Chapter Text
Sora thought holding hands might have been the moment everything clicked. Well, clicked a second time. Was he allowed multiple clicks?
The war between the Seven Lights and the Thirteen Darknesses was over, and from the moment the initial battle had begun, it had been…short. Preparation for that battle had seemed infinitely longer than the war itself. Had it even been a full day?
Did he count those moments where he was in the Final World? Did he count those moments of hunting down pieces of his friends? Was that the same day? Was it the same time?
Sora actively shook his head every time those impossible memories invaded his mind. He’d grown to accept the impossible, to accept whatever was thrown at him because if he didn’t, the mind of a simple boy from Destiny Island would crack. He’d seen so much, just as much good as bad, but having to swiftly piece himself back together was something he’d rather not think about again.
When Kairi had taken his hand, everything had made sense. He’d THOUGHT it made sense. Wasn’t Kairi what he was fighting for? How long had he spent looking for her, then protecting her from a distance while she was safely at home. Hadn’t it all been for Kairi? She was his muse, one of his best friends, and all those budded blossoms from childhood were finally blooming.
In the moment, they empowered each other, the war was won.
So why did Sora feel so lost, why weren’t those feelings as…overwhelming as they felt before.
“C’mon Sora.” Kairi laughed softly, gripping his hand as they walked the sloped roads of market street, right in the heart of Twilight Town. It hadn’t been her first time here, but it was one of her favorite places so far. The shops of Station Heights had just about everything and it felt impossible to see everything in just a day.
“What’s your hurry?” Sora grinned back, almost purposely walking slower so she had to drag him.
She dug her heels in, familiar with the game and dragged him along with a frustrated laugh. “I want to see the accessory shop. Ven said this one was particularly good.”
“Well sure.” Sora mused. “Only ones i like better would be Radiant Garden or… Traverse Town i guess.”
Kairi bobbed her head into an amused nod. “I don’t know if it’s ridiculous or amazing that you’ve been to practically every one around.”
“Every one i’ve found.” Sora agreed. “Was kind of a necessity.”
“Oh i get that, it’s just crazy to me. You could hardly be bothered to remember to bring your backpack with you to school but your accessories and items are weirdly organized.”
Sora shrugged. “I mean, i think it makes sense.”
“Yeah?” There was a hint of teasing. “You grow up? You’ve become so dependable.”
Sora laughed, “I guess so.” But the words stung for some reason. He’d been a child then. A child who wanted to race and surf and explore. He had no worries, and little consequences to his day to day life. He didn’t make light of island living, but his needs were met and things were simple.
Things changed when darkness came. When you watched your world fall to it. When you suddenly found yourself alone in a new world without your friends and told you’re the only one that could use a weapon like ‘this’.
Well, that hadn’t been exactly true either but it was a picky weapon at least.
Sora had learned quickly that this wasn’t a game. It wasn’t a dream. Fight, or you’re going to die. He’d had a few mishaps in the beginning but he did learn that organization in a fight was key. He needed to know where his potions were. He needed to know how many he had. He had to know which items he had equipped and once he started getting more keychains, he needed to learn how to change them quickly. Sometimes even mid-battle quickly.
He’d practiced cure spells well into the night because he had to. Donald and Goofy were his friends and they would never have left him for dead but they were on a mission of their own. They were busy keeping themselves alive in every scuffle with the Heartless. They didn’t have time to constantly keep an eye on him.
Knowing that a well placed cure spell was the difference between living and dying was… terrifying. He didn’t change his habits overnight or on a whim. He’d tried to be dependable for her.
Kairi took a step back to nudge her shoulder against his with a small smile. “It’s nice.” she said, voice warm. They were not kids anymore, playing chase on the beach.
“Yeah.” Sora’s expression matched hers and he squeezed her hand once, gently. He’d figured out that she pulled away when he clung to her hand too tightly. His hand strength was too much for her.
It wasn’t just because his fingers were calloused and years of holding a keyblade had altered his grip, but because her hands were still soft and tender from her own training. She hadn’t built up the callouses swordsmen had just yet but they were aching from training.
Something about holding hands didn’t feel right, but they’d been doing it since they were children.
