#i have. a lot of thoughts about xion and sora and [shaking crying]

[fatened]

*          inbox.          /          @heartslight​,     for     xion     :

    ↳          sora wants to believe this to be something real. he wants so badly to believe the setting sun on the horizon was real, wants so badly to believe the ocean’s waves were true in how they crashed against the shore. but quadratum has done nothing but force a broken heart into the comforting arms of illusionary dreams, has left sora so homesick that he couldn’t be sure if anything was real anymore. even xion, standing by the waters edge, could be just another figment of a longing heart. even this was a painful comfort— if they were in his dreams, then he hasn’t forgotten them. ❛  are you looking for seashells? i’m not sure if any nice ones have washed up..  ❜

there   exists   a   place   that   xion   has   claimed   for   herself,   and   herself   alone.   this   little   piece   of   paradise,   where   her   world   is   narrowed   to   the   sound   of   the   ocean   and   sand   crunching   beneath   her   feet.   she   isn’t   bothered   here;   she   simply   is,   and   it’s   more   than   she   could   have   ever   asked   for.   of   course,   others   can   come   and   go   as   they   wish,   but...   when   has   xion   ever   had   something   for   herself?   so   she   allows   herself   these   selfish   moments,   fleeting   as   they   may   be.   she’s   basking   in   this   quiet,   selfish   moment   when  she   feels   him   —   the   line   of   her   spine   goes   rigid.   sora?   a   thought,   fleeting   as   the   sun   now   dipping   below   the   horizon:   will   i   never   be   free   of   you?,   and   then   the   immediate   guilt.   sora   has   been   missed.   a   hollow   ache   for   some,   a   deep   void   for   others.   xion   thinks   she   is   somewhere   in  -  between;   it’s   hard   to   miss   the   part   of   yourself   that   took   you   away   before,   no   matter   if   it   was   his   fault   or   not.

when   she   turns   to   look   at   him,   the   smile   she   tries   only   succeeds   in   lifting   the   very   corners   of   her   mouth.   it   doesn’t   reach   her   eyes,   no   matter   how   much   she   wills   it.   it   should   be   joyous   to   see   him.   but   her   joy   is   a   timid   thing   —   shouldn’t   he  go  elsewhere?   to   someone   who   can   welcome   him   with   open   arms   and   not   worry   that   if   he   vanishes   again,   they   will,   too.   it   doesn’t   matter;   maybe   he   isn’t   even   real.   maybe   she   isn’t   real   either.

it   takes   every   ounce   of   strength   she   has   to   speak   without   her   voice   breaking.   without   reverting   to   a   whisper   so   quiet   it’s   washed   out   with   the   tide.     

❝     no...   i   think   i   picked   over   all   of   the   nice   ones   yesterday.   all   that’s   left   is   broken   pieces.     ❞     she   tries   not   to   wince   at   that;   is   she   not   all   of   the  broken  pieces   of   others,   glued   back   together?   xion   kneels   down,   and   brushes   her   hand   through   the   sand   to   sift   through   it.   pale   eyes   look   back   to   sora   now.   real   or   not,  she   supposes   the   company   could   be...   nice.     ❝     would   you   help?   maybe   we   can   find   something   worthwhile   together.     ❞

[mariposalass]

Sora’s Time to Shine

Summary: Mari is already not putting too much expectations going into watching the Final Smash Presentation when someone close to her besides Kirby and Edelgard’s beloved Professor pops out of nowhere in said Presentation. All hell breaks loose (but in a good way).

Setting: Mari and co.’s house in Daly City, California; October 5, 2021

Notes: I was pretty behind in seeing the reveal since I was pretty tired when it came out and I had to check a friend’s post on Plurk to make sure that it was not all for the jokes before watching it on Gamespot and writing this story down. And yes, the Byleth in my S/I verse is the female version in case anyone is curious. And yes, it took me until around 8 AM to write this up. Featuring Luther Vandross. Here is an ask I made on Sora’ behest during a F/O takeover long before he got confirmed recently. #SakuraiHasReachedtheImpossibleDream #Sora4Smash

Tags: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Smash Bros., Swift Keyblader, Smash Reveal, Sakurai has reached the impossible dream!, Sora for Smash, #Sora4Smash

“Hurry Mari, you’re about to miss it!” Kairi is dragging me out onto the sofa to see the final Smash Ultimate Presentation on the living room pretty early before plopping ourselves onto the sofa.

“Look, Kairi, guys. I hate to be a party pooper, but I have no clue about who could it be,” I try to be realistic in my views.

“Well, at this point, my beloved, it could be anybody from the video game world,” my dear Philip chimes in while trying to reassure me, “Besides, as soon as it is done, we shall try to reply back to this non Smash invitation that El had found in the mail today.”

“Huh, is that correct, El dear?” I asked my regal adopted daughter for confirmation.

“Why yes of course, Mother,” she replies as she passes me the invitation, “I believe that a friend of yours has sent us one, but I didn’t want to open it immediately since this is addressed to you.”

“Okay then, I will get to read it and reply back once the Presentation is over and see who gets to fight with Kirby and Professor Byleth,” I smiled back at her.

“I couldn’t believe that there was a leak that just came out before this Presentation video and it is about music. Who was that dense enough to do it at a time like this?” Riku mumbles as he gets the video streaming on the Nintendo Direct page in his laptop.

“You know, Riku, sometimes people can act very idiotic at times, so there isn’t much we can do besides ignoring and avoiding that as much as possible,” Harry sighs as he is bottle feeding and gently rocking Serena as she had cried a while ago to be bottle fed.

“Guys, have you guys seen Sora lately?” Issa asks us while carrying Chris in her arms, “I haven’t seen him in the last few days. He didn’t even reply back to either my or Kairi’s texts and calls. Do you think he’s off to visit Jack and Sally in Halloween Town? It’s nearing Halloween soon.”

“That’s really a good question, Issa,” Ahk agrees, “I had given up trying to find him by calling over on the phone since last Thursday. All I have gotten from it were many ‘The subscriber could not be reached’ messages.”

Even Riku and Kairi are in a loss for words as they turn to each other and wonder what is up with our friend lately. Did he just went poof without us knowing? Kirby always informs us through his many Poyos that he would have to head off to Smash whenever a new tourney starts or a newcomer arrives and Edelgard’s class often gets shorter class schedules or early dismissals whenever Professor Blyeth gets to fight in Smash: she is the professor handling the Black Eagles class. Sometimes even El, Petra and Dorothea along with a few others (and yes, that includes the Gatekeeper) would come over to Smash to spectate from the sidelines and support their beloved Professor.

There is a long silence when the Nintendo Switch title card plays in the laptop and Karina directs us all to watch the screen to see many clips featuring many Smashers in the current tournament before it transitions to Sakurai-san in the studio explaining about the video as well as showcasing the Mii Fighter costumes.

“Hey look, Isabelle the Dog’s demon slaying friend from Bethesda is now coming to Smash to rip and tear up the competition!” Moana screams when the Doomguy Mii Gunner costume appears.

“Good for him; I know that many fans really did want him to be in Smash, though the costume is a nice addition,” Issa agrees. “That now makes three Bethesda franchises represented in the costumes.”

“Even the Octolings and Judd the Cat got hats based on them too,” I chime in as well.

“Oh hey, guys! Sakarui’s about to reveal the last fighter for the Second Fighter’s Pass, so keep down it and don’t expect too much,” Karina informs as Sakurai transitions to the main event and we all stay silent and stay glued to our seats.

The screen turns black before the usual Smash logo opening shows up, but instead of the usual zoom in, it then turns into a flaming Smash logo with all the Smashers up until Kazuya Mishima (yeah, the guy who tried to drop Kirby off a cliff) looking at it and covered in the shadows. Did MH decided to get them to show up in there and meet the last fighter in the dark? Probably, I bet that he might be keeping it as a surprise and possibly even conserving electricity at the same time. Then cut to Inkling Girl looking in awe with the Smash logo reflecting onto her pupils as a nice ode to the first reveal trailer for the game/tourney, I honestly love this shot.

Wait a minute, the logo turns into stars and the next scene shows everyone frozen in place as toy-like ambiios?!? How is it even possible? Well, it does certainly confirmed once again that the video game version of the tourney is set in a world of make believe after all. I could swear that a lot of people crying their eyes out as they are watching this. It looks like this is the end of one great video game series about mascots fighting among each other. Or is it? Because the camera is aiming at Mario as if he looks like he’s trying to take a nap while standing up.

Riku then proceeds to mumble some words to me incoherently that something big is coming the moment Mario wakes up to see a glowing light to see the last remaining flame glowing on the floor, which I do agree with him. Suspicious right? Oh God, Mario no! Please don’t touch the fire for everyone’s sanity. Wait, hold on a second: that isn’t not just fire that he just grabbed on and then tossed it into the sky like a boomerang: the mystery object looks like a Keyblade and there’s that Mickey keychain! Yep, that’s a Keyblade alright. Could it be...

I could recognize that beam of light that Keyblades often produce whenever they lock and unlock Keyholes to other worlds, so does everyone in the room. Riku and Kairi hugged onto each other as if we’re about to brace for an emergency (Karina and Moana also did the same), Ahk stares at the screen to see if he’s not imagining things all the sudden, Issa has her mouth drop in shock, Chris and Serena didn’t cry throughout this entire presentation, Harry gasps and nearly drops Serena’s bottle, Philip turns to me for answers while Edelgard begins to sweatdrop in concern.

No words are exchanged as the light grows and shines brighter before it proceeds to shoot itself away from the Keyblade to reveal a Keyhole on another part of the room. It then glows bright within as the camera switches back to the rest of frozen Smashers as the light begins to fill the room and revives Link, Cloud, Incineroar and Mewtwo as they all gawk at it as it reveals something from the World of Light with the orchestral rendition of Simple and Clean playing in the background. And that’s when it hits us right at the gut: the familiar spiky brown hair poking out from that Keyhole.

“What!?!” Kairi shouts as the Keyhole ‘spits’ out Sora from the World of Light.

“H-h-he actually got in, for real?” Riku squeaks up.

“Oh my…” I gasp in pure shock as we watch the whole thing played out.

“Sakarui finally did it?” Issa adds in to the discussion.

“Well, it’s about time that they managed to get his darn behind into the tourney,” Karina seconds in.

Soon enough, Sora finally wakes up from his nappy time and takes notes from Peter Pan and Tinkerbell as he flies around, sprinkling fairy dust all over the other Smashers, before landing on the floor and the Keyblade flying back to his hand.

“Damn it, Sora!” I scream as the splash screen pops in.

“Kai, your boy has finally made it big time!” Moana shakes Kairi in congratulation rather rapidly that it nearly gives my lil sis a dizzying spell.

“Moana, please don’t make Kairi that dizzy,” Harry had to tell her that.

“Whoops! Sorry Kairi,” she apologizes to her which she accepts.

So with that, we switch back to Sakurai going in depth with Sora’s moveset after he discussed about the Kingdom Hearts games and world. And he has gotten 4 costume changes, man Sora, that’s a big wardrobe you’re bringing in, oh wait, he even got the Timeless River costume too. That makes it 5 then.

“Oh gods, Sakurai is making us suffer by watching Sakurai using Sora to beat up everyone,” Ahk tells us as the Sora moveset showcase begins.

“No kidding,” Harry muses as we see Sora beating everyone in Battlefield.

“Whoa, they went for Sealing the Keyhole instead of having Trinity Force with Donald and Goofy? What a bummer,” Karina bemoans in dismay.

“Well, you know modern Disney: too overprotective of their IPs,” Philip reminds her.

“Oh new stage, what could it be?” Riku gleefully chimes in before they reveal Hollow Bastion as the stage, “Whoa, Hollow Bastion. I never thought that you will return again.”

Then the stage changes into Dive to the Heart and it had Riku and Kairi in the stained glass in one, Riku being the main focus of the second one, Roxas in the middle of the third, Xion in the fourth, Terra for the fifth, a sleepy Ven in the sixth, and Aqua’s in the seventh.

“Pretty!” I complimented the look of each stained glass.

“Quite impressive I will admit,” El agrees with me too.

Then Sakurai begins a playthrough with Sora facing Cloud and Sephiroth in Hollow Bastion, for a while, we all thought that he’s going to be a goner with Cloud and Sephiroth beating him up in the Stamina match but then the tides begin to turn in his favor after Sephy lost his full stock and with Sora having to take down Cloud next. When he did, the scene begins to go into a slow white fade out with a Game!

“Alright! Sora did it! He defeated both Cloud and mean old Sephy,” Riku cheers on.

“Woo! Go Sora!” me, Kairi, Moana, and Karina screams aloud.

“That was brilliant!” Harry agrees before he turns to Serena, “Did you hear? Uncle Sora managed to defeat two opponents in a Smash Ultimate playthrough.”

“9 songs is better than nothing at all,” Issa observes, “It would be a licensing nightmare to talk to Disney if they can borrow a couple of songs from them and they straight up refuse to assist, oh well. Oooh, a Dearly Beloved Swing arrangement, nice! I better get that save file on the Switch prompto!”

“And check out that Spirit Board: Aunt Kairi has a Spirit of herself,” Edelgard informs us as the Spirit Board for KH is revealed.

“Oh gee, never thought that it could ever happen, but thanks,” she blushes.

“Hey, I got one as well, same with Axel, Xion, Roxas, Aqua, Terra and Ven,” Riku joins in, “Marina is so going to be happy to see her boyfriend as a Spirit. She will probably try to get him real soon.”

“You bet it right, Riku, you bet it right,” I nod and agree with that last statement.

“Oh hey, he’s going to be ready within a few weeks’ time,” Karina speaks up, “Neat! The roster is now complete.”

