A Whole New World

[tidesnpc]

Characters: Anyone and everyone from all three ships.
Content: The clouds are gone, revealing the long-sought world below.
Setting: The edge of the continent, near the blast site.
Time: After all the monsters have been fought and the ships head southeast.
Warnings: What you bring with you.

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[sunset_summers]

He didn't know whether to be happy or sad. Eventually, Roxas just settled on relieved. At first, he sort of wandered aimlessly through the makeshift settlement, not sure what to do with himself. He was glad to be alive, but that didn't change the fact that not everyone made it. It was sort of like that fateful Lunasa, only on a much larger, deadlier scale.

The map he had in the Amestris' navigation room still had the now destroyed region on it. It hurt to look at.

And then he heard the radio announcement. He rushed over to the edge and peered down, eyes widening at the new, uncharted territory below.

He'd like to see what was down there, and this newfound goal gave him something to look forward to in the future. Moving back inland a bit, he found an unoccupied, smooth rock and took a seat, eventually spacing out.

[hushthenoise]

It... hurt. Witnessing the captain, hearing him with his final words and seeing as he... died... it had hurt. Neku didn't know or remember how or when he started to care, as it were, but he had - and it hurt, it really hurt. He had tried his best to help out in the end, but there was only so much he could manage. Fortunately he wasn't too injured; there were bandages on his arms and a few on his legs, but they were all stuff that could be healed with a little rest

[sunset_summers]

Half a minute after Neku arrived at the edge, Roxas stopped daydreaming and noticed him there. His eyes were drawn to the bandages, and right away, he was concerned and wanted to know what happened. But after the initial surprise wore off, Roxas realized that they didn't look bad, and it wasn't like Roxas himself got away without cuts, scrapes, and bruises of his own.

Standing up, Roxas approached Neku, and said, as if it were just a normal, regular day, "Hey."

[hushthenoise]

The voice brought Neku out from his own thoughts, and the orange-headed teenager blinked as he turned towards where the voice came from - blinking again when he saw who it was.

"Hey," he returned, once the momentary surprise had worn off. He had thought about Roxas was doing, and it seemed that the answer decided to come to him instead.

...it was good to see that he was alright.

[sunset_summers]

Neku seemed to be doing well, and that helped Roxas feel a bit more relaxed. The past few days had him wrought with anxiousness as he tried to contact friends and family all across the continent. Perhaps a bit more relief than he had expected.

"You doing okay?" he asked.

[hushthenoise]

A nod in return.

"Yeah," he started to speak. "I'm okay."

In a manner of speaking, kind of. He still lacked his memories and anything else important, but he was still alive even after everything. That was the most important bit.

[sunset_summers]

A lot had happened lately, and yet, Roxas couldn't think of a thing to talk to Neku about. The crisis wasn't exactly something he wanted to talk about, and he suspected that Neku thought the same. Well, if he couldn't talk about the past, then maybe he could talk about the future.

"So...what are you going to do now? Stay with your ship?"

[hushthenoise]

"I dunno," Neku admitted, a surprising gesture for him - but the kid supposed it was time to start doing some honest things now. "I guess I should but..." The ship now held perhaps far too many memories for him - and it simply reminded him of the old captain. Pip wasn't bad at all really, but still...

The orange-head sighed. "I think I might just stick to land for a bit... maybe. Continue to find my memories and all that."

[sunset_summers]

"I was thinking about going home for a while," he said. Go see his mother and hometown friends, then visit his father's grave. Roxas was someone who clung tightly to memories, and knowing Neku helped him truly appreciate them. Not just to visit, but also start some new studies. It was time that Roxas started pushing himself beyond navigation. Reaching out to hold onto Neku's shoulders, he said, "Good luck. If anyone deserves to find what he's looking for, it's you."

[hushthenoise]

Home... huh. Neku had next to no idea still where his home was, or if he even was from here, now with that whole new world below them. Or maybe he never had a family in the first place, or maybe they were already gone... but still, he needed to find out who he was, even if it would change everything he now knew and believed.

"...thanks," he eventually returned, glancing down and trying to ignore how close to the edge they were now. "Good luck to you as well, I guess." Roxas deserved it too, likewise. He wasn't that bad of a person at all.

[sunset_summers]

"Thanks," Roxas replied, and he found himself hesitant to let Neku go. It felt like...like they were going to part ways somehow, even if they rarely saw each other to begin with. Maybe it was because both of them were going to start new steps in their lives. Roxas should be used to this. Many of his friends he had met these past couple years have done the same, and it had hurt because he felt like he was being left behind. And he did grow used to it for a while, but when it came to Neku, it seemed...different.

Maybe it was because Roxas was protective of him. He cared about Neku. A lot.

"I..." he started. He wanted to say something...but even he didn't know what it was he wanted to say.

[hushthenoise]

Neku looked back up when he heard Roxas starting to speak, blinking a couple of times as the silence stretched on after the blonde's first word. He waited quite patiently, all things considered, and he only spoke up after a couple of minutes after the silence stretched.

"Yeah?" he asked, a curious expression crossing his face now.

[sunset_summers]

Crap. He had to say something. But what? He had already given Neku his best wishes. There wasn't much to say. Remind him to keep in touch? No, he couldn't do that. He had already told Neku that before and it would be stupid to say that again. Maybe he could invite Neku to hang out a little bit? Well, there wasn't much to do, but that hadn't stopped them before. Yeah, he could do that.

So, naturally, Roxas leaned in and gave Neku a shy, light kiss on the lips.

[hushthenoise]

There were... there were just no words, no reaction, nothing coming from Neku when Roxas did that. He had tried to back off a little, as sensitive as he was to his personal space, but he was too slow and Roxas was just closing in and--

Well.

Neku simply spluttered a little once Roxas backed off, taking a few steps back himself as he looked at the other in nothing but confusion and... a lot more confusion. "What was that for?"

[sunset_summers]

What had he just done!?

That was not what he meant to do!

"Sorry!" he apologized. "I...I..." He was shaking. Why did he do that? People didn't do this kind of thing...unless...

"...I like you."

And it dawned on him. He...he did. He...liked Neku.

[hushthenoise]

"...like me?" the orange-headed kid echoed back, clearly confused and not quite getting it at all. Which maybe was a good thing, in a way. "Like, like like me? Or something like that? Am I missing something here?" Because it really seemed like it, to be honest.