Kairi made a small sound of excitement as she pulled Sora into the accessory shop with her. She’d already been thrilled with the call of adventure, though not quite the same as Sora and Riku had been.
They had wanted to travel, to explore. With Kairi, Sora often suspected that she merely didn’t want to be left behind. She still took keyblade training seriously and lately had been training with Terra and Aqua. The two of them were learning as well, trying to determine if they could make worthwhile teachers.
When Kairi found out she could use accessories, which often happened to look like jewelry, there was no containing her. She browsed the shops, looking at the amulets, earrings, cufflinks, metals. Always on the fence about what she could really use and what wouldn’t yet aid her skill set.
Sora liked to have the moogles synthesize things for him personally but they always had a number of items set out, pre-made.
“What do you think?” Kairi asked.
“Well what are you worried about? Want a magic boost? Defense boost?” Sora watched her think over her options and smiled thinly. This was how it should have been. Students coming to add to their skill sets instead of being a scared kid bringing in all the ingredients he could carry to the moogles who took pity on him while synthesizing.
He often had his items on him.
He had a soldier’s earring in one ear and a mage’s earring in the other. He wore a sorcerer’s ring under his gloves and a lucky ring on his other hand.
He had more, and had gotten to the point where he could wear up to six items at a time, but he didn’t like to. As helpful as the item’s were, they could put a hindrance on the body too. It was something he’d been sure to tell Kairi, but he wasn’t sure she’d believed him until Aqua had confirmed it.
“I dunno.” Kairi muttered. “I don’t want too much, you know? I don’t want to go from zero to a hundred. Terra said you should be able to fight as easily without the item as you can with it. Like it’s a training tool.”
“Sure.” Sora agreed airily, mentally going through his own inventory. Maybe he had something he could give her.
Moogles happily appeared, chatting with Kairi about each item as if knowing she was just window shopping and were falling into a good salesman mode.
Sora couldn’t help but wonder what else the moogles did. Maybe they synthesized tools or appliances. There couldn’t possibly be that many people around Twilight Town in the market for fire cufflinks or whatever.
His mind drifted off so badly that he didn’t even know how hard he’d been day dreaming until a girl crashed into him, Xion’s arms tight around his neck.
“Sora!”
Sora laughed and hugged her automatically. “Hey Xion. You window shopping too?”
She laughed, pulling away with a bright smile and not for the first time, he wondered if he should know her better than he did. He liked her, and felt like he knew her, but the time they spent together was practically nothing.
“I guess so now. I called Kairi and she said you guys were here soo…” She smiled, the warm look painfully familiar. “I hope you don’t mind us crashing your date.”
Sora snickered. “Not at all, maybe you can help her find something.”
“Oh, alright.” Xion perked up, crossing the shop and greeting Kairi with the same hug he got.
When Sora glanced at the door again, he smiled, a genuine sense of home filling him when he looked at Roxas. Xion was a piece of him, but it was more a head copy, bits of his mind and memories. Roxas though, Roxas came from his heart. Always his Other.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” Roxas mimicked, coming closer and his soft gaze said he felt the same. The same comforting tug. They hugged before pulling apart a moment later, relaxed in the other's presence.
“What’s wrong?” Roxas asked, voice pitched low.
“Wrong?” Sora repeated, meeting his eye. Not for the first time, Roxas saw what others didn’t. Lying was useless. “Dunno.”
“No?” Roxas’ brows rose briefly but he let it drop. “I guess everyone has days like that. Too much shopping?”
They stood side by side, leaning against a glass counter top that held metals. “I don’t think it’s the shopping. I think it’s… how we’re shopping. Does that sound stupid?”
“Yeah.” Roxas smiled, playful jab hanging between them. “What’s it mean?”
Sora stuck his tongue out at him and paused. “You ever had something you needed? Knowing you were going ‘here’ to do ‘whatever’ and you had to scramble to get the item you needed that would help you just a little bit?”
Roxas was nodding. “Oh, fuck yes. I’ve had those days.”
“Well I did that alot. There were days where the whole reason we stopped somewhere was just to spend five minutes hitting the item store before heading out again.” Sora explained and Roxas’ face smoothed out with understanding.
“Yes. I’m familiar with the rush.”
