#Rokunami Zine
Text
A Splash of Color
(art by @amyhayanora)
Summary:
After having been restored to her own body, it was time for Naminé to find a permanent home.
Somewhere she belonged. Somewhere she felt safe and wanted.
There was a place like this and a person very eager to see her again.
Rating: General
Genre: Romance
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Disney/Square Enix.
This story has been written as part of the Rokunami zine in 2022 ❤
Thank you so much to the zine mods, the project was a pleasure to take part in and it was absolutely worth it! ❤ 10/10 would do it again
Another big thank you goes to @amyhayanora who I was lucky to collaborate with and who ended up drawing the beautiful banner to this story ❤
The Leftover sales are open for another week! Please check it out at http://rokunamizine.bigcartel.com !!
Please enjoy!
To say that Naminé was nervous was an understatement. Her heart pounded, her lip trembled and her stomach fluttered when she finally came to a stop in front of the Old Mansion. The place she might be calling home from now on.
"What are you afraid of?"
Ansem the Wise, who was accompanying her on her way, looked at her inquiringly, but Naminé just shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know," she murmured, but she knew very well. Rejection . What if they had changed their minds about letting her live with them?
“They are very happy to welcome you to their home,” Ansem the Wise tried reassuring her, and despite her mostly negative experience with the man, she felt touched by the recent kindness he’d shown her. "Any friend of Sora's can't help but be open to other hearts. And I know Roxas especially is very eager to see you again."
Color rose into Naminé's cheeks, and she tried to hide it behind her braid that rested over her right shoulder, very well aware of the amused smile that had appeared on Ansem the Wise’s face.
"I hope so."
"Well then, are you ready?"
No . "Yes," she said anyway, and Ansem the Wise stepped forward to ring the doorbell.
Even though it took merely a minute or two for the doors to open, to Naminé, it felt like hours. She clutched the small potted plant in her arms harder against her chest as she dug her white sneakers into the dirt path.
Maybe nobody was home? Maybe they decided they didn't want her to live with them after all? Maybe—?
And then, finally , the double doors opened and revealed the blond-haired boy Naminé had been longing to meet again the most.
"Axel, if you forgot your keys again , I swear I'll—" he started grumbling, but as his gaze wandered from her light denim overall skirt and white shirt up to her face, recognition kicked in, and his expression turned from surprised to flustered.
“Naminé?”
“Hello, Roxas,” Naminé replied and allowed herself a small, relieved smile. Time seemed to stand still as the two of them gazed into each other’s eyes.
“Hello, Roxas,” Ansem the Wise greeted Roxas as well, who Roxas acknowledged with a nod before turning back to Naminé.
“I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow.”
“Is it a bad time?”
“No no no, not at all!" Roxas frantically waved his arms around. "It’s just that I would’ve come to the train station to meet you.” He took a step back and looked up at Ansem the Wise. “Please, come in.”
Ansem the Wise shook his head and waved Roxas off. “I simply came to see Naminé off. I hope you’ll all get along well together. Good luck.” He turned to leave, but Naminé stopped him.
“Lord Ansem? Thank you. For everything.”
"You're very welcome, my dear. Take care. You’re always welcome to visit Radiant Garden. All of you are."
He walked off in the direction of the woods, arms behind his back, and Naminé followed Roxas inside, past the heavy doors into the big foyer. There, Roxas seemed a little lost for a second, and Naminé took the opportunity to examine him more closely. Even though Roxas ran a hand through his hair and smoothed down a couple of strands, they sprang back up into their signature windswept look immediately. He looked healthy, too—the dark bags underneath his eyes that Naminé saw in his memories before were completely gone, and it seemed like he’d grown a few inches since the last time she’d seen him.
All in all, he looked happy with that slight grin on his lips as his ocean blue eyes met hers.
Naminé's cheeks grew warm.
"Sorry about that!" he told her sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I was a little taken off guard for a second there. Can I take your backpack?"
