.

            As they ate, Roxas pretended not to notice Xion’s low neckline. As Axel said a few days before, Roxas was a gentleman, and he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable with any wandering eyes. Never in his life had he forced himself to make so much eye contact with another human being. If Xion found his behavior odd, she didn’t let on, happily chatting with him and Axel.

            Once Axel had finished his meal, he laid down on his back and began to watch the clouds. “That one looks like a mermaid,” he said, pointing at the sky. Roxas looked up and laid down as well.

            “Where?” he said, “I don’t see it.” Xion looked up at the sky, trying to find the mermaid that Axel had pointed out.

            “Right there, see its tail and its hair on top. It looks like its waving to a ship over there.”

            “Oh, I think I see it,” Roxas said with a nod.

            Xion couldn’t see anything like a mermaid waving to a ship in the puffy white clouds, but she giggled and lay across her two friends, resting her head on Roxas’ stomach and throwing her legs over Axel, who pushed her substantial skirts out of his face, resting his hand on her boot. Though she couldn’t see the mermaid, she did spot what looked like a broken heart and pointed it out to them. Roxas chuckled at her inventiveness, making her head bounce on his stomach, and he began running his fingers through her hair, brushing her bangs across her forehead. She hoped he couldn’t feel the warmth that immediately rushed to her face.

            The three gazed at the clouds for a while, as the other members of their group played in the surf or looked for seashells, but a shout from Naminé broke their revelry.

            “Heartless!” she screamed, pointing at the jungle of trees.

            Xion quickly sat up and accidentally elbowed Roxas right in the family jewels. “Ow, Xion,” he said in a strained voiced, grimacing.

            “Sorry,” she said brusquely, jumping up to look for the Heartless. The black, shadowy creatures bloomed from the ground and advanced on the group. Everyone brandished their weapons, apart from Naminé, who stood on the beach terrified. Xion wondered why they had decided to bring her here in the first place.

            “Get behind me!” Riku cried, jumping in front of her.

            Roxas staggered to his feet, trying to shrug off his pain from being elbowed by Xion, and brandished his Keyblades as he advanced toward the Heartless with a slight limp. He and his friends attacked the Heartless, tearing through their shadowy bodies and releasing their hearts.

            Xion, Aqua, and Kairi had a much harder time fighting than the boys, breathing shallowly in their corsets. Xion wished she could take the darn thing off, but there was no time for that. They relied mostly on magic attacks during the fight, able to be cast at a distance and not requiring as much physical exertion.

            “Stream!” she cried, casting a water spell at the Heartless. The spell had a devastating effect on the monsters, so she continued using it until her magic ran out, forcing her to cross blades with the Heartless once again. With so many of her friends to help, they quickly dispatched the monsters.

            Though the Heartless disappeared from the beach, they still lurked among the trees. Xion could see their yellow eyes taunting her. “Come on, let’s go!” Sora cried, beckoning them into the tree line and the Keyblade wielders followed him into the jungle. Isa and Jack assured Riku that they would watch after Naminé. He nodded and booked it through the trees, following after his friends. They chased after the monsters that fled from them, but the girls lagged behind, huffing and tugging at their corsets.

            Kairi stopped and rested on her knees, taking shallow breaths. “I don’t think we can do this,” she panted. Xion opened her mouth to give Kairi a weak reassurance, but a group of Heartless closed in around them. At this point, Xion could feel the fullness of her magic inside her again and began casting Water at the monsters, as did Kairi and Aqua. With so much water flying around, the Heartless didn’t stand much of a chance against the girls and were quickly vanquished. A few of the monsters managed to escape with their lives, however, and fled from them.

            Xion rushed after the Heartless, leaving Kairi and Aqua behind. A small group readied themselves to attack her, but she quickly dispatched the monsters with a few well-placed water spells. Once they had been killed, Xion could neither hear nor see any more Heartless. She dismissed her Keyblade and took a breath.

            “That was quite a sight, lassie,” a voice said behind her.

            She whipped around to find a small motley group of pirates that had come out of nowhere and looked as if they had never seen a bathtub before. The one in front had his hand on the sword belted at his waist, rubbing the jewel on the pommel with his thumb. Xion furrowed her brows. “Were you the ones who brought those monsters here?” she demanded.

            The pirate laughed and the crew behind him joined in raucously. “Ney,” he said, “But we have a feeling that you can help us with them, witch.” Xion’s lip curled.

            “‘Witch?’” she spat.

            “You used magic to take care of those things,” the pirate explained. Just then, Xion heard the snap of a twig off to her left, but when she tried to find the source, she didn’t see anything. She looked back at the pirate who continued, “So you must be the sea witch we’ve been lookin’ fer.”

            “I’m not a witch,” Xion said, “And I don’t need magic to take care of you!” She brandished her Keyblade and readied herself to fight the pirates, but a strong blow to the back of her head nocked her unconscious. She fell to the ground, and her Keyblade dissipated.

            Roxas breathed heavily and sat down on a log. The large group of Heartless he fought with the boys weren’t the toughest he’d ever faced, but dealing with so many tired him a little. He almost suggested making their way back to find the girls to see how they were doing, but before he could say anything, Kairi and Aqua came barreling through the trees, panting heavily and in quite a panic.

            “They’ve taken Xion!” Kairi shouted. Roxas’ eyes widened and his stomach dropped. He jumped up from the log.

            “Who?” he cried, rushing over to them.

            “Pirates! We saw them carrying her to the beach.” She pointed to the general direction behind them. Roxas didn’t waste any more time talking, and rushed passed the girls, sprinting back to where they had come from. He crashed through the trees as his friends followed closely behind him, rushing to save their friend.

            A group of pirates faced off with Jack and Isa as they defended Naminé who stood closely behind. They all had swords and guns drawn, but as the group of Keyblades wielders burst through the trees, magically summoning their weapons to them, they shifted their focus away from the two.

            “Ha!” one of the pirates said, “Friends of the witch!”

            “Everyone back to the ship!” another pirate shouted over him, an obvious authority figure, since the pirates turned and fled toward the boats that waited on the surf. They pushed away from the beach and began paddling frantically to a much larger ship out on the water and the Keyblade wielders chased after them, firing spells until they reached the water’s edge. One of the pirates waved his revolver haphazardly behind him and took a random shot at the group. A few of the wielders had enough sense to quickly cast Reflect.

            But others did not.

            A small round bullet slammed into Roxas’ chest and he staggered backwards, clutching his wound, as an infinite amount of pressure bloomed on the small entry point. His face blanched and his extremities went cold as he sank to his knees. He looked down at his chest and pulled his hand away. It came back bloody and the sticky red substance slowly spread across his shirt. Then came the searing pain, so intense that his face went slack and he fell forward into the sand, blacking out.

            Axel’s eyes widened and a wordless scream tore from his lips. He sprinted to his fallen friend and shouted, “Heal!” Several of the others likewise frantically cast the spell. He dropped to his knees where Roxas lay and rolled the boy over. “Roxas,” he said, shaking his shoulders. Roxas coughed weakly and his eyes fluttered open, finding Axel’s.

            “Axel,” he said feebly.

            “I’m here, Roxas,” Axel said, gripping his hand.

            “Xion,” Roxas said, pushing himself up into a sitting position as his voice grew urgent, “They have Xion.” He made a move to stand, but Axel pushed him back down.

            “Hold on, Roxas, you need rest.”

            “I’m fine,” he insisted.

            “You just got shot!” Axel retorted, “How is that fine?!”

            “You healed me, so I’m fine,” Roxas said simply.

            “Actually,” Aqua said, “Cure would have healed the wound around the bullet, but it’s still in there. It needs to be taken out, or you’ll die of lead poisoning.”

            Roxas sighed and rubbed his face. “We can do that back at Twilight Town, but Xion needs our help now.” He shakily stood up and Axel didn’t stop him. Sora beckoned everyone to The Leviathan, but an angry voice halted them. 

            “Jack!” They turned to find a blonde woman garbed in pirate’s raiment running up to them on the beach.

            “Elizabeth,” Jack said quietly. He turned to the group and said, “We need to leave immediately.” He turned and began to jog toward the ship.

            “Jack, don’t you dare take another step,” Elizabeth said, “I would like a word with you.” She pointed her finger at him.

            Roxas growled with impatience. Whoever this woman was, she clearly didn’t understand that they were on a time crunch.

            “Dear Elizabeth, I’m so sorry, but I’m a bit busy at the moment,” Jack said, waving his arms about.

            “Those pirates,” Elizabeth began, “They—”

            “Yes, exactly,” Jack said, cutting her off, “We’re after those pirates because they’ve taken a dear friend of ours.”

            “We need to rescue her!” Roxas cut in. Elizabeth regarded him when he spoke, but turned her reproachful gaze back on Jack.

            “Jack, I know this has something to do with you,” she said. Roxas frowned. Elizabeth seemed to have a one track mind. “Those pirates said that they needed a witch to sacrifice to make all the monsters leave and you’re the only person I know who befriends witches.” She gestured at the group of Keyblade wielders.

            Roxas’ eyes widened and his blood went cold. “They want to sacrifice her?” he whispered in horror.

            Elizabeth ignored him, jabbing her finger at Jack again. “You’d better have a good reason for—”

            But Roxas could no longer stand around on the beach, listening to Elizabeth’s complaints. “Argh!” he cried, “Yell at him on the ship! We have to go!” He turned on his heel and ran toward the ship as the others followed, climbing on board.

            Xion awoke in a dark, damp place, and her head throbbed intensely. The hard, rough ground underneath her swayed back and forth, making her queasy. She blinked her eyes open and tried to sit up with great difficulty, as her hands had been bound by rope behind her back. She looked around. She sat in a small cell made of wood and iron bars, and light filtered through cracks in the boards above her head, providing enough illumination so that she could see she was not alone.

            Across the room from her, another cell had two men sitting in it. One sat against the back wall and regarded her curiously, but the other gripped the bars of his cell door, leering at her.

            “I thought you’d never wake up, poppet,” he said, giving her a smile that didn’t have a lot of teeth to go with it.

            Xion grimaced. “Where am I?” she said.

            “You’re on a boat,” he said. Xion took a breath, and willed herself not to snap at the man for his obvious answer. “What are ye in for, love?”

            Xion scowled at the term of endearment, but nevertheless answered his question. “They kidnapped me. Said I’m a witch.”

            “Ah, that’s a right shame, now isn’t it?” he said, “You’s is the one they’ll be sacrificing to the sea god, then.”

            Xion’s eyes widened and her heart beat faster in her chest. “Sacrifice? Why?” she said.

            “Why, to make all them monsters go away, of course. If we can appease the sea god, then they’ll all leave, won’t they?” He grinned.

            “No!” Xion said quickly, “That won’t work! I’m here to get rid of them by fighting them. They won’t take any sacrifices!”

            “They’ll only take the right sacrifice,” said an oily voice. The owner of the voice slowly stepped down the stairs into the brig, wearing the finest and most luxurious clothes Xion had seen, followed by two of his cronies, who practically wore rags in comparison. “That is where you come in, witch,” he continued, stepping to her cell in front of the door. He stared down at her with cold eyes. “I have sacrificed many witches to appease the sea god in these trying times, but all have been for naught.” Xion glowered at him as he spoke and tried to summon her Keyblade, but her hands were bound too close together for it to appear. “But now, I think I’ve finally found the right lassie for the task. You have special magic that the others did not possess, the power over water. The sea god will certainly accept that power and take the monsters away.”

            “No!” Xion spat, reiterating what she said to the previous pirate, “That’s not going to work! Let me go, and I can take care of the monsters on my own!”

            “I’m sorry, but this is the only way.” He turned to leave and nodded at his henchmen. They opened her cell and made a moved to grab her, but she pushed away from them, kicking and trying to bite their hands. One of them slapped her across the face and her cheek stung. She grunted softly but did not cry out. They grabbed her by the arms and hoisted her to her feet.

            “Let go of me!” Xion kicked at them and struggled to release herself from their grasp, but they were much stronger than she and escorted her up the stairs and onto the deck. Xion squinted against the bright sun and looked at her surroundings. The beach she had come from was just a smudge in the distance and everywhere else, open water. She thought she saw another boat approaching, but a sword pointed at her throat grabbed her attention. The well-dressed pirate, presumably the captain, smiled and gently brushed the blade of his sword along her neck. He didn’t try to cut her, but she held still regardless, not wanting to take any chances.

            “Here’s what going to happen, love…”

            Roxas stood at the side of the boat and watched the horizon with a worried expression as they closed the distance between them and the ship they chased after. When it came to sailing, the gang left most of the work up to Sora and Riku, the only two who knew how to sail—well, Jack and Elizabeth also knew, but they were too busy arguing to be of much help. Roxas didn’t pay attention to what they were saying, however, as worry for Xion consumed him.

            He pressed the heels of his hands to eyes and tried not to think about all the horrible things the pirates could be doing to her. How could he have let this happen? He should have stayed with her when they fought the Heartless earlier, then she wouldn’t have been kidnapped. He took a shaky breath.

            “This is all my fault,” he said quietly, voice breaking, as tears seeped into the cuffs of his sleeves when he wiped his eyes. A hand fell on his shoulder.

            “No it’s not,” Axel said. Roxas looked up at him, trying to keep his emotions in check in front of his friend, but he couldn’t keep his eyes from welling with tears. “We’ll get her back, Roxas. I promise.”

            “But what if they hurt her?” he asked in a small, quivering voice, “I couldn’t live with myself if that happened.” He dropped his gaze to the ground and sniffled, wiping his eyes. After all they had been through, he couldn’t lose her now.

            “Xion’s strong,” Axel said, “I’m sure she’ll be just fine.”

            “But what if you’re wrong?” he whimpered, sucking in a sharp breath as a single sob escaped his lips.

            “Oh, come on,” Axel said, waving his hands, “When am I ever wrong?” He faced the horizon. “Besides, when we get there, we’ll make those pirates regret messing with our friend,” he said, balling his hand into a fist. Roxas watched for a moment as Axel’s brows pulled together and he set his lips in a thin line.

            “You’re right,” Roxas said quietly, turning away from him and wiping away more tears. He furrowed his brows and clenched his jaw. Those pirates would pay for hurting Xion.

            “Look,” Axel said, pointing toward the bow of the ship, “We’re catching up to them.” Sure enough, they quickly closed the distance with their enemy’s ship, who seemed to have dropped anchor and just sat in one spot as if they were waiting for them.

            “Ready the cannons!” Sora shouted as they pulled up alongside the ship.

            “No!” Roxas cried frantically, “Xion’s still on there!” He searched the deck of the other ship and spotted the small black figure against the mangy pirates. “Xion!”

            “Roxas!” Xion called back. Roxas tried to keep an eye on her through the commotion on the enemy ship but couldn’t get a good look at what was happening.

            Xion grit her teeth as her captor dragged her over to the plank, wishing she could give these pirates a good thrashing, but the many guns trained on her told her that such an attempt would be a bad idea. The pirate holding her cut the ropes binding her wrists with a dagger and shoved her onto the plank. She rubbed her wrists and gazed down at the water, wondering if she knew how to swim or not. Hopefully Sora had set her up with some fond memories of swimming with Kairi, otherwise, she was out of luck.

            “Today,” the captain said, pulling her focus to him, “We appease the sea god with an offering of one of his children.” He pointed his sword at her and stepped onto the plank, walking closer to her as she gingerly backed away, trying to keep her balance as the ship bobbed in the water, and stopping when she felt the edge of the board with the heel of her boot. She gasped, looking down at the water again. “My dear, I’m sorry it has to be this way.” Xion doubted the sentiment as he lowered his sword and stepped back onto the deck.

            One of his crew chuckled darkly as he put one foot on the plank, jostling it slightly. Xion stuck her arms out to the side, struggling to keep her balance as the board she stood on wiggled up and down. The pirate pushed even harder against the board, making it sway dangerously, and Xion lost her footing and tumbled over the edge. She screamed as gravity took effect, pulling her into the water. As she slipped beneath the waves, she accidentally inhaled a large amount of water into her lungs. She struggled, throat burning, to make her way back to the surface, but she quickly lost consciousness.

            Roxas watched with wide eyes as Xion fell into the water. “Xion!” he screamed. He climbed onto the railing of the boat and dove into the water after her.

            “Roxas!” Axel cried, trying to halt the boy, but it was too late.

            Water stung Roxas’ eyes as he forced them open under water, looking for Xion. He spotted her floating gently, immobile, and kicked his way over to her, wrapping his arms round her waist and pulling her up to the surface. He took several gulps of air and blinked the water out of his eyes as he made his way back to the boat, vaguely aware of a shouting match between his friends and the enemy pirates and the sounds of gunshots and spells being cast, but he couldn’t care less about the fight going on above him; he needed to get Xion to safety. When he reached the side of the boat, a bullet whizzed past his head and imbedded itself in the wood paneling in front of his face. He then registered that someone had cast Aero on him, gusts of winds encircling him to protect them from the projectiles.

            Riku and Terra lowered a rope to him with a loop tied at the end. He struggled to keep ahold Xion, limp in his arms, and keep his head above water as he slipped one foot through the loop and grabbed the rope with his free hand. The muscles in his arms seared as he painstakingly pulled himself upright, wrapping his arms around Xion, clutching her close to him, and trying not to drop her. The boys pulled them up slowly and grabbed Roxas’ arms to pull them over the railing of the boat. Terra tried to take Xion from him, but Roxas pushed passed him, gently laying her on the ground. He pushed her wet hair out of her face, cupping it with his hands as worry creased his brow.

            “We’ll make sacrifices out of all of you!” the captain shouted. Roxas’ head snapped to the other ship as the crew began setting boards across the distance of their boats preparing to fight them, but Aqua quickly set them aflame with fira and she and Kairi pushed the boards off the edge of the boat before the flames could reach them.

            “Get below deck,” Sora said to Roxas, “We can handle the pirates.” He turned back to the other ship and readied his Keyblade.

            As Goofy pulled up the anchor, Roxas scooped Xion up in his arms and rushed below deck, followed by Axel and Jack, where they found Naminé sitting on a barrel on the far side of the room, squinting through the boards at the cacophony on deck. She stood and rushed over to them as Roxas laid Xion on the floor and put his ear near her mouth. He couldn’t feel her breath nor was her chest moving. “She’s not breathing!” he said in panic.

            “Cut her lacing, boy!” Jack shouted, pointing at her chest. Roxas knit his brows, confused for a moment, then realized he meant the tight laces on Xion’s corset. He took the dagger from his hip and slipped it under the lacing at her waist, slicing the cords binding her torso, and barely avoiding nicking her chin.

            “I’ve had to do that a few times before,” Jack commented with a smile and a nod.

            “Um, Roxas,” Axel began, raising an eyebrow, “Maybe let Naminé do that…”

            Roxas ignored him. He tossed his dagger aside and ripped the corset open, so Xion could breathe again, but her chest remained motionless. He tilted her head back and put his face nears hers, preparing to perform CPR, but then she gasped, coughing water in his face and rolling onto her side. He jumped back in surprise.  Xion coughed several times as water spewed from her mouth, before pushing herself up on her elbows as Roxas cradled her. She gulped in air heavily.

            “Are you alright?” Roxas said, resting his hand on her shoulder.

            Xion nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said weakly. She noticed the blood stains on his shirt and her eyes grew wide. “What happened to you?”

            “I got shot, but don’t worry about it, I’m fine,” Roxas quickly assured her.

            “You got shot?!” she cried, gripping his arm, sitting up fully.

            “Like I said, I’m fine, but you need rest,” Roxas insisted.

            “You both need rest,” Axel said, crouching down.

            Roxas helped Xion stand up and Axel pushed them towards the rows of hammocks tied to poles as Jack excused himself to continue fighting with the pirates on deck. Xion slid into one of the hammocks and Axel pulled a barrel up next her to sit on. Roxas and Naminé stood by her head, gripping the canvas edge of the hammock. Xion sighed and rubbed her face.

            “What happened, Xion?” Axel asked quietly. She told them about the pirates that found her in the jungle and how she had been knocked unconscious, later waking up in their ship and being grabbed and taken up deck, forced to walk the plank.

            “Did they…do anything else to you?” Roxas asked cautiously.

            Xion shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.” He breathed a sigh of relief.

            By then, the fighting above had quieted; no more shouts or gunshots could be heard. “Well,” Axel said, standing up, “You two should get some rest.” He pushed Roxas toward the hammock next to Xion’s and walked toward the stairs. “I’ll see how the others are doing.” He ascended the stairs as Naminé followed, leaving Roxas and Xion alone.  

            Roxas gripped the edge of the hammock and attempted to crawl into it with great difficulty. The hammock swayed as he tried to bring his knee over the edge of the canvas and nearly fell over. Xion giggled weakly.

            “Need some help there, Roxas?” she said.

            “Uh, no, I got this,” Roxas said with a grin, turning around and falling backward into the hammock. They lied there for a few moments, swaying gently with the motion of the boat, before Roxas said, “Xion, are you sure you’re okay?” eyebrows pulling together in concern as he looked at her.

            She nodded and shifted onto her side, hanging her arm over the edge of the hammock. “I’m fine. Just a little tire, that’s all.” She took a deep breath and asked, “How did it feel getting shot?”

            Roxas rubbed his chest where the bullet had penetrated. “It felt like…someone hit me in the chest with a sledge-hammer. I didn’t really process it at first, it just felt like a lot of pressure, but then…” he shook his head, “so much pain all at once. It hurt so bad I passed out.”

            Xion frowned at his words and said, “Well, I’m glad you’re okay.”

            Roxas quickly shook his head again and said, “Don’t worry about me; I should be the one worrying about you.” He ran a hand through his wet hair and sighed. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you were taken,” he said softly.

            Xion shook her head. “Roxas, it’s not your fault—”

            “No, it is my fault,” he insisted, leaning on his elbow, “We’re best friends, we’re supposed to be there for each other, but I feel like lately…lately…” In Roxas’ mind flashed Xion falling into the water and then him accepting Iris’ proposal. He sighed. “I haven’t been.”

            “Roxas, of course you’ve been there for me,” Xion said, “I wouldn’t be here right now if you hadn’t saved me.” She smiled softly, making his heart race. “Thank you.”

            Roxas couldn’t help but smile back. “You’re welcome. You know,” he reached over and took her hand in his, “that I would do anything for you, right?”

            Xion’s breath caught in her throat as she regarded their hands with slightly widened eyes. She looked back at Roxas’ twinkling ones and smiled. “Yes. I know.”

Chapter Text

            Xion stared at the ceiling of the ship, wishing she could fall asleep and take a much needed nap, but as much as her muscles wanted to rest, her brain buzzed with activity. She completely expected coming to the Caribbean to be something of a vacation, but instead, she had been forced to wear uncomfortable clothes, got kidnapped by pirates, and was almost a human sacrifice. She sighed and rubbed her face. At least someone had taken her corset off of her.

            She sat up and looked at it lying on the floor ripped in two next to someone’s dagger. She furrowed her brows and turned to look at Roxas, who had managed to fall asleep, chest rising and falling gently as he breathed evenly. He still had the dagger’s scabbard belted at his hip, but the dagger itself was gone. Or, rather, on the floor. Xion flushed, wide-eyed at her revelation, and laid back in the hammock, grateful she had been unconscious during the ordeal. She decided to never bring it up with Roxas, ever.

            Several sets of footsteps came down the stairs, and Xion looked up to find Kairi, Aqua, and Naminé walking into the room. Kairi made a beeline for Xion’s bedside and inquired of her well-being, fussing over her with a worried expression.

            “I’m fine, Kairi,” Xion said, waving her hand, “How are you guys? Are the pirates gone?”

            Kairi nodded. “We messed up their ship pretty bad and hightailed it out of there.” She chuckled. “We actually came down here to take off our corsets,” she said.

            “I’ll close my eyes, then,” Roxas said, who had been woken by the girls.

            “There’s probably no need for that,” Naminé said as Aqua began unbuttoning the back of her dress for her, “Since we’re wearing so many layers anyway.”

            “Well, I’m not gonna take any chances,” he replied, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes.

            “Is it the kneecaps again?” Aqua asked, smirking.

            Roxas chuckled. “Yeah, sure.”

            Kairi and Naminé abandoned their corsets next to Xion’s, but Aqua decided to keep hers on (albeit, she loosened it quite a bit) because she said it looked cute. Naminé found Roxas’ knife on the floor and returned it, giving Xion a wry smile as she turned away from him. Xion rolled her eyes.

            They joined the others on deck and asked Sora where they would be going from there. At this point, they were far from Port Royal; Xion couldn’t even see the island, only sparkling blue water around them.

            “Do you see that sea stack over there?” Sora said, pointing to sharp gray rocks sticking up on the distant horizon. She turned around and looked where he pointed. “Riku said he senses powerful darkness coming from there. That’s where the Keyhole might be.”

            “I sense it, too,” Aqua said, furrowing her brows, “We should be careful.”

            As they approached, Xion gazed up at the impressive height of the rocks, much larger than she anticipated. It turned out not to be a sea stack at all, but a great mountain that had to be at least a couple thousand feet in the air and nearly a mile across. A narrow pass split it directly down the middle, just large enough to fit maybe two ships, littered with the remains of wooden vessels caught in the rocks. Sora carefully steered through the center of the pass, avoiding the wreckage around them.

            Roxas looked up at the gray rocks and shivered. All it would take is one tiny crack and they would be crashing down on them. He pushed the thought from his mind and stared ahead, trying to find the end of the pass, but swirling mist blocked his vision.

            He took a deep breath and leaned his arms on the railing of the ship, staring into the water. The water seemed to stare back. Wait a moment. Were those eyes? Before Roxas could get a good look at the figure under the surface, it disappeared beneath the waves.

            “Guys,” he said, furrowing his brows, “I think there’s someone in the water.”

            “It’s probably just a Heartless,” Riku said, summoning his Keyblade, “Everyone be on guard.”

            “No,” Roxas shook his head, “It looked like a woman.” He could have sworn he saw the face of a young, black-haired woman staring up at him from the water.

            “Are you sure you’re not seeing things, Roxas?” Xion asked with a smirk.

            Roxas rubbed the back of his neck. He thought he saw someone, but who would be out for a swim in a place like this unless they were some sort of horrible monster?

            “You’ll want to be careful around these waters, mate,” Jack warned, “You never know what’s lurking in the depths.”

            Roxas rubbed his eyes and stared back into the water and waited for a few minutes for anything to show up. Nothing. He sighed and rested his cheek in his hand and started softly singing a song that the volcanic rocks sticking up around him reminded him of.

A long long time ago

There was a volcano

Living all alone in the middle of the sea

He sat high above his bay

Watching all the couples play

And wishing that he had someone too

            His audience seemed to appreciate his performance as several female voices joined in, harmonizing with his.

And from his lava came

This song of hope that he sang

Out loud, every day

For years and years

I have a dream

I hope will come true

That you're here with me

And I am here with you

I wish that the earth, sea, and the sky up above

Will send me someone to lava

            Roxas slowly trailed off and turned around to look at his crew members. Xion, Kairi, Aqua, Naminé, and Elizabeth stood completely silent, but nevertheless, the soft crooning of the voices still danced in his ears. He took a deep breath, strangely soothed by the melodious singing.

            “Do you hear that?” he asked.

            “Hear what?” Xion said.

            “That…beautiful singing.”

            Xion furrowed her brows. “What singing? I don’t hear anything.”

            “No, I hear it, too,” Sora said, abandoning the wheel and stepping over to them. Roxas looked at him. A ghost of a smile played on his lips, and his pupils grew large, entirely covering his iris. Several of the other guys agreed, but the girls exchanged perplexed looks. “It’s coming from over there!” Sora said, pointing to the bow of the boat, directly where they were heading. The boys rushed over to find the source of the singing, and the girls followed behind.

            “I don’t hear anything,” Kairi said, worried, “Are you guys okay?”

            Roxas’ eyes desperately scanned the water. The heads of several beautiful young women poked out of it, but he ignored most of them, until his eyes landed on the same black-haired girl he saw earlier. Roxas rose an eyebrow and drew in a breath at the sight of her. She looked exactly like…

            Xion.

            But that was impossible. Roxas glanced at the girl standing by him; how could she be on the boat and in the water? As the Xion in the water continued to sing, Roxas found that he didn’t care about the impossibility of it. Besides, what could be better than two Xions? He laughed with delight.

            Ven, who stood next to Roxas, gripped the edge of the railing, turning his knuckles white. He shook his head. “That’s impossible,” he muttered under his breath. “Strelitzia.” A strangled sob caught in the boy’s throat. “STRELITZIA!” he screamed. Much to the girls’ surprise, Ven hoisted himself over the railing and jumped into the water.

            “Ven!” Aqua screamed, and pushed off the side of the boat after him in a dazzling display of light, catching him around the middle in mid-air and using Shotlock to shoot back into the boat. “Ven, What in the world is the matter with you?!” Ven tried to push past her, but she grabbed him and carried him away from the edge as he kicked and screamed at her to let him go, that he had to “save her.” He dissolved into complete hysterics. Xion didn’t know what he saw in the water that affected him so, but his reaction worried her greatly.

            “Sirens,” Elizabeth said, darting over to the edge of the boat and pointing into the water, “They’re sirens!” Xion looked to where she pointed and gasped. The sirens were quite possibly the most hideous creatures she had ever seen. They looked technically human but were so covered in brine and barnacles and had such pale, thin skin that she could have been easily mistaken. Instead of beautiful singing as the boys claimed, a harsh rasp came from the sirens’ lips. When she made eye-contact with one of them, the siren screeched loudly at her. Xion flinched and stepped away.

            “Sirens?” Naminé asked.

            “They take the form of someone that a man loves most and lures him into the water to kill him. We need to tie them up,” Elizabeth said, “So they don’t try to jump in the water like that one did.” She gestured to a still struggling (and crying) Ventus, and grabbed some loose rope. “Naminé, take the wheel. You two keep the boys from jumping over board,” she said to Xion and Kairi, “And Aqua and I will tie them up.” She and Aqua began to tie Ven to the mast of the ship as he screamed for release.

            “Don’t you understand?! I have to help her!” he cried. “She’s going to die!”

            Xion turned away from Ven, disturbed by his desperation. Whoever this Strelitzia girl was, she had to be pretty important to him. She turned her attention back to the other boys.

            They gazed lovingly down at the sirens who sang to them, engaging in coy conversation with them and a few were even openly flirting at the monsters in the water. Roxas sang back to the sirens, giggling as they harmonized, but he hadn’t tried to jump in yet, unlike Riku, who swung his legs over the edge of the railing. Xion gasped and her eyes widened as she rushed to him.

            “Riku, no!” she cried, grabbing him around the middle and pulling him back into the boat. This took him by surprise and he stumbled in her arms. Xion made it most of the way to Aqua and Elizabeth before he started struggling.

            “Xion, what are you doing? I need her!” He tried to pull her arms away from him, but Aqua appeared in a second, pulling Riku to the mast and forcing him on the ground next to a still sobbing, tied up Ven. Xion turned back to the others once she was certain that Riku wasn’t going anywhere, nearly falling over as Naminé attempted to avoid the rocks and ship wreckage in the water (and doing a poor job of it).