Sora let out a relieved sigh. “I’m not saying that shopping for fun isn’t wrong but…”
“It feels like it.” Roxas agreed with another nod. “Being here means you should be in a hurry. Got places to go, monsters to kill, people to save.”
“Yes.”
“Doing it for kicks is nice but also wrong.” Roxas mused. “Yeah, I get it. That’s gotta be a lot of things for you…”
Roxas had a lot of Sora’s memories, but not all of them. It was like the pair of them started off exactly the same and branched off at some point.
“Not all the time, but yeah…” It made dating hard. The mornings he was up before the sun. The evenings he rushed through dinner because…it was a habit. There were days he couldn’t stand noise. There were days he couldn’t stand quiet.
“You’re doing well.” Roxas said softly. “And you know you can come here to recharge whenever you need to.”
A smile pulled at Sora’s lips again. The reassurance was something he needed. It wasn't pushy but it was an offer left dangling in the air. “Yes. I know.”
“So do it.” Roxas snorted. “Don’t pull that lone wolf shit like Riku. Where’s that asshole anyway?”
Sora rolled his eyes. “How did you come from me and become so hostile towards my best friend?”
Roxas smirked. “Your best friend is a dick and he resented me for a while there. Besides, I'm not hostile, you’d know if I was.”
“Yeah, I suppose so.” Sora said dryly. Roxas didn’t make it a secret when he didn’t like someone. He was much better at that sort of thing than Sora was.
“So? Where is he?”
Sora shrugged. “Dunno. Disney? He does things for the King and Queen all the time.”
Roxas tsked. “What even is that? A keyblade master and a mouse.”
“Hah…” Sora breathed out a laugh before he could stop it. Sometimes he was grateful Roxas would verbalize things he couldn’t out of guilt. “Well that mouse is a King and also a keyblade master. I dunno really. I think Riku likes to help people. Likes to be around Mickey after all he did for him.”
It was Roxas’ turn to roll his eyes. “Isn’t he a little old to be sticking to his master like that? If you could even call him that. If someone showing up for five minutes to impart some wisdom before flouncing off again is a master then Isa’s mine.”
Sora really did bark out a laugh that time. “You never know who you get attached to. I mean, I had Donald and Goofy with me for a long, long time.”
“Yeah, but you aren’t living in Disney with them. They had to go home eventually.” Roxas said. “You had a great time with them. Alotta memories and can go see them whenever you want.”
“By that logic, Riku’s still working out his new normal.” Sora said. “Hasn’t been around Mickey nearly as long as I was with Donald and Goofy.”
Sometimes he missed his traveling companions but they were still the royal mage and captain of the guard. They couldn’t leave those positions empty indefinitely. Donald had a lot of outings with Daisy to make up for and Goofy had his son.
“Whatever.” Roxas shrugged. “At least he’s doing something, I guess.”
“You still undecided?” Sora asked. It was a sentiment he understood. Sometimes he didn’t know what he wanted either.
“Yeah, trying the normal teenager thing but how normal is it really when we’re still helping Ansem on occasion and Yen Sid calls sometimes. Terra and Aqua want to open some kind of keyblade school and holy fuck I hope Ventus is apart of that because those two should not be unsupervised with authority.”
A smile appeared on Sora’s face again but it wasn’t exactly humor he felt. “Yeah, I think Ventus would be involved…”
“Well thank our lucky stars for that.” Roxas sighed.
Sora thought that given a little time, Roxas would want to take the Mark of Mastery test for himself. He and Xion, hell Lea and Isa too, likely couldn’t be idle for long. The rough beginning they’d had warranted a little down time, a vacation of sorts. This was their home, and there was nothing wrong with staying there when not zipping around the worlds.
“So, how’s it going with Kairi?” Roxas asked after a beat. They were watching Xion and Kairi holding up earrings to their ears like they were gems and not items.
“Good.”
Roxas raised a brow.
“Great?” Sora corrected. “Stupendous?”
Roxas snorted. “Whatever man, I'm your Other not your mom. Just want you to be happy.”
Sora hummed. “Sounds like something a mom would say.”
“Ass,” Roxas punched Sora’s arm and laughed. “You don’t mind us crashing into your date?”
