#and as long as ven and xion are by his side. he can calm down until he recovers. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

themadauthorshatter · 3 years ago

Text

... I think you guys are going to like this.

358/2 Days REWRITE Part 2

Riku is around, but he's all over the place, and he has a mission: Find and capture either Roxas or Xion, unless he CAN manage both, so DiZ can use them to help Sora recover. He's on a time limit, though, because Sora's heart is damaged and the longer Roxas and Xion are around, the less likely Sora is to waking up or even sleeping; I mean, he'll BE sleeping, but it'll be much quieter and it will be absolutely pointless to try waking him up.

For the first few days or months, he keeps his distance, trying to decide who he's picking, sadly.

Pros of bringing Roxas to DiZ: He has the closest connection to Sora, being his nobody, he's got the keyblade, Riku can probably take him one v. one, if there are any problems, he just needs to get a reaction out of 'Sora.'

CONS of bringing to Roxas to DiZ: Have fun trying to run from the remaining Organization members, he'll have to avoid Non-form or he'll get beaten all to Hell, he runs the risk of hurting his friend for reals, Roxas is rarely alone, Roxas is one hell of a runner and fighter, he'll just feel bad.

Pros of bringing Xion to DiZ: She has more 'keyblade' potential, maybe her voice will help wake up Sora(?), she looks and sounds like Kairi, Naminé gets a new friend(as long as DiZ doesn't decide to throw her away).

CONS of bringing Xion to DiZ: She looks and sounds like Kairi, she's crazy skilled, she hits hard, she's laughable when she's mad, but it's gut wrenching to see her cry or be hurt, she looks and sounds like Kairi, Naminé is probably getting Thanosed when DiZ is done with her because he's a dick right now, so giving Xion to her as a friend will mean nothing, the connection to Kairi, he'll feel bad.

As you can tell, Riku is great at making decisions(sarcasm)

While he's too caught up to do anything, let's check on the sea salt trio, who are getting closer as friends, i.e. seeing Hayner, Pence, and Olette do stupid stuff a KH equivalent of TikTok, which the trio repeats on their own without a phone recording them, eating ice cream, talking, and exploring the Disney worlds for fun, both old ones and new ones that will appear in future games.

In this time, Xion becomes a mix of Kairi and Naminé, outspoken, but careful with who she runs her mouth to, smart, but still open to learn, protective and still needs something if a protector, etc. She is also a wickedly fast learner.

We also get organization shenanigans like Demyx being lazy on missions, Roxas getting annoyed at Xigbar for calling him tiger, dealing with Saïx, trying not to annoy Xaldin, even getting head pats from Xemnas, and, for fluff, Roxas and Xion finding Axel asleep on the floor of the clock tower and the two scaring him away for shits and giggles.

Yes, a lot of time passes, about 9-11 months, give or take.

Roxas and Xion also become closer as well with Axel being something like their chaperone, only he reports to Xemnas and Saïx.

Speaking of Saïx, he meets up with Axel one day and expresses disdain with the fact Axel would rather be friends with an unstable Roxas and a literal puppet that doesn't even exist.

Axel, on edge already with Xemnas on his back, tells Saïx to put a cork in it. Saïx only pushes back, asking if Roxas even KNOWS what Xion is, even what HE is. To both their credit, the two are wonderful at playing make believe and Axel, being the child he is, is a great at being their playmate.

Axel shoves Saïx back, snapping for him to shut his mouth before he says something he'll regret. Saïx, losing his composure, shoves back, asking if he should because Axel can't handle the truth; he never has been good at it, so it's not surprising.

Ring a bell, someone, please, because Axel throws a punch into Saïx's cheekbone. Saïx returns with a left hook directly to the side of the neck and knees Axel, who grabs his leg under his knee and rolls, making them both fall and throw more punches on the ground, bruising and bloodying each other in full view of the remaining organization members. Maybe we get a gag of Xigbar and Luxord placing bets on who will win, Demyx worrying because they should probably be stopped, Xaldin scoffing at the immature display, and then Roxas and Xion walking in and instantly getting worried because Axel is not winning this fight, as evidenced by Saïx slamming his head into the floor.

When the two stand up to keep fighting, Roxas and Xion race between them, the boy in front of Saïx and a very nervous Xion in front of Axel, who tells her and Roxas to stay out of this or they'll get hurt.

Roxas obviously refuses, but Xion leads Axel away from Saïx, who asks if Axel really needs children to protect him.

No, he needs to protect these two idiots, especially Roxas, who hasn't moved and his eyes have gone Non-form-y, like he's about to transform.

Saïx returns with berserker eyes and smashes Roxas into the wall by his neck, daring him to try it.

It draws a gasp from EVRYONE, even Xaldin, but Saïx scoffs that they shouldn't try pretending to be worried, what with how unstable and how much of a nuisance Roxas is, not too mention weak, which he says while watching Roxas try to break free. He kicks at Saïx, and misses, but Saïx smirks and summons his claymore, wanting to see how tough Roxas really is.

There's a reason Xion pulled Axel away and is so nervous, because said reason puts a hand on Saïx's shoulder and asks him if he enjoys this façade of a life and would rather not disappear.

Yep. Xemnas is here, and everyone backs down, including the the bet making Xigbar and Luxord, who so they can have deniability.

Saïx snaps out of berserk mode in the blink of an eye and begrudgingly lets go of Roxas, i.e. lets him drop down.

Axel and Xion start toward him, but freeze when Xemnas eyes them, like scary eyes.

He has an announcement: There's an imposter and he could be anywhere. He's in a coat just like everyone else's, but his hood's usually up. When he's not wearing it, he's a silver haired teen. Oh, yeah, and his name is Riku.

Axel, Roxas, and Xion all gasp, Axel because Riku was in Castle Oblivion and probably knows where Sora is and Roxas and Xion because it brings back memories from Sora.

Xemnas sees the reaction, but only focuses on Roxas, asking softly if he's okay and if he was hurt.

He's fine and he wasn't and he shakes his head to chase away Non-form.

Xemnas still helps him up and orders everyone to keep their eyes open and report ANYTHING on this imposter because the sooner they catch and... well, just catch him, the better, that part being Xemnas not wanting to upset Roxas, make him go into Non-form, and have everyone need to knock him out to calm him down.

Xemnas takes Roxas away to be checked on, in case he was really hurt and doesn't know it, and Roxas asks what will happen to Saïx and Axel for fighting. He didn't see a lot of it, so he’s not even sure who started it.

They’ll be 'interviewed' and reprimanded accordingly, but they won't die, so relax.

What about the imposter? Who's Riku? And who's Sora??

Xemnas stops checking on Roxas and puts a hand on his head, which he doesn't need to worry about because the organization can deal with it. All he needs to do is keep doing missions and giving his 100%. Roxas sighs that he IS, hell he's giving 150% because Non-form's acting up, but he's kept it calm, even with the hallucinations of Sora, Ven, and now Non-form.

Xemnas finishes checking for any wounds and commends Roxas, saying that is why he chose him. Before Roxas can ask, Xemnas tells him to go in the lobby because he has a mission with Xaldin.

Roxas does so and passes by and reassuring Axel and glaring Saïx, though Roxas glares back.

Xemnas has the two sit down and that warmth he had with Roxas is GONE IN A SECOND, asking both of them what they were thinking, picking a fight in front of everyone and endangering the two most vital components to the plan. Saïx jabs that Axel is letting himself be distracted while Axel states he's doing his job and doesn't want either of them to get upset or angry to the point of dysfunctionality. Besides, He did not start that fight, which he didn't even WANT to partake in.

Does Axel have legs? For now he does, yes. Can he stand? Yes. Can he DEMONSTRATE that he can stand? This is getting tedious, but sure, and Axel stands. Now can he walk from where he is to the far wall? Again, this is tedious, but yes.

If he did ALL OF THAT, why didn't he actually do it?

With no words, Xemnas dismisses Axel, telling him to accompany Xion on their mission.

Axel nods and leaves Saïx to be scolded.

We cut to Riku as he watches Roxas and Xaldin fight of heartless and some knights in Beast's Castle, maybe even go toe to toe with Beast himself, who manages to catch Roxas off guard and momentarily confuses him with Sora.

Xaldin knocks him away and the two leave, Riku coming out and asking if that smaller nobody really was Sora.

Beast admits it was a spur of the moment, but he could have sworn it was Sora.

Meanwhile, Xion and Axel fight hard in Hollow Bastion, squaring off against Squall, Yuffie, Tifa, and Cloud, where we see both more of Axel's gymnastics and Xion's ability with a keyblade.

The fight ends when Xion stops who she believes is Riku the imposter and chases after him, Axel following her in case shit hits the fan.

Xion follows Riku to a cliffside and he gives her an offer and a warning: either give him Roxas or hope that they never meet face to face again. Xion arms herself and demands to know what that means, but Riku also arms himself right as Axel throws a chakram between them and tells Riku to fuck off before he gets hurt.

Riku gives Xion one last glance before falling off the edge and leaving through a dark corridor, making it look like he just disappeared like a badass. They’re both confused, but still call it a day, Xion asking if Axel is okay after that fight with Saïx, because he’s still a little banged up. He expresses he’s fine(he’s a big boy!!) and tells Xion not to worry.

She’s going to anyway because Riku is after Roxas, and threatened her with a fight if she didn’t bring Roxas to him. Axel, although he’s shook, tells her everything will be fine.

LIES, because Xion is sent on a mission to defeat Riku. All she needs to do is knock him out and they’ll come collect him, no problem.

Xion IS strong, but not strong enough because Riku wipes the floor with her and is about to take her to DiZ when dusks, samurai, and Non-form Roxas, who also gets whooped, but at least fairs a little better.

The two wear Riku out enough for a lance to graze his arm, an arrow/bullet to hit his leg, and a few cards to distract him.

The rest of the organization arrive, even Saïx and Xemnas, the latter using thorn/vine things to bind Riku’s hands behind his back.

He remarks that Riku’s a lot bigger than he thought he would be, stronger too, and we get one of those creepy manga Xemnas moments as he grabs Riku, pulls him close by the jaw, and states he’ll have fun seeing just how strong he is; he knows that Riku is hiding Sora, Kairi, DiZ, and his witch, and will tear him apart with his bare hands to know where they are.

With Riku thoroughly freaked out, Xemnas stands and everyone returns, all tired and ready to find Sora.

Xion, however, isn’t. Because Riku said some very interesting things to her during their fight.

She considers telling Roxas, but he’s too worried making sure she’s okay, because Riku was tough. She goes to Axel instead, knowing he has a key to the dungeons, and he’s instantly skeptical; she asked if he could take her to see Riku. Xion lies through her teeth and says she just wants to rub in Riku’s face that they won and he lost.

Axel agrees, but decides he’s going to follow her, just in case.

They arrive as Xigbar leaves, asking if they’re going to welcome the new arrival and need help in doing so.

Xion counters that she’s actually going to return a favor and would like to do it alone.

Axel’s surprised and Xigbar whistles for her to stand down; he was just asking because she got kicked like a soccer ball, no harm in asking for help.

He leaves and Xion goes toward Riku’s cell, asking Axel to stay by the door until she’s done.

He does so and Xion walks towards Riku’s cell, where she and we the audience see Riku is banged up from being interrogated; looks like Xemnas is taking his time.

Riku asks what she wants and Xion responds with a deal:

Tell her about Sora and she’ll give the organization a good enough lie to let him go so he can help Sora. During their fight, the two had an argument, Xion saying she was going to protect her friend and Riku snapping she had no idea what friends were because she’s a nobody and a replica, and the reason Sora can’t wake up.

Spark Notes of the deal: If Riku tells Xion about Sora, Xion will give the organization an answer that will buy Riku enough time to get back to Sora.

Fair, but he has one condition: If he tells her, she was to decide what she will do; he’s not refusing because she genuinely wants to know more about Sora.

Xion agrees and Riku tells her to take a seat, because they’re going to be here for a while.

#kingdom hearts #kh roxas #kh axel #kh xemnas #kh xion #sea salt trio #kh riku #kh saix #kh 358/2 days #rewrite #there will be a part 3 #violence tw #picking on the little guy

20 notes · View notes

mimiplaysgames · 3 years ago

Text

Terraqua Week Day 6 (Free Day)

Summary: Terra and Aqua are getting married—and Ven is the Bridezilla. || Word Count: 9,058

Read on AO3

A/N: @terraquaweek I could have never written this without my dear friend @localcryptideli. We talked about this wedding years ago, and I promised to write it. It’s here, three years later, blending their headcanons with mine and I couldn’t be more proud of it. <3

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

the threads that tie hearts together

Terra never once considered in his entire life that his wedding preparations would include the perk of mice squeaking in his ear—but he here is, in the tailor’s studio, getting re-fitted for his tuxedo, with Princess Cinderella’s team of seamstress mice on his shoulders, measuring the length of his arms. His muscles were too big for the previous suit.

Ven refuses to hire a proper tailor, and instead rents out the parlor so the mice could do their work in private.

Lea sits on a nearby bench by the shoe shelves, the top button of his shirt open, jabbing at his Gummiphone. He’s quite popular today, pinged every two minutes. Isa and Roxas share a mirror, trying to get the mechanics of their bow ties right.

Terra is getting married.

The thought. Married. Soon. Yes. Damn. He can’t cry right now.

Terra stands in front of a mirror and bends his elbows to see how the fabric moves. The mice are tiny, three of them in skirts. They’ve developed an efficient obstacle course of threads all down his entire body, a network so the mice on the floor can deliver them supplies—spools, sewing needles, thumbtacks, measuring tape—in a jiffy.

Lea groans, squeezing his Gummiphone. “This twerp is going to turn me into a serial killer.” He yawns, possibly for the fortieth time.

“Not an ill-fitting job, all things considered,” Isa says from across the room.

“I do appreciate your sarcasm.”

“Who’s bothering you?” Terra asks, lifting his collar so the mouse on his left could thread through it with a sewing needle.

Lea snorts, slaps his knee and leans forward. “Did you not know your buddy is a monster?”

“Ven?”

“Oh, he’s a joy.” Lea holds his Gummiphone up as if he’s about to make a speech. “Come help me pick out Aqua’s flowers. Now. If you could.” He glances at Terra, then back at the phone. “He writes that in all-caps.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t mean to be so pushy.”

“The other day, he called me to model the bride’s dress because Miss Aqua couldn’t be bothered to come to the fitting herself.”

“Master Aqua was away on a mission,” Isa explains.

“Isa took photos of me in it—” Lea scrolls through his phone, but stops. “Oh, I can’t show you before...” He clicks his tongue. “It’s very nice. Very bridal.”

Terra is sure that’s true, but the image of Ven hanging his head so much on someone else’s wedding is worrisome. Last night, he fell asleep at dinner. “I think Ven is taking on too much stress.”

“Lea,” Roxas says, snorting a chuckle and giving up on his bow tie, “you should show him the texts.”

“Gladly.” Lea stands to shove the Gummiphone into Terra’s face. Out of the history, a couple of messages stand out.

Ventus

I got 500 cake flavors come taste them with me

Ventus

Which cologne do you think terra should wear

COME SMELL

i need a second opinion

Ventus

Do you have aqua’s flowers yet?

remember

we want orange roses and bluestars

Ventus

Aqua isnt here im freaking out

Youre closest to her body type

HELP

After all that, Terra feels as though he’s being watched by several microscopic eyes. One of the mice squeaks with urgency, and he straightens one of his arms. “I don’t know what to say... Why doesn’t he talk to me directly?”

Lea purses his lips as though this is a secret not worth sharing. Roxas is the one to step forward, a knowing grimace plastered on his face.

“He told me that he doesn’t want to bother you with anything.”

That doesn’t sound entirely false but not true either.

“That’s ridiculous.” Terra tests the bend of the elbow to fiddle with his bow tie. It’s already done but something about it doesn’t sit right. “He could come to me for anything,” he says with a low voice, wondering if there’s something he’s missing. Terra has also been a mess. He’s getting married. Holy stars.

Isa huffs out of frustration, turning away from the mirror, his bow tie undone. He studies Terra’s suit. “I don’t like it.”

His straightforwardness is well appreciated. Aqua would probably smirk at the sight of it and stare at his neck the entire ceremony. “I don’t either,” Terra says.

“Smart man.” Isa smirks, and tugs Terra’s bow tie to undo it. “Let’s change it.”

Lea snorts. “You might want to ask permission from he-who-shall-be-slapped.”

“It’s my wedding,” Terra says.

“So you think.”

He-who-may-be-slapped enters the tailor’s parlor through the front entrance, announced by the bell of the ring. He’s perfectly dressed in his ringbearer’s/best man’s/maid of honor’s suit, vest fitted, bow tie sublime, sleeves coiffed. He sees what Isa is doing. He gapes.

“Hey guys,” Ven asks with a frustratingly shaky voice. “What are we doing?”

“They are unbecoming,” Isa answers, wrapping a traditional tie around Terra’s neck.

“Oh.”

Sometimes, speaking to Isa is like getting clocked in the stomach. By the looks of Lea’s expression, chewing on the edge of his Gummiphone, it’s well deserved.

“Okay,” Ven says, with a tight smile. He takes the tie from Isa’s hands. “Do they match?”

“A hello would be less rude,” Terra says. “Hi, Ven. Can we talk?”

Ven glances up. “Later. There’s lots to do.”

Lea inhales sharply. “Hey, Ven. Here’s an idea. Did you know you could tame cicadas to sing in harmony on command?”

Ven whips his head around. “You can?”

Isa brings a hand up to hide a smirk and Lea passes him a subtle wink.

“Picture it.” Lea opens his arms. “From nine until eleven at night, they gather in the bushes. They mutter, a light dusting of atmosphere on a peaceful summer night.”

Ven’s eyes grow wide with obsession.

Roxas comes near. “You can also make them glow.”

