Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts

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Of Silver and Gold

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"Yuffie, will you stop pulling so hard?! Any more and you'll crush my lungs!"

"Oh, stop over exaggerating," answered Yuffie, giving another tug on the cream corset that encompassed Naminé's slender waist, "We have to look our best tonight, and Kairi's mom went all the way to the other side of the island to get these for us, so be grateful!"

"I'd be more grateful if it were looser," groaned Naminé, sure that she would pass out in the middle of the evening while wearing this.

"Yuffie, will you calm down already. Honestly, just because you're excited doesn't give you license to suffocate people," Kairi and Sophie had at just come into the room soon enough to stop the torment. Kairi proceeded to loosen the corset, causing Naminé to give a great big sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness," she said, "for a minute, I was afraid I'd have to dye my dress blue so it would match my face."

All the girls but Yuffie laughed.

"Fine," she said, plopping herself down on Kairi's bed in a pout, "I was just trying to be helpful."

The four girls were staying at Kairi's house all day, getting ready for the big night. Tonight was the Destiny Island Fantasia Ball. It was the biggest event of the year, the one every girl looked forward to the most. It was a night of wonder and romance, and what girl didn't like the idea of formal dress? Each year, the ball was held at Destiny Castle, a castle which had been abandoned for a long time, but around ten years ago it was refurbished and used only for very special occasions. The Fantasia Ball was one of them. Everyone age 13 and over were invited, so Kairi, Sophie, and Naminé had already been three or four times before. This year, Sora had even invited his friends from Hollow Bastion. So, it being Yuffie's first time going to the ball, it was little wonder she was so excited.

"Is it really as wonderful as you all say?" Yuffie asked them again for the hundredth time.

"Better," answered Sophie, "the lights glow and make it seem like the whole castle is made of gold and jewels, and the music just begs you to dance during every song."

"Yeah, and it's the one day of the year that the boys actually try to act like gentlemen," added Kairi, sending the girls into another burst of laughter.

"Speaking of boys," asked Sophie, turning to Naminé, "how are you doing? You know, with the whole you and Roxas breaking up?"

Naminé looked down. "Um...alright, I guess," she said, fiddling with her underskirt, "it's just rather awkward now whenever I'm around him. I don't think he's over it yet."

"Wait a minute," ask Yuffie, seeming surprised, "you broke up with Roxas? When did this happen?"

"A few weeks ago," answered Naminé, still not looking up.

"But you guys seemed perfect together. What happened between you two?"

Naminé flushed at the question. "Well...it was... I mean, I was... it just wasn't working..."

"Oh my gosh, you guys!" yelled Kairi suddenly, turning all eyes to her, "Look at the time! We need to start on make up!" She leapt off the couch and bolted towards the bathroom, grabbing Naminé and pulling her with her in the process. "Sophie and I were together and Yuffie and Naminé were together for underclothing, and now we switch." And then the bathroom door shut behind them.

Sophie and Yuffie looked at each other.

"Well, that wasn't suspicious in any way," said Yuffie sarcastically.

"Yeah," agreed Sophie, "well, we better go to the downstairs bathroom to put on our make up. Kairi's right, we are a little off schedule."

"You go ahead," said Yuffie, walking over to the mirror, "don't tell the others, but I think I need to loosen my corset too."

"Do you want me to help?"

"No, I can do it. I have my pride, you know."

Sophie just smiled and shook her head, and then headed downstairs to the other bathroom. Yuffie waited for a few more seconds, then, when she was sure Sophie had gone, snuck over to Kairi's bathroom door.

"Time to see what's really going on here," she whispered to herself, putting her ear to the door.

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"Hold still, Naminé, it doesn't hurt that much."

"Ouch! Yes it does!" complained Naminé, as Kairi plucked another hair from her eyebrow.

"Come on, just a few more... there, you're good to go. Now we start with foundation." Kairi went over to the counter and began choosing the best shades of bronzer for both of them. Naminé was sitting on the edge of the big bathtub, playing with a piece of hair. Kairi saw her in the mirror, and gave a frown.

