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[madeinoblivion.livejournal.com]

Who: Namine pastel_memory  & Replica Riku (Arland) madeinoblivion 
Where: Namine's room
When: Monday, 7pm (48 hrs after Arland's death)
Rating: Uhhh...PG? For BED-SHARING and CUDDLES oh, and reviving from death.
Summary: After being unceremoniously creamed by mirrors on the floor of the entrance hall, the replica wakes up to a teary distraught girlfriend and some reflections on his time through the looking glass...
the Story: 
Namine sits at her desk, silently drawing circles with her pencils, blue eyes glued to the paper. She's cried too much these past few days, her eyes are red and hurt. Arland lays on the bed, lifeless, like a broken toy, and she can't look at him without starting to tear up again. Riqis' words come back to haunt her, again and again: Yes, it is your fault. It's always because of her. She sighs and sets her pencil down.

t's not the first time. The first time was filled with delirium and pain and black spots and high fever, and crying out with his last gasp of breath for a mother he didn't have. This time it happened so very quickly. A quick and lethal fight, and a well aimed hit from Oblivion....and then there was darkness. Darkness very much like that room he'd found, on the other side, where his own would be. He dreamed tangles of memories in that space between, hovering from death but not allowed to awaken in his body, not till...He stirs, rustling the bedcovers, a low groan....Tuesday...was it tuesday yet?

Namine turned her head as he groaned, and her eyes widened. "Arland? A-Arland?!" she cried as she rushed to his side. She sat on the bed, touching his cheek. "Arland?"

"Mnhn- Nh- Namine?" He mouths tiredly, turning his head into her hand before his eyes peeled open halfway, looking to her. It seems...like he's done this before, been here before, twice, maybe, her eyes wide and frightened, like the first time. There's an ache in his chest, just below his heart, but he smiles faintly. "I...so I must be back."

A sob catches in her throat, and she strokes his cheek with her thumb gently, eyes tearing. "Y-Yes, you're back," she murmurs, bending her head to kiss his forehead. She tries not to cry this time but tears begin anyway as she holds his hands. "You're back."

Oh, but he didn't mean for it to be like this...anything but like this again, the horrible gut-wrench of guilt like last time, this feeling that he's failed her, too weak somehow, and worse still that she's crying over him. With a reflexive groan his brow furrows to pained expression, a wince, and his hands tighten a firm clasp around hers, trying to be reassuring before that terrible, terrible sound of catching sobs on he breath. Mistake. Vexen thinks I'm just a mistake. "Shhh, shh don't cry...don't cry, please, I'm sorry...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to- I tried!" the replica pleads with her.

"N-No, no, Arland," she chokes, shaking her head profusely. Her hair flops over her shoulder, and she buries her face in his hair. "N-No. Y-You didn't fail me," she sobs. "I-I just.."

"I should have come right back, right up..." He mutters regretfully, still not remembering fully what happened, but then he can remember Roxas' eyes, his mirror's, blue and cold and triumphant over the banister, and the white world fading to blacks. Remembers trying to pull himself back against the mirror. This has to be the right side though, now. One of the boy's hands release from hers, and clasps around her shoulders, holding her there with as much of a fumbling reassurance her can manage. "But the others, they were still all over there, and I knew the way..." He tries to explain, but there really isn't an excuse. Should have fought better. Should have beaten them.

She shakes her head and grabs him around the shoulders, holding him close. "No. No no no no no," she cries into his hair. "You did alright. I-I...It's okay, Arland. I'm just...glad you're back," she chokes. It's been a rough two days, cleaning up the blood, cleaning him up and changing the sheets. The room has been lonely, and not even Riqis came to the mirror. She was entirely alone.

There's something nice about every time she says his name. With others it sometimes doesn't feel entirely suiting, but in her voice he feels like it belongs with him, even more than Riku ever did. But it still leaves him feeling awful, to feel a sudden dampness drip against his scalp, and feel her shoulders shaking. He tries his best to sturdy her, sighing. He still doesn't even know if something awful or not happened while he was away, or even if anyone is still trapped or- Ooh. Right. Speaking of pledges as a namesake... "N-Namine? Is it...tuesday yet? I need to leave treacle out, for that mouse..."

She blinks away tears and pulls away to look at him, drying her eyes. "Tuesda... No. T-Tomorrow is Tuesday," she murmurs, wiping her eyes. "I'll get some for him." It hurts her chest and her head and her eyes, and she smooths down her lavender dress with a hand to make things look nicer for him. She sighs. "I'm...just glad you're back."

Tomorrow. Oh good. He heaves a small sigh and lays back against the pillows, reaching for her face and smudging tears off her cheek. How could they ever say she didn't have a heart? "I'm sorry we got separated." Arland murmurs, closing his eyes again, opening them to still see her looking so upset. Someday he'll come back a hero and make her happy, instead of weepy-grateful just to have him alive and defeated and tucked up sore and exhausted in bed.

