* ᵗʰⁱˢ 𝙥𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙩

ㅤㅤㅤhe knew nothing of her, then knew everything about her. and then a denouement where they are strangers again. a misplaced sentimentality. perhaps roxas instead reveled in the confidence that she bared herself to him, and so did he—once, forever ago.

ㅤㅤㅤoutdated as this familiarity may be today, roxas likes to believe at his core that he remains largely the same. static where his friends are a rippling tide he has yet to read. he still worries for her, incessantly, one could say needlessly, even if he knows now that xion has always been stronger than him. still, after only a moment of hesitation, roxas places his palm over her hand. 

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐓: ㅤㅤin the overlap of solace and memory, xion would kick her feet up, fingers and lips slick with sea-salt, and bask in his sun ㅤㅤ ━ㅤㅤ she his icarus, set ablaze by wanting more; to be something more than incomplete, a collection of other's people's transplanted images, haphazardly pulling at her limbs and molding her into a shape she could not fit.

ㅤㅤroxas gave her courage. in the aftermath of her own sacrifice, and subsequently, her reunion, past the point of tears and relief and the swell of returning, there's a gulf that wasn't there before. roxas had to survive her. had to survive the breaking of her body, held as though porcelain in his gloved palms. her closest friend had to grapple her choice for them, for better or for worse.

ㅤㅤnow ㅤㅤ ━ㅤㅤ she's picking up where she left off. xion is given that which she never had: a body and a life she could call her own, seen in the way she needed to be seen, not a reflection nor a burden nor a detriment. and roxas, he is unfamiliar; foreign. grown in ways she was dead to witness. there's tragedy in being still deserving of his kindness. her wings made of wax are feathered now; she can fly just fine.

ㅤㅤbut roxas' hand is over hers and she's back in this rowboat with him and he's handed her the oar. so: ㅤㅤ ‘‘ i've been meaning to say i'm sorry, ’’ㅤㅤ she starts, upturning her hand so the pads of her fingertips can softly circle his palm, ㅤㅤ ‘‘ for not telling you anything. for tricking you. ’’ㅤㅤ she purses her lips into a line, a harsh meeting between sky and sea, guilt harshening her softer features. ㅤㅤ ‘‘ if it was a choice between you or me, i'd always choose you, roxas. ’’ㅤㅤ

↷ ㅤ @c0pyc4t 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 :ㅤ❝ this is a lovely sunset, is it not? ❞

a lovely sunset? yeah. " mhm, sure is. " he answers after a moment, before continuing to nibble on the popsicle in his hand.

the awkward silences between them were more or less par for the course. roxas was the glue that held them together, in his opinion. but he was under the weather, according to saïx. so today ... it was just the two of them. his legs, long and lanky, dangle from the ledge of the clock tower, and he sighs contentedly.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐓𝐒. ㅤthey're outliers, the two of them; an aborted movement. without their bridge, they are opposite cliff-sides, outcroppings of land with a crater in between. but xion wants to be better ' friends ' with axel ━ to force a handicraft hand-made in the shamble of her teeth, a link made with an apprentice's hands. she doesn't know how to be a conversationalist, doesn't know much how to exist at all, with nothing to go by, no foundation or blueprint to her own memory.

ㅤㅤthat's why axel is different. why he's the one who ends up teaching them ━ so in her defense, he should've said something more than ' yeah it is. ' her face pinching, puckered in a childish pout, she takes an extra large chunk out of the corner of her ice cream. it shoots right into her brain, sharp pain at the front of her head with a flinch, and she's already got her fingers pressed to her skin trying to remedy it.

ㅤㅤsee, everything continues to be new, and axel is smiling at her like knowing everything is somehow worse. her mouth opens, closes. her annoyance pops like a bubble that leaves the residue of worry in her instead. roxas isn't feeling well but he's leaving his sediment as dust over them besides, a discomfort that itches on her skin. ‘‘ if you fall axel, i'll catch you, ’’ she says, the blues of her eyes focused on the melting popsicle gripped tight in her gloves. ‘‘ and i'd catch roxas too. ’’

ㅤㅤshe doesn't fashion herself a hero, but xion'd like to think she could save her friends ━ even if it's all hyperbole, and they're talking about the saver and the saved, and she can't begin to touch on why axel is painted in shades of mystery, a landscape she can't reach. if she isn't careful, she'll think he's not real, and axel has always been able to save himself, hasn't he? ‘‘ you miss him, don't you? ’’ the name is caramel in her mouth, sticking behind her teeth. ‘‘ you can say that, you know. ’’

↪ we'd have our idle conversations at the usual place, but you'd always look past me.ㅤ♡ㅤ\ㅤ@c0pyc4t

ㅤㅤㅤㅤa push and pull, like the tides drawn to the will of the moon. nobodies have always been a strange kind to draw power from themselves when there should only be emptiness. today, the gravity of her propels him back in an abrupt change of the air around them. twilight town has always been warm. the company he carried with him made the sunsets a kind observer. and yet roxas could only feel cold when she turned away from him. speaks:

i want you to leave me alone. 

