We've always been together, haven't we? Ever since the day we were born, I haven't left your side and you haven't left mine. All we knew about the world was what we allowed into ours. Nobody and nothing else. We didn't need them. We had each other. Other boys would want to play with us, but we shut them down; we didn't need them. Girls tried to approachus, but we shut them down; we didn't need them. We didn't like them, anyway. Girls were gross, always have been and always will be. Or, at least, that's what we agreed at the time. So I wonder, even to this day, when exactly the world we let in began to change the one we've always known. For as long as I can remember, our world consisted of two things: you, and me.

Only you and me.

Color Me Dark

"Ne, Roku-chan~" I freeze. There's only one person in the entire world that would call me that. I look over my shoulder, turning my attention away from the sketches I was just working on and onto the somebody walking into my room. Well, our room. He is my twin brother, afterall.

"I told you not to call me that, Venii-san," I grumble a little. I hate being called "Roku-chan". It sounds so demeaning...and girly. And the last time I checked, I sure as hell am not a girl. "But I need your help, Roku-chan...~" Ventus whines. Help? Let me guess: with homework.

"With homework?" I put my thoughts into words and ask him that question. "Haha, yeah...You know I suck at schoolwork, Roku-chan," he rubs the back of his neck and grins sheepishly. I sigh, throwing my elbow over the back of my chair and give him an unamused look. It was a brief moment of silence before either of us spoke again.

"Okay, let me see it," I say, holding out my hand to take the pieces of paper that had homework printed on them. His sheepish smile turns into a bright, excited one, and he hands me his homework before grabbing his own chair and shoving it next to mine. I skim over his homework to see what it was he was having so much trouble with. English. Great.

"Alright, you see this phrase?" I ask, pointing to the first one. He nods his head and replies, "Yeah. I have no idea what it says." He says it with such a tone like it's no big deal to him. I sigh. This is going to take a while...

My name is Roxas Kusabana. Ventus onii-san is my twin, older by ten minutes. We're both sixteen years old. Ever since we were kids, we were always together. It took a lot to separate us; we wouldn't let each other go, even when it was time to take a bath. My brother would always hug me tightly, sometimes to the point where I couldn't breathe, and say to our parents, "But I need to be with Roxas because he might drown!" He was picking on me then, too. But I knew it was out of love.

We shared a room, and while we had our own beds we usually ended up sleeping in the same one. Not really out of loneliness, but more so because our damn bedroom couldn't make up its mind about the temperature. On hot nights he slept in my bed because my bed was directly under the air conditioning vent; on cold nights I slept in his because, well, his wasn't. I remember the kind of warmth his bed had back then. It was soft and welcoming, and it was the kind of warmth that I could sleep in forever. Part of it was because whenever I slept in his bed on those cold nights, I would still shiver a little and to keep me warm, Venii-san would hold me close until long after I stopped and had fallen asleep. On quite a few occasions I woke up to find his arms still holding me, even long after I had stopped. It's possible that he could've fallen asleep before me and just stayed that way. But I knew it was out of love.

Venii-san and I, we're identical twins; identical, in the sense that you couldn't tell who was who just by looking at us. It's our actions, however, that set us apart.

Our personalities are total opposites. We are like two halves of the same whole, for if one twin doesn't have a certain trait, the other twin does. Venii-san is very athletic, for example. He loves to run and play games outside, especially with other people. I, on the other hand, do not. I've never been very good at sports, nor have I been one to play games with others. Venii-san is loud and confident, and is always straight-forward about things. I, however, tend to be very quiet and shy, and unlike him, I think things through to see if there's another solution. He has a lot of traits that I don't have. On that same token, I have a lot of traits that he doesn't have, either.

Not being very athletic, I tend to be more of an arts person. When we were forced to play outside when we were little, Venii-san would kick a football* around to himself, letting his imagination run free. He was the world's greatest football player and the pride of Japan, undefeated at such a young age. I would sit under the tree in our background with a notebook and crayons and just draw whatever was within my view. I remember my mom being so proud of the scribble I called a butterfly and how "beautiful and realistic" it looked. That was when we were five. I've been improving since then, and now my butterflies really do look "beautiful and realistic". I'm also very musically talented. I play the piano and, without sounding like a cocky bastard, I play rather well. Venii-san, on the other hand, can't seem to sit still long enough to even bother learning how to play. My piano playing also helped me develop into a mean video game player. My fingers move faster than his and I don't have to constantly look down at the buttons to see just what I'm pressing. Even to this day, Venii-san challenges me to video games and boasts about how he's going to finally beat his little brother. It doesn't matter whether or not he's played it before and practiced playing it for a really long time. I always win.