            The boys were slowly enticed, one by one, to attempt to leap into the sea. Somehow, the sirens were forming towers of water above the surface to rest in so that they could get closer to the boys, beckoning to them. Xion saw that they were not entirely humanoid and had fish tails instead of legs. She summoned her Keyblade and cast a few fire spells at the sirens, angering them as they fell off their towers of water. The boys didn’t seem to notice this happen, continuing to gaze at those who still sang. Xion and Kairi ignored the angry screeches of the sirens and continued protecting their friends. They struggled to drag some of their larger companions away from the boat’s edge and even had to enlist Aqua and Elizabeth’s help with Terra, dodging his thrown elbows. They managed to secure their grasp of him as he fell over when the side of the boat slammed into a rock.

            Roxas continued to sing to his new friends, oblivious to the struggle around him. The mer-Xion teased him and gave him coquettish smiles as she sang back. She rose in a tower of water to be by his side and gently took his face in her pruney hands, tugging him down closer to her as they sang to each other.

I have a dream I hope will come true

That you’ll grow old with me, and I’ll grow old with you

We thank the earth, sea, and the sky we thank too

I lava you

            He leaned over the edge of the railing, seeking a kiss, as her hands wrapped firmly around the back of his neck, pulling him so close, he thought he might topple right over the edge. Not that he would mind.

            But someone roughly grabbed his shoulder and wrenched him out of mer-Xion’s grasp, clocking her in the face with a Keyblade. Roxas gasped as mer-Xion fell back into the water.

            Roxas turned on the attacker, human Xion, as anger twisted his features. “What was that for?” he yelled as Xion dismissed her Keyblade. She grabbed his arm and forcefully pulled him away from the edge of the boat, taking him by surprise. He nearly fell over as Xion, joined by Kairi, dragged him to the mast. “What are doing?! Let me go!” he demanded, trying to plant his feet and pull away from their grasp. He had to get back to the mer-Xion.

            Roxas cast a worried look over his shoulder as the singing grew panicked and frantic. His new friends were scared. He had to help them, especially mer-Xion. But before he managed to escape human-Xion’s and Kairi’s clutches, Aqua grabbed him by the shirt and shoved him on the ground next to Terra. She and Elizabeth began to tie him up and he panicked.

            “Wait, stop! I have to help them!” he cried in desperation, “Let me be with her! She the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen!” The other boys, who had all been tied up by now, voiced similar sentiments, lamenting and pleading the girls to let them go so they could be with the sirens forever.

            Elizabeth scoffed and turned away to watch the sirens on their towers, who hissed at them but didn’t come aboard. Xion stepped away from the boys, listening to Roxas’ cries. The most beautiful girl in the world? She thought, Who is he talking about? Iris? Xion shook her head. It couldn’t be. Then who? She frowned as tears stung her eyes. So Roxas didn’t actually like her. She shook her head at her own stupidity and wiped her eyes. Roxas saw her as a friend and nothing more, otherwise, he wouldn’t be crying over this other beautiful girl. Xion wondered who she was and if she knew her, turning to ask Roxas to tell her, but then decided that she didn’t want to know such information and turned away again.

            Elizabeth took the wheel from Naminé and steered the ship out of the pass to the other side of the outcropping of rock, away from the sirens’ influence. The boys’ desperation turned into puzzlement and confusion.

            “Why are we all tied up?” Axel asked.

            “Have I been crying?” Ven said, blinking his eyes and struggling to pull his arms out of the ropes to no avail.

            “What exactly is going on?” Sora asked. Roxas vaguely remembered singing to a lot of beautiful women, or rather singing to a much scalier version of Xion, but couldn’t recall any finer details.

            Elizabeth stomped over to where the boys sat, a scowl gracing her features. “I’ll tell you what’s going on,” she said with her hands on her hips, “We encountered sirens and you lot,” she jabbed a finger at them, “were too busy thinking with your trousers than you were thinking with your heads!” Roxas blushed and dropped his gaze. “I think we should just leave you tied up so that the competent sailors can be in charge.” She stalked back to the wheel of the ship.

            Xion followed her to the stern and stood with the other girls. Kairi crossed her arms and stared ahead with hard expression and Aqua looked equally miffed that the boys had unintentionally put the group in danger. Naminé stood at the back railing facing where they had come from, gazing down at her clasped hands. Xion walked over to her.

            “Naminé, are you okay?” she said softly, putting a hand on the girl’s shoulder. Naminé nodded, but she looked anything but okay. Tears pooled in her eyes and her face twisted into a distraught expression. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to quell the sobs that escaped her.

            “I just can’t believe Riku would say those things about some other girl,” she squeaked. Xion rose an eyebrow, watching Naminé’s fragile self-confidence crack.

            It occurred to her then that Naminé probably didn’t realize how deep Riku’s feelings for her were. The boys never named any names—apart from Ven—but to her it seemed like a no-brainer that Sora would see Kairi, Terra would see Aqua, and, of course, Riku would see Naminé in the water. As for the other boys, she wasn’t entirely sure who they saw.

            “Naminé,” Kairi said, walking up to them, “He was talking about you.”

            Naminé looked at her and wiped her eyes. “You think so?”

            Kairi giggled. “I know so,” she said, pointing her finger at her Nobody, “You’re all he ever talks about.” Naminé smiled softly. Xion laughed and cast a glance back at Roxas, who had also been looking over at her. Their eyes met briefly, and she quickly looked away. “And Roxas was talking about you,” Kairi whispered, touching Xion’s arm. Xion dropped her gaze and blushed. Kairi gave Aqua a similar reassurance about Terra, but Aqua waved it off.

            “Of course he was talking about me,” she declared, “I just can’t believe he would do something so stupid—actually, scratch that. I can believe he would do something so stupid.”

            “Hey,” Terra called, “I heard that!”

            “You’re not denying it!”

            Roxas laughed at the banter, but couldn’t push down the guilt in the pit of his stomach. He should have seen past the sirens’ magic and not been tempted by their singing. He sighed. “Does anyone else kind of feel like a jerk right now?” he asked his companions, squirming under the ropes binding him. Several of the others hummed in agreement.

            “I feel like an idiot,” Sora said, “I could’ve sworn I saw Kairi in the water, but that didn’t make any sense ‘cause she was right there next to me. But I didn’t even care.”

            “Don’t worry too much, gentlemen,” Jack said, “The sirens’ magic is powerful. I’d be surprised if you could ignore them.” Roxas felt a tiny bit better as they made their way to an island a short distance away, the only island around them.

            As they approached, Roxas could sense the darkness emanating from the island, even if he couldn’t see any Heartless yet. When they dropped anchor, Elizabeth kindly cut their bindings but warned them not to become distracted again. Roxas couldn’t meet her gaze as they exited the boat. He looked up at the tall, rocky mountain sprouting from the jungle’s depths and squinted, spying a dark cave near the top of a sheer cliff-side. The Keyhole had to be up there.

            Almost as soon as their feet touched the sandy beach, Heartless appeared from the ground. Roxas summoned his Keyblades and ran at the monsters, swinging Oathkeeper and Oblivion in tandem, biting into the darkness of monster after monster. As stronger and stronger enemies faced them, Roxas tapped deeper into his magic powers, beginning to glow, just as he had done when he battled Saix with Xion and Sora. He tore through the remaining monsters, sending their hearts up into the sky and decimating their ranks alongside his companions. Even the strongest enemies were no match for the Keyblade wielders.

            Once the last Heartless on the beach had been killed, Roxas took a deep breath and his glow faded. The sun had set behind the island and pink and orange streaked the sky as the horizon behind them turned deep blue. “We’re running out of daylight,” he said.

            “We should head into the trees,” Xion said, making a move toward the jungle, but Axel stepped in front of her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

            “Woah there, Xion, are you sure you’re fit to fight the big baddie around here?” he asked, worry creasing his brow.

            “I’m fine, Axel” she said furrowing her own brow.

            “If I recall correctly, you almost died today,” he said, “I think you should stay here on the beach.” Xion pouted.

            “Don’t worry, Xion,” Roxas said with a smile, “We’ll be back in no time.”

            “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you,” Axel said, turning on him and pointing at his blood-stained shirt. “You ought to stay here and rest some more.”

            Roxas scoffed. “Are you serious? You want me to stay here while you have all the fun without me?”

            “Don’t you want to keep your best girls company?” Axel asked, gesturing to Xion and Naminé.

            “Well, yeah,” Roxas said with a wave of his hand, “But I want to help you guys, too.”

            “We both do,” Xion said, standing next to Roxas, clasping his arm with her hands. He wished she hadn’t done that. Roxas wasn’t sure if he looked convincing with butterflies fluttering in his stomach and his face turning red. “We’ll be just fine, I promise,” she said.

            Axel raised an eyebrow, looking unconvinced, but Riku put his arm around Naminé and said, “I’ll stay with Naminé. You should let them go.”

            Axel sighed. “Fine. It’s not like you would have listened to me anyway.”

            “Great!” Xion said, throwing her arms around his middle. “Don’t worry; we’ll only take a few grievous risks.” Roxas laughed and Axel rolled his eyes.

            They retreated into the trees, leaving Riku, Naminé, Elizabeth, and Jack on the beach, picking off any Heartless they came across as they made their way to the cliff as the sun sank below the horizon. A sheer 90 degree angle separated the group from the small cave, but the Keyblade wielders didn’t find that as any sort of hindrance.

            “I’ll go check it out,” Sora said, taking a running head start and sprinting up the side of the sheer cliff-face with graceful steps. Just before he made it to the mouth of the cave, a giant Heartless resembling a human skeleton burst from it, screeching into the night, and surprising Sora. He fell from the cliff-face with a shout and twisted so that he landed lightly on his feet next to Roxas. Roxas curled his lip at the monster and tapped into his deep magical reserve once again, glowing brightly in the dark jungle and summoning his Keyblades.

            The Keyblade wielders began firing spells at the monster, who hung out the side of the cave above them, an imposing figure in the air. The Heartless bellowed in fury, forming a ball of Darkness in its hand and launching it at the group. Roxas rolled out of the way and shot an ice blast at the monster’s head, freezing it momentarily. The Heartless grabbed its face, swinging wildly until the ice shattered and clattered to the ground around them. Roxas quickly ran up the side of the cliff and swung Oblivion at the monster, connecting with its jaw. It took a swipe at him, but Roxas had already begun his descent, dropping out of the way. Other wielders began following his lead, running up the cliff to attack the monster directly while the rest offered support from the ground.

            Roxas cast Fira at the monster as Ven dodged a ball of darkness, nearly sliding right into him. “How you doing, man?” Roxas asked.

            “I’m okay,” he replied.

            The Heartless wrenched a chunk of rock off the side of the mountain and threw it directly at them. Roxas jumped out of the way, but Ven gasped and slammed his palm against the pad on his spaulder to activate his full-body armor. A bright glow momentarily encased Ven as his armor materialized around him, shifting and rippling over his body with a crackle of electricity, encasing him entirely in metal, a millisecond before the rock slammed into him, sending him flying backwards and landing hard on the ground.

            “Ven!” Roxas screamed.

            The boy shakily stood up. “I’m okay!” he called, waving his arm.

            Roxas sighed with relief and turned back on the Heartless, with furrowed brow, casting Thunder at it. The monster screamed, enraged as they attacked and sent another ball of Darkness at the ground, hitting Kairi and knocking her off her feet. Roxas could feel the sudden drop in her life force. “Heal!” he shouted, sending a spell her way. Flowers and green light bloomed in the air around her.

            “Thanks, Roxas!” she called with a smile, as Ven ran to help her stand up.

            “No problem!” he called back, rolling to dodge another ball of Darkness.

            “You guys are like my knights in shining armor!” She chuckled, and sent a fire spell at the Heartless. Roxas smirked and ran up the side of the cliff again to attack their foe.

            The Heartless’ attacks began to slow and the balls of Darkness it threw at them were not as powerful as the monster weakened. Sora cast Thundaga at the monster one last time, sending shocks of lighting at it. The Heartless screamed long and loud, thrashing its arms about before disappearing into a puff of smoke. Roxas squinted, spying its heart appear by the cave and float up into the sky, out of sight. He took a deep breath and dismissed his Keyblades, letting his glow fade again. Instead, a faint glow came from the cave at the top of the cliff.

            Sora ran up the cliff-side again, and Roxas and the others followed behind. Sora reached the cave and jumped lightly inside, but then quickly turned around and said, “Maybe there’s not room for everyone in here!” as Roxas reached him. The small cave only had enough room for maybe two or three people, and Roxas nearly ran right into Sora, backing up, and waving his arms for balance as he teetered on the edge of the cave. Sora grabbed his shirt and pulled Roxas in before he fell. The others fell back to the ground when they heard Sora’s declaration.

            Roxas and Sora turned to the back wall of the cave, only a foot or two away from them, and saw that the Keyhole glowed brightly on it. Sora angled his Keyblade to point at the Keyhole, preparing to lock it, but stopped, turning his head to Roxas. “Let’s do it together,” he said with a grin. Roxas smiled at his lack of guile.

            He pointed his Keyblades at the Keyhole and a tiny ball of light formed between the tips of his blades and shot out a beam of light just as Sora’s did. The clicks of gears echoed in their ears and the Keyhole disappeared. Sora laughed giddily and turned around, leaping out of the cave. Roxas followed and landed lightly on the ground.

            Xion smiled at him, which he returned, resisting the urge to wrap his hand around hers as they made their way back to the beach. Ven unconsciously fell into step beside Roxas after deactivating his armor, staring at the ground, brow furrowed. Roxas looked at him.

            “What’s up, Ven?” he asked. Ven looked up with a blank expression. “You okay?”

            “I-I’m fine,” Ven said, waving Roxas’ concerns away but he didn’t look like his usual bright, cheery self.

            “Was it the Heartless?” Roxas persisted.

            “No,” Ven said, shaking his head.

            “The sirens?”

            Ven looked away at the mention of the temptresses and sighed. “My memory from before being Xehanort’s apprentice is still…foggy,” he began slowly, “I can only remember a few faces here and there.” He sighed again and rubbed his temples, pressing his lips into a thin line.

            “It’s okay, Ven,” Aqua said, walking up to them, putting her hand on his shoulder, “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

            Ven nodded but continued after a moment. “There was this girl that I knew. I think we were close.”

            “The red-headed girl?” Sora said, referring to the girl Ven mentioned at their pajama party.

            “Yeah,” Ven said, “I saw her with the Sirens, and I finally remembered her name. Strelitzia. I also remember she…she died.” He drew his brows together and the corners of his mouth pulled downwards. “And for some reason…I feel responsible for her death.” He rubbed his eyes and sighed as Aqua threw her arms around him.

            “Oh, Ven,” she said.

            Roxas’ lips parted slightly as he drew in a breath. He knew exactly how Ven felt. He put his hand on his brother’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, Ven, we’re here for you. Always.” The words sounded empty to his ear, but Roxas wanted Ven to know they were true, nevertheless. Ven didn’t say anything more about Strelitzia as they walked through the jungle.

            They met with the others on the beach and had another meal of fish before retiring to bed on the hammocks in the ship. As they lay in the dark, on the verge of drifting off to sleep, Riku said softly, out of nowhere, “Who’s your first love? This is for anybody.”

            “Have the sirens got you thinking, Riku?” Axel said. Riku chuckled.

            “Kairi,” Sora stated, earning a giggle from her.

            “Mine’s Sora,” she said.

            Aqua and Terra said each other’s names in unison and Jack mentioned a girl he knew as a teenager.

            “Ice cream,” Roxas said softly, but still loud enough for everyone to hear. Xion and Axel burst out laughing, breaking the quiet in the ship’s hold. Xion couldn’t think of a truer statement, and struggled to calm her laughter as Roxas joined in with the two. Their friends chuckled a little, but the three kept laughing when the others had stopped, holding their stomachs as tears threatened to leak out of their eyes. Xion managed to stop laughing long enough to catch her breath and her two friends followed suit, finally quieting and breathing heavily.

            “Geez,” Riku said softly, sending the three, along with Sora and Kairi, into even bigger fits of laughter.

            “Would you keep it down?” Donald quacked, “Some of us are trying to get some sleep!”

            They apologized and quieted for good, allowing everyone on board to finally rest after the long day.

            To say Xion woke up on the wrong side of the bed the next morning would be an understatement. Every tiny thing anyone did wracked her with irritation, and she snapped at the tiniest provocation. When Axel jokingly suggested going back through the pass where they encountered the sirens instead of skirting around the mountain, she launched into a long rant, asking him if he even cared if they got home safely, or if he just wanted to get some scaly action from the sirens.

            Roxas shook his head and stared at the horizon. He had enough sense to keep his distance when Xion got like this. When she finally finished berating Axel, they could see Port Royal.

            “We should rest and maybe get something to eat in town before we go home,” Sora said. The others agreed.

            “Oh, that reminds me,” Axel said offhandedly as they docked on the far side of the island where they had first set off, “As soon as we get home, I’m going to make an appointment to have that thing,” he poked the front of Roxas’ bloody shirt, “removed.”

            “Oh, yeah,” Roxas said, remembering the bullet in his chest. “Do you think it’ll be a dangerous operation?”

            “Probably,” Axel said, crossing his arms, “They will be cutting you open. But I’m sure you’ll be fine.” He patted Roxas’ shoulder reassuringly.

            “I hope nothing goes wrong,” Xion said as they exited the boat.

            “Don’t worry,” Axel said, waving his arms, “I’ll find the best surgeon munny can buy.” Xion and Roxas sat down on a large rock and Axel sat on the ground in front of them.

            “But it’s still a dangerous operation,” Xion said with a worried expression, “I mean, you could die.” Her voice broke and she cleared her throat as her eyebrows drew close together.

            “Don’t worry,” Roxas said, giving her a smile, “I’ll try not to die.”

            “But what if it happens right there on the operating table?” she asked as panic slowly rose in her voice and her eyes glistened. “What if something goes horribly wrong and the doctor can’t save you?” Roxas opened his mouth to say something, but Xion clapped a hand over her own as a sob escaped her lips. “Don’t die,” she murmured in a strained voice as tears spilled over her cheeks.

            “I’m not gonna die, Xion,” Roxas said softly with concern, touching her shoulder.

            “But what if you do?!” she exploded, grabbing his shirt front, startling him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing loudly. Roxas put his hands on her back, unsure of what else to do. He looked at Axel with wide eyes, but Axel only smirked and shook his head.

            “Hmm, looks like it’s that time of the month,” Riku commented with a chuckle.

            Xion spun to face him. “Shut up, Riku!” she spat savagely, fury igniting her features for a moment, but immediately dissolved into tears again, burying her face in Roxas’ shoulder once more, sobbing out an apology. Roxas thought Riku may be onto something.

            In the six months Roxas had lived with Xion, he recognized certain patterns in her behavior. If her period had decided to pay a visit, then that would certainly explain why she had been so irritated with everyone earlier and why she cried on Roxas’ shoulder now. He knew that in a few hours, she would be all smiles again, as if this had never happened. But he currently had to deal with her crying.

            Roxas knew that Xion liked hugs when she was upset, and, usually, he happily obliged. But Xion liked a lot of hugs and snuggles during this time, and Roxas wasn’t sure if his pride would allow him to properly comfort her in front of all their friends. But he couldn’t allow for Xion to be sad when he knew he could help. He took a breath and pulled her into his lap as his ears turned pink, rubbing her back.

            “It’s going to be okay, Xion,” he murmured in her ear.

            “What if it’s not?” she said into his shoulder.

            “Just trust me, okay? I’ll be fine.” Xion said nothing but continued to cry. Kairi and Naminé came up to them and began to fret over her well-being, but Roxas silently waved them away with a scowl, knowing they would only make things worse. After a while, her cries quieted.

            “Roxas,” she whimpered, “I want chocolate.”

            Oh no.

            Roxas didn’t have any chocolate to give her. This was very bad. Xion, prone to pitching fat fits when she couldn’t have chocolate to cope with her period, would make life miserable for everyone.

            “Um, okay,” he said, beginning to sweat, “Is there anywhere I can find chocolate around here?” he asked Elizabeth.

            “There’s a confectionary on Main Street,” she said.

            “I think Sora, Donald, and I have been there,” Goofy said, “I can take ya there. I’ve even got some spare gold from last time we were here to buy it.” He pointed to a wide path in the trees behind them. “That path’ll take us right into town.”

            “Alright,” Roxas said, removing Xion from his lap and standing up, “Let’s go!” He sprinted toward the path and Goofy ran after him, hollering at him to wait up. Xion watched them go, brushing the tears from her eyes and feeling foolish that she had broken down in front of everyone. Kairi sat down on the rock next to her and giggled.

            “It’s so cute how he does things for you,” she said.

            “Yeah, it’s sweet of him,” Xion agreed dully, resting her chin on her fist.

            “When are you guys gonna be official?” she asked casually.

            “Kairi,” Xion said, giving her a look.

            “What?” Kairi said with raised eyebrows, “I’m just saying what everyone is thinking.”

            “Hmm, she makes a good point,” Axel said with a smirk, standing up and crossing his arms. Xion shot a glare at him.

            “I mean, you two are perfect for each other!” Kairi continued, “I know I’m not supposed to bring this up, but you two are literally mine and Sora’s dark, edgy alter egos.”

            “I thought Naminé was your alter ego,” Xion cut in.

            “I said ‘dark and edgy.’ Anyway, you guys are us, and we’re totally in love.” She gave Sora a sweet smile.

            “Totally,” Sora agreed with a bashful grin, rubbing the back of his neck.

            Xion sighed, blushing furiously. “I don’t think we’re ready to be all lovey-dovey with each other, like you two are,” she hissed quietly, not wanting to shout her problems to the entire world.

            Kairi scoffed in an unladylike manner and raised her eyebrow. “You were just sitting on his lap,” she said, gesturing with her hands, “You guys were totally flirting on the space ride here, and you were cuddling at the movies—”

            “Kairi!” Xion shrieked, clapping her hands over her even redder face as Axel, who hadn’t exactly been privy to this information, laughed out loud.

            “So that’s why you went to the movies alone,” he said with a grin. Xion groaned. “That’s my O.T.P. right there,” Axel said, elbowing Isa who rolled his eyes. “Even back in the Org, I totally shipped them.”

            “Axel,” Xion groaned again, “Would you shut up, please?”

            Axel laughed again. “I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. Just don’t make me a third wheel,” he teased with a wink. The others laughed along with him and Xion wished the ground would swallow her up right there.

            “You’re so in love,” Kairi cooed. Xion wasn’t sure if she meant just her or the both of them, but had to admit there was truth to at least one of those.

            “Can we just forget about Roxas right now?” Xion said, resting her elbows on her knees and putting her face in her hands to avoid everyone’s gaze. However, the man of the hour swiftly returned then with Goofy trailing at his heels.

            “Xion!” Roxas called, running up to them, “I got you the chocolate!” He skidded to a stop in front of her, breathing heavily, and handed her a small paper box. She opened the lid to reveal a few rows of square chocolates. “I know your favorites are Kit Kats, but they didn’t have any, obviously,” he said, nodding his head vaguely to their surroundings, “So I just got what the guy at the counter recommended.” He smiled sweetly at her, making her blush even more.

            “Thanks, Roxas,” she said, dropping her gaze.

            “No problem,” he said, sitting down on her other side. She picked up one of the chocolates and bit into, savoring the silky, decadent flavor that melted onto her tongue. She smiled and popped the rest of the chocolate piece into her mouth.

            “Is it good?” Roxas asked with a grin. Xion nodded and happily began devouring the entire box. “Ya know, Goofy and I were quite a sight in town.” He chuckled, plucking his blood-stained shirt. “The guys in the shop thought I was dying or something.”

            Xion laughed. “You should have changed shirts,” she said.

            “Yeah, I should probably take this off,” Roxas said, beginning to pull his shirt up his torso, but Xion grabbed his arm.

            “Maybe do that later,” she said, refusing meet any of her other friends' eyes.

            “Oh, right,” Roxas said, tugging his shirt back down, “Wouldn’t want to get a sunburn.”

            “Right,” Xion said quietly, turning back to her chocolates.

            Before they left the Caribbean, Jack took them to a small pub on the outskirts of town for lunch where he and his pirate friends frequented. Roxas looked at his dirty surroundings and avoided the gazes of the sketchy looking pirates, putting his arm protectively around Xion when he noticed them leering in the girls’ directions.

            Naminé passed by a clearly intoxicated man at the bar a little too closely and he turned to her and said, “Hey, sweetheart, wanna show me a good time?” He grinned, puffing out his ruddy cheeks, but she scoffed indignantly and continued walking. “Hey, where do you think you’re going little lady?” he asked, suddenly grabbing her arm and pulling her back to him. Roxas gasped, ready to jump in and help, but Naminé slapped the man in the face. A look of anger flickered on his features as he stood up from his stool, clenching his fists.

            Riku stepped between the two. “How about you leave the young lady alone,” he said, looking down on the man with a menacing expression. The man eyed Riku’s impressive stature and sat back down, turning away. The girls watched their backs after that.

            The group found a few tables in the back of the pub to eat and Jack began a game of poker with a few of the more friendly pirates, inviting anyone to join in on the game. Elizabeth, who seemed to be more amicable when she wasn’t angry at Jack, volunteered to play.

            “Hey,” Xion said, elbowing Roxas, “You should join. Make Luxord proud.” She grinned.

            Roxas chuckled. “I don’t have anything to bet.”

            “Well, here ya go, Roxas,” Goofy said, handing him a few gold coins, “I’ve got extra.” Roxas adamantly refused the offer, not wanting to waste his friend’s money on gambling, but Goofy insisted, saying that the gold was useless outside of the world. Roxas reluctantly agreed and sat down with the pirates, dropping the coins in front of the cards Jack dealt him.

            “What’s with all that blood on yer shirt, lad?” one of the pirates asked.

            “I got shot yesterday.”

            “And yer still alive to tell the tale?”

            Roxas smiled. “I’m pretty hardy.”

            As they played, Roxas found that he remembered all of the rules and tricks that Luxord had taught him. He kept his face perfectly neutral and tried to avoid fiddling with the corner of his cards—Luxord had informed him of this obvious tell of his. A barmaid came by and offered them drinks, but Roxas declined, not wanting to break his concentration with a buzz. This earned him a bit of teasing from his playmates, who had no such inhibitions, but with Goofy’s gold on the line, he didn’t care.

            The pirates slowly dropped out of the game, one by one, until only Roxas and Jack were left. The tension at the table was thick enough to be cut with a knife. Roxas played with resolve, determined to beat the older, experienced (and slightly drunk) pirate.

            “What do you make of that?” Jack said with a grin, slapping his cards down on the table for all to see.

            Roxas bit his lip. “Those are good cards,” he admitted. A smirk slowly spread across his face as he looked Jack in the eye. “But mine are better.” On the table, Roxas lay an ace, king, queen, jack, and ten of hearts. A Royal Flush. Jack sighed softly as everyone cheered Roxas’ success. The pirate rubbed his forehead with a look of disappointment as the boy scooped the gold coins on the table toward him.

            “Like I said, twins always manage to cheat me out of a gold coin,” Jack said.

            “I won fair and square, Jack,” Roxas replied happily as Donald handed him a little drawstring bag to keep the coins in.

            Jack smiled. “Good game, lad.” He reached over and shook Roxas’ hand. “You’re quite the gambler.”

            Roxas smiled. He had never before felt any sort of fondness for the Organization members he used to work with (apart from Axel and Xion), but he couldn’t help being hit with a wave of nostalgia as he remembered playing cards with Luxord in the castle. “I learned from the best,” he said.

Chapter Text

            Roxas sat in the waiting room of Dr. Caelum’s office, staring at the medical form in his hands, dumbfounded. The receptionist at Twilight Town’s local doctor’s office had given it to him to fill out, but, never having been to the doctor before, Roxas struggled with it. Was he allergic to penicillin? He didn’t know. He sighed and rubbed his face before an idea came to him. He didn’t know how to fill out this form, but perhaps someone else did know. He pulled out his phone and dialed Sora, who answered after four rings, and looked as if he had just woken up.

            “Hey, Roxas,” he said rubbing his eyes as he got out of bed and began walking through his house.

            “Hey, Sora, I’ve got a question. Are you allergic to penicillin?”

            Sora knit his eyebrows and asked, “What is that?”

            Roxas rubbed his temples with his fingers. “Oh, boy,” he muttered.

            Sora called over his shoulder, “Hey, Mom, am I allergic to penicillin?”

            Roxas sighed. “Can you hand her the phone, please?” Sora handed the phone off to his mom. She gave Roxas a cheery hello, and he smiled, returning the greeting.

            Roxas liked Sora’s mom. When Sora had introduced everyone to his parents and explained how everyone knew everyone else, his mother had immediately taken to her son’s Nobody, and treated Roxas as if he were her son, too, insisting that he also call her “Mom.” She made him amazing food, took him shopping for clothes, and gave him some pocket munny before he had left. She also gave him a big hug filled with so much love that Roxas nearly choked up at the memory.

            “So, Mom,” Roxas began, “I’m at the doctor for the first time, and they gave me a form to fill out about things like allergies and family medical history, and I need some help with it, so I thought I’d call Sora and ask him.”

            “Roxas,” she said, furrowing her brows, “Are you sure that asking about Sora’s medical history will help you?” Roxas saw the glint of doubt in her eye. That glint always showed up whenever they spoke to her of the adventures they had had. The glint that told Roxas that Sora’s mother probably didn’t believe everything they told her. Some of it, maybe, but not all. Roxas had to admit that he being Sora’s clone seemed far-fetched.

            Roxas shrugged, brushing off her doubts. “It’s the best I’ve got,” he said. He went down the list of questions with her and she answered each one in detail, wishing him luck with his procedure. When he said goodbye, a thought occurred to him. He was Sora’s Nobody, but he took his appearance from Ven. Did that mean he had the same medical problems as Ven, rather than Sora, or did he have his own set of problems altogether? (In general, yes, but medical wise? Who knew?) He groaned quietly and called the other boy up, wondering if he was being overly-cautious.

            It’s heart surgery, he thought, I should be cautious. However, due to Ven’s amnesia, he couldn’t remember the answers to most of Roxas’ questions. Roxas would just have to hope that nothing went wrong is case the doctor decided to give him penicillin.

            Axel sat down in the chair next to him, having just come back from a work related call. “How’s that going?” he asked, gesturing to the forms.

            “I just finished,” Roxas said, signing his name at the bottom, “What’s the date?”

            “The twenty-first.” Roxas filled out the date and handed the form to Axel to look over, signing his name as Roxas’ legal guardian before giving it back to Roxas and told him to take it to the receptionist. Thus began the long, boring wait in the waiting room.

            True to his word, Axel had made an appointment with the doctor as soon as they got home from the Caribbean. He had been pretty vague on the phone, not wanting to accidentally reveal anything about another world, but saying that Roxas needed something removed from his chest had been enough to get them an appointment for that Friday.

            Hayner, Pence and, Olette had been incredibly interested in what happened at the Caribbean when Roxas and Xion talked to them at school. When the three boys parted ways with the girls, Hayner wondered aloud what a siren would look like to him. “Hmm, perhaps she’d look similar to Olette, maybe?” Roxas suggested with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. Hayner blushed and told him to shut up.

            Roxas laughed softly, remembering how embarrassed Hayner had looked at being called out on his crush. If Roxas thought he was in denial, Hayner was even more so.

