Since this won't leave me alone...

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Demyx loved Hollow Bastion. If asked, he could never tell why exactly it was he liked the place, but there was something about it that just appealed to him. Perhaps it was the abundant water resources the town had, the multiple waterfalls and contained streams that crisscrossed the main thoroughfares.

Today, he had a day off to rest from a recent assignment, and he had planned on using it to wander about Hollow Bastion, mingling with the throngs of people and blending in. It was this human interaction that made him feel like he still had his heart, and he made an effort to forget it was missing.

Hands shoved deep in jean pockets- he wouldn't dare wear his uniform when rumors were flying as they were, he slowly descended a staircase into the central plaza of the town. Here the crowd's bustle was at its greatest, people wanting to get all their shopping and errands done while it was still midday and the Heartless were at their quietest.

He turned the corner rather haphazardly, humming to himself while he melded into a crowd of people, following them from shop window to shop window, smiling and laughing when people talked to him even though he didn't know them and they didn't know him.

Finally, he broke off from the crowd of people and made his way over to an unused section of wall, contenting himself with simply watching the crowd move to and fro like the ocean, individuals sticking out here and there, but mostly the people were blended with one another, a crowd.

It was then Demyx's eyes were pulled from the multicolored swirl of people to one particular individual. Not that it was hard to notice her- the particular pink she was wearing being a sharp contrast to the otherwise dull colors from the rest of the crowd, while the multitudes of colors from the basket in her arms served even more to make her stand out.

As though sensing his presence, sharp, almost glowing green eyes landed on his own, and the most wonderful smile Demyx had ever seen in the world alighted the young woman's face. She quietly slipped through the crowd and came up to stand next to him.

"Good afternoon sir... could I interest you in buying a flower?" Her voice was light, rich, gentle... beautiful on his ears.

He returned her sunny smile the best he could, before politely looking over the basket of flowers. It was a wonderfully arranged amalgamy of colors, and it seemed each flower was unique from the one next to it even if they were both the same species. It reflected how Demyx thought of humanity as a whole perfectly. "They're all very beautiful..."

However, his eyes fell on one flower, wonderfully purple, that had taken on a slightly grayish tint, drooping from the side. "Oh, but this one looks like it could use a little extra water... and then I'll bet it'll be the most beautiful one of all..."

The young woman blushed and looked as though she was going to mutter an apology, but Demyx held his hand up and stopped her. "No, no. Watch this..." He swirled his forefinger in a lazy circle above the flower, tapping into his power and summoning a tiny trickle of water to follow the appendage. After a couple seconds of letting the water drizzle, he pulled his hand back and regarded the flower. Already it looked better, the gray and droop both fading out of it, even as the small drops of water on the petals reflected the midday sun and set the flower sparkling.

"See? And now it is one of the loveliest flowers in the collection," he smiled back up at her, and found to his delight that a pink to match her outfit had alighted her cheeks.

"Wh- why, thank you so much sir," the blush faded and the warm, gentle smile returned. "I don't have anything really to give in return, but if you'd like one of the flowers here, I'll happily give it for free." She lifted the basket slightly.

Demyx laughed then, and did his best to return the smile, even as his hand gently alighted on hers, eyes locked with hers. The blush returned to her cheeks.

"Then I'd like this one... if I may."

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A/N:jams the story down a hole and hopes it stays there: God, this came to me doing a stupid, supposed to be happy survey thing for LJ, and then it just jackhammered in my brain until I wrote it. R&R if you feel so inclined. I just want it to leave me alooonnnneee.

SE owns the characters and all that jazz. :goes back to Between the Silences: