Soft eyes and an enigmatic smile. More shadow than light, looking as if she might fade away at any moment, hard at work as she sketched how she saw the world. Riku knew his priority was supposed to be saving Aqua, but ever since he'd run into the other Riku in the Realm of Darkness, his thoughts kept wandering to Naminé.

He rolled over and sighed. Radiant Garden was looking better and better the more of it was rebuilt, but even though he and Mickey were staying at a cozy inn with comfortable beds, tonight was proving to be another sleepless night.

"You're thinking about her again, aren't you?"

Hovering beside him was the other Riku. They'd started having more and more chats like this, and Riku couldn't say he really minded. It was nice getting perspective from someone who understood him so well and yet wasn't him.

"I guess I am," he said. "What Ienzo told us about the Replica project's been on my mind."

If there was a way to bring Naminé back, he wanted to. The time they'd spent together hadn't exactly been surrounded by happy memories, and yet thinking about her brought a smile to his face.

"I understand," the other Riku said. "My feelings for her might be fake—"

Riku raised an eyebrow. "They seem real enough to me."

"I guess you're right. But yours are real, too. And that means you can help her."

"I'll try," Riku said at last, "but I can't make any promises. Saving Aqua comes first."

He had a duty to fulfill. He and Mickey had to get Aqua out of the Realm of Darkness as soon as possible.

"But then?"

"I'll do whatever I can to save her. I promise."

The other Riku looked content to hear this. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "And that's all I can ask from you. For you and me both."

Riku thought about the other Riku's words as he tossed and turned. Would it be possible to bring Naminé back? If so… then yes, he did want to bring her back.

His thoughts wandered back to those months they'd spent together working to save Sora. If only he'd known what he had before he lost it. But that was how life worked, wasn't it? Didn't know what you had till it was gone. He'd been so fixated on helping Sora, and so had she, that neither of them realized what could've been till it couldn't be anymore.

Naminé's days were spent in slumber, and it was only at night, while Kairi dreamed, that they could speak. As far as Naminé knew, Kairi didn't remember their little chats – not much of them, anyway – but they were nice all the same.

The two of them met in a vision of the white room back at the Old Mansion, Naminé's drawings hung all over the walls as they sat at opposite ends of the table. She listened intently as Kairi talked about all the things she'd been learning lately, the magic spells and defense moves and special attacks. Imagined she was doing those things beside Kairi instead of watching from within a dream.

Kairi paused, her brow furrowed. "What's wrong? I get the feeling something's troubling you."

"Oh… it's just that…"

She hesitated. Should she really tell Kairi what was on her heart? Would that make anything better, or would it just make Kairi sad?

"You can tell me," Kairi said gently. "I'm your friend."

Naminé spent a few more agonizing seconds deciding what to do, then finally spoke again. "Hearing you talk, I wish I could experience all those things with you. It's selfish, I know, but—"

Kairi shook her head. "It's not selfish at all. It's human. Of course you want to experience these things for yourself. When I lost my body and was inside Sora's heart, I enjoyed seeing all the things he did. But it wasn't the same as getting to see them for myself."

"I understand."

Kairi smiled sadly. "Anything else on your mind?"

"Well… there is someone I want to see again…"

"You will. I promise."

How Kairi knew who it was, Naminé wasn't sure. But the knowing twinkle in her eyes lifted her spirits a little. She might be unable to live her own life, but at least she still had Kairi.

"Well, enough about what I've been up to. Anything on your mind?" Sora asked as Riku chatted with him via Gummiphone. His friend was chilling in the Gummi Ship while Donald and Goofy were shopping for supplies and Mickey was grabbing breakfast.

"Well, actually… yeah," Riku replied.

Sora's eyebrows furrowed. "What is it? You worried about rescuing Aqua? I know you'll be able to pull it off. You rescued me, after all."

"Right. I just… there's something else I…" Riku sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was going to regret saying this, he just knew he would. All those years spent teasing Sora were about to come back and bite him in the ass.

"You miss somebody, don't you?" Sora said sagely.

"How'd you know?"

"Gimme some credit here. I am your best friend. I have a pretty good read on how you're feeling."

"And who do you think it is I'm missing, oh wise one?" Riku teased. If Sora was gonna give him a hard time, he'd dish it right back.