"You know, you shouldn't let what Yuffie said bother you," she counseled, "She was just curious."

"I know," said Naminé quietly.

"In fact," Kairi continued, "more people than just Yuffie are going to ask you about why you broke up with him. You're going to need to come up with a more thought out lie; otherwise no one will buy it."

Naminé looked up quickly, "Lie? Wh...what are you talking about?"

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on," she insisted, grabbing the bronzers and sitting down next to Naminé, "as if the real reason for dumping him was because "it just wasn't working out". Face it, girl, you've fallen for someone else."

Naminé's eyes widened, and her face turned pink. "I... I don't know what you mean."

"Don't give me that. You've been making eyes at another guy for at least two months. If you ask me, it's a good thing you broke up with Roxas; waiting any longer would be leading the poor guy on."

"That is not true!" retorted Naminé, crossing her arms, "I broke up with Roxas because we're just too different, and I just stopped liking him. Besides, Riku's not my type..."

Naminé gasped, and her hands flew to her mouth when she realized what she had let slip. Kairi grinned in triumph.

"Who's not your type?" she joked.

Naminé let out a moan. "Oh, alright, so I might have...noticed him a few times before. But that doesn't mean..."

"Noticed?" laughed Kairi, "More like couldn't take your eyes off him. And from what I hear, he thinks you're pretty fine yourself."

"That's ridiculous! We're just friends. I never..." Naminé stopped short, "Wait, does he really think that?"

"Hello? Who's going out with Riku's best friend? Oh yeah, that would be me. Trust me, I get all the dirt." By now, Kairi had finished putting on both her and her friend's bronzer and foundation. She then started on eye shadow. "You know what I think," she said, "I think you should hang out with him tonight."

Naminé stiffened. "That's crazy! I'm sure he doesn't like me, and that would just look bad. I mean, I just broke up with someone! I can't spend an evening with someone else. Besides, Roxas still isn't over the whole thing, and he'll be there tonight. No, I'll just stay with you girls."

"Well, good luck with that," answered Kairi, "because Sophie's going to run off with Tidus, Yuffie will probably spend the whole night hanging on Leon's arm, and I'm going to be with Sora and Riku. So, unless you want to be hiding in a corner watching Sophie and Tidus make out, or hold a bucket for Yuffie's drool, I'm still your best bet."

Naminé was quiet for a minute, considering her rather grim options. "But I still just don't know how that will look. And what if I blow it? What if Roxas gets mad?"

"Naminé," Kairi said, putting a hand on her arm, "you're my closest friend, and I care about you. You're a very loving person, but sometimes you're so concerned with making everyone else happy that you forget to let yourself be happy. Why don't you try that tonight, hm?"

Naminé looked at Kairi, and a smile escaped her lips. "Ok," she finally said, "I'll stay with you. But just don't expect me to say anything to him!"

"Oh, never!" gasped Kairi in fake astonishment. The girls laughed, and continued getting ready.

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Yuffie backed away from the door and headed downstairs after Sophie. So, she thought, Naminé has a thing for Riku. Well, not that I blame her. He is gorgeous. But Naminé's so sweet and shy; she'll never encourage him at all. And Riku probably won't make a move until she does. Some boring night this will be for the two of them. Suddenly, Yuffie got a mischievous glint in her eye. Well, maybe all they need is a little push.

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"Come on, Sora, at least pretend to be civilized for one day of your life," Riku said with a hint of annoyance. Sora, however, ignored his friend and continued to stuff his face with multiple finger sandwiches at once.

"Why?" he asked, his mouth full of food, "This is the most boring day of the year. Not to mention the most torturous. First, we have to dress up into completely stiff-necked outfits, and then stand around being blinded by chandelier lights, while listening to the most boring music invented by mankind. And on top of all that, we have to dance. The only good thing about coming here is the food, so please, allow me at least that small luxury."

