sirenspull_logs | ⁂ come on, try a little

Entry tags:

aqua,
xemnas

⁂ come on, try a little

Who:

edge_of_nothing; open [please message one of us before jumping in though! ♥]
When: [forward-dated -- past the Groundhog Day event] late morning into lunch time.
Where: Small shopping outlet, possibly the surrounding areas later. Starting out at a small cafe/deli.
Summary: Two very different individuals formally cross paths for the first time.
Warnings: Probable creeper-ing. :|a

It was almost over.

It was her biggest 'shopping day' since she'd received her first pay check there in Siren's Port -- second only to the frantic venture that was her search for appropriate winter clothing, which, thankfully, she was now able to comfortably adorn herself with. There were a few old Christmas gifts that had been undelivered, but it seemed unfair to dross those items up in red and pink wrapping paper and pass them off as presents from the upcoming holiday. Perhaps if they were supplemented -- if the thought was made more genuine ...

She'd been up since the stores were open on that day, having come to the resolute conclusion to complete all of her shopping for the event of Valentine's Day, and at last, it was time to take a breather. Of course, she'd gotten all of the easy shopping out of the way first -- basic craft supplies to decorate the house and construct festive nick-knacks, charms, and cards, which occupied the largest plastic bag sitting against the leg of her metallic table, a medium-sized, circular box that had been bagged to her right, and about two or three smaller paper bags overflowing with brightly colored tissue hanging on the angled corner of the chair she occupied.

And now ... There were only two names left on her gift list.

Aqua, cross-legged, enjoyed the sun in that warmest time of the day in her outdoor table alone, took a slow, careful sip of a frothy tea latte while scrolling mindlessly around on the NV network. Groceries last, she reasoned. I can make a quick trip home to drop these things off ... but I'll be catching the crowds at the mall afterward ...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There was nothing wrong with a contact that had not been heard from in a while. Nothing at all. Perhaps it was someone she met some time ago. With the city's pace, that usually happened. Excusable.

If only she knew.

A three-toned chirp announced the incoming text. The NV tried to peek at the Superior as he read the simple response in silence.

He didn't expect this. There was no tension behind these words. It was just a normal reply. Too normal. Although a few minutes had passed, Xemnas got back to her.

- Always good to hear. Busy? -

The NV (somehow) wiggled with delight. It was happy to be out in the sunlight again. That and it was being useful.

That time, she waited patiently at the table for the next reply to come, physically paused in that half-prepared state, with one proverbial foot out the door. If the message was coming from a work-related contact, there was definitely grounds for Aqua to feel embarrassed or even ashamed of herself -- things were different now. She had a boss to answer to, co-workers to cooperate with, and students that she was responsible for. Thus far, she'd been downright negligent of keeping track of faces, names, and contact information outside of the physical school.

Maybe she had mentioned her day out to somebody. Or maybe Ven caught her sneaking out of the house that morning.

Or ... maybe ...

Exhaling through a bit of resistance, she sighed away the bubbling beginnings of an inkling of stress and did what she could to fit both bags over her shoulder. It wasn't particularly balanced, but now she could continue on texting with both hands as she departed from the table, starting off in a direction down the sidewalk ...

... The opposite direction of the message's sender.

Whatever the case may be, ambiguity would be her best friend in this scenario.

- With the holiday around the corner, isn't everyone? -

The minor and somewhat foggy details worked in his favor. In a few sentences, he earned a level of trust that wasn't reserved for him.

Lunch was and had been a forgotten pursuit.

People continued to gather and leave. With each shift, Xemnas also fell back into step with the erratic rhythm of the street, calm in composure as he scanned the area once more. It wasn't too difficult spotting Aqua among the others, but he waited. The NV sent the next message in its input.

- Holiday? It must have slipped my mind. -

As casual a conversation it was, he purposely played the fool. And it wouldn't take long for him to follow after the Keyblade Master.

Maintaining the distance was important.

There had to be a way to solve the mystery of who was sending all of those messages without asking outright. She didn't have any reason to suspect foul intentions -- not yet, at least. Her sent responses were broad enough, but ... other than the very first text, so were the received questions.

And, perhaps worst of all, she was curious.
Keeping her destination in mind, Aqua kept a casual pace.

- Shame on you! Your sweetheart will be disappointed if you forget. -

There. A student would certainly reply one way ... a co-worker, another. And that would probably be enough to lure out the butt of whatever joke a prankster would have been waiting to deliver.

Otherwise, she might as well have been having a conversation with a stranger while waiting in line at the market, or some other such mundane circumstance.