“Like stars in the bushes,” Ven whispers to himself.

“Come on, guys,” Terra says, unimpressed. “Leave him alone. We’ve got better things to do.”

Ven snaps himself out of it, but not before pulling out a notepad and writing notes. He eyes Terra over, nudging him to open his arms and pinching the sides of the suit. Ven draws them in by the measure of a finger and pulls pins out of his pocket, like he’s been expecting to use them, and marks their places. “Jaq Jaq,” he calls, “where’s Suzy? We need to make sure these ties look right. Oh, and we need two extras—we have to ship some to Riku and Sora.”

Some mouse squeaks in reply.

“I can help her carry things.” Ven gives a flash of a smile and then hurries off.

Out of earshot, Lea gives Terra a look. “Anyone able to talk to mice is a crazy person in my book.”

Terra glares back and quotes, “‘You could tame cicadas to sing on command?’”

“He needs something to obsess over. How else am I going to get peace?”

“This is going to bite you in the ass,” Roxas says, wrapping his new tie over the neck and having a much easier time.

“Ventus may very well task you with hunting and gathering the cicadas,” Isa says, a tie already in place, immaculate.

Lea groans and Terra feels it’s well deserved.

Well deserved… the suit may be. The future wife, maybe not. The suit is a glove for every finger with no excess. It makes him a good-looking groom, a nice addition to the closet for any special occasion. The bride is beautiful, no matter what she wears. She is loyal, patient, strong, intelligent, loving, funny when she’s stern, too good for him, a divine gift he didn’t earn and he still can’t understand how she said yes.

“I hope you’re laughing at the face of my misery,” Lea says.

Terra knows that’s sarcasm. Weddings are headaches, emotions are terrifying and Terra needs Aqua like a sip of medicinal tea to calm down.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The others squeal when they walk into Le Grand Bistro. It’s sunset, the city lights already ignited and giving it the glow of evening fairies welcoming the moon. They’ve just discussed dresses—Xion requests a pantsuit instead, which looks stellar—and they can choose their own styles so long as they all wear the color of night. Simple, elegant. That’s the kind of effect Aqua prefers. Thank goodness they’re almost done. Aqua couldn’t handle more hands in her hair and she rejected the flower crown that would have come down on one side to compensate for the lack of length.

She fiddles with the ring—a thin, intricate design weaved around a small, blue stone—as a waiter escorts them to the kitchen. On days when she doesn’t have missions, she wears it.

Aqua is getting married. Some part of her wonders about the surreality of it, like it’s a dream or a picture she created in her mind when she was a child, at the altar with a faceless person next to her. Sometimes, it feels like she is already married. Terra has always been with her. Every day in class. Every day strolling through the woods. Every day sparring, sharing meals, bickering and laughing. Her best friend, her confidant, her rock.

There is something about nearly dying that challenges perspective. When they both thought they’d never see each other again, it made them realize there’s more to it and there’s been more to it for years. The emotional intimacy that strengthened after the fact. The physicality of it, when he takes her to bed. They argue differently, they laugh the same. Terra has always been with her, so what is the difference between being with him and being married to him? A part of her is eager to find out. The other is already at peace, a kind of joy Aqua has always wanted.

Ven is in the kitchen, talking with Remy (responding to Remy, who is naturally unintelligible). Plates of cake pieces sprawl out on the table, eliciting oohs and aahs from the others, all patient like they’re waiting for Aqua’s permission to take a small bite.

Aqua reads through the description of flavors—strawberry, fudge, angel food cake with blueberries, red velvet, even coffee. “The one we requested isn’t here.”

“You mean…” Ven pulls out his notepad and looks through his notes. Remy climbs onto Ven’s head, squeaking and pointing to a bowl of flour and eggs, unmixed. “Dark chocolate and rum?”

“That would be correct.”

“A spicy cake? Are you insane?” At his shock and at Aqua’s denial, Kairi helps herself to a spoonful of vanilla. “This is a wedding, not a club!”

“My wedding, Ven.” Aqua isn’t annoyed, but amused. Ven has such strong opinions about for some reason.

“Try this one.” He holds up a plate of a decorated piece that honestly looks delicious. “Triple chocolate, with the rarest berries found in the woods, matured at thirty-five degrees Celsius for a week.”

“Burnt cake?” Kairi asks with a smirk.

“Not the cake, the berries.”

“Oh,” Xion gasps, with need in her eyes. It takes a nod from Aqua to grab a fork and have at it. She approaches each piece with so much excitement— Aqua wonders if there are flavors here she’s never tried before in her short life.

“What will the final cake look like?” Naminé asks, the only one not to dive forward. She’s so gentle, so serene. When they were trying out dresses, everyone was saying what a beautiful bride she’ll be one day if she chooses.

“Perfect,” Ven says, like it’s the most obvious thing. “It has to be perfect so it will look beautiful. Painted like a night sky, with stars everywhere. You got that, Remy?”

Remy glares at Ven.

“I want,” Aqua starts, and when Ven frowns, she smirks. Sometimes, for the sake of maintaining control, she has to play dirty. “Rosewater and cardamom.”

Ven sticks his tongue out in disgust.

“Terra needs something to enjoy,” Aqua insists. “These are all too sweet for him.”

“Terra is the bane of my existence.”

“By the way, I don’t know if I want King Mickey and Queen Minnie to officiate.”

“You are way more difficult to deal with.”

Aqua and Ven have a staring contest as the others talk about their favorite flavors. Ven, a glare, a challenge to outwit her. Aqua, a calm knowing that she’s going to win. Ven relents.

“Fine,” he stresses. “Remy, change of plans. We’ll need some damage control. Let’s add some”—he writes into his notepad—“fruit pastries, sweet cheese with chocolate—”

“Triple chocolate,” Kairi adds.

“Custard and kiwi,” Xion says.

“All good choices.” Ven writes them down.

“Sea salt ice cream?” Naminé says, lifting a shoulder. “Everyone else eats them, I hope to try some.”

“Ven.” Kairi slams a hand on the table. “You need to add marshmallows covered in hazelnut and chocolate.”

“We need all the chocolate,” Ven agrees. “Call it revenge on this nasty cake.”

Kairi cackles, but it’s nothing malicious. They’re young and excited about the wedding, their suggestions a way of helping. Aqua takes it all in stride. The small details don’t matter, only the intent, and letting friends have fun deciding makes the entire process easier. What’s bothering her is Ven. He’s exhausted from taking it all too seriously. Aqua assumes the best intentions, but she doesn’t get it.

“You know what would be really cute?” Xion says. “Little petit fours shaped in your symbols.”

Ven blinks. “What symbols?”

“Oh, the Keyblade Master symbols.” Naminé claps her hands. “That would be so lovely.”

“In different colors,” Xion says.

“Each a different flavor,” Naminé adds. “Maybe the same colors as your Wayfinders?”

“You two are geniuses.” Ven taps his notepad. “Remy, we gotta get to work.”

Remy stomps a paw and squeaks vigorously.

“No worries. You’ll get paid.” Though it seems that’s the last thing on Remy’s mind.

“Ven,” Aqua says softly, pulling him aside as the others brainstorm ideas. “I don’t think we can afford all this.”

“Sure you can,” he says too confidently, though she and Terra were the ones to save up their munny. “Don’t worry,” he stresses when she’s not convinced, giving her a squeeze on the arm. “You asked me to bookkeep your finances”

“Reminder that I did not ask you to take full responsibility. Remy can’t do all of this alone, he’s going to need you.”

“I’ve got plenty of time, and we’ve got plenty of budget.”

Aqua does not know how that is possible. After the dresses, the refitting of Terra’s tux, the decorations… sure, since they’re using the ballroom in the Land of Departure, they saved on not having to rent out a venue, but the original plan was to have a small, intimate wedding in the woods, something private with just the three of them, minimal decorations necessary, all plucked from nature.

All of this is out of their price range.

Ven goes back to the table, back to the stovetop and oven where he follows Remy’s instructions and mixes the flour in the bowl with some milk. He doesn’t assuage her at all, like he knows something she doesn’t.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Home should be a solace but not when it’s the wedding rehearsal.

Ven has ushered in movers from different worlds to carry in artifacts, all decorations, all star-themed. Terra has yet to see the ballroom, but the amount of people rushing through the hallways makes him nervous.

Ever since Terra called Riku in the dead of night (in a panic, needing someone to talk to, alone in the kitchen with a cracked mug of tea), blabbing about tripping on the way to the altar, or cutting the cake clean through the table, or stepping on linen and ripping the curtains, or dropping his plate of food, or looking like an idiot on the dance floor, or worse—forgetting his vows—he hasn’t lived a moment of peace. Sora won’t let him.

Terra finds it hard to breathe. What if he chokes on his vows and accidentally offends everyone?

He stays far away from the workers—it’s for the best. No one needs a huge bull stampeding in a china shop, destroying everything.

Lea crosses the hallway on his sixth trip and enters one of two entrances to the ballroom, vases of flowers in his hands. Terra peeks. From the looks of it, Ven did a fantastic job.

The ballroom, once gold, now looks like the set of night. The ceiling is covered in blue with twinkling lights. The table linens are also dark, with napkins and silverware sets a solid gold. Glass windows that take up one entire side to the ballroom are bare of curtains—the wedding is planned for after sunset so they’d be declaring their vows under the stars. Two navy blue carpets come in through both entrances of the ballroom, meeting in the middle and then straight to the altar at the far end. The point is for him and Aqua to enter together, like equals. With her in a bridal dress, she’ll look like a light in the darkness.

Through the doorway, Terra can see Riku and Sora, the latter making motions with his arms as if he’s flapping like a bird. Terra lets the door close so they don’t notice him.

There are fears he’s never voiced.

What if she realizes she doesn’t want to get married to him after all? At the altar no less?

Oh stars, what if he makes a terrible husband?

What if he neglects her?

What if, years down the road, she realizes after a slowly oncoming epiphany that she isn’t happy and regrets it?

Tonight is the party, tomorrow is the wedding, and Terra still has no vows. He pinches his nose hard enough to distract him from crying. He’s already cried five times in the arc of three hours.

Footsteps—light, brisque, confident, hers—approach him, and Terra embraces her in his arms, taking her in with a needy kiss. She smells like home, she lets him breathe again.

“You look like you’re about to fall apart,” she says, stroking a thumb on his cheek.

“Not if you’re my glue.”

She snorts, smacking him on the bicep. “What did I say about the puns?”

“Shower you with them.”

He kisses her before she can roll her eyes—

—and gets interrupted the moment Ven peeks out of one door.

“What’s with the hold-up?” he says.

Terra breaks from the kiss, casually noticing how Aqua is patting his shoulder, as if to warn him. “What’s with your attitude?”

Ven pouts like he’s about to choke and slaps the notepad to his forehead. “No one listens to me. I said baby blue and champagne on the napkins, all shaped to form the constellation of Juno… and they gave me yellow. I am gonna complain so much.”

“There are worse things?” Terra says and Aqua shakes his shoulder as another warning.

Ven snaps his eyes open. “Get into position, we’re starting.”

Aqua stands behind one door and Terra goes to the other, waiting for the cue to enter. On the other side, Ven is speaking out loud, organizing people and where they should stand. Grooms and bridesmaids will enter the altar from behind and gather together, leaving the carpet only for the star couple (no pun intended). He interrupts himself, raising his voice about vases that match too much and Terra can imagine him pointing across the room.

“I have to tell you something,” Aqua loudly whispers from the other side of the hall.

Terra runs to her and wraps an arm around her waist. Touching her is a panacea. Despite knowing there is still a possibility she’ll rethink this entire relationship, it seems unreal, like a nightmare.

“It’s about Ven,” she continues, keeping her voice low even though they’re the only ones in the hall.

“Lea threatened to slap him.”

She frowns.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“Don’t you think it’s too expensive?”

“I don’t know. Ven doesn’t tell me how much anything costs.”

“It’s way more than we have saved up.”

Terra gapes. “Then how—?”

Aqua stammers, fiddling with her fingers. “I looked into his books.”

Terra melts into a breath-heavy laugh, careful to keep his voice out of it. “Reading people’s diaries? Aqua, I thought I knew you better.”

She blushes. “I didn’t mean to, but I was worried.” Now Terra is worried. Her expression is too serious. “Ven has been doing side-missions and hustles for months just to earn enough to hire the best chefs and tailors, to buy linens and all these flowers and carpets—”

“He wouldn’t.”

“He did.”

“Why?”

“I think it’s because he wants us to be happy.”

“We are.” Terra doesn’t appreciate how he doesn’t sound confident, scared he’s assuming too much on her behalf. “How could he just…”

“We were stuck in darkness for so long and he couldn’t help us.”

“But that’s not his fault.”

“He feels he is the weakest and wants to compensate.” Aqua grimaces and she blinks back tears.

“I feel so guilty.”

“I feel worse.”

“Why?”

Aqua bites her lip. “I’m still attached to the idea of a small, intimate ceremony in the woods. Just the three of us. Does that make me a horrible person?”

“No. Our wedding has become a spectacle. Maybe pointing that out makes me terrible, too.”

She groans. “I found a book. I left it in your room. It’s very last minute, but there are some ancient rituals in there that I found so beautiful… the exchanging of rings is beautiful, too, but modern and there are some lost traditions from our Keyblade history that I’d love to do instead... if you could take a look?”

The way she smiles, stars. Ancient, modern, he’d do anything for her. “Sure. I’ll read it tonight.”

Aqua winces. “He’ll be so angry with us.”

Terra squeezes her hand. “He wants us to be happy. Think about that.”

One of the doors burst open, and Lea sticks his head out. “Kindly stop being an ass and don’t keep your guests waiting anymore?”

They start: Terra at one entrance, Aqua on the other, entering the ballroom at the same time, where guests will watch them approach one another, like the shadow of the moon to a star. They meet at the point where their lanes merge into one.

Terra offers his arm—

“Nonono,” Ven warns, running up to them. “You can’t meet her like this. You must bow at a forty-degree angle.” Ven scans the room frantically. “Here, I have a ruler.”

After that hiccup, Aqua finally takes Terra’s arm, walking down the single aisle, where guests can ogle at them. Their groomsmen and bridesmaids take pictures with their Gummiphones for their arrival at a wall of flowers.

Sora has his hands behind his head and snickers when they reach the end. “I made sure the carpet is ironed out so she doesn’t fall with you.”

“I’m going to kick you in the shins,” Terra says.

He snorts and wipes his nose. “I’ll kick you back.”

At the altar, Ven is too excited to stop rambling. “We have to make sure that you arrive here, at this spot, at exactly nine-thirty so we can finish the vows at ten because...” He frames the windows with his hands. “We’ve got a perfect spot for star sighting so we need to be on time.”

“Do you mean, right after the wedding ceremony?” Aqua asks.

“Before the reception, yup. We’re walking out to the balcony, we’ll watch the meteor shower where a new world will be born, then we’ll come back in for supper and dancing.” When he notices their stupefied faces, he continues, “I spent three weeks finding the right angulations so you can witness a unique astronomical event, and we’ve got a miracle of a spot right here so we can’t be late.”

“It’s a wonderful thought, Ven,” Aqua says, her voice shaky.

“Okay, now you get into position and face each other.” He points and they follow. “Next, Mickey and Minnie will talk some stuff, you know, all official, and then you say your vows.”

Terra freezes up. “Our vows.”

“Yeah. That’s what I said. You ready?”

Terra hesitates and Aqua speaks for him. “We’re keeping those a secret until tomorrow.”

Ven pauses, then shrugs. “Fair enough.”

Aqua doesn’t let Terra have another thought, leaning forward to kiss him in front of everyone (aahs and awws elicited), and ending the rehearsal.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“How do you get your skin so clear?” Kairi asks, though the warm glow of the fire makes for spectacular lighting.

They’re camping in the woods near the waterfall, equipped with warm blankets and pillows, a bowl of cookies, and toasted marshmallows on sticks; Aqua’s vision of a bachelorette party. No gifts necessary.

“Mountain spring water does wonders for you,” Aqua says.

“I’ve read in a magazine,” Xion says, crawling out of her sleeping bag, “that some people like to put mud on their faces to get clean skin.”

“Why?” Naminé asks, chewing on a marshmallow.

“Something about the properties. Lots of good minerals.” She walks over to the creek, digging her hands into the dirt and smashing it into her face against the shocks and cries of the other girls. “If mountain water is good for you, then that must mean this mud is magical.”

“Is that true?” Kairi says, though she’s asking no one. She hurries over and joins in on the mud-mashing, running fingers over Xion’s face in places she’s missed.

With globs of mud in their hands, they bring over the excess to the camp.

Xion offers it to Aqua. “For beautiful skin on your special day?”

“It’s our job to pamper,” Kairi says with her hands out so that Naminé can scoop up the mud on her own.

Aqua tries not to chuckle too loudly. It’s adorable. “Okay,” she says, and Xion gets to work, massaging it into her skin. It smells unpleasant, earthy and mukky. She closes her eyes and tries to relax regardless.

“I think we’re supposed to keep it on our faces for at least a half hour,” Xion says, rubbing more on Aqua’s nose.

“This will make us prettier?” Naminé asks.

“Cleaner,” Kairi says.

Naminé blinks, already covered in the mud and hesitating to put on more. “But we look dirty,” she says quietly.

“Can I request something, Miss Aqua?” Xion says, patting her fingers onto Aqua’s forehead.

“Certainly.”

“Can you tell us the story of how Terra proposed?”

Kairi jumps and squeals, and Naminé claps her hands, both of them chattering please, please, we’re dying to know.

“We’re around a fire,” Kairi says, as if that’s a convincing argument. “We’re supposed to tell stories.”

“I feel bad for asking,” Naminé says. “You’re very private, and I don’t want to intrude…”

Aqua reads her face. “But you’re curious.”

Naminé pouts. Xion’s eyes go wide, and Kairi nods excitedly. Everyone is guilty as charged.