Riku sighed and pulled at his collar. The tuxes were a little uncomfortable; he had to agree with Sora about that. But, aside from that, he didn't quite share in his friend's opinion of the Fantasia Ball. He actually found it enjoyable. Of course, he'd never tell Sora that.

"Yeah," he said aloud, "Still, is that the only reason you come to this thing?"

Sora paused in the middle of guzzling his glass of punch. "Well, I guess the only other thing would be the girls," he answered, "Kairi would kill me if I didn't come, and I can't say I hate seeing her in a hot dress, either."

All of a sudden, Sora grinned. "And since we're on that subject, guess what? Naminé broke up with Roxas."

Riku groaned loudly. Not this again. "Sora, I know. You've reminded me everyday for the past 3 weeks."

"Yeah, so, when are you going to ask her out?"

"Sora, I told you," repeat Riku, "I can't just walk up to her and say "Hey, Naminé, I've been waiting for you to break up with your boyfriend so you could go out with me. Want to have a go?" Do you know how stupid that would look?"

"Well, of course, if you said it like that..."

"That's not the point! What I mean is, you just don't go out with someone when they've just broken up. It's... well it's just stupid. Besides," Riku looked down, "why would she want to?"

"That's absurd! Of course she would. Look at me; I never thought Kairi'd go for me, but she did."

"Yeah, and I'm still trying to figure out why."

"Hey, what's that suppose to mean?"

But Riku just ignored him and continued eating his assortment of buffet food. Meanwhile, four girls walked through the giant castle doors and into the main hall.

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"Wow! The inside's even better than the outside, and I didn't think that was possible!" Yuffie was in complete awe of the place. She kept rambling on about how magnificent everything was since they had first stepped out of the carriage. The girls themselves only added to the beautiful surroundings. First came Sophie, who wore a green, frilly dress, which made her seem even more girly and adorable than normal. Next was Yuffie, who showed off a completely different look; a long, tight, black spaghetti strap dress with long, purple gloves. After her was Kairi, who was wearing a dress that looked like it was taken straight out of Beauty and the Beast, only instead of yellow, it was a deep rose color that matched perfectly with her hair. Finally, Naminé, who now wished she'd worn a different dress, hovered behind the other girls as they gazed around the giant room, already filled with dozens of guests.

"Naminé, what's wrong?" asked Kairi, noticing her friend's obvious nervousness.

"I look ridiculous," she answered, "I'm sure my dress doesn't fit, and I probably look so awkward in it. Besides, I feel much too bare, and too much of my chest is showing. Maybe we should go back and get a different dress."

Kairi couldn't help rolling her eyes at her low self-esteemed friend. Determined to show her she was wrong, Kairi grabbed Naminé's arm and pulled her to a large mirror standing by the entrance doors.

"There, see for yourself; you're gorgeous, your dress is gorgeous, and everything about you is absolutely beautiful. So there!"

Naminé actually seemed surprised at her reflection. Surely she thought she'd looked nice before they had left Kairi's house, but after arriving at the ball, she felt very insecure. But now, in this jewel-studded mirror, she looked just the same. Better, almost. Staring back at her was a lovely, sixteen year old girl in a breathtaking white mermaid dress. The silk dress clung tight to her body all the way down to her knees, where it fanned out in wavy, silk ruffles. Her arms and shoulders were rather bare, and her chest showed but not nearly as much as she had feared. Her golden hair, which she had been growing out for some time, now showered her with long, loose curls.

"Wow," she said, running a hand down her dress, "I really do look nice."

"There you go!" yelled Kairi, very pleased with herself, "And I better not hear another complaint all night. Now, let's go find Sora and Riku."

Suddenly, every bit of confidence Naminé had just gained crashed to the floor. "Oh, do we have to go now? I mean, shouldn't we meet back up with the girls?"

"What girls?" asked Kairi, motioning in the direction where Yuffie and Sophie had been standing.