"..."

A brow arched.

At the same time, the NV warbled a giggle.

How exactly did a person go about answering this? An average person, with full-fledged emotions and mannerisms acceptable to society's standards, could go with it -- a teasing comment, some form of sheepishness in return. He had seen people interact this way before. Many times, even. But the whole setup was just...off for the Nobody.

And yet he was not himself in the form of written text. He had to save the precious seconds lost in coming back with something fitting for the occasion.

To say it was an actual struggle thinking about it was something he would never admit.

- If only I had one. -

Thankfully he didn't feel the awkwardness attached to its sending.

By that time, Aqua had taken up trying her hand at mental guessing. She hadn't communicated through text messaging with Miss Caster as often as she ought to, but from what she could recall, the tone of the current conversation just didn't match. The Headmaster of Solstice Academy would probably hesitate to pass over the formality of greetings or pleasantries. Maybe that fellow she spoke to once about heroism -- what was his name? Mercury?

Aqua dropped her gaze to her NV to deliver quizzical, puzzled looks several times in between weaving her way through the remnants of the lunch rush crowds.

There ... was a familiar feeling attached to the instance, but it was right at the tip of her tongue, so to speak -- just beyond her mental reach.

- Sorry. I didn't mean to p| -

-- That was where she'd seen the contact before! The night she'd been out stargazing! The conversation had started the exact same way, hadn't it? Her memory was a little ... fuzzy, admittedly, due to her preoccupation with the celestial phenomenon happening overhead, but then she was certain of it. Eyes widening somewhat, she picked up her walking pace in a bit of subconscious excitement.

Hitting the delete button a few times to erase the original message, Aqua tried a different approach: taking a liberty or two.

- Some holidays aren't so bad if you spend them alone. Quiet reflection, observation. -
- I don't think Valentine's Day is one of those holidays. Won't you at least try to do something nice for your friends? -

Ah. This was more like it. Even if the girl had shown a facet of clever playfulness, she had the ability to put substance in the words traded over the Network. The First kept his pace in comparison as he looked up, keeping track of where she headed.

- I don't mind. I usually prefer it that way. -

There was a pause after he sent this. But her quiet encouragement to do something 'nice' for 'friends' left him with much to think about.

Friends. He didn't really have any friends. Co-workers. Associates. Acquaintances, maybe. Subordinates, most likely. Either way, there wasn't any sort of closeness to be had between him and any of them.

...But there was the whole 'attempt' approach.

- Perhaps. I will have to see if any are available to take me up on such an offer. -

- Come on. Don't be silly.-

And what made Aqua so sure?

The shopping could wait. Her break at the café had been cut short by her silly jumpiness, so when she reached the bus stop, her pace slowed and she stopped. The stop area itself was mostly left alone; Instead, she took up leaning against the outside of a nearby boutique, crossing her legs at the ankles as she set her bags down carefully at her side.

- Your friends wouldn't turn you down. It goes against the spirit of the holiday, I think. -

It was obvious that this person was no superior of hers. There was no logical reason for her not to ask who this person was -- there might have even been grounds to demand it, if her mood had been foul or if she had genuinely been busy. But everything was still fluttering in the realm of the harmless, and she'd been caught by her own inquisitiveness. Strangers spoke with one another over the device all of the time, she reasoned. Though ... communicating anonymously? ... Not so common. Why shouldn't she be intrigued?

He read it once. He read it again. There was no fault in the wording. She really meant this with the best of intentions.

As a human being -- an anonymous acquaintance.

A friend.

But she still didn't know.

- True. Friends do have a tendency to do what they want in such circumstances. -

The Nobody did realize the sudden lack of physical bodies in the area they had both reached -- a telltale sign that warned him the 'bond' could be (would be) broken once the anonymity was taken away.

That alone had no sway in his decisions.

Xemnas already knew how it was suppose to go. This would end in a similar fashion, conversations and meetings alike. The NV chimed quietly, a decrescendo prior to falling completely silent at the tone of what it sent. But it knew it wasn't the last.

And there Xemnas stood. His eyes were still hidden by the darkened glass lens worn, but that was not enough to disguise his overall appearance. Even if the eyes were obscured, one could tell when they were being look at directly.

Besides, there was no point in doing so.

The silence that settled was given time to breathe -- a comforting pause, only to be ruined by one last message.