"It's okay, it's not heavy at all. But you can take this." Naminé handed him the plant and added, "This is a gift, for all of you, for letting me move in. It’s a Calathea, and it symbolizes a new beginning.”
"That's perfect for us,” Roxas replied with a smile. “Isa and Axel aren't really into that stuff, but Xion will love it. Thank you."
“Speaking of which, are they home?”
"Isa and Axel are at work. I know, I know! Who would’ve thought Axel had it in him, right? And Olette invited Xion over so she can share some of her old clothes with her for the time being.” Naminé saw him bite his lip. “How’s your situation?”
“I’m good. I’m smaller than Kairi, so she offered me a ton of clothes she can’t fit into anymore.”
“Is she okay?”
“She tries to be.”
Roxas nodded, and Naminé was very glad that he didn’t push the topic further.
"Let me give you a little tour of the house,” he said. “As you can see, we turned the foyer into our living room. The couches are secondhand, but we cleaned them all up and they're really comfortable." He wriggled his way through the couches and coffee table to a small, inconspicuous side table near the garden doors.
"And look, we just found the perfect spot for our little Calendula!"
"Calathea!" With her hand covering her lower face, Naminé started to giggle at Roxas’s disarming grin as he just shrugged at her correction before leading her through the rest of the house. At the end, there were only two rooms left for Naminé to see.
"And this is my room." He reached past her to turn the doorknob and push the door open. “Sorry, it’s still a little messy, I just finished painting the walls.”
Curious, Naminé stepped closer to the door and looked inside. Indeed, a few buckets and cans of paint were still standing next to one of the surprisingly dark blue walls, but the color worked well with the black furniture and light sheets and curtains.
“It’s cozy,” she reassured him when her eyes caught an empty stand next to a beanbag in the corner of the room. “You have a guitar?”
“Not yet,” Roxas explained as he rubbed his neck. “I found this stand in the library, I assume it was a violin stand beforehand. Either way, I want to buy one, one day. I hate admitting it, but I was always kind of jealous of Demyx's sitar.”
“That sounds nice. Having a dream to look forward to.”
Naminé smiled sadly. She didn’t know what she wanted to do, what she looked forward to. As of now, she seemed to live aimlessly, just watching the days go by.
"You can find one, too. You just need some time and a place to think about it. Which reminds me—" he pulled his door closed and turned around, to the door opposite his.
"This is your room."
"It’s the White Room."
Not waiting for a reply, Naminé walked past him and opened the door herself. As always, the evening sun's rays filtered in through the delicate white curtain as it danced in the wind.
“Is this okay?” Roxas asked. “I know you might not have the best memories of this room.”
“This room wasn't so bad, you know?” Naminé replied, and after dropping off her backpack next to the bed, she walked across the room to the wide windows to peer through the curtains. “I’ve always liked the view from here. I loved drawing the animals in the woods in my free time.”
She turned back to Roxas. “And it was in this room that we finally got to talk for a few minutes. Even if it was mostly through a hologram of me.”
“This is where you told me the truth,” Roxas remembered now and Naminé nodded. “You promised we would meet again.”
“And we did.”
Naminé smiled and looked around the room before sighing.
“What’s the matter?”
“The room wasn’t so bad, but it always felt cold with its white walls and white furniture. With my pale skin, blond hair and white skirt, I blended right in. Like I didn’t exist. And I didn’t.”
“But now you do,” Roxas emphasized, “and with a little bit of color, the room will soon feel much more inviting. Gimme a sec!”
Naminé cocked her head, but before she could ask Roxas what he meant, he had sprinted out of the room and returned just as quickly, this time with some paint, a paint roller and paintbrush in hand.
“How about a splash of color on your walls?” he asked her as he opened the bucket of white paint, then a can of dark blue paint. “We could paint one or two of your walls in any shade of blue you want. We don’t have any other colors at home currently—”
“Blue is fine! I really like pastel blue.”
