Redux: I present to you the reformatted version of Cold As the Snow! :D I hope that anyone revisiting enjoys the formatting much more, and that any new readers enjoy the story! As below, please rate and review! :D
Welp, here it is. My third (technically, if you don't count unfinished stories and stories I haven't typed up and stuff...) SoraRoxas fic. Uhm...I don't really know what to put here, ...here it is.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Sora, Roxas, or that nifty little thing on the end of a shoelace called an aglet. I do, on the other hand, own the computer that this story was found on and the notebook and pen I wrote the story on/with. So...don't blame me for there being no new KH's out yet.
Thirty-something weather stations were calling for a huge snowstorm. Sora was running around the house collecting as many warm pieces of clothing he could find. Roxas, on the other hand, was sitting in their black-leather reclining sofa-chair flipping through channels. He'd regretted seeing the first channel broadcasting the storm, let alone the thirty other ones that flickered on to the screen with a slight buzzing sound as the audio came on. Roxas wanted nothing more than to sit at home and enjoy his Saturday, but here was his twin brother, running around collecting heavy duty gear for the both. He groaned with each new article his brother added, but Sora just laughed playfully.
"Come on, Rox!" Sora chimed in cheerfully to the weather report on the TV tossing a huge ball of clothing at Roxas. "Mom said she doesn't want us out for too long."
Another groan urged to be let free of his velvety red lips, but he suppressed with a chuckle.
"Fine," he began, putting on as many articles as he could before he felt like he would either suffocate or die of heat stroke, "but if you get pneumonia or something don't blame me."
Sora lept up and crashed into his brother, figuratively wagging his imaginary tail.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Roxy!" Sora proceeded to lick his brother's cheek as a dog would.
"Sora!" Roxas groaned, pushing his brother off and wiping his cheeks of the offending liquid.
"I'm sorry, Roxas," Sora began sniffling.
Roxas sighed. He didn't mind his twin doing things like that, per say, but their parents were freaked out enough when they found out Sora slept in Roxas's bed with him when he had nightmares.
"It's okay, Sora," Roxas flashed a smile and extended his clothing-bundled arm to his twin. Sora cheered up instantly and, grabbing the hand, dashed out the door.
"Oh..." Sora began.
"My..." Roxas continued.
"God." the two finished the thought together, their mouth's remaining agape at the sight before them. Everything within their range of view was white. Cars, trees, roads, plants, even the snow coating things was getting covered by the minute. In all their joking between Sora grabbing his brother's hand and rushing for the door, neither of them had bothered to open up the window shades and look at the wonderland before them.
"Oh my gosh, Roxas!" Sora once again transfixed his eyes on the snow crystals, his mouth still gaping.
"They said it would be a lot, but..." Roxas continued, just as shocked at the sight as his brother was.
Sora took a few minutes more to analyze the white powder and then said; "Well, we better get going before the snow is over our heads!"
Roxas laughed at his brother's remark and then nodded his head in agreement.
"My snowballs of doom will smite you Roxas!" Sora called out, dashing from tree to tree with an armful of snowballs.
The two had been locked in a high-stakes snowball war for well over half an hour, and, as much as Roxas hated to admit, Roxas was indeed smiting him at it.
"Oh yeah? Well take this, Sora!" Roxas emerged from behind a naked Oak and dashed towards his twin as he was changing hiding spots. The suicide-bomber-like action startled him, causing him to drop his ammunition. Roxas assaulted him with countless icy water balls before the brunette called out; "Okay, okay! I give!"
Roxas smiled giddily and plopped down next to his twin. The two began to make snow-angels before getting up and walking over to a nearby bench.
As they sat there, the two looked at their day's work. Giant scoops were missing from snowballs made, rolling tracks of snow could be seen from the quartet of snowmen people made; one for each family member. And the newly created angels lying just a few feet away from the duo. Sora sighed contently and looked into the sky at the frozen water droplets falling. Roxas followed suit and soon the two were sitting side by side gazing at the snow falling from above.
After a few minutes of this, Sora said; "Hey...Rox?"
"Yeah, Sora?"
"Well...uhm..." Sora stumbled on his words, unable to put his next sentence into legible form."
"I...uh...well...you see...snow uhm..." he began to heavily blush, unnoticeable from the redness the cold had put onto his cheeks.
"Sora...?" Roxas began, worried with his twin's bizarre statement. It was one thing at home, but out in the cold where something might really have affected him was another.
"Well...Snow is really beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yeah..." Roxas gave his brother another puzzled expression.