- It also depends on the friends I have.-

- It shouldn't. -

Although immediately and sure, that message alone was not meant to be the entirety of her response, but ... that was as far as she got. Aqua only averted her gaze upward for a moment -- some off-color sound drew her attention away; Maybe it was the sudden break in pedestrian traffic or the return of an odd feeling dancing just outside of the definition of déja-vu.

But it was just the strangest thing. A man -- just ... standing there.

But the simple instance of a man standing alone on the sidewalk was not enough to have given Aqua a start. It was ...

No, it was more than the way he looked. It was his entire physical form. The way he stood, the deadpan, ambiguous stare -- the stare that was directed at her ...

Were it not for a small handful of features, she would have sworn ...

Once her eyes locked on to that man, they never left. But she still held her NV, keyboard open, message screen on standby.

Without ever looking down, she sent one more message, just to be certain. Aqua couldn't afford to check her punctuation or even if she was spelling a coherent word ... but that wasn't the point. The point was to send a message and observe whether she'd hear a chime from that man's direction -- or if he'd even look at all. Perhaps in her heart of hearts, she already knew that she was making eye contact with the person who had been contacting her for all this time. Perhaps ... she felt foolish for allowing herself to be followed. Perhaps she just needed an excuse to test his intentions.

- but -

A small light flickered, brightening and dimming several times. The camera lens readjusted itself accordingly during the process, the device left to receive the latest of texts. It hovered quietly next to the man who did nothing but stay where he was.

He could choose any path at this point. His stance alone had a subtle hint of calculation behind it, but he made no real show of what was going through his mind. That was usually how it went. And no matter what he chose, everything would end in a certain manner. Any attempt had to go wrong sooner or later. Perhaps that was the very benefit of having no feelings -- no poignant memories. They were nuances that added to an experience, but they could be discarded. All of the times spent remembering doses of certain feelings back in the City of Change only strove to reinforce a sense of cold emptiness toward everything. The less relevance set with every interaction, the better.

His focus was important.

His goals were to be obtained no matter what stood in his way.

The building tension in the pause snapped as NV's notification system finally completed its work, making a short pixelated noise on cue. Strong resolve could not keep other thoughts from revisiting.

Nothing could ever be truly forgotten.

And his focus was not suppose to be situated here.

Xemnas did not need to see what was sent. He continued to look at the young woman, barely raising his chin a few degrees without any trace of emotion.

"Perhaps I should have corrected myself earlier. The use of the term is...almost non-existent."

He made no move toward her. For several heavily silent seconds, she paid him the same courtesy.

There was no denying it. The understated bellow of his voice sounded much less familiar than his features looked, but there was a sort of duality there that echoed a building anxiety within her heart ... and two or three bouts of deep breathing was doing nothing to put her at ease again.

Encountering a person who shared certain similarities with a friend -- it shouldn't have bothered her to the point of immobility. It was nonsense.

It had to ... had to be more than that.

Slowly, precisely, carefully, the NV was tucked away into the pocket of her white coat ... the shopping bags at her feet? All but forgotten.

"Who ... are you?"

There was no comfort to give. Despite the fact a new level of stress slowly claimed her heart, he knew she could stand her own ground. Keyblade wielders always had that particular trait about them. It was better for her to be aware than to keep her in the dark any longer.

"...I see you have not been given a thorough introduction. I wonder why that is."

The Nobody did not disregard her question fully. Preferred directness meant picking and choosing what to point out first.

"You have been here for...several months, haven't you?" he inquired calmly, using the same tone of voice -- the one she heard when she initially (re)appeared.

It would have never been a wise venture to assume that just because Aqua's back was against the wall meant that she was cornered. The delay in her approach was a result of the extenuating circumstances; Furthermore, there was no immediate threat perceived -- no weapons drawn that she could see, no energy disturbances or rises in magical enhancements that she could sense within her capabilities.

"Three months."

Now, however, she took one catlike, calculated step forward, followed by another, and then one more before she stopped. Just closing a bit of the distance ...

"I've been here for three months."

What difference does that make? The sudden, rising urge to run away seized her for just a moment. Did she ... really even want to know?

"...Only three." So little a time. And yet it was enough to throw any Newcomer into the fray known as the Port. In addition, no memory or recollection of the events from her previous stay had shown in her features as she said this.

Perhaps it was better this way.

She was sure of herself, but subtle curiosity and wariness still drove her to wonder. He could see that clearly. He still refrained from giving her a proper answer, asking another in its place. "And have you found who you were looking for?

No hesitation could have been found in her response to that question. Her spine straightened with indignation, as though something offense had been implied.

"Yes."