"Hmmm, let's see. Can't be Kairi, 'cause you just saw her. Can't be me, 'cause we're talking right now. Selphie drives you up the wall, and Tidus and Wakka haven't really talked to either of us much lately. So we're all out."

"What, are you a super sleuth now?"

"It must be someone you can't talk to right now. Boy do I know how that feels," Sora said with a sigh. "I'm gonna guess… Naminé?"

Riku didn't say anything, and a smirk spread across Sora's face. "I knew it! You do miss her, don't you?"

"I didn't realize I would until she was gone."

"Riku, you've always been kinda dense when it comes to your own heart," Sora said with a shake of his head, but the words were affectionate. "This doesn't surprise me at all. I can see why you like her."

Riku bristled. "I'm dense when it comes to my own heart? Sheesh, talk about the pot calling the kettle black."

"Maybe, but I've gotten pretty good at picking up on what other people are feeling. You wanna see her again, don't you?"

"I guess. But I don't see how that's possible."

There were a lot of big ifs to her getting a body of her own. And even if they did save her, would she even want to talk to him?

"C'mon, Riku, have some faith! I swore to Roxas I'd get him back somehow. I'm sure Kairi feels the same way about Naminé. And you said it yourself. Ienzo and the others wanna find a way to give them bodies. With all these people working together, I'm sure we'll find a way to save them."

"You're right. I should have some faith. Comes with following my heart, doesn't it?"

Sora grinned. "Yup! That's the spirit."

As they wrapped up their conversation and Sora said goodbye, Riku couldn't help but sigh. He sure wanted to hope, but hope was dangerous. Hope easily led to disappointment.

But what was the alternative? Living without any hope? That was even worse. So maybe he'd give this whole faith thing a try. He would see Naminé again, and when he did, maybe he'd finally tell her how he felt.

Ever since her birth, Naminé had teetered on the edge of existence. Was this new form really so different? This star full of empty hopes and wishes and regrets, barely hanging onto life in the Final World with nothing but blue sky and white clouds surrounding her for miles on end?

What was it that kept her here? Why hadn't she passed on to whatever lay beyond this realm? Was it because Kairi still stubbornly clung to life and kept her here? Or was it her own regrets?

She did have a lot of regrets. But after lingering inside Kairi's heart for a while, she'd finally identified her biggest regret of all. And now, all alone in this lonely place with nothing but her regrets left, it ate away at her.

No one really missed her. Roxas was the one they missed. They'd all be fine without her. And the person she missed the most, the person she wanted to see the most, didn't seem to care at all.

Then Sora came along, tethered to the Realm of Light and retaining his form while Naminé did not. Of course. Someone cared enough about him to do that. Just another reminder that Naminé was alone.

But as he talked to her, he reassured her that everyone did miss her. He missed her, Kairi missed her, Donald and Goofy missed her, Roxas missed her… and most puzzling of all, someone else special wouldn't let her down.

His words stuck with her after he'd left, remained in her heart after he found their friends again and returned to the Realm of Light and Naminé to Kairi's heart.

Could he possibly mean…

But hoping was dangerous. And yet, she couldn't help but hope. Hoping was a part of having a heart, after all.

Riku watched, dumbfounded, as the other Riku gave up his chance at life for Naminé's sake. Gave up his chance to be with her for Riku's sake. With a few final words, he faded into a swirl of light and darkness, leaving nothing behind but the Replica body for Naminé as the wind whistled through this dry, empty place.

If that wasn't love, Riku didn't know what was. He would honor the other Riku's sacrifice and bring back Naminé, whatever it might take. He wanted to see her again. He wanted to tell her what the other Riku had sacrificed for her. And… he wanted to tell her how he felt. She deserved to hear it, after he'd been so clueless about his own heart.

But first, they had a war to win.

The cruel irony of Kairi's existence was that she could keep other people from dying and yet couldn't save herself. Naminé screamed as she felt Xehanort's blade strike Kairi's back, wrenching her out of her safe home and sending her hurtling towards death. Kairi's heart was likewise torn from her body right before it turned to crystal and exploded.

The two girls were flying through the Final World towards whatever lay beyond, and Naminé latched onto Kairi's hand. At least if they were going to die, they'd do it together.

"Naminé," Kairi said, her face twisted in sorrow, "I'm so sorry, I couldn't keep you safe—"

"It's not your fault," Naminé replied, trying to reassure her.

