Well, here it is: my second one-shot. I found this story in my files when I got my old laptop fixed and thought "why not?" It started out as a antidote to boredom, but I decided to finish it last night and see what everyone thinks.

Disclaimer: The story is mine - the characters are not.

*A Note: Any italicized comments are Roxas's thoughts.

We All Know Why We're Here

"There they a- Demyx get down!"

"I just wanna-"

"No! She'll see you!" Roxas jumped up and grabbed his friend by the mullet, yanking him back down into the grass.

"Geez, relax, will ya? She's not gonna see us, Roxas," Axel whispered from his friend's other side, crouching down lower despite his words.

"She will if you two don't shut up!"

"No one likes a pessimist," Demyx sing-songed, and the spiky-haired blond in the middle rolled his eyes.

"I'm not a pessimist," he muttered to himself childishly, looking back to see the couple walking into the restaurant.

"Look where we are, man. You got me and Demyx in a bush because you don't trust Seifer with your 'best friend'," Axel put air quotes around the last two words, causing Roxas to look at him strangely.

"Why the air quotes?" The redhead just rolled his eyes.

"The oblivious act's not workin', Rox. We all know why we're here." The blonde looked back and forth between his two best guy friends.

"We're... watching over Naminé on her date... I told you guys that when I asked to you come."

Axel scoffed. "Come on, Roxas. Give us some credit."

"Yeah, we know you're jealous."

"Yeah, you know, now that you mention it, I have had my eyes on Seifer since the eighth grade when he smashed my face into the concrete," Roxas said, pulling off sarcasm well.

"You sure you don't like Naminé?"

"What?" He yelled, only to be tackled to the floor with his mouth covered by his friends.

"Oh knock it off, Roxas," Axel whispered. "We've known since elementary school."

Yes, they've all been friends that long. And yes, they were right about him liking her - not that Roxas would ever admit it. Naminé had been his absolute best friend since their diaper days, and he wasn't prepared to lose that with one simple outburst of "I love you." No, Roxas was smart. He knew how to ignore the urges - those sudden moments when he's never seen anything so beautiful and he has to kiss her... And when she mentions how much she loves him? He knows its strictly friendship. It'll always be friendship.

Roxas looked under the bush from his spot in the grass where he saw the two pass through the window of the restaurant as they were being seated.

"I don't know what you're talking about," He pushed his friends off him and got up, brushing the grass off the back of his pants. "Let's go."

The pair of friends rolled their eyes, but followed him nonetheless.

"Table for three?"

Roxas ignored the host. Instead he crouched down, ordering Demyx and Axel to do the same as he made his way to the dining room. He kept his eye on the table Seifer and Naminé were at as he made his way to an empty booth to the side. He slid in low so that his spikes barely made it passed the top of the seat. Axel and Demyx sat on the other side of the table; their heads low as well. Someone cleared their throat.

"Are you finished?" The bored looking host stood there, menus in hand.

"Er… yeah-"

"Actually," Roxas was cut off by the seventeen year old across from him. "If you guys could get some sneaky music like that song from the Pink Panther cartoon to play in the background next time that'd be great."

"Hmph. Cute," He started passing the menus out.

"I thought it was," Axel retorted, and the stiff paused momentarily in annoyance before slapping the menu in front of him. The red head smiled cheekily. "Thanks, man."

"You're waitress will be with you in a moment," He grumbled before walking off.

"I think I know what his problem is," Axel stated wittily while he observed the man as he walked away. "Yep. There's a stick shoved up his a-"

Roxas kicked his shin under the table, only to earn a different curse as Axel reached down and grasped in it pain. "Like I asked."

Roxas's cobalt eyes met with the back of a platinum blonde's head across the room, and he found himself smiling. "Naminé looked so pretty when she tried on that dress..."

"Did she now?" Roxas's eyes wide and he cautiously turned his head to see his friends looking at him with teasing smiles.

"D-D-Did I…?"

