treasured memories
Naminé does not fault the phantoms that cling to the edges of Sora’s heart. Many simply craved comfort, dancing across Sora’s shivering skin, the boy’s chest stuttering in the night beneath their weight. A few braved twining themselves within Sora’s skin, seeking definition through his generosity. Naminé took great care when pulling their threads from Sora. They pleaded and begged, cries echoing as they called out to Sora—Sora, look at me! Please, Sora, I’m here please—Naminé casts her spell, flooding Sora’s head with glittering sunsets that danced on the horizon.
Naminé brushes Sora’s hair aside and kisses his forehead, lingering remnants of those forgotten caressing Sora’s features. Tears gather on Sora’s lashes, bidding farewell to those he never knew yet loved all the same. The tremors of Sora’s frame subside, and Naminé smiles, vision blurring as she squeezes shaking hands together.
Naminé knows that Sora would not fault her if he found out. He would accept her, offering shelter in the harbor of his heart. She places an ear to his chest, comforted by the fluttering beneath. Naminé closes her eyes, curled tight as memories sink into the depths of the sea.
There’s a thread she finds that sears her flesh, pooling at her feet with no end in sight. Naminé’s breaths come out in short puffs as she searches through frayed longing. Sora’s intent on keeping this phantom, its touch felt in every beat of his heart. Desire piles on Sora’s tongue as Naminé sifts through consciousness, water threatening to take her under as the phantom slips through her fingers.
Sora whimpers and Naminé doubles over.
She tries to ground herself, nails biting into the exposed flesh of Sora’s shoulders, blood welling to the surface. The pain cuts through her sharply, a pounding in her head tightening her jaw, teeth grinding as she tries to ride out the pain.
Abruptly, it stops. A warmth washes over her, and Naminé looks up, the shape of a man greeting her. Naminé reaches for his face, and Sora’s fingers brush over the scar that marks the right side, eyelashes tickling the pads of their fingers. The phantom leans into the touch, placing a hand over theirs. He mouths an apology, and Naminé recognizes the look in his eye. Sora’s voice falls from her lips, and Naminé’s chest tightens, the phantom’s name achingly bitter.
He pulls away, and Sora tries to follow, threads tugging Naminé forward. Despite the burning in her lungs, the pounding in Sora’s ears, the man remains out of reach. Frustration pricks at their eyes, calling out to him once more. Finally, he stops. Relieved, Naminé clings to the man, Sora pressing his face against the red haori. A hand rests on their head, stroking strands of brown and blonde. They meet his gaze, and the phantom wavers. The hesitation reveals the thread he’s been hiding, and Naminé tugs at it with her teeth.
Tidus.
The phantom collapses to his knees, shame blanketing his frame.
“What kind of guardian am I? How… How could I—“
Sora holds the man to his chest, and the sea swallows them. Naminé watches as the sun grows further and further away, memories rising out of the man. He tries to reach for them, for the faint smiles of a boy he knew so long ago, but Naminé places her head on his shoulder, tears spilling from Sora’s eyes.
“Auron, please, look at me,” Naminé hears herself say, Sora’s heart seeking them out. Auron turns to them, and Naminé cups his face tenderly, colors bleeding together as little by little, fragments of Tidus alter shape. Auron flinches, resisting as Sora pulls him closer. Naminé kisses Auron’s forehead, hands trembling.
“Look at me, […]”