Disclaimer: I own my cat, that's it. Please don't take her from me. 'Sides If I owned KH Riku/Sora and Axel/Roxas would be going at it like rabbits.
Sora gingerly lifted himself out of the boat and on to the dock. He paused a moment to rest his aching bones. Rowing from the main island to the children's play island was not as easy as it was fifty years ago. He slowly started to make his way toward the shack that led to Paopu Island, or as Sora always thought of it, Riku's Island. Sora felt tears prick behind his eyes when he thought of Riku. It had been five years since his death and still Sora felt an aching hole in his heart. Riku had been, and still is, Sora's whole life. He had been the keyblade master's best friend, lover, and husband, if only in their hearts and not on paper. He made his way up the stairs and across the bridge to sit one last time on the Paopu tree. Maybe Riku would join him this time, in spirit, to lead him to the afterlife.
Sora tried to lift himself onto the trunk of the tree only to find that his old bones wouldn't allow him to. He sighed to himself and resigned to just leaning against it. Roxas? Sora questioned inside his mind. Even after all these years the nobody remained a separate voice inside his head. Sometimes, if they used enough energy, Roxas could separate himself from Sora. He would never be as solid as Sora, but he would appear as a ghostly apparition. I'd like for you to come out here so we can talk, if you don't mind. He felt the others presence rise in his mind.
But, I don't think our body can handle the stress of being separated. Not at this age.
Sora smiled to himself. I know, but I miss him. I miss my Riku so much. I know you miss Axel just as much. He heard a chuckle resonate through the air around him. He sensed rather than saw Roxas appear beside him. "It's good to see you again Roxas, many years have passed since we've had the energy to let you out like this." He turned to look at the apparition next to him. Roxas, not actually existing, hadn't aged a single day since he merged with Sora. He was still the blond haired, big eyed teen he was when he had been a part of Organization XIII.
"We don't really have the energy to do this now. You're just ready to die and you're gonna drag me with you." He smiled at the old man to show he was joking.
Sora laughed. It was coarse and bitter with age and grief. "You know just as well as I do that if you weren't ready to go, you wouldn't have shown yourself." Sora lifted his gaze to the sky. "Soon now, I will be with him again," he turned to his other. "And so will you."
Roxas leaned back against the tree, arms behind his head. "Do nobody's even go to the afterlife? I don't know, we weren't even meant to exist. Maybe when we die, we just end. Maybe there's nowhere for us to go." He felt a jolt of pain where his heart was supposed to be at the thought of never seeing the redhead again.
"I've never known you to be so pessimistic Roxas."
"I've never really thought of the end before, now that it's here…I don't if I can handle the thought of never seeing him again." He turned to gaze at the other. "At least you got to spend your life with the one you love. All have are a few memories and a single kiss." He felt tears start to fall from his eyes. "I wasn't even there when he died. The last time I saw him I told that I'd wait for him in the next life. Now I'm not so sure there will be one for us."
Sora felt a pang of pity for his nobody before banishing it to the back of his mind. If Roxas wasn't going to have hope, he would have to have enough for the both of them. "I believe you will be with him again. Either in the afterlife, or in another life. I believe that fate can't be that cruel." Sora felt himself start to fade away. It was time to go. He let a wave of joy wash over him.
"Thanks Sora, for trying to cheer me up." He watched his hand start to disappear. "It's time now, isn't it?" Sora nodded. "Sora, I'm scared."
Sora reached out toward Roxas, only to have his hand pass right through him. "Don't be. This isn't an end for us it's a beginning." They let themselves fade, drifting off to the clouds, going off to explore new worlds.
The Creator looked down upon his worlds with sadness. Fate had created them a cruel destiny. Somehow, beings had been made without hearts, and some without souls. He made a vow to himself to remedy this situation. He set about creating new hearts for those without. For to love without a heart is the greatest tragedy. He created new life with those hearts and hoped that fate would be a bit nicer to them this time around. He smiled down at his creations. All will be righted, he sent his Watcher down with the new life and the old to be reborn, hoping he would help them live.
So, this was a little, short, depressing plot bunny that wouldn't go away. I'm thinking of continuing it through the next lives of the KH characters what do think?
P.S. Flames will be eaten and reviews will be cherished. Go on hit button, you know you want to.