“It’s a simple story, I guess,” Aqua says, crossing her legs and watching the fire. It’s not often that she talks so openly about the details of her relationship. The two of them together is something people know, but never knowing where they come from and why, except for Ven—even then, there’s so much he never pries to. Watching their reactions is a little overwhelming. She rubs the stone on her ring. “Terra made the engagement ring with his own hands, but he took months to propose.”

“I remember that,” Xion says, sitting on her chair and smiling. “It annoyed Lea so much that he offered to set you both up just to get it over with.”

Aqua laughs. “I’m grateful we had it to ourselves.”

“Was it romantic?” Kairi asks.

“Not at all. I… knew he was up to something. I know him.” She lifts a shoulder. “He was burning breakfast too often, he couldn’t look me directly in the eye, and he left on his own to do more missions than usual. I took that as though he had done something wrong. The last time he was that clumsy and avoidant, it was because he accidentally cast Firaga in the library and was trying to hide it. Or when he broke the oven. Or when he offered to do my laundry but didn’t know how to treat my fabric and ruined my clothes.”

“He sounds like a clumsy oaf,” Kairi says.

That makes Aqua smile. She loves that oaf. “He is. The general rule of thumb is that a clumsy, avoidant Terra is usually hiding something.”

“So how did the proposal happen?” Naminé asks.

“I cornered him—”

Kairi snorts.

“—and he blurted it out.”

They giggle, Kairi acting out how that may have looked and Naminé holding her hands over her heart in a show of genuine affection.

Aqua smiles to herself, a finger to her lips. It might be her favorite memory, her standing her ground and demanding to know what was going on.

Terra, looking all around the terrace except for her face, guilty, guilty, guilty, pulling a box out of his pocket and stammering for a cohesive sentence. Well, I don’t know what to say, he had said, like a child getting grounded. I-I’m sorry. I’m dumb, I’m a big lump of a human being. He paused, his cheeks rounding up like he was about to vomit. Will…will you marry me, anyway?

It felt like racing in a train and pulling all the stops, crashing. He got red in the face, tears welling in his eyes and she realized he took her silence as rejection. Aqua had to hold his forearms, and all she could utter was a soft, I genuinely thought you burned down a building.

Terra’s eyes went wide. Do you mean you’re not mad?

Of course not. Why would I be?

So… He licked his lips, reaching for her but not touching her, forgetting that he had the box with the ring inside. What do you say? I mean, you don’t have to give me an answer straight away. I mean, I just thought you would… you know… because… He sighed. Yeah.

Aqua finally laughed, and kissed him on the cheek. Of course I will marry you, you beautiful dork.

The laughter quiets around the fire. They’re waiting for Aqua to continue her story.

“Then he drops the ring.”

They howl, melting into a blissful exchange of cheers and gossip, a vibrant hearth brighter than the one keeping them warm.

“I had hoped to propose first, actually,” Aqua continues. She shrugs. “The end.”

“That was beautiful,” Naminé says, wiping her eyes.

“If Sora hears about this, he’ll never leave Terra alone,” Kairi says, grinning something mischievous.

“I don’t know what love is supposed to look like,” Xion says thoughtfully, gazing at the sky. “But it sounds sweet.”

In Aqua’s opinion, the proposal was perfect, him scattered on the ground frantically searching for the ring, her on her knees helping him. How he slipped it on her finger, how they kissed for an hour in the dirt, unaware that they were dusty, unaware that anyone else existed in the world.

Aqua nods, mostly to herself. It aches to be away from Terra tonight but it burns her insides to see him tomorrow and finally do this. Aqua wants to sleep and get this night over with but she doesn’t want to sleep so she could see the sunrise, knowing he’d be up early watching the same thing.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Bachelor parties aren’t fun.

Sora is whooping about a cannonball, the water splashing when he makes contact. Ven and Roxas race to the lake, testing who will be the first to dive, the first to swim across and come back. Considering the expanse of the surface area, they’ll be gone for a while and the barbecue will get cold, but maybe it’s for the best. It’s not the right time to talk to Ven right now, not when all of them have a moment of fun (except for Terra, the only one here thinking about tomorrow). Lea and Isa prefer to relax, sipping drinks on their chairs by the lanterns erected onto the sand, speaking quietly about memories, about chores, about home and what ifs.

Terra sits by himself, the thin booklet Aqua gave him on his lap, tucked under layers of parchment. It’s titled The Way, no author. She was right: old Keyblade rituals are interesting, almost possessive, their focus on the literal binding of hearts. They’re from the Age of Fairytales, and Terra realizes as he reads through it that ancient Keyblade wielders were for some reason obsessed with the loss of memory and the prevention of it. The rituals sound painful, too—maybe Aqua has developed a mild taste of macabre from her time in the Realm of Darkness.

All Terra has left to do are his vows. His stupid, dorky-sounding vows. He should have accepted the simple, “I do.” He shouldn’t have waited until the last minute.

He’s tried dramatic.

You are my other half, my heart, my breath of life, my sky, my angel, can we keep our souls together?

He’s tried poetic.

The mountain will thirst if not for the water—

He’s tried being honest.

I don’t know why you love me, but I’ll do my best to make it up to you.

All dumb.

Terra groans into his hands, eyes wide in existential blunder.

“Keep doing that,” Riku says, setting a chair next to him and sitting down, “and you won’t be able to blink again.”

“I’m not finished.”

“But if you don’t sleep, then you’re more likely to have accidents.”

Terra gapes and almost whacks Riku on the side of the head from the sight of his constricted smirk. “You’re so mean. I called you one time.”

“In a huge panic talking about causing mass destruction of a wedding the worlds have never seen.” Riku shrugs nonchalantly. That’s his state of being—too cool for anything, too sensitive for everything. It’s refreshing. “It was the funniest phone conversation I’ve ever had.”

“I’ll never call you again.”

“Not in the middle of the night, please no.” Riku bites a forkful of steak. “Is it cliché to tell you to speak from the heart?”

“This entire conversation is cliché, but here I am, living it out.” Terra stares at his messy pages, where he pressed the pen so hard that it left ink blots.

“You could do the very committal thing and tell her you love her fifty times.”

“All the guests would leave by the time I reach twenty-five.”

“More like fifteen.”

“Ten.”

“Disaster.”

Terra grimaces, not entirely comforted, but not entirely anxious anymore, either. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“It is a big deal, I’ll give you that,” Riku says, more serious. “I don’t have any advice.”

“None of it makes sense. Be honest, but not too honest. Be loving, but don’t make it cheesy. Express yourself, but hold back on certain things. Do make it personal. Don’t expose personal details. How am I supposed to know how to do it right?”

It would be easier if there are no witnesses. If it’s just Ven, if Aqua is the only person he’s talking to, if he could simply say, You’ve been my best friend for as long as I can remember. I know I’ve fucked up. For as long as I live, I’ll never do that again. I will never take your forgiveness for granted.

And if she doesn’t want to be with him anymore, there’d be nothing he could say to make her stay.

“I think if Aqua was the kind of person who expected you to do it right,” Riku says, looking out to the lake where Ven and Roxas are swimming back to their shore, “you wouldn’t be marrying her.”

Terra bends the pages, exposing the cover of the thin, leather bound booklet. There are no vows he could use in there, except for the officiator declaring their hearts intertwined. “Thank you,” he mumbles.

“Sorry I can’t be of more help.”

Riku pats him on the shoulder and leaves him alone to take a walk, Sora begging him to enter the water. Terra flips to a page where he’s repeated I love you, I love you all over, each in different calligraphy, like doodling, like losing his mind and procrastinating the night away, hoping that any moment, inspiration would drop bricks on him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It’s time.

The strangest part of the day is waiting it out in her bedroom until it’s her turn to show herself. Over the years, her bedroom has been a reflection of her personality. The cleanliness, the artifacts from her home world long ago, the size of the bed, the furniture—they all stayed the same. What’s come and gone were the paint colors, the bedsheets, the art on the wall, the smaller vanity mirror. Her bedroom is her old life, and she sits in front of the mirror in her bride’s dress, about to start a new one. For now, they both collide, as though her childhood doesn’t know her.

The cape dress is simple, plain white with the neck scooped across the collarbone. The sleeves slit at the shoulders, draping over to the floor with the rest of the train. Aqua couldn’t have asked for something better. She completes the look with the ring, a jeweled hair pin on one side, and an armored choker. Makeup is minimal.

Aqua is surprisingly calm and the sun is going down.

Her Gummiphone buzzes with a text message.

Terra

Let’s do it

Aqua sighs, not texting back immediately.

Aqua

I don’t want to break Ven’s heart

Terra

I’ll talk to him

We can both get what we want

I already stole some flowers from the wall

Don’t think he notices

She chuckles, moving a hair strand behind her ear. She hasn’t noticed that her stomach has been a knot, from excitement, from nerves, from anticipation. The sun takes so long to set. Terra is the warmth of a tight blanket.

Aqua

Will this label me as a runaway bride?

Terra takes a long time to answer, giving her the impression that he must have been distracted and forgot to reply.

It buzzes.

Terra

The shame

Aqua

What will they think when they find out the groom seduced her to it

Terra

The scandal

when they hear how she met him secretly at the creek

an hour before the ceremony

It sounds like an action plan. Aqua picks up her bouquet of orange roses and bluestars from her vanity table, heading out the door.

Aqua

I want Ven there

Terra

Definitely

I love you

Aqua

I love you too

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Terra finds Ven in the dining room, taking inventory of an indulgement of sweets and a feast of meats, fritters, and rice. The wedding cake is as tall as his body, a dark blue with smacks of gold glitter in the shapes of galaxies, large stars framing each layer, and topped with two halos. Ven is mostly dressed in his vest and tie, the suit missing. By comparison, Terra is overdressed, a groom ready for his encore.

Ven sighs when he sneaks a cookie the shape of the Keyblade Master symbol into his mouth, as though Terra’s presence reminds him of disappointment.

“I couldn’t tame the cicadas,” he says morosely, like he’s apologizing, and for a moment Terra second-guesses what he’s about to do. Ven eyes the white rope curled around Terra’s shoulder. “What’s that for?”

“This may either cheer you up or piss you off,” Terra says, dropping The Way on the counter.

“I don’t like how you said that.” As Ven flips through pages, he frowns, chewing on the side of his lip. “Are you... not happy with the wedding preparations?”

Terra inhales, caught off guard. “Of course I am. Happy, I mean. It’s… huge. It’s a giant ordeal.”

“And you don’t like that,” Ven says quietly, stroking one of the pages with his thumb.

“I think there are things we’ve always wanted to have privately.” Terra sits on a stool, but Ven won’t look him in the eye. “And we want you to be there. We can do it now. We’ll be back in time for our guests.”

The booklet shakes in his hands. “I messed up.”

“From my point of view, I’ll be eating very well tonight. There’s nothing to compensate for.”

Ven closes the book. “I just wanted to do a good job.”

“If you allow Lea to slap you, he’ll forgive you.” Terra smiles, but Ven doesn’t join him. “We’re still doing your grand ceremony—that, we could never pull off on our own. But we also want something tiny and ours, and we won’t do this without you.” Terra takes Ven’s hand and squeezes it, before glancing at the cake. “I hope it’s delicious.”

“It’s disgusting so you’ll definitely like it.”

“See, I can always count on you.” Terra stands up. “Now come on. You wouldn’t want us to be late for the bride.”

Terra takes him to the creek, not far from where Aqua hosted her bachelorette camp, where the sound of rushing water is gentle and the creek splits into two directions, one that would drip off the side of a cliff and one that would join a massive river downstream. The trees huddle close in the clearing, a soft shadow from the fierceness of the setting sun, like a pocket of protective magic in the middle of the forest.

Ven gasps. “You stole my flowers.”

“Please, you didn’t even notice.” Terra had built an easy wooden arbor before the crack of dawn that morning, an arch weaved with orange and blue flowers, spotted every so often with green lilies. He showered right after so no one would suspect.

“Let’s take it over there.” Ven points to a short boulder against a tree nearby, a good photo op. They pluck the arbor up from both sides and plant it in front of the boulder. Ven takes stock of the sight. “Not bad.”

“Thanks!”

“I take credit for the choice of flowers.” Ven rolls the rope into a tight circle, layering it on the boulder with each loop in equal circumference. He splays the book open and studies. “It’s kinda creepy,” he says though he gets no response and he doesn’t ask for one.

Terra shoves his hands into the pockets of his tuxedo and waits. Aqua isn’t here yet. The vest constricts his breathing, the thicket suddenly feels humid, and Terra wipes his cheek, realizing that his heart is beating fast. Time sped up to this moment and dropped him here without warning. Now it’s slowing down out of pure, unjustifiable spite to torture him in the final hour.

“You okay, dude?” Ven asks.

Terra lifts his face to the sky to keep the tears in his eyes. “If I cry now, I think I’ll cry for the rest of the night.”

Ven snorts. “No one would be surprised, trust me.”

But it’s not working. He’s two seconds from sobbing. “I don’t know. I…” He scoffs. “I can’t believe it’s happening. I’m expecting her to never show up or brush me off last minute when she realizes what we’re doing—”

“No.” Ven approaches Terra like he’s about to punch him in the stomach to make a point. “Don’t think like that, she’d never do that.”

Ven has good faith and better timing. Aqua approaches the other side of the clearing, the fabric of her dress gracefully making waves with every step, the foliage fluttering light and shadow on her figure. She holds her bouquet in one hand and a framed photograph tucked under the other.

It shocks Terra.

He can’t stop the flow of tears. He covers his shivering lips and the drip of his nose, his face twisting from the sight of her—brilliant, like she’s made of stars, a gift walking the earth.

“Terra, are you okay?” Aqua asks, rushing to him now, the train of her dress bouncing behind her.

In the flash of an instinct, Terra runs to meet her, tripping over a branch and landing right into her arms.

“You’re—” Terra sucks air in, his heart shoving itself up his esophagus. “Y-you’re s-so beautiful.”

Aqua uses her pinky to wipe his tears. “So are you.”

“Let me help you.” He takes the frame—a portrait of the Master, bordered with a white ribbon—and walks her to the arbor. Ven takes the portrait and places it on the boulder, their little family tied together, fractured in glued pieces, now and always. Before they start, Terra asks Aqua to pose under the arbor so he can take a picture of the trees and the flowers surrounding her. Beautiful.

“How do we do this?” Terra asks when he finds his voice again, still trembling. Aqua stands to the side to take her place. She’s beautiful.

Ven takes the book in his hands. The description of this ritual covers at most two pages. “Well, it’s archaic. It’s from the Age of Fairytales but it sounds like we will intertwine your hearts—but in an intense way, like we’re sewing them together.”

Aqua holds her bouquet to her chest. “Shall we start?”

Terra chuckles too hard, gasping for breath. “Simple as that.”

They wait for Ven’s cue, who also has no idea how to do anything. Ven clears his throat, shrugs his shoulders, and reads:

“We witness today the soldering of two hearts. To intertwine like the roots of a tree, the severance painful, the nourishment plentiful. A physical bond, a magical one, the merging of two sprites under the guidance of one truth. Two hearts, but one.” Terra watches the way Aqua watches him. There’s no one else in the world, Ven’s voice disconnected, like it floats on air. “Now it says to summon your Keyblades. Dig the tips into the ground, and offer your hilts to each other.”

Ends of the Earth is massive, taller than Ven. Stormfall looks delicate but it’s menacing, sharp, direct. They offer their hilts, the shafts crossed over each other, Stormfall light and airy in his hand, Ends of the Earth weighty and thick in hers.

Terra finds it interesting that they’re using the hilt to connect each other’s hearts—the Keyblade should never be used against a person’s heart in traditional Mastery, because it’s such a dangerous weapon and it’s so violating. The blunt hilt, on the other hand, the physical manifestation of their hearts, is like exposure, an offer of vulnerability.

Aqua’s feels like it’s thrumming, singing. She’s happy.

Ven steps forward with the rope and ties it over the hilts in loops. “This is just an image, the ties that bind, two Keyblades, but one. To intertwine a heart is to forge a chain, a friend, a companion, a memory. If missing then a void, a dream, a wish until reunion.” He steps back into position. “Before we go on, I think this would be a nice place to say your vows. Terra, you first.”

Terra stammers, looking into her eyes. “I-I couldn’t write one. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Ven whispers, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket. “I wrote some just in case.”

Terra doesn’t take it. He licks his lips. “It wouldn’t have been graceful. None of it—all of my thoughts—pale in comparison to you, Aqua.” He steadies himself with labored breathing, the squeeze on her Keyblade like a hold on her waist. “You’re so, so beautiful, and I’ve spent my days believing I don’t deserve you, because… because I couldn’t make things right like I should have.”

Aqua quivers, gently touching his arm with her free hand and motioning for him to breathe.

He continues, “I’m sorry. I wish the Master was here. I wish I was smart enough to prevent it from happening.” He inhales, choking up from the mention of Eraqus. “I never thought you would marry me of all people, so… I promise... I will be there every step of the way. I promise you, if you’re scared at night, I’ll be there to protect you. If you’re hurting in another world, I’ll come find you. If you’re confused, I’ll hold you close and help you make sense of it. I’ll brew you tea to help you sleep, I’ll step in the line of fire even if you wish to do the same for me, I’ll walk to the ends of the earth to make sure you are safe and healthy. I promise I’ll be with you.

“And I’ll mess up. I know me. I’ll fix it. If you want to clobber me, I’ll be patient. I’ll learn. I’ll do better. Every day you save me from myself. This is the least I can do. I’ve loved you since I was a kid. I’ll love you every day.”

Silence falls on all of them, Terra sniffing just to get some fresh air, Ven wiping his eyes, Aqua blinking too much.

“Now you, Aqua,” Ven says.

Despite being teared up, Aqua holds it together. She’s so good at that.