Roxas grinned and handed Naminé the can. Together, they mixed the right shade and after taping off the floor and side walls, they started to paint. It didn’t take long for Naminé to hum happily as she was painting and soon, Roxas joined in. They grinned and smiled at each other as they attacked the white of the wall.
“Oh no,” Naminé murmured as she looked down at a small dresser closest to the wall they were painting. She tried to remove the paint with her finger, but it only spread over the white surface.
“What’s wrong?”
“The paint splashed on the dresser.”
Roxas climbed down the ladder he had propped up against the wall and looked at the dresser, then at Naminé, then back at the dresser before taking his wet paint roll and rolling it over the top of the dresser.
“Roxas!”
“You wanted more color in your life, so why don't we paint more than just your wall?”
"But—"
Before Naminé was able to react, Roxas scooped up some paint from the paint roller and bopped her nose. She stared at him speechless, trying to process what had just happened, and it seemed like Roxas had also just now realized what he’d done.
"Naminé? I—I'm sorry, I didn't think—"
Neither did Naminé, apparently, because this time, she was the one who dipped her finger into the paint bucket and quickly drew a line across Roxas's cheek, leaving him dumbfounded and her giggling.
"Oh, it is on ," he teased and chased her around as she tried to escape his wet paintbrush with a squeak.
At the end of the day, Naminé and Roxas flopped down on her bed, covered in splashes of blue, muscles sore from laughing and giggling, but proud of having finished painting the wall, her dresser and a few side stools for plants.
“I’ll be right back,” Roxas promised after a few minutes and dashed outside while Naminé sat up and looked over her room. She couldn’t help but smile—it really felt a lot more homey with this little change, and she got to make a new memory with Roxas while doing this.
Naminé pressed her hands against her warm cheeks when Roxas returned.
"I lied when I said we've been living off of pizza. We've also been living off of these ."
“Sea-salt ice cream?” Naminé asked him with a grin as she took the bar he offered her and inspected it closely.
“Yep! Our fridge is filled to the brim with these. House rule.”
Naminé giggled and under the watchful eyes of Roxas, she took her first bite of the ice cream bar.
“So?” He bounced up and down on the bed like an excited puppy, and it was at that moment that Naminé decided to play a little prank on him. “What do you think?”
“It’s salty. And sweet.”
“Yes!”
“It’s disgusting.”
Color drained from Roxas’s face and he gasped, completely in shock. “What?”
“I’m just kidding! It’s delicious, thank you.”
Roxas puffed his cheeks out and nudged her playfully. “You gave me a heart attack!”
“Sorry!” Naminé giggled and soon, Roxas chimed in until enough of his ice cream bar melted that it dripped on his pants, which only resulted in the both of them giggling harder.
In the end, they calmed down, and with her heart pounding out of her chest, Naminé leaned her head against Roxas’s shoulder. He stiffened under her touch and she considered sitting up straight again, but then she felt him rest his head on her own and she suddenly felt warm all over.
“Roxas? Thank you for making me feel at home.”
“You’re more than welcome.”
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Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Naminé/Roxas (Kingdom Hearts)
Characters: Naminé (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Original Characters
Additional Tags: Comfort Reading, Inspired by Gilmore Girls, Romance, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Sort Of, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, undeniable proof reference - iykyk, when I say inspired by gg, I mean it's practically an au but without the characters or the copious amounts of coffee, or the references, Mentioned Kingdom Hearts characters, Zine: The Way You Remember Me: A RokuNami Crimson Strings of Fate Fanzine
Summary:
Twilight Town is just like any other charmingly small town in that it loves its gossip and it can't know when to quit. Especially when it comes to the love lives of its residents, old and new. They will tell you that they know what's really going down between their resident candyman Roxas and the new florist, Naminé. But there are some details that are not meant for even the sneakiest and hungriest of gossips. The most patient and romanitcally-inclined among the gossips know that they only need to wait for Roxas and Naminé to prove them right.