“Even Steve and Alex have amiibos of themselves being made, that’s even more wonderful,” Ahk takes note of it, “I’m pretty sure that Sora will have one of his own along with Pyra, Mythra, that jerk who tried to threw Kirby off a cliff, and even Sephiroth soon.”

“WHAT?!? Kingdom Hearts are coming to the Switch too!?!” I am surprised to hear the news as Sakurai reveals this new information, that is so mind-blowing.

When it fades to black then to the Ultimate mural, the camera then goes for the space between Ganondorf and Dark Samus to fill in Sora’s spot before panning back. Man, this Presentation is long and is finally ending, thank God; it must be tiring to sit down and watch a nearly hour long video as Sakurai showcases the screenshots he has made and showed off in Twitter. Man, so many memories and montages. And the achievements, wow, that is a lot of them, it will be a game feat that I don’t think it will be broken for a long time.

Man, I will miss the presentations and Sakurai’s corny jokes for sure. I wish him a nice deserving break from all the game development for sure as he gives thanks to everyone from the devs to the players to the people prompting the game and ends it off with a heartfelt goodbye as it fades to back into the full reveal trailer.

“Oh gee, I’m going to miss the Smash Presentations,” Kairi sighs, “I can’t believe that we’re coming to an end.”

“Man, it’s finally over,” Riku gasps in remark as the full trailer plays out, “I don’t think that there will be a game like Ultimate for a very long time. That’s for certain.”

“I agree, Riku. It’s to going to be a tough act to follow up on,” I add in before I look up at the ceiling and murmur some words, “It’s been a long time coming, Sora. You truly deserve that last spot, you really do. Have fun in the tourney and Smash Mansion, buddy.”

Sora is Finally Here!

The End

[absinthemadness]

Fictober Day 9, Prompt 24: Are you kidding me?

This is also from an old, old prompt of “I didn’t know you were dating”

Post KH3 Akuroku where Roxas is learning just how he feels about Axel. Mentions of Soriku.

Something cute and silly after yesterday’s spicy post. :) The rest is under the cut for length reasons

---

‘Just live with Lea,’ they said. ‘You two are great friends,’ they said. ‘He needs a roommate and you would be perfect.’ 

What they didn't mention was that ‘Lea’ was a hot mess of emotion that Roxas couldn't even hope to decipher. 

The only emotion that Roxas had really wrapped his head around was anger, and he was only convinced of that because he'd snapped at the fiftieth person who suggested moving, which just so happened to be Isa. 

Roxas had heard the rumors. Some people had been swearing up and down to each other that there was something between the two, always going quiet when they noticed Roxas nearby. 

And he couldn't understand why, but it pissed him off every time someone spread the rumor. It was probably just because he hated gossip. 

So when Isa, of all people, had mentioned to him that Axel needed a roommate, Roxas hadn't even let him finish. "Well then, why don't you just move in with him then? I hear you're all buddy buddy with him."

"Excuse me?" 

Roxas didn't have to dignify that question with a response. He just crossed his arms and glared. Why? Why did Isa's face piss him off so much whenever mentioned with Axel’s name?

"Roxas, what do you mean by that?" 

He refused. He just kept glaring up at Isa. And Isa stared down at him. 

Stupid Isa and his stupid height. He'd look so perfect standing next to Axel. They could look each other in the eye. And without having to stoop down they could—

Roxas’s face flushed hot, and he snapped, "Why aren't you living with him, anyway? Aren't you together?" He wasn't sure what exactly together meant, other than kissing. And he only knew what that was because he stumbled across Sora and Riku smushing their faces together in a way that looked gross. 

Sora had told Roxas that kissing was something people did when they were together with someone special and Roxas hadn't pushed further, thoroughly grossed out and wanting to get away from the two. 

And the thought of Isa kissing Axel infuriated him, made him want to throw a fist into Isa’s stupid face.

Isa blinked at him for a long moment before bursting into laughter. 

"What is so funny?" 

"You're actually jealous of Lea and me." 

Jealous. Roxas wasn’t sure if he’d heard the word before. Was that the blood boiling anger he felt? 

"Am not." 

"Either way. We're not dating. We're just friends." 

"Dating?" 

Isa chuckled. "Maybe you should ask Lea about that one. But seriously, give moving in a thought. Lea really likes you." 

Well, yeah, Axel liked him. They were best friends. 

Isa pissed him off yet again when he reached down and ruffled Roxas’s hair before walking off. 

That evening, Roxas found himself in Axel’s apartment. As he lay across the couch, tucked up under Axel's arm, he wondered if there was any merit to moving in. He spent a lot of his time in the cozy apartment, often spending the night in the spare bedroom. The amount of clothes scattered around the extra room was not insignificant. 

"What are you thinking?" Axel asked, hand absentmindedly going through Roxas’s hair as he stared at the TV.

He almost asked about moving in, but decided against it for now. Maybe if Axel ever brought it up… "What's dating?" 

Axel’s attention whipped over to Roxas, eyes almost glazing over, before a wide grin spread. "You trying to ask me out or something?" 

"What's asking out?"

Axel’s face fell. "You really don't know anything about dating?"

"I know about kissing."

Axel got that strange look again before his face went almost blank.

"I haven't been kissed, if that's what you're going to ask. Sora told me about it."

"Caught them sucking face, did you?" 

“Looked more like they were trying to eat each other. Is kissing dating?”

"In a way." 

"Then is dating being together?" 

"I guess you could say that."

"Are we dating?" 

He could feel Axel's body stiffen, and the look on his face screamed panic. "W-why would you ask that?"

"Well. People always comment that we're always together. I think I spend more time over here than I do in the castle."

"Yes, but we're not together like that?”

"We’re best friends?" Roxas sank back into Axel’s warm side. 

"Yeah, Rox. Best friends."  

"Friends…" Roxas mumbled. He touted that to almost anyone who would listen sometimes. They were friends, always had been, always would be. So what was the weird feeling in his chest? It was almost like a vacuum had sucked something out, leaving him feeling hollow. 

They fell silent after that, leaving Roxas only more confused. 

He waited for Axel to ask him to move in. Only getting more and more annoyed with everyone who suggested it. Especially when Axel would talk about wanting a roommate to Roxas. 

Axel seemed to dance around him, now. And it was starting to piss him off. Axel had been the one to promise Roxas that he would help puzzle out their newfound emotions. 

He finally got fed up, and figured he'd may as well take matters into his own hands, so he packed his suitcase full of the last of his clothes and other things he wanted to keep, and then caught a ride to Axel's. 

"Roxas?" Axel answered the door, probably surprised that Roxas hadn’t just let him in. But his hands had been full, so he’d elbowed the doorbell and waited. 

"Who else?" Roxas paused. "Don't answer that."

"What are you doing here?" Axel stepped back to let Roxas pass. 

"I'm moving in." 

"Why?" 

"Are you kidding me?" Roxas dumped his things on the kitchen table. "You haven’t shut up about wanting a roommate. And everyone and their brother have told me I would be perfect for you. Whatever that's supposed to mean."

"Do I get a say in this?" 

"Do you not want me to?" 

"Of course I do. I've been meaning to ask for a while." 

"Why didn't you?" 

"I… don't know? I was intimidated?" 

"It's just living together. We practically do anyway." 

But as much as he'd stayed the night, he was not prepared for the emotional train wreck that would be living with Axel. 

And Axel was a disaster. He'd get upset over the smallest thing, blustering about whenever he'd misplace something. He was always misplacing something. 

Roxas quickly discovered he had the uncanny ability to know where Axel's lost things were.

 "Roxas, have you seen my belt?" 

"Check under your green hoodie that's halfway under your bed."

"Roxas, have you seen my necklace?" 

"Did you check the fruit bowl?" 

"Roxas, have you seen my…" 

"Check the floor of your closet, left side towards the back. If not there, then under the sink in the bathroom."

And nearly every time there was a long pause, then… 

"Found it!"

Axel would cry all the time watching movies. Romance movies? Kids movies? Horror movies? Hell, he'd cried at animated robots. He'd always wind up leaned against Roxas’s arm as he shook with silent tears. Roxas would silently pat his arm, trying to decipher what was happening on the screen that would merit tears.

Axel practically overflowed with emotion, but he would never get angry with Roxas. He was full of endless patience as he explained things. He never batted an eye when Roxas would get so frustrated and throw a tantrum, shouting at Axel until he was exhausted. 

Axel would just wait and then softly ask, "Are you done now?" 

Roxas would always nod, feeling like a child until Axel would reach out and stroke his cheek and tell him it was ok to be upset. 

It left him confused. 

Not the fact that whenever Axel would answer a question, it inevitably led to more questions. But he started questioning the strange feeling he'd get in his stomach when Axel would touch his cheek. 

But any time he'd ask about it, Axel would kind of bumble his way through a half-baked explanation and make an excuse to disappear into his room. 

He wasn't sure who else to ask. Sora was busy being with Riku. Xion was off somewhere discovering herself. 

So instead, he stormed to his room every time Axel would leave his question unanswered. He'd slam the door as hard as he could, throw headphones on, and drop face down on his bed to scream into his pillow. 

Eventually it got to where he gave up. He didn't give up on Axel completely, just stopped trying to ask him about emotions, about the strange way he'd feel sitting close while they watched a movie, or about the looks that he would sometimes catch Axel giving him. 

But he wanted to ask so badly when Axel would lean in close and ruffle his hair. He wanted to ask why his heart beat so loudly. Why it felt like his stomach would do somersaults.  

But he didn't. He shoved all of those feelings down. He kept his face straight, forced his hands not to shake. And smiled. 

It was fine. 

He was fine. 

He wasn't sure how long it went on. But one day he had been out doing odd jobs when he saw Axel, and then some girl talking to him. She kept leaning in and touching his arm and he would lean away, running his hand through his hair in a nervous gesture. To Roxas’s relief, he didn't look too comfortable. Isa stood with them, watching in amusement. 

Roxas felt his blood boil when she leaned against his arm. He left his skateboard on the sidewalk and stormed across the road, straight up to the trio. He could feel them all looking at him, but his eyes were on Axel as he stepped away from the girl. He nudged through, reached up and grabbed Axel's face before yanking him down and crushing their lips together. 

When he let go and took a step back, Axel was staring wide eyed. His hands hovering just over Roxas’s arms. 

Roxas turned and said hello to Isa, waved at the girl, excused himself, and walked off. 

"I didn’t know you two were dating," Isa said.

He heard Axel’s chuckle, "Neither did I."

He hopped back on his skateboard and took off before he could hear more of the conversation. 

Well... he hadn’t meant to kiss Axel. He’d just wanted to march over there and get some answers about who the girl was. To find out if Axel was interested in her.

He groaned, pressing his hands to his face, thankful he knew the streets at this point and thought of ways to explain his behavior if Axel was pissed when he got home. 

Axel was lying on the couch watching TV when he arrived that evening. Roxas kicked off his shoes and left them by the front door with his skateboard. 

"I’m home," he muttered, shrugging out of his jacket. 

"Welcome home."

He couldn’t tell if Axel was upset from the tone of his voice, so he figured an apology would be a safe bet. Axel pushed up from the couch as he started. 

"Look, I’m sorry about earlier. I don’t know what came over me. I just wanted to ask—" He was cut off when a pair of hands cupped his jaw and tipped his head up. He barely had time to take in green eyes before they were drifting closed, before a pair of lips pressed to his. 

He felt like an idiot, frozen there when Axel leaned back. "What?"  

Axel just leaned in and kissed his forehead. 

"Are we dating?" Roxas blurted, staring up as green eyes opened. 

"I figured you’d tell me after your little display this afternoon." Axel chuckled, thumb stroking Roxas’s cheek. 

"You never really told me what dating was, other than being together. Is it more kissing?" Roxas hoped it was.

"It can be as much kissing as you want."

Roxas grinned and pulled Axel back down.

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #632: A Present For a Friend (Kingdom Hearts)

11:34 a.m. Outside of Twilight Town........

Namine: (Gasps at Something Intriguing in Front of Her) Vantias!....What is this?

Vantias: A necklace. (Rubbing the Back of his Head Back and Forth) I... didn't know what you really wanted for Christmas this year, so I figured I get you one of these instead. Regardless, I still wanted to give you this, not only to pay you back for giving me a present last year, but also as a token of my thanks for....(Takes a Deep Breath) being a really good friend to me and stuff. I mean granted, I'm somewhat thankful for having Ven, Sora, and all of our other idiot friends in my life and all, but personally, you're the one who was able to impact my life the most. You helped me realize that there's more to this world than being moody and getting angry at everything. With your kindness, your compassion for everything, that....cute smile of yours....(Sighs While Blushing a Little) Look, I'm trying to say here is that you mean a lot to me, more than I honestly thought you would be, and.....(Smiles a Little) I'm.... really glad I've met someone like you, you know?

Namine: (Completely Speechless)

Vantias: A-And also, I....hope you enjoy you enjoy the gift. I know it isn't really special or anything, but-

('Sniff')

Vantias: (Stops Talking and Turn His Attention to Namine) Uh.. Namine?

Namine: (Already Has Tears in her Eyes) ('Sniff') V-V-Vantias.....('Sniff')

Vantias: (Starts Feeling a bit bad) Oh god..... Is the gift really that bad or-

Namine: VAN-VAN NOOOOO!!!! (Immediately Hugs Vantias Lovingly While Crying) ('Sniff') Your present is beautiful and lovely, just like yourself!!

Vantias: (Taken a bit Back by Namine's Sudden Hug) Oh! Uh really? So you like it after all?

Namine: Vantias, I love it. ('Sniff') I love it so so so very much! ('Sniff') And you wanna know what else I love more?