            Roxas spent the next hour and half on his Gummiphone, scrolling through Gummigram with a passive expression, until he received a text from Naminé on the group chat that included everyone. She sent a picture of herself and Riku, who had his arms around her, giving her a kiss on the cheek, as she grinned widely.

            Naminé: It’s official, you guys. We’re boyfriend and girlfriend! <3

            “Well, what do you know,” Axel said, having received the text at the same time Roxas did, “Kiddos finally got their act together.” Roxas smiled and sent a message.

            Roxas: Wow, Riku, how’d you get that lucky? :P ;)

            Kairi: AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh, you guys! You are sooooo cute! I love you!

            Riku: I keep asking myself the same thing, Roxas

            Xion: <3 Congrats, guys!

            Sora: You’d better treat her right, man ;) Let me know if he gives you any trouble, Naminé

            Naminé: Will don’t

            Naminé: *do, stupid autocorrect :P

            Axel sent a picture of a messed up cake that said “Congration, you done it” written in the icing. Roxas laughed and scrolled through his phone, looking for a funny picture to rival Axel’s, but they were called in to see the doctor before he found one. The receptionist ushered the two of them into the doctor’s office and shook hands with the man.

            “Hello,” he said with a bright smile, “I’m Dr. Caelum. Why don’t you have a seat, Roxas?” he said. Roxas sat down on the bed, crinkling the paper under him and Axel sat in the chair by the wall. Dr. Caelum took a seat in the chair by a counter with a sink in it and all sorts of containers with random things like Popsicle sticks inside them. “You might know my son, Noctis, from school,” he said to Roxas.

            Roxas raised his eyebrows. This kind, old doctor is Noctis’ father? No wonder he drove a Regalia to school. “Yes, I know him,” Roxas said, “We’re in the same prom group, actually.”

            “Oh, how nice,” Dr. Caelum said, “It’s good to know that he’s making more friends.” Roxas wondered if Noctis had any problems making friends in the first place as Dr. Caelum picked up his forms. “Now, let’s see here…not allergic to penicillin…” he muttered, scanning the form, following along with the tip of his pen. “Alright,” he began, turning to Roxas, “You said there’s something stuck in your chest.”

            “Umm…” Dr. Caelum’s eyes seemed to pin him on the spot. Sweat prickled on his brow, and he quickly tried to think of something that he could say to the doctor without giving away the world order or the fact that he possessed magical powers. But he couldn’t think of anything and quickly turned to Axel, who gave him a sympathetic smile before facing the doctor.

            “Well, you see…” he said, “Before I begin, what is the policy on doctor/patient confidentiality?”

            “Everything is completely confidential,” Dr. Caelum explained, “Nothing leaves this room.”

            “Alright, well, let’s just say…hypothetically—Roxas here got shot in the chest and the wound magically healed over itself,” Axel said, gesturing with his arms. Roxas bit his lip and stared at the ground. Either the doctor would find out their secret, or he would think they’re both completely nuts. Probably the latter.

            “He got shot?” Dr. Caelum asked with a tone of mild disbelief, “And it healed over itself?” Axel affirmed. “Roxas, is that true?”

            Roxas looked up at him. He expected Dr. Caelum to look either confused or annoyed that they were wasting his time, but he looked perfectly serious. “Well, hypothetically speaking…yeah.”

            “Can I see where it happened?” he asked, standing up to walk over to him.

            “Uh, yeah, sure,” Roxas said. He pulled his shirt over his head and crumpled it in his lap. Dr. Caelum put on a small pair of eyeglasses and leaned close to his chest.

            “Yes, there’s something right there,” he said, tapping a red and yellow bruise right over Roxas' heart. “Do you see?” He looked to Axel who nodded. “Does it hurt when I touch it?” he asked, poking the spot.

            “Um, no, not really,” Roxas said, acutely uncomfortable to have a virtual stranger touching him. Dr. Caelum examined the spot for a few more minutes, asking questions like what kind of gun the bullet came from and how long ago it happened. The more questions he asked, the more freely Axel spoke about the incident. He didn’t mention the other worlds or Keyblades specifically, but he did mention that magic may or may not have been used to heal the wound. Roxas said nothing, throwing worried looks Axel’s way for giving away too much information.

            “If you say something’s there, we can definitely take a look,” Dr. Caelum said as Roxas pulled his shirt back on, “If you’ll follow me.” He opened the door to his office, and Roxas and Axel followed him out. “We’ll do an x-ray and see what can find.” He spoke with a nurse who gave Roxas a hospital gown to change into and led them into the x-ray room once he had changed. They had him lie down on a table and took several scans of his torso before allowing him to change back into his regular clothes and go back to Dr. Caelum’s office.

            Roxas slid back onto the crinkly paper and watched the door swing shut. After making sure that they were alone, he whispered to Axel, “Why did you tell him all that stuff? World order, remember?”

            Axel smiled. “Gotta make sure he knows exactly how to help you, don’t we?”

            “What if he figures it out?” Roxas asked, furrowing his brows, “Or thinks we’re crazy and throws us in the loony bin?”

            “It’s not his job to diagnose us with lunacy, Roxas,” Axel said, his smile transforming into a smirk.

            “I just think you said too much,” Roxas said, crossing his arms and staring ahead. Axel sighed gently and walked over to him, clapping a hand on Roxas’ shoulder

            “Roxas, when it comes to your safety, I don’t care if we break world order. I just want you to survive.” Axel smiled again, looking so genuine and so full of…love.

            Roxas blinked and affection for his friend coursed through him. He smiled, nearly choking up for a second time that day and dropping his gaze to his hands. “Wow,” he whispered. He looked up again at Axel and said in a normal volume, “Thank you.”

            Axel laughed. “No problem.” He gave Roxas a hug, clapping him on the back and sat back down in the chair.

            Time moved slowly as they waited for Dr. Caelum to come back with the results. Axel passed the time on his phone again and Roxas went through the doctor’s cabinets, stealing rubber gloves and Popsicle sticks and putting them in his pocket, wondering what the sticks were for, before sitting back down on the bed. After about twenty minutes, Roxas let out a deep sigh. “I don’t think I like going to the doctor very much,” he said, slipping his hands inside the gloves.

            Axel laughed. “Is it the waiting, or all the poking and prodding?”

            “Both.”

            A short while later, Dr. Caelum came back with the x-ray scan and put them on a light board for the two to see. “As you can see here,” he said, pointing to a white circle surrounded by his ribs, “the bullet is right in the middle of your chest, imbedded in your heart. Removing it could be a dangerous operation. Are you sure you want to go through with it?” he asked turning to Roxas, “We could watch you for a few weeks and see if there are any problems.”

            Roxas’ brows pulled together and he looked at Axel. “Aqua said I could die of lead poisoning.”

            “Yeah,” Axel said, tapping his chin as he eyed the ground. “I’d rather we get it out as soon as possible.” He turned to Roxas. “What do you want to do?”

            Roxas thought about it for a moment. “I want to get it out now.”

            “Very well,” Dr. Caelum said, “We can schedule the operation for tomorrow if you can make it.”

            “Tomorrow would be great,” Axel said with a grin.

            Xion Looked up from her homework and sighed, unable to focus. Isa’s dog, Tsuki, heard the noise and rested her chin on Xion’s knee, giving her hand a lick. She smiled and petted the dog, wondering about Roxas’ doctor visit. Axel had pulled Roxas out of school early to make their appointment on time, but they had not been home when she returned. Not wanting to be alone, she decided to stop by Isa’s apartment. She now sat on his couch with a math workbook in her lap, but she found studying impossible.

            “Do you think he’s okay?” she asked abruptly.

            Isa, who sat in an armchair on his computer, looked up. “I’m sure he’s just fine,” he said, “Roxas is not easy to kill. Believe me.”

            “Oh, I do,” she said with a chuckle, but turned serious. “I’m just so worried about him. What if he doesn’t survive the operation?” Her chest constricted and her eyes watered slightly. She blinked and tried to push away the feeling, partially blaming PMS for her emotions. But fear for her friend made up the other part alongside her superficial hormones.

            “Well, I don’t think they’ll do it today, so perhaps you can talk with him before hand and ask him what the doctor said.”

            “Okay.” Her voice broke and a tear fell on her cheek. Stupid PMS. She sniffed and pressed her hands over her mouth, trying to hold back her tears, but they fell anyway. Her shoulders shook with gentle sobs. Isa stood from his chair, set his laptop on the coffee table, and sat next to her on the couch.

            “Don’t worry, Xion, Roxas is going to be alright.” He looked at her with worry in his eyes, unsure of how he could comfort her. He awkwardly put his hand on her back, rubbing small circles between her shoulder blades, and Xion suddenly threw her arms around him, crying into his chest. His eyes grew wide with surprise at her sudden hug, but he wouldn’t dare push her away. He owed her that much at least. He placed his hands on her back and held her until she stopped crying a minute later.

            “Are you okay?” he asked lamely as they removed their arms from each other.

            She nodded. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

            “It’s alright,” he assured her.

            “Thank you, Isa,” she said, wiping her eyes, “I’m really glad to have you as a friend.” She smiled genuinely.

            He gave her a smile in return. “No, thank you, Xion.”

            Xion remained at Isa’s until receiving a text from Roxas that they had finally returned. She rushed home quickly and asked them to tell her everything that happened.

            “Well,” Axel said, “We waited practically forever in the waiting room before they let us back. Then we talked to the doctor and he took some x-rays; he said we could do the surgery tomorrow.”

            “Oh, good,” Xion said, “Did he say if it will be dangerous?” Her brow creased with worry.

            “Oh, super dangerous,” Roxas said with a knowing look in his eye, “He said they’re going to saw right into me,” he tapped the pinky edge of his hand against his chest, “And yank my ribcage right open.” He demonstrated this with a sudden pulling-apart motion with his hands, smirking at the cringe on her face (nearly identical to the cringe he wore when Dr. Caelum told him about the operation.)

            “Okay, okay,” she said, holding up her hands, “You don’t have to tell me any more.” Roxas laughed.

            Axel and Xion made baked chicken for dinner, but since Roxas couldn’t eat anything before his operation, he stayed in his room while the others ate, practicing his solo for the Festival on his guitar.

            “Axel,” Xion said as they finished their meal, “Do you think Roxas is going to be alright?” She wondered how many times she had asked this.

            “He’ll be just fine,” Axel said, waving his fork at her, “Don’t even worry about it.” Xion sighed, hoping she could take his advice.

            “Well,” Axel said, standing up and yawning, “I gonna hit the hay.” He and Xion put their dishes in the sink before Axel knocked on Roxas’ door and poked his head in. “You should get to bed soon, buddy, you’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

            “Right,” Roxas said with a nod, and Axel closed the door. He pulled on his gray, starry pajamas and brushed his teeth in the bathroom. When he walked into the living room, he saw Xion sitting on the couch, not doing anything—just sitting.

            “Hey,” he said, taking a seat next to her. Her eyes flickered to him for a moment before resting on the floor. “You okay?”

            She nodded. “Yeah. Just thinking.”

            “About what?”

            She took a deep breath and sighed. “About you. Your operation, I mean,” she quickly added.

            “Oh.” Roxas didn’t know how to respond.

            Xion pressed her lips into a thin line and her eyebrows pulled together. Roxas slid his hands into hers, but there was no romance in the touch—only comfort. Okay, maybe there was a little romance.

            Xion looked up at him, doe-eyed. “I’m worried, Roxas,” she whispered.

            “I know,” Roxas said softly, “I’m worried, too.” He took a deep breath. “I guess it won’t be so bad, I mean, worst case scenario, Axel can whip out his Keyblade and heal me, right?” He smiled hopefully.

            “I don’t think it works like that,” Xion said, shaking her head, “Would that do anything at all if your chest still open?” Tears glistened in her eyes.

            “I don’t know.” Roxas dropped his gaze to their clasped hands, watching a single tear fall from her eye and drop onto his hand. He rubbed her knuckles with his thumbs as guilt swept through him. “I’m sorry.” Tears dampened his lashes and he couldn’t meet her gaze.

            “Why are you sorry?” she asked gently, taking her hand out of his and cupping his cheek, running her thumb along his cheekbone.

            “If I hadn’t been shot, I wouldn’t be putting you through this right now.”

            “Putting me through this?” She sighed softly. “This isn’t about me, Roxas. I’m worried for your sake. If anything, you should be angry at me.”

            He looked up as his eyes widened and lips parted slightly in astonishment. “Angry at you? I could never be angry with you, Xion.”

            “If I hadn’t been kidnapped,” she said, dropping her gaze instead, “You wouldn’t have had to go after me and get shot.” Another tear slid down her cheek.

            Roxas took her face in his hands and made her look at him, brushing away the wet trails of tears with his thumbs. “Xion listen to me.” His eyes burned with intensity. “I would do it a thousand times—a hundred thousand times—if it meant keeping you safe. Xemnas, Xehanort—all of it, I would do over again just to be here,” his eyes flickered to her lips, “With you.”

            Now’s your chance, Roxas. His fingers slid into her hair. Do it. He slowly leaned closer to her and swallowed. Kiss her. She looked at his lips and sucked in a soft, yet shaky breath as his heart thudded madly in his chest. Aaaahhhh! We’re so close right now! He closed his eyes and his bottom lip just barely brushed hers.

            “Guys?” Axel’s voice came from the kitchen and the two teens quickly pulled away from each other, eyes flying open, just before their friend walked into the room. Roxas scowled at Axel as a slew of profanities ran through his head at the man’s interruption. “It’s bedtime. You’ve got surgery tomorrow, remember?” he said to Roxas.

            “Yes,” Roxas spat, “I remember.”

            Axel raised an eyebrow. “Then get to bed, kiddo,” he said, crossing his arms, visibly unamused by Roxas’ sass. “You too, Xion.”

            Roxas sighed and stood from the couch, going into his room and shutting the door with a resounding thud. He fell face-first on his bed and groaned. Axel was the worst wing-man ever.

            He pulled his covers over himself and tried to sleep but simply couldn’t. His nerves were going absolutely haywire, partly because of his imminent and dangerous operation and partly (mostly) because he had almost kissed Xion. And Axel had interrupted them! Roxas grit his teeth, glad that Axel’s boss’s wife splashed a drink on him at the conference, as hot anger flared for a brief moment. But it quickly died down, being replaced with longing for Xion.

            He wondered what would have happened if they had kissed back in their organization days. Surely there would have been some sort of physical response like an increased heart rate and a stomach full of butterflies; he was only human after all (or was he?), but would he have felt anything emotionally? Roxas scoffed at the thought. He would have never felt something this strong as a Nobody.

            Tears pooled in his eyes at his wildly swinging emotions. Being a teenager sucked. Having a heart sucked. Getting shot sucked.

            He’d had better days.

            He lied awake in his bed all night, dreading the upcoming day until it arrived with the buzz of his alarm clock. He went into the bathroom to get ready, brushing his teeth dispassionately and splashing his face with water, trying to scrub the dark circles from his eyes. He looked at himself in the mirror, not liking what he saw. He didn’t look great, physically or emotionally. Roxas gazed at his own grimace and sighed as his stomach roiled with nausea. Luckily Dr. Caelum had told him not to eat anything leading up to his operation; he didn’t think he could have.

            Xion gave Roxas a long, tight hug when he and Axel left, wishing him luck. He gratefully returned the hug, closing his eyes and breathing in the familiar sent of her hair. He thought about how they almost kissed the night before and his heart skipped a beat. He hoped the operation didn’t kill him because he didn’t want to die before experiencing his first kiss. He left casting her a sad look as she watched them go.

            Roxas nervously drummed his leg with his fingers as he stared out the window during the tense ride to the hospital.

            “You okay, Roxas?” Axel asked.

            “I feel like I’m gonna throw up,” he admitted in a small voice. When they arrived at the hospital and passed through the door, dread built up in his being until he felt like overflowing—with either tears or vomit. Neither would surprise him.

            Roxas didn’t have any problem with fighting Heartless, but, for some reason, willingly allowing people to cut him open and prod his insides didn’t sit well with him. He would have preferred a Heartless with huge claws to tear him open, have the bullet fly out, and then Axel could cure him, right as rain. Or perhaps that would be a bit impracticable.

            After waiting an eternity in the waiting room (seriously, he had a bullet in his chest, for crying out loud), the nurses brought him back, had him change into a hospital gown and hooked an IV up to him, feeding him saline through a tube. He sat alone in the room with Axel for some time, saying nothing, nausea growing ever more painful in the boy’s stomach. Eventually, some nurses came in to clean and sanitize his chest before Dr. Caelum and his team wheeled him out of the room.

            Axel followed Roxas down the hall into the operation ward, gripping his hand and giving him reassuring words, trying to quell his young friend’s nerves.

            “Axel,” Roxas said, interrupting him and pinning him with his gaze, “You can feel me, right?”

            “What?” he said, furrowing his brows.

            “You feel me. And if…you think I’m not going to make it, you’ll…heal me… Right?”

            Understanding dawned on Axel’s face as he recalled when they had all felt Kairi get hit by the Heartless in the Caribbean. He nodded. “Yes, of course,” he said with a smile.

            “Don’t worry, Roxas,” Dr. Caelum said, “You’ll be just fine.” The group of doctors wheeled him into operating room and a nurse asked Axel to sit in the hall.

            “Okay, Roxas,” the anesthesiologist said to him as she secured the oxygen mask around his face, “Take a few deep breaths and count backwards from 10.”

            Roxas did as she instructed and began counting, but only made it to number 4 before he fell completely unconscious. The doctors monitored him for a bit longer before beginning their operation.

            Dr. Caelum readied his instruments, not at all worried that Roxas would be just fine. He had performed many open-heart surgeries before and he completely trusted his team. He cut into Roxas’ chest, all the way through his breastbone and opened him up; attaching the clamps that would keep his chest cavity open during the operation, listening to the heart-rate monitor’s steady beeping—the metronome of Roxas’ life.

            He located the round bullet in his patient’s heart and extracted it, unaware that he had ripped out a tiny amount of tissue from the side of Roxas’ heart’s chambers that had attached itself to the bullet. Blood began spurting, and mild panic settled over Dr. Caelum, but he tried to keep his cool as he worked on the boy’s heart. The heart-rate monitor beeped frantically as he worked carefully, not wanting to do any more harm, but it seemed the more he did, the worse off Roxas ended up.

            “He’s flat-lining!” one of the doctors shouted as a dull, continuous sound blared from the heart-rate monitor. Beads of sweat formed on Dr. Caelum’s forehead as he quickly tried to revive Roxas. He shouted commands at his partners and worked feverishly for a several minutes, but to no avail; nothing would help at this point. Dr. Caelum slowly pulled his instruments away and gingerly set them on the table, looking dejectedly at his patient.

            Roxas was dead.

            The doctors were silent for a few moments, passively listening to the sound coming from the heart-rate monitor, until one said in a somber voice, “Time of death: 1:33 pm.” Dr. Caelum sighed as his eyes stung. He didn’t often lose patients and never as young as the one lying on the table before him. He looked into the face of the boy who had had so much life to live. He had friends, hopes, and dreams. How could he tell Axel that his dear friend had passed away? Dr. Caelum swallowed back his tears and his head fell, mentally preparing himself to break the news.

            But the heart-rate monitor started beeping again.

The doctor’s head snapped back up at the boy and he looked at his heart, gaping.

            Roxas’ heart was stitching itself back together. Dr. Caelum couldn’t believe his eyes. He watched, open-mouthed, as the heart sealed itself completely closed where the bullet had been lodged, forming new tissue where needed.

            “That’s impossible,” his partner breathed. Dr. Caelum had to agree.

            “Well,” he said, “I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Let’s close him back up again.

            Outside the operating room, Axel sat, immobile in the rickety hospital chair, eyes squeezed shut. He gripped his Keyblade tightly, a heavy weight in his lap, as tears streamed down his blotchy face. He took a shaky breath and dismissed his Keyblade, swallowing the lump in his throat, and allowing serenity to ease the muscles in his face as his friend’s life force pulsated in the other room, a bright light that had almost gone out. Axel took another deep breath and brought his hand up to wipe the tears from his face, erasing the grief that had been there only moments before.

            Roxas was going to be just fine.

            The next morning, Xion stared at the sky through the skylight of her room as she lay on her bed. The day before, Roxas had surgery and had been closely monitored by doctors all day, so she hadn’t been able to visit. Axel came home to grab a few things before going back to be with Roxas and told her that the operation was a total success, assuring her that everything went perfectly fine, and at no point did Roxas die. He adamantly assured her of that fact. Xion couldn’t help her overwhelming joy at the news, but not being able to visit Roxas that day had upset her. She wanted to see him and talk to him and hear from his own mouth that he was okay. But that would have to wait until she visited later that day.

            Her phone buzzed and she held it above her face, opening the message she had just received. Roxas sent the group a picture of his bare upper body, leaning against the white pillows of his hospital bed, showing off the large line of stitching in the center of his chest. Xion thought the face he made in the picture looked rather odd and would have been right at home in a high fashion magazine. His head, slightly cocked to one side, had one arm thrown up over it, resting in the crook of his elbow. His lips were parted slightly, and he had a glazed look in his eye. Xion would have found his pose rather sexy if she didn’t know it took copious amounts of pain-killers for him to look like that.

            Roxas: Roxas wanted everyone to know that he’s doing just fine and that he misses everyone. Especially Shione :)

            Xion thought that a nurse must be texting for him as she frowned at the miss-spelling of her name. Texts from their friends promptly followed.

            Riku: Dang, Roxas, how high are you?

            Sora: nice scar

            Ven: ouch

            Naminé: I hope you’re better soon, Roxas!

            Roxas: The doctor gave him enough morphine that he can’t feel any pain, so he’s a bit out of it at the moment.

            Xion giggled and tapped on the picture he sent, staring at it, beholding it, drinking in his features and the contours of his chest as heat rose in her face. She drew in a breath clicked away from the picture, typing out a message of her own.

            Xion: Can’t wait to visit you later! Hope you’re doing ok

            She blinked as an incoming call from Roxas took over the screen. She quickly answered, but instead of Roxas’ face, the face of a brown haired woman appeared, presumably Roxas’ nurse. Several of their friends’ faces also appeared in little boxes at the bottom of the screen, Sora with Kairi over his shoulder, Naminé, Riku, Ven with Aqua over his shoulder, and Donald and Goofy.

            “Hi, everyone,” the nurse said, smiling brightly, “Roxas wanted to give you guys a call.” The screen blurred as she moved to hand the phone to him, and he settled it on his face as he nestled into the same position as the picture he had sent. Everyone greeted him all at once, asking about his operation and well-being, and Roxas watched slightly open-mouthed, but didn’t say anything.

            “Let him talk, you guys!” Donald said. Everyone quieted, waiting for Roxas to respond.

            “Hey,” he said simply, blinking slowly as his nurse began dabbing some cotton pads at his chest.

            “How do you feel, Roxas?” Xion asked.

            “I feel so good right now,” he said slowly, blandly.

            Riku laughed. “I bet you do.”

            Roxas ran a lazy hand through his hair and said, “You like my scar?” pointing the camera at his chest as the nurse worked. Xion’s heart broke into a run and her face grew hot. Several of the guys affirmed, but Kairi had something else to comment on.

            “I like your muscles,” she joked with a laugh.

            Roxas grinned and chuckled lightly. “Yeah,” he said slowly, “All this?” He gestured to himself, and then made the O.K. symbol, clicking his tongue with a wink. Xion silently agreed with his sentiment and Kairi laughed out loud. “Xion...” he said. She waited for him to go on. “…What do you think of all this?” he asked as his grin widened. Everyone held their breath (and held back giggles), waiting for her answer. Her cheeks couldn’t possibly get any redder.

            “Umm, it’s great Roxas,” she said, with a laugh, giving him a thumbs-up and trying to pass off her answer as a joke, “Good stuff.”

            Roxas seemed pleased by her response. “Thanks,” he said, drawing out the S. He took a deep breath before continuing. “You guys’ll never believe what happened the night before the operation.” Xion swallowed as panic rose in her chest. Was Roxas going to tell them about their almost-kiss? Her eyes widened as he continued. “Me and Xion—”

            “Alright, Roxas,” his nurse said, cutting him off, “Time to say goodbye to your friends. Dr. Caelum wants to talk to you again.” Roxas gave a mellow protest, but his nurse insisted. Xion quietly breathed a sigh of relief, but Kairi grew frantic.

            “Wait!” she said, “What did you and Xion do?!” But Roxas’ nurse had already hung up the phone for him. “Xion!” she cried, yanking Sora’s phone out of his hands, “What did you and Roxas do?!”

            Xion giggled. “Talk to you guys later!”

            “Wait—!” But Xion hung up before she could say anything else.

            She clicked on the picture that Roxas sent and gazed upon it for far longer than she would care to admit to anyone. She zoomed in and out on different parts of Roxas’ face and chest, smiling to herself. Put the phone down, Xion, it’s just hormones, she reminded herself, pressing her cool hand to her hot face. With a giggle, she saved the picture to her camera roll.

            Axel knocked on her door and she quickly closed her phone, setting it on her night stand and sitting up. “Come in,” she called.

            He pushed the door open with a yawn, still wearing the clothes from the day before since he slept at the hospital on the couch in Roxas’ room. “Hey, Xion,” he said, “You should get ready ‘cause we’re going to leave in an hour, okay?”

            “Okay,” she said with a nod and a smile. She stood to get her clothes out of her closet, but her phone pinged. A message from Kairi appeared on the screen.

            Kairi: What happened that night? Did you guys kiss? ;)

            Xion’s eyes widened at her friend's guess. She took a deep breath, trusting that Kairi would not tell anybody, and typed out her reply.

            Xion: Almost, but Axel stopped us :(

            Kairi: Oh no, I bet that was embarrassing

            Xion: I don’t think he actually saw anything. We heard him in the kitchen and pushed away from each other before he walked in but he might know that something is up

            Kairi: If he has eyes that can see, he knows something’s up lol

            Xion scoffed and set her phone down, rummaging through her closet for the cutest thing she could find, pushing garment bags that held her, Kairi’s, and Naminé’s prom dresses that they had purchased upon their return from the Caribbean, out of the way. She settled on her favorite long, black top and white skirt, and kept her makeup subtle, knowing that Roxas didn’t like very much.

            She expected another text from Kairi when her phone pinged again, but instead received a picture from Naminé. It showed a page from her sketchbook, featuring a crude, crayon drawing of the picture that Roxas had sent previously, drawn in mostly yellow, but she drew the stitching on his chest in scarlet. Xion laughed and saved that picture, too, before Axel got her to leave.

            Xion smiled widely the entire ride to the hospital, bugging Axel about when he thought Roxas would be fully recovered and if he was feeling alright.

            “Don’t worry, Xion,” he said, “Roxas is so doped up right now, he can’t feel anything.” Xion laughed at that.

            When they got to Roxas’ room, Dr. Caelum met them outside the door to talk to Axel. “He’s improving at a remarkable rate,” the doctor said with wide eyes, “We’ve seen weeks’ worth of progress from him in the past day alone. I’ve never seen anything like it. Normally a patient would stay in the hospital for three weeks after a surgery like his, but he should be ready to go in probably a few days with what we’ve seen from him.”

            Xion grinned at the news and Axel said, “Well, that’s Roxas for ya. When he falls, he gets back up again.”

            “Indeed,” Dr. Caelum agreed and bid them farewell.

            Axel knocked on the door and poked his head in. “Roxas? Can we come in, buddy?”

            Xion heard Roxas’ voice from the room. “Where’s Xion?” Her heart leapt at the query. She smiled and pushed past Axel, walking quickly to Roxas’ bedside. He was, unfortunately, wearing a hospital gown instead of sporting a bare chest.

            “Hi, Roxas,” she said gently, “How are you doing?” She took his hand in both of hers.

            Roxas gazed at her with glassy eyes and a soft smile. “I’m doin’ just fine. How ‘bout yourself, sweetheart?” He gave her a coy wink, making her flush immediately. Was he flirting with her? She heard Axel scoff with amusement and the chair creak as he sat down.

            “Um, I’m good,” Xion replied, trying to sound casual.

            “Oh, that’s good,” Roxas said, taking his free and resting it over hers, “A pretty girl like you should always be doin’ good.” Xion laughed at his gall.

            “Wow, Roxas,” she said with a shake of her head, but smiling nevertheless, “How many drugs are you on?”

            “I don’t know,” he said, casting his eyes downward, “The doctor just gives me whatever.” His gaze flicked back up to her, pinning her where she stood. “But enough about me. Let’s talk about you.” He grinned and reached his hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear. Xion laughed, blushing at the boy’s delirious antics.

            “I really hope you don’t remember saying any of this,” she said.

            “Where’s the fun in that, Xion?” Axel asked. She shook her head and chuckled.

            “You haven’t given me a hug, by the way,” Roxas said, raising an eyebrow and opening his arms.

            “Well, I don’t want to hurt you,” Xion said, but she sat on the edge of the bed and leaned down, giving him a gentle hug, and rubbing his back.

            Roxas took a deep breath and sighed contentedly. “You smell so nice.”

            “Thanks,” Xion said, pulling away.

            “We should ditch our dates and go to prom together,” he said abruptly.

            “What—Roxas, we can’t do that,” she said, laughing again. Roxas’ eyebrows pulled down as he frowned at her.

            “But I wanted to go with you.” Xion thought he looked like a sad puppy: adorable and slightly heartbroken.

            “I wanted to go with you, too,” Xion admitted quietly, forgetting that Axel sat behind her.

            “So, yeah,” Roxas continued, almost casually, with a shrug, “Let’s just go together.”

            Xion grimaced slightly, knowing that Roxas only made the suggestion because his painkillers obliterated his verbal filter. She told him she would think about it, but Xion couldn’t ignore his complete honesty with her; it only took a few hundred milligrams of intense painkillers for him to admit it. She sighed.

            “Why didn’t you just tell me that you wanted to go with me?” she asked quietly.

            “I was scared,” Roxas said, shrugging again and dropping his hazy eyes to his bed sheets.

            “Of what?”

            “That you’d say no.” He took a short breath and let it out in a huff.

            “I wouldn’t have said no,” Xion said, cupping his face in her hand.

            “I know now,” he said, looking back up at her with a smile, putting his hand over hers on his face.

            Xion smiled and gazed at him for a moment before flinching at the sound Axel’s ring-tone going off behind her, suddenly reminding her of his presence. She blushed, having just been a little too honest with Roxas in front of their older friend.

            “It’s my boss,” he said, standing up, “I gotta take this.” With that, he walked out of the room, leaving them alone.

            Roxas and Xion were silent for a moment before he said quietly, “Can you sing for me?”

            “Sing what?” she asked just as softly.

            “Anything. Your favorite song.”

            Xion didn’t really have a favorite song, so she combed her memory, searching for a song she knew Roxas liked a lot. She took a deep breath and began to softly sing.

How did I live in a kingdom of thieves

And people who say things they don't really mean, really mean?

You're only everything I ever dreamed

Ever dreamed of, ever dreamed of

You must be kidding me

Did you really think I could say no?

            She stared at her hands clasped over Roxas’, feeling self-conscious as he watched her intensely; his eyes never strayed from her face. But she kept singing because she knew it would make him happy.