"It's too late for me, but not for you. I know the others can take it from here. I'm sorry I won't be able to welcome you home myself. I really did want to be there for you. But at least this way I'll be able to keep my promise to you."

"No, Kairi, what are you saying—"

With the last of her strength, with the last of her light, Kairi anchored Naminé to the Final World. Her see-through hand was starting to slip out of Naminé's grasp, but Naminé wasn't about to let go so easily.

"Kairi no, please, you have to save yourself—"

"No! You deserve to live! You deserve to be your own person. Just because my time is over doesn't mean yours has to be!" She smiled sadly as Naminé's hand slipped out of her grasp. "Promise me you'll live. Be there for Sora and Riku because I can't anymore."

"I promise," Naminé choked out, her lower lip quivering. Kairi's smile got bigger, and then she was wrenched away.

Naminé couldn't really cry without a body, even though she wished she could. She couldn't do much to help Kairi right now, either. All their friends were back where they belonged. All except her and Kairi. It would be easy to give into despair and just fade away.

But she'd made a promise to Kairi, and she intended to keep it. And when Sora found her again, she knew exactly what to do.

The battle was over. The long night had ended. It was morning, and Riku hovered somewhere between relief, exhaustion, and grief. Sora and Kairi were both gone, and while Riku had faith Sora would find her again and bring her home, he still missed them both. The memory of Kairi's body floating helplessly as Xehanort struck her and Sora's scream of agony that followed soon afterwards would haunt him for a long, long time. He'd failed them both when he'd wanted nothing more than to protect them both. And nothing except for seeing their smiles again, hearing their laughter again, would mend the wound of their loss.

But he couldn't rest yet. Couldn't grieve yet. He had one last task to complete. Mickey had come with him for it, and they trudged wordlessly through the maze that had been a battlefield before.

There. Up ahead. An empty body wrapped in a black coat. He gently lifted it into his arms and cradled it as Mickey brushed dust off the coat. This was going to be Naminé's new body, after all, and it deserved the utmost care.

Naminé's eyes blinked open. Standing before her were Zexion, DiZ, and Vexen. Smiles spread across their faces as she sat up and tested her new limbs. This wasn't exactly the welcome committee she'd been expecting, but she was grateful they were trying to make up for their past treatment of her all the same.

"It worked!" Vexen exclaimed, his green eyes shining.

"Welcome back to the Realm of Light, Naminé," Zexion said as she slipped off the gurney and stood.

"Come, there is something you must see," DiZ told her in his deep booming voice. She followed along, exiting the bowels of the castle on her own two feet. She could walk. She could really walk on her own again.

Xaldin and Lexaeus were at the entrance of the castle to greet her, and she shielded her eyes from the bright light of the sun. How good its warm rays felt shining down on her again, and how lovely the breeze felt blowing through her hair.

And it was blowing because the Gummi Ship was landing. Flower petals flew through the air as it made its careful descent to the ground. And after it had landed, her face lit up as the person she had wanted to see more than anything came out to greet her, like a knight coming to sweep her off her feet.

He offered his hand, and she smiled and took it. She'd imagined their reunion over and over again, but nothing compared to the actual thing. His hand was warm and his grip was strong, and his voice was the most wonderful sound in the world. And best of all, his eyes weren't hidden or the wrong color; no, they were their beautiful natural green.

"Welcome home, Naminé."

"It's good to be back, Riku."

"Come on in. They're all waiting to see you."

As she entered the Gummi Ship and saw the smiling faces of their friends as they all greeted her, giving her hugs and exchanging tearful happy words, it really sank in. She wasn't alone. She hadn't been for a very long time. And now Riku was here with her. He'd come for her, just like Sora had said he would.

"Ready to head to Sora and Kairi's welcome home party?" Riku asked as she took one of the seats next to him.

"Yes," Naminé said as she smoothed her skirt. "Thank you for coming to get me. Your timing was perfect."

Riku shot her a grin, and she smiled back.

"Anytime. Thanks for waiting for me, Naminé."

A/N: I figured Sora knew about Riku's feelings for Naminé somehow, otherwise he wouldn't have promised Naminé someone special wouldn't let her down, so I went into writing this part with that in mind. The rest was what I imagined could've happened behind the scenes during KH3.

I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!