Vantias: Uhhh...I dunno. The...(Shrugged) Beach?

Namine: (Giggles While Crying and Shaking her Head) It's you, silly. I love you so much and more! ('Sniff') I'm so happy you considered me as your friend. THANK YOUUUU! (Continues Crying into Vantias' Chest)

Vantias: (Sighs While Smiling a Little and Hugging Namine Back) You crybaby. You don't need to thank for that. I'm the one who suppose to thank you, remember?

Namine: I knowww...('Sniff') I-I'm so sorry if I'm making a scene....('Sniff')

Vantias: No worries. The people can watch us all they want to. Just keep letting it all out. I ain't going anywhere.

And with that, Namine continues to cry softly into Vantias' embrace.

Few Minutes Later.......

Vantias: So..... You're feeling better now?

Namine: Yeah. ('Sniff') i think I'll be okay.

Vantias: You sure? Cause it kinda looks like your eyes are getting puffy-

Namine: (Giggles Softly) I'll be fine, Van-Van! Really. You don't need to worry about me. I promise.

Vantias: (Sighs While Shrugging) If you so...... I'm....(Starts Blushing a Little) glad you like the gift.

Namine: (Smiles Softly) Vantias, I love it so much. I'll cherish this necklace for the rest of life.

Vantias: I know you would. Still, I really wasn't expecting you to bring out that much water works.

Namine: (Giggles Softly Once More) Well, it wasn't just the gift the moved me with tears, you know? It was your words following that. It really made me happy that you think so much me and our bond together.

Vantias: Yeah, well, I meant every word of it. I am thankful for everything you done for you after all.

Namine: (Hugs Vantias Again) You're always welcome, Vantias. If anything, I should be thanking you for giving our friendship a honest chance in the first place.

Vantias: (Shrugged Once More) Eh. It's not a problem. You and.....I guess Sora and the others are all good people.

Namine: (Smiles Sincerely Before Sighing and Getting Up from a Bench her and Vantias has Been Sitting) I think it's time for us get going to Roxas and Xion's place. Can't keep everyone there waiting for too long, right?

Vantias: (Gets Up from the Bench as Well) Yeah. And don't worry about the necklace. I'll try and help put it on you once we get inside.

Namine: (Happily Nodded) Okay. Thank you.

Vantias: No problem. Oh and.... Namine?

Namine: Yes, Vantias?

Vantias: (Takes a Deep Breath Before Giving Namine a Very Quick Peck on the Forehead) Love you, sis.

Namine: (Heart Begins to Melt in Pure Happiness Before Giving Vantias a Big Loving Kiss on the Cheek) I love you too, Van-Van. Merry Christmas.

Vantias: (Starts Blushing Yet Again While Looking Away) W-W-Whatever.

@khtext

@26shann

@keyenuta

@italian-love-cake

@cyber-wildcat

@albion-93

@anxiousmuffinstuff

@ma-lemons

[keybladeempire]

Favourite part of KH3 for you?

The Sea Salt and Wayfinder Reunions! 

People who already follow me from some time know that the Sea Salt trio are the #1 in my heart but I found myself so surprisingly touched by the Wayfinder reunion!!!

Terra crying! Plus every line he says! It was just heart-wrenching! It was so good because you could really feel all of his sadness and what he suffered all these years in just a few seconds!!! Some fans argue he’s not a great character which I strongly disagree. This scene just proved that.

For the Sea Salt Trio, I just…… I cried. Really fucking hard.

(I’m gonna summarize my points otherwise I’d be here writing an essay about their reunion…. This is mostly me ‘fanguying’…)

- The whole Xemnas x Axel interaction was amazing

- In 358/2 days, Saix is portrayed as, somehow, the bad guy but Xemnas shows who’s always been the real villain here! Loved this Xemnas

- Xion vs Axel - oh, that nostalgic pain! Xion shaking because she doesn’t want to hurt her best friend and, on top of it, again! She - who has always been forced to battle her best friends - being forced to kill one of them again! Axel, who still doesn’t remember her, which hurts even more! But he remembers that voice…  Someone fighting him with that Keyblade… That must have felt cliché to him. To which he asks the painful question “who are you?”

- Roxas talking to her through Sora “Don’t do this.” - yes, I believe it was Roxas at that point already. Roxas, who knows Xion was also forced to kill him twice and who saw one of her fights against Axel. 

- Her surprise and enraged moment towards Sora. This trio sacrificed a lot because of this boy. By returning to Sora, Axel, who stands in front of her, doesn’t remember her and Roxas is stuck inside this boy. Also the keyblade charging that resembled so much Roxas against Sora in KH2 could have been part of rage too at that time in KH2. 

- Roxas crying through Sora “It’s alright you can stop now, Xion!” and her breaking down because they muttered her name! Roxas remembers her and she hears his voice consoling her! 

- Axel desperately trying to save her from Xemnas who’s about to slay her! Xemnas has his intentions set on killing both of them this time

- Roxas entrance and his moment of ‘knight in shining armor’

- Roxas and Xion teaming up with Sora. This boy who has been their distress, their ‘nightmare’ in the past life is now their ally in a fight. Roxas and Xion, who fought together several times on missions, now can count with their other side as well.

- Lea and Isa showing their friendship is still important to each other. Roxas and Xion see this too. They also see that Isa/Saix wasn’t as evil as they thought he was and later we see that they forgave him.

- Xion crying, Roxas worriedly rushing to her side, Axel trying to cheer her up with some humor - a classic interaction of this trio!

- “Should have brought some ice cream” - a fitting line to which he awkwardly smiles and then… processes to bust in tears!

- Axel running to them and embracing the kids while Roxas and Xion lean their heads on his chest and cry with him!!!! uggghhh my heart!

[onipanda379]

🔥🌕

heck it i'll do it anyway and shove it under a read more. gonna cry about my ship i loved since middle school

🔥🌕

the moment that he and isa are whole again, lea is practically glued to isa's side all the time. its subtle at first, no one pays it any mind. isa no longer feeling the need to force his emotions away, doesn't mind it. rather, its a comfort as he tries to adjust to this new life he's been given. no more norted business, no more trying to be cold and empty. but after time, it becomes noticeable. both to isa and the others. a begrudging feeling if guilt burns in isa, who isn't quite ready to just... join in on all the fun the others have. unlike as a nobody, it was harder to just suppress feelings now. guilt often riddling his mind and heart. who was he, really, to just take lea from his new friends?

lea brushes off offers to hang out with roxas and xion, with any of their new found friends. tells them he'll go again next time. always with a smile and follows after isa like a shadow. eventually, isa will confront him for it, telling lea that he doesn’t have to stick around him all the time, he’s allowed to spend time with his friends. to his surprise, lea admits that its out of fear. lea doesn’t ever want to lose isa again. doesn’t want a rift to tear them apart like before. it takes a lot for lea to be so open, but isa was important to him.

🔥🌕 

with trauma comes nightmares! and boy do they both get them pretty bad. isa tends to dreams about becoming a nobody again. just waking up one day and finding his eyes glowing golden yellow again. wake shaking and breathing heavily. clammy fingers pressing into the scar that never seemed to go away after being completed once again. and-- he did try to find a way to get rid of it. some magic that could hide it, remove it. but there was nothing. this wasn’t just a physical scar... it was something far deeper, that could transcend death and rebrith. a part of him is worried that he’ll just... lose everything again.

lea’s nightmares aren’t all that different, really. he’s so afraid of losing everyone again. that this all some kind of elaborate dream. often he’d jump awake, immediately checking if isa was still here with him. nearly having a heart attack once when he woke and couldn’t find isa right away, finding him sitting alone outside in the dark, looking at the stars. its part of why he can’t bring himself to leave isa’s side.

🔥🌕

originally, the pair were going to stay in radiant garden. it was their home, where everything was but... it held a lot of bad memories. going back felt impossible. too much time has passed, too much had happened for them to just pick up where they left off. every time isa and lea would look out over the skyline, seeing the spindling spires of the old castle, a dark and distant look would overcome them both. the pain, the fear, all of it a shadow that hung over them. the nightmares seemed endless. but, where would they go? they couldn’t really just... leave, could they?

oddly enough, they gotten the chance to visit twilight town, and not from using the corridors of darkness. it wasn’t meant to be a permanent stay, but even just a few nights, there was a dramatic difference. the both of them were able to have a peaceful sleep, free of nightmares. and the decision was made then. they were going to stay. plus-- lea could see his other friends there. and over time, they’d pull isa into their group as well.

🔥🌕

isa would be the one to ask xion to come to the clock tower for a talk. it was awkward for the both of them, after all, as saix he never really treated her well. but he was... trying. she had no reason to trust him, and he didn’t blame her if she didn’t want anything to do with him. but, she did go. the both of them sitting up on the ledge of the clocktower. familiar yet different. it was hard for him. not in his nature to be so open but, he felt that she deserved it, like some sort of closure. even if they were to never become close friends.

he apologized to her.

he apologized for how he treated her from before. like she wasn’t a person. well-- she wasn’t then, but she was now. he admitted to treating her less, for her and roxas’ closeness to axel. he was open and candid. he didn’t expect forgiveness or any sort but-- she did. smiling kindly at him, the heavy gaze of someone who knew too much pain in such a short life.

🔥🌕

gummi technology hit a boom in no time. not so much the ships-- that being released to the public wouldn’t have been a good idea. but the gummiphones were a step in a wider direction. most of everyone had one. a way to stay connected while everyone hoped and searched for sora’s return. so naturally, lea and isa would get one.

isa easily adapted to having one. it was fine, useful. however, he found himself not that interested in using it unless he had to. beyond short phone calls and taking notes, it sat forgotten in his pocket. if he didn’t forget it at home. he’d rather see someone in person, talk to them in person. it felt... better somehow.

lea, as expected, took a great liking to it. the minigames were his favorite. and taking photos. a new way to keep memories, he’d say as he’d snap a shot. of course he’d like that. never being seen without the thing latched in his hand.

🔥🌕

with being human again meant getting into a routine. living a mundane life that wasn’t full of hunting hearts, or taunting keyblade wielders. life would be... normal, again. which would mean getting a job. knowing to throw a claymore around doesn’t earn the munny, after all.

isa is quick to embrace the “boring-ness” of every day life, as lea would put it. readily taking up work at the local flowershop. there was, something really peaceful being around them. flowers didn’t expect things of him, to do things he didn’t want. they just... were. and he found himself rather talented in arrangements, and enamored with the “language of flowers” that he’d pick up on.

lea still wanted something a bit more, fast-paced. kept him busy and his attention. it took him a few tries to find something that would work. mail delivery, shopkeep, none of it really worked. but then he saw an add for a new bistro. he never really thought about being a chef... but the position took on well. it was fun creating something from random bits and pieces, people enjoying what he made.

[imaginative-joy]

The Past Meant Something: Part 2

One more fic before going dark! My sister @dreaming-in-seams​ and I decided to do a Xionort fanfic collab! She wrote Part 1, featuring Roxas and Xionort and someone else, and I wrote Part 2, which is a direct follow-up with Lea and Xionort... and someone else. Both of these fics indirectly lead into my Sora and Terra piece. 

Please note that this fic does include references to KH3 trailers, so some spoilers ahead. 

Look, we had to write this thing before canon takes over. Enjoy!

________________________________________________________

“Guys? GUYS?”

Lea called out, but no one answered. All he could remember was a giant wave of Heartless barreling over the barren valley. He had gotten caught up in the wave, tossed and turned, smacking at the Shadows whenever he could orient himself, and then unceremoniously dumped onto the dusty ground. Face first, of course.  

Now that he was observing the area around him, he could make out voices in the distance. He thought he could vaguely hear Kairi screaming a battle cry. Months of training with her and he could recognize that indignant screech anywhere. As he scanned the horizon, trying to pick out where the sound was coming from, there arose a great cloud of dust, punctured with lightning zaps and Shadows.  

Well, at least he wasn’t a long way’s out. But it was still gonna be a pain to get back to them. Maybe he could risk using the Dark Corridors, though there was a very high probability that Xehanort’s lackeys would be using them, too.

As if on cue, a telltale whoosh came from behind him. Lea rounded around to see the Superior himself, Xemnas, emerge from a Dark Corridor.

Well, thought Lea, There goes that plan.

Lea never liked seeing that guy smile, but there was something all-too-knowing in that grin when Isa emerged from the Dark Corridor behind Xemnas.  

Of course, Lea sighed to himself.  

Learning the fate of his old best friend had stung a little, now that he knew Isa was slowly transforming into the old ‘Nort himself. Definitely explained a lot of his behavior when they were both in the old Organization. But that didn’t stop the pangs of guilt that now came staring into that scarred face, knowing that he, Lea, had pushed Isa into becoming Xemnas’s right-hand man. Of course, neither of them knew at the time that doing so had sealed Isa’s place in Xehanort’s new Organization. Even though they had been growing distant at that point and now were basically complete strangers compared to when they were kids, Lea couldn’t help but feel sad when he saw those golden eyes pierce through him. Eyes that he remembered once being as green as the ocean.  

Not that Isa had cared about the past. That much was apparent in his attitude toward Lea in the last several years. So Lea shoved his guilt down and instead focused on Xemnas.  

“Didn’t think we’d have to meet up again so soon, boss,” said Lea, adding as much derision as he could into the last word. He never liked the guy before, and Xehanort’s grand scheme had only given him even more reasons to dislike Xemnas.  

“On the contrary,” drawled Xemnas, bringing a hand dramatically up to where his heart ought to be, “I thought that maybe we could set aside our differences and have a reunion of old friends.”