With good traits also comes the bad ones. I mean, we're not exactly the perfect pair of teenagers. Venii-san is moody, and whenever our parents aren't around he often talks dirty. He's more of a physical person when it comes to anger, and he has bruises on his knuckles to prove it. He didn't hit anybody, no way. He wouldn't do that, unless someone really pisses him off. He usually punches the wall, though. Despite this physical violence of the estate, I think the scarier and more cruel one is me.

As the quiet twin, I don't always show what I'm feeling, especially if the emotion is negative. That's to be expected, right? People don't always want people to know when they're feeling sad or angry. But me, I'm a different story. I tend to be very cold towards others when I'm angry. If that person is the one who has made me angry, I get them back. Not with anything physical, like Venii-san would do, though. I hit where it hurts: in their heart. I can be emotionally manipulative if I so choose to be. I act like I care when people talk about their problems, when really I don't. I find their complaining very annoying and I wish they would shut up. I hate people. But not Venii-san.

I could never hate Venii-san.

The main difference between us, however, is how we interact with other people. Venii-san is out-going and very social. He has a lot of friends and they are always laughing and having fun. ...I don't have any friends. I keep to myself and don't speak unless spoken to. It feels awkward, to be honest. All my life, the only person I ever needed was Venii-san. He was always there, always by my side. To us, we were the only people we could trust, confide in. We had a wall surrounding us from the outside world that nobody, not even our parents when they were around, could get through. He was the only person I needed, and he was the only person I would ever need. Just like how I was the only person he needed, and I was the only person he would ever need.

"...now do you understand how to read this?" I ask, glancing over at him after explaining it over about two or three times. He seems to be in deep thought and doesn't say a word. The silence goes on for a while. I groan in despair and my forehead hits my desk, dreading the probability that I would have to go over it...again. He opens his mouth to speak, but before any sound comes out of those lips that look just like mine, some musical tune goes off.

RINGITY DING DING DINGA DOOOOONG

RINGITY DONG DING DOOOOONG

DING DING DA DINGY DOOOOONG

RINGY DING DING DOOOOONG

I recognize it as his cell phones ring tone, and I raise my head a little to look at him. God, that song is so stupid. Those lips shut as his hand forces its way into his pocket and fumbles around for his phone. I stare at him in shock and disbelief. Was it really on the whole time I was tutoring him?

RINGITY DING DING DINGA DOOOOONG

RINGITY DONG DIN-

"Hello?" he answers and finally ends that annoying ringtone. Damn you, Venii-san. Of all the ringtones you could've downloaded...

"Oh! No, I'm not busy. In fact, Roxas just finished helping me understand our English homework." Venii-san never refers to me as "Roku-chan" when speaking to others, and I never refer to him as "Venii-san". When we're not alone, we just call each other by our names: Roxas, and Ven. It was something unusual between us, but I think it makes our relationship as brothers special. I just wish I knew who he's talking to.

"Yeah! I'll be right over!" he exclaims with a grin, leaping up onto his feet. That startles me and I jolt in my chair, leaning backwards and almost falling off. He grabs my wrist and pulls me back up so I wouldn't. Even though we've grown up quite a bit, he still looks out for me. I love my brother.

"Oh, and can I-" he gets cut off by whoever is on the other side of the line. I can hear a girl's voice, but I can't understand what she's saying. "...how come?" he asks, that grin on his face beginning to fade into oblivion. There's more talking on the phone. Venii-san seems to have been turned down for something. ...but what?

"...oh. I see," he speaks softly. What did he want to do? "Yeah. Don't worry about it. Be over in a few, see ya." I sit up in my chair as he hits the "End" button and shuts his phone. "I'm going out for a bit, Roku-chan. I'll be back before dinner," he places his phone back into his pocket. "What was that all about?" I ask, watching as he turns to walk out the door. I'm surprised to see him freeze in his step.

"Ehh, that was Kairi. She wanted to know if I could hang out with her, Sora, and Riku today," he replies. I can sense something...wavering, in his voice. A sting stabs me in the chest at hearing the name "Kairi". I don't like her. I never really have. It's not that she has a bad attitude; she's really popular and has fun with everyone, just like Venii-san.

"Ahh. I see," I nod my head. "Do you want me to see you out?"

"Nah, I think I know my way to the front door by now," he grinned jokingly. I chuckle a little. Venii-san is one of the only people who can bring a smile to my face. Well, him and Sora whenever he comes over. Sora Hikarine is Venii-san's best friend. I mean, besides me, of course. I'm Venii-san's best friend. I've always been his best friend. But Sora is different. He's really the only other person that I can feel comfortable being around and that I would allow to come over often. It's because he makes Venii-san happy. And if Venii-san is happy, I'm happy.

"Alright...I hope you guys have a good time. Dinner will probably be ready by the time you get back, so don't make me wait!" I stand up and stretch with my arms high up into the air. My back is a little stiff from sitting in that damn chair for so long.

