Title: Shadow of the Day
Pairing(s): Mentions of Sora/Riku and Axel/Roxas
A/N: I turn on XM radio and guess what pops up? Shadow of the day by Linkin Park. And because some friends and I had been playing Kingdom Hearts 2 for several hours that day, Sora pops in my head and pretty much begs me to write this. And I could never take it when he begged before so I immediately sat down to write this….at 2:30 am TT
Disclaimer: Still don't own, sorry!
"And the shadow of the day
Will embrace the world in grey
And the sun will set for you"
"Shadow of the Day" – Linkin Park
The rain fell steadily on the pavement of the road, setting the mood for the day. A car drove slowly down this road, drops from the surrounding trees splattering the windshield and making it that much harder for the driver to see their destination. Making a sharp turn into a parking lot, the driver turned off the car with a sigh and looked at her passenger.
The young man was staring out the window at the waterlogged lot, a glazed look in his eyes. "We're here," the woman in the driver's seat murmured, removing her seatbelt. The teenager didn't move. In fact, it seemed that he was barely even breathing. The woman gave him a look filled with pity and laid her arm on his arm lightly. "Sora," she breathed, leaning forward to try to catch his gaze.
Sora dropped his eyes to look at his lap where his folded hands tightened their grip. Finally, he sighed loudly before nodding and removing his own seatbelt. "Let's go," he mumbled, climbing out of the car and moving resolutely towards the building in front of him, unmindful of the rain falling around him. The woman shook her head before following, opening an umbrella as she stepped out of the car.
Sora waited for his companion in the doorway of the building, brushing off stray raindrops and keeping his eyes on the floor underneath his feet. He didn't wait long as his friend walked through the door barely half a minute after him, hastily closing her umbrella. She set it in the coat closet to dry and threw a glance to the brunette beside her. "Ready?" she asked, tilting her head. Giving her a grim smile, Sora sighed once more before answering, "As I'll ever be."
The woman gave a tiny nod before taking his arm and leading him down the seemingly endless hallway stretching before them. With each step, Sora's resolve faltered more and more until the two had reached the door barring them from their final destination. The door opened before they reached it to reveal a worried face of a friend. Their expression softened at the appearance of the two and they opened the door fully. "Kairi, Sora, you're here," they said, spreading arms to envelop the two of them.
"Sorry we're late, Aerith," Kairi apologized, giving the woman a small squeeze. "No, it's alright. I understand," Aerith said softly, petting Sora's hair. Looking up at her from under his bangs, Sora gave a small smile. Aerith returned the smile before motioning them both inside, closing the door behind them. The room was halfway filled with people, all friends, and halfway filled with flowers. Situated around the walls were soft armchairs and loveseats, separated by side tables holding tissues and beige-colored lamps. A fire was crackling in the fireplace in the far wall and the clock on the mantle above chimed four.
However, none of this registered with the short brunette standing in the middle of the two women.
The coffin in the middle of the flower arrangements did.
Sora's breath caught and his heartbeat quickened at the sight but he didn't turn away. Instead, he followed the two women as they made their way towards it. As they approached the rectangular box surrounded by flowers, Sora averted his gaze to the floor once again. Kairi gave him a sad smile and took his hand to guide him closer to the object of his fascination.
It didn't take long for them to reach the coffin nor for the young man and woman to drop to their knees in front of it to say a short prayer. By this point, Sora's breathing had become shallow and his hands shook. Noticing this, Kairi grabbed one of his hands and held it between hers as she continued to pray. Sora gulped down a deep breath to calm his nerves.
A minute passed before Kairi rose to her feet and gave a small kiss to the body in front of her. She helped Sora to his feet and wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders, whispering encouragements. Opening his eyes slowly, Sora finally saw who was in the box. He gasped before stumbling backwards. "I can't do this," he mumbled before rushing through the door and slamming it behind him. Everyone looked at the door as Kairi brought a hand to her eyes. Aerith wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned her head against Kairi's. Without their noticing, a young man whispered to his companion before slipping out the door after Sora.
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Sora leaned against one of the poles holding up the awning, gasping slightly as he struggled with tears. "I thought I could do this," he muttered to himself, rubbing his cheek unconsciously, "Why can't I handle this?" Unbeknownst to the young boy, the one who followed him quietly closed the door behind him and watched his look-a-like. "I said my goodbyes at the hospital," Sora continued, "It's been days since then. Why can't I stand that…that…" "Horrifying sight?"
Sora whirled around to find his cousin leaning against the door, watching him. "How-?" "Did I get out here without you knowing?" Roxas finished, pushing away from the door, "Did you really think Mom and Dad approved of my relationship with Axel? I had to brush up on sneaking out of the house just to see him. Being able to sneak up behind unsuspecting cousins is just a bonus, I guess." Sora grunted before staring out across the parking lot, playing with his fingers.