“Terra, I stand with you because I do want to be here. I do want to be by your side. I do want to laugh at your bad jokes.” She relieves a giggle. “I love you. I have for as long as I can remember, even if I didn’t know the words for it.” She studies his face. “I’m sure the Master is here with us, and he couldn’t be prouder of you. I’m proud of you.” Suddenly, she switches her tone, as if to lecture. “And if you even fathom taking a hit for me, remember that I’m faster than you. I’ll protect you first.” Then she softens. “I promise to be your shelter when the storm falls on us. I promise to sit on your bedside when you’re sick, to lift you up when you’re down about yourself, because you are sometimes.

“You are my home, no matter how far your heart is from me. If you need a star to light your way back, I’ll give it to you.” She smiles widely, like she’s about to laugh. “If something between us breaks, I’ll mend it with you. I can’t imagine my life any other way.”

Their words are now spoken. Aqua suppresses a laugh and grins like a child. Terra holds his breath, just in case he screams from every emotion that he can’t name.

“Well,” Ven says, rolling his sleeve up so he could wipe his nose on his forearm. “I guess it’s time. This bond is an oath you will remember each other until you close your eyes for the last time, for the tragedy to forget is to be alone forever. Do you accept this?”

“I do,” Terra says.

Aqua hums. “Yes, I do.”

Ven smiles. “You know what to do.”

With his free hand, Terra presses two fingers to his chest, over his heart, where he builds a golden glow. Twenty years living with her, ten years in darkness thinking about her, this vow is impossible to break—even if they can’t do this any longer, Terra could never forget her. Never. In his hand is now a piece of himself, a nugget of his heart, a memory of her in his bed that he never wants to lose.

He takes those fingers to her chest, two thick golden threads drawn out from his heart. She winces at the touch, quick to dissolve. Stormfall shifts in his hand, growing longer, its hilt thicker and darker, wrapping around like a weaved shield. A subtle change, a little piece of him.

Aqua does the same, fingers to her chest first to create the threads, bringing them to his chest. It does hurt, like a needle digging into his skin, sharp for the entire length until it’s suddenly gone.

He feels full, as though his insides are creating space for something extra. Warm, frightening, whole, exciting. Her piece is a memory he can’t read but he doesn’t need to. Ends of the Earth opens way for an icy blade to cut through the middle as the hilt fans out like wings. A piece of her to take with him where he goes.

“Alright,” Ven chirps, snapping the booklet closed. “The book ends with the quote, Two hearts, only one, but I think this means I can call you husband and wife in secret. So kiss.”

Their Keyblades dissipate when they hold each other, tender but with appetite, unaware of their surroundings for several selfish moments. With sewn threads, it’s as though he breathes through her. Terra presses her onto him, feeling how her heart now beats in sync with his.

“I love you,” she whispers. They are married.

He’ll never tire of hearing it. Stars, they are married. “I love you, too.”

Terra hears Ven sniff before a handkerchief is shoved into his face. “You need your face dry and clean before everyone sees you,” Ven says.

The sunset now is deep, a fiery orange. Terra doesn’t want to let go.

“I’ll hold you again tonight,” Aqua says, patting his chest. “I want to see the meteor shower Ven promised.”

“It’ll be a good one,” Ven assures.

Terra kisses her. “Then we have to make a run for it.” He picks Ven up like a log, jogging through the thicket of the forest with Aqua close behind him, the Master in her arms. When they approach the castle, in the twilight, they hear chatter coming from the halls, as though ghosts are partying outside.

Terra feels at peace despite that he now has to perform, balancing on a tightrope where he doesn’t care if he falls. He turns around and holds her neck to kiss her again, feeling her laughter in his mouth. “One more?” he asks when they break.

Ven, still tucked in Terra’s arm, groans. “I never asked for a front seat to the kissing show. Is this my punishment?”

Aqua kisses him one more time, whispering to him I love you for what will be a string of I love you’s in the night to come. Friends will cheer, Terra will trip on the way to the altar, Sora will cry because Terra will cry, Xion will eat too much cake and get sick, Isa will laugh because he is drunk, Kairi will be the star of the dance, Aqua will be the star in his eyes.

#terraqua #terra #aqua #ventus #terraqua week #kingdom hearts fanfiction #omg #this is finally out holy shiiiiiiiiit #i'm really proud of this one #reading through for edits #i impressed myself haha #my fic

31 notes · View notes

floriswrite · 4 years ago

Text

“How is Even doing?” Lea asked around a bite of sandwich.

“Swallow before speaking.” Isa sighed at his side.

Roxas merely shook his head.

“Odd for you to ask.” Lauriam responded and blinked over at him.

“Hey, don’t be like that. Xion told me.”

“Told you-?” Lauriam’s head tilted.

Lea frowned at him. Weird. “About Even’s cancer.”

“What?” Lauriam’s expression fell slowly. “I- excuse me.” He swallowed as he pushed his chair back.

Ven reached a hand carefully out for him. “Lauriam?”

Lauriam shook his head a little. “You know my opinions. Speak for me if needed.”

Ven settled his hand back on his lap. Just like back then. “Okay.”

Lauriam gave him a shaky smile before he hurried off.

“Did he not know?” Roxas whispered. “Why would Even not tell him?”

“I... overheard him tell Ienzo.” Xion sighed. “Figured it was safe to talk about. Man my dad is stupid.”

“Our dad is indeed.” Ienzo stated as he stared at his Gummiphone. “I know Aeleus and Dilan know. Should I warn Even?”

“Lauriam’s...” Ventus trailed and stared at the table. “I don’t know if the adult Lauriam would do anything. Is- Is Even going to /die/?”

“It is not that serious.” Ienzo tried to keep his voice calming as he messaged Even. “How much did you hear, Xion?”

“Uhh, really just you saying ‘You have cancer’. Figured he could wait on the ingredients he asked me to pick up...”

“He has lung cancer. Another side effect of Vexen’s death, he worries, which is probably why he put off telling Lauriam.”

“...Oh.” Lea let out a small broken laugh. “Well shit.”

“Mmhm.” Ienzo hummed at him. “I still cannot understand why Vexen helped you and Saix.”

“Curiosity, mostly. Once he understood the severity of the situation he was willing to do anything.” Isa explained. “But more than that, that death did make him Even, once more.”

“True.” Ienzo sighed. “There is nothing to worry about, Ven. Even is more sturdy than he looks.”

“Promise?” Ven sounded younger than usual right then. Too open. Too bare.

“I promise.” Ienzo gave him a small smile. “Your concern for my father is appreciated.”

Ven shook his head a little. “It’s for Lauriam. I don’t think his heart would be able to handle Even dying.”

“Ahh. He would not be alone, Ven. Even is an important part of many of our hearts. But that fear is understandable; I would not like to see Marluxia again.”

“Would he become a Nobody again?” Aqua questioned.

“I think he would just stop.” Ven shook his head. “I’d have to keep him away from the students. That kind of dark influence could be disastrous.”

“Would he still be able to wield his Keyblade?”

“Perhaps not the one you are used to, but yes.” Ven frowned to himself. “Should I check on him?”

“No, let Even fix his own mess.” Ienzo shook his head and put his phone away. “If he can.”

“I’m taking dad in the divorce.” Xion teased openly.

“As if Lauriam would take you.” Ienzo teased back. “There’s nothing to worry about. Lauriam cannot stay angry at Even for long. Even will get treated, and everything will go back to normal.”

Xion stuck her tongue out at him.

“If- if he did become a Nobody again would he really /be/ Marluxia? Xemnas gave us those names. Would he really take it back up?” Roxas questioned the room.

“Fair point, we reclaimed those ‘X’s, can’t imagine him doing the same.” Lea mumbled. “Look at you thinking this hypothetical through.”

Roxas rubbed the back of his head. “It was just a thought.”

“We shouldn’t keep talking about this.” Aqua ended the conversation. “If Lauriam falls down a dark path we will deal with it then.”

“Yeah.”

#*Cancer #what if I just write #a bunch of different scenarios #of different people telling Lauriam first #until I settle on one I like

4 notes · View notes

mariahmaru · 5 years ago

Text

You Shall Be Bound Heart and Soul

For Day Six of Ansem’s Apprentice Week!

Theme: AU/Restoration

Shipping: King Ansem x Evën

Author’s Note: Sequel to this. And if you’re interested this is what Evën’s suit and ring looks like. This is what Ansem’s suit and ring looks like. And the song Roxas and Ventus sings is Simple Thing (Called Love) by Jesse McCartney because... of obvious reasons. lol.

@apprenticeweek

I hope you enjoy!

The people of Radiant Garden was a bit excited today. There were booths open in town square, flower decorations, and banners saying ‘congratulations’, but for what exactly? For the King of Radiant Garden’s wedding of course. The king was finally going to marry his fiance, Evën. It’s been ten years since King Ansem proposed to his partner and now they’re finally going to get married.

Evën nervously fixed his black tie while looking at the mirror. He wore a baby blue suit with a buttoned coat and a white dress shirt under. His long blond hair was put up in a bun and he still had his reading glasses on. The man started to get really sweaty and kept untying and adjusting his tie, he just didn’t look perfect. Ienzo sighed annoyed, watching his guardian fiddle with his tie, “You look fine Evën. We’re going to start soon.”

The blond flushed, “Okay. Okay. I’m calm. I’m calm…” He then looked at his reflection again, “Maybe I need a different color?”

“NO.” Ienzo stated making the older man flinch, that was rather loud of the teen. He then walked over and straightened Evën’s suit up, “You’re fine.”

“No I am not fine!” Evën mumbled and started to pace around the room, “It’s been merely three months since I was restored to my human form! Ansem and I haven’t seen each other in ten years! Surely his feelings have changed for me! I betrayed him, sure I helped save him from Xehanort’s plan, but that doesn’t heal ten years of hurt! What to do? Is it really too late to call this off? What if we reschedule? Yes! Surely Ansem would understa--”

He stopped when Ienzo hugged him. Evën relaxed and wrapped his arms around his son. That calmed him down a bit as his muscles loosened up a bit.

“Everything will be okay.” Ienzo reassured and loosened the embrace, “What does your heart say?”

Evën’s eyes looked down to the side, “To… go on with the wedding.”

“Then listen to it. Sometimes your heart knows more than your head and your head talks too much.” Ienzo stated before chuckling.

The groom smiled, “I suppose you’re right… Thank you Ienzo. You’re the best son anyone could ask for.”

They gave each other one last hug before Aeleus knocked on the door and peeked in, “Evën. It’s time.”

The blond flinched from those words and got nervous again.

Ienzo let go of him and patted his back, “You’ll be fine.”

Evën swallowed hard and nodded, walking out. Aeleus and Ienzo followed close behind him till he stopped, seeing Ansem at the door entrance with Dilan by his side waiting for him. Evën’s fiance wore a nice beige suit, coat open to show off the vest from the inside, very different from the usual attire he wore.

The king smiled, “You look beautiful.”

The blond flushed before Aeleus started nudging him towards the king. When they were face to face, Evën was shaking a bit.

“Nervous?” The king asked.

“Nonsense!” Evën stated, with Ienzo nodding his head in the background.

Ansem chuckled and held his arm out, “Do not worry. I am as well.” Evën nodded and nervously wrapped his arm around his fiance.

Aeleus, Dilan, and Ienzo crept through the door’s entrance and shut it behind them, leaving the two men alone. The scientist’s heart felt like it was beating out of his chest and kept shaking. They were really going through with this.

Oh he didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve him. Of all the bad things he had done to Ansem, the love of his life, it was unforgivable. He couldn’t atone for his sins, he wasn’t worthy of this.

“Evën…” Ansem said, making the other man tear away from his thoughts, “Why are you so nervous?”

The older man looked at the ground, “I… I can’t do this Lord Ansem… I don’t deserve you… Not one bit.”

“Again you say this, but I do not understand why. Evën, do you doubt me when I say that I love you?”

Evën looked at him, “Of course not.”

“Do you doubt me when I said that I have forgiven you?”

“No…”

“Then why is there doubt in your heart?”

“No, not my heart… My head. My heart wants me to walk down this isle with you but my head… My head just tells me bad things.”

Ansem then touched Evën’s cheek with his warm hand. The older man’s emerald eyes locked onto the king’s amber eyes.

“Your head does not have all the answers Evën. Listen to me instead. You are worthy, you are amazing, and I love you very much. I cannot imagine doing this with someone else so please my love, cheer up.” He gave him a small kiss on the lips, “It’s our wedding day.”

Evën blushed as the doors opened and music started playing. The scientist quickly straightened himself to see the aisle leading down the room with all of their friends standing up and looking at them. The two began to walk as Roxas’ band played the music. Ven was playing a guitar, Lea played the bass, Isa played the drums, and Roxas was the lead vocalist.

“Everything's a fight, everyday's a struggle.

Seems like fear is the guide that they want us to use.

Scared to raise our voice.

Afraid to make a choice.

But your powers inside.

No one can take that away from you.”

Ven then joined in the singing, “If you wanna change the world.

You gotta change your world.

It's a simple thing that connects you and me.

Everything's so complicated.

Everyone seems so frustrated.

Can we get back to the basics?

It's a simple thing called, lalalalala love.

A simple thing called, lalalalala love.

We can't keep livin' in confusion.

And we're runnin' out of excuses.

I know it doesn't seem that easy.

But, please, believe me.

All we need is love.”

When the song ended the two grooms were at the end of the aisle, greeted by the all powerful wizard Yen Sid.

The wizard then spoke, “Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today for the union of Ansem the Wise and Evën the Academic, in matrimony. You may exchange your vows.” Ansem nodded before he spoke, “Evën.” He held both of his groom’s hands into his, “I have loved you for many years ever since I was a young boy. You and I have been blessed with children who I adore, Ienzo, Roxas, Xion, and Namine, and I can only hope for more in the future. We might be opposites but we complete each other, making each other whole, and I cannot see myself with anyone else.”

Yen Sid nodded and looked at Evën, “Your vows.”

“Ansem I…” Evën said and cleared his throat, “Ansem I always woke up early in the morning to make sure you’re eating and doing your work. You have been my friend for years, whether I liked it or not. You were alway kind to everyone who approached you and very generous. We fought but…” Tears rolled down his face, “And somehow you always had the heart to forgive me. You always included me to anything you do from eating ice cream to adopting a son. Never in my life--” He sobbed and Ansem touched his cheek, “Never in my life I thought I would be blessed with a family but I’m glad it’s with you. Ansem, I love you with all of my heart and I want to spend the rest of my life with you!”

Ansem took out a handkerchief and helped wipe away Evën’s tears.

Yen Sid nodded and looked at Ienzo, “May you please bring the rings?”

Ienzo nodded and walked up with a silk pillow that held two platinum rings. One with rubies and one with sapphires. Ansem took the sapphire while Evën took the ruby.

“With the exchanging of rings, you shall be bound heart and soul, together forever with many stories to be told.”

Ansem then took Evën’s left hand and slipped on the sapphire ring on his finger, afterwards Evën took Ansem’s left hand and slipped the ruby ring onto his love’s finger.

“With the power vested in me and of the Kingdom of Radiant Garden, I pronounce you wed. You may kiss your partner.”

Ansem gently placed his hands on Evën’s face and pulled him into a kiss. Evën flushed as he touched his now husband’s cheek and kissed back. Everyone in the room applauded as the husbands broke the kiss and hugged each other. Ienzo, Xion, Namine, and Roxas hurried to the newlyweds and joined in the hug. The king laughed happily as his family gathered and kissed Evën again.

Above them in the rafters, a cloaked man sat and clapped, “Way to go Evën… I was worried you were going to be an old maid forever.” He then got up, “Congratulations, I’m happy for the both of you.” He then raised his arm and made a black portal and left.

May your hearts be your guiding key.

#apprenticeweek2020 #apprenticeweek #even #ansem the wise #kingdom hearts #king ansem #yaoi #ansem x vexen #ansem x even #radiant garden #birth by sleep #Kingdom Hearts III #kingdom hearts 3 #ienzo #oneshot #fanfic #mariahmaru

4 notes · View notes

born-of-dusk · 5 years ago

Text

Komorebi or: Those Who Love Shadows

Characters: Vanitas, Arika (OC)

Summary: The New Replica Program aims to give some of the former Seekers of Darkness a new lease on life, a chance to atone and be their own selves separate from their fate bound by the late Master Xehanort. Vanitas has a hard time adjusting to life without a purpose, and it’s up to one tough cat lady from another world to show him the way.

Word count: ~2,800

A/N: this is literally my first fanfic ever and this happened because i really wanted this edgy boy to have a mom. you are getting redeemed damnit.

Vanitas was brooding around a shady tree in the outer gardens when a distant commotion caught his attention. Normally, he could tune out idle chatter and background noise easily but the voices he heard were just a little too familiar. He spared a passing glance from behind a flower hedge and recognized the taller guy with blue hair from their time as the Seekers of Darkness. He and the one with red hair were blathering about some nonsense with Xion and three other kids he didn’t recognize. Whatever. They looked like they were just standing around waiting for something or someone. Vanitas turned his attention back to the flickering specks of filtered sunlight that danced along his armored legs in time with the fluttering leaves above, just killing time until he had to go meet a certain strange lady.

Arika had taken it upon herself to try and “help” him and the other former Seekers for some reason when they were given second (third?) chances at life in the form of the New Replica Program. ‘I sympathize with all who feel lost, who have been toyed with by fate, who struggle with themselves,’ she said. Whatever, lady, you can do what you want as long as I still get free food and a room to myself. Since the moment of his “birth” the boy had only known one truth: he was created to clash with his other half, forge the χ-blade, and bring about a second Keyblade War. This was his one and only purpose and failing to accomplish this goal would not be tolerated. The old coot, Xehanort, saw to establishing that quickly as well as frequently. And this whole new existence without a clear goal to chase and being around people who didn’t see him as a means to an end was...he didn’t like to think too hard about it.