--
Or, the story of how two introverted business owners fell in love while living in a quirky town that can't mind its own business.
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A/N: I've cross-posted the fanfic on here and AO3, for your reading ease and pleasure!
#rokunami#Kingdom Hearts#Roxas#Namine#rokunami zine#rokunamizine#kh fanfic#kh fanfiction#fanfic#My writing
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A little snippet from my piece for the @twosidesfanzine ~!
I'm pleased to have had the privilege to take part in this wonderful project with so many talented artists! The cookbook is filled with recipes and art made with love~♥
All profits will go to the charity Feeding America!
Check out the zine..!!
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Two Sides Volume 2 Preorders Are Open!
🍽️ Preorders for Two Sides Volume 2: A SoKai and RokuNami Cookbook are now open!
Our zine features 33 recipes with art and stories based on those recipes and fun food-themed merch, all celebrating Sora, Kairi, Roxas, and Naminé!
All profits will go to the charity Feeding America 🍽️
Store: https://twosideszine.bigcartel.com/
See below the cut for bundle information!
Bundles
🍽️ Two Sides Feast Early Bird Special ($90 + shipping) includes physical and digital versions of the zine + all of the zine's merch + unlocked stretch goals.
For the first 72 hours, this bundle is on sale for $90 + shipping. Afterwards it will be $100 + shipping.
🍽️ Bistro Beef Bourguignon ($85 + shipping) includes physical and digital versions of the zine, digital merch, 7 prints, 1 A5 sticker sheet, 2 buttons, 3 acrylic charms, 1 shaker charm, 1 enamel pin, 1 tea tin, and 1 standee. All unlocked stretch goals will also be included!
🍽️ Sea-Salt Sundae ($70 + shipping) is our merch bundle and includes the digital version + digital merch, 7 prints, 1 A5 sticker sheet, 2 buttons, 3 acrylic charms, 1 shaker charm, 1 enamel pin, 1 tea tin, 1 standee, 1 tea towel, 1 apron, and all unlocked stretch goals!
🍽️ Destiny Islands Bisque ($60 + shipping) includes the physical version of the zine, 7 prints, 1 A5 sticker sheet, 2 buttons, 3 acrylic charms, and 1 shaker charm. All unlocked stretch goals will also be included!
🍽️ Twilight Caprese Salad ($45 + shipping) includes the physical version of the zine, 7 prints, and 1 A5 sticker sheet. All unlocked stretch goals will also be included!
🍽️ Oathkeeper Appetizers ($35 + shipping) includes the physical version of the zine and all unlocked stretch goals!
🍽️ Duality Delights ($20 + shipping) is available as an add-on and includes 1 apron and 1 tea towel!
🍽️ Sunset Cocktail ($15) is our digital-only bundle and includes a PDF version of the zine, the cover art as a desktop wallpaper, 2 phone wallpapers, 2 coloring pages, 4 icons, and 10 emotes. This bundle can be added to other bundles for just $5!
#kingdom hearts#kh#sokai#rokunami#sora#kairi#roxas#namine#naminé#twosidesfanzine#sora x kairi#sora/kairi#roxas x namine#roxas/namine#roxas x naminé#roxas/naminé#kh zine#twosideszine#announcement#preorders open#store open
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Have you already looked at @twosidesfanzine ? here is a small preview of a comic I made for this colorful cookbook. Looks like they have found something tasty!
So much talent from chefs, writers and artists squeezed in few pages, and the merch is incredible!
Time to grab a copy!
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my preview for @twosidesfanzine 🍽️🌹
a kh zine featuring dishes inspired by different worlds from the series. Do check it out if you’re a fan of traveling + cuisine!
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Preview of my piece from @twosidesfanzine
Currently pre-order is open so dont forget to get your copy!