I want you for a lifetime

So if you're gonna think twice

I don't wanna know

Baby, I don't wanna know

Everything is just right

But if you're gonna think twice

I don't wanna know

Baby, I don't wanna know

            As Xion sang, Roxas would occasionally jump in to harmonize, but he left the singing mostly to her. Soon her self-consciousness melted away and she looked him in the eye, singing the loving lyrics to her best friend and meaning every word of it.

Kiss me once

Kiss me twice

Kiss me three times

Cross the line

Kiss me once

Kiss me twice

Kiss me three times

Be mine

Don't think twice

Don't think twice

Don't think twice

Baby, don't think twice

            She trailed off when the song ended and stared into Roxas’ eyes as he smiled softly. Xion wanted more than anything to lean over and kiss him, but would that be right with him in a state of inebriation? Before she could decide, she heard light applause from behind her as Axel walked back into the room. Xion blushed, self-conscious again, and struck up a conversation with him to alleviate her own embarrassment.

            Xion stayed with Roxas until the nurse told her that visiting hours were over. She wished she could spend the night like Axel, but she didn’t have such privileges since she and Roxas weren’t related. Axel rode home with her in the cab so he could get a few more things from home before leaving her alone in the empty apartment.

            Xion looked around and listened to the blood pump in her ears. She sighed, unable to stand the silence, and decided to watch a movie.

            As she combed through their stack of DVDs, she found Teen Beach Movie sitting where she had left it when she and Roxas watched it the previous weekend. She popped it into the tray and watched it all by herself, not enjoying it nearly as much as when she watched it with her best friend. When the scene that had the song “Falling for Ya” came on, she didn’t even watch the TV screen, but instead, let the slow dance she had with Roxas play out in her head. She rewound and watched the scene several times before continuing the movie.

            At its conclusion, Xion decided to go to bed, but found she couldn’t fall asleep. She pulled her covers off of her and began to pace around her room before exiting through her door to walk around the house, looping around the kitchen, into Axel’s room, back into the living room, until she came to a stop at Roxas’ bedroom door. She stared down at the handle and gingerly wrapped her fingers around it, slowly turning it and pushing the door open.

            The blackout curtains were left drawn, shrouding the room in darkness. Xion took a few blind steps inside until her knees hit the edge of the bed, so she walked around it, letting her fingers trail over the comforter, and felt her foot brush against a crumpled piece of fabric. She bent down and picked the fabric up, seeing that it was a T-shirt that Roxas had used and discarded on the floor next to his laundry basket. She brought the shirt up to her face, burying her cheeks into the soft fabric and breathing in Roxas’ scent.

            She sat down on the edge of his bed and held the shirt to her chest before taking a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh, pulling the shirt over her head and sticking her arms through the sleeves and crawling under Roxas’ covers. She fell asleep, nestled in the soft bedsheets.

Chapter Text

            A gentle hand shook Xion’s shoulder, pulling her out of her deep sleep, but she rolled over and breathed deeply, savoring the musk of Roxas’ pillowcase. She pressed her face further into the pillow, trying to sink back into the sweet dream she had been having before being woken. She couldn’t remember what exactly happened, but she knew it had centered on Roxas.

            “Xion,” Roxas said gently, shaking her shoulder again. Her eyelids fluttered open to find him standing over her with a soft smile on his face. She rubbed her face and stared at him for a moment, but then seemed to comprehend the situations. She gasped and sat bolt upright, cheeks turning flaming red. Roxas had caught her…in his bed…wearing his clothes. Not a great start to her day.

            “Roxas!” she cried with wide eyes, brows pulling together, “You’re home already.”

            “Yeah,” he said slowly, sitting on the edge of the bed, “The doctor said I was good to go. And look at this.” He pulled a baggie out of his pocket that had a small metal ball in it. “They let me keep the bullet.” He smiled lazily at her again, but Xion had trouble returning the smile, seeing as he had just found her in his bed and apparently didn’t seem to mind.

            “Are you still on painkillers?” she asked.

            “Yeah, a little,” he said, standing up and walking to his dresser, “Dr. Caelum said they would fully wear off in a bit.” He fiddled with the baggie, taking his time to peel apart the zipper edge, and took the bullet out, dropping it inside the jar he used to store the coins he won from his poker game with Jack. It landed with a small clatter.

            “Xion,” Axel said, appearing in the doorway, “What are you doing in here?” He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, giving her a suspicious look.

            “Umm…” Xion didn’t have an answer. “Sorry,” she said jumping up and quickly exiting the room.

            “Is that Roxas’ shirt?” Axel asked as she passed him.

            “Oh, yeah, I’ll wash it,” she said, not turning to look at him lest he see her red cheeks. She shut her door behind her and pressed her back against it. Face in hands, she slid down the door until she sat on the floor, groaning as she wallowed in mortification.

            Xion pulled Roxas’ shirt over her head so that she only had on her tank top and shorts and hugged it to her chest. She closed her eyes and sighed, breathing in the scent of the shirt once more and, standing slowly, walked to her dresser and set the black top in her pajama drawer. Roxas wouldn’t be getting that back for a couple of reasons.

            One: She didn’t think she would be physically able to hand it to him without exploding into confetti and dying (like she deserved), and two: It smelled really good.

            Xion lay down on her bed and picked up her Gummiphone, typing out a message to Kairi and Naminé.

            Xion: I’ve made a complete fool of myself

            Naminé: What happened?

            Xion took a deep breath before typing out her message, realizing that once she let the cat out of the bag, she would definitely be subject to much teasing.

            Xion: Last night, I fell asleep in Roxas’ bed while he was at the hospital and he came home this morning and caught me. Axel saw me too

            Kairi: HAHAHAHAHA Oh no! lolololol I’m crying!

            Xion scoffed at the message, looking at it with disgust. Kairi had no sympathy.

            Naminé: Oh man, I bet that was embarrassing

            Xion: The worst part is…I was wearing one of his shirts. It smells good, so I’m not giving it back to him

            Kairi: lol I like stealing Sora’s clothes

            Xion almost told them about the dream she had of Roxas, but Axel knocked on her door.

            “Come in,” she called. Axel stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.

            “Xion,” he said carefully, “What was that about?” He spoke softly, most likely so that Roxas wouldn’t be able to hear.

            “Well,” she muttered, “I guess I don’t really have an explanation.” She stared at her bedsheets. “I couldn’t sleep, so I started walking around and…ended up in Roxas’ room.”

            “And you thought you’d sleep in his bed?” Xion just shrugged, not meeting his eyes. Axel sighed softly. “Xion,” he knelt down next to her and rested his hand over hers, “I get that you like Roxas,” she still wouldn’t look him in the eye and her cheeks burned, “But you two need to watch yourselves. The three of us all live here together because I trust you.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “But if you give me reason to believe that I can’t anymore, then I’ll have to split you two up.” Xion gasped softly and finally looked at Axel.

            He wouldn’t split them up. He couldn’t split them up. They were friends, all three of them—a trio. The whole reason they got an apartment together in the first place was so that they would always have each other. How could Axel possibly take that away?

            He looked at her with a serious expression on his face. “It’s for your own protection.” Xion’s shoulders fell limply. “Just stay out of his room from now on, okay?”

            “Okay,” Xion said in a small voice.

            “And get ready for school.” With that, he left the room, closing the door behind him.

            Xion lay back on her bed, pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes, feeling slight nausea rise in her stomach—embarrassed not only because Roxas had caught her in his bed but also because of Axel’s warning. She’d be a fool to think he wouldn’t do anything at all to protect his two young friends, even from each other. She sighed and got up, preparing for the school day, trying to push the past few minutes out of her mind.

            Xion wasn’t sure how she would be able to face Roxas after him catching her, but, luckily, his painkillers still affected him just enough that he didn’t bring it up again on the way to school.

            As Xion walked with Olette through the halls on their way to class, she kept her eyes trained on the floor and didn’t say much to her friend.

            “Xion,” Olette said, “Is something wrong?”

            Xion looked at her nervously and swallowed. “Yes,” she began, “But, you can’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you.” She pulled Olette behind a pillar by the staircase and looked around to make sure no one could hear them, and told Olette what had happened that morning. Olette’s eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped as she listened, laughing with amusement.

            “Wow, you slept in his bed?” she said with a toothy grin.

            Xion shushed her loudly. “Don’t say it like that!” she hissed, hoping and praying that no one could hear them. Olette laughed again and Xion rubbed her eyes. “It was so embarrassing,” she groaned.

            “Don’t worry,” Olette said walking around the pillar, “Your secret is safe with me.” She stopped in her tracks. “And Luna.”

            Xion’s eyes grew wide and she rushed to the other side of the pillar to find a senior girl, Lunafreya Fluret, sitting at the base of the pillar with a textbook open on her lap and a guilty expression on her face.

            “I’m sorry,” she said sheepishly, “When I came over, I didn’t realize what you were talking about until too late. I promise I won’t tell anyone.” Xion didn’t know Luna very well, but she hoped she could trust the Class President/Valedictorian/Honors student. Luna sighed and turned back to her book with a frown.

            “Is something wrong?” Olette asked.

            “Well,” Luna said, not looking up at them, “I was going to be out of town during prom, but those plans fell through, and my parents still want me to go to prom, but I don’t have a date.”

            “Oh, no,” Olette said, brows pulling down with sympathy.

            An image of Ven flashed in Xion’s mind. “Oh!” she said, “I have a friend who still needs a date. Do you want me to set you up with him?”

            “Who is it?” Luna asked, looking up at her.

            “Oh, it’s, uh, Roxas’ twin brother,” she said, recalling and recycling the mistake Jack had made about the two boys.

            “Roxas has a twin?”

            “Yes,” Xion said, scratching her neck, “But he goes to a different school.”

            “Yeah, he’s from out-of-town,” Olette supplied.

            “Well,” Luna said with a smile, “I’d be happy to go with him if he’s as sweet as Roxas.”

            “Oh, even sweeter,” Xion said with a laugh, “I’ll ask him.” She pulled out her phone and shot Ven a text and he quickly replied that he’d love to go with Luna. “That settles it. I’ll give you his number.” When the girls parted ways to go to class, Luna looked much happier than before.

            Like Luna, Iris also busied herself with plans for the upcoming prom and often voiced her excitement to Roxas as she saw him throughout the day. She cornered him by his locker, just as his painkillers had finally abated. “Hi Roxas!” she said cheerfully, giving him a tight hug, taking him by surprise.

            “Ah! Careful, I just had surgery there,” he said, pushing her away, resting his hand protectively over his chest.

            “Oops, sorry,” she said with a giggle, settling her hands on his shoulders. “So,” she continued, “Can you just not wait for prom? It’s going to be so much fun!” She giggled and Roxas agreed. “Make sure you brush up on your dancing skills, okay, ‘cause I want everyone else to envy how in sync we are.” She gave him a bright grin.

            Xion and Olette then walked up to them, giving them both a greeting, but when Xion’s and Iris’ eyes met, something silently passed between the two girls. They didn’t quite glare at each other, but the hard look in each of their eyes could not be seen as friendly. Xion forced herself to keep her lip from curling at Iris’ hands on Roxas’ shoulders. Those should be her hands on his shoulders.

            Iris looked away, back at Roxas, and smiled. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

            “Oka—” he began, but Iris cut him off with a peck of her lips on his right cheek before skipping away. Roxas, Xion, and Olette stared at her retreating form with wide eyes as Roxas brought his hand up to his cheek, hardly believing what had just happened. He cleared his throat. “I’ll see you guys later,” he said quickly, walking away and avoiding eye contact with the two girls.

            As the week wore on, Roxas found Iris to be much less tolerable than before, mostly due to the fact that she would not leave him alone. He couldn’t get a moments peace with her constant presence, and he didn’t want to be rude by blocking out her rambling with his headphones. Not only did her incessant company bother him, she seemed to always have her arms around him, hanging off of him like a child from their father’s neck. Roxas often had to gently push her away, still wanting to not seem rude, and absolutely refusing to reciprocate any sort of affection. He tried to avoid looking uncomfortable at her touch, tamping down his frustration so that he wouldn’t snap at her, coming close several times.

            That Friday, the day of the Midnight Festival, Iris pulled him outside after school, insisting that she wanted to talk to him in private, and Roxas reluctantly agreed. She stopped under a tree and gripped his upper-arms in her hands.

            “You know, Roxas,” she asked as dappled light from the tree hit her face. She slid her arms around his neck, and he tried to step back, but the tree stood in his way. “I think you and I would be a cute couple.”

            Roxas cursed her forwardness. “Really?” he asked, mild panic creeping into his voice and eyebrows raised.

            “For sure,” she said with a giggle, “I knew it since the day you rescued me from those monsters that maybe you had a thing for me.”

            “Oh,” Roxas said, furrowing his brows, “That wasn’t—I mean, I was just doing my job, you know?” He swallowed and pressed his hands to the rough bark of the tree as Iris’ fingers slid in his hair. She giggled again.

            “Well, it was very heroic of you,” she said looking at his lips and leaning her head closer to his. Roxas eyes widened in horror.

            No matter how the next minute of his life went, it would end badly. Either Roxas would seriously hurt Iris’ feelings by pushing her away, or he would bite the bullet and let her steal his first kiss. Neither outcome thrilled him. Her eyes shut and Roxas leaned his head as far back as the tree behind him would allow as her lips began to close the distance.

            “Roxas?” an urgent voice said. Iris gasped softly and jumped away from him, seeing Xion standing right by the tree, eyes wide.

            “Xion!” Roxas said, pushing Iris away from him, forgetting her feelings, at Xion’s sudden appearance. “We weren’t doing anything just now,” he insisted, waving his hands in front of him as Xion looked at the two in mild anguish and surprise.

            Iris cleared her throat uncomfortably. “I’ll see you at the festival later, Roxas,” she said, fleeing the scene. He chewed his lip, watching her go.

            “Roxas,” Xion asked guardedly, “What was that?”

            “Okay,” Roxas said, turning on her and holding up defensive hands, “She tried to kiss me, I did not try to kiss her. Please, you’ve got to believe me on this one,” he added frantically.

            “Okay,” she said slowly, eyebrow raised, “I believe you.” She turned around and began to stiffly walk down the path that led to the trams and Roxas followed quickly behind.

            Things between them had been…tense since he came home from the hospital. At first, he attributed the tense atmosphere to her embarrassment at him finding her in his bed, but as the week went on, she had become more distant. Roxas thought about the past week, how Xion had always seemed to catch him with Iris hanging off of him and figured that the girl’s constant flirting must be to blame for Xion’s growing aloofness.

            No.

            It wasn’t Iris. It was him.

            Though he didn’t mirror her flirty behavior, he didn’t really discourage it either, not wanting to seem rude to his own prom date. But as he gazed at Xion walking in front of him with her eyes trained on the sidewalk, he realized that he had hurt her. Again.

            Roxas quickly grabbed her hand. “Xion,” he said. She stopped walking but didn’t turn around. “Look, you know that I don’t see Iris that way. I didn’t want to seem mean by telling her to stop, so…I just did nothing.” He dropped his head and added softly, “All week.”

            Xion sighed. “I get it,” she said, “You didn’t want to hurt her feelings.” Roxas looked back up at her, but she still hadn’t turned around. He took a few steps closer to her until his chest nearly pressed right up against her shoulder.

            “But I didn’t realize I was hurting the feelings of the girl I actually care about.” Xion turned then and gave him a distressed look.

            “Roxas,” she began, but he cut her off.

            “You’re my best friend, Xion. You know that,” he said. She sighed, dropping her own gaze. “And I don’t want you to think that I’m someone who forgets about their friends, so, I’m sorry.” He bit his lip, trying to keep his frown from deepening.

            “Roxas, no, it’s not your fault,” she said, squeezing his hand, “You didn’t mean for any of this to happen.” By ‘this’ he wondered if she meant the past week or his entire life. “And today is supposed to be a fun day,” she said, smiling softly. “Now give me a smile.” She removed her hand from his and pushed up the corners of his mouth with her fingers. He laughed and removed her hands from his face.

            “Alright, fine,” he said, “But only if you forgive me for being a jerk.”

            “Okay, I forgive you, ya big, fat jerk.” She chuckled.

            “Oh, thanks,” he said, rolling his eyes, continuing the walk to the trams.

            When they arrived home, all of their friends were already there waiting for them so they could all go to the Midnight Festival together. Though it had only been about a week since they’d seen everybody, Roxas and Xion were overjoyed to spend time with them again. Sora greeted them with a big hug, asking them what they had planned for the night.

            “Well,” Roxas said, “The festival starts with a play put on by the theater kids, then the choir does a few songs, and some other people and I will do our solos, and then we can go around to different booths and play games and stuff.”

            “At the end of the night, there’s supposed to be a firework show,” Xion said, clapping her hands gently with excitement.

            “What song are you going to do?” Sora asked as Roxas went into his room to change. He followed behind and closed the door.

            “It’s called “Why Don’t You Kiss Her?” he said, pulling his shirt off over his head.

            Sora chuckled softly. “I wonder who that’s about,” he said with a grin, reclining on the bed with his hands behind his head.

            “Well, don’t wonder,” Roxas replied, looking through his closet, “My teacher picked it out. All the songs we’re doing are supposed to follow the story line of her favorite book, or some crap like that.” Roxas’ teacher wanted him to play a different song called “Beautiful Soul” originally, but she had changed her mind once Roxas had practiced and played both songs for her.

            Roxas searched through his closet, looking for his plain black t-shirt that he had to wear for his show, but could not find it. In fact, the last he’d seen of it had been when he caught Xion wearing it, nestled in his blankets. He had half a mind to go ask her where she had put it, but shook his head at the thought. He didn’t want all of their friends finding out about that situation; he wouldn’t be able to live it down if they did. He would just have to wear his itchy, black polo instead.

            While Roxas and Sora chatted, Xion, Kairi, and Naminé sat in Xion’s room, getting ready for the evening. Since they were celebrating the Midnight Festival, Xion wanted her makeup to reflect that, and applied glittery, dark blue eyeshadow to her eyelids, accentuated with rosy pink lipstick. She briefly wondered if Roxas wouldn’t like her makeup, then shrugged. He had seen her enough without it, so she could at least have this one night.

            “Do my lips look perfectly kissable?” she asked her companions, puckering her lips in the mirror and making a smacking noise. They laughed.

            “Totally,” Naminé said, stealing the lipstick and applying it to her own lips.

            “If you’re anything like me,” Kairi said, “They’re totally kissable. At least that’s what Sora tells me. That my lips are kissable, I mean.”

            “Well,” Xion whispered, staring at her own lips in the mirror, “Hopefully his Nobody shares the sentiment.”

            Kairi giggled. “From what you told us about the night before his surgery,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows, “He totally does.”

            “Oh, yeah, he definitely does,” Naminé agreed.

            “Hey,” Xion said with a laugh, “You weren’t supposed to know about that.” The other two girls only laughed as Axel knocked on the door, telling them to finish up so they could leave.

            They soon met with the others in the living room, and Roxas, guitar case in hand, walked up to Xion.

            “Xion, what’s with all this?” he asked with a smile and furrowed brows, gesturing to her face, “That’s a lot of makeup.”

            “Yes, it is, isn’t it?” she said matter-of-factly with a nod. Roxas laughed.

            “Well, you look very pretty anyway.” He smiled and Xion returned it, glad that she was wearing enough foundation to hide her blush.

            They chatted excitedly as they walked to the train station plaza where the School usually performed its shows for the festival. The streets branching off had booths with food, games, and all sorts of souvenirs to buy, enticing them to spend their munny before the sun even began to dip below the horizon. When they got to the plaza, the theater kids were already performing their show on a small stage that had been set up.

            Roxas left his friends outside and walked into the train station, where the choir had decided to meet. Several food merchants had also set up booths along the sides of the foyer. He located Ms. Heartilly and his classmates, and she had them run through their pieces during the theater kids’ performance. When Roxas practiced his solo, Ms. Heartilly deemed it “passable.” He only shrugged in response, knowing how strict she could be.

            Finally, they exited the train station and took their places on the risers on stage. The first few pieces went off without a hitch, but when the sun finally dipped below the skyline, the orchestra kids accompanying the choir began to make mistakes. Roxas swallowed his irritation as a few dissonant chords grated his ears every so often. Didn’t they practice, or were some of them only sight-reading? He could see Ms. Heartilly clench her jaw in disapproval at the kids as she conducted, and when the piece finally ended, relief flooded her face. She looked up at Roxas and nodded her head, beckoning him to the front of the stage for his solo.

            He carefully stepped around his classmates as they sat down on the rises and retrieved his guitar from the side of the stage. Another student set up two chairs for him and his accompanying cellist, Garnet, and positioned a microphone in front of each of them. Roxas would have preferred a mic on his guitar and in front of his face, but he would have to make do with just one. He looked at his teacher and she nodded again. Roxas took a deep breath, trying to quell his nerves at suddenly being the center of attention and began to pick out the first few bars of the song. Perspiration formed on his brow as he began to sing with a slightly shaky voice.

We're the best of friends

And we share our secrets

She knows everything that is on my mind

Oh, lately something's changed

As I lie awake in my bed

A voice here inside my head

Softly says

            As he sang, his voice grew stronger and more passionate, pouring his emotions into the song, and meeting the eyes of the crowd. He found Xion and pinned her with his gaze.

Why don't you kiss her?

Why don't you tell her?

Why don't you let her see

The feelings that you hide?

'Cause she'll never know

If you never show

The way you feel inside

            He looked away from her and began scanning the crowd again. Xion watched him sing, open mouthed and starry eyed, imagining that he sang just for her. She had heard him sing this song many times when he practiced, but never had she heard this much emotion put into the song, never had she taken the time to listen to the words, and never had she been more certain that she was madly in love with the boy on stage than right then. How selfish of Roxas to steal her heart when she had just gotten one for herself. She let the words wash over her, committing them to memory, as the last lights of twilight disappeared from the horizon.

What would you say?

I wonder would she just turn away

Or would she promise me

That she's here to stay?

It hurts me to wait

I keep asking myself

Why don't you kiss her?

Why don't you tell her?

Why don't you let her see

The feelings that you hide?

'Cause she'll never know

If you never show

The way you feel inside

Why don't you kiss her?

Why don't you kiss her?

            At the conclusion of Roxas’ song, the entire crowd burst into applause, emphasized with many whoops and whistles. Roxas and Garnet bowed before stepping off the stage.

            “You did really well, Roxas,” Garnet said with a timid smile as he snapped the latches on his guitar case closed.

            “Thanks,” he replied brightly, “You did, too.”

            “Oh, thanks,” she said with a light chuckle, tucking her hair behind her ear.

            He took his place on the risers again as the show continued on, and tried to avoid thinking about all the tiny mistakes he had made when he played, but, fortunately for him, no one else seemed to notice his mistakes, and everyone, including Ms. Heartilly, told him how amazing he did at the conclusion of the show.

            “I’m sure more than one girl fell in love with you tonight,” Axel said when Roxas met back up with his friends.

            “Oh, please,” he said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, “They were already in love with me.” He and Axel shared a laugh.

            For the rest of the night, the group of friends went from booth to booth, eating fried food, playing games, and wasting their munny on cheap trinkets. Axel, Isa, Terra, and Aqua walked around with the teens for a while, but eventually sat down at a picnic table to talk, leaving them to wander the streets by themselves.

            Overtime, people began chattering excitedly about the firework show. Roxas looked at his watch, reading 9:53, seven minutes until the show began.

            “Let’s watch from the clock tower,” he told the group with a grin, “We’ll have a great view from there.”

            “Yeah,” Sora said, “That’s a great idea—”

            “Actually, Sora,” Kairi cut in, “You said you wanted to take me to the lookout by the train station, remember?”

            “I did?” he asked.

            “Yes, you did.”

            Sora looked confused for a moment, but then smiled and said, “Oh, right, now I remember.”

            Roxas thought that perhaps Sora didn’t actually remember, but decided to play along to keep his girlfriend happy.

            “And, you guys said you wanted to come, too,” Kairi declared, turning to Riku, Naminé, and Ven. She turned back to Roxas and Xion. “But you guys can go up without us,” she said brightly, waving them away. She turned and grabbed the arms of Sora and Ven, pulling them down the sidewalk, followed by Naminé. Riku gave Roxas and Xion a wink before turning away, looping his arm with his girlfriend's. Roxas’ cheeks turned red, realizing what Kairi had done. She had gotten him and Xion alone together.

            He turned to face the girl, trying to seem casual, and said, “Well, I guess it’s just us.” He began to walk to the clock tower. “Let’s go.”

            They got to the top of their usual spot and sat down just before the fireworks began, exploding into all the colors of the rainbow and sparkling brightly against the dark sky. They watched the spectacle in silence for a minute.

            “It’s beautiful,” Xion commented.

            Roxas looked over at her, watching the reds, greens, and blues of the show illuminate her face. “Yeah,” he said, “Beautiful.” Xion met his eyes and giggled before turning back to the sky.

            “So,” she said, “Are you excited for prom tomorrow?”

            Roxas thought about Iris. “Ehh,” he said with a grimace.

            “What?” she said with a smirk, “You don’t want to spend all night with Iris hanging off of you?” She read his mind.

            “Not exactly,” he said and Xion laughed. “I’m just worried she’ll try to kiss me again.”

            “You don’t want her to be your first kiss?” Xion teased, raising an eyebrow.

            Roxas chuckled. “No, not really.” In fact, the girl he wanted his first kiss with currently sat right next to him. “I don’t even know her that well.”

            “Yeah,” Xion agreed, “I think it’d be kind of awkward for a first kiss.” She chuckled lightly. “What if Noctis tries to kiss me. Can you imagine?” Roxas felt a pang in his stomach at the thought of Noctis kissing the girl of his dreams. “I just don’t want my first kiss to be with some random person, you know?” she continued. “Think about all the pressure! I couldn’t do that with someone I didn’t really know.” She took a deep breath. “It should be with…with a friend.” She stared straight ahead as Roxas thought about the implications of her words. By 'friend' did she mean him, or was he reading her wrong? He looked back at the fireworks, face growing warm as he decided what he wanted to do next.

            “Well,” he said slowly, already regretting the words he was about to speak. “We could…kiss each other. Just so we can get it out of the way…No pressure,” he lied that last part through his teeth. Xion didn’t say anything for a moment, convincing Roxas that he had just taken their friendship by its neck, dragged it behind a dumpster, and shot it in the head.

            “…Okay,” she said quietly.

            “Wait, what?” he asked, snapping his head over to look at her.

            She turned to look at him, with a small smile before bashfully dropping her gaze. “Let’s kiss.”

            “You mean right now?” he asked, eyes wide.

            Xion giggled and scooted closer to him. “Yeah,” she said, biting her lip. Roxas gaped at her.

            “Okay,” he said quietly.

            When they had almost kissed a week before, that had been a spur-of-the-moment type thing. He wasn’t really thinking about what he was doing then, but now…Now that they had put thought into it and mutually agreed to kiss, there were expectations involved. Expectations that Roxas wasn’t sure he could meet. How much pressure was he supposed to use? Should there be suction involved or any smooching noises?

            As these questions ran through his mind, Xion giggled again and leaned toward him slowly. He swallowed and leaned toward her, tilting his head slightly to the side, and his heart pumped madly in his chest as he blushed harder than he’d ever had in his life. Roxas closed his eyes and brought a shaky hand up to touch her cheek, pressing his lips against hers.

            The moment their lips touched, his heart stopped. He remained completely still, willing himself not to pass out, but, after a brief moment of feeling as if he had a panic attack coming, the scent of her perfume calmed him, and his brain (blessedly) shut down, allowing him to overcome his anxiety. He let the touch of Xion’s lips completely overtake him.

            Her lips were soft but sticky from the lipstick. Actually, the lipstick felt kind of gross. How did girls wear that stuff? Roxas ignored the sticky feeling and moved against Xion’s lips lightly with his, and she gently pushed back, likewise making small movements with her lips. She exhaled lightly, breathing warm air on his face, desensitizing him even further as he lost himself in her sweet kiss. Roxas grew increasingly light-headed as the kiss went on.

            Though they both kept their mouths closed for the most part, raw emotion surged through them regardless. Roxas removed his hand from Xion’s cheek and wrapped his arms around her waist as her fingers tangled in his hair, each deepening the kiss, continuing to press their lips against each other’s. Roxas was 100% certain that kissing Xion was the most enjoyable activity he had ever taken part in, and though the kiss lacked experience on both of their parts, he couldn’t have asked for a better one.

            Soon Roxas’ light-headedness grew stronger, and he realized that he had stopped breathing. He pulled away from Xion with one final smooching sound and quietly sucked in a breath. He slowly opened his eyes and they looked at each other for a moment, Xion’s expression unreadable, before turning away blushing, removing their hands from each other and staring straight ahead.

            “Well…”Xion said quietly, but she didn’t say anything else for a moment.

            Roxas’ stomach dropped and he began to sweat. He’d done it all wrong, hadn’t he? He was a terrible kisser! And now Xion would never want to kiss him again! He should have asked someone for tips first! Roxas frowned at the ground below him, an enticing place for his corpse to lie after he flung himself off the clock tower for completely blowing it.

            Xion cleared her throat. “That was…” she said slowly, “…Interesting.”

            “Interesting good, or interesting bad?” Roxas asked with a grimace, not looking at her.

            “Interesting good.”

            Roxas’ heart soared and he looked up at Xion. She gave him a small smile and dropped her gaze. Perhaps she would be okay with kissing him again in the future. Roxas’ face split into a grin and he burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it. The nerves, confusion, embarrassment, and finally joy had all built up and overflowed in the form of his laughter when he realized that, even if his kissing skills were left wanting, so probably were hers, and he shouldn’t worry too much about it. Xion joined in with him, their raucous laughter being drowned out by the fireworks.

            Roxas laughed as his stomach twisted into painful knots, and he had to heave in deep breaths between each laugh until they had subsided to small giggles.

            “I sucked, didn’t I,” he said with a chuckle.

            Xion laughed again. “No, no,” she insisted, giving him a smile, “You weren’t that bad. I’m sure we’ll both get better, anyway.”

            “Good,” he grinned, “Because I don’t want you to think I’m a terrible kisser or anything.”

            “And I don’t want you to think I am, either,” Xion said with a small laugh. Roxas laughed with her and the two went back to watching the fireworks, smiles stretched wide on their faces, until the show ended.

            They left the tower, hand in hand, and walked to meet back up with their friends, but Sora, Riku, and Ven called out to them as they walked to the train station.

            “Yo, Roxas!” Sora called, “Come help us get some more food.”

            “Okay,” Roxas called back. He gave Xion and smile and walked over to the boys, entering the bright light of the train station.

            Xion saw Kairi and Naminé sitting on a picnic blanket in a grassy area nearby and rushed over to them.

            “Kairi! Naminé!” she called as she ran. The girls waved at her, beckoning her to them, and she sat down next to them. “You guys are never going to believe what just happened!” she said, grabbing their hands.

            “He kissed you!” Kairi guessed.

            “Yes!” Xion squealed and laughed.

            “How was it?!” Naminé practically shouted, unusual for her general soft-spoken demeanor.

            “It was amazing!” Xion said, bringing her hands to her face, “I mean, it wasn’t perfect or anything, and I’m sure he thought I was awful at it, but it was still amazing.” Her wide grin softened and she took a breath. “I am so in love with him.”