"Gee, Naminé. You look really pretty in that dress," Axel said in a high-pitched voice as he turned to Demyx, completely ignoring Roxas.

"Why thank you, Roxas. You're so sweet," by now Roxas's face was fifty shades of red, but they kept going. "Kiss me."

"Oh, Naminé."

"Oh, Roxas."

"S-Stop!" Roxas told them, eyes squeezed shut from embarrassment. "I do not sound like that. And I do not love Naminé, so will you just-" His friends' eyes widened, and his did the same when he realized what had slipped. "W-Wait-"

"You said love!" Demyx pointed to him childishly.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did!" Axel accused. "We only accused you of liking her but you-" he smirked, shaking his finger. "You said love."

"No, I-I meant-"

"We both heard it, Roxas."

The hefty man in the booth behind Demyx and Axel turned around enthusiastically. "I heard it too."

Roxas glared at the stranger before snarling. "Did I ask you?" he yelled, and the man silently turned around with an offended and slightly intimidated look.

"Jeez..." Axel chuckled. "Admit it, you love Nami-"

"No, I don't. Can we just sit here and do what we came here to do?"

"Oh, you mean spy on Naminé?"

"Because you love her," Demyx added matter-of-factly, pointing. Roxas rolled his eyes.

"I do not lo-"

"You boys ready to order?" The boys looked up to see a brunet their age, holding a pen and pad and waiting patiently, eyes set on Roxas.

"Um..." Demyx and Axel stared dumbly, fazed by how attractive she was. While Axel was mulling over their luck of scoring such a hot waitress, the blond across from him merely jerked his thumb in their direction, casting his eyes on Naminé.

Axel and Demyx watched as the waitress, whose nametag read Selphie, followed Roxas's gaze before setting back on him with both a jealous and determined look on her face. She ignored his gesture to take Axel and Demyx's orders and bent down, displaying both her cleavage and the shortness of her skirt in the process. She placed her index finger under Roxas's chin, turning him to face her. Axel and Demyx's jaws dropped as they witnessed the scene with wide-eyes.

"What can I get you, handsome?" Roxas raised an eyebrow, looking at her critically. He jerked his head away as he spoke. "I'll have a water."

She glared at him as he turned his head back to Naminé's table. Both Axel and Demyx watched to see his reaction to her next move, whatever it would be. She twined her fingers in his hair, causing him to turn back to her in annoyance. "Anything else?" She whispered promiscuously.

"Yes, actually," Selphie smiled as he placed his hand at the back of her neck, pulling her closer. It soon faded when she saw the rage in his eyes. "You can get me a new waitress - one who won't try to seduce me when I'm clearly not interested," He removed his hand, and took her wrist, yanking her away from his hair as she stood there dumbly. Two seconds later, she was gone.

Roxas rolled his eyes, turning back to Naminé for a second before being interrupted again.

"Whoa," He turned to his friends in annoyance.

"What?"

"You just..." Axel couldn't even finish, he was so in shock.

"You just rejected one of the hottest girls I've ever seen. Rox, you could've had that!" Demyx told him, gesturing towards the direction the waitress fled to.

"She wasn't that hot," Roxas muttered. Axel scoffed.

"Like hell she wasn't! Did you not see her rack?"

"She was all over you!"

"And man, that ass-"

"Easy, Rox. So, easy."

"I would've-"

"Shut up!" Roxas's palms slammed on the table, and the people around them turned their heads for a brief moment. Luckily Naminé did not. "God, just shut up. That girl was a slut. She's nothing compared.." Roxas trailed off, his eyes subconsciously finding their way towards Naminé.

"Nothing compared to Naminé," Roxas's head snapped up, and he turned to face Axel, whose tone had changed drastically. "You're really serious about her, huh?"

"I-I'm not..-"

Demyx interjected. "When're you gonna admit it, Rox?"

Roxas opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. Again he found himself turning to Naminé, only to see that her table was empty.

"They're gone," He was up in an instant. "Let's go."