That ... if nothing else ... was one thing that she was absolutely certain of. Before she had arrived in the city of Siren's Port, she had been looking for something -- someone -- very specific, and he had been the very ... first ...

... Aqua's blood ran cold as ice.

"... You were the one I spoke with the day I arrived." And then once more under the ambiguous guise of text messages two instances since then. And she had never put it together!

Stupid ... Stupid!

At last, she tore her focus from him, his familiar face, his familiar stance, to shut her eyes in an intense and shuddering wave of shame. It felt exactly as it was, in reality -- like she had been the victim of an elaborate and humorless ruse; This, the grand unveiling of her ignorance and naivety.

"... Why?"

But she was still suspended in the sensation of free-falling. The impact of hitting the ground ... that was still to come, wasn't it?

"Why did you try to trick me? Why did you ... continue to ..."

She chose to expend her self-control to vanquish her anger, which allowed that gnawing dread to grow and slither up beyond the reach of her supervision. This ... would be the second time that she realized that anger was much easier an emotion to sit with than fear, and now it was that fear that overcame her features, unabashed.

"Who are you?"

"Your memory serves you well."

It was like fitting pieces of a puzzle together. She had enough to form one corner; she needed more to fill in the gaps, to make something of the whole. Finding out what she didn't need to know was a risk to her mental and emotional state of being and she was already edging into the negative.

That would not do.

He continued in his weighted silence as the Keyblade Master had this information dawn upon her in a terrible way. And it would only get worse from here.

A step. Two steps. Several. Each one was slow and orderly in comparison to the feelings that raced through Aqua, closing the gap even more. The space was not closed completely; the Nobody let her keep some of her security -- whatever was left of it.

A corner of his mouth quirked slightly prior to relaxing back into neutrality. "Trick?" Xemnas could have laughed at the notion. "I only said what you needed to hear and wrote what you needed to read. And it was the truth. Nothing more."

The tone of his voice failed to betray any hidden depth to what was said. Or perhaps it was as he intended it to be, no different meanings involved.

But she wanted an answer. Demanded it.

Such a risk was to be rewarded.

With a fluid motion, a hand rose to remove the sunglasses that only obscured a small portion of his dark features. Gold eyes slowly reopened to meet her gaze again, unflinching. Intense.

"My name...is Xemnas."

Was she ... expecting something familiar? She must of been, because her immediate emotional response was ... relief. Relief to hear the name of a stranger, and she had no idea why.

There was ... however ... one additional feature that robbed her of any real comfort she may have been able to derive from learning his name. A feature that bore right into her soul, seared the blood in her veins, and drew a flush of dread to her cheeks.

For a moment, she merely stood there, as though the golden gaze had turned her to stone... unable to move, unable to speak, unable to react in any obvious way. After a lengthy pause -- one that could have easily lasted hours by her own perception -- Aqua swayed to the side once, readjusting her stance to keep her knees from buckling.

Xemnas.

The truth.

Nothing more.

She thought for certain that she was going to be sick.

He rendered her speechless.

It was something he had not done in a while. Unfortunately, it was not as satisfying as it should have been.

This was the part where someone other than the Nobody would have asked if she was all right. He could see Aqua was struggling. Xemnas did nothing to assist her.

"Do not faint on me."

The voice -- that voice -- yanked her from the haze of shock a bit too violently, a tightly knitted net of indignation catching her from a mental freefall.

The change was instantaneous. One second, her head was swimming and she seemed to be on the verge of actual physical illness, but the next ... she'd been both caught and called out on her moment of weakness, and now she was the vision of uniformity and composure, returning the stare that had sent her on her detour with one of sternness.

There was still much that she didn't know -- missing answers that she was certain that Xemnas held. There was no use in jumping through logical hoops trying to explain the similarities away to herself. No point in having a breakdown in front of him ... or anyone else. No sense in mourning something that was just a suspicion at this point.

The fear ... that was gone, too.

Thank goodness for that extra space between herself and the Nobody. She was able to straighten up, exuding as much formality as she consciously could ... before stiffly extending her hand.

"I know I've told you this once before." A slow, deep breath. "And I'm sure you knew what it was before I told you ... but I don't think it counts unless it goes both ways. So ..."

And she extended it a bit farther. Stubbornly. Insistently.

"I'm Aqua."

Her ability to recapture some composure was good. Admirable. Perhaps he was even quietly thankful Aqua found her footing again. It saved them both the trouble of making a 'normal' situation worse.

Xemnas saw the change in the Keyblade Master's stance, arching a brow with slight interest.

