Author's Note:

This is really important.

The thing with this AU is that there are so many different ways it could, and that I want, it to go in. Most of these, however, would contradict eachother. And more importantly, there's no conclusion that I'm working towards. I like this situation and the things that could come from it - but there's really no plot or big story that I'm telling.

So here's how things work! Each chapter will be a one shot that just happens to take place in the same universe as the rest. In other words, character's relationships and events will change from chapter to chapter - they do not depend on eachother, and it's not leading up to a conclusion. A character's role - that is, their place in this universe - will always be the same. So it's like... The first few chapters will be sort of... Defining and feeling out the world - after that it's just everything and anything that could happen in this universe.

So in other words, there will be het, yaoi, yuri, gen, humor, angst - everything! Each one-shot is different. :3 Not all of the chapters will be about Roxas and Sora, either - it'll span out to almost any other character who was in Kingdom Hearts.

So without further ado, the beginings of this world!


Wind Chime

The car ride was long and boring. Even with the windows rolled down, it felt stuffy, and there was little to no leg space. Roxas was especially upset about this, because it wasn't as though he was particularly tall. In fact, he was somewhat short for his age. The reasonable voice in his head reminded him that he had chosen to sit in the back with Sora, but he ignored it, kicking the passenger seat in front of him futilely.

Their mother, Hikari, a young woman with long, curly, dirty-blond hair and bright blue eyes, looked to the rear-view mirror to meet his gaze briefly, then returned her attention to the road. Roxas had spent a good five hours staring out the window, and it was getting quite boring. The same brown fields passed by endlessly, and the sky was somewhere between grey and blue; a dull space above dull grounds. Sora, however, had always been one to sleep on long car-rides, and this trip had been no different. The brunette was just waking up when Roxas glanced over, and rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"Are we there yet?" Sora asked, voice quiet from sleep. He sighed when their mother shook her head. "About how much longer?"

"Another six hours at least. You guys need a rest stop? Hungry?"

"I'm fine." Sora said, interrupting himself with a yawn. Roxas had been about to ask for a rest stop - his legs were starting to fall sleep - but decided against it. Instead, he turned to Sora, nudging him.

"Move a little bit." He said. Sora complied, and Roxas shuffled the large duffel bags, unbuckling his seat-belt. He moved a particularly squishy bag half-onto Sora's lap and leaned over, resting his head on it. Sora blinked down at him, but made no signs of disapproval. The brunette, instead, turned to look out the window for the next six hours. At least.

---

Roxas dreamt of waiting. As always. Sitting in the windowsill in a large, too-empty castle. Waiting. He never really knew who or what he was waiting for, but he had the same dream at least once a week. It was getting... Tiring.

When he awoke, the sky was dark. Street lights passed by over-head, temporarily highlighting his mother's hair and shadowing it again. The blond sat up slowly, but still felt light-headed. After waiting for the feeling to go away, he turned to Sora, who was either staring out the window, or leaning on it, asleep. In the dark, it was difficult to tell, but Roxas assumed the latter. Making an effort to be quiet, the blond shifted and looked out his own window.

Quite suddenly, Roxas was okay with moving.

Large office buildings towered everywhere - odd architecture and dome-ceilings abound. Bright lights and roads; large, winding roads crossing over eachother like bridges, overlooking the tops of the tallest houses, and far, far in the distance, the beach. Cooled sand in midnight purples, moonlight shimmering off the water. Roxas said nothing.

As they drove farther in, the buildings disappeared. Instead, they were surrounded by large trees and huge slanting concrete sidewalks. Steep hills and small trees planted mid-sidewalk. Strangely angled, brightly colored houses stuck close together as though they were leaning against each other, and that beach was closer than ever. Miles, surely, but Roxas felt as though it were close. It felt somewhat... Comforting.

"So that it's like where ever you go," his mother said quietly, seemingly to herself. Roxas knew better."The beach is always right there." He eyed her smile in the mirror. Her eyes were shadowed, but her smile was content and honest.

He didn't reply, but smiled back knowing she couldn't see it. Then he blinked, slowly realizing.

"The windows are still rolled down," he announced to no one in particular. Sora mumbled something incoherent in his sleep, and his mother didn't reply.

It was warm. Roxas checked his watch. And blinked again. It was almost eleven, and the breeze from outside was warm. He smiled. Moving wouldn't be so bad.

"We live close to Disneyland now." Hikari informed him, voice somewhat hushed for Sora's sake. "I used to save my allowance and go there once a month with my friends."

Roxas wondered how she could have raised him his entire life without telling him that she grew up here. He also wondered if he ever would have found out, if not for that off-handed comment. Despite this, he sounded disinterested when he asked "Really?"

She was used to his lack of enthusiasm. "It's a little expensive, but you two could do it too. You get good allowances, right? And you're, what, fourteen? I'm sure you could get a job if you looked."

"Sora is fifteen." Roxas pointed out. Hikari was a wonderful, loving mother. But stupid. And sometimes Roxas wished she would shut up.

"Right, right! But his birthday was only a few months ago, it's hard to remember. Your's is coming up too, isn't it, honey?"

Roxas silently begged for her to be quiet. And to stop using such annoying nick names. "Yeah, next month."

Hikari hummed a nonsensical tune for a moment, then said "Make some friends quick, okay? I'll let you throw a huge birthday party at our house."

Roxas didn't reply, and turned to look out the window again. He had never been a particularly social kid. Quite honestly, he found the majority of his age-group to be complete idiots. They either took themselves too seriously, or not seriously enough. His brother was practically the only person he could stand for over two hours.

Sora had always been social, but he had also never been truly close to any of his friends. He talked to everyone at their old school and no one could bring themselves to dislike him. He was charming, in his own boyish, naive way. He got invited to parties and outings, and had a great time; but when it was over he couldn't care less.

Roxas really wasn't upset about moving. He had no important people he was leaving behind, no real attachment to his school, and though the town had been comfortable, it was only out of familiarity. The blond was, bluntly, bored of such a lazy, slow-moving, town. It seemed as though time itself was frozen as people went about their lives slowly, with all the time in the world.

This new town, he thought privately, was much better.

The lights continued to fly by over-head, and the moon shined over the ocean.

So there you go! A little background on the brothers and their mom, and a bit about the town they're moving in to.