game; Kingdom Hearts II
pairing; Roxas/Kairi

warnings; none, I think

disclaimer; I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters used.

&&&

He watches her as she sits and huffs and waits for her prince charming, her knight in shining armor, and it's actually kind of heartbreaking.

Correction; would be kind of heartbreaking, that is, if he had a heart.

She's kind of pretty, Roxas assumes. It's not like he's used to that kind of stuff - it's not like he has actually been interested enough in anybody to admire their beauty, but this girl - well, maybe it's nothing, but - he's sure that there's more to her than what meets the eye.

Strands of copper-colored hair brushes her shoulders and her eyes are dark-blue and deep; just like the sea displaying in front of her on that goddamn beach where she waits, day in and day out.

Roxas shouldn't really be doing this. Should never have allowed himself to get so engrossed with this girl - for God's sake, he doesn't even know her name. But there's just something about her, hiding behind the way she arches her back or impatiently twirls a lock of hair around her finger.

It's just a mission, no different from the others that he's been on previously. It's just business; kill a heartless or two, get some important information or threaten somebody, all for the sake of the Organization, naturally. Sometimes he gets into fights, but it's never above what he can handle.

Still, when he had been handed the report that told him he had to go to some world named Destiny Islands - "Sounds kind of picturesque, no?" Axel had said with a laugh - he never realized just what he'd be getting himself into.

Roxas wouldn't call it an obsession - and yet, he knows everything about her, merely by observing her - how she is undeniably restless, constantly trying to find things to do; be it making bracelets out of shells or singing softly to herself or counting sand grains. How she doesn't really say much; not one for wasting words, as Axel had described Roxas not too long ago.

She always declines when her friends ask her to go with them. She always ignores her parents when they scold at her and insist that she does her homework. She doesn't really do anything other than wait for him - for that special person.

Roxas already hates the guy.

He finished his mission days ago - it was just some stuff he needed to bring back to Xemnas, no big deal - but for some reason, he still visits this world; he just can't let go. You'd think it would be easy to just walk right up to her and start a conversation.

Roxas thinks so too, and yet he doesn't do it. Because, he's content with just watching, really. He doesn't want to shatter that perfect image; the breathtakingly beautiful picture, painted in the prettiest colors ever seen. So he waits.

And so does she.

Seven months go by like in a flash and Axel still frowns and rolls his eyes whenever he catches his friend creating dark passages so that he can visit Destiny Islands. It's always the same thing - "Aw, come on, Rox! You can't be serious.. forget about her already!" - and Roxas is used to it, really, but it still stings a little (as much as it can sting when you don't have actual feelings) everytime Axel points out how impossible the whole situation is.

Roxas knows that Naminé is watching him when she thinks that he doesn't notice, her bright blue eyes studying his every move and seemingly trying to get some kind of message across merely by looking. She bites her lip and holds her tongue and hopes with all of her vanished heart that he'll see her for what she really is - see her for what she really feels - but it's hopeless, she realizes.

His mind is always somewhere else.

Roxas spends his days beneath an impossibly blue sky, the heat licking his skin.

He's heard her talk about him; about the boy - she never mentions a name, though - when the bubbly brunet that seems to be her best friend asks her about it.

She just smiles this nostalgic smile that's kind of there-but-not-there, and murmurs words that are like beautiful music; piano, Roxas decides, her voice could easily compare to the most glorious piano sonatas.

She speaks of promises and lingering presences, she speaks of dreams and lucky charms and heroes defending the damsels. She tells her friend about the feelings keeping her awake at night, something making her skin itch, something she's forgotten - she says it with such confidence.

Roxas sits nearby, hidden by the shadows curling around his body and the emptiness in her tone sends a pang straight to his non-existent heart.

A year has already passed since he first laid eyes upon her and she's still as beautiful now as she was then. Her hair is longer and her body taller, her eyes a little duller and her skin a little paler.

Nonetheless, she's enthralling and captivating and everything she's not supposed to be - everything Roxas isn't supposed to see her as because he's just nobody, right?

Despite her trying to hide it, Roxas is unable to miss her slim fingers twitching and tears like shining pearls slipping from the corners of her eyes. She's just so broken, just so tired of waiting and waiting and not even knowing if she'll ever be able to get the happy ever after she's been praying for. Not even knowing if her beloved prince is alive or dead, if he remembers her or even intends to come back at all.

Her sorrow sinks like a heavy weight in Roxas' chest, and it hurts him a hundred times worse than he thought was possible.

A voice, soft and melodic but still oh-so-loud in contrast to the silence constantly surrounding him cuts through his thoughts like a dagger.

"Kairi", the voice drawls. "KairiKairiKairiKairiKairi."

(Something in his chest pounds painfully).

Roxas recognizes the voice - would recognize it anywhere, at anytime, since it had played with his head too many times to count - as Naminé.

The girl (Kairi) doesn't even look up when he approaches her, his feet sinking into the sand as he walks across the beach. It's not until he stands completely in front of her, blocking the sun and the horizon from her vision, that she lifts her tear-streaked face and looks at him.

Really looks at him.

Roxas has to suck in a deep breath as their gazes meet.

"Kairi", he whispers, and the name feels so right in his mouth; he savours the taste of each letter.

"Sora?" she asks, a dull fire flickering in her oceanic eyes.

"No", Roxas reluctantly shakes his head, a hollow smile tugging at his lips. "But I can be."

writer's block foshooo.