Lea glanced over at Isa. So that was it. Xemnas thought he could weaken his resolve or something by most likely pitting the two of them against each other. Wouldn’t be the first time Xemnas had forced him into fighting a friend. Though he knew the odds of him winning against Isa were pretty slim.  

Instead, Lea scoffed at Xemnas. “’Friends’ is rather a strong word, don’t you think?” If he could just keep Xemnas talking long enough, he could figure a way out of this mess...  

“Perhaps,” conceded Xemnas. “It’s a shame you weren’t there for your friends. You seemed to have even blocked them out of your memory...”

Lea froze. How could Xemnas possibly know about his missing “friend?” That there was always someone in the back of his mind, a name on the tip of his tongue, someone lurking out of sight in his dreams? That he could almost, just almost, figure out who this person was whenever he looked at Kairi? And the undeniable, squeezing feeling that, whoever this person was, had been incredibly important to him? And that he felt so ashamed of being unable to remember?

Something must’ve registered on his face, because Xemnas smiled that horrible smile. “Dear puppet, it’s time to come out now.”

Once more, the Dark Corridor opened, and out stepped a small, slim figure. The coat was oversized, the hood dropping well over the figure’s face, but Lea somehow knew this newcomer was a girl. Something just felt right about that fact. His breath caught in his throat as he took her in.  

There was no doubt about it; he knew her. This had to be his missing friend.  

But what was her name?

Without thinking twice about it, Lea started approaching the girl. He was so close to figuring it out... But he didn’t even take two steps towards her when she brandished a Keyblade in his face. He numbly registered that it was the same as Roxas’s Keyblade. But somehow, that was... right?

The girl then ran the butt of her Keyblade into his gut, knocking him over and the wind out of him.  

Lea doubled over in pain, but forced himself to look back at the girl. He tried to catch a glimpse of her face underneath the hood, but she turned away from him. She still held her Keyblade to his face.

“Who... are you?” Lea choked out, emotion constricting his throat. What was going on? If it hurt this much, how did he possibly forget this girl? But the girl said nothing in response, keeping her Keyblade level and her gaze averted.  

Xemnas chuckled, breaking Lea out of his reverie. “You don’t recognize an old friend?”

Screw this.

Lea lunged for the girl, yanking her Keyblade with one hand and forcing her to stumble towards him. She yelped with surprise. He knew that voice. As surely as he knew Kairi’s or Roxas’s.  

As she tripped towards him, Lea kept a firm grip on her Keyblade, and then grabbed the top of her hood with his other hand, forcing it back.

The girl finally looked at him directly in the face.

Lea dropped to his knees, unable to breathe. His hands slid down to his sides, the tips of his fingers tingling with shock as he gazed into her face.  

Xion.

Unbidden, tears began welling up in his eyes. Images flashed in his mind. There were three of them the whole time. It wasn’t just him and Roxas. They would all meet up at the clock tower in Twilight Town after every mission. There was a time when she couldn’t use her Keyblade, and he had convinced Saix to let her and Roxas go on missions together to alleviate any suspicion. There was their first day off, and Xion had to organize a meeting about it. Countless sunsets, except that Roxas had the number memorized, thousands of ice cream bars, the jokes, the laughs...

But just as quickly came the memories of the lies. How he had learned the truth about her, and then kept it from her and Roxas. The betrayal he had felt from both of them, knowing he deserved it. And in his quest to keep them all together, maybe he had actually wedged them further apart from each other. How he was willing to let her be subject to Xemnas’s awful experiments just in the name of friendship.  

Now that he could see her silver hair and yellow eyes did he realize how stupid he had been.  

Lea reached out to grasp her, just to reassure himself that she was real. He didn’t blame her for retreating several steps. If his now-recovered memory were true, they had fought the last time he’d seen her. It was probably the most painful memory of all, remembering how he’d cried out, sick of losing everyone he’d ever cared about. And that he was willing to hurt her to keep her in his life.  

Some friend he was.  

Xemnas laughed again. “Ah, so you do remember her. Very good. I’m sure you have much you want to say to her, right?”

“I - ” Lea stammered. Of course he wanted to say something to her. A million things. But nothing came out.  

“And I’m sure she has much she want to say to you. Isn’t that right, Xion?” Xemnas turned towards her. But Xion hung her head, Lea recognizing the gesture from times when she was shy and didn’t want to draw attention to herself. It was something that Namine did a lot when she was trapped at Castle Oblivion. The way that Xemnas now glowered over her reminded him a lot of the way Marluxia would tower over Namine as well.  

The comparison acted as a stimulant, boiling Lea’s blood. “Let her go,” he growled.  

“I’m afraid it’s not as simple as that,” replied Xemnas. He placed a hand on Xion’s shoulder, making her jump a little. Lea wanted to punch that dumb smirk off his face even more now. His instinct to rush to her grew even stronger when he saw that her face had been cut and was bleeding. “You see,” continued Xemnas, “Xion is a very important member in our new Organization. We simply would not be able to bear losing her. Not when she’s so needed with us.”

“Oh, I’m sure she is,” said Lea in a low voice, rising to his feet and readying his Keyblade. “I’m sure you can’t do without her.”

“Quite true,” agreed Xemnas, ignoring Lea’s sarcasm. “To give her up would mean we’d be one Darkness short of thirteen.

“Although, we may be willing to make some... different arrangements.” Xemnas pulled Xion to his side, ignoring her visible flinch. Lea could feel heat waves rising around him now.  

“What kind of arrangements?” Lea replied in a low hiss. As much as he wanted to hurl his Keyblade at this jerk, he couldn’t risk hitting Xion. It seemed to him that Xemnas knew that and deliberately squeezed her closer to him. Xion was now visibly shaking.

“A choice,” Xemnas replied, “We need thirteen Darknesses, and you seven Lights. Though it appears that you seem to be one short. And that we have one too many.”  

“‘One too many?’” Lea repeated, confusion replacing his hostility for a moment. “I would’ve thought the old geezer would like that.”

“On the contrary,” Xemnas replied, “It is problematic. The X-Blade cannot be forged with fourteen Darknesses and only six Lights; no, the numbers must be exact. But Master Xehanort thought that you, Lea, would be given the honor to decide on the final numbers.”

For a fourth time, a Dark Corridor opened. Out tumbled and fell to the ground, clearly disheveled and limping, was Roxas.

Lea immediately felt the air around him that had been growing hot suddenly turn cold.  

“Xion, as I said, is a valuable member of our Organization,” Xemnas pressed on, his smile widening at the shock on Lea’s face. “But Roxas - ” he gestured to Roxas stirring feebly in the dirt “ - once proved his worth in the past. But it is clear that their talents can and have been used by the assembled Lights.  

“Which leads to the choice, Lea: will you take Roxas to be the last of the Seven Lights, or Xion? Though I suppose this pales in comparison to the ultimate question: who do you care for more; the puppet or the Nobody?”

Lea couldn’t move; he felt his entire body protest at the question Xemnas posed. It was absurd to think he could care for one friend more than the other. Almost against his will, Lea’s eyes darted to Isa, who had not spoken a word since he stepped out of the Corridor. There was a time when Isa – then Saix – had asked him a similar question. Perhaps that wasn’t a coincidence. But Isa's face was as instructable as always.  

“You can have Xion back,” said Xemnas silkily, “Regain all your lost memories. Perhaps you two can talk things over, repair the pain of the past. Just give us Roxas.”

“No,” croaked Lea. He didn’t mean to say it so suddenly, but he couldn’t allow himself to imagine the possibility of giving up Roxas. At the same time, he couldn’t imagine giving up Xion, either, not when he had just remembered her.

“Come now,” chided Xemnas, still keeping a firm grip on Xion as he shifted his stance toward Roxas. “You don’t have to be so distraught. Either way, they are both free from the shackles of Sora’s heart. Don’t deny that you often thought of them trapped rather than safe. And regardless of your choice, the both of them have great destinies to fulfill. Don’t you think that it’s now so much the better than they are free from Sora?”

Lea almost blurted out, “No!” but the word caught in his throat. At this point, both Roxas and Xion would be much safer in Sora’s heart than anywhere else... but he couldn’t deny the silent thoughts that that once or twice crept through his mind about what would happen if Sora were to lose his heart again and what that would mean for Roxas... and now what that would mean for Xion.

Then Xion finally spoke. “Axel...” she began in a tiny voice. But Xemnas increased his grip on her, silencing her.

Hearing her voice, hearing that name from her, forced Lea out of his stupor. He locked eyes with her again, but she didn’t avert her gaze this time. Instead, she stuck her chin out resolutely. He could remember her giving him that same determined but scared look the last time they met. But somehow, he could tell that she was not afraid of him this time.  

Lea shifted his gaze over to Roxas. He definitely looked worse for wear; he wasn’t even standing up. But like Xion, Roxas wore a determined expression and nodded once to Lea.  

Lea shook his head and straightened up. “I dunno. I always got the impression that Roxas hated being part of your little club.”

Xemnas blinked in surprise. “So you’d give up Xion that easily?”

“Absolutely not,” growled Lea. “I was just about to say she tried to run away from you creeps a ton of times, so I don’t think she wants to hang out with you guys either.”

“Then clearly you value this simple puppet over Roxas,” concluded Xemnas, giving Xion a little shake. She whimpered. Roxas snarled at Xemnas.

“THAT’S NOT TRUE!” Lea roared. He was sick of this, sick of his own friends being used against him. Sick of seeing these kids hurt and scared. He brandished his Keyblade into a ready position, daring Xemnas to strike first. “I won’t let you have either one of them!”

“Very well,” whispered Xemnas, sending an involuntary shiver down Lea’s spine. But he couldn’t care less what would happen next. Although he doubted it would matter, he would try to make up for every lie he ever told Roxas and Xion by making sure Xehanort never laid a finger on either of them again.

Xemnas, however, made no move to attack Lea. He simply stood there, with Isa standing stoically behind. Lea was seething, shaking, his Keyblade rattling in his hands as his palms began to sweat. He wanted to throw himself at Xemnas, but not with Xion and Roxas so close.  

Finally, Xemnas huffed a sigh. “You’ve gained self-control. I thought I’d never see the day,” he said softly. “Then this is how it must be.”

Before Lea could register Xemnas’s words, Xemnas flung Xion far from him, sending her flying against some nearby boulders. Lea gasped as she hit them with a loud crack, feebly stirring at their base. In the same moment, Xemnas tossed Roxas aside in the other direction as easily as if he were a ragdoll. As Lea opened his mouth in a yell of outrage, Xemnas snapped his fingers.  

At once, Lea’s body seized up. His arms were stretched to their limit on either side of him and his Keyblade clattered uselessly to the ground. His feet were rooted in the spot and his head forced upward. He tried to speak, but it seemed that his throat had seized up, too. As Lea struggled against his invisible bonds, Xemnas snapped his fingers again.  

The air hummed around Lea as he saw to his horror a million red lasers pointing directly at him. Sweat began dripping from his upturned face as he was forced to look at what would surely be his doom.  

One laser pierced him. Then another. And then another. Another. He couldn’t even scream at the pain of it all. Only watch. Lasers tore through his coat and across his face. And he could only watch.

The pain thrummed throughout his entire being. He was only now aware that he was looking at the world sideways; Xemnas had let him just fall to the ground like a discarded marionette. The lasers were gone, but Lea could smell his singed clothing and skin. Aware now that he could use his lungs, he drew in ragged gasps. His vision blurred but he could make out someone approaching where he lay. He drew in a sharp breath as he felt his head be yanked up by his hair, his neck protesting against the curve it was forced into.

Xemnas’s hot breath was heavy on his ear. “Master Xehanort grows impatient,” he whispered. “Roxas or Xion?”

He twisted Lea’s hair so that they were now nose to nose. Lea took the opportunity to spit in his face.  

Xemnas regarded Lea with disdain, and let him drop once more. “You really have changed,” he mumbled. “And yet, you are still no different. I suppose that’s one of the many complications of having your own heart.”

He turned his back on Lea and walked away. Approaching Xion, still laying in a crumpled heap on the ground. Xemnas aggressively hoisted her up by the forearm, managing to lift her several inches.  

“No...” Lea tried to protest, but only a grunt escaped from his mouth.  

Isa had similarly grabbed Roxas by his shirt, now unconscious and looking even more ragged. Xemnas dragged Xion behind him, who was fighting against his grip. A Dark Corridor opened in front of them.  

“Wait...” Lea tried again. Barely a sound came out.

Isa took one last look at him, his expression unreadable with one hand vise-like on Roxas’s collar. They were all just about to step through.

“WAIT!” Lea finally managed something above a pained whisper. Xemnas and Isa stopped in their tracks, turning slowly to regard Lea.  

The answer was suddenly so clear to him. But he had to do this right. It might also be the only thing that he could do to make up for everything he had done to these kids.  

“Take me instead,” he said as clearly as he could.  

Xemnas raised an eyebrow. Lea thought he saw Isa’s eyes widen. So he pressed on. “You heard me. I’ll join your club. You’ll still get a Keyblade wielder. Maybe not the best, but at least you’d get one who wasn’t trying to run away. You can have me so long as you let Xion go and you never touch Roxas again.”

Though he was stiff and shaking, Lea forced himself to stand. He had to make sure this worked. He spread his arms in surrender. Xemnas had to take this... he just had to...

“That’s absurd.” The voice shocked Lea so much he almost fell over again. Isa had finally spoken. “Xehanort would never allow him into our ranks. He’s weak. And his track record of disloyalty doesn’t help, either.”

“Indeed,” said Xemnas absentmindedly, though he was regarding Lea carefully. Lea forced himself to stare back into those gold eyes boring into his own. Please, let this work. Just let them go.

“NO!” Xion’s scream was terrible. Lea couldn’t help but turn his attention to her. She was fighting against Xemnas’s grip on her arm, but to no avail. Once again, Lea felt his eyes water up.

