His desk is covered in papers on top of textbooks on top of a few candy wrappers. There is a notebook in his lap, a picture of Batman on the cover. In this notebook are math problems; homework due in class the next day. He knows he is rushing, but he wants to be done already so he can watch television. He snatches up his calculator from the desk and solves the problems the easy way. He can always check them in homeroom the next day.
The door opens, shedding bright light into Sora's softly lit bedroom. Sora turns in his desk chair, a curious look on his face. He hears tongue clucking and already knows who is standing there. "Roxas?" he asks his brother, who is younger by two years. "Roxas?" he tries again when he does not get a response. Then Roxas moves, walking over to Sora's desk. Then he moves around the room, checking all over for something while he clucks his tongue.
Sora sets his homework on his desk and stands. He walks over to Roxas, and tries to catch his attention again. "Roxas? What are you looking for?" His brother does not respond, so he uses sign language to ask what he wants. He gets an answer: pig.
"Roxas…" Sora has been through this with his brother so many times. When will he understand? "You broke the pig, remember?" Pig broken, he signs to his brother, only to receive a confused look, and more tongue clucking. Pig broken, broken pig. But Roxas still does not understand, and Sora feels uneasy. When he goes through this with Roxas – when he explains that what he breaks is thrown away – Roxas gets aggressive. Sora can see the signs now: his eyes are distant and wandering, and his body language is tense.
Sora moves before Roxas can raise his fist. He runs to his desk and rummages through the top drawer, frantically searching, pleading with God that there is something that can help him. And then his hand hits what he is looking for, a whole candy bar. "Yes!" he whispers, and turns around to his brother. Candy eat, eat candy, Sora signs to him. Roxas never says no to candy.
And it works. Aggression forgotten, Roxas walks over and grabs the candy bar. His tongue clucks again as he unwraps it, and bites off a huge chunk. Meanwhile, adrenaline is rushing through Sora. He escaped a fight this time, but he is still jumpy. His hand ghosts over his arm, over recent, scabbing scratches that stretch down his arm. Nothing to worry about now.
Roxas consumes the candy bar in no time, and holds the wrapper out for Sora to take. And Sora takes it, turns around and drops it into the trash can by his desk. He is glad he keeps them in his desk for special occasions; they are life savers.
The clock on the desk by his bed reads nine o'clock. So late already? Sora cannot believe it; maybe he will finish his math homework later. For now, Roxas needs to go to bed. Sleep, Sora signs to his brother, whose eyebrows furrow when he signs sleep back to him. Then Roxas turns and runs out of the room and into his own, and jumps on the head. The noise he makes in bed sounds almost like a growling lion. Sora finds it endearing. What is not endearing is the fact that Roxas is half-lying on his bed sheets, and is making it harder for Sora to tuck him in.
But Sora gets him tucked in, and pokes him in the sides and his neck for tickles. Roxas laughs, pushes at his arms and his body when his brother gets close enough. When Sora is finished and begins to leave, Roxas calls out for his attention with a, "Uh!" and points at his closet. The door is open just a little bit, so Sora closes it, and Roxas settles down again.
"Night," Sora says before he flips the light switch down. He does not expect a response; he has never gotten one, and he never will.