Again, his two friends followed him, walking right past their new waitress as she arrived at the table.

They stopped on the curb outside, and Roxas looked around confused. "Wait... where are they?"

"They weren't in there very long…" Demyx mumbled.

"My guess is that he took her home. Let's go," Axel grabbed Roxas's arm in attempt to get him in the direction of his truck, but Roxas jerked out of his grasp, still looking around. Axel did a 180 and faced his friend. "Roxas-"

"No. Something's wrong. His car's still here..." He turned his head at the sound of Naminé's voice, her laughter, to be more specific. Roxas ignored the fact that he knew it was fake laughter and quickly ran towards the sound, which happened to be coming from the trail to the side.

"Here we go," Demyx spun around and chased after Roxas, Axel by his side.

Axel and Demyx stopped next to Roxas. Axel spoke in a whisper. "You see them?"

"They're just up ahead. Why're they here though..."

Axel shrugged. "I dunno. Moonlit walk on a trail in the woods... You have to admit it's... honestly, it's kinda creepy."

"Yeah, it is."

Demyx finally spoke up. "Hey, looks like a detour."

"Huh?" Roxas looked up to see Seifer leading Naminé off the trail. "What the...?" He picked up pace, the sounds of their voices getting clearer.

"And then Rai was like: 'don't mess with Seifer, y'know'," Roxas rolled his eyes at the sound of Seifer's despicable laughter. "The shrimp's probably still running." More laughter on Seifer's end, this time followed by Naminé's falsely-enthusiastic laughs. "Hey, why aren't you talkin'? Speak up, Naomi."

"It's Naminé," Roxas muttered to himself, while Naminé informed Seifer the same.

"Where are we?" Axel asked from beside him, but didn't get an answer. Roxas listened harder as he crept behind some bushes far away from the couple, only able to see Naminé's upper-torso as she and Seifer stopped walking.

"Yeah, whatever," Roxas heard in the distance. His eyes widened as he saw Naminé get pushed against a tree. Axel and Demyx silently appeared beside him once more.

Keep calm. Don't jump to conclusions. Everything's fine. She's fine. It's just a date. Keep low key. Don't let her see you. She's fine. Everything's fine. She's fine.

Roxas repeated the same statements over and over in his head to keep himself from jumping out. He knew no matter how much he loved her -yes, love- he would never forgive himself if he ruined her date. So, he kept calm -at least on the outside- as he watched over her silently with his two friends, not interfering. Don't interfere. Do not interfere. You hear me, Roxas? Do not interfere. Leave them alone.

"S-Seifer, w-what are you-" Axel gasped. Demyx covered his eyes. Roxas could no longer see Naminé's porcelain face. All he could see was the back of Seifer's head and his hands on her upper-arms as he kissed her. That son of a bitch.

Roxas's hands curled into fists at his sides and an animalistic growl escaped from his lips. Axel eyed him anxiously, silently begging him not to intrude.

"S-Seifer-" Naminé pushed him off, only to have him cover her lips again with his own. "Stop. Mmph- y-you're hurting me." Seifer grabbed her wrists to stop her pushing. "Please -Mmph- stop!"

"Shut up," His lips only traveled downward towards her neck as his hands roughly started pulling the top of her dress down.

Axel and Demyx looked to their right in shock to see Roxas already gone. When he had started running, they didn't know. In the same second he was next to his friends, and then running through the trees towards the girl he loved. He didn't think. He was so scared, so infuriated, that he didn't care to.

When he got to them he pulled Seifer off her by the collar of his shirt, sending the other blond stumbling backwards. Roxas didn't give him time to compose himself. He pulled his arm back and swung it forward with more strength and power than he knew he was capable of. His fist made contact with Seifer's jaw and he flew, landing upon the forest sediment.

"You punk-" Roxas was on top of him then, pinning him down and grunting as he punched his face repeatedly with as much force as the first blow.

The only reason Seifer lived was because Axel arrived in time to pull Roxas off him. Demyx followed close behind, assisting him in holding back their friend as Seifer tried to sit up, groaning.