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A sneak peek at my fic for @twosidesfanzine a Kingdom Hearts sokai and RokuNami cookbook!Sora and Kairi fulfill a promise at a place they can always come back to 🏝️☀️
Get your copy of the zine here: twosideszine.bigcartel.com
A major thank you to @wiavi for the gorgeous spot art and @true-intha-blue for the delicious island tart of legend ✨
Preorders are open now! All profits will go to the charity Feeding America! You definitely don’t want to miss Sokai and RokuNami’s delicious cooking adventure💖
For UK buyers: forms.gle/qaR2TmY3nx9jmi……
#kingdomhearts#kingdom hearts#sokai#sora#kairi#roxas#namine#rokunami#kingdom hearts ii#kingdom hearts iii#kh3#kh fanart#kingdomhearts fanfic#kh fanfic#sokai fanfic#my fanfiction#twosidesfanzine#kh zine#khzines#cookbookzine#kingdom hearts cookbook
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Two Sides Fanzine Preview
I had the pleasure to write a sokai story for the @twosidesfanzine, a sokai and rokunami cookbook featuring recipes, art, and writing based on Disney worlds ✨ Here’s a little sneak peek of my story and some of the beautiful spot art done by @nosieposie! Can you tell which Disney world it’s in yet? 😉
Pre-orders are ending in a few days, so get a bundle while you can! All proceeds will go to Feeding America 🥰
#kingdom hearts#twosidesfanzine#twosideszine#sokai#rokunami#sora#kairi#roxas#naminé#zine preview#kh fanart#kh fanfiction#my writing#dusky writing#nosieposie#charity zine
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Two Sides Zine Preview
Here's a sneak peek at my story for @twosidesfanzine about Sora, Kairi, Roxas, and Naminé visiting old friends in a newly-restored castle 🌹 🏰
A big thank you to @luxmoogle for drawing the beautiful banner art and Scarlet for creating the delicious apple rose tartlet recipe 🍎 And thank you to all the contributors for all your hard work on this zine! It’s been amazing watching it all come together ❤️
All profits will go to the charity Feeding America!
Get your copy of the zine here. For UK buyers please see this form.
#kingdom hearts#kh#sokai#rokunami#sora#kairi#roxas#namine#naminé#kh zine#twosideszine#twosidesfanzine#phoenix writes#phoenix-downer
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A preview of my piece for @twosidesfanzine
I adore the idea of having it as a cookbook with food that features different worlds. You can easily guess which world I drew for😆
Preorders are now open so come grab a bundle for more amazing works and recipes🍽️ Link to the zine right here: twosideszine.bigcartel.com
This zine is also for charity so it's going to a good cause 😄
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Thank you so, so much @rokunamizine !
My copy came in and there's SO MUCH STUFF I struggled to fit it all into a photo! A big thank you to the amazing mods, my wonderful illustrator, the incredibly talented contributors and everyone who supported and bought the zine ❤
It was a joy to work on this project, every single item was carefully wrapped and made its way across countries to me unharmed and there was a super sweet thank you note included, too 🥺
I can't wait to work with you guys again, you are the best 🥰
(Please don't mind the terrible photo, I'm BAD at taking pictures 😭 )
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Zine Fic: Candy Roses
Pairing: Roxas/Namine (RokuNami)
Characters: Roxas, Namine, Original Characters (OCs), other KH characters mentioned
Summary:
Twilight Town is just like any other charmingly small town in that it loves its gossip and it can't know when to quit. Especially when it comes to the love lives of its residents, old and new. They will tell you that they know what's really going down between their resident candyman Roxas and the new florist, Naminé. But there are some details that are not meant for even the sneakiest and hungriest of gossips. The most patient and romanitcally-inclined among the gossips know that they only need to wait for Roxas and Naminé to prove them right.
Or, the story of how two introverted business owners fell in love while living in a quirky town that can't mind its own business.