"...Oh." Kairi had been right. Sophie was by the punch bowl with Tidus and Wakka, and Yuffie was already on the dance floor with Leon, Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith. Naminé even spotted Roxas sitting next to Cid, which didn't help her already queasy stomach at all.

But, forcing down her anxiety, Naminé followed Kairi to whatever doom might await her.

Sora spotted the girls coming towards them, and let out a low whistle. "I take it back, Riku," he said with a smirk, "this is my favorite day of the year."

Riku, who had just gotten back from the bathroom, looked in the direction Sora was indicating. He stopped dead in his tracks. He had never seen Naminé look so beautiful before! He had always thought she was attractive, but tonight she looked like an angel. A very hot angel.

"Kairi, you look drop-dead beautiful," said Sora when the girls had reached them.

"Thanks," Kairi responded, giving him a peck on the lips.

"And hey, Naminé, look at you. I mean, wow, what happened?"

What came out of his mouth next weren't words but a pained grunt from Kairi elbowing him in the ribs.

"Ouch! What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his side.

"I can't believe you just said that!" said Kairi, hitting him again.

"What?! I said she looked nice..."

"NO, you implied that she's ugly. Honestly, why are you always so insensitive?!"

"Insensitive! I'm not the one punching people for no good reason."

"Defending my friend is a very good reason!"

"Naminé, would you care to dance?"

Kairi and Sora stopped fighting and stared at Riku, whose hand was extended in Naminé's direction. She hesitated a moment, then took his hand. Riku led her in the way of the dance floor. Kairi and Sora watched them a moment longer, both very happy at what just occurred. Then Kairi turned on Sora.

"Why can't you be polite like Riku?"

"You call that polite? He grabbed her hand and is dragging her in said direction!"

"Oh please!"

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Naminé felt her heart beating at a crazy rate, and despite her best efforts, she felt her face getting hot as well. And this was just holding his hand! What would happen when they started dancing... too late. Riku pulled her close to him and held her hand, while placing his other hand on her waist. Trying not to shake, she put her free hand on his shoulder, and they began moving to the slow, soft music. Riku seemed to notice how stiff she was.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah," she answered, trying to play it cool, "that was a pretty smooth move you pulled back there."

Riku smiled, "Well, I've learned that when Kairi and Sora get in one of their many fights, the safest thing is to swim to the bottom of the sea and wait until they're done."

Naminé giggled. He liked it when she laughed; she seemed more relaxed. Why was she so tense? He hoped he hadn't done something to make her feel uncomfortable. Maybe he shouldn't have asked her to dance.

As they danced, Naminé found it hard to look at Riku. Not that she didn't want to; she just couldn't stop herself from blushing every time she did. So instead, she found herself looking around the room. Kairi and Sora had finally stopped fighting, and were now dancing near the other end of the room. Sophie and Tidus were still at the punch bowl. Yuffie was somehow managing to slow dance with both Leon and Cloud at the same time. For some reason, the young ninja kept glancing over to her, and then turning away right after.

Then, Naminé saw something that really bothered her. Roxas was now at the ordure table with Aerith, Tifa, and Cid, but instead of being interested in the food, he was staring directly at her. And he didn't look happy. Naminé quickly looked away, finding the only safe place to stare was her feet.

"What's wrong?" asked Riku.

"Oh, nothing," she said, but he didn't buy it. Looking where she had looked, he met the same heated gaze.

"Is Roxas bothering you?"

"N...no, not really. He just, well, isn't very happy about the whole situation."

"Then that's his problem."

Naminé looked up, surprised.

"If you don't care for him like that anymore, then he should accept it, whether he likes it or not. He has no right to glare at you like that. It's not your fault for what happened."

"Isn't it?" she asked, "After all, I'm the one who broke up with him."

"So it was you. There were rumors going around, but I didn't know for sure. Why did you?"

Naminé felt blood rush to her face. "Well...it wasn't...I mean..." she felt very stupid. Kairi was right about people asking her. She really did need to come up with a better lie. She was terrible at lying. In fact, she hated it. She would much rather just tell the truth.