"Of course! How can I miss an opportunity to eat your food?" he looks appalled, as if I just offended him. "Huh? My cooking isn't that great!" Now I'm acting offended. Really, my cooking isn't anything special. I really only know a few simple dishes. Most of the time a neighbor drops off food or we get take-out. Our area recently opened a shop that sells pizza, some food from America and other parts of the country that's like a giant, doughy disk covered in tomato sauce, spices, cheese, and meats. Maybe we could try that for dinner.

"Yes it is! Way better than mine, and ever since Kaa-san -" he freezes. We both look to the ground awkwardly. A lingering air of guilt and sadness hangs over our heads, but only briefly. It's best to get over these things quickly before it starts to swell.

"Anyway...I'm off!" he proclaims, snapping out of it and walking out of our room. "Take care of yourself!" I call after him, getting a fairly distant "Okay!" as a response.

I step over to his bed and crawl onto it, staring out the window down at the sidewalk by our home. Within two minutes I see Venii-san running in the direction of Kairi's house.

Kairi.

Out of all the people in this world I hate, I hate Kairi the most. She's not ugly, I'll admit. She's not vulgar, true. But she is, in fact, a bitch. She's a bitch and I hate her. She's really popular and has fun with everyone, just like Venii-san. So why is it that I'm the only one who hates her? Because she ruined everything. She entered our lives two years ago and did something. Her face was younger and she looked innocent and happy. She wanted us to hang out so we could get to know each other. Something that seemed so small and insignificant at the time couldn't possibly have had this effect on my life so much later down the road, right? Wrong. I hate her. She's the one who dared to enter our world, the one Venii-san and I created together and built over so many years: the world of just me and him. She's the one who tempted me and Venii-san to venture out and be lost in the world outside of ours. She's the one who broke our wall and she's the one who lured Venii-san out into it. She's the one who took him away from me. From our world. The world that we've known for so long, that consisted of "us". She's the one who took his hand and led him away, but she didn't take mine.

She's the one who left me, and only me, behind.

After Venii-san is gone from view, I fall back onto his bed and stare up at the ceiling. I already know what was going on. He could always sense the tension in me whenever he brought her up. So every chance he got, he would ask if he could bring me along. The answer, for whatever reason, was always "no". That didn't stop him from asking today. It seemed that he was really hoping she would say "yes" this time, judging by that big smile he wore on his face. Naturally, the answer was "no", so that beautiful smile dwindled away. She made Venii-san sad. I hate her even more for that.

I close my eyes after a while of staring and roll over onto my side, burying my face into his pillow. It smells just like the strawberry-scented shampoo he uses, just like Venii-san. It's so different from my shampoo, which smells like coconut. My scent has nothing on his, though. Even though we look exactly the same, I believe that he's the beautiful twin. Not me. His smile is different from mine. His eyes shine differently from mine. His hair even has a different softness from mine. That could just be me, though. Maybe I just look at him differently than everyone else does.

Of course I should. He's my brother. We love each other no matter what, and we won't let anybody get in the way of that. That's why Venii-san is trying so hard to get Kairi to accept me. That must be why. Because I know it's out of love. I love my brother.

"...you're too good to me...Ven."

Author's Note:

I wanted to write a Rokuven (?) fanfiction, since the fandom doesn't have enough stories. It's quite sad, actually. So it's mostly one-sided stuff, and minor twincest (gasp), but it's nothing you little chickies can't handle. ;D

Epic kudos to you if you can guess where I got the title from. HINT: it's from an anime. DOUBLE HINT: it's an anime about zombies. ; A ; *does not like zombies* (But the anime is epic anyway bahahaha)

I wanted this to be a bit more of a serious and dramatic love story, since I'm a girl and I like that stuff. XD *shot* But seriously. Just picturing Ven and Roxas as twin brothers and with one loving the other but not ever telling? How can you not fall for that? O:

A lot of the back story behind Ven's and Roxas's parents has yet to be explained. But all shall be in due time, my loves. xD As for "Like You", I am still brainstorming on that. D: I do know this much about chapter 4, however: Axel will be introduced. :D Yay!

The titles for each chapter will be the title for a song from an anime. Guess the anime and you get a free digital cookie! :D

football* = Unlike in America, in Japan and various other parts of the world (ex. Spain), soccer is not called "soccer". It's called "football", since it is a ball game you play with your feet. Go figure, eh?

Roxas calls Ven "Venii-san", which is just a little nickname I made up for him since calling him "Ventus onii-san" would be too long and just "Ven nii-san" would look weird. So I combined the second and thus you get "Venii-san". :D

If you can guess what Ven's ringtone is, you win epically at life. :)

Disclaimer -

I do not own anything. Kingdom Hearts belongs to Tetsuya Nomura and Square-Enix. All characters belong to their respective owners.