            “Congratulations,” Kairi said, “You’re officially the last person to know.”

            “Hey!” Xion said, punching her lightly on the arm as Naminé laughed at them.

            Meanwhile, the boys walked around the train station looking at the stalls of food as Roxas wore a small smile on his face, hardly paying any attention to his friends, thinking about the kiss.

            “So,” Sora said, “Kairi said she wants more potato salad, and Naminé wanted more fruit—”

            “What is that?” Riku said, cutting Sora off and sticking his finger right in Roxas’ face, pulling him out of his thoughts. Roxas flinched in surprise.

            “What’s what?” he asked, bringing his hand to his face.

            Riku grinned widely and furrowed his brows. “That pink stuff on your lips.” Sora and Ven snapped their heads over to Roxas as his face turned beet-red. He rubbed his lips with his fingers and examined them. Sure enough, sticky, pink lipstick shimmered on his fingertips.

            “Umm…” he said, rubbing the lipstick off his fingers with his thumb.

            “Did you and Xion kiss?” Ven whispered with a bright grin.

            “Good job, Roxas!” Sora cried, slapping him on the shoulder. Roxas chuckled, slightly embarrassed.

            “Was there tongue?” Riku asked with a smirk.

            “Ew, no” Roxas said, making a face, “It was just a regular kiss.”

            “Give us the details!” Sora cried, grabbing Roxas’ arms, making him laugh.

            Roxas first described the conversation they had had leading up to the kiss and how they decided they should kiss each other.

            “Did you suggest it first, or did she?” Riku asked.

            “Umm, I did,” Roxas said with an embarrassed chuckle.

            “Slick,” Sora said with a grin and a nod.

            Roxas chuckled and continued, “So, yeah, we kissed, and…Wow it was awesome,” he whispered that last part, running his hands through his hair, remembering the sensation of Xion’s soft lips. And her lipstick. “Her lipstick was kind of gross though,” he added with a slight grimace, remembering the sticky feeling.

            “Yeah,” Sora agreed, “I don’t like lipstick kisses either.”

            “I do,” Riku said, “You can slide around better.”

            “‘Slide around’?” Sora said with a look of disbelief, “What does that even mean?” Ven laughed out loud at Sora’s expression.

            “Well, I don’t mean ‘slide around,’ I mean it’s easier to move your lips against hers. I don’t know how to explain it,” Riku said with a shake of his head, pink tinging his cheeks.

            As the boys went around buying food, they gave Roxas tips on how to improve his kissing skills, such as no slobbering, keep the tongue out of the throat, and avoid an open mouth kiss if she has her mouth closed. Roxas filed these tips away in his memory as they met back with the others, seeing that the adults had joined the girls on the picnic blanket while they had been searching for food.

            Roxas sat down next to Xion and distributed the food out, wondering if she had told Kairi and Naminé what happened on top of the clock tower.

            “So Roxas,” Kairi said with a grin, “What did you think of the firework show?”

            “It was good,” he said, smiling back, thinking again of the kiss.

            “Yes, It was really good, wasn’t it?” she said, positively beaming. Naminé nodded vigorously in agreement.

            Oh, yeah. Xion had definitely told them. Roxas chuckled softly.

            As the group of friends ate and talked about the evening, Roxas looked around at all the people he loved with a wide grin, sure that nothing could possibly ruin his evening from that point on.

            But he had forgotten about someone.

            “Roxas!” A voice called to him, and he turned to find the source. His stomach dropped as he watched Iris run up to him wearing a smile. “I finally found you!” She sat down next to him, wedging herself between him and Xion. “Hello,” she said to the group, “I’m Iris, Roxas’ prom date.”

            The atmosphere of the group suddenly turned ice cold as the teens regarded her with slightly widened eyes, but the adults, who were unaware of the events that had transpired atop the clock tower, smiled and greeted her.

            Roxas went around the circle introducing everyone, pretending that nothing was the matter. Everyone gave Iris a smile (forced or otherwise) when he introduced them save for Kairi, who only gave her a stiff nod as greeting, not even looking at her. Roxas ended with Sora and Ven, whom he referred to as his brothers. He often called them that anyway, so he had no problem saying so to Iris.

            “Wow,” Iris said, “I never knew you had brothers. How come you guys don’t go to our school,” she asked the two boys.

            “Oh, we, uh live out of town,” Sora said, scratching the back of his head.

            “Why’s that?” Iris said. Roxas couldn’t think of a reason to give for why three teen 'brothers' wouldn’t be living together.

            “We came from a foster home and they split us up,” Ven quickly invented. Roxas internally applauded his creativity.

            “Oh, that’s kind of sad,” Iris said, brows pulling together.

            “Well, we see each other a lot,” Roxas said, “So it’s not that bad.”

            “Oh, good,” Iris said. She began to talk about how much fun they would have at prom, but Roxas didn’t listen, too busy screaming in his head, wishing that the girl would leave. “Well, I should get back to my family,” Iris said after what felt like an eternity, “I only came over to say hi.” She shifted onto her knees. “See you later, Roxas-gator.” She pecked him on the cheek before standing up, shocking everyone else in the circle, judging by the looks on their faces. Even the adults looked on with wide eyes. Roxas stared at this plate of food, saying nothing, cheeks red from embarrassment.

            Kairi, however, glared at Iris and made a move to stand up, but Sora locked his arms around her, keeping her from going anywhere as he began rambling on about something unimportant, possibly trying to break the awkward silence that had settled over the group.

            Roxas didn’t listen to a word Sora said as he stared at his potato salad, wondering how Xion took what had just happened. He spared her a glance, seeing her staring at her plate with a clenched jaw.

            Roxas sighed quietly. How could Iris ruin such an amazing night so quickly? He began screaming internally again, dreading the upcoming prom, an entire night spent exclusively with her. He picked at his food, no longer hungry, passively listening to Sora’s ramblings and trying to push Iris’ intrusion from his mind, unsuccessfully. Hopefully she hadn’t just ruined his chances with the love of his life.

Chapter Text

            “Can you believe the absolute nerve?!” Kairi hissed under the din of the loud music coming from her Gummiphone. She dipped a Popsicle stick into the little pot of hot wax on the bathroom counter and swirled it around. “Who does Iris think she is?” she whispered so that the boys in the living room couldn’t hear her and carefully spread the wax over half of her upper lip, “She’s just a little…a little—” She then called Iris a name that made Naminé gasp.

            “Kairi,” she whispered, “Don’t say that.”

            “Am I wrong?” she asked Xion, trying not to move her lips too much so she wouldn’t move the wax setting on her skin.

            Xion sighed. “Maybe a week ago, you would have been,” she said, dipping her own Popsicle stick into the wax, “But after tonight, I kind of agree with you.” She spread the wax over the wispy hairs above her mouth, carefully avoiding the delicate skin of her lips, grimacing slightly at the heat.

            “But still, Kairi,” Naminé continued, “She probably doesn’t realize that…you know,” she nodded her head toward Xion, “I’m just saying, you usually give people the benefit of the doubt.” Kairi looked down guiltily.

            “Okay, maybe you’re right,” she said stiffly through the wax, “I guess I shouldn’t call her mean names.” She furrowed her brows. “But you saw what she did!” Kairi dropped her voice even lower, “And Roxas looked super uncomfortable. She didn’t even look like she cared.”

            Xion sucked in a small breath at the mention of the boy she had kissed barely an hour ago and clenched her jaw, angry all over again that Iris was trying to move in on her man—her man who obviously didn’t share the girl’s affections.

            “I know,” Naminé said, “But this is between them, not us.” She dipped a stick into the wax and began applying it to her face.

            “Still,” Kairi said, facing the mirror. She brought her fingers up to her face to rip the wax off but hesitated. “I don’t want to do it,” she said with a nervous chuckle, “Can you do it for me?” She turned to Xion.

            “Yeah,” she said with as much of a grin as she could with the wax on her face. She picked at the edge of the wax, lifting up a finger hold as Kairi grimaced, and gripped the little flap tightly. “On three. One. Two.” Xion quickly ripped the wax off Kairi’s face before saying three, laughing as she cried out in pain.

            “Ow,” she said with a laugh, massaging her upper lip, “That hurt.” She looked up, hearing a knock on the bathroom door.

            “Are you ladies okay in there?” Axel called from the other side, “Do I have to call the fire department?”

            “We’re fine,” Kairi called.

            “Why is your music so loud?” he asked.

            “We’re gossiping,” Naminé said with a laugh, “Don’t worry about it.”

            “Okay,” Xion said, gesturing to her own face, “Now get mine.” Kairi carefully lifted the edge of the wax on Xion’s face and ripped it off, along with the fine hairs and possibly the top layer of her skin. Her upper lip stung terribly. “Ow,” she said, tears springing to her eyes. Kairi laughed and turned to help Naminé, who only winced in response to having the wax ripped off.

            Xion held her strip of wax up to the light and examined the little hairs stuck to it, running her finger along it to feel the fuzz before setting it on the counter. She picked up her Popsicle stick and dipped it into the wax again to apply to the other side of her lip.

            “You don’t think Iris is expecting Roxas to…you know,” Kairi whispered.

            “To what?” Naminé asked, putting her hands on her hips.

            “You know…Get his kneecaps broken with her.”

            Naminé gasped loudly, realizing what Kairi was insinuating. “Kairi!” she shrieked but grinned nevertheless, smacking her on the shoulder. The other two laughed out loud and shushed Naminé, throwing glances at the door.

            “If she thinks that,” Xion said quietly, “She’s definitely getting her kneecaps broken.” The three girls chuckled.

            “By you,” Kairi said.

            “What do you think Roxas would do if she brought it up?” Naminé asked with a grin.

            “He’s such a gentleman,” Xion replied, “He would politely decline and then run away from her, screaming.” The girls laughed again.

            “Besides,” Kairi said, wiggling her eyebrows at Xion, “Roxas obviously has much better taste in girls.” They continued to quietly berate Iris’ character until they finished waxing their faces.

            Xion unplugged her wax pot and opened the bathroom door. Sora and Riku, who both had to have been eavesdropping judging by the deer-in-the-headlights looks on their faces, nearly fell right into her as the door opened. She gasped lightly in surprise as they stumbled back. Sora cleared his throat. “Hey,” he said with a guilty smile.

            Xion smirked. “What are you guys up to?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips, “Spying on us?” She raised an eyebrow.

            “No, no, not at all,” Riku said quickly, “Oh, I think Aqua needs some help in the kitchen.”

            “She’s not making anything,” Xion said, “We all ate already.”

            “No, I think she needs our help,” Riku insisted, grabbing a snickering Sora’s shoulder and pulling him through the archway where the adults sat talking in the kitchen.

            Xion shook her head with a smile and yawned widely, rubbing her eyes. “Is anyone else really tired?” she asked, walking into the living room and leaning over the edge of the couch where Roxas and Ven sat playing a fighting game on the TV. She closed her eyes and put her chin in her hands, sighing.

            “A little,” one of them said, but she couldn’t tell which.

            “I think I’m going to get my PJs on,” she said, standing up straight, and went into her room to change.

            Kairi cast a glance at her closed door and climbed over the back of the couch, right in between the two boys. “So, Roxas,” she said to the boy on her right.

            “Ven,” he corrected her without looking up from the game.

            Kairi turned to the boy on her other side. “So, Roxas,” she said quietly, gesturing with her hands, “What exactly happened tonight? What’s the deal with this ‘Iris’ girl?”

            Roxas sighed heavily. “Please don’t remind me about that,” he said with a grimace, shifting in his seat to look around Naminé who walked between them and the TV to sit in the armchair.

            “You need to tell that girl to shove it,” Kairi whispered, glancing at Xion’s door again.

            “After prom, okay?” Roxas whispered, praying that Kairi would drop the subject before Xion walked into the room again.

            Kairi gave a short sigh. “Fine,” she said, just as Xion’s door creaked open. She came into the room, pulling the throw blanket off the arm of the couch and wrapping it around her shoulders before sitting down next to Roxas.

            “I’m so tired,” she groaned.

            “Then go to bed,” Roxas said simply, “It’s, like, midnight, anyway.”

            “I don’t want to go to bed,” she said, letting her head fall on his shoulder. His face immediately warmed, and his mind jumped to their kiss, but he kept looking at the TV, trying with all his might to concentrate on playing the game. “I want to stay up with you guys.” She wedged her hand between Roxas’ back and the couch and put her other hand on his stomach, rendering his gaming abilities to null and causing him to lose the match against Ven.

            Roxas cursed under his breath, partly because he had lost the game and partly because he let Xion ruin his concentration. Boy, oh boy, how did he expect to give Iris his undivided attention tomorrow with Xion standing around?

            “That’s a bad word,” she muttered sleepily.

            “Sorry,” he said. Roxas looked at her face, watching for a moment as she breathed in and out evenly. He smiled softly. “You really should get to bed,” he said again.

            “Carry me,” Xion said.

            Roxas chuckled, certain that Axel wouldn’t approve of him carrying Xion bridal-style to bed. Or any other style for that matter. “Fine,” he said, turning back to the game, “Be that way.”

            He let Xion fall asleep on his shoulder until Axel came to pick her up in his arms to deposit her in her room. When the throw blanket slipped off of her, Roxas saw that she still had his shirt in her possession, swathed around her torso. But that was okay. When he eventually got it back, it would smell like her.

            Terra and Aqua ordered the rest of the kiddos to bed as well so they could be rested for the big day.

            “Come on, kids,” Aqua said, “Off to bed.”

            “You know, you and I are about the same age, right?” Riku said as she ushered him into Roxas’ room.

            “Actually, I’m about thirty.”

            “Well, you look good for thirty,” he said with a shake of his head.

            Roxas chuckled as he pulled his pajamas on and slipped into bed, flicking off his lamp. He soon fell asleep, tired from the day’s activities.

            When everyone awoke the next day…it wasn’t even day. Though Roxas’ alarm clock read ten a.m., the sun had not yet come up on the horizon and wouldn’t until the day after that. Roxas woke slightly disoriented at being fully rested even though darkness shrouded the town like a blanket outside his window.

            He reached over the mountain of pillows on his bed to slap Sora awake and left his room, yawning, blearily careening into the bright kitchen for food where he found half the gang getting breakfast ready. Kairi was hard at work cooking waffles and Riku watched over her shoulder, giving her pointers on how to make the best waffles which she disregarded entirely. Xion sat on the kitchen table in front of Axel who hunched over to be eye-level with her, sticking a thermometer in her mouth.

            “Are you sure you don’t want to stay home tonight?” he asked.

            Xion frowned and said definitively around the thermometer, “I’m going.”

            Roxas yawned and said, “What’s wrong, Xion?” He rubbed his eyes and blinked slowly at her.

            “She’s got a bit of a fever,” Axel said, pulling the thermometer out of her mouth and examining it. “About 100 degrees.”

            Roxas frowned and pressed the palm of his hand against her forehead. Her skin burned against his. “Were you able to get any sleep?” he asked.

            Xion shook her head. “Not really,” she said, “I kept waking up.”

            “Well, head back to bed,” Axel said, “If you want to go to the dance, you should try and rest up.” Xion nodded and slid of the table, walking slowly to her room and closing the door behind her.

            “Do you think she’s going to be okay?” Roxas asked, creasing his brow.

            “Yeah, it’s just a little fever,” Axel said, “She should get over it in a few days.”

            Roxas nodded, but couldn’t help the worry that gnawed its way into his heart. In his mind, he knew that the worry was severely misplaced. Xion had a fever, nothing special. But every single terrible thing that had ever happened to her suddenly made a forefront in his brain. He wouldn’t be surprised if her little fever turned into something horrific. With her luck, it would be cancer. He shook the thought from his mind.

            It’s just a fever, he told himself, Everyone gets sick once in a while.

            Kairi pulled him into a conversation about prom then, distracting him from his depressive thoughts.

            It was hours before Roxas saw Xion again. Every time he passed her bedroom door, he spared it a worried glance. Would she even be able to go to prom? Roxas thought about that question as he sat on his bed, staring at the tuxedo he had rented for the evening.

            On the one hand, if she didn’t go, she wouldn’t be dancing in Noctis’ arms all night long. But on the other hand, Roxas would be alone with Iris. He grimaced at the thought. Xion had to be there if he wanted to retain his sanity. And it wasn’t as if Noctis was a bad guy or anything; Roxas knew he wouldn’t hurt Xion. And if she couldn’t go, Roxas wouldn’t really be alone with Iris, either, since all of their other friends were going to be there too. Perhaps he was overthinking this.

            As the evening grew closer, Kairi and Naminé woke Xion up to get ready. They spent what seemed like forever either in the bathroom or in Xion’s room, doing their hair, makeup, and who knew what else. Roxas tried to discreetly keep an eye on her as best as he could from the other side of doorways (Axel had forbidden him from ever entering her room again after the whole ‘her sleeping in his bed’ incident), and he made what he hoped was casual conversation with her. She seemed to be doing a lot better after her nap.

            “Hey, I’m going to order some pizza,” Axel said as Roxas watched Xion apply pink blush to her cheeks while sitting on the floor in her doorway, “Anyone want anything?” Several people called out from different rooms what type of pizza they wanted.

            “Get peperoni,” Roxas said.

            “Ooh, yeah,” Sora agreed, “Get two of those. They’re the best!” He threw his hands in the air for emphasis.

            Roxas laughed and turned back to Xion, taking a breath to say something about how lovely she looked, but she spoke first.

            “Shouldn’t you guys be getting ready, too?” she asked with a smile as she penciled in her eyebrows.

            “Well, yeah,” Roxas said, scratching his head, realizing that he had been hovering, “I guess we should.”

            He and the other boys went to work on themselves, washing their faces and styling and gelling their hair as needed. Riku helped Roxas tease some volume into his hair and slick it back, sporting a similar hairstyle himself. Sora didn’t bother doing his hair, leaving it its usual spiky mess, and Ven combed his hair to the side.

            They began to get dressed into their fancy suits, and Roxas only had to put on his navy blue tie, the same color as the dress in the picture that Iris had sent him, before Axel called them on the phone, saying that he had the pizza, finally arriving back home after leaving earlier to get it.

            “Pizza!” Ven cried. Sora and Riku both whooped and followed him out the front door. Terra and Aqua told them to be careful as they followed the boys out.

            “Did someone say pizza?” Kairi called. She rushed past Roxas’ door in a blur of pink satin and Naminé followed behind, wearing a black ball gown, a sharp contrast to the white she usually wore.

            Roxas chuckled and left his room, poking his head out the front door, and watching his friends swarm around Axel at the bottom of the stairs by the light of a lamp post. “Don’t get sauce on your clothes!” he yelled down to them.

            “Kairi better not ruin her makeup,” Xion said behind him, “I made her into a masterpiece.”

            Roxas laughed again and turned around. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words died in his throat at the sight of her.

            The standing lamp in their living room softly lit her face and the light from the kitchen haloed her from behind. She wore a floor-length, sparkly blue dress, the same color as sea salt ice cream, with a slit to the knee. She had glitter dusted over her décolletage and a strong cat-eye accentuated her blue eyes with red lipstick framing her bright smile, and though Roxas swore up and down that he didn’t like her in makeup, he had to admit that she looked pretty hot in red lipstick.

            “How do I look?” she asked.

            “Aaah huh.” Roxas swallowed, blushing at his own incoherence. He cleared his throat and said, “I mean you look great! Beautiful even.”

            She giggled. “Thanks.”

            He smiled and gave her another scan up and down, but then realized how creepy that would seem and cleared his throat again. “How-how do I look?” he said, trying to be casual.

            “You look amazing,” she said, “You clean up really well.”

            “Oh, thanks,” Roxas said, ducking his head and blushing even deeper. He heard the ruckus of his friends approaching the door and turned back around to see Axel leading them.

            “Alright, alright, I’ll give you your pizza,” he said to them, “Would ya shut up already?” He shook his head and turned to Roxas. “Lookin’ good, my man!” he told him as he walked past, heading to the kitchen. “And Xion!” Axel let out a long whistle. “Look at that bombshell!”

            Xion chuckled. “Thanks, Axel,” she said.

            “Be sure to tell Noctis to keep his hands off the goods, ya hear?”

            Xion laughed louder this time. “Will do.”

            “Come eat, my dear,” Axel said, setting the pizza boxes on the table and opening one up.

            “I’m not really hungry,” she said with a shake of her head, “Besides, I don’t want to ruin my dress.”

            “You haven’t eaten all day,” Axel said, shaking a finger at her, “You’ll get better faster if you keep your strength up.”

            “He’s right,” Roxas said as everyone came into the kitchen and descended on the pizza like ravenous dogs.

            “Well,” she said, “Okay.”

            Riku gave everyone a kitchen towel to cover their clothes with and they all ate, talking animatedly about how much fun they were going to have at prom.

            Roxas' phone dinged in his pocket, and he pulled it out, unconsciously grimacing at Iris’ name on the notification, but she only told him that they would be there in about fifteen minutes.

            This spurred the group of teens into a rush as they quickly put the finishing touches on their looks for the evening. The boys made sure that not a hair on their head was out of place (apart from Sora), and the girls reapplied the lipstick that they had eaten off with the pizza. Riku passed around a package of mints for everyone to eat.

            “Alright,” Axel said as the group of well-dressed teens congregated in the living room. He summoned his Keyblade and rested it on his shoulder. “I want to remind everyone to watch their kneecaps tonight.”

            Roxas thought about his prom date. No chance of broken kneecaps there. No offense, Iris, he added mentally.

            Axel gave them each a stern look as they let out small giggles, his eyes lingering on the boys a bit longer than the girls. “I don’t want any squishy faced surprises being the product of the evening nine months from now,” he continued.

            “Especially you two,” Ven said with a smirk, pointing at Terra and Aqua, making everyone except Axel laugh.

            “Naminé,” Axel said, turning to her, “Your kneecaps are the only ones I trust.”

            Kairi scoffed. “What do you mean ‘only ones’?” she said as Riku jumped up and pointed at Axel as a grin cracked his face.

            “I take that as a personal challenge!” he declared.

            “Oh, you do, do you?” Axel said, dismissing his Keyblade, grabbing Riku’s arm, and pulling him into a headlock. “You know Naminé is like a sister to me?” he said calmly and Naminé giggled.

            “Ow,” Riku said, struggling to break free as his friends laughed at him, “I was kidding! Let me go!”

            Axel laughed loudly as the doorbell rang. “Oh, looks like they’re here!” he said. Sora jumped up to answer the door to see Iris, Prompto and Cindy, Ignis and Arenea, Gladiolus and his date Holly, and Noctis trailing behind. Sora greeted them brightly and opened the door wider for them to come in.

            “Hey, everyone!” Iris said brightly. She skipped up to Roxas and gave him a hug. “Do you like my dress?” she asked, gesturing to her knee-length, navy blue dress.

            “Yeah,” Roxas said politely, nodding, “It’s very pretty.”

            Iris thanked him as Xion introduced the others to their friends.

            “Oh, you’re Luna’s date,” Prompto said to Ven. Xion noticed Noctis drop his eyes and rub the back of his neck at the mention of Luna. “We’re picking her up next,” Prompto continued, “So, come on, let’s go!” Everyone began to turn to leave, but Axel stopped them.

            “Hold, on,” he said, pulling out his Gummiphone, “Pictures first.” Everyone paired up and posed for the camera.

            “Wait,” Ven said, “I don’t have my date with me!”

            “Here, get on my other side,” Iris said, beckoning him over, “So I look like I have some sort of mirror thing going on.” Despite his reservations for her, Roxas laughed.

            Ven laughed as well and clung to her side, wrapping his leg around her as comedic and chastely as he could, making duck lips at the camera. Everyone laughed, rendering Axel unable to get a serious picture of the group. He, Terra, and Aqua finally released them, reminding them to make good choices, be home by midnight, and to “Remember who you are.”

            The large group of teens made their way to the stretch limo parked outside the apartment building and squeezed inside. Xion tried to get in next to Roxas, but found herself sitting with Iris between them. She didn’t have any time to be annoyed, however, having to scoot to make room for her friends. Once everyone had situated themselves comfortably, Noctis gave the chauffer Luna’s address and they were on their way.

            Xion could barely hear herself think on the drive due to the volume of speech that a few of her friends, namely Sora, Ven, and Prompto, used in the limo as well as the music that Prompto asked the chauffer to play, but she managed to speak loud enough for her friends to hear, trying not to be jealous at the way that Iris snuggled up against Roxas, and largely ignoring her. But the two girls did have one conversation on the drive to Luna’s house.

            “Wow, Xion,” Iris said with a tight smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “I…love your dress. It’s such a pretty…” She looked Xion up and down. “…Blue,” she ended stiffly through her teeth.

            Oh, did Iris realize that her own dress was the wrong color? Xion smiled almost smugly.

            “Thank you,” she said brightly, crossing her legs so that the one on top poked out of the slit in her dress, and the light from passing street lamps glittered off the silver rhinestones of her shoes, the same ones that she had purchased two weeks ago.

            Roxas watched the girls talk, confused by the tension between them. Did it matter that they had both decided to wear blue? Both dresses were pretty, even though he was partial to Xion’s. Was that because he preferred that particular blue, or because Xion wore it? Whatever the case, that was no reason to be upset about it. Or at least he thought so.

            He looked down at Xion’s leg as it bounced in time with the background music and stared at it just a touch too long before looking away, red rising in his cheeks. She had nice legs, toned from the exercise of battling heartless.

            Kneecaps, Roxas, he reminded himself, swallowing and pushing the image of her smooth leg from his mind, striking up a conversation with Riku and Naminé to distract himself.

            When they finally got to Luna’s house, or rather her mansion, Prompto insisted that everyone get out again to go up to the door. A few of their friends complained, not wanting to get out of the car again, but Roxas thought it was a good idea, to give Ven some moral support and make him feel less awkward.

            He looked around at the impressive estate that had to be at least four times the size of his entire apartment complex. Light shined from dozens of windows and the front porch had great pillars spaced a few feet apart, holding up the roof. The expansive lawns and various topiaries looked perfectly manicured and several fountains spouted water here and there.

            Noctis quickly opened the car door and stepped onto the pavement, and everyone spilled out after him, making their way up the front steps. Sora grabbed Ven and pushed him to the front of the group and he knocked on the door. Luna answered with a big smile and wide eyes at the cacophony before her as everyone spoke all at once, greeting her and introducing her to Ven simultaneously.

            “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, shaking his hand.

            “You too,” Ven replied, flashing her a smile.

            “Can we come in?” Prompto asked, already making his way to the door, pulling Cindy behind him.

            “Yes, yes, of course,” Luna said, smoothing out her white dress, “Father wanted to meet Ven anyway.”

            Everyone entered and Roxas looked around at the inside foyer, vaguely aware of Luna introducing Ven to her mother and father and Ven receiving the usual threats dads gave their daughter’s dates on prom night. But Roxas was too transfixed on the sight of Luna’s home to pay attention to the conversation. He hadn’t seen such opulence since visiting the Beast’s castle.

            Shiny marble floors covered the place, leading to great oak spiral stairs and several sets of large doorways. Beautifully crafted tables and luxurious couches sat by the walls of the room with white statues and suits of armor guarding the corners. He tilted his head back to see a large crystal chandelier and cherubs painted on the ceiling and let out a soft breath, thinking that Luna’s home made his look like a cardboard box in comparison.

            Roxas looked down in time to see Luna quickly ushering everyone outside, reassuring her dad that she would behave and be home by midnight.

            “Wait,” Roxas said, “Aqua wanted pictures of you guys.”

            “We can do that at the school,” Luna said quickly, beckoning him on. Roxas shrugged and followed everyone out, making their way back into the limo.

            “Your dad is kind of scary,” Ven commented to her with a laugh.

            “I’m so sorry about that,” she said, pressing her hands to her face, “He’s so embarrassing.”

            Ven gave another bubbly laugh. “It’s alright,” he said, helping her into the car.

            Noctis cleared his throat and began talking to Luna about various school programs they each took part in and Luna spoke animatedly about her different projects on the way to pick up Hayner, Olette, and Pence and his date, whose name Roxas forgot as soon as she said it.

            The four of them squished into the already full limo and Iris took the opportunity to assert her dominance over the situation by sitting on Roxas’ lap. He noticed that Xion refused to even glance in their direction, but he tried to stay calm and casual, wondering how he was going to get through the night. He breathed a sigh of relief when they finally got to the school. Iris slid off Roxas’ lap and out of the car with him following behind her.

            “Now that we’re here,” Xion said to Ven and Luna, “Let’s get some pics of you two.” They smiled and posed for the camera as Xion snapped a few pictures with Noctis looking over her shoulder, commenting on how good Luna looked in her dress. He quickly turned away, running a hand through his hair, but Luna thanked him, rubbing her arm and glancing at the ground with a smile.

            “Alright, everyone!” Prompto said, waving them into the front doors of the school, “Let’s go!”

            They entered the dark gymnasium, and Roxas looked around in awe. Multicolored neon lights lit the room and a shimmering disco ball spun overhead, casting dancing squares of light across the gym floor that vibrated with the heavy beat of music. Lines of streamers twisted across the high ceiling, swaying with gusts of wind from the air conditioner which Roxas hoped was turned on high as the room was already quite warm from all the bodies of dancing students.

            Sora and Prompto, who had evidently become fast friends, pulled everyone into the middle of the room and started dancing wildly. The large group followed suit, apart from Roxas, who danced only lightly, not wanting to put too much strain on the stiches in his chest, but still let himself loosen up after a long week. He couldn’t help grinning at his friends’ ridiculous dance moves and laughed particularly hard when Riku tried to pull off a move where he grabbed his foot with the opposite hand and tried to jump over it, failing multiple times and nearly falling over. Roxas had already begun to perspire by the time a slow song came on, but he didn’t mind, having too much fun with his friends.

            Iris gasped and grinned upon hearing the gentle tune the DJ put on. “Let’s dance!” she said, pulling Roxas aside and wrapping her arms around his neck resting her head on his shoulder, taking him by surprise.

            Xion chuckled at the small grimace on his face. Poor Roxas, she thought.

            “Would you like to dance?” Noctis asked with a small smile, holding out his hand.

            “Of course,” Xion said, taking his hand in hers. They stood in position and Noctis led her in a waltz, impressing her with his skill and ease of dancing.

            “So, Noctis,” she began.

            “Just ‘Noct’,” he insisted.

            “Oh, okay,” she said with a smile, “Noct then. How did you learn to dance so well?”

            “My parents put me in classes when I was a kid,” he said with a shrug, “That’s actually where I met Luna.” He glanced over at her for a moment, and Xion could almost see pink rising in his cheeks when a white light passed over his face in that moment. She bit back a grin. “What about you, where’d you learn to dance?” Noct said, looking back at her.

            Xion laughed. “My friend, Axel, taught me a while back,” she said, “My friends got engaged, and Roxas and I were worried that we wouldn’t be able to dance at the wedding because we never had before, so Axel spent a few weekends teaching us.”

            “Oh, that was nice of him,” Noct commented.

            “Yeah, it was,” Xion agreed, “So now we can waltz, cha cha, tango…”

            Noct laughed. “You two will have to show us your moves tonight,” he said with a grin. Xion agreed.