"I'm sorry," Riku apologized, bringing Naminé out of her thoughts, "I didn't mean to be so forward. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

I wish I could just tell him, she thought, but I can't do that! How would he respond? I'd just embarrass both of us. And what about Roxas... what about Roxas? Suddenly, Naminé mentally smacked herself. She was sick of acting like a scared mouse all of the time. Who cares what Roxas thinks? I can't live my life trying to please him, or anyone else for that matter. Kairi was right, I need to let myself be happy once and a while. Is that so wrong?

"No, that's alright," she told Riku. Talking a breath, she tried to say what she desperately wanted to say, before she changed her mind and ran away again. "The truth is... well, I... the truth is..." Why was it so hard to say?! Just spit it out! "The truth is," she looked straight at him, "I think... I like someone else."

Riku just stared at her. He stopped dancing, and just stood there, looking at her. Had he heard her right? Did he mean what he thought she meant. Naminé stood still, chest pounding, waiting to see what he would say.

Actually, he didn't say anything. Yuffie had finally managed to give her little "push". Literally. Dancing behind them with Leon, she knocked into Riku, causing him to lose his balance and fall forward.

An instant later, Riku and Naminé found themselves in a hard and fast lip-lock. Both were too shocked to move. Riku felt horrible. He was sure she'd pull away and slap him across the face. Only, she didn't pull away. She lingered there. Finally, she tried to break the kiss. But before she could, she felt the hand on her waist travel to her back, pressing her against him. It sent a shiver up her spine. She responded by letting her hands travel up his arms to his neck. They might as well have been the only two in the room.

Unfortunately, they weren't.

Riku felt himself abruptly yanked away from Naminé's embrace. An instant later, his face came in contact with a closed fist, which knocked him to the ground. Naminé gasped.

"I suggest you keep your hands off my girl, or you'll get more where that came from." Roxas stood between Naminé and the now fallen Riku, fuming with his fist still in midair.

"Roxas, what are you doing!?!" Naminé was so shocked she could barely get the words out. She never thought he'd be this rash!

"What are you doing!?" he said sharply, "Making out with a guy you barely talk to, especially when you're with me!"

"Maybe I'm mistaken," Riku was on his feet now, wiping the small trickle of blood off his mouth, "but I was under the impression she's not your girl anymore, Roxas."

"You are mistaken," he answered coldly.

"I'm pretty sure that's her choice," Riku said.

"Of course," responded Roxas, slipping a hand around Naminé's waist, "and I'm her only choice."

A second later, Roxas himself was on the ground, and now Riku was the one standing over him. Roxas looked stunned at first, then got up and swung at his rival again. Riku blocked the punch, dealing his own directly to Roxas' stomach. The boys continued throwing punches, causing a huge uproar on the dance floor.

Naminé was horrified. This was all her fault! "Stop it!" she yelled, "Stop it both of you!" But they were too angry and bent on fighting to hear her or pay any attention to her words. Naminé felt her eyes fill up with tears, and everything went out of focus. She didn't really stop to think; she just wanted to get away from everything that was happening.

So, she ran.

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Away from the castle. Away from the party. Away from Roxas and Riku and her worried friends. Away from everything she was always afraid of. She ran from it all.

Granted, it wasn't easy to run in a mermaid dress and heels. Close to her house, Naminé found herself tripping and falling flat on her face. Her dress was getting dirty and a shoe had fallen off, but she was crying too hard to care. She couldn't even bring herself to get up; she just laid there, sobbing and feeling sorry for herself. How would her friends ever forgive her? The most important night of the year was ruined, and it was all because of her! And she'd never be able to look Riku or Roxas in the eye again.

Finally, Naminé pushed herself off the ground, put on her shoe, and walked depressingly the rest of the way to her house.