ㅤㅤㅤㅤveins icy / breath stuttering / the storm of his eyes a contained downpour, lest a dam breaks.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤhe doesn't know what happened to them. the three of them, becoming a disjointed and unfitting trio. even after xion's ( forced ) return, they haven't... talked. some sunsets are spent together in silence, and others are just roxas alone. no attempt at an interaction had been made in the last few days. it had been luck to catch her up here at all, and he'd been overjoyed. as much ecstatic a nobody is allowed to feel. and yet.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤthere was so little roxas understood about the ocean and the moon and the natural order of things. he has always been the disruption of nature, always defying. so he reaches—a palm on her shoulder. but the hold is loose, leaving room for her to break free. already expecting the loss of her warmth. nowadays, he doesn't really know his best friends anymore.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ" i'm sorry. if it was something i did, i... " his palms feel clammy beneath the gloves, hands shaking. the seasalt in his other hand remains unforgotten as it drops down, down below, taking roxas' excitement to spend time with his best friend with it. maybe... maybe they didn't want to be his friend anymore? there are pieces of him breaking, jagged, and a thousand cuts to his insides. the fingers on xion's shoulder feel stiff now, feeling regret that he had touched her at all.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤhe breathes in, hardening his resolve despite the breaking in him. each letter by letter a shard carving him inside out. but by stars, if he didn't try, what kind of friend ( if he was one at all ) would roxas be?

ㅤㅤㅤㅤwhen he smiles at her, the curve of his lips are forced taut and his eyes near watery. he nods his head. " if you'd rather just be alone... that's okay. just know that i'm. " a moment of hesitation, finally looking away. his hand withdraws from her shoulder and settles awkwardly to his side. he didn't want to push the wrong buttons again, though it seemed he'd slammed the bond between them for—merely existing, perhaps. " i'm here for you, for whatever you need. and if... and if you want to be alone right now, that's fine too. i'll back off. give you some space. " did she even want his company?

ㅤㅤㅤㅤhe rises from the ledge. offers xion one more smile for good measure. he's unsure if he does so for her sake or his own. a slight shift of the wind that comes slow, as if it felt shame for breezing by at all.

it's always something with you , isn't it ? it's always an emergency .

look , this is your responsibility .

wow , nice trick . i'm sure you're a hit at parties .

so ... you think you're ready .

i called you . all weekend . where were you ?

okay , we have got to pull you together .

you can't run away hard enough , can you ?

i know where you were all weekend .

life is raw , everybody medicates .

i love you . call me , okay ?

am i hallucinating ?

come on , or you'll miss it .

can i start over ? please .

i'm going to make sure you don't remember a thing .

playing with time is such difficult magic .

don't bother trying to compare yourself .

it's good to be aware the world is blatantly unfair .

it's my fault that they said that .

if you think my family is some sort of advantage , you've been misinformed .

maybe i wouldn't let myself forget .

that was before i knew there was something else .

it's really okay if this is not your thing .

you're hurting yourself , & you're not okay .

i just needed to see if i was right .

we've been watching you for quite a while now .

hello ? do you need help ?

you feel right because you're starting towards your destiny .

for some reason , you're involved . so be involved .

look , hold that thought , okay ?

i'm obviously coming with you .

there's no such thing as safe magic .

what is this place exactly , besides a health hazard ?

you ask a lot of questions .

jesus , you didn't tell me you were dangerous .

it's a little bit bigger than messing up .

there's a bad story every few years around here .

can you just help me live with myself ?

i'm gonna tell you something deep & dark & personal now .

i'm trying to tell you , you are not alone here .

i don't know . i wanna be your friend , i guess .

you should hate me right now .

the last thing i wanted to do growing up was read fantasy .

let's just say life wasn't exactly non-stop fun growing up .

if you're guilty , i'm guilty .

come do something stupid with me before you go .

okay , you know what ? i'm not interested in your personal issues .

this isn't just some lark to me , just so you know .

i mean seriously , what do they expect , you know ?

look , you can't run away from you .

there's nothing i can do in this moment to stop the comet from crashing into the earth , is there ?

i keep trying to tell myself that this is somehow better .

you don't see color & want to go back to black & white .

you can't help , & i can't help you .

what the hell was that , you maniac ?

why would you ever trust anyone ?

i'm willing to teach the right people what i know . & i know a lot .

you're lucky i can fix this .

hey , have you heard of karma ? sometimes it's instant .

i'm generous with you , considering .

get me everything on this list . this week .

why even ask , if you'll just forget it again ?

that's not a real answer .

you're a much better liar than i expected you to be .

do you think you have a destiny ?

there is no destiny . no born heroes .

you can either step up to it or not , that's up to you .

I'm on the verge of losing everything I care about.

remake of this gifset with better quality footage and no more ghost frames