            Roxas looked over at them from where he stood swirling with Iris, seeing their smiling and laughing faces. Meanwhile here he was, saying nothing as Iris clung to him. He had to make this less awkward somehow.

            “So, Iris,” he said and she rose her head to look at him. He momentarily groped for a subject, any subject at all. “…What’s the color of your toothbrush?” Really? That’s what you went with? he thought.

            Iris chuckled. “Pink,” she said, “What’s yours?”

            “Blue,” Roxas replied.

            “Oh, that’s your favorite color, isn’t it?” she said with a grin.

            “Yeah,” he nodded, an image of sea salt ice cream flashing in his mind.

            “That’s why I picked out this dress,” Iris said gesturing down at her navy blue dress. It wasn’t exactly right, but still a pretty color. Roxas commented again on how pretty it was, and they continued to make casual and shallow small talk for the rest of the song. When it ended, Roxas gratefully led Iris back to their friends. They began again to dance to the faster songs that followed.

            In the middle of one such song, Xion excused herself to get a cup of water from the snack table, fanning herself with her hand as she sat in a chair with the rest of the wall flowers. She had been feeling better after her nap earlier, but her fever started to make itself known again. She put her hand on her forehead, feeling the warmth radiating off her skin, and took a deep, steadying breath. She took another gulp of water and slouched slightly in her chair.

            Roxas saw Xion sitting down, fanning herself, and worry bloomed in his chest as he remembered that she still had a fever. He left his friends without excusing himself and walked over to her, crouching down next to her.

            “Xion, are you okay?” he asked, resting his hand on her knee.

            “Yeah,” she said with a smile and a nod, “Just a little warm. I needed some water, that’s all.”

            “Are you sure?” he said, brows pulling together.

            “Yeah, totally,” she said. Xion tipped back the rest of her drink and stood up, pulling Roxas with her, tossing the little cup in a trash can as they returned to their friends.

            “Is everything okay?” Noct asked.

            “Yeah, I’m fine,” Xion assured him with a nod, but Roxas grimaced, unsure of her sentiment. But he started dancing again when she did, keeping an eye on her as the night went on.

            If Iris noticed his inattention to herself, she didn’t let on, making him dance every slow song with her. Thankfully, after the fifth or sixth one, Sora suggested dancing with new partners.

            “Let’s switch things up a little, guys,” he said excitedly, “We don’t want to spend the whole time with one person, do we?”

            “You mean the person we came with?” Iris asked with a raised eyebrow.

            “Would you like to dance?” Sora asked, holding his hand out to her, which she regarded with surprise in her eyes.

            “Um, sure?” she said, taking it. Sora led her away and threw Roxas a discreet wink, and he stared after them with wide eyes for a moment. He must remember to thank Sora for his sacrifice.

            The others split away from their usual partners and began to dance with someone new. Prompto almost asked Xion to dance, already walking up to her, but Aranea stopped him, putting a hand on his chest.

            “Let’s dance, pretty boy,” she said and Prompto readily agreed, though slightly taken aback. As Aranea passed Roxas, she, too, gave him a wink. He blushed. For some reason, the fact that Aranea knew he like Xion embarrassed him more than Sora knowing, and Sora was the one more likely to tease him about it. Roxas didn’t dwell on this, however, and turned to Xion.

            “Would you like to dance?” he said with a soft smile, gesturing to the dance floor.

            Xion grinned widely at him, a smile so dazzlingly bright that it nearly took his breath away. “I’d love to,” she said, taking his hand.

            Roxas led her to a clear spot on the dance floor, right under the disco ball, taking methodical, deliberate steps. He gripped her waist with one hand and laced the fingers of his other hand with hers, and she slid her arm behind his neck. Xion smiled sweetly at him as he led her into the first steps of the dance. His hand traveled up her back and into her hair, gently guiding her head to rest on his shoulder, and replacing his hand on her waist when she acquiesced.

            They said nothing to each other, and that was fine. Roxas didn’t want to talk. He had talked enough with Iris. All he wanted to do was hold Xion in his arms, savoring the sweet scent of her hair as they twirled around the dance floor. He rested his cheek on top of her head, listening to the slow song play.

When the night has come

And the land is dark

And the moon is the only light we'll see

No, I won't be afraid

Oh, I won't be afraid

Just as long as you stand, stand by me

            Roxas wished that the entire night could have been like this, dancing in the arms of the girl he loved with all his heart. He lifted his head and looked down at Xion’s dark locks, pressing his lips to her hair for a moment, rubbing her back, and replacing his cheek on her head. She shivered and drew in a breath.

So darling, darling stand by me

Oh, stand by me

Oh, stand now

Stand by me

Stand by me

            They continued to dance as the song went on, each relishing in each other’s company. Roxas briefly thought about when Axel had taught them to dance for Terra’s and Aqua’s wedding, which led to thoughts about weddings in general, which, of course, led to thoughts about seeing Xion dressed all in white, walking down the aisle to meet him. His smile grew. She would make an amazing wife.

            As the song drew to a close, Roxas decided he couldn’t wait any longer. No more skirting around each other’s feelings. He knew how he felt about her, and he was certain that Xion felt the same. Perhaps prom, when they had each come with separate dates, wasn’t the time or place for declarations of love, but he didn’t care. Xion had to know now.

            They slowed to a stop and Xion raised her head from Roxas’ shoulder. “Thank you for dancing with me,” she said with a smile as some kid by the DJ booth with a microphone started blabbing on about how he had just gotten the results for prom king and queen.

            Roxas ignored him and didn’t even bother commenting on how he had just had the most amazing dance of his life. He just cut right to the chase. “Xion,” he said, “There’s something I need to talk to you about.” She raised her eyebrows at the determined look on his face. “I haven’t been completely honest about my feelings with you over the past couple weeks,” he continued, moving closer to her in order to be heard over the kid loudly announcing king and queen, who apparently didn’t understand the term ‘inside voice.’ “The truth is, I lo—” But the kid cut Roxas off in his loudest voice yet.

            “Prom king and queen are Noctis and Xion!” he shouted as a spot light shined on each of the kids in question, and everyone stared at them. Roxas stepped slightly away, cursing the kid for not waiting five minutes to make his announcement. Xion’s eyes grew wide and she swallowed as several students grabbed her arms and led her to the front. She cast a glance back at Roxas, looking slightly nervous, and he balled his hands into fists by his side.

            “Wow,” Iris said brightly, walking up to him, “They made prom king and queen.” She smiled, but her voice sounded slightly off, a little too tight. She watched Noctis make his way up to the front of the room to meet Xion.

            “Xion made prom queen!” Kairi shouted, drastically more excited about the situation than Iris. Roxas could hear his friends chattering excitedly from behind him, but he didn’t pay any attention to what they said. He kept his eyes trained on Xion as she walked up to the stage, looking slightly uncomfortable at being the center of attention. She and Noctis met the kid who announced them by the DJ booth.

            “So!” the kid said gesturing to them, “Prom king and queen! How do you guys feel about that?” He directed his question to the audience, and all the kids, save for Roxas and Iris, screamed in approval. “How do you feel about being prom queen?” he asked Xion, pointing the mic at her face and resting his hand on her shoulder.

            “Um, surprised, I guess,” she said, her timid voice echoing through the speakers.

            “Just surprised?” the kid asked, and Xion nodded but didn’t say anything else. She brushed her bangs out of her face and her chest rose with a deep breath, looking to Roxas as if she were about to faint. He hoped her fever wasn’t worsening.

            “And how do you feel, your highness?” the kid said, pointing the mic at Noctis, across Xion.

            “I guess that’s cool,” Noctis said with a small smile, placing his hand on Xion's shoulder. Roxas grit his teeth and glared at him. Did Noctis even realize that Xion wasn’t feeling well?

            “Well,” the kid said, bringing the mic back to his own face, “I think we all know what happens next. Xion, I know you’re new here, but at Twilight High…We have a little tradition.”

            “Oh, no,” Roxas heard Olette mutter from behind him as the crowd of people around them began to whoop and whistle.

            “And that is,” the kid continued on, “That the king and queen get to share a kiss.”

            Roxas’ stomach dropped and his eyes grew wide. They didn’t expect Xion to actually kiss Noctis, did they? Judging by the crowd’s reaction, they certainly did.

            “Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!” everyone chanted in unison, clapping their hands along.

            Xion’s expression mirrored Roxas', and she looked at Noctis, who leaned down and quickly kissed her on the lips before pulling away and smiling at the crowd. Roxas’ jaw dropped, and his stomach twisted painfully as everyone around him went crazy. Everyone, that is, except for the group of friends standing behind him, who watched him and Iris with wide eyes, scared at what the two would do next.

            “Um,” Iris said stiffly, “I have to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” She walked away without waiting for Roxas’ reply.

            “I have to go, too,” Olette said, quickly following after, no doubt ready to offer a supportive word to Iris.

            Roxas continued to stare up at Xion, not listening to what the kid who had made the announcement had to say anymore. She didn’t look happy and perhaps a bit sick to her stomach. Roxas’ brows pulled downward and he wished he could go up there and rescue her. He almost began to take a step towards the stage but flinched when he felt someone grab his arm.

            “Hey, dude,” Sora said in his ear, “Let’s get some fresh air.” Roxas nodded numbly and let Sora pull him along, leading him out of the building.

            Xion was still in shock over what had happened. When the kid with the mic said she had to kiss Noct, she didn’t actually believe him at first, thinking they were just pulling a prank on the new kid. But when she looked to Noct for a reassurance and he leaned down and quickly pecked her on the lips, she realized that it wasn’t a prank. Obviously.

            Xion tried to smile at the crowd before her, but it came out as more of a grimace. She looked at Noct again, who smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. She took a breath to try to calm her nerves, sweating under the bright spotlight and the scrutiny of her peers, wishing she could disappear and never come back to this school ever again.

            “Alright,” the kid said, “Since you two are king and queen now, you’re like the faces of our school. These last few weeks are when we have all our activities going on, like the student car wash and bake sale, and it’s up to you two to get everyone on the activities committee organized and be there for everyone.” Xion grimaced for real this time and lifted an eyebrow. She couldn’t waste her time with the activities committee; she had to focus on pulling her grades up after letting them slip during her time in the Caribbean.

            “But before you say no,” the kid continued, seeing her expression, “You will get tons of extra credit for all your classes.” Even science? That changed everything. Perhaps being on the activities committee with Noct wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

            The kid with the mic finally released them and Xion made a beeline for the doors, saying she needed to get a drink of water, and Noct followed her out.

            “I am so sorry about all that,” he said, “I completely forgot about the kiss thing, otherwise I would’ve warned you.”

            “It’s okay, Noct,” Xion said, bending down to sip water from a fountain.

            “No it’s not,” he insisted, eyebrows pulling together, “I feel like a jerk, especially since you and Roxas are kind of a thing, and I don’t want to get in between that.”

            Xion blushed at his straightforwardness and stood upright, pressing a hand to her warm forehead, feeling lethargy settle over her shoulders. She sighed.

            “Are you sure you’re okay?” Noct asked again.

            Xion rubbed her eyes, smearing her makeup. “Actually, I’ve been feeling kind of sick today. I think I have a fever,” she admitted, guilty that she had gotten her germs on Noct when they kissed, but if that bothered him, he didn’t show it.

            “Do you want to go home?” Home sounded inviting, so Xion nodded her head. “I’ll call my driver,” Noct said pulling out his phone, “Let’s find a place for you to sit down.”

            Sora and Roxas didn’t speak until exiting the building. “Are you okay?” Sora asked, squeezing Roxas’ shoulder.

            Roxas shook his head. “I’m an idiot,” he said quietly. Sora waited for him to elaborate but Roxas didn’t say anything after that. He guided Sora down the street, making his way to the clock tower a block or so away. Roxas briefly hoped that Iris wouldn’t be offended if he suddenly went missing, but then decided he couldn’t care less at that point.

            “Hey, you know Xion doesn’t care about Noctis like that,” Sora said, bringing up the one subject that Roxas really didn’t want to talk about. “She looked pretty upset about the whole thing actually.”

            “I know,” Roxas said, “That’s the problem.”

            “There was nothing you could have done,” Sora said with a shake of his head.

            “I know.” Roxas squeezed his eyes shut as they grew wet with frustration. “I was just about to tell her how I feel, but then…” he waved his hand as if gesturing to the awful situation that had befallen him. His lashes grew wet, but tears had not yet reached his cheeks.

            “Oh, no,” Sora said, eyebrows drawing close together as his lips pulled down at the corners, “I’m sorry, Roxas.”

            Roxas shrugged. “It happens,” he muttered.

            By now, they had reached the clock tower. Roxas pushed against the service entrance to get to the top, but someone had finally locked it. He sighed and stared at it for a moment before summoning Oblivion and tapping on the doorknob, dismissing his Keyblade when he heard the lock click. He opened the door and made his way upstairs with Sora following behind and sat down on the ledge that he had kissed Xion on about twenty-four hours before.

            Sora sat down next to him. “Roxas, you know Xion—”

            “I don’t want to talk about it,” Roxas said sharply, holding up a hand.

            “Well, what do you want to do?”

            “I just…” Roxas’ voice broke, but he continued on, “I just want to scream,” he whispered.

            “So scream,” Sora said quietly, “Just get it all out.”

            Roxas stared at the ground for a moment before slowly rising to his feet. He took a deep breath and screamed loudly into the night until his lungs deflated, no doubt frightening the townsfolk below, as the tears finally spilled onto his cheeks, forming wet trails down to his jaw. He heaved in another shaky breath and summoned his Keyblades, slashing them through the air. “Thunder!” he cried, wanting to expel as much rage from his being as he could. Lightning exploded around them, and Sora jumped in alarm, but was unharmed by Roxas’ wrath.

            It wasn’t enough. Roxas dismissed his Keyblades and grabbed Sora’s arm, yanking him to his feet. “Come on,” he said, leaping from the building and Sora cried out in surprise. Roxas’ feet hit the ground, jarring him slightly, and he released Sora and took a few steps away from him before whipping back around and summoning his weapons.

            “We’re going to fight,” he said simply, a scowl twisting his features.

            “What? Why?” Sora asked with wide eyes, backing away as his alarm grew.

            “I need to take my anger out on something that won’t get killed in the process,” Roxas said, “And you,” he pointed a Keyblade at Sora, “Are the only person I can do that with.”

            “Roxas, you need to calm down,” Sora said, backing up further. But Roxas refused.

            He grit his teeth and ran at Sora, bringing his Keyblade down on him, but Sora summoned his own, blocking the blow just in time.

            “Roxas, stop!” Sora shouted, pushing him away with his weapon. Roxas didn’t listen and swung his blades at Sora again, which he readily parried, and began to attack Roxas in turn. The people around them screamed and fled.

            The two boys fought unrelentingly, too evenly matched for the other to have the upper hand, but things turned in Roxas’ favor when Sora tripped and fell to the ground, holding up his Keyblade to shield himself from Roxas’ strikes. If Roxas wanted to truly win this fight, he would have done something other than repeatedly hit Sora’s Keyblade with his, but he didn’t want to win. Now he just wanted to cry.

            His attacks slowed and stopped, and Roxas dropped his Keyblades with a clatter, sinking to the ground in front of Sora as they dissipated. Tears had been streaming down his face during the entire fight, but he waited until now to wipe them away.

            “Sorry,” he said, barely above a whisper.

            Sora got onto his knees and wrapped his arms around his brother, letting him cry on his shoulder. “It’s okay,” he said. Roxas hugged Sora tightly and sobbed onto his shoulder, letting the collar of his dress shirt soak up the tears.

            They said nothing more for several minutes until Roxas’ breathing became normal again, and he pulled away, rubbing his numb face and clutching his throbbing chest, feeling the drip of warm blood. He had no doubt burst his stitches.

            “Are you okay?” Sora asked. Roxas nodded, but he looked anything but okay, especially with blood spreading on his shirt. Sora pressed his palm to Roxas' chest and muttered an incantation. “Heal." The pain disappeared entirely from Roxas' body, but not his mind. "We should go back,” Sora said.

            Roxas took a deep breath, ready to face his friends (and Iris) once again. “Yeah,” he muttered, “We should.”

Chapter Text

            “Do I look like I’ve been crying?” Roxas asked Sora as they entered through the front door of the school after their excursion to the clock tower.

            Sora grimaced, cocking his head to the side. “I really want to say no, but…” he trailed off.

            Roxas sighed. “Cool,” he said sardonically.

            They made their way through the halls and found the rest of their friends huddled together outside the doors to the gym, talking in hushed voices. Roxas looked around at group but couldn’t see Xion or Noctis, but he caught Iris’ mascara smudged eye as he walked up to them. Everyone turned at their entrance, and Kairi gasped.

            “What happened?!” she said, rushing over to him and holding his suit jacket open to see the patch of blood on his shirt.

            Roxas bit his lip. “Um, I…” He didn’t exactly want to tell them that he had finally snapped and battled Sora in a fit pubescent rage. “I tripped and fell, and my stitches burst open,” he said, ignoring the look Sora gave him, but quickly added, “I’m alright, though. Sora healed me.”

            “Oh my gosh,” Kairi said, “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

            Roxas nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Let’s get back to the dance,” he said, not wanting to be the center of attention any more. Everyone reluctantly agreed and went back inside the gymnasium, but Roxas held Kairi back. “Where’s Xion?” he whispered. If she and Noctis were alone together…He didn’t even want to think about that.

            “She said she was feeling really sick, so Noctis took her home.”

            Roxas sighed. Just when Xion needed someone to take care of her, he had been gone. He had to go home right away to see if she was okay. Iris might hate him, but what did it matter anymore?

            Roxas thanked Kairi for telling him and went to look for Iris, but she found him first, pulling him aside to talk in private.

            “Hey, I think I’m feeling kind of crummy, too,” she said, “I must have caught what Xion has.”

            “Maybe something’s going around,” Roxas replied, scratching his neck. “Do you want me to take you home?”

            Iris nodded. “Yeah, I think that’d be best.”

            She and Roxas quickly said goodbye to their friends, who wanted to accompany them home, but Roxas insisted that they stay and enjoy themselves. He and Iris left, walking to the Tram Common without a word.

            They rode to Iris’ stop in painful silence, and Roxas began to regret how poorly he had treated her recently as he noticed the sad expression on her face. She probably just wanted to go home and never talk to him again. Despite the fact that that would be perfectly fine with him, guilt racked his mind. He should have paid more attention to his date rather than pining after another girl all evening. He’d been a jerk, and he knew it. As he walked Iris home, he finally broke the silence.

            “Iris,” he said, eyes on the ground, “I’m sorry.”

            “No, I’m sorry,” she said.

            Roxas looked up in confusion. “Why are you sorry?” As far as he could tell, he had been the one ignoring her all evening not the other way around.

            Iris sighed. “These past few weeks, I…I’ve been all over you, even though I could tell it bothered you, but I just wanted to…I wanted …” She took a short breath. “I wanted to make Noct jealous.”

            Roxas’ eyes grew wide. Make Noctis jealous? He stared back at the ground with a furrowed brow and bit lip. Iris had used him. And, judging by how Noctis had been making eyes at Luna all night, it didn’t even work!

            “I know you like Xion,” Iris continued quietly, “And I shouldn’t have tried to get in between that, so…I’m sorry.” At this point, they were at Iris’ front door. She unlocked it and rested her hand on the knob, turning back to him with a rueful smile. “Thank you for taking me to prom.”

            “No problem,” he said, unable to even think about returning her smile.

            “I hope things work out between you two.”

            “Thank you,” he said shortly. Iris nodded and opened her door, stepping inside with a soft goodbye. Roxas said nothing and turned away from her house, walking home slowly and thinking about what she had said.

            He should have declined her when she asked him out; then he wouldn’t have been in this mess in the first place. Roxas never thought Iris to be the vindictive type, but she proved him wrong with the revelation that she only wanted to make Noctis jealous. Roxas knew she liked him, that was obvious enough, but that didn’t warrant her using him as a tool to get to her crush.

            He grit his teeth and glared at the ground as he walked, determined to never speak to Iris again for what she had done, but then he sighed and internally chastised himself for his melodramatic thoughts. Roxas looked up at his apartment in relief when he finally made it home. He opened the door and stepped inside, and Axel and Aqua immediately descended on him.

            “How was Prom?” Aqua asked with a big smile. She looked behind him and a look of confusion crossed her face. “Where is everyone?”

            “Still there,” Roxas said, “Iris said she was feeling sick, too, so I took her home.”

            “Did you have a good time, at least?” Axel asked. He pulled aside Roxas’ suit jacket, noticing the blood on his shirt. “What’s this?”

            “Oh, I fell and my stitches popped open, but Sora healed me,” he said, giving the same excuse he had given his friends, “So I’m fine. Is Xion okay?”

            Axel shrugged. “I gave her some medicine and she’s asleep right now, so hopefully she’ll get better soon.”

            Roxas sighed. “Okay,” he said, running a hand through his stiff hair, feeling the crusty gel scrape against his fingers, and took a breath. “I’m going to take a shower.”

            He disappeared into the bathroom, grateful to be alone, and undressed, tossing his white shirt on the floor, hoping the dry-cleaners didn’t kill him when he returned it bloody, and stepped into the shower, wanting to wash the blood off of his chest and the gel out of his hair.

            Roxas stood under the stream of water in complete silence. He didn’t feel like singing.

            The next day, he awoke to soft morning light streaming in through his window. After two days of darkness, he found the light comforting and momentarily forgot about the night before. But only momentarily.

            The events that transpired at prom came crashing down on him like a wave. Xion’s kiss with Noctis, his fight with Sora, and Iris’ revelation shook his system to the core, but all he did was press his face further into his pillow, and tried to ignore Xion’s scent still lingering there from when she had slept in his bed at the beginning of the week. He should probably change his pillowcase.

            He left his room for breakfast, finding everyone, except Xion, in the kitchen, already dressed, bags packed, and ready to leave.

            “It was great seeing you guys again,” Sora said, giving Roxas a hug. He patted Sora on the back.

            “You, too.”

            “Don’t worry about Xion,” Sora whispered in his ear, “Everything is going to be fine.” Roxas nodded and pulled away, taking a bag of Naminé’s that she handed him.

            Roxas helped everyone take their luggage downstairs to the taxis that would take them out of town where Sora had parked the Gummi ship, and waved at the retreating cars. He walked back inside and sat on the couch, letting the morning light from the window warm his face.

            Axel sat down next to him. “So, did you have a fun weekend?” he asked.

            Roxas ignored his question. “Do you think Xion is okay?”

            “I talked to her when you were helping the others with their bags, and she said she was feeling pretty bad,” Axel said with a frown, “We should probably leave her alone today.”

            Roxas nodded but wanted to do the exact opposite. He wanted to hug her and kiss her and tell her that she was going to be alright. He wanted to tell her what he hadn’t gotten to say the night before; that he loved her with all his heart. But Axel was right. Xion needed rest, and she probably didn’t want to get him sick either. So Roxas kept his distance from her that day, staying mostly in his room, playing sad songs on his guitar.

            He knew he was being dramatic. Xion, and Iris for that matter, probably hadn’t meant to hurt him, but he went ahead and felt hurt anyway. It was nobody’s fault, not even Noctis’, but still Roxas couldn’t get over the fact that the night before ended pretty horribly. The best he could do was move on and hope the next school week would be much better.

            Xion still felt too sick to go to school the next day, so Roxas went without her, missing her presence, not realizing how often they saw each other between classes. He kept his headphones on, ignoring Iris the one time he saw her in the hall, and she didn’t try to approach him, which worked for him. Roxas still hadn’t forgiven her. If Hayner, Pence, and Olette noticed how upset he was, and they did judging by the looks of sympathy on their faces, they didn’t say anything.

            The day after that, Xion’s fever had finally broken, so Axel let her go to school, telling her to come back home if she needed to. Roxas was overjoyed to have her back, but his hopes to get close to her again were dashed when she told him that she would be spending all of her free time with the activities committee.

            “Since Noct and I made king and queen,” she said, “They wanted us to take care of all the end of school events. They even offered us extra credit, and I really need to get my science grade up.”

            “So we can’t hang out after school?” he asked with the saddest expression Xion had ever seen him wear, another arrow through her traitorous heart.

            “Don’t worry,” she said, attempting a smile, “We still live together, so even if I’m at school really late, we get to hang out at night.”

            Roxas sighed. “I guess,” he said sadly, slipping his headphones over his ears. He waved goodbye to her as they turned down different hallways for their next classes.

            Xion watched him walk down the hall and hoped she hadn’t hurt him when she decided to take the extra credit and, by consequence, spend more time with Noct instead of him. But it wasn’t as if Xion wanted to spend time with Noct at all; Hayner could have made prom king and she would have done the same thing. Hopefully Roxas knew that.

            As soon as school was out for the summer, Xion would make it up to him somehow; maybe go to the beach, just the two of them. In the meantime, though, she would have to put her head down and get through the next few weeks. If she worked hard and finished the activities quickly enough, she would be free sooner to spend time with Roxas again. She smiled to herself, determined to throw herself at her work until she was done, preferably as quickly as possible. Roxas would certainly be happy to have his friend back.

            A week and a half later, Roxas rode the tram to school alone since Xion had to be there early to set up for the bake sale. He stared out the window, wishing she could be there with him, but, ever since she had joined the activities committee, he saw her less and less as the tasks set to her had consumed most of her free time. When Roxas saw her at home, all she had time to do was her homework before crashing into bed. They couldn’t hang out like they used to and Roxas dearly missed her company, but she seemed perfectly fine spending all of her time with Noctis. Did she even want to be with Roxas? Or was she too busy flirting with her new best friend?

            Roxas’ jaw tightened and he scowled at the street, hating the boy for every second of time with Xion he stole from him. He could never hate Xion, but…how could she hurt him this way? He had thought they were friends, but ever since prom, she had been spending all of her time with Noctis. Like she had forgotten him.

            That was rich coming from her.

            Roxas squeezed his eyes shut as tears threatened to leak out. They promised to never forget each other, and then she did. He sighed, realizing that he didn’t have any chance against pretty-boy Noctis. He entered the school, eyes on the ground, and ignored anyone who tried to get his attention.

            Roxas stared out the window before history class began, chin resting on his fist, looking at the way the trees cast long shadows in the twilight. Xion still had to help with the bake sale and missed class, so Roxas decided to sit in a different seat by the window, not wanting to stare at her empty chair the whole time. He drummed his fingers on his leg, wishing he could have his friend back, when someone sat on his desk.

            He looked up to see Garnet, the girl who had accompanied him during his solo at the Midnight Festival. It briefly reminded him of the way Xion sat on his desk a few weeks ago, the day that Axel left on his business trip. He looked back out the window.

            “Hi, Roxas,” Garnet said brightly.

            “Hey.”

            “I was wondering if you wanted to go to a movie tonight,” she said.

            Roxas thought about how he saw Aladdin with Xion and shook his head. “That’s nice of you,” he said without emotion, feeling like a proper Nobody once again, “But I’m busy tonight.”

            “Oh…okay” she said, “Maybe another time?”

            “Maybe,” Roxas replied, still not looking up at her. She slid off his desk and walked away.

            The girl sitting in front of him, Lulu, snickered and turned around in her seat. “Poor Garnet,” she said, “Doesn’t even realize when she doesn’t have a chance.” Roxas looked at Lulu, thinking her words were a bit harsh and opened his mouth to say so, but Lulu continued, “You want to hang out with me instead? My parents are out of town right now. It would be just the two of us.”

            Roxas scowled and looked back out the window. “No thanks,” he said curtly.

            “What do you mean?” she said, “It’s not like you and Iris are a thing, and you missed your chance with Xion since Noctis is in the picture, so—”

            If Lulu had thought she had a chance with Roxas, she probably shouldn’t have mentioned Xion and Noctis with such little tact.

            “How about you mind your own business?” he spat at her. Lulu frowned and turned around in her seat, and Roxas turned to face the window again, mood thoroughly soured.

            But apparently Lulu wasn’t finished. She whipped back around in her chair and said, “What’s with you and Xion? First, the two of you are together, and then she goes after Noctis? It seems she can’t get enough of one guy; she has to go after others, too.” Roxas’ scowl deepened and he ground his teeth. “Is that why you’re mad? ‘Cause you realized your girlfriend is a slut?”

            It took every ounce of self-control Roxas had to not explode in Lulu’s face. In a low and measured voice, he simply said, “Xion is not a slut,” feeling his eyebrow twitch. With that, he stood from his chair, grabbed his bag, and left the room before his teacher had even arrived.

            Roxas wandered the thinning hallways, not sure where to go. He had only skipped class once before, when Xion wanted to get ice cream for lunch, but they had lost track of time and decided to not go to their next class.

            So he let himself wander, not really paying attention to his surroundings, when he stopped in front of the choir room. He looked up from the ground and could see into the dark room through the cracked door and pushed it open all the way, stepping inside and flicking on the lights. The room was completely empty save for the piano, the risers the students stood on, and a few chairs here and there. Roxas looked to the office in the corner of the room, seeing that the lights were out and Ms. Heartilly was gone.

            He slowly stepped over to the piano and sat on the bench, resting his fingers on the keys, thinking about what sad song he wanted to play. He began plunking out a tune, one he had been learning during his lessons, beginning with the simple melody with his right hand, but slowly brought in his left hand, adding in the complex notes. The intricacy of the piece grew, and Roxas began picking up speed as he played. He furrowed his brow in concentration, focusing entirely on the music, thrashing at the piano with a fiery passion, until he stumbled over a few notes.

            He played the bar again, but stumbled a second time. He grit his teeth and glared at the piano keys, trying to work his way through the complicated section of the piece, but kept tripping up. With an enraged cry, he slammed his hands up and down the keyboard without rhyme or reason, letting the horrible dissonance peal in his ears. Roxas withdrew his hands from the keyboard and gripped the edges of the piano bench, letting the sound die out before closing the lid and resting his elbows on top of it, putting his face in his hands.

            “Roxas?” a voice at the door said. He looked up to see Ms. Heartilly enter the room, looking at him with concern. She closed the door behind her. “Are you okay?” she said, sitting down on a chair next to the piano, and Roxas swiveled in his seat to look at her.

            “Not really,” he admitted, letting his shoulders slump.

            “What’s wrong?”

            Roxas took a deep breath and decided that he could trust his teacher not to tell anyone about his troubles. “I…I feel like…I’m losing my best friend,” he said, voice wobbling slightly as his eyebrows pulled down. He bit his lip hard to keep any emotion from spilling over.

            “Xion?”

            Roxas nodded. “Ever since prom,” he began, “She’s been spending all her time with Noctis and I feel like we never see each other anymore. I just…I want my friend back.” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat, realizing that his words hardly portrayed the depth of his feelings.

            Ms. Heartilly looked at him with sympathy. “Have you tried talking to her?” she asked.

            “No,” Roxas said, shaking his head, “She’s always busy, so I barely ever talk to her these days, and when I do, I don’t want to get in a fight. So I just don’t say anything about it.” Roxas ran an anxious hand through his hair, wondering how he could get out of this horrible situation.

            “Sometimes friends fight,” Ms. Heartilly said softly, “It shows that you care.”

            “But I don’t want to say the wrong thing and make her mad at me forever,” Roxas said.

