"Do you really have to go?" she asked, her voice hoarse from crying. He gave her a solemn nod and she began sobbing again. "My boys. My babies. It's just not fair!"
"Aw, c'mon mom. Sora's graduating high school; you knew we would be moving out soon anyway. Dad just kinda—pushed it to be sooner. You know you can call us whenever. But mom, you have to promise me you won't tell him where we will be. I have a feeling he's not done with us," he said rubbing the back of his neck. He looked at his mother, right in her tear filled eyes. She pulled him into a tight hug.
"I love you Roxas. You take good care of your brother, okay? He's not even eighteen yet! I call on his birthday for sure, okay?" she sobbed. Roxas rubbed her back soothingly, murmuring for her to be quiet. A car horn beeped behind them. She pulled back, still holding onto him.
"We really have to get going, Mom. Sora! Let's go!" Roxas said, shouting after his brother in the house. Then, the smaller, spiky brunette came running towards the door, two large suitcases in hand.
"Yeah, Yeah, Roxas. I'm coming! Here, take these. I wanna say 'bye to mom!" Sora said, with an eye roll. He shoved his suitcases at Roxas who grumbled as he took them. Sora then took his place in front of his mom and Roxas stood behind him, watching them. Their mother ran a thumb over the nasty looking bloody bruise spread across his left cheek. She sobbed harder and kissed his cheeks over and over again. "Aw, mom! I'll be okay!"
"Yo! Roxas! Sora! Let's go!" shouted a voice from the running car out front.
Roxas placed a hand on Sora's shoulder and said, "Sora, we gotta go. Dad could be back any second. We shouldn't be here."
Sora nodded and gave his mother one last heartfelt hug, wiping his tears on her shoulder. There were hushed and hurried 'I love yous' and kisses. But finally, Sora and Roxas were walking to the car, their mother waving goodbye to them from the door. Hands had taken away Sora's suitcases and they were shoved into the trunk, along with Roxas's stuff.
"Riku!" said Sora, excitedly. He then wrapped his arms around Riku's neck, the two of them in a tight hug. Riku kissed his forehead.
"Jeez Sora. I can't believe he—," Riku started, but Sora put his finger to his lips. Roxas watched them and smiled weakly. Sora always seemed to perk up around Riku.
"Where's my hug?" called another in a whiny tone. Roxas looked over to the driver side to see the feisty red head.
"Axel," he breathed, running over to him. Axel's arms were open wide and Roxas ran to him and squeezed him tight, inhaling his scent. Axel was so warm. The heat and lovely smell that radiated off him comforted Roxas.
"I'm glad you changed your mind about spending the summer with me! C'mon, it's already late. Let's get going," said Axel. Roxas nodded and went over to the passenger side and slid in. Riku and Sora were already in the back seat, Sora leaning his head against Riku's shoulder, holding his hand. Axel slid into the driver's seat and began pulling away from his house. Roxas looked out the window, watching his mother slowly get smaller and smaller as they drove away. He sighed and stared out the window, not watching anything in particular now.
"So, Rox. When were you going to tell me?" Axel asked. Roxas didn't look over at him.
"Tell you what, Ax?"
"That you were a fucking faggot," said a voice that wasn't that lovable red head's. No. It was a voice that struck fear into his heart. Roxas turned over to confirm. It was no longer his boyfriend behind the wheel, but his father instead. His father whipped his head back in a maniacal laughter. Roxas looked out the windshield to see that they were heading right for a huge oak tree. Roxas's arms flung up, shielding his face.
"No!"
The blond bolted up right from bed, dripping in sweat and panting. The man next to him jumped up, falling off the bed, cursing under his breath.
"Holy shit! Rox are you okay?!" Axel shouted, scrambling to get back onto the bed. Roxas used his oversized tee shirt to wipe off some of the sweat on his face.
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine. Just another nightmare. Go back to bed. I'm gonna take a shower," Roxas said.
"Oh? Heh, Let me join you th—."
"No. No, Axel. Just go back to sleep. It's super early for you. It's not even five in the morning," Roxas said with a sigh. Axel watched him with curious green eyes. Roxas gave him a weak smile, but it seemed to do the trick. With a shrug, the red head turned over on his side and was snoring in no time. Roxas then got out of bed, feeling his body just soaked with sweat. The fancy alarm clock on the nightstand beside him said it was 75˚F outside. It was pretty warm, but this felt like a cold sweat.
