(Even if Riku had told her that, it wouldn't be fully sincere in that context. The seeming impossibility of being loved back hindered how he felt to a degree, and he always did have trouble following his heart.)
Riku watched her expression carefully, and began to smile a little when she did. At her question, however, it melted away as if it had never been there at all. It hurt. The fragmented question had so many possible meanings, and though they were bound to come up, it felt like his feelings for her had instantly been questioned.
And yet he couldn't blame her. If the roles had been reversed, he might've wondered something similar. So with that he answered what he could, hurt or not, with as many answers as he could think of.
"Yeah. I still like her." He looked away from her guiltily, looking down at the ground as he leaned forward with his elbows and forearms supporting his weight on his legs. He had a lot of explaining to do. "But I screwed up bad. Sora proved he could take better care of her. I want her to be protected. He can do that. But while I've been here on the SOL and while I was with you, I started thinking... It's not just the times we've spent here together or the pictures we've exchanged. You were there for me before that. The very first time I met you, you gave me a choice. You offered to seal Ansem away for me. You gave me an easy path, and that let me see the one I needed to take. And you showed me that darkness by itself wasn't my enemy. I was. It was my weakness I needed to fix more than my darkness. And you showed me that."
"You may have came from Kairi, but that doesn't affect my feelings. At least, I don't think so." He gently kicked a rock into the water with his boot. "Kairi never forced me to make the choices I needed to and see the things I had to see. What you did made me stronger. I couldn't have the same quiet moments with her as much and I couldn't have the picture conversations we have. We talk without saying a word. How often do people do that? Or can?" He sounded legitimately intrigued by the truth of those statements. "I hope you never feel like a replacement. You're a different person. And no one could ever replace you."
Still leaning forward, Riku finally looked back at Namine. "So I'm not the one to protect Kairi. I figured that out a long time ago. ...But maybe with all you did to take care of me, maybe I'm the one to protect you. ...I want to. Because you matter a lot to me."
Why is this so hard? Then again, he knew he had trouble following his heart, so maybe that was why. Maybe, he thought, practice makes perfect? But that'd take a lot of practice... There was also a third thing that'd come to mind when Namine had asked, but for the moment he couldn't recall what it was. Riku was sure it'd come up again, however.
No prob, but Riku' sweatin'. XD
Riku watched her expression carefully, and began to smile a little when she did. At her question, however, it melted away as if it had never been there at all. It hurt. The fragmented question had so many possible meanings, and though they were bound to come up, it felt like his feelings for her had instantly been questioned.
And yet he couldn't blame her. If the roles had been reversed, he might've wondered something similar. So with that he answered what he could, hurt or not, with as many answers as he could think of.
"Yeah. I still like her." He looked away from her guiltily, looking down at the ground as he leaned forward with his elbows and forearms supporting his weight on his legs. He had a lot of explaining to do. "But I screwed up bad. Sora proved he could take better care of her. I want her to be protected. He can do that. But while I've been here on the SOL and while I was with you, I started thinking... It's not just the times we've spent here together or the pictures we've exchanged. You were there for me before that. The very first time I met you, you gave me a choice. You offered to seal Ansem away for me. You gave me an easy path, and that let me see the one I needed to take. And you showed me that darkness by itself wasn't my enemy. I was. It was my weakness I needed to fix more than my darkness. And you showed me that."
"You may have came from Kairi, but that doesn't affect my feelings. At least, I don't think so." He gently kicked a rock into the water with his boot. "Kairi never forced me to make the choices I needed to and see the things I had to see. What you did made me stronger. I couldn't have the same quiet moments with her as much and I couldn't have the picture conversations we have. We talk without saying a word. How often do people do that? Or can?" He sounded legitimately intrigued by the truth of those statements. "I hope you never feel like a replacement. You're a different person. And no one could ever replace you."
Still leaning forward, Riku finally looked back at Namine. "So I'm not the one to protect Kairi. I figured that out a long time ago. ...But maybe with all you did to take care of me, maybe I'm the one to protect you. ...I want to. Because you matter a lot to me."
Why is this so hard? Then again, he knew he had trouble following his heart, so maybe that was why. Maybe, he thought, practice makes perfect? But that'd take a lot of practice... There was also a third thing that'd come to mind when Namine had asked, but for the moment he couldn't recall what it was. Riku was sure it'd come up again, however.