After a few minutes he got up to stretch before heading out when he heard the gaggle of friends perk up at their final missing member arriving with his arms full of that blue ice cream everyone seemed to like. It was…Ventus? Ventus was here in Radiant Garden right now? No, that wasn’t right. Same face, same sort of getup, but that wasn’t his brother there apologizing and laughing like a huge loser. It was the other one, that Roxas kid. Just seeing him was enough to sour his mood, but seeing him with his massive group of friends? That was enough to spawn an Unversed or two somewhere in the worlds in an instant. He tried to shrug it off, then he wanted to mock them or slap that stupid ice cream out of Ven-- Roxas’s hands and onto the ground. Anything to dampen that happy atmosphere, but he didn’t. Instead he tried to divert his negative thoughts elsewhere but that stupid smiling face was already burned into his mind. And then those awful thoughts went towards that slippery slope he always seemed to come back to:

Ventus doesn’t need me. Master Xehanort isn’t around anymore so now there’s no use for me, no purpose to exist. Darkness is all I am and all I’ll ever be. A being of pure darkness in a world of light. What am I even doing here?

That caused a dull blooming pain in the back of his head that surely must’ve heralded another Unversed somewhere, and not a scrawny Flood or Scrapper either. He didn’t raise a hand to soothe the ache and instead let it run its course. That would be a sign of weakness, after all. Right about now he was supposed to be training with his…master? Caretaker? Whatever that lady was to him he still wasn’t sure. She’d offered to spar with him once or twice then to train him from the ground up in a more cohesive style. Something about sound bodies yielding sounds minds or some such drivel. This week she was supposed to help him practice parrying attacks with his keyblade after stressing the importance of defensive maneuvers in addition to the devastating offensive ones that he was more inclined towards. He scoffed at the idea at first but relented after seeing her dispel a mob of Heartless with her fancy footwork and fluid parries into slashes into a wave-clearing focused energy surge. She made it look easy so he figured he may as well add it to his repertoire, even if it did look kinda girly. Maybe it’d help him get his mind off of those troublesome thoughts.

But the rotten start had already tainted the rest of his day. First, Arika had scolded him for being late and made him do 20 laps around the training grounds as punishment. Then she had him do the usual warmup routine of muscle stretches, more laps, and a few sets of the 32-step sword form routine she pieced together for him. Of course he couldn’t blitz through it either; no, he had to do it painfully slow over and over until he did it perfectly. Once he got to the actual sparring it was all downhill. His mind was all over the place bouncing back and forth between thinking about what Ventus was up to, trying to time his parries just right, minding his stances, seething about Roxas having to exist in his general area and look just like his “brother.” His footwork was off, his distraction earned him a few well timed parries strong enough to send his training sword flying, his own attempts just slightly mistimed or lacking finesse which resulted in static blocks. All the while Arika tried to bark out advice and corrections but none of it got through that flurry of doubts and self-criticisms that was storming inside him.

“Stance steady! Stay light on your feet until the blade falls. Meet it at an angle, partial flat. Elbows in!”

Every word she uttered only irritated him further and fueled the ire burning inside. Get it together, Vanitas! Just parry a single hit already! How’d you get so weak and useless?! In his frustration he ended up reverting to his original brash and wild style unlike the more focused one he had drilled into him over weeks of grueling practice. Without even realizing it, he’d given up on the lesson entirely and just gave it his all to land a single massive hit and be done with this charade.

Arika’s eyes widened when wisps of darkness started emanating off of him and she switched gears entirely when he charged her at full speed. Lacking enough time between blocking his blows to attempt to talk him down, she threw herself into the fight in hopes he’d soon tire himself out. Despite his raw enraged power being on par with hers, Arika’s years of experience and coolheaded approach let her deflect every sword slash and thrust Vanitas threw at her, either artfully sidestepping a blow or returning the force of it in full. At last in his rage and desperation, Vanitas resorted to his iconic overhead strike after leaving behind an afterimage. He warped into the air behind Arika, empowered his weapon with all of his dark magic, and swung down with all his might.

“Too slow!”

But the blade never met its target. Arika disappeared in a blur of violet just short of the blast and delivered a stunning barehanded strike to Vanitas’s solar plexus that sent him flying. The next thing he knew Vanitas was on the ground with the wind knocked out of him, his teacher dispelling her weapon in his peripheral vision. After catching her breath, she glanced down at her student and offered him a hand. This single gesture flooded the boy with anxiety and fear when he realized what he’d done, what he had tried to do. Wait, no! Damn it, I really messed up this time. It took everything he had not to create any more Unversed right then and make things worse for himself but that nagging voice in the back of his mind kept needling him with barbs of doubt. He knew what she was going to say but he just knew there was something more she was hiding. She only did this if…

“That’s quite enough for today. Come, let’s wind down.” It was calm and even like always but he could’ve sworn he heard some bite in the first half this time.

She’s giving up. She thinks you’re weak. No, she knows.

Ven was off in his nice little homeworld with his nice little group of friends that somehow hadn’t fallen apart in the decade they were scattered to the winds. He had friends, connections…a family. Ven didn’t need him, Xehanort didn’t, and now neither did Arika. After all that garbage about “caring” and “sympathy” she was throwing him away. Of course, he was darkness and nothing more. There’s no way she would forgive what he did. And worst of all he failed miserably, he was utterly useless. The air around him grew colder and his whole body felt numb before he reacted the only way he knew how.

“Just stop it,” he muttered. She raised an eyebrow but stood unmoved.

“Stop what?”

“Just say what you mean and give up already! I know what you’re thinking so just say it,” he shouted, snubbing his master’s aid and slowly rising to his own two feet. The dark wisps had grown to envelop the boy almost entirely in a chilly shroud; he stared down at the inky haze that pooled around his feet and balled his fists at his sides. He let himself get lost in his pounding headache but fought to bite back the prickling tears welling in his eyes. No, anything but that. He was weak enough already.

“Give up on trying to ‘help’ me, it pisses me off! Keep your pity and let me sink back into darkness where I belong! And don’t pretend you still care after I tried to kill you because I won’t believe you! So just quit this whole act and stop trying to save me from-”

Vanitas hadn’t noticed Arika close the distance during his fuming outburst until she had stepped into his view. He shifted his ireful gaze from her feet to her face and was met with something truly bizarre. He was expecting a hateful sneer or cold sharp eyes. But instead he saw a look of concern, maybe even...sorrow? What? Suddenly he found himself wrapped up in a warm hug that caused the smoky dark aura that enveloped him to slowly but surely wane. Not having a clue how to react, Vanitas just stood there still and utterly dumbfounded.

“It’s alright, Vani. I’m not giving up on you, we’re just taking a break for the day. We can try again when you’re feeling better. I should have noticed something was troubling you earlier and for that, I am so sorry,” she said in a soft quivering voice. These strange words spoken in a kind yet sad voice made no sense to the boy. He’d failed, he’d tried to seriously hurt his master. She could’ve died. And she was apologizing to him? And she’d called him some cutesy nickname that didn’t irritate him as much as it should’ve. He balled his fists again, overwhelmed and baffled.

“W-what the hell are you talking about?! How could you have known-,” he snapped his head to face her and happened to notice that the dark aura around him was almost entirely gone. In fact, he felt significantly less frustrated and angry too all of a sudden. Like a massive weight was lifted off his chest and he could breathe again. But Vanitas realized the cost of that relief quickly, that darkness does not simply disappear.

Arika’s smile was pained and her brow furrowed; he shifted his gaze to her false right arm made of her psionic magic. Normally a brilliant shade of violet, it had been dyed black by inky veins that snaked up the forearm and ended at her shoulder where magic met flesh. She winced as tiny errant barbs of the dark substance calcified and broke through the skin of her shoulder, he could practically feel it himself and winced in return. Arika gave Vanitas, now looking concerned himself, a dismissive gesture as the inky lines crawled up her false arm and out of her skin in short bursts only to fall to the ground and shatter or dissipate into vapor outright.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have taken your pain without asking either. Don’t worry about me, I’ve gotten the hang of tempering it through experience. It’s something my people can do,” she trailed off. Her smile fell and her eyes softened as she looked at him with an expression the boy could not describe, but it almost looked like she was feeling the same way he did just moments ago. Was this what she meant by sympathy? “You are very strong for having shouldered this pain in your heart for so long. How it must have ached...if you would let me I would help lighten the load any way I can. No one should have to suffer alone.”

Vanitas was at a loss for words; his head was a little clearer but he still felt awful about everything that had just transpired. And now he was baffled by whatever this magic trick was. Just what are you, lady? Someone who didn’t think he was weak, apparently. She even called him strong and was willing to hurt herself for his sake? But in a helping kind of way. There were plenty of questions to be asked, it’s not like he was super happy all of a sudden. He still wasn’t sure what he was feeling now in his fledgling heart (other than “not bad”), he didn’t know whether more punishment was in store for him after his stunt (probably not), he didn’t know how to feel about having his emotions—though negative—siphoned away even if it made him feel better. And while he started to admit to himself that he did want her help, he wasn’t sure what he wanted her to do. But there was one nagging question he had to know the answer to right now.

“Why do you care so much about me? Even though I’m…”

“Even though you’re darkness?” she chuckled. He looked away, almost afraid to hear her answer. “Because my heart can love darkness, of course. And darkness can learn to love back.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle dryly at that answer. Now you’re just making stuff up. “That’s impossible, lady. Darkness isn’t capable of that kind of mushy junk, it’s all just hate and pain.” But then what am I feeling?

Now it was her turn to rebuke him. “Oh, but it’s true. I’m living proof of it, as is my friend Cora and countless others who came before us. We all descend from the one born from the union between pure Light and pure Dark eons ago on my world. We all have light and darkness in our hearts in varying sizes, it’s what makes us all children of twilight. When the Dark fell in love with the Light...” she trailed off serenely. The last of the barbs painlessly fell away to the winds to return to the world and the hearts of living beings. Arika placed her hand to her shoulder and began to heal her wounds shut while Vanitas scratched his head at these outlandish notions placed before him. Light and darkness joining together? And they made some kid instead of a χ-blade?

“But how? How could darkness fall in love with light at all?”

Arika regarded his question sagely for a moment before pulling the boy into another hug which he received less awkwardly. She placed her good hand on his messy hair and gave it a ruffle, “because the Light ceased fighting with the Dark long enough to listen to him, to understand his pain, and from there a bond was formed.”

Vanitas had neither a sarcastic quip nor follow-up question at the ready, he simply hummed and reluctantly rested his head on his master’s shoulder. He hoped she didn’t notice when he leaned ever so slightly into her hand as she patted his head. Clumsily, he brought his arms up to return the hug but only barely making contact back. This was still weird and new and he didn’t want to make this totally new feeling in his chest disappear just yet. It was something heavy and light, comforting and terrifying, yet entirely warm. Is this…a connection? He tightened his grip to brace himself against the prickling of tears but gave into the urge to let them fall where they may, it was relieving somehow. Arika stroked his hair and started to hum a song from a far-off world, letting her tears shed in kind. Their tears of joy were warm like the embrace they shared in solace, like the feeling in their hearts at this very moment, like the sunshine that greeted the shadows through the trees.

#oc x canon #vanitas #arika #let edge boy be happy 2019 #i slapped that pic together real fast #kingdom hearts #kh #found family inc #fanfic

6 notes · View notes

currantlee · 4 years ago

Link

Language: English Rating: Teen and Up Audiences (T) / P12 Warnings: Discussion of Death Fandom: Kingdom Hearts Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Songfic Characters: Xion, Roxas, Naminé (mentioned), Sora (mentioned), Ventus (mentioned), Axel (mentioned) Relationships: Roxas/Xion (RokuShi) Words: 3,689 Chapter: 1/1 Beta: @theeeveetamer Notes: inspired by Until the End, a RWBY song that I get heavy RokuShi vibes from for some reason. There might be continuity and / or characterization errors in here. Full notes on Ao3, as always. Other Platforms: -

A new day is gone without a trace All memories are dark and light is fading

To someone who had never been to Twilight Town before, time must have seemed to stand still due to the eternal state of twilight this world was stuck in. Xion had, however, made out a pattern long ago. While the sun itself never changed its position, but the colors of the sky faded between the pastels of a sunrise and the bright reds of a sunset over the course of the day and night.

Currently, some clouds were obscuring the sun, their grey causing the sky to appear in a darker, more navy tone of blue than usual, alongside deep reds and violets. And those colors were still too bright to reflect her current mood.

Today had been another day of fighting to get out of bed because the exhaustion was almost too strong to bear. Another day where her dreams of a normal life slipped away, as she couldn’t even keep up with school. Another day of the headaches – the ones caused by Naminé’s memory powers, though Xion couldn’t fault her for those. She was just as exhausted from using those as Roxas and Xion were, if not even more. And yet… Another pointless day with no results. Not even a trace of their vanished friend, despite all of the effort, the headaches, the exhaustion…

That feeling… It was just so… Xion wanted to scream, she wanted to punch something. Why did it have to be this way?! They deserved an outcome of their hard work – and Sora deserved better than being lost.

The longer this went on, the more those bright memories were tainted with a darker color, like drops of darkness fell onto them, obscuring and eventually extinguishing all the light that came from them. Everything Roxas, Naminé and Xion herself tried in order to help find their lost friend seemed to never be enough, and that didn’t help to brighten up her mood either.

… Maybe, it was better to accept that Sora was gone… So he could rest in peace. He wouldn’t want them to feel bad because of him all the time, Xion knew that.

A tear rolled down her cheek. No. They couldn’t just give up like this. Kairi would never get over Sora’s disappearance. Besides, he was the reason why both she and Roxas even existed – because he had never given up on finding a way for making the impossible happen. He deserved that they did the same for him now.

Besides… If he was gone… Wouldn’t that mean their days were numbered as well?

Xion held her hands in front of her face, against the ever-setting sun, just to see if they were still there. The clock of the tower started to ring – Xion could feel the swings of the noise whenever this happened while she was up there. One, two, three… Nine times.

The faded light bathed her hands in a reddish orange, almost as if it was shining through the flesh of her replica body. Was she fading away too, again?

“Hey Xion.”

She turned around to see a familiar blonde standing behind her. Xion felt a smile tug at her lips, but the fear of fading was stronger than that and all she managed was a short twitch of her lips before she spoke. “Hey Roxas.”

She gestured to the empty space at her side. A wide smile spread across his face as he took her offer and pulled out two familiar packages from his pocket, handing her one. “Here. It won’t help with the headaches, but… I figured it might still do some good.”

It was sea-salt ice cream… Of course it would be sea-salt ice cream. She finally managed to crack a smile. “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Silence fell between the two as they unpacked their creamsicles and started eating while watching the sunset. The clouds had finally unveiled the sun, and by now the sky and the town were illuminated in bright yellows, reds and oranges. The clouds glowed in a lovely, warm pink.

“It’s almost like the old times,” Roxas said after some minutes of silence.

Yes… Almost. “Where is Axel though?”, she asked.

“He said he’d catch up later,” he responded.

“So it’s just like the old times,” she remarked chuckling. “Thinking about it, he used to be late from time to time.”

“True.” Roxas grinned briefly before his eyebrows twitched and he let out a small wince. “Ouch…”

Xion’s heart slightly hurt hearing that – like it was being pulled on. She knew that feeling… It meant that she was worried about him. “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah… Can you hold my ice cream for a second?”

She nodded and Roxas handed the creamsicle to her with a grateful smile. Then, he proceeded to massage his temples.

Xion raised an eyebrow. “Brainfreeze?” A small nod confirmed her suspicion.

She knew he hadn’t been sleeping very well ever since Sora’s disappearance. He tossed and turned after going to bed, sometimes for hours before finally entering the realm of dreams. And even then, it weren’t always good ones.

To be frank, Xion hadn’t had the best sleep in her short life either, but at least it found her quickly after another long, exhausting day of work. The dark circles under her eyes grew deeper with every day nonetheless, just as Roxas’s did.

The lack of sleep, Naminé’s memory powers… All of that combined often led to headaches, triggered and untriggered ones. Maybe the ice cream hasn’t been a good idea after all, taking that into consideration.

“Don’t worry too much about it,” Roxas interrupted her line of thought with a slight smile. “It’s just a headache. Nothing I can’t handle, really.”

He was right in a sense – they had been through far worse. Still… “Maybe you should take a break.”

She remembered the evening of Sora’s disappearance like it had happened the day before, even though it had been months ago at this point. Roxas had collapsed almost immediately after that event, going as far as being rushed to the Destiny Islands hospital because their friends were concerned he might have a heart attack. In the end it turned out that there were only deviations of his heart rhythm, But that was bad enough from what little Xion understood about medicine. Almost as if whatever stabilized his heart rate was gone… Just like Sora.

She remembered holding his hand in the emergency room. Ven had asked him how he was feeling, to which Roxas had responded by panicking over possibly dying, something that had made her want to scream and run away – but she stayed and took his hand into hers, trying her best to be strong for him. She couldn’t remember if his hand had ever been as cold before, and thus she had taken it as a bad sign.

The environment hadn’t exactly contributed to calming her down either. All the sterile white, the machines and the staff running around shouting things she didn’t understand…

This beeping thing at Roxas’ bedside was the worst. It had wires attached to his chest and Xion couldn’t shake the feeling that it was doing something to his likely already damaged heart. Roxas seemed to think the same as he had ripped the wires off after the staff had finally left them alone – only for the machine to make a long, loud, agonizing beep and the doctors rushing into the room again, assuming his heart had stopped beating. It had been a mess.

After that, a kind nurse had explained to them that it was a heart monitor, that the noises were supposed to represent Roxas’s heartbeat and that it would alert the staff in case his condition worsened – but Xion got the feeling that Roxas still didn’t like the fact that he was hooked up to this thing.