            “She won’t be,” Ms. Heartilly assured him, “I think you should talk to her. Today.”

            Roxas nodded slowly. “Okay,” he whispered. He took a deep breath and swallowed, feeling a tiny bit better after talking with his teacher. “Is it okay if I stay here for this period?” he asked.

            Ms. Heartilly smiled. “Of course.”

            Xion looked over the table full of muffins, cookies, cakes and other sweets, counting how many there were and marking the number on her sheet of paper. Noctis stood beside her, putting the sweets into boxes once she had counted them and marked them off. Serah and Yuna, the two girls who were actually in charge of the bake sale, sat in a corner of the room, playing on their phones. Xion glared at them over a stack of cookies, wishing she hadn’t agreed to be on the activities committee.

            “Twenty carrot cakes,” she said to Noct, “You can put those in now.” He began filling a cardboard box with the cakes. She sighed softly and whispered, “I wish they would help,” nodding toward the girls on their phones, “They should be doing this, not us.”

            “Hmm, you’re right about that. But,” he looked at her with a small smirk, “If we left it to them, no one would get their cakes.” Xion giggled and nodded.

            She and Noct had been counting sweets for about an hour, having to take off their morning classes to get the bake sale ready to be held during lunch time. She thought that taking off class defeated the purpose of getting extra credit, but she agreed to do this, so she had to stick with it and hope the extra credit made up for it.

            Xion handed Noct the last carrot cake and began counting the chocolate cakes, resisting the urge to open the plastic containers and swipe her finger across the icing for a taste. “That’s eighty-five chocolate,” she said. Just before she began counting the strawberry cakes, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out and opened the message, smiling when she read Roxas’ name on the screen.

            Roxas: Hey, are you busy after school? I need to talk to you and it’s really important

            Xion furrowed her brow.

            Xion: No, I’m free. Is something wrong?

            She waited a minute for his reply, but when none seemed forthcoming, she went back to counting sweets, growing increasingly worried the longer it took him to reply.

            Xion had noticed a change in Roxas over the past week; he didn’t smile as much as he used to, but when she asked if everything was okay, he would say he was fine. But she could tell that he wasn’t fine—not at all—and she didn’t know why. They didn’t talk as much as they used to either. Sure they had casual conversations about school and what to eat for dinner, but they didn’t really talk. Not about their hopes and dreams, or something funny one of their friends did, or who they thought was a better Keyblade wielder; nothing like that. Not anymore. It made her sad.

            After counting all the cakes and half the muffins, her phone finally buzzed again with his reply.

            Roxas: Everything is fine

            Xion frowned. Whatever was bothering Roxas, she was going to get it out of him. She and Noct finished counting the sweets and got them ready to take to the cafeteria, forcing Serah and Yuna to help them. They grumbled but cooperated, and the four teens managed the bake sale with moderate success.

            During Xion’s and Roxas’ lunch period, she scanned the area, looking for any sign of him, hoping to finally see his beautiful face after a stressful day dealing with Serah and Yuna. Hayner, Pence, and Olette stopped by for some cookies, but he wasn’t with them. Xion sighed, disappointed by his absence.

            As the boys struck up a conversation with Noct about the next struggle match (did guys have anything else to talk about?) she gestured for Olette to come closer.

            “Where’s Roxas?” she whispered.

            Olette shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said, “I haven’t seen him all day. Maybe he had lunch at the clock tower.”

            Xion sighed. “But he knew I was going to be here today,” she said, gesturing to the bake sale table she sat behind, “He would have said something if he couldn’t come see me.”

            “Have you tried texting him?” Olette asked

            Xion shook her head. “No, not really,” she said, “I’ve been busy with this all day. But he texted me earlier and asked me to meet him after school. He said he wanted to talk about something important.”

            “Who are we talking about?” Serah asked with a grin, finally putting her phone down and grabbing Xion’s arm.

            “No one,” Xion said, pulling her arm away and crossing it with the other.

            “Is it Roxas?” she whispered.

            Xion cast a frantic glance at the others around the table, but the boys were still arguing about Struggle and Yuna had her headphones in and couldn’t her them anyway.

            “Don’t worry about it Serah,” Xion warned with a frown.

            “He’s so cute,” she said, “Almost as cute as Snow.” Serah immediately forgot about Roxas and began gushing about her boyfriend, and Olette said goodbye to Xion, pulling Hayner and Pence along with her. Xion spent the rest of the period talking to Noct and passively listening to Serah’s ramblings about Snow, wishing that Roxas could have stopped by. The end of the day couldn’t come soon enough.

            Roxas stood under a tree, waiting half an hour after the final bell for Xion to finally make her appearance. She had texted him that something came up with the activities committee and that it would only take a little while, but that had been twenty minutes ago. He sighed and contemplated walking home alone but heard her voice from across the lawn.

            “Roxas!” she called. He turned to see Xion running up to him with a bright smile on her face, a smile that he normally would have had kittens over, but he merely waved at her, not even smiling back.

            When she reached him, she threw her arms around him, giving him a tight hug. He patted her on the back and pulled away quickly.

            “Hey,” he said.

            Xion removed her arms from him and clasped her hands in front of her. “So,” she said, “What did you want to talk about?”

            “Well,” he began. Here it was, the moment of truth. “I…I was wondering if you wanted to walk around town.”

            You coward, he scolded himself, finding it more difficult to admit his feelings right then in broad daylight, rather than when they had been dancing in each other’s arms, lost in the ecstasy of prom night.

            Xion smiled, and this time, Roxas felt his heart skip a beat at the sight. How he had missed seeing that smile all the time. “I would love to,” she said. They began walking down the street, making their way to the Tram Common, and Xion sighed contentedly.

            “So,” she said, “How was history class without me?”

            Roxas bit his lip, recalling that he hadn’t actually been in class after arguing with Lulu. “It was okay,” he lied. “How was the bake sale?”

            “It would have been better if you were there,” she said, knocking her shoulder with his, “Where were you?”

            “Um…” Roxas had planned on stopping by to support her but couldn’t bear to see her chatting and flirting with her new best friend, Noctis, so he skipped lunch altogether. “I had to work on some homework for math,” he said and mentally added, Why am I lying to you?

            “Oh,” she said, brows pulling down in disappointment.

            “Sorry,” he said. By now they had reached the Tram Common, passing little shops and townsfolk. Roxas waved at the moogle running the accessory shop.

            Xion shrugged and gave him a smile that seemed a little forced. “That’s okay,” she said, “Noct kept me company.”

            For some reason, the sound of Noctis’ nickname coming from Xion’s lips struck a chord with Roxas. He clenched his jaw and looked at the ground.

            “Oh, he did, did he?” he said in a monotone voice, belying the inferno that raged inside of him.

            “Yeah,” she said with a little smile, “He’s helped me out a lot this past week.”

            “Oh, I could tell,” Roxas spat, finally letting his irritation shine through.

            “You—what do you mean?” Xion asked, frowning at his words.

            Roxas scowled at her. “‘What do I mean?’!” he nearly shouted, stopping in his tracks. Xion stopped as well, regarding him with wide eyes. “I mean you and ‘Noct’ seem to be best buddies while I’m over here wondering where my best friend went!” His voice grew in volume as he spoke, drawing the attention of several on-lookers, but Roxas ignored them.

            “What? Roxas, no,” she said, shaking her head, “That’s not what’s going on.”

            “Oh, it’s not?! Do you think I’m an idiot or something?” he screamed, quickly losing control of his temper.

            “No! Of course not. I—”

            “That I don’t realize that ever since prom, you two have been getting closer together?” he said.

            “Roxas, please!” she beseeched, “This isn’t about him!”

            “Oh, really?” he said, giving her an incredulous look, “I’m supposed to believe that? You two make out on stage in front of everybody—”

            “We did not make out,” she argued, frowning.

            “And now,” Roxas continued, “You’re spending every single freaking day together, and I’m supposed to believe this isn’t about him?”

            “Roxas it’s really not,” she said, “Please, listen to me.”

            But Roxas wasn’t finished. “Xemnas! Saix! Did that mean nothing to you?! We promised we’d never forget each other! You promised!” he screamed, tears prickling in his eyes. “And now you’re forgetting your promise, just so you can spend more time with Noctis!”

            “Roxas, I’m sorry,” she said, “Noctis and I are just friends! I didn’t realize it bothered you that much.”

            Roxas gaped at her. “Xion, I love you!”

            Under different circumstances, Roxas declaring his love for Xion would have been romantic, but, presently, it only deepened his wounds. She gasped softly, covering her mouth with her hands. “How would seeing you hanging out with another guy not bother me?”

            A beat of silence passed between them. “What?” Xion breathed.

            “Yeah, I love you, alright?” he said, “I was going to tell you at prom, but then you made prom queen before I could say it…I should have realized you just wanted Noctis all along.” Xion liked Noctis; it was plainly obvious. They kissed at prom and now she spent all of her free time with him. Roxas finally realized that he could never have her; another knife in his heart. “So you should just go back to him. You two seem to be having the time of your life!” Tears finally spilled onto his cheeks.

            Xion looked at him with anguish. “Do you think I enjoy this?” she asked, “That I enjoy being away from you? I wanted to get the school activities over with as soon as possible, so we could go back to the way things were before prom. So we could go back to being best friends again and go to the beach and eat ice cream. Why would I enjoy being apart from you?”

            “Well, it doesn’t look like you’re not,” he spat, wearing a fierce scowl.

            A trail of tears ran down Xion’s mournful face. “Well, I’m not.” She let out a soft sob and turned around, running away from Roxas, down the street.

            He watched her go and an expression of horror grew on his face. “Oh, what have I done?” he whispered, running his hands through his hair. He took off in a sprint after her. “Xion, wait!” he called, “I’m sorry!”

            She turned a corner and disappeared from view, and he raced after her, feet pounding against the pavement, but when he went down the side street, he couldn’t see her anywhere. He slowed to a stop, panting and looking around for any sign of her, but she was gone. Roxas groaned and pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes regretting the words he had spoken to her.

            He messed up. Big time.

            Xion sat on the ground with her face buried in her knees, sobbing. She hid in an alley way in an obscure part of town, full of boring office buildings that she and Roxas didn’t usually go near. He probably wouldn’t think to look for her here, and she didn’t want him to find her either. She thought back to his words and a fresh wave of tears streamed down her cheeks.

            He was right, of course. She had been spending so much time working on the committee that she didn’t realize she had neglected caring for her best friend. She had never thought Roxas to be the jealous type, but apparently seeing her with Noct every day right after their kiss had been too much for him. She shouldn’t have tried to throw herself at the activities committee, but rather do a little bit at a time, so she could give Roxas the attention he deserved. But she didn’t.

            She messed up. Big time.

            She looked up at her phone, ringing with a call from Roxas, but sent him to voicemail. She didn’t think she could speak to him in her present state, so she sat and continued to sob, barely registering the sound of footsteps approaching her.

            “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” a voice purred, “Did your boyfriend make you cry?”

            Xion’s shoulders stiffened, and she slowly rose her head to see Seifer, Roxas’ self-proclaimed arch nemesis, standing a few feet away from her.

            “Seifer,” she said carefully, standing to face him directly, “What do you want?”

            “I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said, scanning his eyes up and down her form. Xion scowled. “You seemed pretty upset earlier.”

            “I’m fine,” she spat, crossing her arms defensively.

            “You don’t look fine to me,” he said with a smirk, taking a step closer to her. She took a step back. “Why don’t you come with me? I can take you home and make you feel better.” He gave her another scan with his eyes and licked his lips. “I promise I’ll take good care of you.”

            Xion scoffed. She drew back her hand and struck Seifer across the face, and his head snapped to the side with the blow. He slowly looked back at her and his smirk grew.

            “I like ‘em feisty.” Seifer grabbed Xion’s arm and pulled her toward him, but she summoned her Keyblade, pointing it at his throat. He regarded it cautiously, loosening his grip on her wrist.

            “Don’t mess with me, Seifer,” she said dangerously, glowering at him.

            “Geez,” he said, releasing her arm with a pout, “I was just making sure you were okay.” He took several steps back, putting as much distance between himself and her Keyblade as possible. “Let me know how things work out with Roxas,” he said, “And if they don’t,” he turned away from her and began walking down the street, “My door is always open.” He tossed another smirk over his shoulder and turned a corner, out of sight. Xion left in the other direction, seeking out a safer hiding spot.

            Roxas opened the door to his apartment, having given up on looking for Xion. He had searched all over town, asking random people if they had seen her, and called her several times, but no one knew her whereabouts, and she didn’t pick up her phone. He sighed heavily.

            If only he hadn’t acted like a complete jerk, then she wouldn’t have run away. He had set out with the intention of telling her his true feelings; that he loved her (which he kind of did), but everything went horribly wrong when he let his own jealousy get the better of him. He had to make it up to her somehow.

            Axel sat on the couch, watching TV, but didn’t look up at Roxas’ entrance. “You two are late,” he said, “Where’ve you been?”

            “Well,” Roxas said in a deceptively calm voice, sitting down next to him, “We decided to go for a walk, and I got really mad at Xion for not paying attention to me this week, and then she ran away, and now I can’t find her.” Admitting what he had done out loud stung, leaving him feeling even worse than before.

            “What?” Axel turned to face him with a look of disbelief on his face, flicking off the TV. “You flipped the wrong switches, didn’t you?” he said, echoing what he had once told Roxas to avoid doing if he wanted to stay on a girl’s good side.

            “Oh, yeah,” he said, “I have royally messed up this time.”

            Axel put his hand on Roxas’ shoulder. “What happened?”

            Roxas took a shaky breath and began talking, barely pausing to take a breath as he told Axel everything. From the kiss on top of the clock tower at the Midnight Festival to almost declaring his love to her at prom but being interrupted, all the way to their fight after school. He left out no detail, not the butterflies in his stomach during their kiss, nor his feelings of neglect from the past week, nor how he felt like a total jerk for what he said to Xion during their fight. He realized that he would be embarrassed about sharing such personal information later, but he had to get everything off his chest.

            Axel listened quietly, only occasionally jumping in to ask a question or to give Roxas supportive words, patting him on the shoulder.

            “What do I do?” Roxas whispered, putting his face in his hands, feeling fresh tears prickle in his eyes.

            “You need to apologize,” Axel said, “You let your feelings get the better of you, and that’s going to happen every now and again; it comes with having a heart. But you have to prove that you can be in control of those feelings by setting things right.” Roxas sucked in a shaky breath and rubbed his wet eyes. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt Xion, and she didn’t mean to hurt you either,” Axel continued, “I think it was all just a big misunderstanding.” He paused to rub Roxas’ shoulder. “Do you honestly think that she likes Noctis more than she loves you?”

            Roxas shook his head. In his heart, he knew that Xion loved him. Disregarding any romance, any kisses, or any slow dances, she loved him, and he loved her, too. Of course they loved each other; they were best friends.

            “I guess I shouldn’t have been so jealous,” he said.

            Axel chuckled softly. “It happens to everyone,” he said, “So what are you going to do now?”

            Roxas knew he should try to find Xion immediately and apologize, but realizing that he had been the biggest jerk on the planet knocked the wind from his sails. He needed some time to himself to plan out what exactly he would say to her. Or some more time to mope. That would work, too.

            He stood from the couch and said, “I need some time to think. I’m going to go to the clock tower and play guitar.”

            Axel watched with disappointment in his eyes as Roxas retrieved his guitar, hoping that his young friend would immediately want to apologize.

            “Don’t be out too late,” Axel said as Roxas opened the door.

            He tossed a small smile over his shoulder. “I won’t be,” he said quietly.

            Xion slowly walked through the streets, making her way home. She had to apologize to Roxas for leaving him alone all week. She hugged her arms to herself, wishing she could go back in time and stay home from prom. Then she wouldn’t have been prom queen, and could have spent her days with Roxas as she always had. But would that have been a good thing?

            Roxas had been a second away from declaring his love for her after their dance. Would he have done that in any other instance? Yes, they kissed on the clock tower, but neither of them had planned it or did it because they explicitly said they like each other. If Xion hadn’t gone to prom, would he have ever tried to tell her?

            She thought back to their fight. Roxas had said the words “I love you.” He actually said them. But they were tainted by feelings of jealousy. Xion bit her lip, urging herself not to cry again. Saying “I love you” should have been a special thing, but she had ruined it by forcing him to say it before he was ready. And now she might never get the chance to say it back.

            Xion slowly walked up the stairs to the apartment, looking at the door with dread. Roxas was in there, probably seething. She turned the handle and stepped inside.

            “Hey, Xion,” Axel said.

            “Hi,” she said quietly.

            “You just missed Roxas,” he continued, and she breathed a sigh of relief, grateful to postpone another argument with him. “Why don’t you come have a seat?” Xion sat down next to Axel, staring at her hands clasped on her knees. “So…Roxas told me everything.”

            Guilt swept over her, creasing her brows and sending a pang through her stomach. “He did?” she said.

            “Yup, everything from the Midnight Festival onward,” Axel said.

            “The Midnight Festival?” she repeated, blushing as she recalled their secret kiss, now no longer a secret.

            “Yes, and your fight after school,” he said, moving on from less important matters, “You two need to talk about it. I hate seeing you fight.”

            Xion shook her head. “He must still be angry with me.”

            Axel clicked his tongue. “I thought he said he would never be angry with you.”

            Xion knit her brow. The only time Roxas had ever said that was the night before his surgery, the night they almost kissed the first time. “How did you know about that?” she asked.

            Axel shrugged. “I was spying on you two. When I saw him lean in for a kiss, I thought I’d interrupt.” He gave her a grin.

            “Axel!” she said with a laugh, smacking him on the shoulder, “You jerk!”

            Axel laughed too. “Hey,” he said, “I’m just looking out for your kneecaps.”

            Xion giggled, but took a deep breath and turned serious again. “I guess I should go talk to him. Where is he?” she asked.

            Axel scoffed. “Where do you think?” he said. “He’s at the clock tower.”

            “Thanks,” Xion said, giving Axel a quick kiss on the cheek before bolting out the front door.

            “Good luck!” he called after her.

            Xion’s feet pounded against the street as she ran, not even pausing to catch her breath as she sprinted to the clock tower, feeling a stitch form in her side. She skidded to a halt at the service door and flung it open, taking the stairs two at a time in an effort to reach Roxas more quickly, but she slowed when she heard a gentle guitar melody coming from the balcony. She quieted her breathing and walked up the last few steps, peeking around the wall to the balcony.

            Roxas sat with his guitar in his lap, playing the same song he played at the Midnight Festival, gazing out at the city with crestfallen eyes, as the evening sun gleamed in his hair. He stopped playing halfway through and sighed, staring below him with a grimace.

            “Roxas?” Xion said, stepping out from behind the wall. He snapped his head up, giving her a look of surprise.

            “Xion!” he said.

            They stared at each other, unsure of what to say. They both had so much they wanted to say.

            Xion swallowed. “What are you doing up here?” she asked.

            “Oh, just playing guitar,” Roxas said, looking down at the instrument in his hands, “I just needed some time to think.”

            “Oh,” Xion said, realizing that she had interrupted him, “Well, don’t let me keep you.” She turned to leave.

            “Xion, wait!” Roxas said frantically, “Please don’t go.”

            She looked back at him, seeing his pained expression, and sighed, taking a seat next to him.

            “I want to talk to you about earlier,” Roxas said, softly brushing his finger across the strings of his guitar.

            “I wanted to talk to you, too,” Xion said.

            They both began speaking at once, neither understanding the other when they spoke over each other. Roxas and Xion paused, looking back at one another in confusion.

            “What?” they said in unison. Roxas chuckled softly, wearing a small smile, and Xion felt herself relax at his lack of animosity, joining in with his laughter.

            “You go first,” she said, gesturing for him to go on.

            “No, no,” he said, waving his hand, “Please, you.”

            Xion took a deep breath. “Alright,” she said softly, dropping her gaze to the ground, “Roxas, I’m sorry for ignoring you all week. I didn’t mean to, I just wanted to get everything out of the way as quickly as possible so that we could have more time to spend together afterward.” She ducked her head with shame. “I didn’t think you would take it to mean that I wanted to hang out with Noctis rather than you because he truly had nothing to do with it.” She kept her eyes trained on the ground, too scared to look at Roxas’ face.

            “I should have realized that,” he said, “And I shouldn’t have said what I did earlier.”

            “But you were right,” Xion said, finally looking at him again. Roxas shook his head.

            “No. I thought you were falling for him, and that’s why I got angry,” he said, “I was jealous, and it made me think something that wasn’t true. Besides,” he eyed the headstock of his guitar, running his thumb along a tuning peg, “Even if I was right, that doesn’t give me permission to yell at you. So…I’m sorry I yelled at you. Can you forgive me?” He looked at her penitently.

            Xion smiled and nodded. “Yes. Apology accepted,” she said.

            “Thank you,” Roxas said, returning her smile, “And I accept yours.”

            “So…are we best friends again?” Xion asked.

            Roxas smirked. “What do you mean ‘again’?” he said, “We always were, even if we were fighting.” They shared another laugh and gazed at the sunset, as Roxas picked out a familiar tune on his guitar. “Hey,” he said, “Can I play you a song?”

            Xion nodded. “Of course.”

            Roxas smiled. “I don’t think you’ve heard this one all the way through before,” he said. He began strumming the opening bars of his rejected festival solo and took a breath to begin singing.

I don't want another pretty face

I don't want just anyone to hold

I don't want my love to go to waste

I want you and your beautiful soul

            Xion watched him play with a small, satisfied smile on her face. Earlier, she had been afraid that she had ruined their friendship, but now they sat together on the clock tower, just like old times, Roxas singing to her as she happily listened.

I know that you are something special

To you, I'd be always faithful

I want to be what you always needed

Then I hope you'll see the heart in me

            Roxas sang with a wide grin, so very happy that he and Xion had made up. He had never felt so terrible as when he had made her cry (excluding killing her that one time), but he had never felt as happy as he did in that very moment, singing to her again, so full of love that he thought his heart would burst.

            Xion never told him what she thought about him dropping the “L” word earlier, but he didn’t think she needed to. Perhaps it was presumptuous of him, but he was sure that she loved him as much as he loved her. But, just to make sure, he would tell her again at the conclusion of his song. And…maybe get a kiss or two. Or three. Or a dozen. He unintentionally sped up the tempo of his song in anticipation.

Am I crazy for wanting you?

Baby do you think you could want me too?

I don't want to waste your time

Do you see things the way I do?

I just want to know that you feel it too

There is nothing left to hide

            Roxas looked over at Xion while he sang, seeing that she had closed her eyes, wearing a small smile, feet kicking back and forth over the edge of the balcony. He almost laughed, letting amusement color his tone, and she opened her eyes and gave him a grin. He turned back to the strings of his guitar and finished his song.

I don't want another pretty face

I don't want just anyone to hold

I don't want my love to go to waste

I want you and your beautiful soul

You're the one I want to chase

You're the one I want to hold

I won't let another minute go to waste

I want you and your soul

I don't want another pretty face

I don't want just anyone to hold

I don't want my love to go to waste

I want you and your beautiful soul

Your beautiful soul, yeah

Oh, yeah, your beautiful soul, yeah

            Roxas strummed his guitar one last time before letting the single chord die out, lost with the breeze. He set his guitar on the ground behind him and scooted next to Xion, resting his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand, wearing a dorky, love-struck smile.

            “I love you, you know,” Roxas said bashfully, dropping his gaze as pink dusted his cheeks.

            Xion laughed. “You know we’re fifteen, right?”

            “Shut up, we’re soulmates,” he said with a faux pout but couldn’t hide the smile in his eyes.

            “Well,” she said, “I love you, too.”

            Roxas grinned widely. “Can I have a kiss?” he asked hopefully, and he would have liked to say he asked with total confidence, but he couldn’t help the blush that spread across his face, only rivaled by hers. He ran a nervous hand through his hair, and Xion grinned into her shoulder opposite of him. “A real one this time,” he said, sitting up straight, “Not just one to say we’ve done it, like the other night.”

            “Hey, that totally counted,” Xion argued, looking at him indignantly.

            “Well, yeah it counted,” Roxas said, rolling his eyes, “But you know what I mean. One that means we’re in a real relationship.”

            “Oh, so we’re in a real relationship, are we?” Xion teased, ruffling his hair.

            “We literally just said ‘I love you’ to each other,” Roxas said exasperatedly, swatting her hand away. Xion laughed out loud.

            “We haven’t even been on one date,” she countered.

            “You’re ignoring the original question,” Roxas said, pouting again.

            “Oh, right,” she said, tapping her chin as if in thought, “‘Can you kiss me?’ That is a good question.”

            “Well?” Roxas exclaimed.

            Xion laughed but said nothing more. Instead, she took his face in her hands and pressed her lips firmly to his. Like before, Roxas didn’t quite know his way around another person’s lips just yet, but he didn’t let that get in the way of appreciating the sweet kiss. Xion pulled away far, far too soon for his liking.

            “Does that answer your question?” she asked with a smirk.

            “Yes,” he said, blushing even more deeply, “Yes it does.”

            Xion giggled and went back to staring at the sunset. Roxas opened his mouth to ask for another kiss, but a voice interrupted him before he could say anything.

            “It’s about time, you two.”

            Roxas and Xion whipped around to find Axel stepping out from behind the wall where he had been hiding; wearing the cheekiest grin Roxas had ever seen.

            “Axel!” Xion said, crimson cheeked, “How long have you been there?”

            “Well,” he said, stepping to take a seat next to Roxas, “I followed you here, so I pretty much heard the whole thing.”

            “So you were spying on us?” Roxas said in horror. He would have liked to keep his professions of love private, but apparently that wasn’t going to happen any time soon.

            Axel scoffed with amusement. “Of course I was. That’s my job. Got it memorized?” he said, tapping his temple. Roxas rolled his eyes. “Hey, can I be the best man at your wedding?”

            “Oh my gosh, Axel,” Roxas groaned, hiding his pink face in his hands, but Xion laughed.

            “Sure you can,” she said. She pulled Roxas’ hands away from his face and gave him a hug, resting her head on his shoulder.

            “Well, Xion,” Axel said, “It was fun living with you, but now that you two are going to be exclusive, I can’t have you under the same roof. It’s bad for the kneecaps.” He gave Roxas’ a pat.

            “Oh, Axel.” This time, it was Xion’s turn to groan and hide her face in her hands with a small giggle.

            “Don’t worry,” he said, gesturing with his hand, “I talked to Isa, and he said you can move into his spare room.”

            “When did he say that?” Roxas asked, putting his arm around Xion’s shoulders and pulling her close.

            Axel shrugged. “Right before I left on my business trip.”

            “So,” Xion said, wrapping her arm around Roxas’ waist, looking past him at Axel, “You knew before we did? That we liked each other, I mean.”

            “Well, you two are pretty oblivious sometimes.”

            “Hey!” the two teens said together.

            Axel laughed and stood up. “Let’s go get some ice cream to celebrate you dorks finally realizing what everyone else did ages ago.” He began walking back to the flight of stairs, beckoning them on. “Hopefully, now you’ll give me less headaches about it.”

            Roxas looked at Xion and gave her one more quick peck before standing up to follow Axel, taking her hand in his and not letting go once she had stood. They followed their older friend down the stairs and through the service door.

            “On three,” he whispered, watching Axel lead them down the street, “We jump on his back.”

            Xion giggled. “Yeah. Let’s do it.” They planted their feet, knees bent in preparation.

            “One. Two. Three!”

            Axel didn’t know what hit him. Actually he did. And he made them both pay for their own ice cream.

Chapter Text

            Roxas straightened the bow tie of his Tuxedo and looked at himself in the dressing room mirror. He smoothed the front of his crisp, white shirt and smiled.

            Only an hour until the ceremony, he thought happily as he took his time to prepare, making sure every detail looked just right; weddings didn’t happen every day after all. Behind him, Sora, Riku, and Ven sat lounging on the chaise in the middle of the room, dressed similarly as he was, lazily going through bags of various products as soft morning light filtered in through the window, turning the wood paneled walls yellow. Sora stood and walked up the vanity.

            “Hey, looking’ good, man,” he said, clapping Roxas on the shoulder.

            “Thanks,” Roxas said, watching Sora untwist the cap off of his hair pomade, taking a blob of it in his fingers, and running it through his hair, slicking it back messily.

            “You nervous about tonight?” Sora asked off handedly.

            Roxas shrugged. “Not really,” he said, “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

            “Oh, really?” Riku asked, looking up from his products, “You sure? Wouldn’t want to disappoint the bride, do we?” He smirked and Roxas rolled his eyes.

            “She won’t be disappointed,” he said with a wave of his hand.

            “Are you sure you’re not nervous?” Ven said resting his chin on his fist, “I would be.”

            “Well, maybe a little bit,” Roxas said with a shrug as the door swung open.

            “If you think you’re nervous,” Riku said, looking up at Terra’s entrance, “Try being the groom.”

            Terra said nothing to the group of boys, only stalked past them, fingers clutching at his hair as he went into the bathroom, and slammed the door behind him. Ven stood up and rapped his knuckles on the wood paneling.

            “Terra?” he called, “Are you okay in there?”

            “I’m fine!” Terra said with distress, “Just fine. It’s just that I’m getting married in an hour and I have no idea what I’m doing.”

            Roxas chuckled. As Terra’s and Aqua’s wedding drew closer, Terra had become increasingly nervous about the whole thing. Everyone knew he loved Aqua with all his heart and would never regret matrimony, but Terra had made enough mistakes in his life that such a big commitment as marriage had him on edge.

            “I mean, I know this is the right thing to do,” Terra continued, sounding more and more worried by the second, “And we’ll be happy together, but I…I…” He trailed off and the next thing the boys outside the bathroom door heard was retching along with a splash. Roxas grimaced, hoping Terra hadn’t vomited all over his clothes.

            Ven’s eyes grew with alarm. “Terra!” he cried, “I’m coming in.” He opened the door and entered the bathroom, giving Terra calm reassuring words. Roxas turned back to the mirror and began fixing his hair with some of Sora’s pomade, smoothing down the flyaway ends.

            “You’re going to be fine,” Ven said, “I know you’re nervous, but the ceremony will only take, like, two minutes, tops.”

            “I know,” Terra said, “But what if the Darkness overtakes me again and I kill everyone?” Roxas rolled his eyes and smiled, hearing running water from the sink in the bathroom as Terra washed the bile from his mouth.

            “That’s not going to happen,” Ven said, “Aqua will be there for you every step of the way. As soon as you see her walking down the aisle, you’ll forget you were even nervous in the first place.” The stream of water stopped.

            “Yeah,” Terra said calmly, “You’re right.” He exited the bathroom and looked at the younger boys in the dressing room. “Let me impart some words of wisdom to you guys.” Sora laughed, and Riku scoffed with amusement. “When you find the one you truly love,” Terra continued, “Don’t mess it up by being an idiot.” The boys waited for him to say more, but he didn’t.

            “Wise words indeed,” Roxas said, sitting down on the chaise and grabbing a piece of hard candy from the bowl on the coffee table.

            “Have you got everything ready for your song tonight?” Terra asked him.

            “Yup,” he said, popping the piece of candy in his mouth.

            “You’ve practiced?”

            “Every day for the past three weeks,” Roxas said around the candy, pushing it to the side of his mouth with his tongue.