"Ngh.."

"You low life piece of shit!" Roxas growled, emphasizing each word and he broke free from his friends, only to be secured again after two steps towards the villain. "How dare you! How dare you touch her-!"

"Roxas!" Axel grabbed his friend by the shoulders, forcing Roxas to face him. "Roxas stop! Demyx, get that shithead out of here," The mullet-haired boy did as he was told, dragging the semi-conscious Seifer through the dirt. "Roxas, take Naminé home. We'll take care of Seifer, okay?"

Roxas only glared at Seifer, eyes boring more hate than Axel had ever seen in his life. "Okay?"

When Roxas did nothing but grunt in response, Axel hesitantly let go. His eyes never left his friend as he backed away in the direction Demyx was dragging Seifer. Only when he had reached the two, who were almost too far to see, did he turn around to help.

For a moment Roxas did nothing but stand there, heart pumping and knuckles bleeding as he watched his friends get smaller and smaller in the night. Finally, a soft rustling of leaves behind him snapped him out of his angry daze.

Roxas turned to see Naminé, who had dropped down against the tree, in a more fear-stricken state than he had been in. He quickly ran over to her, kneeling down beside her.

"Naminé? Naminé, are you alright?" He reached out to touch her shoulder, but when he did she flinched and backed towards the tree. "Naminé, it's me. It's Roxas."

Hesitantly, she looked up. And when she did, Roxas was hit with more pain than he had ever experienced in any fight he had ever been in. Tears cascaded from her ocean-blue eyes, and her lips were swollen from abuse. Her hair was out of place and parts clung to her tear-streamed cheeks. It was obvious that her dress had been pulled up franticly, and the straps had been ripped off. She had never looked more vulnerable to Roxas.

"Nam-"

He gasped as she flung her arms around his neck, burrowing her face into his collarbone as she cried. "R-Roxas," She let out another cry. "Roxas, you're here."

Without any more hesitation, he wound his arms around her, holding her tighter than he ever has. One hand smoothed her hair comfortingly as the other pulled her closer to him, until she was nestled into his lap like a baby. "I'm here. I'm here, Nams."

"H-How did you..."

"It's a long story," He sighed. "Come on, I'll take you home."

He stood up, cradling her with little effort as he did so as he made his way back to the restaurant. He set her in the cab of his old Ford carefully before circling the front to the driver's side. He didn't know where Axel and Demyx were with Seifer, but right now his only care was Naminé.

The second he shut the door, she was next to him, leaning into his side and wrapping her arms around his waist with her eyes squeezed shut. He put the keys in the ignition and wrapped one arm around her comfortingly as he drove far away from the restaurant.

"I'll take you to my house, okay? No one's home... and it'll be a lot less to explain," They've had more sleepovers than countable, so it was nothing new. Naminé silently nodded against him, and he made his way to his house.

"Here," Roxas handed her his old football shirt and some black and grey plaid pants as they stood outside the door to the bathroom in his bedroom. "They'll be pretty big on you.. but it'll have to do for tonight."

"Thank you," She told him, her voice barely even a whisper. She walked in to take a shower, but not before stealing one last look his way, as if she was scared to leave him.

So here he was, lying on his bed, gripping his hair in frustration as he tried to get the image of Naminé in the woods out of his head. She looked so torn... so delicate. I wonder if she'll ever be the same again.

He sighed, sitting up. "Wonder if I'll ever be the same again..."

Final Fantasy's "Victory Fanfare" interrupted his thoughts, and he reached into his pocket to pull out his phone, flipping it open after looking at the caller ID.

"Axel."

"Hey. How're you guys holdin' up?" Roxas sighed.

"I should be asking you that."

"He won't go near her again. Let's just leave it at that," Roxas shuddered.

"Where are you now?"

"Police Station."

There was a pause on Roxas's part as he tried to find the words. "Does anyone...?" Does anyone know my best friend was almost raped?