He grabbed his phone off the nightstand before he left the room, shutting the door as quietly as possible. The hallway was completely black. Roxas turned on the flashlight his phone had and walked down the stairs, muttering a curse under his breath with each creak of the steps. Ah, old wooden stairs; the true enemy of sneaking in the early morning. It was before sunrise not even his brother the sunshine boy was up.
Roxas made it down the stairs only to see that the kitchen light was still on. Someone must've left it on from last night. Roxas switched on the front hall light that lightly illuminated the living room. He shuffled in the dim light, making his way to the kitchen. The blond put his cellphone into his pajama pants pocket and shielded his eyes from the drastically bright kitchen light.
"Well good morning. You look like Hell. Want some Coco Puffs? Or a cup of coffee?" asked Riku, who was sitting at the kitchen island, poking at a bowl of chocolate cereal and scrolling through something on his phone. Roxas sat on the stool across from him and placed his forehead on the cool granite countertop. He let out a small groan. "That bad of a nightmare, huh? Wanna tell me what happened?"
Riku then got up and pulled the pot of coffee off the machine. He grabbed two mugs from the cupboard and set them all down onto the island. Then, he grabbed some fresh creamer from the refrigerator and then sugar from the shelf above the stove.
"Riku, it was him driving the car. This time we crashed into a tree instead of the usual pole. And instead of seeing my dad in the middle of the road, he was driving the car! He called me a faggot and crashed the car into a tree. Well, I woke up just before the crash, but you get my point," Roxas said, watching Riku pour him a cup of coffee.
"One sugar and half a teaspoon of cream? Right, like I have to ask. Anyway, it's good you woke up before then, huh? They say if you die in your dreams you die for real!" Riku teased, fixing their coffee.
"That's not funny! I woke up screaming. How didn't you hear me?"
"Oh, I did. I was already awake though. And down here."
"And you didn't come investigate? What if it wasn't a nightmare though? What if Axel was dead or someone broke in?"
"Little boy who cried wolf much?"
"Hey, that's not fair!"
"No, you're right. You really are suffering and in pain. But a burglar is more serious than that. Not that I'm, like, invalidating your feelings and shit."
"Yeah, I get it. I need the coffee now though. Hand it over."
Riku slid the cup over to him and Roxas greedily snatched it up and sipped it, ignoring the searing pain from it literally just being made. Roxas put his head in his hand, sighing. His head was pounding and he knew caffeine was a sure fire way to fix said headache.
"So, how come you're awake? I'm surprised Sora doesn't have you in some sort of death grip cuddle, said Roxas in between sips. He could see Riku roll his eyes behind his silver bangs.
"He definitely did and that was the problem. I couldn't move to adjust myself to a much more comfortable position. So I kind of woke up sporadically throughout the night because I was so uncomfortable. Finally I gave in and woke up. Took me ages to pry his arms off me, but here I am. Eating Coco Puffs with my best friend at like 4:53 in the morning," Riku said, checking the time on his phone.
"We could watch the sunrise together. Neither of us are up this early and with Sora still asleep it'll be truly quiet and peaceful outside."
"How romantic, Rox. Just the two of us, eh?"
Riku gave him a wink and Roxas laughed, shaking his head.
"Ew, no way man. Never again."
"Aw, c'mon why do you have to wound a man's pride by saying ew?"
"Because you're Riku. And my best friend. So I can say what I want."
"Yeah, no. That's not how friendship works at all. Don't be a dick."
Roxas laughed again, this time with more feeling. He could see Riku crack a genuine smile as well. Roxas looked away, down into his coffee, smiling.
"We can watch the sunrise together Roxas. I don't mind."
"Cool. I think there's some blankets or towels out in the living room. Let's finish our coffee and your cereal and head out!"
Riku sat back down and sipped his sugary sweet coffee, watching Roxas. Roxas kept his eyes down, but he could feel the stare. His cheeks reddened. Roxas did not like being looked at and Riku knew that, so why?
They sat in silence after that, eating and drinking. Roxas played a game on his phone to pass the time. He finished his coffee way before Riku and had to wait on him. Riku was finishing up his bowl of cereal when Roxas got up and went into the living room, grabbing a big dusty quilt from the trunk under the window. Roxas pulled open the big front door and shouted out to Riku that he would be going outside to get set up.
He shook out the blanket, looking out over the lake. The waters were still and there was the faint sound of birds chirping in the distance. The dock looked small from where he was, but the scenery itself was peaceful. Roxas set up the quilt right next to the picnic table. The sky was already beginning to brighten. Sunrise was usually a little after five thirty in the morning and his phone said it was about five twenty.