“It’s okay,” he said softly. She momentarily stopped fighting against Xemnas as Lea now turned his full attention to her. It was imperative that she understood what was happening... and why. “Xion... I know made you hurt. I know I lied to you. And Roxas. But please believe me when I say this one truth, probably the truest thing my dumb lying mouth has ever said.

“I love you, kiddo. And I promise that I will always bring you back.”

He could see Xion’s eyes watering over, so Lea offered back a smile. Roxas was still slumped over in Isa’s grasp, but Lea hoped with all his heart that maybe his words had reached him, too. After trying so many times to bring Roxas back into the Organization, there was some poetic justice in finally letting him leave it behind once and for all.

Xemnas finally relinquished Xion, letting her drop and stumble away from him. He slowly approached Lea, a skeptical look on his face.  

“You really do mean it, don’t you?” said Xemnas softly. Lea made no reply, only stared back into those yellow eyes. Guess he’d be looking like that soon enough. But it’d be a small sacrifice to pay if Roxas and Xion were going to be okay.  

“Lord Xemnas,” called Isa impatiently, dropping Roxas with a dull thud. “Is it really worth the effort? We already have full ranks. To introduce a new vessel, even as a replacement, would be too much of a gamble.”

“Be that as it may,” replied Xemnas, “Master Xehanort would be pleased to have a... willing vessel.”

Xemnas raised a hand above his head, dark lightning cackling from it. Lea felt the hairs on the back of neck stand on end. His heart began to beat faster, as if aware that this could be the last time it was its own entity. But he still refused to look away from Xemnas. Let his last moments with his sense of self still intact be burned into this man’s mind. Xemnas and Xehanort would remember this, he would make certain.  

As the lightning in Xemnas’s hand began glowing ominously, Lea shifted his gaze back to Xion, who was now standing over Roxas. At least let the last thing he saw be something worth remembering. Maybe he was good for something after all if it meant that she and Roxas could be saved.  

Lea heard a whoosh of metal as he saw a great, spiked claymore reach out over Xemnas’s shoulder. Brandishing it, and clearly angry, was Isa.  

The lightning in Xemnas’s hand sizzled away as his eyes slid in the direction of the weapon. Lea gaped at Isa, whose brow was furrowed in an expression even more serious than his usual. Why would Isa threaten Xemnas like this? They were supposed to be on the same side, right? Isa was never one to disobey any order, let alone threaten a superior.

“Do not forget what Master Xehanort said, Xemnas,” Isa growled. Lea had heard Isa speak with contempt plenty of times, but this was unbridled venom. “Or would you rather disobey a direct order from him?”

Order? Lea wanted to ask, but he stayed silent. Something was breaking between the two men.  

Xemnas finally deigned to turn his head toward Isa, lowering his arms slightly. “Perhaps you should search your heart for the answer, Isa,” he replied smoothly.

Isa was silent for a moment. Lea noted that the scar on his face had begun to widen and reopen, something that only happened when Isa was about to fly into a rage...

“Do not forget that Master Xehanort and I had a deal of our own,” said Isa. “You know what it was.”

Xemnas snorted with derision and turned around to fully face Isa, still staring down at him from the end of the claymore. “So the past does mean something to you then, after all this time. After everything you’ve done.”

“It matters enough that I still keep my promises,” replied Isa with a snarl, his scar now looking as fresh as it was the day Lea first saw it carved in his face.

Lea’s head was now spinning, trying to make sense of the conversation. But in his beleaguered and pained state, it was hard to keep his thoughts straight. What sort of deal could Isa have ever struck up with the old man? What about Isa’s past could’ve ever mattered to Xehanort - ?  

It all finally clicked. Lea collapsed to the ground, his tired legs giving out from under him, shock making his hands and feet go numb. There was no way, absolutely no way this could be true.  

Quick as a flash, Xemnas unsheathed red lasers from his hands and caught Isa’s claymore in a twist. Unflinching, Isa brought his face close to Xemnas’s.

“We. Had. A. Deal,” he snarled through gritted teeth.

“ISA!!!” Lea screamed, unsure about what else to do. Could the boy who had once been his friend a million years ago was still there somewhere? Maybe he hadn’t been that far away for all those years of rigid conversation and drifting apart... But he had to know. He had to hear Isa say it himself. That the past did matter, after all these years. The past still meant something to him.  

With a jump and a shriek, Xion came bowling into Xemnas with her Keyblade in hand. And with unsuppressed rage, Roxas leaped after her at Xemnas, any prior injury forgotten; all three of the men had completely forgotten about the two laying on the ground. Lea felt distantly impressed by Xion’s nerve and Roxas’s tenacity, but more shock as Isa took advantage of their surprise and struck at Xemnas with a sweeping blow. A million conflicted thoughts flitted through Lea’s mind as he numbly sat there, not really watching the battle in front of him.

Isa made a deal with Xehanort... Xehanort must’ve been planning on backing out... But not before giving some kind of order to the rest of the Organization... What kind of a deal...? He couldn’t allow himself to think it... to wish it...

A clang of metal suddenly caught his attention; Isa had managed to pin down Xemnas’s blades hard enough to prevent him from moving them. For the first time since stepping out of the Corridor, Isa stared Lea full in the face. And Lea thought he saw him clearly for the first time.  

“GO!!!” Isa bellowed.  

A great shockwave resonated from Isa, sending Lea quite literally flying through the air like the Heartless had done to him before. As Lea felt himself lift off the ground, he could make out Roxas and Xion holding Keyblades to Xemnas’s throat. And Isa, still gazing up at where he flew backwards, away from the fight...

And Lea could’ve sworn that a smile crossed Isa’s face.

He crashed and bounced on the ground several times before skidding to a halt. Even more battered a bruised than before, Lea attempted to hoist himself up, but his arms quickly gave out from underneath him. But he had to save Xion from Xehanort. He had to bring Roxas back safe and sound. And Isa. That idiot. That colossal, self-sacrificing, lying idiot. He had to apologize to him.

His ears rang and his vision blurred as he attempted to stand up one more time, then promptly collapsed. Even if he were to somehow magically be able to stand up any time soon, he couldn’t tell where he was; Isa’s blast had sent him flying for quite a distance.  

As if through a tunnel, he could hear someone yelling his name over and over again. Shapes and shadows swam in front of his eyes, nothing focusing into view. Over and over again he heard the voice cry out his name. Was it Xion again...?

Kairi. Her red hair and violet eyes became clear to him as she leaned in. “Lea! Wake up! Wake up! Are you okay?!”

Lea tried to nod, but his head merely lolled side to side as Kairi pulled him into a sitting position. He grunted at the sharp pains that echoed through his joints. She gingerly leaned him up against a boulder.  

“Lea!” Kairi said again, “What happened to you? Who did this?”

“Isa,” whispered Lea, not in response to Kairi’s questions, but only because he needed to hear himself say it out loud. “Saved me...”

“Isa? Saved... what are you talking about?” Kairi repeated with worry.  

“He saved me from Xehanort... for years...” replied Lea.

The only reason why Isa had been able to climb to the top of Xehanort’s ladder was because of him... Not because Lea actually did anything useful, like he had thought he had done, not because he and Isa had made some grand schemes in the distant past. But because Isa took the fall for him. Isa had let Xehanort take his heart in exchange for Lea’s freedom.  

Exchange... freedom... wait...

“Xion! Roxas!” Lea cried out, lurching forward. Xion was still stuck with that creep, and now would probably have to pay a hefty price for fighting back against Xemnas. And Roxas. What if the Organization decided they did actually want him? Would he end up the same as Xion? Yellow eyes and silver hair?

The sudden movement made him grow dizzy again and he let his head fall back against the boulder again. Kairi was saying something, but he couldn’t quite figure out what...

Xion... he finally remembered her, only to lose her again.

He finally saw Roxas again... but he was long gone again.

And Isa. The truth at last.  

The past had mattered to them.

Some friend he turned out to be.  

(Hope you enjoyed this two-parter saga! Again, this piece is a sequel to my sister’s Part 1 and indirectly leads up to “Gone!”)

[angelspigeon]

Sun of Corona - Chapter 07

We’re almost done y’all!!!

You know the path to AO3, right? 

|  °|

Words: 1 784

The Sun was setting, casting slight orange and reddish tone.

Lea was a bit annoyed to have been away from his family for so long… he didn’t know it would ask him so much time to do two drawing on lantern! Lantern he had to slid on his pocket and be sure they weren’t totally broken… But with a bit of fire, and perhaps a slight of magic, this would be perfect.

But there, he knew he had been away from his family for too long and he joined the party. The music was louder than earlier and dancing over the painting all over the floor was common. Color flew around and laughs joined them in a strange but pleasant concert. Light started to be fire on here and there.

“AXEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL!!!!”

Xion ran to him and grabbed his hands.

“Dance with me,” she said.

“Xion, I don’t dance,” he replied.

She gave her a look. Her famous puppy look.

“Xion…” he sighed.

“Please, please, please?”

“Okay but don’t cry if I step on your feet.”

“Don’t worry! I’m stronger than that!! I’m used to a clumsy daddy!”

He smiled and accepted her hands to swirl on the square with his darling daughter. She was laughing and swaying with him. They weren’t the best dancers but it was fun!

She glanced at Roxas and saw him at a few paces from them.

Rapunzel was more away, taking care of the lost children of the Town. They all loved her and it wasn’t surprising because she wasn’t that much different from them. She could understand them. She could provide what they needed and would always be sure they’re happy.

Xion brought Lea toward Roxas, swirling on herself and making him follow the lead. He was really not good for dancing though he seemed to have a lot of fun, and that was the important part, and so he let her do.

The music was loud and with lot of rhythm.

It was powerful and the joy was vibrating in the whole city. If joy could make tremble the wall, the earth would shake of happiness.

Xion made him swirl once again with a wide smile then let go on him. Lea let out a cuss, forgetting all the time the strength of his daughter.

“Aoutch!”

He just knocked someone and caught them before they may fall.

“Sorr…”

He was just aghast seeing a soft look under the orangish color of the sky but also a long blue mane shining with the light of the Moon starting to appear. A long mane braid and adorned with flowers in every color. Every touch of color brought more radiance to every inch of that person.

That very special person who had the power to make his Heart race with just a glare, just a tiny smile.

Just a breath.

“I… Isa… You’re… You… Woah… so p… so pretty…”

“You forgot how to talk?” Roxas asked, holding Isa’s hand.

When Isa saw the glare he threw to his sister, it was more than obvious that he had pushed him in there for one reason.

“Shut up,” Lea hissed between his lips.

“Xion helped me,” Isa said, to ease the atmosphere.

“With the girls!!” Xion added. “He has such pretty hairs! It was so fun!!”

She slid behind Isa’s back and pushed on it.

“Let’s dance! And by let’s dance I mean ‘you should dance’!”

Lea took Isa’s hand and paced backward to bring him in the square.

“Strange,” Xion smirked as Lea made swirl Isa, “I thought, Axel didn’t dance.”

“Isa said the same,” Roxas smiled.

They get used to call Lea “Axel” and never really stopped because Axel used to be someone good to them and he loved them. For Isa, in contrary, using his real name seemed to be better so they could just forget. Give to Isa that chance.

Roxas rose his fist and Xion bumped it with a smile, looking their daddy smiling like never as he was dancing with… their stepfather. It was so precious to see him make swirl Isa, to see their face approaching each other, their lips almost brushing, their smile shining more than any light around and their eyes never letting go on each other.

  Yawning for the fifth time, Roxas stretched himself. It was getting late and they had moved a lot so it was hard to stay awake. And each time he yawned, Xion fought not to yawn neither but she seemed a bit tired too.

And for Isa, it has been a hard day too. He went back to life, he had to face all of this… It was hard.

“Perhaps we should go to sleep?” Isa said, as low as possible.

“We want to see the lanterns by ourselves!” Roxas said, having heard.

He could remember the feeling when he was in Sora’s Heart but he needed more. He needed to see them fly in the sky for real. Especially because this night was soft, without cloud and the stars were shining as much as they could. The Moon itself was reverberating in the water and it promised to be such a beautiful spectacle…

“Yeah! They’ll go to sleep when it will be offer! It shouldn’t be long anymore,” he said.

They had been invited in the Royal Court to see it but he decided to come by the Ocean because it was more beautiful to his opinion. And from what Rapunzel said.

He wanted the best for his family…

“Very well…” Isa said.

Roxas approached him and opened his arms. Isa was perplexed and opened slightly his. So, the teenager came stole him a hug and the second after, Isa had the two kids against him and his hands hesitated to touch their hairs. He was flattered and perturbed at once. Maybe they just wanted to lay on something… less tiring.

Probably.

He let them do, not daring to fully touch them. Having them breathing against him was strange. Unbelievably precious…

Seconds passed and even minutes… and suddenly, a little light in the away.

“Ooooooh!” Roxas and Xion let out in the same time.

Soon, the whole town started to shine and lanterns flew away, shining brighter than the stars and catching the attention of everybody.

They were shining in the dark mirror the ocean had become, peaceful to allow a more beautiful view to everybody. You could hear the enthusiasm everywhere and the teenagers moved away from the adults so they could approach the water and see the lanterns. They were thrilled and couldn’t help but being happy to see how they were taking different path all the time. It was… just what they expected the most!

One lantern moved slightly toward the water so Xion ran to it and pushed it up with excitation.

The others citizen smiled slightly.

It was common to see the children do that. For so long, it has been a sign of grief, the sorrow to know the Princess wouldn’t come back. Today, it was pure joy and seeing kids, no matter their age, playing around, was a pure relieve.

“Xion, Roxas?” Lea called.