"The cops. No one else will as long as it's what she wants," Roxas again sighed.

"We'll deal with it later. She's kind of..." In shock. Traumatized. Hurt. Shattered. Scared for her life.

"Yeah."

"I'd rather not bring it up now."

"Where is she?"

"Shower," There was a pause, and then a low chuckled. Roxas exhaled in annoyance. I am so not in the mood for this right now.

"Go get 'em, Rox."

With that the line went dead, and Roxas's free hand curled into a fist while the other frustratingly threw the phone against the wall, where it flipped shut. Asshole.

Roxas stood up from his bed and tried to stretch the stress out. He gripped the back of his shirt, pulling it over his head and tossing it into the laundry hamper. There was a squeak from the other side of the room.

He looked over to see Naminé, dressed in his clothes and wet hair fallen over her shoulders, with the darkest tint of pink on her cheeks as she stared, wide eyed, at his abs. Oh, shit.

Roxas opened his mouth to speak, but instead brought his hand to the back of his head to ruffle his spikes, something he only did when he was nervous. He felt his cheeks getting warmer and he looked down as he finally spoke.

"H-How are you f-feeling?" Stupid question.

It was silent in the room for a while.

"U-Um..." Her voice volume still hadn't changed. He looked up to see her remove a strand of wet hair from her face. "W-Where c-can I?"

She held up her light blue dress, and he didn't miss the length she held it from herself or how much her hand was shaking. Roxas wordlessly walked up to her, not breaking their eye contact as he took the dress and threw it across the room. Before she could have time to respond, he wrapped his arms around her upper-torso, pulling her close to his chest.

Naminé's tears instantly fell as she laid her head in-between her hands on his chest. All Roxas could do was bury his cheek in her hair and pull her closer.

"Shh... It's okay, Naminé. You're okay," He begged to kiss her hair when her cries increased.

"R-R-Rox..as..."

"I'm here," He rested his chin atop her head.

"H-H-He..."

"Shh.. It's okay. You're gonna be okay. He won't go near you again. I can promise you that," She sniffled. "You hear me, Nams? You're safe with me. Always."

"R-Roxas..." The hands that had been placed on his chest wound themselves around his torso, and regardless of the situation, Roxas still found his breathing to be cut a little short. Naminé pulled him closer. If you only knew how much this wasn't helping our situation. I cannot deal with this tonight. I can't. God damn it, heart, will you shut up?

"Come here," He pulled her over to his bed and laid her down against the headboard. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," Though she said it so quiet he only heart the 'kay'.

He went into the kitchen and got her some water, giving his heart a little time to calm down. When he went back into the room, he saw that she had started shaking again. Roxas ran to the bed, quickly setting the water down before jumping on the bed and wrapping her in his arms.

"W-W-Will you sleep with me t-tonight?" Roxas nodded against her hair, bringing her closer to his chest. "T-Thanks.."

"No thanks needed." It was silent for a while after that, the only sound being their breaths.

"A-Actually... there is."

"Huh?"

"Thank you, Roxas. You... Y-You saved me," He felt her tighten her grip on him, and he smiled grimly against her hair.

"Well... w-what are... friends for?" He struggled on the word friends, but hugged her tighter.

"How did you know?"

"Huh?"

"Know where I was," He voice was so low and quivering that he had to strain to hear her. Roxas was immediately struck with nervousness and frustration with himself for not thinking of an excuse earlier. God damn it.

"Oh. I..." Crap. "Um..." Crap… "W-Well, I..." CRAAAP...

"Y-You weren't just talking a stroll in the woods with Axel and Demyx…-"

"O-Of course not, but-"

"W-Were you... following me?"

"No! I-I mean...Well... T-That's a very tough word, Nams-"

"Roxas."

"Yes," He immediately confessed. Roxas sighed. "Yes, I was following you."

"Why?" She whispered, letting go of him to look him in the face. Yeah, like that'll make this easier.