Sora took his chance and leaned into his brother, more and more warmth was surrounding his body until their parted lips met and Sora felt like he might burst. He pulled away from a shocked Roxas slowly and said; "I...I love you..." his cheeks danced a vibrant array of colors in front of Roxas's eyes.
Roxas lowered his head. His mind raced. Why did Sora kiss him? Why did his brother love him? What would he do? What would their parents do? What would their parents think! But, most of all...why did he enjoy it so much?
Roxas stood up, holding his head down.
"Ro...Roxas!" Sora called.
Roxas began to walk away, silently and solemnly.
"Ro...Roxas!" Sora called out once more to his brother.
Roxas now began to run.
"Roxas! I'm sorry! Don't leave me!" Sora called once again.
Roxas quickened his pace and ran faster. And though Sora didn't know it, tears were rolling down Roxas's cheeks and eventually flying off as he ran.
~Sora~
"Roxas! I'm sorry Roxas! Don't leave me!" Sora called once again to his older brother and twin. What was he thinking? No one ever takes news like that calmly!
"Ro...Roxas..." Sora said wearily. Every time he said his brother's name it hurt more. He knew it was wrong, but it felt so right to him.
"Roxas...do you still love me like a brother...? Or...do you hate me entirely..."
Sora sighed and stood up. He looked at the things he and his brother had previously done; the angels, the snowball fight, and the snow family of themselves.
Sora waled over to his snow family and sighed once more. He lowered himself to the mom's and dad's eye levels, and proceeded to take off their button eyes. Then, kneeling down next to snow Roxas, he said; "You still love me, right?"
He wrapped his arms around the snow bundle and hot tears strolled down his cheeks to the snow-Roxas's button eyes before streaming down them making the snow-Roxas cry too.
~Roxas~
"What the hell, Roxas!" the blond screamed in to the distance. "He's your brother! Go back and talk to him!"
The blond fell to his knees, gasping for breath. He ran for at least a quarter of a mile as fast as he could after Sora had kissed him. The slight tingling sensation of Sora's natural cinnamon taste was still on his lips, and, as strange, twisted, and new as this all was, he was yearning for more.
"I can't...even if it didn't feel all that weird. I just...I can't. I can't love him back."
More tears strolled down Roxas's cheeks and the blonde pounded his fists into the snow.
"God, Roxas! I mean...could it really hurt to try? I'm so damn confused!" Roxas began gasping for more air and layed down to look at the still-falling snow. He wanted to think about everything that'd happened.
~Normal~
Sora lay sobbing next to the Roxas snowman that had been created before. Snow was covering blotches of his body, making him feel even lonelier and desolate than he had felt originally. Roxas's sweet vanilla taste still stained his lips and he wanted more of it. He wanted to kiss his brother until they couldn't breathe anymore and then kiss him once more when they were both okay. But, to him, it looked like nothing could change his fate.
Between his sniffles he began; "Maybe..." Sora sniffled once more, " we could be..." another sniffle, "together...without being judged. It...It could happen!" Sora began to bawl and cried out; "I know we're both guys, okay!" Brothers, too, and twins no less! But Roxas...I love you so much...it shouldn't matter if we're boys, or if we're blood! It should only depend on our emotions and feelings! Maybe, one day, we'll be able to be together without being judged like that!" Sora bawled some more and added, "If you don't hate me already, that is." Sora was getting so depressed and flustered and angry that he swore all the snow was melting around him.
"Sora?" Roxas called out, jogging back to the bench and wiping any remaining tears from his face.
Sora sat up and wiped his eyes, making his way over to the bench as the snow fell off his jacket and pants. Roxas sat down on the other end of the bench and started; "Listen, Sora..."
"I know, you hate me! Just get it over with!" Sora was near breaking point again.
"No, Sora, I..." he paused, trying to think, "I don't hate you, but I...I don't love you like that."
Tears began to stream down the brunette's cheeks; Roxas tried once more.
"Listen...it's not that I don't, I...I just can't. You're my brother and I don't want anyone, even myself, to hurt you in some way. And, let's face it, mom and dad would have a problem with it."
Sora cheered up a little, 'Roxas does care for me then...' It wasn't exactly what he wanted, but at least it wasn't hatred.
"Let's go home, Sora," Roxas said.
Sora stood up and went to take Roxas's hand, but Roxas pulled away before Sora grabbed him.
"Sorry..." he said, the brunet looking down in shame.
Their walk home wasn't anywhere near as fun as their walk there. The two stayed silent except for an occasional "Bless you..." muttered when or the other arrived back at their house and Roxas opened the door to let Sora in. Their mother gave them both a worried expression, and before anyone else could say anything Roxas said; "Sorry, mom. We lost track of time."
