Author's Comments: I have to get this out before my eyes close and I fall asleep! Ahh!

So this is my latest idea for a fanfic-an AU revolving around Roxas and Namine for a change. My OC's still in it, but she plays a smaller role this time around. All you need to know about Imani is explained in the story.

(I'm still working on The Moirai Zealot, too. This is just a side-project...sort of.)

Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I own Imani.

It started two years ago when my best friend witnessed his best guy friend trying to kiss one of my best girl friends.

"I don't get it," Roxas muttered under his breath as we walked home from school. "What's so great about kissing that Axel couldn't wait until after class?"

I snorted and shifted the books I held in my arms with a shake of my head. "I can't believe you. Every guy our age has started filling their minds with sexual fantasies and you haven't even thought about kissing."

"Is there a problem with focusing on school and sports more than thinking about sex?"

"Of course there isn't. It's just unusual."

"So you're calling me weird."

We stopped at the corner where the bus picks us up and I sigh. "What don't you understand about Axel wanting to kiss Imani?"

He rolled his bluer-than-blue eyes. "It's not that. Everyone knows Axel's been after Imani since last year."

"Everyone but Imani," I corrected with a smile.

"Right." His melodic voice lilted as he gave a chuckle. "I just don't get the rush—why didn't he wait? He got detention from Marluxia and a slap in the face from Imani."

I shrugged, partially in response to his question and partially because my backpack was slipping off my shoulder. "Maybe he couldn't wait," I mused. "He was overcome with curiosity and devotion for her that he became unable to hold himself back."

"But what's so great about kissing?" He threw his free hand up exasperatedly.

I couldn't reply to him because the bus was rolling to a stop before us. We both flashed our monthly passes and headed to the back for a pair of seats.

Then, I heard Roxas think aloud: "Maybe if I actually kiss someone…"

Roxas and I literally grew up together. Our parents have known each other since college and would always schedule picnics at the park or trips to the beach, bringing Roxas and me along to play with each other. We've become so close that our parents don't care if we close our bedroom doors when we're both alone together. We know everything about each other—every habit, every like and dislike, every secret…except one.

I was very glad Roxas was behind me as we made our way to the seats. He didn't see my face heat up.

"What was that?" I asked as soon as I felt the blush die down.

"I was thinking that I might understand kissing if I actually kissed someone," he stated bluntly, plopping down on the seat next to mine and exhaling tiredly. "What do you think?"

At that moment, I had two thoughts: That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard and I hope he asks me to be his test subject.

I was going to voice my first thought but he spoke faster. "Can I kiss you, Nam?"

Despite being his best friend for the past fifteen years, his frank speech still stuns me. "What? N-Now?" I hissed, hoping the guy two rows in front of us didn't hear.

"Yeah," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Unless you'd rather I make an appointment."

I should've said no. I should've explained to him right then and there that kissing is an action that occurs between two people who harbor intense feelings for one another. I should've ignored my hurting chest and my fluttering stomach and I should've told him to talk to Axel about kissing.

But who was I to refuse the man of my dreams and the secret love of my life, especially when he was asking me for a kiss? Instead, I swallowed down the quiver in my voice, squared my shoulders, and turned to him to say, "Fine."

I had to clench my fists over my knees to keep from shrinking away from his quickly approaching beautiful face. He zoomed right in, surprisingly, and only hesitated for a moment before lightly pressing his soft lips against mine.

The bumps in the road sort of made the kiss awkward, but I wasn't complaining. Kissing Roxas turned out to be an experience far beyond my imagination, even if it was out of curiosity and not unrequited love.

All too soon, he pulled away, smacking his lips thoughtfully as I tried to steady my breathing and restrain myself from leaning up to kiss him again. "Hmmm…You know what?"

"What?" I breathed.

A grin slowly grew on his face. "I think I liked that."

My heart picked up speed with those words…but I still felt a sad, painful churning in my chest. "Uh…good…" I tugged my cheeks up in a forced grin. "So you understand why Axel…you know?"

"Yeah." He nodded brightly, but soon his brow furrowed. "Did you like that?"

I swear I would've yelled I loved it if common sense hadn't kicked in. "S-Sure…"

Roxas, cute and clueless, declared almost authoritatively, "Then let's do it more often."

I nearly fainted and cracked my head on the window pane.

The next morning, when I tiptoed out my front door to meet up with him, he smiled sleepily, bid me a good morning, and swooped in to plant a chaste kiss on my lips. He kissed me again when we met up for third period and again at lunch and again after school on the way home. And the next day, the whole routine would begin all over again. In Roxas' dictionary, "kissing" had apparently come to mean "greeting one's best friend in a particularly affectionate yet platonic way despite normal standards regarding love and societal views."

So for the past two years, Roxas has been kissing me just because. Oh, don't get me wrong—I'm not saying I don't enjoy being kissed by him. It's just that he doesn't seem to realize that everyone notices. The idea of two best friends kissing non-passionately on a regular basis baffles them into calling us "friends with benefits," or "benefriends."

Olette, my bio partner, laughed when she first heard of it. "Don't listen to them, Nam," she told me. "The term 'friends with benefits' typically refers to friends who engage in sexual activities out of boredom or as stress relief. You and Roxas are cleaner than soap when it comes to anything like that. People just want something to gossip about. Soon they'll probably see your kissing as normal."

But that's not what I want. I don't want this casual yet strange kissing between best friends. I want to be able to kiss him because I love him. Because he loves me.

Telling him such a thing might seriously mar our tight friendship. I'm sure we'd still be friends, but he might brand me a manipulator for letting him kiss me so often. He might not trust me. I don't think I could live without his trust—I've never known how.

The day he first kissed me—the day we became benefriends—was the day the walls rose and the locks clicked around my heart, trapping me in this game of tug-of-war between my emotions and my levelheadedness.

Or kiss-so-you-won't-have-to-tell. That's a good way to put it.

Author's Afterthought: Please leave a review! Thank you for reading!