A hand?

He could have laughed. Not many people went through such lengths. He still remembered the day he first arrived -- one that had the Thirteenth ready to kill him on the spot. With each and every person from their world and outside of their universe, different greetings had been exchanged. This only added to the count.

Instead, a faint smirk crossed the First's features. "Yes, I have...but a lot of time has passed since then." His hand reached out for hers, a nonchalant but firm grip to match her stubborn insistence.

If she hadn't been so carefully monitoring her behavior, it might have slipped just then -- a bit of transparency that would have betrayed a small amount of surprise that he actually did shake her hand. Her own handshake was warm, if not a bit feminine.

What did show through was a marginally polite arch of an eyebrow as she took advantage of the physical contact to take an exploratory 'glimpse' into just what sort of man he might be. Not ... a visual glimpse; More of a sensory intrusion of what might be a personal boundary for most. Something sightless, soundless, scentless -- an action that felt beyond physical touch. Just a quick, nimble glance, like passing one's hand over the flame of a candle.

And that was all it took, really.

The arch of the eyebrow signified the drawn conclusion that there was something distinctly different about Xemnas -- different than what she had sensed during the rampage of Master Xehanort, or during the heat of battle with Vanitas or any other manner of Darkness-born evil.

He felt ...

He just felt hollow.

"Has it? Were we acquainted when I was here before?"

The use of physical contact was rare, and there were very few instances for it to be properly applied within any given scenario. It was something he would not have done so easily years prior; he was not the type to reach out freely toward anyone, and it was in his nature to be reserved and distant from those who worked under him.

Two years plus the one year he had spent in Siren's Port had subtly changed that perspective, leaving him to employ any kind of contact at his discretion. It wasn't too much of a difference from what he had previously done, really. The corporation he was heading now had more social cues to work with in order to pull off a normal company front. This was just another introduction.

The feeling that arose briefly from the touch was hard to describe.

Although it was nothing more than a simple handshake, the unspoken feeling vanished without lingering any longer than it should have.

Perhaps it was just his imagination.

Xemnas' eyes narrowed slightly at the young woman as he watched her expression shift, answering her question with one word.

"Somewhat."

The narrowing of his eyes didn't seem to perturb her, but she did appear to be somewhat amused at his response.

"Somewhat? Meaning ... ?"

Putting her hands on her hips, Aqua canted her head to the side inquisitively.

"Did you send me anonymous messages? Follow me around while I shop?"

It shouldn't have been a funny idea, but ... well. It was. She could only imagine how flustered that would have made her in her previous stay.

Or maybe she just knew better.

If it were someone else, they would have been caught stammering for a better explanation. This fell along the lines of an exchange between two normal people who coincidentally end up in the same spot while trying to figure out the truth of the chance meeting.

Two friends, even.

But that wasn't how it played out with Xemnas and Aqua.

Brows lift slightly as he tilted his head several degrees downward, his own posturing vaguely indifferent toward her questions. "You had little knowledge on how to use the filtering options over the Network," he said. "That was swiftly remedied, however." Another pause passed as the Nobody looked past her, staring at nothing in particular. "Presently, you seem to have a better handle of the technology given. Or perhaps you took the time to learn more about it on your own, taking up any help and advice given by those who decided to assist you."

She had her suspicions and she knew what she was doing. At least, she could uphold her composure and continue as if nothing was wrong.

Initially, he could have left her alone.

"This...was unexpected."

"So ... you're saying that you spied on me."

Again, no turbulence beneath the surface. No bite in her tone, no hidden poison or resentment in her words. In fact, she mimicked him in glancing down the sidewalk in semi-feigned nonchalance.

"I did do a bit of practicing before I made any transmissions ..."

... And stole a glance back in his direction.

"Someone warned me not to trust the NV's. Were you the reason why?"

A smirk pulled on the corner of his mouth as he listened to the Keyblade Master's impressive display of control.

"So I did."

There was no use in denying the fact. "Many people do. It is...human nature, after all."

His gaze didn't return to meet hers as she did this, but there was a hint of empty amusement hidden behind the look. It was paired with a short, deep laugh when she brought this point up, one that was subtle in its growing interest. Unnatural.

Nearly unsettling.

"I'm not the only one you need to be wary of."

Her gaze rested on him again, impressed that he copped to the spying. Hearing this man laugh ... stirred up something of a mixed response. It didn't sound anything like Terra's laugh -- of that, she was absolutely certain. In a way, that was a great relief, but at the same time ... well, it was a laugh that matched its owner. It was a little weird. Kind of joyless.