She opened the door and ran up the stairs. Her parents were out, so she wasn't worried about them seeing her. She just wanted to get to her room and hide in her bed as fast as possible. Once there, she wearily pulled off her dress, replacing it with pajama pants and a black tank top. She went to the bathroom and took off her make up, noting with shame that it was ruined with tear-streaks. Her hair was now a sloppy mess. She pulled it back into a bun, although a few lingering curls still fell around her face.

Naminé made her way back to her room and plopped on her bed. Grabbing her stuffed penguin, she leaned against the wall and tried not to think about everything. However, trying not to just made her think about it more. What was she going to tell her parents when they asked how her night was? Not to mention how she was going to explain not going to school ever again.

"This is the worst day of my life," she moaned, "and I can't blame anyone but myself. I should never have danced with Riku. I knew Roxas would get jealous; but no, I was an idiot and did it anyways. Why can't I do anything right? So much for making myself happy; I just wind up messing everything up."

All of a sudden, a knock at her door startled Naminé out of her mulling. Where her parents home already? Reluctantly, she went to the door and opened it. But... no one was there. She heard another knock. It was coming from behind her. Her window? Was she being robbed? Alarmed, but curious, Naminé opened the curtain-covered window. She let out a shriek.

"RIKU!" She cried. There he was, just outside her window. He was still wearing his tux, only his jacket and tie were gone. Now he just wore a white shirt and black pants. He looked alright, but Naminé spotted a large bruise on his jawbone.

"How the heck did you get outside my window!?" Usually she wouldn't yell at him like that, but at the moment she was so shaken up she didn't care.

"I climbed," he said simply.

"Well, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see if you were alright."

"Me? Weren't you the one getting beat up?" In spite of herself, Naminé reached out and put her hand on his jaw, "are you hurt?"

"Not really," he answered, feeling the soft heat from her touch, "if fact, I wouldn't say that I was the one who got beat up."

Naminé took her hand away and stared at him, looking concerned. Riku shook his head, "Don't worry, the fight didn't get far. Leon and Cloud broke it up. Then Kairi smacked Roxas and went into a huge lecture about how he doesn't own you. That's when I realized you had gone."

Riku hesitated, then continued, "I... I came because I wanted to apologize for fighting. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that," he looked at her, "I just couldn't stand by when he was treating you like that."

Naminé felt touched by his honesty. "No, Riku," she said, "I'm sorry. It was all my fault for what happened..."

"What are you talking about," said Riku, cutting her off, "you didn't do anything wrong."

"But..."

"No. I asked you to dance, I kissed you, Roxas punched me, and we fought."

Riku grabbed Naminé's arms and pulled her close to him, "Listen to me. It was not your fault for what happened. Don't blame yourself for wrongs you didn't commit."

Naminé looked intently at Riku, wondering if he was being serious. Hadn't it been her fault? It was much easier to blame herself for everything. Then no one got upset. But... maybe it wasn't her fault. She hadn't planned for any of this to happen; it just did. That thought seemed to take off a huge burden that had been resting on her mind for a long time. Naminé smiled.

"Riku, thank you," she said, and she meant it for more then he could ever imagine.

Riku smiled back at her. "Come with me," he said, taking her hand.

"You mean onto the roof? Riku, I'll fall!"

"No you won't, I'll keep you safe. I promise."

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"Where are we going?" asked Naminé. They had been running forever, it seemed to her.

"Almost there," answered Riku, still leading her by the hand. Finally he stopped, "Here we are."

They had run all the way to the beach. Naminé was panting, and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why they had run all this way just to stand with the water lapping against their feet.

"Riku, what are we doing here?"

"Well," he explained, turning to face her, "I thought it would be a good place."

"For what?" she asked, thoroughly confused, and wondering why he was smirking like that. She didn't wonder long.

Tilting her chin up, Riku pressed his lips against hers in a deep, warm kiss.

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The End!

Wasn't that such a cute story! I loved it. I hope you did too. Sorry for all you Roxas lovers out there, but I had to make somebody the bad guy. And hey, at least he was a main character.

Thanks for reading!