Title: One
Writed by: Zume
Rating: Uh, E for EVERYBODY! 8D
Pairings: Naminé-centric, Axel/Roxas, Sora/Riku, Demyx/Somebody.
Listen to: Different -- New London Fire
Summary: The worst that she could ever hear, is "I think I love you dear"

She wasn't quite sure how it happened. Or when, or where, but at some point along the line, Axel and Roxas didn't just walk along the corridors, arms swinging as they talked. Their hands settled into one in other, close and natural. And when Axel threw his arm over Roxas' shoulder, despite the teasing tone in which he did everything, there was a tenderness she'd never seen before. Roxas stopped Axel in a way she'd never thought possible. Froze him, silenced him. Made him sit and stare and wonder.

And Roxas... Always so hard and stubborn, determined to shrug off every invitation of attachment, because he was more and further and no one could look past his blue-eyes-blond-hair, Roxas, looked up at Axel and shivered.

It didn't make sense, and Naminé was sure it couldn't, ever, but there was no denying the truth. She was a being of memories, and not only her own. Close to her heart, and overspilling onto pages and papers, were the images of two boys, of one-not-two. Sora-and-Riku. And despite the fights she shuddered at the thought of, the tears ripped from her when she saw over and over again the betrayal that simply shouldn't have happened. Despite it all, she knew, in the most desperate way she could, that while there would be no going back, there would be going forward. A touch, a kiss. Nothing much, but enough. Because Dark and distance can only break what is tangible. And Sora had Riku in a way far beyond that.

She studied them, sometimes. Sitting blankly with a pencil in hand, letting the images flow forth without restraint, then sitting and sighing and just wondering over the feeling she saw. Every hold, smile, look. Every moment her hand captured, she studied, again and again until it began to make sense.

In a way that didn't at all.

Love. That's what they had. There were a multitude of words at her disposal. But none fit, they were too strong, too weak, too dark, too light. Love, that was it and that was all. An undying love that wouldn't, couldn't, shouldn't ever cease. But what really set her mind reeling, what really made her think, was the way that Axel and Roxas -- Axel-and-Roxas -- looked, tasted, smelled, felt, sounded, were exactly the same. It couldn't be. And wasn't. Surely.

And then one night -- well, as close an approximation of night as there was here, although when he was in a good mood, Number X would set the clocks going for her, just to make her feel that little bit safer -- as she sneaked past Axel's room, sketch in hand, her eyes darted inwards and there was nothing she could do but freeze, freeze because if it boiled down to figures and looks, then what she held was exactly what she saw, and Naminé knew there was no going back.

Weak as she was, Naminé kept to herself as much as possible, kept away from those she didn't know or trust. And even then she couldn't be sure they wouldn't hurt her. But Xemnas was a good leader, if a little misguided, and allowing a subordinate to disappear from sight for weeks on end was never a good idea. Especially when the subordinate was so important to his plans. So he summoned the girl and in she stumbled, knees weak and eyes wide.

Xemnas spoke and Naminé nodded, gaze intently focused until that man with the bright blue hair and the striking features entered, circled the room once, twice, then came to settle at Xemnas' elbow. Naminé watched as Xemnas glanced upwards, followed the movements with her new-found understanding that impossibility wasn't absolute, and found a word. Darker than what she was used to, true, but still in the realm of almost unbelievable, in the realm of needing a heart.

Demyx played, and someone couldn't help but look, their eyes drawn though they swore to stare straight ahead. Months of musically whispered nothings tore down a carefully maintained shell and Demyx broke right through into a once-uncovered soul. He was strong like that. Strong enough to ignore the fact his heart didn't beat, to make the one he held forget as well.

Strong enough that when his world came crumbling down, he stood until the last pillar fell.

Strength. Love. One in the same as far as a curious blond girl could see.

The castle began to fail, death and betrayal hanging thick in the air, and it scared Naminé. Axel had been teasing at the best of times, and now he was near on unapproachable, only Roxas able to speak without being snapped -- or slapped -- at. So she crept from her domain to one far lower down, searching for the silver haired boy who had sympathised and hugged her tight more than once before. Residue of lives before hung about the two of them, and they were lives shared.

But strings still held Naminé down. Embellished golden chains, but strings all the same. Riku though, herRiku, had been unleashed. He could not resist the draw and appeal of finding out who and what and when he was. It wasn't something Naminé could deny him. She let him go with a smile covering her fear. And if Her Riku noticed, he didn't let on. Left Naminé with an absent wave and she never saw him again.

Roxas left. Axel tried to follow, but there was far too much for him to think through and around. He was left behind and Naminé witnessed the horror that was heartbreak without a heart. Hearts can heal, given time, but minds, thrown by the force of emotions they cannot comprehend, are nowhere near as lucky.

She cried. For Axel, who couldn't follow. For Roxas who didn't know that someone waited. For Her Riku, out there and searching. For Demyx, still holding strong. She cried, then smiled, because she didn't understand these feelings yet, and there was no one there to guide her. No one to follow or forget, to search for or glance at. No one for her to stay strong for. No one but herself. And so she watched, watched as it all collapsed in front of her.

Down they went, one by one, each somehow drawn into obscurity. It hurt, and that was one thing she understood. It hurt to see them fall, and even worse to know she stayed not for someone she loved, but for herself. What a selfish thing to do. So when a that was her but not stood before her, Naminé didn't think twice about joining, hoping that maybe, this way, she could feel those feelings that floated around her.