She didn’t like it either. Even though it was just for monitoring purposes, knowing all of this had made it even more agonizing. For hours, the beeping had been more or less irregular. Sometimes Xion thought it was finally over, only for Roxas’s heart to skip another beat and go back to beating irregularly. And once the noises – or more like his heart rate – finally became permanently predictable, he had been asleep and the clock displayed a time way past midnight.

Fortunately, nothing like that had happened to him ever since, despite the fact that Roxas kept pushing his limits. He was determined to find Sora and, Kairi and Riku excluded, he was probably the best bet when it came to finding any clues – and he knew it.

“I wish I could do that,” he whispered. “Just… Move on, you know? Finally have a normal life.” He let out a heavy sigh. “But I don’t want to…”

He didn’t finish his sentence and Xion was reminded of her thoughts from earlier, when she had held her hands against the light of the ever-setting sun to see if they weren’t fading away. She wondered if he had thought about this as well.

Roxas shook his head a little. “I have to keep going. It… It just feels like a part of me has been ripped away,” His voice sounded a bit weary – the exhaustion was coming through. “Besides, there is something I want to ask Sora.”

An answer he might never get, Xion thought. “What is it?”

“I just don’t understand how he could stay so calm,” Roxas mumbled. “Kairi said he knew it was coming. I just… I don’t understand…”

“I do.”

She thought back to her own disappearance – Xion didn’t like to call it death, even though that was technically what had transpired on that fateful day. It had been here, on the clock tower, just a few feet away from where they were sitting right now. Thinking about it, it wasn’t too dissimilar to what happened to Sora.

Back then, she had sacrificed herself so he could live… Just like Sora had sacrificed himself so Kairi could live. Probably the only significant difference was that Sora and Kairi had actually shared a personal bond when this happened, while Xion and Sora… The only thing she had shared with him was what had been rightfully his.

Taking this into account, sacrificing herself for Sora had felt like the right thing to do. Xion didn’t regret it – especially because in the end, she had been given this second chance at life, which she was beyond grateful for. But there was another reason why she didn’t.

“His favorite person was with him until the end,” she explained whispering. “Trust me, when you know you’re not going to last much longer, then having someone special with you when it happens… It makes you happy, you know?”

Roxas blushed a little hearing that, and a warm, pleasantly tingling feeling spread out inside Xion’s belly. It was rare that he did, but she liked the sight of his cheeks flushing in that rosy color.

It was only for a short moment before his expression turned back to a more solemn one. “Maybe,” he said quietly. “I don’t know.” After all, he had been alone when he had abandoned his existence so Sora could wake up from his year-long sleep.

… She had never realized that before.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“You were all alone.” She couldn’t manage to say more – it would only tear old wounds open again.

A lump formed in Xion’s throat when she remembered the way Roxas had cradled her during her last minutes. Despite having found out who she really was and what her only intended purpose had been, despite having fought Roxas only minutes prior, despite him not remembering who she was – it didn’t feel bad back then. Knowing that he was going to be the last thing she saw had somewhat eased everything else.

Thinking about how Roxas didn’t have that… He had never revealed the details surrounding his own “death”, but Xion knew enough for her eyes to become watery and her heart hurt thinking about that – like it wanted to cry for him.

“Oh.” Roxas lowered his head. “Yeah…”

Xion decided that it was best to not discuss that topic any further, especially due to that growing, tight feeling in her stomach. It made her so uncomfortable, nervous even… She wanted to run, despite knowing that it wouldn’t help. She couldn’t run from fading after all…

… Maybe the ice cream could do something about it? It had always worked during their Organization days, right?

She wordlessly handed Roxas’ creamsicle back to him and continued to eat her own, trying to suppress this unpleasant feeling.

… The ice cream was sweet. And salty. As usual. And the cold left a somewhat… Tingling feeling on her tongue. Combined with the taste of course. When she closed her eyes, she could almost feel the rays of sunshine on her face. Everything was fine…

“I think I would still have gone on a rampage, even if you were with me… When I faded away.”

Xion dropped her ice cream when he spoke up again. So… He did want to talk about it? A cold shiver ran down her spine thinking about it – not because of him. She trusted Roxas, and she knew she could talk to him about anything. But the thought of talking about this… And maybe getting the answer that the clenching feeling in her stomach was right about what was to come… The thought of hearing it from him…

Xion wanted to scream, but she didn’t. Instead, she raised her voice again. It shook a little. “Well, I think we both know you would have gone nuts…”

“It’s just not fair,” Roxas said as his free hand curled into a fist. His expression had grown a lot darker, and Xion wondered what he was thinking about – Sora’s disappearance or his own. “None of this is fair…”

And he was right about that.

It wasn’t fair that someone as good and kind-hearted Sora had paid for saving them and countless others with his own existence. It wasn’t fair that they spent their days in countless futile attempts to find any clues on his whereabouts despite all of their efforts. It wasn’t fair that the life they had fought for still wasn’t theirs in a way. And most of all, it wasn’t fair that all of this had been for nothing if they were just going to fade away again anyways…

Maybe the Organization and all of those other people had been right after all. Maybe it didn’t matter how hard they tried because Nobodies could never be Somebodies, never live more than a lie after all…

A tear rolled down her cheek.

“Xixi?” Roxas’s voice softened as used her nickname that he only called her by when they were completely alone. Knowing that she might not get to hear it for much longer made more tears streak down her cheeks.

“I don’t want to fade away again, Roxas,” she blurted out sobbing. “I just want to live!” There was so much she still wanted to do, so many unfulfilled dreams… “I just want you to live…” Her voice, already high and squeaky, finally broke.

“Xion, why do you…”

“When you were admitted to the hospital, I felt horrible inside!”, she sobbed loudly, almost yelling even. “Roxas, I was so scared…”

She stopped talking abruptly. Was that what this clenching, almost hurting feeling was? Being scared? Fear?

Before she could think much more about it, she felt the warmth of Roxas’ hand on her own.

“But I’m still here…”

“How do I know you will still be here tomorrow?”, Xion sobbed. “How do I know I’ll still be here tomorrow?”

“Because I don’t intend to go anywhere.”

Roxas’ voice was so warm and calm… So comforting that a new feeling sprouted in Xion’s heart, one that wrapped around her like a warm blanket and somewhat soothed the pressing ache that was her fear. Funny how she could have two seemingly opposing emotions at the same time – was having a heart this complicated for everyone? It could be so difficult to feel…

“Do you want to talk about it?”, Roxas asked.

Yes… No. She didn’t know.

“It might help.”

Maybe. But then again, he had enough to worry about at the moment. If he hadn’t already had the same thoughts as she had, then she didn’t want to put them into his mind by telling him… Even though Xion knew he wouldn’t offer it if he didn’t feel like he could take it.

On the other hand… She had already let some of it slip earlier. Still, she didn’t want to scare him as well. Maybe it was better to talk about something else. Something she knew made both of them feel bad.

“It’s just…” So much for that plan. How was she going to say this without diving into the subject of being scared of dying again “We haven’t found a single clue yet…”

“I know,” Roxas murmured. “That’s why I have to keep trying.”

“You mean we have to keep trying,” Xion corrected him.

Roxas shook his head in response. “Xion, you don’t have to continue if you can’t,” he declared. “If you need a break, then take it…”

She knew he didn’t mean to do that, but this answer sent her over the edge again. More tears ran down her cheek. “But breaks only mean losing more time…” Time they might be running out of. She sighed. “Sometimes I wonder whether we should just give up and enjoy the time we have left as while we can, you know? It’s what Sora would want.”

It’s what he did himself, Xion added in her thoughts. Ironic how he hadn’t given up on two people that were supposed to not exist anymore, but had been quick to accept his own fate (as long as it meant that the people he cared about were safe).

And here she was, suggesting to give up on him, the person who had not given up on them, so they could live their best life. And her reasoning for it? Something he had supposedly wanted… She was so selfish.

Xion wanted to choke. “I’m a horrible person,” she said instead. “After all he has done for us…”

“Please don’t compare yourself to Sora,” Roxas interrupted her swiftly. “He is far too selfless for his own – or quite frankly anybody’s – good. Just look at what it’s done to all of us.” He sounded angry once again now. “When he returns, I’m going to punch him for all of this, I swear! Especially for making you feel bad about yourself!”

And afterwards, he would likely pull Sora into a fierce hug. Xion knew Roxas well enough to know that he couldn’t stay mad at him for…

Before she could finish her line of thought, she felt Roxas wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

Xion felt a blush creeping into her cheeks and suddenly there were butterflies in her stomach. Not actual butterflies of course – more like what she imagined actual butterflies would feel like if they were living in her stomach. That was the best way she could describe the tingling sensation.

It was part of a strong emotion, but not unpleasant at all – in fact, Xion liked it. She always got it when they were close like this, although she hadn’t quite figured out what exactly it meant yet.

She hugged him back. Maybe that could squeeze out a bit more of that feeling… He rested his head on hers when she did so, adding to their closeness.

Xion liked their hugs a lot too. They were tight, but in a way that made her feel secure, not trapped. The warmth of Roxas’s body reminded her that they were still here, together and alive – which was so much more than she could ever have dreamed of.

The tears stopped running soon, and her breathing evened out – the butterflies still fluttered though.

It was only after a while that Roxas spoke up again, not letting go of her as he did so. “Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

Roxas pulled away from the hug. He looked pretty serious. “It’s about what you said earlier,” he warned her. “If you don’t want to be asked about that, then I won’t ask.”

To Xion’s surprise, while the feeling in her stomach from before returned as he mentioned it, it didn’t return with the same intensity as before. If it didn’t get any stronger… There was nothing to lose, right?

“It’s fine, go ahead.”

He still hesitated a bit, Xion could tell, but somehow, that made her heart jump a little bit.

“What makes you think we’re going to die again?”

Blunt as always – even when he was trying to be considerate. Had she not been scared, she would probably be amused by it. In any way, it made responding a little bit easier. “I just thought,” Xion whispered, “we owe our existence to Sora. But now that he doesn’t exist anymore…”

Her voice had gotten even quieter in towards the end, and she didn’t manage to finish the sentence. She just… She couldn’t say those words.

Roxas didn’t respond verbally. Instead, he took her hand and laced their fingers together.

Xion sighed. She just wished that he would say something to keep her thoughts from spiraling into that direction again…

“I actually had the same thought a while ago.”

Oh no. That… That wasn’t a response Xion had wanted to hear. Well, at least she didn’t give him that thought in the first place. That was a small relief. Still… Could that mean that it was true?

She swallowed. “When?”

“At the hospital.”

Right… His panic after Ven’s question. That was what started it all.

Roxas was looking at his hands now – with a guilty expression. “I’m sorry for telling you back then… I didn’t mean to scare you like I obviously did.”

Xion shook her head. “Don’t be sorry, Roxas.” She squeezed his hand a little tighter. “It’s not like it was your fault. This entire experience was pretty scary to be honest. For everyone involved.” But it was over. She sighed – somewhat in relief. “You’re okay now, aren’t you?” She had to make sure.

Roxas grinned. “Aside from the headaches, I’d say I am.”

For the first time since her outburst, Xion managed to crack a tiny smile. Only for a small moment though. “You think you… We will be okay?”

“I think we will. It just doesn’t feel like the end of our story and quite frankly, it doesn’t make any sense… Besides, the last time I thought it was going to end it didn’t.” He wasn’t wrong with that. “But the truth is… I don’t really know for sure. And no matter how much I try to reassure myself that it won’t happen… I’m still scared it will.”

It was such an honest answer – and truthfully, Xion shared his feelings about the entire situation. Thinking about it, it made no sense why either of them should fade away again. And yet… Logic and emotion were two different pairs of shoes.

This was probably the scariest thing about the entire situation: they could make assumptions and draw logical conclusions all they wanted – they would never know for sure what was about to come. It was supposed to be the exciting thing about the adventure that was life, Xion supposed, but in this instance, it scared her, even more than the thought of fading again, and almost as much as the thought of losing Roxas did.

“Hey Xion?”

“Hm?”

He squeezed her hand a little tighter. “Whatever happens… I promise, I’ll be here until the end.”

I promise I’ll be here until the end

#Fanwork #Kingdom Hearts #KH Fanfiction #RokuShi #RokuShi Fanfiction #Roxas #Xion #Post-KH3 #Long Post #Currantlee writing #Currantlee completed #Currantlee completed Story #Currantlee completed KH Fanfic

1 note · View note

ice-cream-beat · 8 years ago

Note

10 RokuNami? :)

One final round of apologies for the lateness with this! :’D;;; for full effect play Roxas’ theme in the background for the first half and Namine’s for the second

#10: Exploring– or simply taking a walk– together.

Summary: He remained as close to Xion and Lea as he ever had, but he still felt as though Naminé understood him better than anybody. It was more of a gut feeling than anything he could really prove or even explain. [Roxas/Naminé, post-KH3.]

Ao3 version here

/ / / / /

“Careful – you got it?”

“Yeah. Thank you.”

“Here. Jump over that last part, okay? I’ve got ya.” Roxas reached down to take Naminé’s other hand, as well, and gave both a gentle tug to help her up over the last tall step. With their combined efforts she cleared it easily, beaming at him in gratitude as she joined him on the crest of the rocky hill. The footing was still tricky up here, so he went slow and kept a hold of one hand as he continued to lead.

“How much farther?” she asked with a laugh.

“Not much.” Even as he answered, the precarious stone under their feet gave way to grass. The ground continued to level out as it led into a thick line of trees, making the going a little easier as they stepped carefully over roots and around hanging vines. It was much cooler in the shade.

The hum of falling water grew closer, deepening to a growl and then a steady roar. Keeping the river on his right, Roxas scanned the trees ahead and– “There!” he announced with a glance back at Naminé. “Right up here.”

She looked curious, but only nodded and continued to follow. A moment later they emerged from the jungle and into the open, and then he heard her gasp softly beside him.

The grass ended suddenly, shifting to the gravel and sand that made up much of the small, open glen. A much thinner branch of the river ran through here, the water a soft and steady murmur compared to the rush of noise from before. And on either side of the shore were perched dozens – probably hundreds of small white birds, round balls of downy fluff that twittered and jumped about and dipped their heads into the cool water. Despite the large number of them, the sound of their tweets was calm and quiet. A few of them fluttered away at the arrival of the two humans, but then after a few wary moments quickly returned to their business.

“It’s beautiful!” Naminé released Roxas’ hand to clasp both of hers over her chest in admiration. “It’s so… serene here.”

“I know how much you like drawing birds,” he told her, “so I thought maybe…”

“That’s why you told me to bring it,” she deduced. He watched as she reached into the bag at her side to pull out her sketchpad. She hugged it to herself and beamed up at him. “That’s so thoughtful, Roxas,” she said fondly. “You’re right, these little guys are so pretty. And this is a great spot, too.” She sat down in the grass exactly where she was, turning her expectant smile up at him until he joined her. She opened the book to a blank page, set it against her knees, and produced a colored pencil from somewhere.

Like the last time he had come here, it didn’t take long for some of the birds to grow curious. A couple of them hopped in his and Naminé’s direction, small heads tilted inquisitively. Her smile grew.

As she sketched a few light, overlapping circles, she asked without looking up, “Do you come here a lot?”

Roxas shook his head. “Huh-uh. I’ve… only been to this world once.” He hadn’t meant to hesitate there. Naminé caught it and glanced at him. “…Sora,” he said after a short pause. He figured that would be enough of an explanation; her warm hum confirmed it.

“Does it happen much?” she wondered, turning back to her book.

“What, the deja vu?”

She nodded.

“…No?” Roxas frowned thoughtfully. “I’m not really sure. Sometimes I know it’s from him. Other times I think I’ve just seen something really similar, so it reminds me of that. It’s easy to get them confused. And then there’s Ventus, too,” he added.

“Ven?”

“Right. I can always tell the difference between his and Sora’s memories, though. But not always between mine and theirs.”

Naminé’s pencil fell still, although her eyes stayed on the paper. “Does it bother you?” she inquired. “Picking up on their memories?”

Roxas held Naminé in a special regard for a few reasons. The way he didn’t have to explain this – the way she just knew and understood – was one of them. He remained as close to Xion and Lea as he ever had, but he still felt as though Naminé understood him better than anybody. It was more of a gut feeling than anything he could really prove or even explain.

He had to think on her question for a moment, surprised to find he couldn’t give an immediate answer. “It… can be frustrating, sometimes,” he admitted. He felt her watching him again. “Having so much inside… not always knowing where it belongs, or where it came from. But…” He looked down at his hands, clenching them slightly. “…At the same time, I think that’s okay. I don’t… need to know everything – not the little things. Not when I already know who I am, and what my memories are.”

Naminé reached over, settling one hand over his. It prompted him to meet her gaze, and he found her smiling brightly but softly. It was an encouraging expression, and even though he wasn’t sure what it was telling him, he found it reassuring all the same.

“And who are you, Roxas?” she asked gently.

This time, he didn’t have to think. His eyes returned to the skyline, an expanse of blue that stretched over and was finally lost behind the distant trees. It was reminiscent of the tranquility of twilight on a hillside; of bright sunshine over the ocean; of deep night above the mountains.

“I am… who I am,” he said firmly. “I’m me.”

Naminé gave his fingers a light squeeze as she nodded. “Mm. We’re all made up of memories. Our own, and those of the people who matter to us. But in your case… I think you’re very lucky, actually.”

“Lucky?” he echoed.

“Yes.” Her smile shrank – not fading as much as turning a little shy. “You’re you – but you also have two wonderful people who are very close to you, who make up a part of who you are so deeply that it’s hard to put into words. Right?” When Roxas nodded slowly, Naminé also looked out at the sky. “I see a little bit of that every time I look at the three of you. Each one of you is his own person… but there are some bonds that can’t be made intentionally, even through friendship. You and Sora and Ven share that kind of connection – and you’ve even become friends on top of that.” She gave a short, quiet laugh. “And those memories you feel… they’re never bad, are they?”