“Yes?” Roxas asked, wanting to run with Xion.

The man showed Maximus at a few step from there, having a very cautious eye on the nephew of his best friend, the Princess.

“You’re taking care and you stay next to Max’, okay? Don’t stay out too long.”

“Promise!” Xion screamed out at him. “Come Roxas!” she called, seeing another lantern coming down.

“Promise?” Lea asked to Roxas.

“Promise!”

Lea sighed because they were already moving away. But Maximus puffed the chest and followed them. Smiling, Lea promised himself he would buy apples to the horse. A lot of apples.

“What are you doing?” Isa asked.

“I trust Maximus! And don’t tell me it’s a Horse. I used to have to trust a Mouse. My choice is already done!” Lea laughed. “And I’ve a surprise for you. Come, please.”

Isa nodded and followed him. He promised himself he would check on the children when they would come back in the castle were they had rooms. Lea was still a member of the royalty after all…

They walked toward the water and Isa was surprised, until Lea made him come in a boat. As soon as Isa was sat, Lea pushed his foot against the pontoon, making the tiny boat move away from the shore, and losing itself in that water seemed endless as sky and ocean replied to each other as an endless void. And yet reassuring.

Isa thought that Lea will never stop surprising him…

Light and warm came from the side as Isa was looking the Moon and so he looked down. His breath almost stopped when he saw two lanterns shining. Or maybe it was because of the soft smile he was offering to him. He could see the drawings on the thin paper and he knew how much Lea put his Heart in this.

“Why?” he whispered.

“Because I want everything to be perfect for you…”

“You’re perfect to me… If you’re here, it’s perfect,” he said.

Lea gave him the Moon shaped lantern with a tender smile.

“You don’t know how much I’m happy to be with you.”

Isa took his hand in his, pressing a kiss on the knuckles. The lanterns moved from their palms, flying with the others. Isa moved to come next to Lea, against him, laying his head on his shoulder, pressing his back against his chest… and keep his hand in his.

He could have looked the myriad of lanterns but he rather preferred to watch Lea. And Lea rather preferred to watch him, caressing his cheek tenderly.

“Lea… you remember, when we were kids, what you told to me?”

“I don’t know? I said so many shit to you back this time!” he laughed.

“One day, I’ll marry you,” Isa whispered.

Lea blushed. “I still believe it.”

“Could it be tomorrow?” Isa asked.

“Tomorrow?”

“I lived enough days without being your husband. Plus, I won’t anything to tear us apart.”

“Tomorrow seems to be the best day ever to become your husband. Today would have been more awesome but Rap’ would be sad so let’s say tomorrow!” He leaned over him. “But, in my head, I married you that day, when I was just a kiddo. Because you never stepped out of my Heart. I always loved you more than anything,” he muttered, pressing kisses on his face.

Isa caressed his cheeks, kissing him back as soon as he could.

“You always have been the only one to me,” he swore. “I’m yours. Forever.”

“I’m yours. Forever,” Lea muttered against his lips, kissing them softly.

Lichtenstrange’s awesome drawing that inspired a part of this beautiful moment!!!

Drawing!!!

PS : The next chapter will be the one about the wedding I already posted so it will be a reblog!

[taliaxlatia]

Forget-Me-Not

@projectdestati Later than I expected, but here’s my contribution to the #XionLives challenge!  This is the only piece I’ll be doing, but this idea came to me, and Xion deserves it, so yeah.  And of course I had to go with “Unbreakable Chains” for the track I picked, because honestly, when was the last time I wrote something that didn’t revolve around Vanitas?

Summary:  Inside Sora’s heart, Vantias gets a new visitor - and for once, she’s actually awake.  (Probably not compliant with the KH3 trailers)

(Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2705612/chapters/32720790)

Vanitas cursed when Sora’s heart-pillar started shaking violently, as if someone was spamming a Quake command.  He stood up and brushed himself off despite the fact that there was never any dust in this place.

“What is it this time?”  He muttered, glancing over at Ventus, who - as always - was lying unconscious near the edge of the platform.  He was still half disappointed at that fact.  Stupid.  If Vanitas hadn’t been able to wake his other half by punching him, slapping him, or drawing on his face with a marker he managed to pull out of Sora’s memory, then the pillar shaking wasn’t going to make a difference.

“Is Namine screwing with us again?”  He glared up into the inky sky, where he could see chains in the distance if he squinted.  Sora’s memories.  It had been a nightmare when she’d first started tearing them apart - broken links raining down everywhere, leaving cracks in the stained glass of Sora’s heart pillar.  Leaving a lump on Vanitas’s head, too.  That particular memory had been of Sora, Riku, and Kairi eating ice cream though, so at least he’d been able to use it to summon a bowl of dessert for himself.

But there were no raining memories now - there hadn’t been in a long time.  Vanitas just saw them drift away from time to time, and more rarely, link back together.  He didn’t know why.  With Sora unconscious, it was difficult to get any idea of what was going on in the outside world.  He didn’t even know how long it had been, or how much longer it would last.  Thinking about it only made him want to stab things, which he couldn’t really do here.  Not without risking damage to Sora’s heart. And the last time he’d broken a heart he was trapped inside, it had nearly killed him.

He sighed heavily, plopping down at the edge of the still-trembling pillar and swinging his legs off the side.  Not very safe, but it wasn’t like he had much to lose.  He’d jumped off this pillar plenty of times before.  It hardly even hurt.  It wasn’t really worth it unless he got really bored, though; all that was down there were the dregs of Sora’s memories.  All the ones not important enough to be remembered.

Only… that wasn’t all that was down there, not now.  He could see something in the dim light filtering through the pillar’s windows - there was a person down there.  

An awake, moving person.

Without thinking, he jumped from the top of the pillar.  It felt best to dive head-first, but he did flip at the last second to land on his feet, scattering the broken chain links away.

The black-coated figure screamed.  That scream - too high pitched to be a guy.  Why was Sora’s heart always picking up girls?  At least this one was conscious, unlike Kairi had been.

The girl skipped back a few steps, nearly slipping on the clinking chains, and pulled her hood down farther over her face.  “You’re - who are you?  You look like Sora, but… different.”

Vanitas had been about to laugh in relief - another living person - but then it turned to a scowl.

“No, I’m not Sora.”  He had the urge to cover his own face too.  He hadn’t bothered to wear his mask here, considering there’d never been anyone to see him before.  “The name’s Vanitas.”

He stepped back into his fighting stance and summoned his keyblade.

“Vanitas?”  She frowned, not looking intimidated by his weapon.  Not that it would be easy to tell underneath her hood.  “I never heard of you in Sora’s memories.”

“Tch.  Of course you wouldn’t have, I never actually knew the guy.  Now, are you going to fight me or what?”

She tilted her head.  “Why?”

“Wh-why?”  His blade lowered.  “What do you mean, why?”  He met someone, he fought them.  That was just how it worked.  Was the first awake person he met in years really going to refuse a battle?

“Well, I…  I already died fighting once today.  So I guess I don’t feel like doing it again.”

She made as if to walk away, but Vanitas slid to block her.

“Wait, you can’t just leave.”

She shrugged.  “I don’t even know how I got here.  I should be gone completely.  And I just… I want to be alone right now, okay?”

It was only then that Vanitas realized she wasn’t shrugging.  Her shoulders were just shaking.  And there was something dripping out from beneath her hood…

“You’re crying,” he realized out loud.

“Replicas can’t cry,” she said quietly, tugging on her hood again.  “It was nice to meet you, Vanitas.”

He just watched in confused silence as she ran off into the distance.

                                                          XXX

“Hey,” Vanitas said when he finally found the girl again.  The memories under his feet had been acting up, floating off into the sky in huge chunks ever since she’d arrived.  That made it a bit more difficult than usual to navigate the wasteland around the heart-pillar, but he managed.

“Y-you again?”  The girl looked up.  Her face was still wet.  He should’ve waited longer; dealing with crying girls was the last thing he wanted to do.  But if he waited too long, he was afraid she’d disappear for good.

“What, you expecting someone else?”  She sat down beside her and stretched out his legs.  This spot was far enough out that there weren’t many memories around, so he had plenty of room.

“No…” she mumbled, fiddling with a memory link in her fingers.  She didn’t offer anything else.  Sheesh, was she going to make Vanitas do all the talking?  Maybe he should just attack her.  Then she would have to fight him.  But what if he accidentally killed her, and then she disappeared?

“So… uh… you got a keyblade?”  He asked awkwardly.  To his surprise, she stretched out a hand, and a silver and gold weapon appeared there.

“...I guess I still do,” she said, as if she were just as surprised.

“Looks just like Sora’s,” Vanitas noted.  “Bulky. Blunt.  Kinda stupid looking.”

The girl frowned.  “It looks just like Roxas’s, too.”

Vanitas didn’t particularly care who Roxas was, but he did want to keep the girl from running away again, so he asked, “Who’s Roxas?”

“My best friend.  Him and Axel both are.”  Her frown wavered for a moment, but stayed.  Vanitas wished she would take off her hood.  Was this how he made everyone feel when he had his mask on?

“Friends.”  He snorted.  “Doesn’t sound like they helped you out any more than Ventus’s helped him.”

“Why would you say that?”  She replied angrily.  He grinned.

“You want to fight me over it?”

She sighed and lowered her keyblade, letting it disappear in a flash of light.  “No.  Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

“I’m the only other person awake here in Sora’s heart.  You’re stuck with me.”

He succeeded in getting a frustrated sigh out of her.  A verbal fight might not be as good as a physical one, but at least it was something.

“You won’t be the only one for long.  Roxas will come back soon.”

Vanitas scowled as another chunk of memory links started glowing and then floated upwards.

“Why would your friend end up in Sora’s heart?”

“Because he’s Sora’s Nobody.”

Nobody?  Vanitas didn’t know a lot about Nobodies.  Xehanort had mentioned them briefly, a long time ago.  But didn’t you only become a Nobody if you were turned into a…? Oh.  Vanitas remembered - that had been the worst day of his not-life.  He’d thought Sora was going to go full Heartless, and then who knew what would happen to Ventus and Vanitas’s heart?  But Kairi had saved him, putting Sora’s heart pillar back together before it could crumble all the way into darkness.

“Huh,” Vanitas grunted.  “Maybe he’ll fight me, then.”

“Why do you want to fight so badly?”  The girl asked, still turning that link over in her fingers, over and over again.

“What else are we supposed to do?”  He asked back. Her head tilted.

“You… you’re asking that honestly, aren’t you?”

“I guess.”  He shrugged.  If she had some other idea of how to pass the time, he wasn’t going to complain.  Not much, at least.

She laughed, a small chuckle that startled him.  He hadn’t heard anyone laugh at something he said before.  Should he be offended? He put on a scowl just in case.

“I don’t really know what people normally do together, other than go to work and eat ice cream.  But I guess we don’t have either of those things here.”  She sighed sadly.

“I made ice cream out of one of Sora’s memories once,” he said.  “Tasted just like the real thing.  Or at least I think it did.  Haven’t had the real stuff in a while.”

“Out of his memories?”  She asked.

“Yeah.”  He took the link from her hands, feeling what memory it contained.  Something about flowers.  It was a really faded memory, so it was hard to get much else out of it.  Still, he closed his eyes and felt it, until the link had transformed into a small bouquet in his hands.

“Here.”  He shoved the flowers at her.  “Flowers are for girls.”

“Thanks?”  She laughed again, accepting the small blue blossoms.  “Wait… I remember these.  One of the Dusks left them at the castle before.  Luxord told me they were called... forget-me-nots.  Hah…”

Her hands trembled.  A small drop of water dotted the blue petals.

“For someone who says they can’t cry, you cry a lot,” Vanitas said.

“I guess… I’m lucky then.”  She wiped her eyes - or at least wiped something under her hood.

“You’ve got a pretty twisted idea of luck.”

“Well, when you weren’t supposed to exist, I’m just lucky to be here at all.”  She smiled a little.

“Not supposed to exist, huh?”  He leaned back on his hands. “I know a thing or two about that.”

“You do?”

He nodded.  “Xehanort pulled me out of Ventus so I could forge the X-Blade.”  He drew an ‘X’ in the air with his finger, in case she’d never heard of it.  “But I was never supposed to be my own person, and he never let me forget it.”

He wished he could find one of Sora’s memories of Ansem - the closest thing he’d know to Xehanort - and choke the life out of him.  But pulling actual people out of memories was beyond Vanitas’s abilities.

“Xemnas created me,” the girl said.  “Him and some other Nobodies on Organization XIII did.  I was a replica made of Sora’s memories, meant to copy his keyblade.”

Vanitas raised an eyebrow.  “Keyblade, or X-blade?”

The girl frowned.  “There’s a difference?”

“‘Key’ as in the letter ‘ex.’”  When she didn’t respond, he just said “Nevermind.  Probably just a regular keyblade, then.”

“Oh.”  She grew silent for a while, then finally said, “I’m sorry.  About what happened to you.”

She was… what?  He stared at her.  Sorry?  Was she… pitying him?

“Don’t be.  I’m fine.”  He shrugged, then stood up.  “We should get back to the pillar. It’s not safe to stay down here for too long.”

“Why not?”  She asked, though she stood too.  She still clutched the flowers tightly between her hands.

He gestured to the scattered links that lined the hard ground.  “This is where forgotten memories go.  Stay down here too long, and you’ll be forgotten too.”  He never really worried about it himself - there wasn’t anyone he wanted to remember him, anyway.  In fact, he’d be better off if no one remembered him when he got out of this place.  But this girl - she said she had friends.  She probably cared about stuff like that.

“Then you mean… there’s a chance I won’t be forgotten?”  She asked hopefully. 