“No.” Sora said, wondering if he was supposed to. They did group things a lot and this wasn’t the first time a date had ended up with more people tagging along.
“Mmhmm.” Roxas’ arms were crossed.
“What?”
“Nothing. Nothing. C’mon, son. Let’s go grab the girls and get some ice cream.” Roxas said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
“I like ice cream.” Sora agreed easily, turning just as Xion and Kairi both made a purchase. Maybe he should have bought that, his bank account was outrageous. Ah well, he’ll get the ice cream.
“C’mon! Sea-salt is waiting.” Roxas called, getting their attention. They left the shop as a group, Xion showing Roxas her newest item while Kairi took Sora’s hand again, the two of them sharing a smile.
The fondness between them was genuine, but the hand holding didn’t feel right.
~~
The novelty of getting ice cream in Twilight Town hadn’t faded yet. On Destiny Island, ice cream parlors were tiny little places. Basically big enough for a line to form at the counter and for everyone to point to what flavor scoop they wanted.
It was a bigger deal in Twilight Town with its huge shops that even offered seating. That was something odd to Sora even after so many months because more often than not, Roxas or Lea was just handing them out. How they kept ice cream frozen on their person until they passed it out was beyond Sora but he figured they were entitled to their secrets.
The first time Roxas and Xion had actually taken him to the ice cream parlor, he’d been a little stunned. It was a weird time for culture shock to set in but it was something that should have been so familiar turned into something grander. It got to be as much fun as sitting on the clock tower was.
This time was no different, even after seeing it so many times now. The four of them stormed in, Roxas and Xion going for their favorite sea salt ice cream while Sora and Kairi were actually looking at the flavors. They were making it something of a game to try all of them and that’s how Kairi ended up with pina colada and Sora got red velvet.
They dropped into a booth, all of them talking excitedly over a dance the high school was having the following weekend.
“Did you ask anyone to go with you?” Kairi asked.
Xion tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean? I’m going with Roxas and Olette and the others?”
Kairi gave both Xion and Roxas the most fond look. “And that’s cool. You could also ask someone to go with you like a date.”
Roxas frowned but paused to take a bite of his ice cream. “Oh, I guess that’s why people keep asking me if I'm going.”
“You’re a stud.” Sora snickered at him. “Must be your lineage.”
Roxas barked out a laugh while Kairi hid her laughter behind her hands. “And what about you, my dear Other. How many people have asked you to a dance.”
“Hm.” Sora stuck his spoon in his mouth, deciding he really did like the red velvet. “I’m not sure I ever went to one. We had parties when we were younger but I never really went to high school so I never went to a dance where dates were like.. A priority.”
“You didn’t.” Kairi confirmed for him. “Though if you did, you, me, and Riku probably would have just gone together.”
“Sounds right.”
“As a date?” Xion asked and weirdly it was Kairi that sputtered, face red.
“No! As friends.”
Sora personally wasn’t sure what the big deal was. So what if they did go together? It was just a high school dance, not exactly world ending stuff. So what if he didn’t go to high school and had missed out on certain things. Not just anyone could do what he did…
Roxas took another bite but his attention was on Sora. “Do you ever regret not going back?”
“Mm..” Sora thought about it, keenly aware of the attention on him. “Maybe? Fleeting moments. Normalcy can be nice. It’s nice to see you guys give it a try.” he steered the conversation away.
“Well what about you two being our dates?” Xion asked, mildly amused with the loophole she’d found. Sure they didn’t attend their school but if they were their dates then it would probably be fine.
“No way.” Kairi said immediately on their behalf. “This is a great occasion for the two of you and your school friends. You don’t need to think about us. Just enjoy yourselves.”
“Mhmm.” Sora nodded his agreement, absently twirling the mage’s earring he wore. Spinning earrings had been something Tifa had told him to do after she saw him putting his earrings in one day and it had become something of a habit ever since.
He disliked the bitterness in his stomach over the topic. He chose his path, and most days didn’t regret it. That didn’t mean he didn’t think about those ‘what ifs’. Having one avenue closed to him was a strange kind of uncomfortable and he didn’t even want to go to a dang high school event. Still, the invitation had been sweet all the same.