Roxas hesitated, but then quickly realized she was right. “…No. They’re always happy. Always warm.”

“It’s because of your connection. Just like you’d only want to give kind words to the people you care about, those two only want to give you good memories. Even if they’re not aware that they’re doing it.”

The two of them were silent for a long minute as Roxas mulled that over. Naminé didn’t seem to expect any particular response, but she didn’t go back to her drawing, either. She just continued to hold his hand as she gazed out over the riverbed and the birds, a handful of which had grown comfortable enough to linger just out of arm’s reach as they soaked in the sun to dry their feathers.

Lucky. That wasn’t really a word he’d considered before – but now he could see that she was right again. Making it this far, being given a second chance, recovering everything that had ever mattered to him, and more besides, and then being accepted and accepting himself… What greater luck was there?

“What about you?” he wondered, earning a curious glance. “We’re not that different, are we? And besides… you’re in their memories just as much as mine.”

Naminé tilted her head thoughtfully. “How can you tell that?”

“It’s the same warm feeling.” He pressed his hand to his chest unconsciously. “When I’m with you. Except…”

“Except…?” She leaned forward, trying to catch his eye, but Roxas looked away. The explanation had seemed simple in his head, but now he wasn’t sure he wanted to finish it. Not out loud, anyway.

“Nothing,” he said finally. “It’s just… not the same. That’s all.”

She giggled. “You just said it was, Roxas.”

“I mean – it’s the same as their other feelings, but not–” He hadn’t meant to put so much stress on that one word. Unsurprisingly, Naminé caught it.

“…But not yours?” she offered.

Roxas wavered. Talking about emotions had somehow been easier back when he was convinced he didn’t have them. Now he felt awkward, but he wasn’t sure why. “…Yeah,” he admitted, still not looking at her. “Sometimes I can tell how they feel around you. But it’s… different. From how I feel.” Beyond that, he wasn’t sure how explain it. He hoped she wouldn’t press.

She didn’t. She only set her sketchpad aside on the grass and leaned over, resting her shoulder against his. Her weight was warm and comfortable, the same as the feeling he couldn’t describe.

“I’m really glad to hear that, Roxas.” She didn’t elaborate on why, but that was all right. He didn’t feel the need to ask.

After a while of that easy silence, Naminé returned to her sketches, but continued to lean against him as she worked. Roxas watched her trace out each line with meaning, her bright eyes constantly moving between her paper and the birds that had gathered near her feet. Shapes became soft outlines; small, seemingly random curves connected to create feathers.

Roxas suddenly wondered if that was how she saw memory: details to be copied, changed, or even erased. He wondered if she handled them with the same care, attentive and precise and respectful of the source from whence they came. He could picture it easily enough.

The next time she stole a glance at him, she did a double-take. “What is it?”

“What?”

“You’re smiling.” She cocked an eyebrow, but it was still a friendly look – even a pleased one.

“I am?” Oh. So he was. “Uh… I guess… it’s just interesting to watch.”

With a small hum of a laugh, Naminé took his hand and placed it over hers, curling his fingers so that he mirrored her grip on the pencil. “Why don’t you help me? I’ll show you how to shade – really lightly, like this – and you can do the next one.”

“I probably shouldn’t. Your bird’ll end up looking like a dalmatian or something.”

That made her giggle again, which came right back around and made him laugh, too. She slipped her fingers between his, intertwining them until they had to work together to hold the pencil upright. “Don’t worry,” she assured him. “I won’t let go.”

#SELF-CONFIDENT ROXAS IS MY FAVORITE #this also turned out cuter than i originally intended #never a bad thing #spoiler i rly like handholding (◠‿◠✿)#yknow in case it wasn't horribly obvious already #i normally only casually ship these two #but i think this made me ship them more lol #this is probably the shippiest thing i've actually written for kh #that wasn't an au #roxas #namine #kingdom hearts #fanfic #mine #rokunami

23 notes · View notes

mimiplaysgames · 4 years ago

Text

Terra Week Day 2 (Youth/Fashion)

Summary: All Terra wants to do is be calm before the storm. Then Lea plays a joke on him. And Isa talks to him about the past. Life is full of lemons and lemonade. | Word Count: 3,306

Read on AO3

A/N: For Terra Week 2021! You can find that account on Twitter!

~*~*~*~*~

The Tenets of a Master, Ch. 2

Our hearts live free in our Youth Children shine Light with their truth

“Let me tell you something—don’t get offended, okay?”

Terra’s answer is a nervous chuckle.

“Cross your heart,” Lea insists.

“I don’t know what that means.”

It’s a sunny afternoon at the eastern shore of Destiny Islands. Lea props his elbow on their shared beach table, ignoring his empty plate (he’s planning on being last for the barbecue, all for the extra saturation of flavor on the scraps). Terra is enjoying a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, pulp included. Lea narrows his eyes as if scanning Terra’s face, who is slurping another gulp.

“Are you bothered by the way I’m drinking?”

“I’m trying to decide if you’re the type to kick me under the table or punch me in the face.”

“That sounds more like Aqua.”

“She’d really—?”

“If you’re rude. Yeah.”

Lea smirks. “How rude, exactly?”

Terra was going to say that he’s seen her curse twice in the lifetime he’s known her, but something about that embarrasses him. Something about the way Lea studies him, about the way the other Keybearers address him so formally when they’re much more relaxed with each other. It makes him feel targeted. He’s never considered that he was weird until he’s surrounded by other people.

“Why don’t you spit out what you want to say.”

“What’s with the uniform?” Lea asks, pointing vaguely at his chest and arm. “The crossed suspenders, the armor… You could break bones with those fancy shoes.”

“They’re… proper attire for a wielder? This is the crest of Mastery.” Terra points to his belt buckle. “To remind you of your goals. The armor to protect you from Darkness.” He holds his forearm, rubbing the metal like a friend in need of comfort. “The cross is a label, the Mark of Duty, so that anyone in need can find you.”

Lea snorts and immediately pulls out his Gummiphone, typing a quick message with a grin that knows an inside joke. Holding his chin, he opens his mouth as if to say something, then shakes his head and all the words out of it. “Exactly my point.”

“Your point?”

“You three kind of carry yourselves like you have sticks up your asses.”

Terra chokes on his drink. “What?”

Lea puffs out his chest and broadens his shoulders—he’s trying to imitate someone stiff and intimidating, but it doesn’t work. Not with a lanky body like that. “Have you seen the way you walk?” He wiggles his shoulders robotically. “Like there’s a five-foot pole shoved right up the asshole, all the way to the forehead.”

Yeah, that would earn him a kick under the table if Aqua’s the one to hear it. At least, if anything, Lea makes it easy to smile.

“Admit it. You think the armor is cool.” Terra sure did when he forged it for the first time, telling Aqua that his first beta mold was not big enough.

Lea is quick to shut up, choosing his words too carefully. “A jacket would be nice. The peacoat types with the elbow padding.”

“Or a cloak.” Terra chugs the last of his juice.

“Not a bad idea. Would look good with the hair.” Lea points up to Terra’s spiky crown. “You should talk to Isa. He likes to dress nice.” Standing up and crossing to the other side, he shoves Terra in the shoulder. “But seriously. You scare the other kids. We should address that.”

Terra swallows, his juice thick and gooey.

It’s not really their fault, is it?

Maybe Terra is paranoid, but it seems like Roxas is avoiding him. Not that he deserves any blame—Roxas must have lots of stories to tell about Terra’s face. After all, it’s strange for Terra to look at someone with Ven’s face but with all the misplaced expressions. Right now, Roxas is the furthest away from Terra in the group, choosing to stand near the water with hands in his pockets. Riku is next to him, carrying two plates. They’re listening to Ven talk.

Xion keeps to herself, but she also has a hard time looking Terra in the eyes. Terra’s been tempted to ask about her story, how she’s gotten here and whether Terra’s face has hurt her, but he’s afraid to ask. She’s with Kairi and Aqua, sharing fruity drinks with pineapple wedges on the rims.

“I scare them?”

“You are like a robot about to punch anyone who looks at you wrong. You need some sway. You know, like you’re a buddy. A teddy bear. Give me a hug, you know, that kind of vibe?”

Terra’s never thought about it before. Master Eraqus emphasized the pride, the strength, the confidence. Walk it and you shall embody it. To be professional is to be trusted. But times have changed, and Terra needs to catch up. “Will you show me?”

The way Lea walks is the type you see among scheming minions guarding a castle atop grassless mountains (at least from the picture books Terra used to read as a kid). The sort of bravado that promises some and lies even more. Everyone thinks Lea is fun to hang around with, though (and truthfully, he is). He’d know better, and if this helps to melt the ice and make everyone comfortable with Terra, so be it.

“More weight to your step,” Lea says, ending his sentence with a pop and snapping his fingers. He straightens up to imitate Terra’s posture, almost on his toes. “You’re up here, like you’re trying not to shit yourself.”

That sounds easy enough. Terra swings his arms more, bending his knees every time he plants his foot so that he bobs up and down. It earns finger-points, whoops and snickers from the others. Lea brags about what a good job he’s done, signaling to Roxas specifically who shakes his head in disapproval (Ven looks toward the horizon out of embarrassment).

Aqua has a tight smile and pretends to sip when Terra approaches. She leans close and whispers, “What have you been drinking?”

“A crappy sense of humor.”

As much as Aqua wants to fight it, she snorts, and hands him her drink, speaking even lower so no one hears. “I bet ten munny this is better.”

It’s too sweet.

“Lea is so mean. He thinks you’re such an easy target,” Xion says, staring at the sand. That smile though is bingo, an improvement above the rest, so Lea’s done his job. She pulls out her Gummiphone and starts to type. Glancing at Terra, she corrects herself, “Sir.”

There’s no need for Sir but should Terra tell her that to make it more casual or would that be disrespectful to her wishes?

A mock-laugh echoes through the beach when Lea checks his phone and lets everyone know that he still is very proud of himself. Xion sticks her tongue out at him.

“I think it’s good for him, having this much fun,” Kairi says, swirling her straw. “Sometimes Lea can get too serious.”

That doesn’t sound like Lea but Terra notices how engrossed he is in typing on his phone without a smile, totally not engaged in the conversation Roxas is having with Riku. Maybe Terra doesn’t know as much as he thinks he does. Maybe first impressions are fallacies.

Smiles can be painted.

Like Kairi’s, her small grin a mask that doesn’t suit her. Terra would act the same, too, if one of his best friends, his family really, went missing.

“Naminé and the others are on their way,” Kairi says after she checks her phone. “We should go to her.”

“They’re not meeting us here?” Aqua asks.

“The sunset is much nicer on the other side of the island.” There goes Kairi’s painted smile. “But the water is bluer here. Good photo ops no matter where you are.”

“It’s a simple walk over, right?”

“Yes, ma’am. You’ll recognize the spot.”

The island is small, connected by caves and overcrowded with palm trees that hide how far the beach stretches. For some reason there’s a lingering ache somewhere in Terra’s stomach. He’s been at this beach before, but he is skeptical of that, as if the last and only time he was here was some sort of déja vu but he can’t picture what he’s supposed to remember.

Maybe this is coming from Xehanort. That thought alone is both worrisome and exciting.

“You ok?”

Riku lags behind with him as the rest of the group hikes through the sand. Aqua turns her back over and motions to do the same. It makes sense why she’s concerned—Terra is making it look like he’s isolating himself.

“I’m fine, just…” This world is so small. How crazy it is that it was that long ago when Terra sensed how Riku felt the same way. So much truth spoken in this small cluster of sand and water.

Riku knowingly places his hands on his waist. Terra’s living protegé, successor, superior, all humility wrapped in pride with something that looks similar to guilty written on his face.

“I think I need some alone time. Tell Aqua five minutes,” Terra says.

Riku smiles like he’s been there, done that millions of times before. “Will do.” He steps off, giving Aqua a wave of his hand that stops her in her tracks.

When the voices fade and the water laps and crashes, Terra listens for something foreign but familiar. He follows the trail of shoe marks in the sand slowly, stepping stones to a moment he hopes might set off a little spark. Setting aside the vague fear of connecting hearts with someone dead and dangerous, he’s hoping for a lightning bolt, a sudden flash and then boom, he knows Rainfell is safe and sound.

But what he feels is as vacant as the ocean sprawled before him, like he’s stared at it for years. It’s making him anxious, how he wants to walk the surface and see what’s on the other side of the horizon. If the water drops off the edge of a cliff, if he falls all the way down to hell.

And then, nothing. His heart sinks.

But why, though? Being spared from connecting to Xehanort means he gets to keep some sanity—

—but it also means that he’ll never reconnect with Master Eraqus ever again. Death is death, a door that goes one way.

Maybe Terra is a terrible person for being so disappointed.

A buzz in his pocket snaps him back to a reality where the sun is on its way to setting, and just like that, Terra feels lighter.

He’s expecting a text from Aqua or Ven, but what he gets is:

kairi

at waterfall icymi

icymi?

Terra looks around for a sign. Shouts and laughter whisper from somewhere far away, followed by a splash of water.

“Lost?”

Behind him is none other than Isa, put together in a tracksuit so impeccable it’d be a shame to sweat in.

“I’m looking for Iseemee Waterfall.”

“Excuse me?”

“I think that’s where everyone else is.” Terra shows him the screen.

Isa purses his lips as though he has found something amusing. “This island only marches in two directions. We’ll pass by it eventually.” He gestures to invite Terra to accompany him—come to think of it, Isa tends to keep to himself, his visits sparse and quick, usually speaking only when spoken to. “Ventus has offered a game of frisbee with me,” he says like it’s a blessing. “I found it to be very respectable.”

“He’s a good kid.” Terra can’t think of anything else to say except to repay the compliment. “Roxas is pretty cool.”

Isa flashes him a set of wide eyes before giving him a smile that’s equal parts unsettling and clairvoyant. “Roxas has his ways. You understand.”

“Of course.” Terra crosses his arms. The sand here sinks deep. “I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

“Nothing.” Deadpan and matter-of-fact are words Terra would use to describe the way Isa speaks, with a touch of softness that is too vulnerable to let itself be transparent. “Roxas will need some time to adjust to your face.”

Terra sighs.

“You can bribe him with a game.” Isa’s smiles are controlled but sincere, a ghost given life again but not sure how to use it. “He likes to win.”

That seems so simple yet why has Terra never thought of it? “Thanks for the pointers.”

Silence settles with them alongside the seabirds gawking over them, not awkward but not comfortable either, bringing with it a loss for words and a question hanging in the air that doesn’t get asked. They finally arrive at the spot: the same place Terra’s been before, at the same pier with lazy trees that bend near-parallel to the ground and grow star-shaped fruit. Everyone else is already here, Naminé a beaming pillar of light in her white dress, shy and nervous to dip her toes in the water.

Isa takes a seat on a rockface next to the lowest-hanging tree.

“May I admit,” Isa says, his hands splayed on his lap as he watches the ocean turn purple, “it is also strange for me to look upon your face.” There’s no waver to his voice, no hesitation. Isa is brave.

“I don’t blame you.” Seems like a common theme: leave a trail of suffering, and everyone’s going to remember you for it. “Actually, I wanted to ask you something.”

“You may go ahead.”

“I want to help Aqua find her Keyblade.”

Even Isa’s chuckles have restraint and poise. “I wouldn’t know of such a thing.”

“I was the last one to have it.”

“You mean Xehanort.”

“Well…”

“A matter of a different person. I must insist so.”

“You knew him.”

“I did not. You overestimate the time he lived in your body. The majority of those years were under Xemnas’s control.”

“Xemnas.”

“His Nobody. Or rather, yours.”

Terra can’t help it. He has to chuckle. “I appreciate your straightforwardness.”

Isa turns to face him. “Lea tells me you consider the X crossed over your chest as a mark to bear with pride.”

It slaps Terra in the face. Isa has scars jutting across his nose, too deep to be self-inflicted. “Um… yeah.” He clears his throat. “We call it a Mark of Duty.”

Isa does not seem offended, but whether that is out of authenticity or politeness, Terra can’t read him.

“We’ve called it the Recusant’s Sigil,” Isa says slowly, eyes far away. “It bore us new names. Defined us so we refused to submit to our old identities, leaving us free to forge a united purpose.” He mimics the shape of the X with a finger across his chest. Cross my heart. “To the very end. That cross spelled an ending. We were all heretics to the person we once lived.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Terra whispers. The Master wore it proudly to the day of his own demise.

Isa touches his face. “Xemnas marked me deeper than the others.”

“I’m so sorry.” Terra gasps. “I don’t… I don’t have memory of that.”

“Ah.” A painted smile. If Isa hoped for some sort of validation or acknowledgment, Terra has failed spectacularly. “All the same, A Nobody’s path is a means to an end. We were all watched, weeded out for traitors.” Suddenly he does not look like Isa, but someone else with Isa’s face. “How Xemnas lacked the scope to understand us.”

“What do you mean?”

“We were perhaps experiments doomed to fail. The piece of Xehanort’s heart installed into us was supposed to swallow us whole. But the foundation of this concept was flawed. We kept memories of our human selves. That was supposed to make us superior to lesser Nobodies, but it was also our weak link. The goal was to keep us numb to them, so when we inevitably remembered, we’d have little care and wouldn’t dare stray from our duties.

“For me, the more I remembered the images, the more I remembered what I had sought out to do in my life.” Isa nods to himself. “Being a Nobody was supposed to give me strength to follow through, but it felt like shrinking. Until there came a point where I grew back. By then, I couldn’t fit myself anymore.”

“What were you trying to do before you became a Nobody?”

Isa passes him that knowing smile, a secret. “Finding a proper ending to my own story.” He exhales, content. “Do you have any memory from being Xemnas at all?”

“None.”

“What about from Xehanort?”