"I... Naminé, I.." He looked up to meet her gaze, which broke him down. "I don't know."

"So... What, you just decided to follow me on my date?"

Roxas paused in disbelief. "I-Well, it's a damn good thing I did-!"

"But why?"

"I don't know!"

"Yes, you do-!"

"No, I-!"

"-You're just not telling me!"

"What answer are you looking for?" He yelled, silencing both their rants.

She leaned her back against the headboard, so that they were side by side and both facing forward. "W-What do you mean?"

"You're acting like you expect a specific answer." It was quiet for a moment.

"I-I'm just looking for an answer, Roxas," The fact that her eyes were not boring guilty holes into his cheeks was making talking to her a little better, but Roxas's heart still threatened to beat out of his chest.

"Well, I don't have one."

"People don't just spy on their friends' dates for no reason." He was getting really frustrated now. As was she.

"I was looking out for you."

"Looking out for me? Why?"

Because I'm in love with you, you stupid girl. "Well, maybe I was being a good friend."

"A good friend?" Roxas exhaled.

"Yes, Naminé, a good friend! Because you know, that's all I am to you." Roxas was so angry by now that what he said didn't matter to him. Naminé's face was turning red from frustration.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think it means?"

"I don't know! You're not telling me anything!"

"It's not my fault you're so damn oblivious, Naminé!"

"Well, why don't you give me a clue as to what the hell is going on in your head, Rox-"

And with a furious roll of his eyes, he turned and smashed his lips to hers.

Naminé's eyes widened as she stared at Roxas's closed eyes. The feeling of his hands on her cheeks brought her back from her state of shock, and she quickly kissed him back. A slight, almost silent moan escaped Roxas's lips when he felt her fingers thread through his hair and pulled her closer. Finally.

He pulled away as they ran out of breath, but didn't stop kissing her lips. I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. He thought, as each quick peck to her lips got sweeter.

"There's your clue," he whispered to her, and her eyes widened. It was silent as Naminé looked at him. His heart raced under her gaze, but he tried to keep his composure together. He admitted to himself that it was extremely difficult to keep his cool with their noses touching and their breaths mingling, so he spoke again with desperation. "Please say something."

She didn't. At least, not for a while. There was only the sound of her uneven breaths as Roxas held her face delicately, not daring to look her in the eyes. Finally, she said something. It was quiet and barely audible, but it was enough to make Roxas's soul burst into beams of light.

"I love you, Roxas."

Roxas immediately looked up, eyes wide. Naminé looked up and met his gaze, her eyes holding nervousness and fear of rejection. Roxas smiled slightly, her sentence echoing through his head. He used the hands that were on her cheeks to move stray pieces of hair from her face.

"I love you too." With one last look, he gave her a long kiss that held just as much passion as the first - maybe even more. "God, I love you." He mumbled against her lips, and she smiled into his kisses.

Blocks away, two friends sat on a couch, reveling in the night's events.

"What do you think they're doing?" Demyx said, finally breaking the silence.

"Dunno. They both had a pretty rough night," Demyx's brows furrowed, and he turned to Axel.

"Roxas can't be half as bad as-"

"How would you feel if you had to watch the girl you love go on a date, kiss, and then almost get... well, you know, by some other guy? Let alone it being a guy you've hated since elementary school."

"Pretty bad..."

"Exactly. Kid's probably a wreck," Axel muttered with worry as he leaned back against the leather of Demyx's couch.

Demyx himself sat up in fear. "Well, should we go check on them?"

Axel examined his bleeding knuckles and smirked.

"Nah... they've both got exactly what they need right now... or who they need, I suppose."

So what'd you think? Yeah, Axel's pretty sappy.

I stole Loz's ringtone from "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children" for Roxas's phone. I love it :3

Reviews would be great. Vocabulary, Punctuation, Fragment errors - Just let me know.

It's summer vacation for me, which means I'll probably be writing constantly. I hope to get a thorough start on the multi-chapter version of Kiss Me, my other OS.

Thanks for reading!