"No, you're right. This is a dangerous city."

She pauses to gather up the shopping bags, arranging them around her feet in a way to prevent tripping. It's another relaxed gesture, demonstrating a bit of bravery -- bordering on brazenness.

"So ... you know more about this place than I do." A cant of her head. "Who, specifically, should I be wary of?" And a blink. "... Other than yourself."

Xemnas still did nothing as Aqua recollected and rearranged her belongings, quietly watching as she did so. The chance to end all the talk and leave her where she stood was lost; if he had felt regret over the option, it would have caused inner turmoil over this whole scenario.

Nothing reinstated itself. And the two went on as they did.

There were several who were considered 'dangerous.' Some were questionable in their methods. There were also a good number of gray moralities that could easily sway toward the darker end of the spectrum.

It was all by choice, of course.

"You will know when you hear about them. You may even know when you speak to them."

"That's not very specific."

The response was half-matter-of-fact, half chiding. The latter tone was only slight, but easily noticeable -- perhaps to him, who was on the receiving end. It wasn't something Aqua did consciously, nor was it something she realized she did at all after the fact.

Her head tilted in the opposite direction as she shrugged a shoulder lightly. "That's okay. ... I think I'll just rely on my own judgment ..." Her moral compass was fairly accurate ... most of the time. It had served her well during her stay in the Port thus far, at the very least. ~~... If not by the skin of her teeth, in some instances.~~

A thought occurred to her quite suddenly.

"Wait ... You aren't on a lunch break or anything, are you?" It was a little hard to believe that he'd dress that way casually ... but it was just a guess.

"I don't want to get you into any trouble ..."

"...I'm certain you will do fine."

It was the tone that led him to delay his reply. One could say it was almost vaguely nostalgic, but it disappeared into the seriousness that had been prominently showing all throughout. Still, he brushed it off easily, never missing a beat.

"That isn't a problem," Xemnas said nonchalantly. "Being in charge of a corporation allows one to take as long as they want. It can be considered...a perk."

"Oh."

So ... he didn't really have a superior to answer to. He was it.
That certainly alleviated that problem.
Slowly, she looked back down at her shopping bags, unaware of the time that's passed since her pause at the café.

"Even so ..." Now that she thought about it ... "... I should probably get some more shopping done while the stores are still open." There was an instant in which she looked at him as though she were considering to invite him along ... but she said nothing of the sort.

The First merely nodded. It was a known fact. There was no need to hide it. Secrecy had a tendency of waning after its initial novelty had been played thoroughly, but not telling anything more than what was asked continued to keep it interesting. And she had many questions.

He didn't need to answer them all. Not yet. She still had other sources to go to.

Time was always an issue. He hadn't thought much of it ever since he went out, but the reminder from Aqua's own personal scheduling made him realize its passing.

"Ah. Yes." Xemnas then gestured. "If it is that important, then you should go. I will also have to return from this excursion at some point."

The NV, which had been silent all this time, puttered in disappointment to itself.

Her eyes darted from Xemnas to the noise-making contraption, curiosity in her eyes, but ... no, she really should go if she wanted to clear her list before the youngest of the trio came home ... if one could even really call them a trio anymore ...

That was why Valentine's Day was so important. It was the perfect opportunity to try and repair a downed line of communication. And what better way to help an angry, stone-faced friend open up than with the gesture of gift-giving? But Terra wasn't the only person on her list. Not by a long shot. And ... after this not-such-a-chance encounter, her list got just a little bit longer.

"I should get going, too. I'm ... making up for missing Christmas this Valentine's Day, so ..."

Upon being noticed, the NV whirred shyly before sinking down a few inches. That was ignored by the Nobody as he turned away from the young woman. "Of course," Xemnas said. "I understand. Time is a valuable thing."

Whether he truly understood was left a mystery.

What he didn't know was that the meeting had affected her current list in some manner. He was focused on the present for now; the results of this in the future would be discovered soon enough, thanks to the forever-curious NV.

The sunglasses were slipped back on. "We all do what we must. Gifts are gifts. Perhaps it will be worth the effort going through all the trouble of giving them." At least they could enjoy them. There was a pause as Xemnas closed his eyes for a brief moment.

"Aqua?"

Gold eyes were barely visible behind the shades, his face in profile as he canted his head ever so slightly.

"...Enjoy your holiday."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

⁂ come on, try a little

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1/3 night of a million combos

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1/2 Billions and billions

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