gone shopping [that AU]

[haveacuraga]

Who: Roxas and Aerith
What: A quick pit stop for supplies and first aid winds up leading Roxas to help Aerith out on fetching said supplies. Possible suspicion of his origins ensues!
Where: Hollow Bastion – Merlin's house and around town.
When: Sometime after visiting Beast's Castle, sometime before visiting the next world.

[starting some two years ago, Aerith had been named the official healer for the Keyblade Wielder and his friends– whenever there happened to be an injury on the battlefield too grievous for a curative spell, she would be the one to take over.]

[though, to be honest, she wasn't exactly expecting for Sora to show up again with another wielder she'd never met tagging along. regardless, upon their arrival Sora and the others dispersed to various areas and patrols, leaving the... oddly familiar boy by himself in the middle of Merlin's house.]

[which is why she'd chosen to invite him to come along with her to the market. it's not every day she gets to meet a new friend of Sora's, not after they'd all returned home.]

Comments

[binarysky]

Guess we should have expected to run into some of them.

[He hesitates, watching her for a moment.]

Uh...should we...move on?

[haveacuraga]

[well, that little niggling thought in the back of Aerith's mind has suddenly ballooned into an observation of how plain familiar Roxas seems to her in some ways. very different in his own terms, but somehow... she can't quite place her finger on it.]

[after all, she's never met the Nobody of someone she knows very well before. now that her train of thought and little observations has taken off on their own, it's entirely possible she'd make a connection if Sora and Roxas were to stand side-by-side again.]

[brace yourself.]

All right. Are you sure you don't want any supplies just for you? You never know when something might come in handy.

[binarysky]

[Obliviously, Roxas is more ready to relax. Aerith already knew he's a Keyblade wielder, so it's not as if smashing into some Heartless is a surprise, but he's just as happy to explore other topics unrelated to what he and Sora have in common.]

I don't really need a lot. As long as there's stuff to eat and drink and we have the Gummi Ship, we should be okay. [Although—] Well...I guess I could use a thicker jacket? In case we go to a cold world again.

[haveacuraga]

I'll go get potions, then. You can pick up a jacket at a store across the market.

[as she walks over to plop a small munny bag into Roxas' hands. no, don't argue, Keybearers need to stay warm!]

[binarysky]

[He blinks in surprise, but accepts it, as if he senses the futility of resisting.]

Okay. See you soon?

[haveacuraga]

Yup! Come get me when you're ready to go.

[binarysky]

Will do.

[It takes a while, longer than Roxas expected. Apparently residents of Hollow Bastion aren't in the habit of buying long-sleeved jackets during warm weather; he has to go to several shops before he finds a shopkeeper who doesn't just look at him like he's crazy.

Eventually, though, he does find and purchase a suitable coat, which he promptly stuffs in a bag, since it is pretty warm in this world. After looking around for a few minutes, he spots Aerith, who appears to have been more successful on her shopping trip.]

Hey. All set?

[haveacuraga]

[with a smile in the affirmative, Aerith lifts a rather large basket filled to the brim with an assortment of potions, tonics, and what-have-yous. there's food in there, too, because she knows Sora's usual travel diet, and she figures Roxas might want something other than a sandwich once in a while.]

Did you find what you were looking for?

[binarysky]

Uh huh. Took a while, bit I'll be all right if we end up in the snow again.

Should we head back now?

[haveacuraga]

We should. Sora's probably waiting for us by now.

[binarysky]

Right.

[He falls into step beside her, and they had off.]

So he visits you guys a lot?

[haveacuraga]

Normally only when he's in need of something. Supplies, healing... advice.

Otherwise, he always seems to show up right when we need him.

[binarysky]

Yeah. He's good at that.

[He half-smiles.]

[haveacuraga]

Is that how you guys met?

[binarysky]

Pretty much. I was coming to help with the battle here, but he had everything taken care of before I even arrived. A real hero.

[The lies come easier, now.]

[haveacuraga]

[that gets a smile out of her.]

You know him well.

[heck, she'll still be smiling when they get back, and right through seeing Roxas and Sora standing right next to each other.]

[binarysky]

I'm still learning.

[Of course Aerith why would you stop smiling when seeing something so totally normal.]

[haveacuraga]

[and she'll keep smiling all the way through a light lunch and casual conversation, and right through Leon offering a scheduled lecture on safe traveling – to which Sora responds with the usual 'I know, I know, we'll be careful' – to the smile on her face as she packs an assortment of foods in that basket she had earlier, quietly placing it in Roxas' hands as they're getting ready to leave.]

[because she'd spent the most time out of the rest of them talking with Roxas. and now that she had, and now that she'd seen Roxas and Sora interacting, something finally clicked.]

[still, her smile is not unkind, it never is.]

Roxas. Mind if we talk real quick before you leave?

[binarysky]

Huh?

[He didn't see it coming, and still doesn't as Aerith draws him quietly aside. Mostly he's thinking of what they've stocked up on while they're here, and where they'll go next. He isn't at all worried about what Aerith might say, because she's been so kind and understanding already.]

Sure. What's up?

[haveacuraga]

[she'll lead the way to the side, then, and wait until the others – more importantly, Sora – are well out of earshot.]

I just have a quick question... are you planning on telling him?

[binarysky]

[Roxas goes very, very still, because he doesn't know what she means—rather, he doesn't know what she could mean that isn't what he desperately doesn't want her to mean.]

Tell him what?

[haveacuraga]

Your connection with Sora. He doesn't seem to have a clue.

[binarysky]

[Please observe, Aerith, as Roxas' eyes go wide as saucers and his voice drops to practically a whisper.]

I—connection? What do you—I mean, I don't...

[haveacuraga]

[get all of your fumbling over your words out, Roxas, Aerith will wait.]

[binarysky]

There's—there's nothing to tell.

[He starts to recover himself, but he's still flailing badly.]

We're both Keyblade wielders—we're supposed to have that in common, I don't know what you mean.