“No.”

Isa frowns. “Nothing in these past twelve years? Where were you?”

Thickness clogs Terra’s throat like a cork, painful to take down. He shrunk for twelve years, too, shoved into a corner of a room with no walls, black on black on black, as if light never existed. He’d move as if he had arms when he had none, flail and try to wake himself up when he had none. He wasn’t anyone or anything but a name.

He shouldn’t have lived for twelve years. But he did. He lived when he knew Eraqus was near, never seen except once (a bushy smile hidden under the mustache), never heard, never touched. When Terra tried to speak, tried to listen, tried to move and ask for help, he couldn’t. He just knew Eraqus was there to give him hope that the nightmare would stop. Thus he lived.

The part with Eraqus, Terra keeps to himself.

“I was Nowhere.”

“I can’t begin to comprehend what that is supposed to be like.”

“A loop,” Terra briskly answers, leaning onto the palm tree and breathing in the parched aroma of bark. The air is crisp with salt and it’s fanning out the heat of the sun from earlier that day. There is laughter and the relaxing crunch of waves and a humid layer on his skin—everything he couldn’t get in Nowhere. “I played the same memory of my nineteenth birthday for one hundred times. I don’t know why I chose that memory so much, I guess I thought that was as good as it was going to get. The same conversations, the same jokes, over and over again. I made sure to get everyone’s voices right so I wouldn’t forget.

“But after the fiftieth time, I’d beg Aqua to say something different, but she never did. I’d try to ask Ven a new question but it never escaped my mouth. I could only act the part I was supposed to. Over and over again. When I was tired of it, I went back to Nowhere and waited.

“I only kept going because… I think I wanted to live. On a loop. I wanted to, then I didn’t. Then I did.

“You never know what kind of thoughts will hit you when you think you’ve decided to let go. At random times, it—” He sounds like a stranger to himself. “I convinced myself that this will never end. That I’ll be punished forever. I needed to burn out once and for all.

“And when I’d get to that point, I’d realize some things. I’d realize that I never made things right with my friends, so I told myself that I had to get through this, and get myself out.

“Then I remember I’ll never be free. I’m so tired. But I’ve never had my first kiss, so I have to get out of this if I’m ever going to experience it.

“Then you decide to play your most humiliating memory to find out exactly what you did wrong, when you’ve made your best friend cry. It makes you want to forget everything and rest. But—and this is going to sound weird—I’ve never ordered food at a restaurant before. So, if I ever will, I must get out of this.”

#kh terra #terra #kingdom hearts fanfiction #kh fanfic #lea #isa #okay so I don't think my first chapter is a strong intro but i get better #my fic

15 notes · View notes

mimiplaysgames · 4 years ago

Text

Terra Week Day 6 (Free Day)

Summary: Sometimes, a ghost is a wish. | Word Count: 3,218

Read on AO3

A/N: For Terra Week 2021! You can find that account on Twitter!

~*~*~*~*~

The Tenets of a Master, Ch. 6

The Master’s bedroom is exactly as he left it many years ago. Bed made, dresser (now) dusty, curtains parted to let the sunlight in, walk-in closet neatly organized with not a single article of clothing in his hamper, as the Master was a fan of washing clothes every single day. Terra never found out why.

Terra has rummaged through this drawer three times already and still he can’t find them. He’s looking for a stack of sepia-toned pictures, cradled in a small envelope, the ones on the top dated many years ago when the Master was a student, while the ones at the bottom chronicle some of his adult life when Terra and Aqua were children. He’s tried searching every drawer, every box, every cupboard, and has even looked under the mattress and in the pillow cases. He couldn’t have misremembered them, could he?

One of the things he’s surprised to find instead is a small, delicately furnished wooden box with a latch. Full of cigars. The Master never smoked, but maybe he liked to smell like them. Though Terra would never personally choose to keep a set in his dresser, smudging all his clothes.

Sighing, Terra stands by the bed, taking another gander around the room to see if there’s a spot he could have missed. Maybe behind the mirror? No, not there. He slips his hands into his pockets, and finds something else. Folded over in four, the paper is crumpled, living in his pocket for the better part of a week. Naminé’s drawing of Xemnas is messier, the strokes of crayon meshed into each other that he’s less of a childish, crude figure and more of a smear. That ring of fire surrounding him stays closed.

Terra grunts.

Here comes another headache, a tense pulse above his brow. Massaging it never helps. Suddenly, Terra is not in his Master’s old bedroom anymore. Suddenly, he’s standing high on a cliff overlooking a wasteland, talking to someone in a black cloak with the hood up.

Now he’s back in the bedroom, the sun cutting shapes through the lace curtains with the breeze passing by. In a few minutes, the headache will go away. This is how it goes every single time.

Yes, it’s been a week since they left Radiant Garden. Only Ienzo uses the Gummiphone for contact, leaving long messages that take Terra too much time to reply back to. The rest of the team would prefer correspondence through letters, which is something Terra would rather do as well. He just hasn’t done so yet, focusing his attention on cleaning the castle as they start a new life without their old Master. Once that’s done, he promises himself to do so.

It’s a shame, he knows he should make more of an effort (and promises that he would once he takes care of the Master). Xion sometimes texts him with pictures, some of them with Roxas, who still hasn’t made an effort to talk to him even though they played a good race at the beach (Terra didn’t even need to let him win—that kid is fast). That’s okay. Xion has offered to set Terra up with what she calls a Kingstagram account, and Terra supposes that’s okay, too. He just doesn’t know what that is or if it’s worth his time.

In the end, he is still really bad at connecting with others, and he’s still out of pictures, and he still doesn’t know what to do with the Xemnas drawing. Any moment now, Aqua will come looking for him. They’re finally preparing for his memorial, to say goodbye to his Keyblade—

—And Terra has to say goodbye forever without ever seeing him again. What’s the point of staying linked to these memories if they do nothing for him?

Why does looking at this drawing of Xemnas the only thing that gives him reminders?

Grunting, Terra rubs his face. Maybe it’s as good a time as any to text somebody now, distract himself so he calms down and do some good so he’s not completely isolated. He waits for his Gummiphone to turn on to the initial screen, the whirring of the machine the only noise accompanying him. How did Ven do this again? He clicks on his address book. Now he has to remember how to open a text and take a picture, particularly of the Xemnas drawing.

terra

did he ever call you an also-ran

Send.

Terra doesn’t expect Lea to answer right away. He probably will read the text, probably take the time he needs to register how he feels before painting his usual bright smile that he uses to play everyone. Maybe Terra has him all wrong. Maybe this is really offensive, and Lea would actually be upset. It’s not his intention.

The Gummiphone buzzes several times.

lea

see

i told isa the other day

the first time i saw you i thought you looked like an asshole

Terra snorts to himself quietly.

terra

is that your favorite word

lea

So it’s all good. Terra breathes a sigh of relief, a smirk that’s warm on his cheeks. He doesn’t know if texting people randomly is the right way to go about doing this whole make-new-friends thing. It’s not as easy as walking up to somebody and saying hello anymore, but starting a new life doesn’t have a manual.

As though the chains he linked through Xemnas harbor resentment, he’s hit with another spasm of pain, drilling onto the side of his skull. Stars, they get intense sometimes, some of them downright gorey. He will not think about it. He will push it away. The pain subsides but only a bit, throbbing instead.

It can’t end like this. He’s avoided going back to Naminé ever since just to keep trying and see Eraqus, one more time. One more. It’s not much to ask for, so why can’t the stars be more forgiving? He swears to them he’ll never ask for something again.

Terra groans, pain hammering over his brow. What’s coming this time is going to knock him around, so he lowers himself to his knees. Several people dressed in extravagant embroidery, from some other world, being swallowed up by darkness, their hearts floating up to the sky and a small cry of Mister, is my mommy coming back?

When it’s over, Terra sobs, keeping a heave from rupturing his chest and wiping dry tears. If Aqua comes in and sees him like this, she’ll freak—she’s already brewed so many potions and teas for him whenever he has an episode.

He tries for the closet again. The Master kept his most expensive robes wrapped in plastic, preserving a faded scent of cedar. Terra takes the fabric, smooth as silk, and breathes into it. It’s weaker than last time. He could always spray it with the Master’s leftover cologne (his favorite), but it still wouldn’t smell exactly like him, and as Terra waits seconds for another memory to come, he realizes as soon as it hurts that it wouldn’t bother with giving him what he’s looking for. All he asks for is the sound of the Master’s voice, to see that smile move one more time so he makes sure he sears it into his mind for the rest of his life.

Instead, a strong voice (Xehanort’s) talks about the Darkness making way for the Light, just like the expansive sky that is home to the stars. It was necessary to pursue it, he had said to someone.

A single tear treads all the way to Terra’s jawline. He’s tried his best. No photos, no special memory. It’s like the Master doesn’t linger here anymore.

Defeated, Terra pulls his Gummiphone out, searching for Naminé’s entry. He won’t commit to an appointment. He’s only asking questions, wondering if there are better ways to maneuver through the memories so he gets what he wants. She doesn’t answer right away.

He pulls himself up at the foot of the bed, aching like an older man even though he looks twenty in the mirrors. What lies.

Where else to find mementos? Terra has already looked through the Master’s study and his favorite spots in the library. The only place left is the attic.

The attic sits atop the northeast tower. Terra is in the residential wing, in the southeast tower, so he has to travel several paces downstairs to make it over, just to climb all the way back up. Entirely built of wood, the attic has one stained-glass window that slices pastels through the floorboards. A lot of junk gets dumped up here—old knight statues from a Master that lived eight-hundred years ago or so, faded paintings that have names but aren’t recognizable anymore, couches that are stained and out of style, chests of outdated books and maps, and trinkets and gifts that litter everywhere else. Even Aqua can’t bear to let any of this go despite that none of it truly belongs to anybody. To her, it’s like rejecting their history. The Master probably had felt the same.

Before what happened, Master Eraqus was moving items up here, mostly stacks of papers. They were shoved in a leather binder, tied together with string. It’s a long shot the photos will be with them, but regardless, Terra begins the hunt.

It’s not in the chest of crystals. Not by the old (creepy) dollhouse. Not with any of the broken phonograms, nor with the folded rugs that stack from floor to ceiling.

But it’s right there, sitting neatly by a basket full of gold artifacts from worlds Terra has never been to and engraved in languages he doesn’t know, tied with a red string and stitched in handmade leather. When Terra pulls it open, he’s greeted by a handful of letters written to Eraqus about trouble in other worlds, asking for his help, and a stack of essays about the philosophy of the Keyblade, both in the common-tongue and the ancient.

It’s nothing like reliving memories or watching them like footage, but Terra imagines the Master working late into the night on his desk with a quill, writing these essays slowly so he keeps his impeccable script. He’d read books with a glass of wine every night, and keep at it in the morning with a mug of coffee, hair unbrushed as usual but that’s fine when he keeps it in a short ponytail every day. He’d disappear every week to some other world, leaving Terra and Aqua with a nanny until they were old enough to take care of themselves. Considering what these people are writing about—missing circus animals, their neighborhood mountain being possessed, and even an early report of Unversed showing up in the woods—the Master used to be a busy man.

Why did he have to die that day? Why can’t Terra keep the things that are supposed to come with home?

Terra sniffs. The smell of cedar comes up, as though the cologne was sprayed up here recently. Kicked up with a cloud of dust, as though the Master is here.

I am… well, for a short time at least.

Terra whips over his shoulder to find the Master behind him, a glow beaming through him as he checks the rust spreading on one of the oldest sets of armor. Picking up dust, Master Eraqus rubs it between his fingers.

This sorely needs urgent attention. I recommend some solvent and a spot of oil, he says, smiling at Terra as if it’s any other morning and breakfast will be announced soon. So many histories live here.

“Master?” Terra drops the papers.

Eraqus tsks his disapproval and like muscle memory, Terra immediately gathers the papers together, working on automatic mode, tucking them under his arm as if this is class and he has to be on his best behavior. When the Master approaches, he makes no noise: no thuds to his steps, no wind whooshed by his robe, gliding gracefully across the floor. Terra bows... though he cannot fight the urge to stare up. Terra has forgotten about the scar; it was on the Master’s face, every single day, but he’s never heard the story behind it. An elephant accident. A run-in with pirates. Those were the contradicting explanations he’s heard every time he asks.

The Master looks down, motioning with his hand to stand up. Look at you. Almost as tall as I am.

“You’re here.”

The Master smiles. This is the happiest Terra remembers him being; he must not feel his chronic back pains anymore. You have spent your whole week following me. He gives Terra a mischievous knowing in his eyes. I suppose it would be rude of me not to return the gesture.

“I’m sorry,” Terra gasps, mouth gaped open for all the words he prepared, but now that the moment is passing by, he doesn’t know what to say anymore. He reaches out with a hand but stops himself, scared of what it would feel like to to pass right through the image. “I missed you.”

And I have missed you all so much, Eraqus says with contentment.

“I wish it never happened,” Terra chokes. “Sometimes, I wish I could find some way—”

Shhh. The Master shakes his head lovingly. Don’t. No longer shall you venture down the path of grief. You have already experienced first-hand what such curiosities could lead to. And you already know you don’t need to.

“I know,” Terra whispers. “I know.”

When the Master smiles this time, he sighs and closes his eyes like he’s feeling the sun. I have reunited with so many of my old friends since. Such a peaceful existence. He opens them. Your friendships are something to cherish for as long as they can physically walk by your side, Terra. But who am I to lecture? You have always. Friends to love, who want to care for you. I am so proud.

So proud…

Tears, quiet and happy, fall like drops of spring, Terra hearing what he always yearned to hear since he was six years old, a comforting embrace that wants to tell him he can breathe again without feeling guilty.

But he still does. Every living breath is guilty by association.

“She’s so happy now,” Terra whispers as if to justify his actions, remembering Aqua sparring for the first time with Rainfell in years, hesitant at first, unsure of how it’s going to react with spells, but it comes fast. It comes like drinking water, natural and needed. “I don’t regret anything.”

Which was why you were the perfect candidate when I had asked you to look after them. He smirks. I couldn’t have trusted anyone better for the responsibility.

Terra swallows, searching for the courage not to ask, believing he shouldn’t. He’s weak. “I am?”

The smile falls. You are not weak.

You are willing to bare it all for your friends. Your bonds with Aqua and Ven are unbreakable, a magical, special, living Light to behold. A forge stronger than chains, weightless and free. I am sorry for seeding so much doubt within you, when you have so much to offer. If only I wasn’t—it was my duty to do better. That is my shame. He shakes his head at himself. But you’ve been so dedicated to the past, Terra, he says, concerned but not disappointed. Too much so. I worry.

Terra grimaces. “Ha, I never have any explanations for the dumb mistakes I make when I need to.”

You’ll find little answers in what lies behind you. The Master leans forward, pulling a small smile as he studies Terra’s eyes. But you are more than capable. Please do me the favor. Trace the past no longer. You have your bonds to nourish, and more to flower. Then he smiles more, an epiphany in his eyes like he wants to share a secret. Only in death did I realize what true Mastery really is. The living can be so foolish.

“You weren’t a fool, Master.”

Master… A Master is a forever student. To deny this is to be blind to your faults. Eraqus laughs, his eyes rolling. What would I have said to my younger self. You don’t see that one in the books.

“I don’t know, I… I think what I did for Aqua trumps any dream I had in becoming Master.”

Eraqus’s eyes glisten. Do you not see one when you look at yourself in the mirror?

Terra bows his head, squeezing his eyes shut.

He feels a hand on his shoulder, warm and real. Terra could hug him. But he doesn’t, not when Eraqus slips something flat in his hand.

Do take care of them. He holds Terra’s jaw. Chin up, son.

Footsteps climb up the stairs leading into the attic, and Terra is alone with a smooth piece of paper in one hand, the other wiping tears from his cheeks.

“Terra? You okay? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Aqua is carrying a finished wreath with purple flowers. She stops when she gasps, looking around the attic. “That smells like the Master’s cologne,” she whispers.

When Terra smiles, he cries more. “Look at this.”

A sepia-toned picture of Eraqus as a young boy, sitting on a window seat with a chess board laid out in front of him, all teeth from ear to ear, sincere and hopeful. He looks at the camera like it’s his best friend.

Aqua’s eyes light up as she takes it, a tear for each eye. “Look at him. It’s so strange, but he was adorable.”

“Have you ever seen that one?”

“Never. It wasn’t with the others.”

“The others?”

She strokes the photo with her thumb. “Hm. I moved them into my room. I wanted to frame them.” She holds it to her chest. “Can I take this one?”

“For your room?”

“I’ve got one ready for yours. It’s that nice portrait that used to embarrass him.”

The one where he looked serious enough to judge someone to death. The Master had called it unsightly when it was presented to him.

“That one’s perfect.”

Aqua exhales deeply, shivering as tries to keep herself tall. “I’m so sad he’s gone, and... I don’t know. Sometimes I wish I had given him a Wayfinder. He feels so far away.”

He holds her chin softly, keeping it up as her heavy tears fall. “We could give him ours.”

She stops sobbing and stares through Terra when the realization hits her. She nods. “That’s a wonderful idea,” she says, nuzzling the wreath closer to her, her own little hug for the Master.

Terra’s Gummiphone buzzes in his pocket. That has to be Naminé.

“The wreath is beautiful,” he tells Aqua, and that grounds her back to reality. “You’ve done a marvelous job.”

“Thank you.” She strokes some of the leaves to keep them in place. “I’ll see you back at the front door?”

“Definitely.”

He’ll let her go downstairs first, pulling out the Gummiphone to read his new text. He’s going to tell Naminé that he’s changed his mind. He’s ready for an appointment.

#kh terra #terra #kingdom hearts fanfiction #kh fanfic #AHHHHHHHHHHHH #this one is def not as good #so is the last one #i just ran out of time i'm sorry #my fic

9 notes · View notes