Their mother sighed and then said; "It's okay. Go take off your frosty clothes, dinner is almost done."
With this, their mother got up from the arm of the living room chair she was on and walked into the doorway at the left, her brown ponytail hopping a little with each step. The two boys remained still for a moment as they watched their mother leave, and then went into their own respective rooms. Roxas kept most of his belongings in Sora's room because they slept in the same bed so often, but the room he had entered was still his own, and, as such, he was sure he could find something. After some major tension-filled moments passed by, the two brothers emerged from their rooms bearing new clothes on their bodies. They then walked down the hallway in a single-file-reminiscent way, and took their spots at the table across from, rather than next to, one another. Their parents took spots at either end of the table and began to serve out the food.
"Sora...Roxas...what's wrong?" Their mother noticed neither one was really eating; If they actually were in a mood to eat, both of their plates would have been on the verge of towering as opposed to the normal human proportions they had.
"N-nothing..." Sora started.
"I guess it's just from the snow. Don't worry, mom." Roxas gave a fake smile to his mother to reassure her.
This awkwardness continued on for a bit of time, but soon got much worse. As Roxas went to reach for the butter, he accidentally grabbed Sora's hand, whom, because of bad timing, was also reaching for the butter.
It took Roxas a minute to analyze the interaction, but when his brain finally had made the realization that the connected hand belonged to his brother, Roxas's chair went flying backwards with embarrassment, leaving a giant scarlet line across his face.
"Roxas?" their mother questioned the action.
"Uhm...uh..." he began, looking for any even remotely reasonable explanation to the strange actions, "I don't feel too good. I'm going to go lay down. Please excuse me."
And before even a pin could drop Roxas had rushed off.
The two twins' mother gave a sigh and turned back around to the table, only to see an equally embarrassed brunet with his head down.
"You want to be excused too, honey?" She sighed.
Sora answered her question with a simple nod of his head and walked off to his room. Their father joined into their mother's sighs.
"See?" he began, "this is why I told you we should've-" Their mother broke in.
"Oh, dear, what were you expecting? A miracle? It's gonna take time..."
"We gave the situation time! I hate seeing him like that, and if it's gonna be even worse-" he was interrupted again.
"Oh honey, you know what it's like. Remember how you were?"
"I know, just...what will we do if-"
"Darling...I know you didn't like it to begin with; especially because of hurt feelings, but we can't just stop it now that the ball's rolling."
She sighed, followed by a similar sigh from her husband.
"Well, let's hope it's resolved fast."
The two parents looked down the hallway at the lights shining from under the doorways of their children, and sighed in unison.
"Ro...Roxas?" Sora called out, "don't leave me Roxas!"
The moment kept replaying in Sora's mind continuously. After he and Roxas had ditched dinner, he went to his room and laid sobbing on his bed,
thinking of the moment. And, even though he had fallen asleep afterwards, the moment continued to play in his dreams over and over again like a cruel joke that God was playing on him. He had finally woken up from it, but even the awake-sleep-awake again process didn't help him forget it. It just kept haunting him, and he hated it.
Sora rolled over on his side and stared at the clock for a long while.
"3:17, huh?" he said quietly, his stomach growling.
"I wonder if Roxas is asleep..." Sora got out of his bed quietly and leaned against the door to see if there were footsteps in the hallway outside.
After he felt the hallway passed the test, Sora quietly opened his door and tiptoed out. He turned around slowly and closed the door as quietly as he could. He turned around to face the hallway once more, and was greeted with; "Hi, honey..."
Sora could feel every ounce of blood in his body go rushing through his heart.
"Mo-mom?" he said, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness that surrounded him.
"Yes, dear, and your father," she pointed to the dark blobby figure to her left.
"Oh. I was just uh-uhm..." he tried to think of something that wouldn't sound suspicious.
"You were gonna see Roxas, right?" his mother said, completely destroying any hopes of denial Sora had.
"Uh, wh-what?" he said, feeling partially confused, but definitely embarrassed that she had figured out the plan.
"Honey..." she began, looking at the ground, "your father and I-"
"Are you sure it's a good time?..."
"Well, I mean, you said you would watch it play..."
"Yeah, yeah, but still...it feels kind of weird to be helping hi-"
"Well, would you rather he assume the worst?"
The whisper argument between the poor brunet's parents continued on for a while; then, before too long, the two turned back around to face him.
"Listen, Sora, honey..." she began once again before nudging her husband into action.
"Uhm...well...uh...Sora, we...uh..." he stuttered.