            “Good because Aqua wants everything to be absolutely perfect,” Terra said, “We’re really counting on you.” Roxas rolled his eyes again, thinking that Terra should have more faith in his musical prowess. “We asked you because you’re our friend and we know you can do it, so don’t screw up,” he ended with wide eyes and only a minor threat in his voice.

            “Don’t worry about it.” Roxas casually waved of his hand. “I’ve been working with the band practically non-stop.”

            When Terra and Aqua had asked Roxas to perform a song for their wedding, he had practiced nearly every day and had even visited a week before to work with the wedding band. He had practiced so much he couldn’t possibly mess up.

            “Good,” Terra said, “I just want everything to go perfectly for Aqua.”

            “You just said that. And it’s not like it’s for your first dance or anything,” Roxas said.

            “I know, I know.” Terra walked up to the mirror and gazed at his reflection. “It’s just that…you’ll understand when you get married.”

            “If he gets married,” Riku said with a smirk.

            “Hey, shut up, dude,” Roxas said giving him a shove, and making Sora laugh as they heard a knock on the open door of the room.

            Roxas looked up to see Prince Yozora, dressed to the nines, looking in on them, holding one end of a large box wrapped in silver paper.

            “Yozora!” Sora shouted, “You made it!”

            The prince smiled. “Hello, Sora,” he said, “I was just wondering where we should leave our gift.” He glanced down at the package he carried.

            “There’s a table by the door in the ballroom,” Terra offered.

            “I can show you,” Roxas said, standing up. Yozora stepped back to let him through the door and Roxas began to lead him and his small entourage of three, two men and a woman, down the well-decorated hallway of the castle.

            Party was in full swing in the Land of Departure. Flowers and white drapery covered the walls of every single room and hall, filling the air with a fresh scent. Long white hallway runners were just asking to be spilled on, and pine garlands decorated the crown molding, breaking up the white of the drapery. Though Roxas had only been in the castle for about a week, he felt as if he knew the halls intimately, as Aqua wouldn’t let him sit idly by in between band practice; she made sure to put him to work. In fact, he and Ven had done most of the decorating in the hallway between the dressing room and the ballroom.

            Roxas pushed open the double doors to the ballroom and ushered the men and woman in with a sweep of his arm. “It’s just right there,” he said, pointing to the long receiving table pushed against the wall, dressed with a white table cloth, as were all the dining tables nearby. Roxas glanced over to the dance floor on the far side of the room, where he could see the stage set up with various instruments. He felt a shock of giddiness as he thought about his forthcoming performance before glancing back down at Yozora’s gift. It stood nearly three feet tall and a foot wide.

            “So what’s your gift?” he asked.

            “A basinet,” Yozora said, pulling a pen out of his pocket and signing a card before slipping it under the ribbon.

            “A basinet?” Roxas said, wondering if he had heard him correctly “Like for babies?”

            Yozora nodded. “From what Sora tells me, it won’t be long until the lovely couple will be needing it,” he said, winking his red eye. Roxas chuckled, silently wishing luck to the happy couple’s kneecaps, but then realized their knees would be safe within the bonds of holy matrimony. He led the group out of the room, down the hall and into the garden where the ceremony would be taking place.

            The sweet scent of flowers permeated the air even more strongly in the garden than in the halls. Guest mingled the area, most standing around, chatting, but some sat in the chairs set up for the ceremony, facing a lattice wedding arch with flowers weaved into it. Roxas looked at the arch with mild distaste. It took him and Aqua’s brother two hours to set it up the evening before. In front of the arch stood Xion, talking to a blue haired little girl. Roxas smiled and strode over to them after saying goodbye to Yozora.

            “Hey pretty girl,” he said to his girlfriend, “You’re looking quite lovely this morning.” Xion giggled and he pecked her on the lips. And she did look lovely, wearing a loose fitting black chiffon dress that cinched at the waist and the same silver shoes she wore to prom. Her makeup was simple for the most part, but Roxas’ favorite red lipstick adorned her lips. The little girl, Aqua’s niece, Marine, wore a bright orange dress with enough tulle to rival a ballerina’s.

            “You don’t look so bad yourself,” Xion said with a smile. Before Roxas could respond, little Marine tugged on his pant leg.

            “Are you Ven or Woxas?” she asked.

            Roxas smiled at her mispronunciation of his name. “I’m Roxas,” he said.

            “Where’s Ven?” she said, giving him a doe-eyed look.

            Roxas chuckled. “He’s in his dressing room.”

            Marine took Roxas’ hand. “Can we go to him?” she asked, already pulling him along.

            Roxas chuckled again. “Of course,” he said, bending down to pick her up, settling Marine on his hip. He began walking back to the castle and Xion fell into step beside him.

            “So,” she asked, “How’s the groom doing?”

            “He’s a nervous wreck,” Roxas said nonchalantly, making Xion giggle. “What about the bride?”

            “Well,” Xion pushed the door to the castle open and stepped to the side to let Roxas and Marine past her, “She’s about the same as Terra. We were helping her get ready when she started freaking out and her mom made us leave.”

            “I’m sure they’ll be fine once they go through with it,” Roxas said with as much of a shrug as he could while holding Marine. “I wonder what I’ll be like on o—on my wedding day.” He almost said “our wedding day” but stopped himself, thinking that would be a bit forward since he and Xion had only been dating for about three months.

            But the past three months had been complete bliss. True to his word, Axel kicked Xion out and into Isa’s place faster than you could say “sea salt ice cream.” At first, Roxas wasn’t happy about her new living arrangement, wanting to spend as much time with his new girlfriend as humanly possible, but they still saw each other every day at school. They had even become the very people that Roxas despised: couples who kissed in the middle of the hallway while everyone had to navigate around them, throwing them disgusted looks.

            They would also visit each other’s apartments frequently. Either Roxas would see Xion and together they would take Isa’s dog for a walk, or Xion would visit Roxas’ and Axel’s new loft, and they would watch a movie until Axel got home from work. Well, technically they would make out on the couch while a movie played in the background. Once Axel found out about that, he told them to stop doing it. But they didn’t stop.

            “I’m sure you’ll be a nervous wreck, too,” Xion said with grin, not missing how he almost slipped up.

            “I’m gonna wear a pwetty, white dwess,” Marine said, “Like Auntie Aqua.”

            “And you’ll be absolutely beautiful,” Roxas said, giving the little girl a kiss on the cheek, making her giggle and bury her face in his shoulder.

            At this point, they were at the dressing room. Roxas knocked and cracked the door open a little bit.

            “Is everyone decent?” he asked, “I’ve got two little ladies with me.”

            “We’re all dressed,” Ven said. Roxas pushed the door all the way open and Marine wiggled out of his arms and ran to Ven, throwing herself on his legs. He pulled her onto his lap and she snuggled into his chest.

            “Xion!” Terra cried, whipping around when he saw her in the mirror, “How’s Aqua? Is she okay? Do I need to see her?” The other boys in the crowded room, her friends as well as some of Terra’s and Aqua’s family members who had come in Roxas’ absence, looked over at her.

            Xion held up her hands. “She perfectly fine,” she lied in an attempt to calm Terra’s nerves, “And she wants you to be fine, too.” She pointed a finger at him, and Terra rubbed the back of his neck.

            “Just don’t tell her I’m having a nervous breakdown,” he said as his voice grew in pitch. Xion laughed out loud, recalling a similar promise she had made to Aqua not half an hour ago.

            “Don’t be sad, Terra,” Marine said, sliding off of Ven’s lap and running to her soon-to-be uncle. She raised her arms in the air and Terra picked her up, making her look even tinier against his stature. “Auntie Aqua said she loves you very much.”

            “I love her, too,” Terra said, “I’m just a little bit nervous.”

            Riku scoffed quietly. “‘A little’?” he said to Sora.

            Sora laughed. “More like ‘a lottle.’”

            Terra gave them a tight-lipped look before sighing. “Okay,” he said to the whole room, “Anyone who is not blood-related to me needs to leave the room right now.” Xion chuckled and stepped to the side to let Aqua’s brother’s and nephews pass as well as her friends. “Ven,” Terra said, holding up a hand to stop his exit, “You can stay.” Ven smiled and sat back down on the couch. An older man, presumably Terra’s father, closed the door once everyone had made their exit, but not before the boys snatched up their suit jackets, just in case they weren’t allowed back in until the ceremony.

            “Like I said,” Roxas murmured in Xion’s ear as he pulled on his black jacket, “A nervous wreck.”

            Xion giggled and threaded her fingers through his as everyone made their way back into the garden. Kairi and Naminé, wearing a form fitting blue dress and a ruffled pink dress respectively, jumped up at the arrival of their friends.

            “How’s Terra doing?” Kairi asked, wringing her hands.

            “He’ll be fine,” Sora said, throwing his arm around her, guiding the group to their seats on the third row, just behind the couple’s families. The group of friends sat chatting about how perfect Terra and Aqua were until the start of the ceremony, all apart from Xion, who gazed around the lovely garden with a sigh, wishing it was her wedding day.

            She could picture it clearly in her mind. She would invite all of her friends and make them all wear black so that her gorgeous white gown would stand out in the crowd. She would walk down the aisle holding a bouquet of Tatarian Asters where she would meet Roxas. They would say their vows, kiss, and live happily ever after as husband and wife.

            “Whatcha thinkin’ about?” Roxas asked, noticing her small smile.

            “Nothing,” Xion said quickly, feeling a blush rise in her cheeks.

            “Oh, come on, tell me,” he insisted with a dazzling smile of his own, putting his arm around her and rubbing her shoulder.

            “It’s nothing,” she laughed with a shake of her head.

            “Come on, tell me!” Roxas put his other arm around her and gave her a squeeze.

            “No!” she said, trying to contain her giggles.

            “Tell me!”

            Xion sighed heavily but not without amusement. “I was just…imagining my wedding day,” she confessed.

            “Oh, yeah?” Roxas said with a smirk, “And who is the groom in this fantasy of yours.”

            Xion bit her lip, trying not to grin. “Axel.”

            “Oh!” Roxas laughed, “Is that so? I’m honestly hurt.” He squeezed her even tighter. “You’re very mean to me,” he said, pressing his lips to her cheek with a loud smooching sound. Xion laughed and wrapped her arms around his middle. “Why Axel, though?”

            “Because he’s a real man,” Riku interjected with a grin.

            Roxas rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right,” he said sarcastically.

            “Where is Axel, anyway?” Xion asked.

            “In the kitchens with Isa, trying to steal some snacks.” Roxas pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll tell them to get out here before it starts,” he said, shooting Axel a text.

            Axel and Isa arrived in the nick of time and took their seats just before a relative of Terra’s announced that the ceremony would begin.

            The string quartet began playing gentle music as the wedding party walked down the aisle. Terra walked in dressed in a beige suit, smiling though a visible bundle of nerves, followed by Ven, his best man, dressed in a similar beige suit as all the men in the wedding party were. Terra took his place at the altar with Ven standing by his side, wearing the biggest smile he’d ever had as the rest of the groomsmen and bridesmaids, dressed in a hideous orange color to complement their blue hair, walked down the aisle.

            Little Marine walked arm in arm with the ring bearer, Terra’s nephew, Jasper, tossing flower petals on the ground as they walked. Xion tried not to squeal when Jasper started grabbing petals with the hand that wasn’t holding the little pillow the rings sat on, sprinkling them on the ground. The pair only got halfway down the aisle before Marine looked up and saw Ven standing at the altar.

            “Ven!” she cried, ripping her arm out of Jasper’s and running up to the teen boy, flower girl duties abandoned, and Jasper quickly ran to his mother. The entire congregation laughed as Ven bent down to pick Marine up, settling her on his hip and fixing her bunched up dress with his other hand.

            The string quartet began playing a wedding march and everyone stood up, turning around to see Aqua standing at the end of the aisle, arm in arm with her mother, ever the radiant bride in a stark white mermaid dress, complete with a turtle neck, five-foot train, and long white gloves. She smiled brightly through her veil, looking straight ahead at her soon-to-be husband and no one else as she approached the altar. Xion glanced back at Terra, who smiled, wiping the tears from his eyes as Ven grabbed his shoulder, giving it shake and whispering something in his ear, emotion plain on his own face. Aqua reached the end of the aisle, giving her mother a hug and handing her bouquet of roses to her maid of honor. Terra reached for her hand with and she took it, eyes full of love.

            “Everyone, please be seated,” the officiator said and the congregation complied. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered on these hallowed grounds to celebrate the union of these two hearts, Terra and Aqua, under the watchful eye of Kingdom Hearts.

            “Terra and Aqua first met when they were mere children under the tutelage of Master Eraqus, may he rest in peace, and though the two were wary of each other at first, they soon became fast friends, and always looked out for each other. At this union, I advise that they continue looking out for each other as the whole world may seem against them.

            “Terra, Aqua, remember your love for each other, and remember that you have the support of your family and friends to lean on. You may now exchange vows.”

            “Ladies first,” Terra said with a grin, and laughter lilted through the congregation.

            Aqua brought her hand to her mouth with a giggle. “Alright,” she said, “Terra, I’ve always loved you, even when I didn’t know I did. You’ve always been my best friend and I want the two of us to be together forever. I promise to always take care of you and our future family. I promise to love and support you in all of your endeavors, and to always be your shoulder to lean on. I love you with all my heart and soul, and I promise that we will never be parted again.” Terra smiled widely, eyes crinkled without any sign of nerves or worry. “That’s all I got,” Aqua finished and the congregation laughed again. “Your turn.”

            Terra took a deep breath. “Aqua,” he said, gazing into her eyes, “Ever since the day we met, I’ve loved you dearly. At first, it was just a love between two friends, but eventually I realized it was deeper than that. I realized the night when we snuck out of the castle to camp in the woods when we were young. Master Eraqus was furious with us for putting ourselves in danger and you started crying when he scolded us.” Aqua nodded at the memory. “I hated seeing you cry, so I gave you a hug, for the first time, to make your tears go away. From that day forth, I wanted to do whatever I could to make you happy.”

            Nearly all the ladies in the congregation, including Xion, Kairi, Namine, and even Sora, went “Aww.” Roxas chuckled softly at Xion’s smiling face.

            “I’ve made some mistakes in my past,” Terra continued, “But you were there to save me from myself and pull me out of the Darkness. I’m thankful that you’re going to be my wife forever.” Aqua brought her hand to her face as tears glistened in her eyes. Terra looked back at the officiant, signifying that he was finished. He smiled brightly at the couple.

            “If there is anyone here who believes that these two should not be wed,” he addressed the congregation, “Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

            Terra and Aqua turned their heads to see if anyone would speak up, but Ven openly glared at the guests, daring them to say something. No one did.

            “Terra, do you take Aqua to be your wife, swearing under the gaze of Kingdom Hearts that you will love, honor, and cherish her as long as you both shall live?”

            Terra grinned. “I do.”

            “Aqua, do you take Terra to be your husband, swearing under the gaze of Kingdom Hearts that you will love, honor, and cherish him as long as you both shall live?”

            Aqua nodded. “I do,” she choked out, voice thick with emotion.

            “May we have the rings?” the officiator asked, and little Jasper’s mother pushed him to the altar, whispering in his ear and pointing to Ven. Ven took the pillow with his free hand, still holding Marine in his other arm, and offered it to the officiator as Jasper sat back down in his seat, letting Aqua run a hand over his head as he walked away. The officiator took the rings from their cushion and gave Terra Aqua’s ring and Aqua Terra’s ring.

            “Terra, place the ring on Aqua’s left hand.” Terra slid the gold ring onto Aqua’s ring finger and she let a tiny sob escape her mouth. “Repeat after me. ‘As a sign of my love…’”

            “As a sign of my love…”

            “‘That I have chosen thee…’”

            “That I have chosen thee…”

            “‘Under the gaze of Kingdom Hearts…’”

            “Under the gaze of Kingdom Hearts…”

            “‘With this ring, I thee wed.’”

            “With this ring, I thee wed.” Terra’s voice broke on the last word of the vow and he brushed more tears from his eyes.

            “Aqua,” the officiator said, “Place Terra’s ring on his left hand.” Aqua did so with shaky hands of her own. “Repeat after me. ‘As a sign of my love…’”

            Aqua’s shoulders shook with sobs as she choked out her vows, barely audible to those not within five feet of her. “As a sign of my love…”

            “‘That I have chosen thee…’”

            “That I have chosen thee…”

            “‘Under the gaze of Kingdom Hearts…’”

            “Under the gaze of Kingdom Hearts…”

            “‘With this ring, I thee wed.’”

            “With this ring, I thee wed, Terra.” Terra’s smile grew and he let his tears flow freely, no longer bothering to wipe them away.

            “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

            Terra lifted Aqua’s veil and took her face in his hands, giving her a deep kiss as she threw her arms around his neck, and the congregation exploded into cheers and applause. Roxas, Xion, and Axel whopped loudly as Sora and Riku whistled at the couple. Ven sat Marine on the ground, who was too shocked by the adult’s kiss to protest, and threw his arms around his friends, shouting incomprehensibly in their ears.

            Xion grabbed Roxas’ face and gave him an enthusiastic kiss before releasing him and turning back to the happy couple, whooping once more.

            I should take her to more weddings, he thought with a dorky grin.

            Terra and Aqua released each other’s faces and laced their fingers together, walking back down the aisle toward the castle. Everyone stood from their chairs and followed the happy couple into the ballroom where the band was already playing an upbeat tune. Aqua made a beeline for the buffet, pulling Terra along with her, and Ven trailed behind them, chattering excitedly about how he was going to be the best uncle for their future babies (of which there were many, according to him). Aqua listened with a big smile, stuffing her face with hors d oeuvres.

            “Come on, guys,” Sora said, grabbing Riku’s and Kairi’s arms and pulling them onto the dancefloor, “Let’s party!”

            Kairi whooped loudly and the three began to dance, beckoning Roxas, Xion and, Naminé to join them. Roxas grinned and began dancing wildly, his once open chest wound no longer a hindrance. He grabbed Xion’s wrists and spun her around before wrapping one arm around her waist and pulling her close, planting a kiss on her cheek. She giggled.

            “This reminds me of prom,” she said, gripping Roxas’ shoulder. He made a face.

            “Please don’t say that,” he said with an amused grimace. His friends laughed.

            “Hopefully you won’t have another childish meltdown,” Naminé teased with a grin.

            “Excuse me?” Roxas said indignantly over his friends’ laughter. “Who told you about that? Sora!” He turned on his brother, who refused to look guilty, laughing instead.

            “Oh, don’t worry about it,” Xion said, patting Roxas’ chest, “I promise I won’t kiss any other guys tonight.”

            “You better not.”

            The group of friends continued to dance, later joined by Ven once he had finished securing his position of god-father over Terra’s and Aqua’s firstborn. The boys shed their suit jackets as the party continued on, and Xion made a mental note to not mix up Ven with her boyfriend since they were dressed almost identically without their jackets. The group danced until Aqua’s brother, Indigo, interrupted them, announcing the happy couple’s first dance as husband and wife.

            Terra led Aqua onto the floor and led her in a waltz, gliding across the dancefloor like a pair of angels. Xion squealed with delight.

            “Look at how cute they are,” she cooed, wrapping her arms around Roxas’ middle and putting her head on his shoulder. Roxas only chuckled softly in response.

            That’s going to be us one day, he thought to himself, feeling a touch of color rise in his cheeks as he smiled. He put his arm around Xion’s shoulder and rested his head on hers, imagining the two of them in place of the couple on the dancefloor. He doubted that he or Xion had as much skill as Terra or Aqua did, but it wouldn’t matter. As long as they were in love, it didn’t matter how badly they danced; it would be perfect. Roxas pressed his lips into his future wife’s hair.

            Terra and Aqua finished their dance with a sweet kiss as everyone cheered, and Terra led his wife back to their table, giving her another kiss on the cheek.

            Indigo, hair gleaming in the spotlight as blue as his name, called for everyone’s attention again. “Alright, everybody,” he said with a sweep of his arm, “The bride and groom are now going to cut the cake.”

            Ven whooped with a wide grin, evidently excited by the prospect of eating cake. Terra and Aqua stepped up to a table with a seven tiered, brilliantly white cake, decorated with flowers. Aqua picked up the intricately molded knife next to the cake and Terra wrapped a hand around hers, and, together, they cut a thin slice from the middle tier and set it on a plate, each picking up a small piece to feed to each other.

            “Don’t smash it in my face, okay?” Aqua said.

            “…Okay,” her groom replied, giving her a smirk.

            She eyed him suspiciously and lifted the small piece of cake to his mouth, and he lifted his piece to her mouth. At the last second, Terra changed his trajectory and smeared the cake across Aqua’s cheek. Aqua cried out in laughter as Terra quickly backed away, but she picked up the rest of the cake on the plate and threw it at him before he could get too far, ruining the left side of his suit. Aqua scraped the cake off of her cheek and licked her fingers with a grin.

            All the guests laughed at the couple’s shenanigans, but Axel sighed. “I love weddings.”

            “Hey, Roxas,” Xion whispered in his ear, “I have to use the bathroom, can you get me a piece of cake?”

            “Yeah, sure,” he said with a nod, and Xion made her exit through the ballroom doors.

            The cake was disassembled and passed around to the guests, and Roxas made sure to grab an extra piece for his girlfriend. He and his friends found an empty table, making sure to leave a space for Xion in between Roxas and Ven, and they ate cake and chatted about the lovely ceremony until her return.

            “You guys will not believe how nice the bathrooms are here,” she said, walking up to their table. “There had to be at least five different types of soaps.” She chuckled lightly and made to sit down, but instead of sitting down in the empty seat in between Roxas and Ven, she instead sat in his lap, Ven’s lap that is, apparently forgetting to make sure which boy was which. Ven looked as if he was about to say something, but then closed his mouth with a small smile. Roxas bit back a grin, wondering how long it would take her to notice, as did everyone else, failing to mention Xion’s error and giving her amused looks.

            Xion threw her arm around Ven’s neck and began toying with the hair around his ears as she picked up his fork and began eating off of his plate. Ven didn’t seem to have any problem with this, grinning like a maniac, but Roxas felt a slight jealous twinge.

            “So did I miss anything interesting?” she asked.

            “No,” Axel said, “But I’m sure you’ve made it just in time for something.”

            “Really? What?”

            “I mean not that you’d even notice,” Axel said with a shrug and a grin.

            “Excuse me? What’s that supposed to mean?” Axel only laughed in response and Xion turned to Ven. “What does he mean?”

            “I don’t know,” he said with an extraordinarily toothy grin, breaking out into laughter.

            “It means,” Axel explained, “That you’re very oblivious.”

            Xion scoffed. “I am not!” The others at the table began snickering.

            “Yes you are.”

            “Name one time I was ‘very oblivious,’” she said, crossing her arms.

            Axel smirked and pointed. “That’s Ven.” Xion whipped her head around to look at him.

            “Hello,” Ven said, waving his fingers at her.

            “Why didn’t you say anything?!” she cried. She then turned on Roxas and pointed at him. “Why didn’t you say anything?” Xion slid off Ven’s lap and into the seat between the two boys.

            “I wanted to see how long it’d take you to notice,” Roxas replied. “Oh, and I got you that cake.” He slid her plate toward her.

            “Thank you,” she said with a sheepish smile, picking up her fork, but before she began eating, Ven took a few bites as payment for what she had eaten off of his plate.

            “Ooh, let’s take a picture,” she said to Roxas, pulling out her phone and pressing the on button, “So we can keep the memory of tonight.” Roxas made a face at her background photo, the shirtless, drugged up selfie he had taken in the hospital.

            “Why is that your background?” he said with a grimace as Xion opened her camera.

            “Because it’s funny and cute.” Xion smiled and snapped a picture, but Roxas ignored the phone.

            “I look like I’m high.”

            “That’s the funny part.”

            The group of friends ate and laughed together until their plates were cleaned after several helpings of cake for each of them. Roxas was just about whisper a suggestion of some alone time in Xion’s ear when one of the members of the wedding band found him and took him backstage to prepare for his song with them. Xion handed him his jacket and smiled as she watched him go, but couldn’t watch for long as Kairi pulled everyone onto the dancefloor joined by Terra’s and Aqua’s cousins as well as the happy couple themselves. Everyone danced their hearts out until Roxas came onstage to join the band.

            If he was nervous, he didn’t show it, walking on stage with such swagger, you’d think he was the one getting married that day. He picked up a bright orange electric guitar and slung the strap over his shoulder, grinning up at the whoops and whistles his friends sent his way. He nodded at the band and they began playing a few bars of a rather groovy tune before Roxas started singing.

Well it’s about that time when all our friends around us

One by one they’re starting their own lives

And I can see it in your eyes you want some answers

Wondering when it’s gonna be our time

Now I ain’t never been a guy looking for marriage

That was something I just wouldn't do

But lately you’ve been on my brain, I go insane

Thinking ‘bout a life without you

            Roxas’ eyes found Xion and he gave her a smirk that made her heart flutter, but she couldn’t stare at him as long as she wanted to because Isa pulled her into a dance just then, nearly crashing into her with his erratic dance moves. Xion laughed at him, but focused her attention on Roxas’ voice as she danced.

I, I know you…

You've been waiting to be taken

I, I know you…

You've been waiting so patiently

I'm ready, you're ready, we're ready, been ready

Come on girl, let’s tie the knot

I’ll never lie, never cheat, to carry you between the sheets

Come on girl, let’s tie the knot

And after we say “I do!” we’ll go wherever we want to

Drive away, “Just married” on the car, yeah!

Get on my knees ‘cause I believe

That you’re the one that’s right for me

Come on girl, let’s tie the knot!

            Xion couldn’t remember a time that she had been as carefree as she did right then. She and Roxas were madly in love, they were partying with their friends, and, most importantly, they were on summer vacation and didn’t have to deal with school. Yes, she was the happiest she had ever been, a stark contrast to her time spent as a Nobody, dealing with an identity crisis and Saix’s constant disapproval.

            The first few days after moving in with Isa had been tense, but that was mostly his fault. Due to their history, they had trouble speaking to each other for extended periods of time, and living in such close quarters left awkward silences. But they eventually warmed up to each other with some help from Roxas and Axel. They had the chance to openly talk about their time as Nobodies and were able to put their past behind them and now Xion could talk to him as easily as Roxas or Axel. Well, not quite as easily, but almost. Easily enough that she was willing to dance with him now, trusting that he wouldn’t drop her while dipping her across his knee and whipping her back upright. Roxas watched with amusement from on stage.

I can picture you all in white

So go pick out the dress that you like

I wanna spend the rest of my life

For me, you are all, I will need nothing more when you’re by my side

I'm ready, you're ready, we’re ready, been ready

Come on girl, let’s tie the knot

I’ll never lie, never cheat, to get with you between the sheets

Come on girl, let’s tie the knot

And after we say “I do!” we’ll go wherever we want to

Drive away, “Just married” on the car, yeah!

Get on my knees ‘cause I believe

That you’re the one that’s right for me

Come on girl, let’s tie the knot!

            Cheers and applause rang out over the final chord of the song. Roxas searched for Aqua, an easy task with her current state of dress, and she grinned, clapping and yelling for an encore. He didn’t give her one, but smiled, pleased that he hadn’t disappointed the bride. He removed his guitar from his shoulders and unplugged it, setting it gently in its case, and jumped off stage, running to meet his friends.

            “That was amazing, Roxas!” Sora shouted, giving him a hug. Several people, even some whom Roxas didn’t know, agreed with the statement.

            “What do you think, Aqua?” Roxas asked. She smiled.

            “It was perfect, thank you,” she said with a shake of her head.

            The original wedding band took over once again, and Roxas began to dance with his friends, taking Xion’s hands in his. Perhaps it was the music or the lights or maybe just the general wedding atmosphere, but Roxas was absolutely punch-drunk in love with his girlfriend. Her visage was intoxicating, and he could spend all night looking at her glorious face, breathing in her delicious perfume, and kissing her soft lips. In fact, what was he still doing here dancing with her in front of all these people?

            Roxas cast a glance around at his friends, but they were too absorbed in their own significant others to notice if the two of them slipped away. Roxas grabbed Xion’s arm and leaned close to whisper in her ear.

            “Come with me,” he said, nodding to the doors. Xion looked around at their friends, and, upon seeing that they wouldn’t be missed, smiled and let him lead her by the hand outside.

            Roxas grinned the entire way into the garden, now darkened by nightfall. Only a few other couples populated the grounds but not so many to bother them. The scent of the flowers mingled with the scent of Xion’s hair and Roxas took a deep breath, letting it out in a content sigh. He released her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, taking methodical steps through the hedges.

            “I’m really happy to be here with you, you know,” he whispered in her ear. Xion giggled.

            “Is it any different from when you see me every day at school?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

            “Hmmm.” Roxas brought his hand to his chin as if in thought. “We’re usually dressed differently.” Xion laughed again and agreed. “And can I just say that you look absolutely ravishing tonight?” Roxas stopped walking and faced Xion, resting his hands on her hips. She placed her hands on his shoulders, giving him a soft smile.

            “You can.”

            Roxas glanced down at her lips, wanting to kiss them and loving the fact that there was nothing that could stop him.

            Xion’s mind seemed to be on a similar wavelength, and she leaned forward, pressing her lips to Roxas’. Though their first few kisses many months ago left much to be desired, they had had a lot of practice by now (too much practice if Axel had anything to say about it), so they no longer had to worry about nerves or inexperience. Butterflies still fluttered in Roxas’ stomach and he didn’t expect those to go away any time soon, but he welcomed the feeling. It felt good to be able to have feelings.

            He had fought so hard for all of this. His own heart and Xion’s. And he intended to give her his heart as well. After all, it wasn’t just his heart, it was hers too, and Axel’s, Sora's, and all their friends’. He wanted to share his heart with everyone because what was the point of a heart if you couldn’t share it?

            Xion pulled away sucking in a deep breath and wrapping her arms around Roxas’ neck, pulling him into a hug.

            “I love you,” she whispered, her hot breath sending shivers down his spine.

            “I love you, too.”

            “I want to spend the rest of my life you,” Xion continued, feeling Roxas’ arms tighten around her waist. “I want to marry you and wake up each morning and see your face next to mine, and rent a crappy apartment together and just be happy. Do you want that?” Roxas didn’t say anything for a moment, and Xion’s brow creased with worry that she had scared him with her forwardness, but Roxas pulled away slightly to look her in the eyes. He smiled.

            “Yeah. I want that, too.”

            Xion smiled softly and leaned forward to kiss Roxas again, but the sound of screams coming from the doors to the ballroom stopped her. And they weren’t the happy kind of screams you would hear at a party. They were screams of terror, the word “Heartless” being shouted like a curse. Roxas and Xion whipped their heads to the source of the sound, brows furrowed in determination, but Roxas sighed.

            “This was supposed to be a fun party,” he complained, releasing his grip on Xion and summoning his Keyblades. “Aren’t we supposed to be done with this?” Xion chuckled and summoned her own weapon.

            “The work of a Keyblade wielder is never done,” she said, “And Darkness stops for no one.” With that, she sprinted into the ballroom, the skirt of her dress streaming behind her, and Roxas followed quickly behind, preparing for another fight.

            Even if the Darkness wouldn’t stop for him, he was glad to fight alongside the girl he cherished.