Disclaimer: I don't own this genre. I don't own any genre. If you think I do, you need your daylights examined.
Author's Note: This is my experiment with a choppier dialogue style. I tried to make it simple. I hope it works. Please: if you read, review.
After their battle with Xemnas, Sora wanted to say one last good-bye to all of their friends - and show off the realms he'd saved to Kairi and Riku. They were enthusiastic about the idea.
"I hope they're all as beautiful as you've said, Sora."
"Why not? I should get a little color in my life for a change."
Goofy and Donald agreed.
"Garwsh, Sora, I never thought about visitin' all our old friends before headin' back to the Castle!"
"Soundsth good to me!"
And so they set off on a whirlwind tour.
But he had felt...odd. Every land he visited seemed somehow different to him.
In Halloweentown, he'd felt scared. It was never truly scary to him - surprising, sometimes, yes, but scary? No way. He almost had to remind himself who Jack and his friends were before his heart calmed down.
He'd hoped things would get better in the Land of the Dragons, but they'd accidentally landed the Gummi Ship in the mountains. Riku and Donald were feeling a little cooped up after the long ride, so they all decided to make the trek down to the palace together, the trio of heroes telling stories about their exploits in the area along the way. Sora, although quite warm in his outfit made so long ago in Yen Sid's tower, felt inexplicably cold. It was as if he had never felt a chill in his entire life, which was just plain silly.
It got weirder when they went to the Coliseum. The expansive building - now rebuilt and better than ever, Sora thought - was hosting a new competition, and Sora couldn't help but enter it. He was hoping he'd see Auron there, but the odds were unlikely; it was a team competition. Sora knew Auron wasn't very team-friendly. Only teams of four could enter, and although Auron would have made a nice addition to his team, Sora was glad to have Riku at his side. But he'd felt even better - at home, almost - when he changed into Valor Form during a particularly rough battle. Hacking away with his two Keyblades and nothing else just felt right.
After they won the competition, they traveled to Beast's Castle. Lumiere insisted on giving a grand tour for Riku and Kairi, who were - to Sora's delight - amazed at the grandiose architecture before them. He was rather bored, though, and absentmindedly played with the small blue orb that he'd received from the King. He held it up to the chandelier's light once or twice to see the striking glint he'd come to appreciate in the small orb, but it just wasn't the same.
Agrabah's harsh sunlight remedied that right quick. But the high ceilings of the palace and open-air markets of the Bazaar were stifling. Aladdin, Genie, and the rest of the gang were entertaining enough to make their stay eventful, but Sora couldn't help but feel like it was all too much.
In Port Royal, Sora's uneasiness took an abrupt about face. Sora felt almost comfortable in the dark city. They were staying overnight because Goofy hated trying to manuever in the dark, but Sora didn't mind, for once. The darkness felt like a familiar friend, something that held potential allies and not just an endless slew of enemies.
The thought lingered in his mind as they visited the Pride Lands. Even Timon and Pumbaa's antics nearly failed to lighten his mood - but something about their endless fart jokes (usually centering on poor Pumbaa) made him laugh harder than he'd laughed before. He usually laughed straight from the gut, a strong belly laugh, but this time he collapsed into giggles before letting loose. It was weird, but he kind of liked it. It sounded like it fit.
Even more hilarity came when Riku tried to swim in Atlantica. First of all, he had been turned into a starfish, which made Sora giggle - again. Sora couldn't help him, ignorant as to how starfish moved, but he could help Kairi, who had become a mermaid. He tried not to blush at the sight of mere seashells covering her breasts. She wore bikinis on the island quite often and he hadn't thought twice about it then. After that, of course, Ariel wanted them all to sing. Riku and Donald had limited solos; they sang about as well as Sora ice skated. Kairi and Sora teamed up in a duet on one of the verses. Once they'd finished it, Sora swam behind Kairi and spun her around and around. When they stopped, the closeness of their bodies and Kairi's breathy smile made him dizzy. He blamed the lightheadedness on the spinning.