"We know you, ergh, love Roxas, dear." she finished just as her smile went on the borderline of a frown. Her husband fretted his son's reaction.
"Wha...but..." Sora turned an undetectable bright red color in the darkness that filled the hallway. He put his head down and slowly asked, "Is it
that obvious?"
"Well, I'm the one that figured it out," she responded in a proud matter-of-factly-because-I'm-your-mother-and-I-have-motherly-instincts voice, "your father and your, ergh...brother, had no idea."
"So that's why Roxas freaked out about it...he really didn't have any idea..."
There was an awkward silence for a while, which, much to Sora's dismay, was attempted to be broken by coughing, which is the sure-fire way to make things even more awkward.
"Well..." Sora's mother started, "if you are going to go looking for Roxas," she said in an I-know-you-are-but-I'll-say-it-like-this-anyway voice," he left about an hour ago."
"What!" Sora burst out, "Why didn't you stop him!"
His father responded this time; "Your mother said to let things play out as they will."
"Well...that is..." Sora couldn't form a sentence. His mind was all over the map with questions about things like why they were okay with it, and what exactly gave it away to his mother.
"Sora, go get your brother. Even if you don't work things out, you don't want him to freeze!" she laughed, though really she was worried about what might happen to her sons.
"O-okay..." he collected a combination of two shirts, pants, and two jackets before putting them on and rushing out the door.
"I sure hope those two make up..."
"They both sighed before her husband added; "I just hope it's not like dogs."
With that, the twins' mother smacked her husband lightly on the chest, and laughed at the horrible implications of it as they went off to bed.
"Roxas...Roooooxaaas..." the brunet called out. Where did Roxas go? Where could Roxas have gone?
The brown-haired boy wandered on in the snowy haze for some time before noticing some things.
"Hey, this is where me and Roxas were before!" he smiled with his his accomplishment, "But...it's also where I..." his cheeks flushed red, and any
snow that had set up camp on Sora for the night surely melted off; after that Sora didn't feel like talking much to himself anymore.
He squinted into the distance for any brother-shaped-figures he could find in the haze.
"Nothing..." he sighed, feeling defeated and getting worried. However, right as he began to turn around he noticed a familiar head of gravity-
defying blond hair sitting at the nearby bench. He rushed over shouting out "Roxas!" gleefully.
"Hey, Sora..." the blond turned his gaze from the sky and faced the brunet, making his red wind-burned cheeks even brighter than before.
"Roxas, why'd you come out so late?" Sora said, looking around at the zero-visibility shroud of snow all around them.
"I needed...to think." the blond said in a generalized but playful tone.
"What about?" Sora was taking the bait; he wanted to know what was going on in his brother's mind.
"Well..." Roxas began, pretending to have to think about what it was that had just been on his mind, "to be frank, you."
"M-Me?" Sora said in equal surprise and happiness.
"No, actually about random stuff." the blond leaned back putting his arms around the back of the bench.
"O-oh..." Sora put his head down.
"Dummy," Roxas binged Sora on the forehead, "of course I was thinking about you. After what happened today how could I not?"
He thought for a minute and then said, "You know what I said about not letting anyone hurt you?"
"Y-yeah..." the brunet thought about the moment again and tears formed in his eyes.
"Well..." the blond stopped to think once more, "I may not be able to stop you from getting hurt, but...if I am there with you, I can do everything in
my power to prevent it."
"Ro-Roxas?" Sora bean to cry in confusion.
Roxas leaned forward, removing his arms from the back of the bench, and then towards Sora.
"Don't cry, dummy."
Sora laughed a little and tried to stop.
"Sora...I love you too." Roxas wiped his brother's eyes and then leaned forward with indignation. The two boy's mouths' met, and Sora could once again taste his brother's sweet natural vanilla taste. Roxas continued, exploring as much of his brother's mouth as the kiss would allow. Sora' natural cinnamon taste was alluring in its own, making Roxas want more and more. The two broke off and Sora began to laugh.
"I love you too, Roxy..." the two boys sighed in happiness and Sora smiled, placing his head on Roxas's chest.
"Hey, Roxas..." he said quietly.
Roxas wrapped his arm around him and said; "Yeah, Sora?"
"Let's watch the snow." And with that, Sora nuzzled his head on to Roxas's chest and the two sat together, gazing at the snowfall from before.
AN: I'm such a lazy bum. It took me like 5 months to type this up. *dies* Well, I have a whole bunch of plans for fics that I have to start/get done/type up, so I'ma keep this short. Peace out and please rate/review. Thank you! :3
~Shin-Shui~