“It’s soon,” Kairi continued, seemingly without noticing Sora’s inner dialogue. “Do you have an outfit?”
“No, but Olette says we should go out for something soon.” Xion said, looking flushed with excitement already. It wasn’t a matter of magic vs. normalcy for Xion. She was happy to do just about anything that could be considered fun. Sora had to quietly admit he was envious. “Do you want to come?”
“Yes!” Kairi beamed.
“What do we need a new outfit for?” Roxas snorted, “Lea told me to just put on a bow tie and call it a night.”
Kairi and Xion made nearly identical noises at that but Sora nearly choked on a spoonful of ice cream. “Do it! Do it and send me pictures that we can look back on forever!”
Roxas shared a grin with him. “Well thanks for confirming that Lea was just fucking with me.”
“You should have asked Isa.” Xion countered.
The blond just gave her a disbelieving look. “Are you kidding? Isa would have done the same thing but the delivery would have been so dry I never would have known he was joking.”
“Ask Pence.” Kairi offered.
“Just wear the bow tie.” Was Sora’s counter.
“I might.” Roxas and Sora both reached out at the same moment, bumping their fists together in a way that left the two girls beside them unimpressed.
“I’ll get you something when i go shopping then.” Xion said.
“Nah, I'm good.” Roxas dismissed the thought. Xion was serious right now but she had a playful streak and he was not leaving his wardrobe in her hands. He took a page out of Sora’s playbook and steered the conversation away. “What do you two have planned in the near future?”
The smile that overtook Kairi’s face was blinding. “I’m heading back to the Land of Departure. Aqua and Terra are still teaching me to wield my blade better. All the tips and tricks and such.”
“Cool.” Roxas agreed instantly, keeping his attention on the redhead and making a point to not look at Sora. “Must be nice.”
It was moments like this where Sora wondered if Roxas could still tap into his heart and get a hit of his feelings. Roxas hadn’t had formal keyblade training either, but he had been trained by all of the members of organization thirteen in various areas. Most of them were not overly useful in normal living.
“I think i’m their practice student.” Kairi mused.
“I think they’ll be good teachers but the practice is probably a good thing.” Xion smiled, her ice cream gone. She ignored Roxas’ snort that made his opinion all too clear.
Kairi bobbed her head in agreement. “I’m learning a lot so no complaints.”
Roxas shifted his attention back to Sora. “What about you?”
“Oh?” Sora blinked as if not realizing the question had been directed at him too. “I dunno?”
He was unclear on the dating rules still. Was he supposed to stay with Kairi? Did he get to go off and do his own thing? Could he visit some friends in other worlds? Did he make a date with Kairi so he had a set time to be back by? It all felt rather chaotic.
“Honestly, that sounds peaceful.” Xion said and Sora matched her smile but it didn’t exactly reach his eyes. Wasn’t he doing everything he was supposed to be doing?
“I’m sure if there’s something I need to do, Yen Sid will give me a call.” Sora said, it wasn’t like he was a mind reader who knew where all the trouble was.
“You gotta do something for yourself sometimes too.” Roxas said.
“I guess I'm still getting the grunt work, I'm not a master.” Sora mused. “Besides, look at Mickey, Aqua, and Riku, all they do is work, that’s not fun.”
“Spoken like a lazy bum.” Kairi poked at him, finishing her last bite of ice cream. “But really, I think Roxas is right. You should go do something fun. You don’t have to hang around waiting for me.”
Sora wasn’t sure why that stung. Maybe that wasn’t even the right word. He could have helped her train too, but he assumed she just wanted a master to take point.
“Guess I will then.” Sora said, playing with his earring again. He just had no idea what.
“Well text me so I can live through your adventures.” Roxas commented, finally pushing himself to get up. “C’mon, let’s not waste the day.”
They’d all end up watching the sunset at some point but for now he was right, they couldn’t sit in the booth forever.
Kairi and Xion were up first, chatting as they gathered up all the trash to toss into the bin. Roxas however, was still totally in tune with his Other.
“You okay?”
Sora got up and knocked their shoulders together. There was no pending darkness. No looming war. No organization. He might have been in a funk but it would pass. It always did.
He put on a smile for Roxas. “Never better.”