“What, you expecting everyone to forget about you?”  

“Well… yes.”

He led her back towards the pillar, kicking chain links out of the way as they went.  “If your friends are anything like Ventus’s, I doubt they’ll give you up that easy,” he replied, a little bitterly.

“Did… did your friends forget about you?”  She asked.  He laughed.

“Hard for them to forget you if you don’t have any in the first place.”

She stopped. “You mean… you didn’t have anyone?”

“No one,” he snapped, then shook his head.  It wasn’t like it mattered.  Friends were for people of the light, like Ventus, and this girl.  Despite her black coat, he could tell she was bright on the inside.

“Do you think… I could be your friend, then?  If we’re both going to be here for a while…”

He blinked.  She was offering… to be his friend?  Okay, despite her light, she obviously wasn’t very bright, or she’d know better than to want to be friends with him, of all people.  But… he imagined the look on Ventus’s face when he finally woke up, and he found out that Vanitas had a friend too.  It would be priceless.

“Sure, why not.”  Vanitas shrugged.  “Just don’t expect me to make you feel better if you’re crying, okay?”

She laughed.  “That’s okay.  I don’t think Roxas or Axel would have known what to do about that either.”

Then, to his surprise, she reached up and lowered her hood, revealing short black hair and blue eyes.  Those eyes looked just like Ventus’s, and that hair was just as dark as his own.  He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but it wasn’t that.

“I never introduced myself, did I?”  She asked with a smile. He shook himself a little when he realized he’d been staring.  “My name’s Xion.”

“Xion,” he repeated, then paused, as if something were going to happen.  “Is that it?  Are we friends now?”

“Um… I think we have to eat ice cream first.”  She frowned thoughtfully.  That made sense; there had to be something more to making a friend then just saying the words.  Any idiot could do that.

“I’ll find us some.  But we need to get to the pillar first.”

“Right.”  She nodded.

They jogged the rest of the way there, with Xion clinging to the forget-me-nots the whole way.  Vanitas wasn’t sure why she bothered; they’d turn back into memories eventually.

Chains of memories peeled up from the ground in front of them; they jumped over and dodged around them.  Namine must be doing some serious work today.  

When they were almost to the pillar - only a few yards away - the chains did something different.  Instead of just falling up into the sky, two strands of them whipped out and formed an X in front of Xion.

“What the-” Vanitas spun, rolled his eyes, and jogged back to her.  “Come on, you lousy memories.  Out of our way.”  

He summoned his keyblade to slice through them - they were just brittle, forgotten things, after all - but his blow bounced off as if the chains had welded together.

“No,” Xion whispered.  She tried to dodge around the chains, under them, over them, but no matter which way she tried to move forward, they twisted to block her.

“What are you standing around for?  Help me smash these things!” He kept hacking at the memories, but they still stubbornly refused to budge.

“No.”  She shook her head.  He noticed that her eyes were getting wet, again.  “It’s not going to be that simple…”

“Why not?”  He demanded.  Smashing things was his favorite way of solving problems; he would make it that simple.

“I can’t be remembered.  Namine warned me.  I chose to go away, even knowing that.”  She pressed one hand to the chains; the other clutched the flowers to her chest.  “Go on, Vanitas.  I’ll be alright.”

He stared at her, his keyblade drooping to his side.  “You’re kidding.  You’re giving up?  Just like that?”

She forced a smile.  “It’s taken me a long time to decide this.  I know what I’m doing.”

“Fine,” he said, surprising her.  He dismissed his keyblade and wandered around the chains; they didn’t do anything to stop him.  “Let all those losers out there forget about us.  What’s it matter?”

“You - no, Vanitas.  You need to go back,” she insisted.

“What?  So all my non-existent friends can remember me?”  He snorted.  “I’m staying down here.  I got bored of hanging out on top of Sora’s heart, anyway.”  Sure, Ventus was still up there… but Vanitas needed to let go of the hope that his other half would wake up any time soon.  Besides, if he did wake up, Vanitas was sure he would know it.  And maybe, if he was lucky, Ventus actually wouldn’t remember him.

“But…”

“What, you want to get rid of me already?”  He smirked. “You can always fight me if you want to try.”

She rolled her eyes.  “I told you, I’m not going to fight you.”

“If you say so.”  He shrugged and knelt down on the ground, hands searching through the debris of chain links.  

“What are you looking for?”  Xion asked.

“You’ll see.”  He found it a second later - the memory he was searching for.  One that would work, anyway.  He drew on its power and ended up with two sticks of ice cream, one yellow, one orange.  “Here.  Since this is what friends do, apparently.”

She blinked before accepting the ice cream.  “I’ve never seen one like this before.”

“Just eat it.”  He said, biting into his own - he’d kept the yellow one for himself.  It tasted like pineapple.  He would’ve rather had strawberry, but it would do.

She took a tentative bite.  “It’s sweet.  But not salty.”

“Salty?”  Vanitas made a face.  “Why would ice cream be salty?”

Xion’s jaw dropped.

“You mean you’ve never had sea-salt ice cream?”  Judging from her face, that could’ve been the eighth deadly sin.

“...No,” he said carefully.  Was sea-salt ice cream the specific kind required by friendships?  He wouldn’t know.  But if Ventus did wake up, and he found out that Vanitas had ruined his only friendship by eating the wrong type of ice cream, he would never live it down.

“We have to find some!”  Xion leapt up; her orange ice cream dripped on the front of her coat.  “Come on, Vanitas!  If we both look together, I’m sure we can find it!”

“Unless Sora’s never had it, either,” he pointed out, but she didn’t seem to notice.  She grabbed his hand to drag him off, but he froze.

Someone was touching him.  He instinctively expected it to hurt, but it didn’t.  Her hand was really cold, though.

“...Vanitas?”  She asked.  He shook his head.

“Sure.  Sea-salt.  Whatever.”

He followed after her, still finishing off the last of his current ice cream.  She didn’t let go of his hand the whole time, almost like she was just as starved for physical contact as he was.  In spite of himself, he smiled.

If she was the one she he was stuck with, it might not be so bad.

[plumedesimili]

Dive to Heart

Word count :  1200 Read on AO3 | FFNet

At first, there was just Ventus.

He wasn't really lonely - first of all, he couldn't exactly feel time flowing here, and loneliness and boredom were strangers here. If anything, he would have said he was conscious, without really being.

He could remember his life, all the steps that led him here, all the names and faces of those he loved, and he knew he longed to get out of here and to find them again, but he didn't have anything against this place, so he just waited.

And then, she came. The place would change according to his host's mood. When she first stepped in, the place was an Island - it was Ventus's favourite place, where he could bathe and enjoy the sun.

"Oh… Hello. May I ask who you are?"

She looked nice, and a bit intimidated. Scared, also, perhaps. He grinned at her.

"My name's Ventus, Ven for short!"

"Nice to meet you, Ven. I'm Kairi. Where exactly are we…?"

"Nice to meet you too! I hope you won't find the truth too weird, but this is Sora's heart."

"Sora's… Heart? Why are you… No, wait, then why am I… Oh."

Ven sat on the sand, still smiling.

"Won't you tell me your story? I'll tell you mine, too!"

She went first, telling a terrible story of a storm, of a door on that very island, of friends coming to save her, and of darkness trying to harm her.

After listening to her, he comforted her. She was quite shaken up. What she needed was some smiles, some jokes, and a lot of good mood. His story could wait a bit.

Time flowed differently here, and she was gone before he ever had the chance to tell her how he ended up in that heart. Her body was calling for her. She was being set free.

"Will I ever see you again?" She asked with a sad voice.

"I hope so! I'm not sure you will remember me, but I hope your heart will. Let's meet again one day!" He grinned as she disappeared.

But as soon as she was gone, he fell on his knees, his chest aching in a whole new pain. It felt as if a part of him was being torn away. The island disappeared, replaced by the Dive to the Heart. But as soon as he stepped on the colourful glass, it cracked, and the cracks leaked of dark fumes. Darkness was surrounding him, trying to absorb him. To destroy the place. To destroy Sora. It took shape of monsters, and he fought them with all his strength, but he knew that wouldn't be enough. Sora needed more Light, or it would be over.

And suddenly, Light there was. Warm, comforting, taking the shape of a hug, of pure love, chasing the Darkness away. It wrapped around Ventus, too, and although it used no words, he understood the message. And he knew whose light it was.

My heart won't forget you. The Dive to the Heart was restored, and he smiled at the girl drawn on it. Sora was a lucky one.

For a while (although he couldn't tell how long), things were back to normal. His peace was back, his timeless days spent at the beach, in a house (Sora's home), or snoozing off on the Dive to the Heart. But at one point (when?), things started to change again, although it was so subtle Ventus didn't realise it at first. The colours of the mosaic were fading away, really slowly. Faces started to get blurry. One day, Ventus noticed that the picture changed - there was a new face, a blonde girl, looking a lot like Kairi… But she wasn't Kairi. And yet, she took her place. Who was she? What was she doing here? The whole place felt sad. Sora's heart was sad, and Sora might not even be aware of it.

And then, Kairi was back, but the colours weren't. They kept on fading away. The place was getting sleepy, as if Sora was asleep - but his heart shouldn't be losing its colour, losing its light, should it? Helpless, unable to know what was going on, Ventus couldn't do a thing but wait. He was good at that. After all, there was no time here.

Kairi started disappearing again, not being replaced, just vanishing. The whole place was basically black and white by now.

Until the day it all came back - well, not all of it, but most of it. There was a blinding light, and then the colours were back, Kairi's picture was back, and a newcomer was here. She looked a lot like Kairi, but in a different way than the girl that had replaced her. She looked quieter. Darker.

"Am I getting a roommate? Hi!"

She stared at him with awe.

"Roxas?"

He didn't understand the question. Roxas? Was it a name? Or perhaps they didn't speak the same language? He put his hand on his chest.

"Ventus. You?" He pointed at her slowly. She smiled, shaking her head.

"I'm… I'm Xion. Is this… Sora's heart? Who are you really?"

So she knew where she was. That was surprising. But at least they talked the same language, which was great.

"A pleasure, Xion! Please call me Ven. Do you like the beach?"

"The… beach?"

The place changed for his favourite Island. Although this place was not his, Sora's heart was pretty conciliant with his locations requests.

"If we are to talk, best to do it under the sun! Alright, who goes first?"

"I would like you to tell me who you are, if you don't mind. And why you are in Sora's heart. I have no memory of you from Sora, but… You just look so much like a friend of mine."

He told her his story, and she listened. He even included the part about Kairi visiting, thinking that perhaps Xion had met her before.

And she told him her story, and that explained a lot about what happened recently. She was the reason the colours faded away - well, some of them. Sora's memories had been stolen from him, and sent into two puppets, Xion, and Roxas, who apparently looked just like him. Roxas might even have been the reason behind that terrible pain he felt before: when Sora lost his heart, a part of Ventus might have gone too to ease his host's pain.

"I think he will join us soon." Smiled Xion, and her eyes were shining bright at this thought. "He just needs a bit more of time, but he will soon realise this is the only way."

"So are you going to be… permanent resident? Long-term ones, at least? It won't hurt to have some company."

"I think so. I wasn't meant to exist. I don't even know why I am here, when I should have returned to nothingness…"

"Well, you have a name and memories, it's not like that could vanish just like that!" He grinned at her, and she looked at the horizon, thoughtful.

"I wonder… Will he remember me?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" His grin grew bigger as she frowned, trying to understand what he meant. With a soft nod, he showed something behind her. She turned around, to see a boy standing there, lost.

"How could it be? I've only been there since…" His chuckles interrupted her.

"Don't try to understand time around here, it makes no sense. This is a heart, after all. Not real life. Can't you see where we are?"

The beach was gone, and the Dive to the Heart was back. Full. Restored.

"This heart is complete again. I guess I'm an extra, now. Go greet him, okay?"

She took a few hesitant steps towards the newcomer, while Ven remained lying on the ground, staring at the black nothingness above him. Sora's heart was complete. How was he doing? His heart had been through a lot, lately. Then, again, lately could mean for this last decade or so. Ventus didn't even know how old Sora was now. Perhaps he was an old man by now. He hoped he had been reunited with Kairi.

He spied on the two others. That was wrong, but there wasn't much else to do. And Xion looked so nervous, that was cute.

"Ro...xas?" Her voice was barely a whisper. Lucky they were in a completely silent place, or her words would never have been heard.

He looked at her in silence. Ventus caught a glimpse of his face. Man, we really could be twins, he thought, amused.

"Do you know… Who I am?" Once again, he was silent. Ventus worried about Xion. What if he really couldn't remember her? That would be really sad. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like if Terra or Aqua forgot about him. He pushed this thoughts away and sat up to have a proper look at them.

Xion was facing Roxas, but she was staring at her feet, as if she couldn't face him. Which was probably why she was panicking at his lack of answers. Had she looked up, she would have understood pretty quickly.

"Pssst, Xion! His face is probably more interesting than your feet right now!" Whispered Ven in a grin. Xion, balled her fists and finally dared to look at Roxas.

He was very still. And from his gigantic cerulean eyes streamed down a river of tears.

He remembered her. He was just so shocked, so astounded to finally find her again that he couldn't move or talk.

"Roxas?" She reached out for him, hesitantly touching his bare hand from her gloved one. That seemed to wake him up.

"Xion? Is that… really you?"

"It's me. For real." She smiled at him, and she looked so happy and sad at the same time that Ventus sworn to himself that if Roxas didn't move in the next five seconds, he would be the one to hug her.

Of course, that was unnecessary. Roxas threw his arms around her, and they stayed in that embrace for a very long time. Ventus did his best to ignore how much he missed Terra and Aqua. Aqua gave the best hugs.