A/N: This was written for @rokunamizine, a nonprofit zine for RokuNami in predominantly AU settings. That was what partly inspired me to write a story where Twilight Town is just a little bit weirder and quirkier, like the town in ‘Gilmore Girls’, Stars Hollow. But with none of the pop-culture references. I’m so excited to be sharing my story here! I want to thank the moderators of the zine for giving me the opportunity to write for their zine, and to meet other writers and artists who produced just some of the best pieces!
A special thanks to @somniumars for creating this special banner for the fic!
The zine store is currently still open for leftover sales, so if you’re interested do check it out!
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Twilight Town was the sort of town that saw beauty in the absurdly weird and liked to celebrate its history. It was also a town that loved gossip, especially about the love lives of its citizens. The love story of the previous owners of the flower and candy shops was particularly juicy: featuring betrayal, public screaming matches, and failing businesses.
So when news broke that a young woman would be moving into town and opening a flower shop in late March, people were quick to speculate, especially because there was so little information about her. All the townspeople knew definitively was her name: Naminé.
Amongst the speculation was a not-so-innocent observation that she and the owner of the current candy and ice-cream shop, Roxas, would meet and strike up a doomed romance, if history was any indication. Much to his frustration, Roxas was forced to hear people “inconspicuously” discuss it within his vicinity.
(“I am asking you politely to please move aside for customers if you aren’t here to buy anything.” “You told us to buzz off!”)
Naminé’s arrival coincided with the annual Starlight Festival, so no one paid her much attention. Although it was her first day and she was exhausted from moving, the festive air piqued her interest, and she ventured out later that night, following the star patterns on the sidewalk to the town square. At the center, the gazebo adorned with luminous fairy lights beckoned. Meanwhile, Roxas closed shop at 6pm to join his friends. Even if the romantic overtones of the festival couldn’t be ignored, there was always food, and there was no denying how picturesque the town square looked that night.
Halfway through the evening, the town’s mayor stood at the gazebo to address the crowd by retelling the legend of the lovers who found each other in the darkest of nights.
“Under the cover of night, they ran away to find each other. Though hope seemed lost, the stars shone brightly, lighting a path for them to follow until it brought them here.” The mayor pointed to the ground where he stood. “At this spot, the lovers were united at last.”
From across the gazebo, their eyes met. They did not gaze at each other for long, but it was still enough. Even as they spent the rest of the night with other people, they periodically glanced at each other, but did not catch the other person’s eye again.
For two weeks after the festival, the townsfolk could only talk about the new florist and how mysterious she seemed. The most curious and bored of these citizens deliberated over any occasion that Naminé and Roxas could have had contact together. Even when the consensus was that they were certainly in love by now, there was no straight story as to how it started.
The fact is, their first proper meeting was at a party. Having befriended Naminé almost right away, Olette, who worked in the town hall, invited her newest friend to meet her oldest friends. This included Roxas, who could rival Naminé as the quietest person in the room. In spite of this, or perhaps because of it, the two quietest people soon found each other.
After cursory introductions were made, Naminé said, “I wanted to see you.”
“Really?” asked Roxas. He couldn’t help but smile as Naminé’s cheeks blushed a rosy pink.
“What I mean is, I wanted to thank you in person.” At Roxas’s confusion, she elaborated, “For the business owners’ welcome package.”
“Oh. It wasn’t much. I hope you liked the candy.”
“I did. I had to pace myself so I wouldn't eat it all, especially the candied apricots.”
Roxas brightened. “You liked those?”
“I did!” And she meant it.
It was his turn to blush. “Thanks. I’m really glad you do. But if anything, I should be thanking you for your gift. The flower’s really nice, and the thank-you note too.” Your handwriting is as cute as your art, he wanted to add. “I’ve been trying to take good care of it.”
“Pansies just need regular watering, and they do better away from direct sunlight in the afternoon,” Naminé explained. “But if you need any help, you can come to me.” For more than plant care advice, I hope.