Namine climbs over him and lays beside him, leaning into his hands and sighing. Tears fall onto his hands, gloveless now, and she kisses his fingers. "I-I'm sorry," she whispers. "I tired. I...I wanted to help and.." She shakes her head. "I'm sorry you...you had to go over."

Arland turns over onto his side with a slightly surprised grunt, his ribs feel like they've cracked and re-mended, sore, it sort of hurts to breathe like this. But he wants to see her, and its bearable as long as she's here safe now. "I didn't even get to find the queen, or the cat." He tells here with a discouraged sigh, shaking his head. "Or too much about how to stop events. Only that the queen's in charge of all the mirror-ones. I did figure out the way back. Hopefully all the others got-" And an unexpected pale of worry crosses his face; he leans up on one arm. " Vexen? Is Vexen okay? His blood was on the big mirror."

She nods slowly, just laying in his arms, holding him, stroking his hair. "You did well," she assures him, tears gone for the most part. She nods and smiles. "You did very, very well," she whispers affectionately. Namine looks up at him and shakes her head. "No...? Vexen got over okay. He's alright. Everyone got over okay."

He's not so sure of that, ashamed, but her words are soothing, and he bows his chin till it almost touches his chest, smiling quietly. It's good to know that his creator is okay too, odd enough as it was for him to worry. And so he can assume the others are safe...the ones he left on the other side of the mirror, Hardcoriest, Faker... "Good." Arland nods.

She rests her head back, glancing over at the mirror. "...The mirror reformed, after you left," she whispers. "I tried to break it, but..." Namine just buries her face in his hair. "But then Fakir brought you back."

Reformed? "Oh." He can feel his cheeks flushing crimson now, because he's always teased Fakir a lot, and now he'll have to make efforts to be nicer. "Well...I- guessI'llhavetothankhim."

She smiles. "He offered to stay, but...but I wanted to be alone."

He's privately rather glad Fakir didn't. But he turns concerned eyes on her anyway and moves close so their noses are practically touching, looking into her eyes...they're so much warmer than her mirror's, her mirror's were so cold and removed. "...are you going to be okay?"

She looks up at him, eyes sad but dry, and she looks confused. "I...Yes, I'll be okay," she murmurs. "You're okay now. I'll be okay."

With that he seems to relax a little, smiling, and gives her a gentle kiss on the forehead, clasping their hands together. "We'll all be okay. Promise. This was just another-" (sigh) "another bad event."

She nods, kissing his cheek. "Just...Just stay with me, please."

"I'm not going anywhere." He tells her gently, brushing a little bit of hair off her face, tucking it behind her ears. She's just perfect, and he's glad she understands, and is still kind.

Namine shakes her head. "Arland, please..."

"I won't." He promises. "I'll stay with you. You can even come with me, tomorrow, so we can thank the mouse for showing me a way back."

She makes a sound in her throat and clings close to him, closing her eyes. "Please don't go again." I'm scared of the other you. He ruined your bed. I had to get another. He wants you gone.

He blinks, a little startled by this, a little scared even, he just isn't sure how to deal with a girl up close when she's worried and afraid like this. Its one thing to be the brave hero and fight something for her, but...but secretly he's glad that at least she's clinging to him for the sake of him, this time, and not because it's Sora off finishing Marluxia in the next room. "I won't. This is the last time I'll get hurt like that...I'll be more careful." He promises abashedly, holding her around the small of her back, one hand stroking her hair.

Namine sighs, looks at him, and tries to smile. "Okay," she whispers, soft and child-like. "I trust you." She won't say about Riqis, or how he acted just like Arland, or...or any of that.

"Thanks." That means a lot, it does, that she would. After he's sort of...not been the greatest at getting back to her as he'd like. And there's a smile for him, the rare smiles he's always wanted to see.

Namine leans in until they're forehead to forehead, smiling at him gently. "Just rest, Arland. You're probably tired."

And as much as that's sorely tempting now, there's also a million new thoughts on his mind about his place, and he kisses the tip of her nose once before rolling onto his back to blink up at the ceiling in wondering, pulling her in closely against his good side.

Namine moves against him, nuzzling his hair. She smiles gently, but closes her eyes. "Rest, Arland. We'll see the mouse tomorrow."

"You and me together." He nods, then closes his eyes obediently, feeling his heartbeat throb with a new persistant chance at life, still hurting against his ribs a little. But his princess is here and okay, sad but not for much longer, he promises himself, fingers wandering against the curve of her sides.

Namine curls beside him, the ends of her skirt tickling her knees. And then she makes a noise like a giggle, his fingers across her side. "Arland," she murmurs.

"Hmm?" He glances to her, a half-smirk. "That tickle? Heh...sorry."

She bats at his hand gently, not really pushing it away. "You should be relaxing."

"I thought this is relaxing," He scowls, sort-of playful, trying to lighten her mood a little by poking her once just beneath the ribs.

"Resting," she corrects, but giggles anyway. "Sleeping."

Sleeping. Admittedly, that's probably a good idea, if he hopes to be on his feet by tomorrow. "...but I just woke up." Arland argues anyway, largely because her company is comforting after going so long without seeing her, days.