"And… who are you?"

After their endless embrace, that involved a lot of giggling, crying and unintelligible words, Roxas finally let go of her and started to be interested by Ventus. He jumped back to his feet and held a hand out to Roxas.

"Hello, clone of mine!"

"Clone…?"

If he had taken Ven's good looks, he apparently didn't get his sense of humour. Ven smiled.

"Well, you and I sure look alike alot. My name is Ventus. You're Roxas, right? Xion told me a lot about you. Mostly nice things."

"Mostly?"

"He's teasing you." Laughed Xion. "Sora saved Ven years ago, after Xehanort tried to turn him into a weapon." That seemed to amuse Roxas, who scoffed. "Yeah, tell me about it."

Ventus crossed his arms. "So this is the Sora's Heart Weapon Club? Sounds fun! By the way, guys, there's something I'd like to ask you…."

This time, it was Ven who was uneasy. He wasn't sure he should be asking, but this could be his only chance to know.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about my friends, Terra and Aqua?"

Roxas shook his head. "Sorry. Never heard of them. But we haven't existed for long, so…"

"Wait, Aqua's name rings a bell." Ven looked at Xion, full of hope. She was frowning, as if trying really hard to remember what it was. "Before I left the Organization, I had a look at their reports. That's how I found I was a… whatever. There was a mention, only once, to an armour they kept locked somewhere… And it was called 'Aqua's armour'. That's the only time I've seen that name, though. All I know, and it's because I overheard Xigbar mentioning it, was that Xemnas was looking for a room called 'The Chamber of Waking', and that it was connected to his past. Sorry, I wish I could have been more helpful…"

Ventus grinned. "You've told me enough, don't you worry. I'm sure they are safe. As for this room…" His grin somehow turned into something a bit more mischievous. "I can't really explain how I know it, it might be something I heard in my sleep somehow, but I think that's where I am… My body, at least. If anything happened to it, I'm sure I would know it. So I'd say this room is safe for now, although that's just suppositions. That aside… Would you guys like to swim a bit?"

The beach was back, the sun gently warming them up. Ventus threw himself into the water with no hesitation, and the two others quickly followed him.

"Look, we made it to the beach… I wished Axel were there, though." He heard Roxas whisper to Xion. Ven grinned and splashed them.

"Okay, guys, rule number one: this is Sora's heart, so no negative thoughts! We gotta make the kid happy, got it? Keep the dwelling for once you're free!"

They both smiled and started playing with him. Ventus quickly stared at the fake sky. Let's hope we will be free, though.

They played a lot. Talked a lot. Since time was not an issue, they didn't really know how long it had been, but one day, Ventus started feeling a little dizzy. The house turned back to the Dive to the Heart.

"Ventus, are you okay?" worried Xion. Ventus found it really hard to focus on anything, and he knew it could mean two things. Either his body was dying, or…

"I think I'm waking up, guys. I'm sure you'll soon be free too, so… See you on the other side!"

He felt really cold, as he was fading away. Cold, and a bit scared as well. He grinned at them, hiding his true feelings.

I hope I'm really not just dying were his last thoughts, as he completely disappeared from Sora's heart.

[ice-cream-beat]

Roxas and Ven with 12? :)

I HAVE DONE THE THING and I’m sorry this is so stupidly late! this was a super cute prompt tho ahhhh ty for suggesting it!

#12: Enjoying the first snow together

Summary: Ven was definitely the outgoing type, but Roxas couldn’t really compare him to anybody else, not directly. Ven was straightforward, but lacked Hayner’s brashness; he was considerate, but bolder than Xion; he was similar to Sora in a lot of ways, but there was something… calmer about Ven, or maybe gentler. [Ventus + Roxas, post-KH3.]

Ao3 version here

/ / / / /

“You really haven’t seen it before?” Ventus’ eyes were wide and bright and curious, a cheerful smile belying his tone of surprise. Then again, Roxas was quickly discovering that it was rare for Ven not to smile.

“No,” he confirmed with a shake of his head. “I’ve never even felt it get this cold.”

“Huh.” It was a neutral sound as Ven shuffled the toe of his shoe against the cement, shifting the undisturbed layer of perfect white. Like Roxas, he was dressed for the cold with only his face showing any skin. “We get a ton of it every year where I’m from. We usually make bets on how long it takes the first snowfall of winter to arrive.”

“How much is a ton?” Roxas wondered. The snow that already coated the sidewalk, roads, and rooftops of Twilight Town was impressive, especially considering it had only started falling a couple hours before, but he figured an inch of the stuff could hardly be considered much.

“Mm… about knee-high, I guess? Well, for me, anyway. One time we got a lot more, though.” Suddenly Ven turned to him, looking excited. “Hey! So that means you’ve never had a snowball fight or any of that!”

“Well, no. I never–hey!”

“Come on!” Ven had a hold on the crook of Roxas’ arm and was already trying to break into a run. “We gotta hurry!”

Roxas humored him and matched his pace, but shot him a puzzled look. “To where?”

“I’ll explain when we get there!”

Ven half-led, half-dragged Roxas through the snow that continued to swirl in the chilly breeze. They earned a few glances as they went, a few of them knowing Roxas well enough to do a double-take when they noticed Ven, but nobody tried to dissuade them from their trek. “There” turned out to be the park: Ven abruptly stopped at the edge of it, finally releasing Roxas and scanning the area thoughtfully. When his eyes found the playground at the far end of the small field, he grinned and gave an indicative nod. “Down there! Let’s go!”

Now curious, Roxas didn’t need to be pulled along this time. The two of them crunched over the frozen grass and made for the collection of equipment – swingsets, a merry-go-round, climbing nets – all of which was now colored white. After another moment of looking around, Ven quickly led them over to the tube slide, a tall, winding tunnel of orange. “This should be good,” he decided. His cheeks were pink and his visible clouds of breath were coming quicker than before.

“For what?”

With another grin Ven crouched down and began gathering snow between his hands. The top layer was still dusty and slipped between his gloved fingers, but the rest stuck together as he rolled it into a tight ball. “Preparing,” he replied. He let that unhelpful answer hang in the cold air for a few seconds before raising his head. “By the time everybody else gets here, we’ll have a head start.”

“Everybody else?”

“Uh-huh. Is this is the only park?”

“The only one around here, yeah. The other one’s a train ride away.”

“Good! Then we’ll get a lot of people.” Noting Roxas’ perplexed expression, Ven added, “C’mon, help me make some more.” Once Roxas had also squatted down to start crafting snowballs, Ven nodded back towards the open field. “There’re lots of kids here, right? I bet this is where the snowball fight happens.”

Oh. Well, that explained a couple things, but– “How can you tell?”

Ven’s smile was the widest yet. “Because you always have a snowball fight after the first snow. And since this is your first snow ever, I’ll make sure you’re prepared.”

That caught Roxas by surprise – but the smile was contagious and he couldn’t resist a quiet laugh, even if it was a little self-conscious. Ven was definitely the outgoing type, but Roxas couldn’t really compare him to anybody else, not directly. Ven was straightforward, but lacked Hayner’s brashness; he was considerate, but bolder than Xion; he was similar to Sora in a lot of ways, but there was something… calmer about Ven, or maybe gentler. Roxas wasn’t sure what to call it or why exactly he thought that, but that was the impression that had stuck with him ever since (properly) meeting him several months ago.

Roxas glanced up at the slide. “So what’s this for, then?”

“You need somethin’ to hide behind. While everybody else is buildin’ theirs, we’ll already have one.” Ven had definitely thought this through.

With nothing else to do but accept the offer, Roxas set to work on mimicking Ven’s motions and adding to their snowball repertoire. It was pretty easy, similar to handling wet sand but more malleable, although he was feeling the bite of cold through his gloves within half a minute. Ven was much faster at it.

A few minutes after that, Ven’s guess proved right: others began trickling in, ranging from small children who had already begun to hurl snow at one another to teenagers who quickly took to constructing short walls out of the stuff. The two Keyblade wielders were already way ahead of the rest.

When a sudden thump sounded right beside Roxas’ left ear, they both whipped their heads up to see snowy remains crumbling off the slide. Together they turned to search the field for the source, a tricky endeavor given the size of the crowd at this point–

“Watch it!” Roxas jerked aside as another snowball flew in their direction, narrowly missing his face. He felt Ven catch hold of his sleeve.

“Come on!” he laughed. “Behind cover!”

As if by some silent command, the park erupted. The air filled with snowballs lobbed in every direction, accentuated by laughter and the occasional cry of surprise. The slide proved to be good defense, after all, tall enough that they could stand when they needed to and wide enough to let them each take one side. While other kids scrabbled to make more ammunition between throws, Roxas and Ven were well-stocked and kept pushing the offensive.

Roxas certainly didn’t have bad aim, but he noticed that Ven’s shots were on-target the majority of the time. Whenever somebody risked dashing out through the open field, becoming an immediate target for the rest of the crowd, the snowball pitched beside him always found its mark.

After several minutes of receiving only glancing blows and slim misses, Roxas was startled by the very wet, very cold slap of snow against his face, seemingly out of nowhere. He quickly scrabbled to dig it out of his collar, but a few icy chunks were already tumbling down his neck and the back of his shirt in sheer torment. Laughter drew both their attentions, and they looked left to see three more warmly bundled teenagers huddled behind the monkey bars. Specifically, they saw Olette trade high-fives with Hayner and Pence as all three of them flashed amused grins.

“Aren’t those your friends?” Ven panted. He was leaning over with his hands on his knees.

“Uh-huh. This just got a lot harder.” Despite the new challenge – because of it, rather – Roxas was smiling.

/ / /

Ven hadn’t spent enough time in Twilight Town to get used to the perpetual sunset, so it was a bit odd when he and Roxas finally withdrew from their fortified space an hour later and the sky gave no sign of the time passed. He could appreciate the sight, though, because the snowfall had eased up to a gentle flurry that allowed him to look skyward without constantly getting condensation in his eyes.

Both boys were flushed and panting from the exercise. With the ground covered in snow and their bodies already a few degrees too cold to be comfortable, they claimed the nearby swingset for seats. Some of the other kids remained in the park, building snowmen or pulling one another on sleds, but the battleground had died down for the most part. It ended up pretty quiet where they were, but Ven didn’t try to fill it with talk just yet. Like Roxas, he just watched the activity with mild interest while he caught his breath, hands cupped around his mouth to try and warm up the air going into his stinging lungs.

“It’s nice.”

Ven looked over. “Hm?”

“I don’t remember the last time I went all-out like this. Doing something that wasn’t a fight, anyway,” Roxas mused. “Or training. Maybe I never did.” That last remark sounded uncertain, but not sad. Like the light smile he wore, it just seemed distracted.

“Oh.”

“But it was nice,” he repeated. “Just… moving without thinking, you know?”

Ven nodded. “Yeah. Sometimes you need to stop thinkin’ and start doin’. That’s why you like sports, huh?”

Roxas tilted his head as though debating his answer. “I guess. I mostly do those ‘cause my friends like them. Well, I like them, too, but I probably wouldn’t bother if I didn’t have anybody to do it with.”

“I gotcha. I’ve got my friends to thank for some of my hobbies, too.” Taking hold of the chains on either side of his shoulders, Ven kicked lightly against the ground to get his swing moving. “If you liked this, you should come to our world sometime. You haven’t had real competition until you go up against Aqua.” Terra could throw a lot harder, but Aqua’s aim was legendary as far as Ven was concerned. She’d taught him a lot, although he was still lacking compared to her. He suspected she worked some magic into it somehow.

“I can go there?” Roxas asked, sounding slightly bewildered.

“Sure. Why couldn’t you?”

“…Oh. It’s just… It’s a really important place, right? So I thought only the really important wielders could go there.”

Ven laughed, cocking an amused eyebrow. “No. I mean, you have to have permission, but all you gotta do is ask. Who counts as a ‘really important’ wielder, anyway?”

“I dunno. Real ones, I guess.”

Ven dug his heels into the mulch to cut his momentum. Now he just looked puzzled, no longer smiling. “Real ones?” he echoed.

“You know. Wielders like you and your friends. The ones who got their Keyblades from their Masters. Not by chance.”

Frowning, Ven stared, but Roxas still didn’t turn to him, still didn’t sound anything other than thoughtfully neutral. After a moment Ven dropped his gaze, thinking over his response as he toed the tracks he’d left in the snow.

“Y’know, Roxas… I don’t believe in chance,” he said resolutely. This time Roxas did glance over, and Ven met the look with an easy smile. “And I don’t think there’s any difference between wielders when you get down to it. ‘The Keyblade chooses whom it will,’ ” he recited. “Even if we don’t understand why, that’s all right. We don’t have to know everything. Our role as wielders is to walk the path we’re given no matter what.”

Roxas appeared to take that to heart. At least, he thought on it for the next few silent moments. “Did your Master teach you that?”

“Yep.” Both of them did. “But after everything that’s happened… I don’t think you need a Master to tell you that. We’ve seen destiny in action. Up-close and personal and everything.” Ven grinned. Roxas didn’t return it, but there was something decidedly less serious in his expression as he looked out over the park again. After a few heartbeats, he gave a small but knowing smile.

“You’re saying… I’m no accident, huh.”

“Nobody is,” Ven countered without hesitation. “That Keyblade’s yours, Roxas. You’re as real a wielder as I am.” Standing up, he shoved his cold hands in his pockets and turned on his heel. “But your pitchin’ arm could use some work.” He grinned again. “How about some practice?”

Roxas blinked at him, but then after a beat laughed quietly. “You two really are alike.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind.” Pushing off his swing, Roxas caught up to him and gave his shoulder a friendly shove. “All right! Show me what you know.”