And just like that, Roxas and Naminé were on their way to becoming friends.
At that same town square later that spring, the two of them swapped childhood stories. They marveled at the ease with which they could talk about themselves and share so much of their lives.
(“You really wanted to be a bee?!” “I had just learnt about them, I thought that was the only way I could understand—stop laughing!”)
While walking his dog on an August afternoon, Roxas shared his early missteps in running his own business right after college.
(“So what did you do with the extra five pounds of salt you ‘accidentally’ ordered?” “Put those fingers down. What didn’t go into the sea-salt ice cream went into the salt taffy. For two months...”)
Naminé shared her own college stories with gentle encouragement (and a little ice cream bribery) while drying off from the annual Water Gun Fight during the first September weekend.
(“And that’s the one and only time I ever went to a rave.” “You still design tattoos for free though, right?”)
By October, they were good friends, maybe even best friends. But somehow not a couple. Some of the sharpest and most gossipy eyes among the townsfolk were quick to latch onto moments where they were seen in public together as undeniable proof that they were deeply in love and could not be kept apart. he more skeptical folks were just as quick to point out that they could simply be friends who shared a close platonic bond.
But even the most observant of starry-eyed gossips can miss some details. Like how, late one night in early November, Roxas and Naminé drove to a grassy hill that overlooked the town in all its dimly lit glory. The sky was unusually clear and so the stars were especially bright. It was the perfect night to stargaze, to feel immersed in this cosmic wonder with the person next to you. As if moved by the stars themselves, they faced each other at the same time and leaned forward. They could still see stars under their closed eyes as their lips met. Her soft breaths mingled with his and the heat of his cheeks on her cool fingers proved equally enchanting. In the space between their lips they whispered a quiet desire for the night to not end here. They hoped it was only the beginning.
One day in the first week of February, the local diner was abuzz when Roxas and Naminé walked in together wearing matching red scarves! Matching! Red! Scarves!
So what if they were not perfectly identical? Two people of opposite genders were together, wearing matching clothing! They had to be dating! It took considerable patience from Roxas to not snap at the other diners, and even Naminé was visibly bothered but said nothing. Had she known the scarves would be such a big deal to the townsfolk, she might have risked the terrible cold and put hers away beforehand.
(But when she remembered an earlier moment, when she brushed stray snowflakes off Roxas’s thicker scarf first, and how Roxas followed by pulling her closer to his face with her own scarf, she couldn’t really regret it. When she tried the same thing later at his doorstep, his dopey grin told her he had no regrets of his own.)
But that was all the town had—speculation and gossip. There was no undeniable proof after all until early March at the town’s annual Pick-a-Nic Basket Auction.
Always hosted at the town square, participants would put together a picnic basket that would be up for auction. The basket-makers would also be available to spend time with the person who won if they so desired. While this was not mandatory, it had become so commonplace that it was all but accepted as a way for couples, established and prospective, to make public displays. The town’s favorite secret couple provided their own baskets from their businesses, both going for high bids. They would not bid on each other’s baskets, lest they get the rumor mill running. It did not go unnoticed that Naminé arrived with Olette instead of Roxas. Meanwhile, it was suspicious that Roxas neither raised his hand nor his voice over Naminé’s picnic basket, even when the town’s deputy sheriff and local pain in the rear, Seifer, placed a bid.
Then a basket strapped to a red skateboard was on the docket, courtesy of Hayner, the manager of the town’s skateboard shop.
“Also, the winner gets skateboarding lessons from me and Roxas!” he announced.
The bidding started at $10, but it was not long before bids started coming in, mainly from young women seizing on the chance to get Roxas’s company at last. It was down to two women, Selphie and Rikku, who kept upping each other’s bids. When the bid reached $60, that seemed to be it. The auctioneer, Old-Man McCartney, raised his gavel to close the bid…
“$100!” a voice cried out, shaky but loud. Every head turned, agog to see quiet, meek Naminé standing straight and determined. This included Roxas, who stood awestruck on the other side of the gazebo.