Roxas stood next to his cousin, staring in the same direction before shifting his eyes to watch the boy next to him. "It's to be expected, you know." Sora looked at Roxas, silently asking for an explanation. "To not be able to take the sight of someone you love in a box about to be buried for all eternity," the blonde clarified, turning to face his cousin.
"But I want to be able to take it," Sora said quietly, looking down once again, "I don't want to be afraid of it. I mean, I said goodbye already. Why am I so afraid of the sight of a dead body who…" "Who used to be someone you love," Roxas finished for him again, "No one can take that sight. Remember Grandma's funeral? Both Mom and Aunt Linda were a sobbing mess. Personally, I find it amazing that you even made it here, let alone as close to the coffin as you had been."
Sora laughed softly. "Mom didn't think I would even make it out of bed the day after. She nearly screamed when I showed up for breakfast, dressed for school." "Why did you even go to school?" Roxas had obtained a horrified look on his face, "That's a perfect excused to stay home!" Sora's laugh got louder. "I wanted to show that I was strong." Roxas smiled sadly and ruffled the brunette's hair.
"Hey, you are strong. It took guts to come here and face this. Hell, it took guts to be there in the hospital room then." "I wanted to be there for him," Sora sniffled, a tear running down his cheek. Roxas drew his cousin into a hug, rubbing the boy's back as he started sobbing. "I just w-wish I d-didn't have t-to be," he sobbed, gripping the back of Roxas's coat. Roxas rubbed Sora's back, nodding slightly to show his understanding.
"Everyone can be weak sometimes."
Roxas' head snapped towards the door as Sora peeked up, rubbing his eyes. Kairi offered both of them an apologetic grin. "You can't be the perfect hero all the time. It's too tiring," Kairi continued, walking towards them, "But you can't suffer through your weak times alone. Those are the times that friends serve their true purpose: your support system." Sora grinned through his tears, sniffling. "Yeah," Roxas grinned, patting Sora on the back, "God help you if you do try to get through it alone."
Sora hiccupped but continued to smile at them, "Thanks, guys." Kairi smiled, "It's our job, remember?" "So, ready to go back in?" Roxas asked, slinging an arm around Sora's shoulders. "I think so," Sora said, nodding. Kairi offered him her hand and together the three of them walked back into the Funeral Home.
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Everyone smiled as the three walked back into the parlor holding the wake of their friend. Sora threw a scared glance at the coffin before being pulled to a group of people standing by the door. "Thanks for coming," Sora mumbled, giving a hesitant smile. He received many in return and Leon laid a hand on his shoulder.
For several hours, Sora talked with his friends scattered throughout the room, avoiding the coffin as much as he could. By the time the majority of the people left, Sora had circled around the wooden box holding the body of someone very dear to him at least five times. By nine, five of them were left and Sora had been staring at the coffin for a half hour. "Sora," Kairi whispered, laying a hand on his arm. Sora nodded, took a deep breath and marched himself over. Taking another breath, he slowly looked into the coffin as he gripped the sides. Tears once again filled his eyes as he took in the still body and relaxed face of his love.
"Sora?" "He looks like he's sleeping, Kairi," Sora murmured, caressing the man's cold cheek. "I know," she whispered. "But he won't wake up," Sora choked on his words and brought a hand up to cover his mouth. "No," Kairi affirmed, leaning her forehead against Sora's back. "After all that time in the hospital, they couldn't stop it…why couldn't they get rid of the cancer for him?" Sora finally broke after this statement.
Kairi caught him as he fell to the floor, sobbing. Roxas had reappeared at his side to help Kairi lead the crying boy to a loveseat. Demyx and Axel could only watch the two try to comfort him.
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Sora stood alone at the freshly covered grave, a temporary marker reminding him of who exactly he had lost. Kairi had left for the car twenty minutes ago, promising to wait for him. She had wanted to get out of the rain that was currently soaking the brunette to the bone, bringing a promise of pneumonia within the coming weeks. Sora shook from the chilling rain and the memories coursing through his mind.
He couldn't forget the final day in the hospital, how frail his love had looked, how deadly his cough had sounded, how his hand shook in Sora's grasp as the final seconds approached. He could never forget how pale the man had looked or how cold he had seemed…
Sora ducked his head to hide his tears as they fell and mixed with the rain. He couldn't stop the words from spilling from his mouth.
"I love you…Riku."
His only answer was the pouring rain around him.
A/N: Wow, this thing took me two hours to write 0.o It's literally 4:30 am right now and my dad will kill me if he finds me still up. But writing this out was so worth it. So we know that I rather like this. How about you?