Their next stop was the Radiant Gardens, although Sora kept calling it Hollow Bastion. The juxtaposition in the name interested Sora, but he never spoke of it. He kept most of his deeper thoughts to himself, anyway. Every time he tried to vocalize them, he tried to make himself sound smart, and it all came out in a jumbled mess. Especially when he tried to talk to Merlin about it. So Sora stuck to what he did best: fighting.
He stashed his Keyblades, though, when he journeyed alone into the Hundred Acre Wood. When we was with Pooh, he felt like an older brother. The feeling couldn't be bottled up in any Potion. The quiet time the two spent together staring at the moon the night before he again departed the Book was therapeutic. It always made him feel better, but that night it was as if it were doubly better.
His penultimate stop - or so he thought - was a trip into the computer (along with his friends, this time) to visit Tron. Tron, having become part of the machine, expended the energy to create a hologram of himself. The smile never left his face during the entire visit. Sora liked to think it was Tron smiling the entire time, but doubt whispered that Tron had just programmed his likeness to be that way. But the doubt didn't last long - something in Sora's very being seemed to revolt at the idea. Tron enjoyed his company. Sora entertained him, delighted him. That was why he smiled, his being told him; Sora was loathe to argue.
When he exited the computer, his eyes were wetter than he thought they would be. He swiped at them, waving off concern from Kairi and averted glances from Riku, Donald, and Goofy. It wasn't just leaving Tron that had him choked up.
Their next stop would be Disney Castle, and there they would say good-bye to Donald and Goofy. As the ascended into the Gummi Ship, Sora tried to cast it from his mind. At the same time, his mind scrambled to find some sort of diversion, some delay, anything to stop the end from coming.
But when his mouth opened, he had no idea what he was about to say.
"Wait," he said as Goofy prepared for liftoff. "We haven't been everywhere."
And so they landed in Twilight Town. When they arrived, Kairi caught one glance at Sora's face and steered Riku off to the Sandlot. Donald tried to drag Sora to Yen Sid's Tower; Goofy wanted him to check out the sights of Sunset Town. Sora begged off all three events, choosing instead to wander the city on his own.
He hadn't been thinking about where his feet were going.
They led him to the Usual Spot, where he stands opposite a bemused Hayner.
"Sora. Wow. Uh, hey. What're you doin' here, man?" Hayner asks.
"I dunno. I...I guess I just...followed my heart," Sora says.
"Corny," Hayner mutters.
Sora giggles, then breaks into a full laugh.
"That laugh sounds familiar," Hayner says, his face scrunching as he tries to place a name to it. Sora waits as his laughter slows to a halt. Hayner eventually shrugs. "But I can't remember where I heard it."
Silence falls over the pair.
"Where're Olette and Pence?" Sora asks.
Hayner scoffs. "Pence is off showing Goofy the 'Wonders of Sunset Town'. Bleh. I've never seen anything wonderful in Sunset Town." He crosses his arms. "And Olette's off with Donald. She's hoping those fairies'll make her an outfit like they did for you."
Sora grins. "I don't think she wants one like mine. There's way too many pockets." At Hayner's smirk, he adds: "And I don't think her feet'll fit in my shoes."
"I don't even know how you fit in your shoes, dude! You must have crazy big feet," Hayner says.
"Nah," Sora replies, waving the thought away with his left hand, "Not really."
His hand comes down to rest on a pocket. He feels a familiar protrusion and opens the pocket, removing the bright blue orb within.
Hayner leans forward, uncrossing his arms to stare at the orb.
"That looks..."
"Familiar?" Sora supplies. Hayner looks up, nods, and returns his gaze to the orb.
Sora's right hand moves of its own accord, reaching into yet another pocket. Sora watches as his hand pulls out a picture.
"The photo of us?" Hayner asks. Sora nods and shows it to Hayner.
"Who's the kid in the black and white, again?" Hayner asks. "He looks just like...just like you."
Sora and Hayner's eyes meet for one brief second. Then Sora's world seems to melt away in front of him, until all he can see is Hayner's concerned features. Frozen. His mouth halted mid-word.
A breeze stirs near Sora's right, but the breeze ruffles none of the posters or papers. Sora turns to see a figure on the couch, eating Sea Salt ice cream on a popsicle stick.
The figure smiles.
"Hey, Sora. Have a seat," the figure says, patting the seat beside him.