“$101!” one of the girls shouted to no avail.
“$150!” Naminé cried immediately, almost frantically.
“150 going once, going twice…” Old-Man McCartney banged his gavel on the podium. “Sold!”
Naminé kept her head down as she collected the basket-skateboard combo and made her way out of the crowd amidst the (gleefully gosippy) whispers.
“Wow, I didn’t know Naminé wanted skateboarding lessons that much,” Hayner said.
Roxas silently followed after her where she stood alone in an alleyway by a café. Even as they stood together, they didn’t exchange a word. Instead, Roxas took the basket-skateboard from Naminé and let her lead them further into the alley.
“I thought we agreed we weren’t going to bid on each other’s baskets,” said Roxas, breaking the silence.
“We did. But I didn’t know about this,” Naminé rebutted.
“It was kind of last minute,” Roxas admitted abashedly. When Naminé turned away, he reached out to gently tilt her face up to look into her eyes, searching for answers.
“I know that it wouldn’t have meant anything to you, but something about seeing someone else think they could be with you when I’m right here.” Naminé muttered. “I don’t want to hide anymore.”
This would have been an opportunity to point out that Naminé was in fact hiding, but Roxas didn’t take it.
“Twilight Town is so weird sometimes, and I love it for that,” Naminé went on. “I love that they don’t hide it. So why should I hide that you’re with me?”
“I love being with you. You know that.” Roxas smiled. “I just don’t like that the town cares about this so much.”
“Do you think we’ve given them something to talk about?” she asked.
“More than enough to last a lifetime,” he grumbled half-heartedly. “Maybe it won’t matter if we go public.”
They weren’t entirely wrong. Tongues wagged when people saw Roxas run after Naminé into an alley (the pearl-clutchers clutched in horror). Naminé’s stunt at the Pick-a-Nic Basket Auction was the talk of the town for days. But just as quickly, people would move on to the Next Big Thing. In time, the couple felt more comfortable with public displays of affection that didn’t have onlookers and gawkers.
(To the town’s credit, they understood that Roxas and Naminé’s relationship was none of their business, and it was easier to ignore the duo's PDA once the gossipers realized they were a boringly happy couple.)
Whether a secret or a public affair, the couple would still share themselves with each other. That never changed. Before they knew it, it was time for the Starlight Festival once more. This also marked one year since Naminé moved into town as the new florist. It would show later that evening, as floral wreaths and garlands hung off the gazebo’s pillars, and flower crowns and laurels were up for sale to mark the occasion.
This was not the first event the florist and her candyman beau attended as a couple, and it would (happily) not be the last. Naminé and Roxas spent half the evening together selling his newest ice cream flavors: lavender rosemary, and rose. When they were completely sold out, the couple joined the celebration together, among friends old and new.
They stood in the center of the festival-goers gathered around the gazebo for the mayor’s annual speech, which once again consisted of a retelling of the legend of the star-crossed lovers that found the town together.
“…The stars showed them the way. They moved the lovers to safety, to sanctuary, to each other!”
Arm in arm, Roxas and Naminé faced each other. There was no need to speak tonight. They’d already found their way.
#Kingdom Hearts#rokunami#Roxas#Namine#rokunami zine#modern day au#My writing#fanfic#kh fanfiction#kh fanzine
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Lazy Afternoons are the best!
Here’s a preview of my piece for @twosidesfanzine 🍳
Preorders are available here: twosideszine.bigcartel.com
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In only a few hours, we unlocked this adorable magnet designed by @pana-see-ya through our social media stretch goal campaign on twitter! 🥳
It will now be included in all physical bundles!
Get your copy of the zine today: https://twosideszine.bigcartel.com
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Thank you once again @twosidesfanzine for this amazing opportunity. It was fun to cook and draw and I look forward to all the other amazing projects of food, art and stories everyone else did!
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