Sora blinks.
"You're...Roxas?"
Roxas nods.
Sora crosses over to the couch and lowers himself onto it.
Roxas continues to eat his ice cream.
"So...uh...how are you?" asks Sora.
Roxas turns to him, eyebrow raised. Sora stares back, features arranged in sheepish hope.
Roxas giggles. Sora belly-laughs.
"This is really awkward," Sora admits as they calm down. Roxas nods and continues to eat his ice cream.
"Did you...uh, did you make this..." Sora bats at the air. "You know..."
"Did I do that? Yeah." Roxas opens the fridge and pulls out an ice cream bar, handing it to Sora.
The two eat their ice cream in silence until Roxas speaks up.
"I just wanted to see him again. See him with my own eyes, y'know. Not just yours. Not that yours are bad or anything. They're great. It's just..."
"Familiar?" Sora supplies. Roxas nods.
"I know he doesn't remember me. Or Pence, or Olette." Roxas licks the last remnant of his ice cream. "They never really did know me. And I guess I never really knew them."
"But you do now," Sora says.
Roxas turns, cocking his head sideways.
"If I know them, so do you," Sora explains.
Roxas nods. "That makes sense."
Sora continues to attack his ice cream, downing the final chunk in one go.
"Y'know, I always wanted to meet you." Sora tosses the stick onto the ground. "We met already, I know, but that was more of a thing for you and..."
"Naminé," Roxas finishes. "And we've met three times."
"Three times?"
"The first was when I merged with you. You were unconscious."
"That explains it."
"Then again in the World that Never Was."
"The World that Never was? What d'you mean? I don't under - " Sora starts, then stops, then starts again. "The guy in the black cloak that bragged about beating Riku! That was you?"
"Yeah. Sorry about that, by the way. I just thought you needed a pick-me-up. Something to rev you up a little." Roxas smiles a little. "And I wanted to make sure you were still crazy with those 'blades of ours."
Sora nods.
They stare at the frozen Hayner together.
"Roxas?"
"Sora?"
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
They stare again.
"Sora?"
"Roxas?"
"Do you forgive me?"
"For what?"
"For fighting you. For being part of the Organization."
"Sure. I mean, you had your reasons. You just didn't go off willy-nilly."
They stare, this time not caring at what, just not at each other.
"Thanks, Sora."
"Don't mention it."
"Are you..."
"Ready to go back?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
Roxas turns first, smiling, arms outstretched and palms open.
Sora grins and takes Roxas' hands in his own.
"Hey, Roxas?"
"Yeah, Sora?"
"You're pretty cool."
Roxas doesn't speak for a second. When he does, his voice is strained. Choky. Strangled.
"So are you."
Both boys - men - something in between - close their eyes.
A breeze floats past to Sora's left. Then he opens his eyes to see Hayner's face, blurry but coming slowly into focus. As it sharpens, sound rushes back to him.
"Sora? Sora? You okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, Hayner, I'm fine. Just tired. Long trip," Sora lies.
"We can put you guys up in my house."
"I don't want to be any trouble."
"You won't be. You've saved my life, and, apparently, the world a few times. I think the least I can do is let you crash at my place."
"You sure you've got six beds?"
Hayner blinks.
"Six?" he asks.
Sora blushes.
"Uh, five, sorry. Like I said, long trip." Sora rubs the back of his neck. "Riku and Kairi are at the Sandlot. I guess we should catch up to 'em?" Sora asks.
"Yeah, guess so. After you, oh mighty Keyblade Master."
Sora shoves him through the entrance to the Usual Spot. Hayner stops short so that Sora slams into him. Their laughter fills the air as they wander down to the Sandlot.
On the left arm of the couch where Roxas was sitting, a popsicle stick rests. The evening sunlight strikes the refrigerator, casting a long shadow onto the stick.
On the ground next to the right side of the couch where Sora was sitting, a popsicle stick rests. The evening sunlight hits it directly, bathing it in its warmth.
Although each stick is touched by the sun in a different way, they are both still popsicle sticks. They are, at their core, the same. Separated, they appear different.
But it's just a trick of the light.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Please review, if only to say, "Swizzle sticks!" :) Thank you.