Riku emerged onto the porch a moment later, stretching. Roxas was already laying down on the quilt, hands behind his head. Riku walked over and sat next to him, one knee drawn up, the other outstretched.
"Man, already it's beautiful," he said.
"Yeah, it really is. I'm really glad we came out here," Roxas replied.
"There really wasn't anywhere else for you to go anyway."
"Don't remind me. Please, don't."
"What are you two doing out here?" called a voice from the doorway.
Riku turned around and a smile blossomed on his face. Then he said, "Oh hey Sora. I knew you'd be up soon enough. C'mere, we're going to watch the sunrise."
"That sounds cool! Why didn't you wake me up earlier? Make room!" Sora said, running over to them and sitting in between Riku's legs. Roxas scooted over to give them more room. "Axel still sleeping?"
"Sora the sun's just getting up. Therefore he won't wake up for like another twenty hours," Roxas said with a laugh. Sora rolled his eyes with a smile plastered on his face. The bruise under his left eye looked better than it did a week ago. Roxas didn't realize how hard he had been staring at Sora until they locked eyes. Then, he immediately looked down, rubbing his hands together nonchalantly.
"So! What are we gonna do for my eighteenth in two weeks?" Sora asked, nudging Riku's knee.
"Nothing. 'Cause you don't deserve it," Roxas teased, grinning.
"Wow. Rude. I feel like I definitely deserve it after the Hell I went through," Sora said, pointing at his healing bruise.
"Don't take that lightly. That bruise wasn't the happy accident we told Axel and you know it," Riku said through his teeth.
"Yeah, you're right. Sorry. Hey, how did he believe us about the baseball cracking me in the face anyway? Roxas is pretty bad at sports and there's no way Riku would be able to hurt me, even accidentally, without giving himself so much grief."
Sora playfully grinned at Riku who rolled his eyes and ran his fingers through his own hair.
"It was pretty easy. I said, "Oh! Don't mind Sora's bruise. He was playing baseball in the park when he got hit by a beeline right at his face. Simple," explained Roxas.
"Rox, what are we gonna do after the summer is over?"
"I don't know and I really don't want to think about it honestly."
The three of them then sat in silence, just looking up at the sky. The morning breeze blew through Roxas's loose blond spikes and he closed his eyes, raising his chin up. He heard Sora's laugh and the sound of them falling over. Roxas smiled, still not opening his eyes.
"I'm gonna get started on breakfast. You two can relax. Which means—," started Sora.
"We stay the hell out of the kitchen," Riku and Roxas said in sync with a laugh. Sora kissed Riku briefly before getting up and walking inside. Riku propped himself onto his elbows, laying on his back. Roxas crossed his legs and looked down at him, watching his hair move in the wind.
"Are you ever going to tell him?" Riku asked.
"Tell who what?" Roxas asked, obviously playing dumb.
"The real reason all of us are out here. Why Sora has that ugly bruise. Why you're having nightmares every night that wake you up screaming. The fact you're even having violent nightmares might be a good start."
"No! You know how he gets. Axel would just storm back to my dad's place and try to fight him. And oddly enough, I don't want either of them to get hurt. I feel sick even thinking about that, you know?"
"Does Sora know about the nightmares?"
"No and I want to keep it that way. I don't want him to worry about me. He's literally sunshine and you know that. One of the only positives in my life. You're a positive too, but you're pretty pessimistic therefore you can't count fully."
"Whatever. Hey, have you and Axel done it yet? Since we got here?" Riku asked, grinning wickedly. "That baggy shirt and shorts combo says otherwise."
"We're taking it slow, ok? A couple doesn't need to have sex to have a real relationship! Just because you and Sora do it like every five minutes—."
"—Whoa there. Slow down, friend. We don't have sex every five minutes. Besides, you and Axel have been together for like three years. I know for a fact you guys have never done it. You would've told me, your best friend of billions of years, that you finally lost your virginity."
"I'm just not ready!" Roxas shouted, pulling his oversized shirt over his knees and burying his face in it.
"Don't tease the man at least," Riku sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah, well, whatever. My body, my rules."
Riku sat and stared at Roxas, which caused the blond to shift uncomfortably as he felt those teal blue eyes tear into him. Roxas tucked a loose strand of short hair behind his ear and sighed. It was going to be a long, stressful summer.
Author's Note
It feels good to be back. A long time ago I had uploaded this fic on this site under a different name. I was really young and had no idea how to write characters. So I'm back and my plan is to rewrite my old fics and make them better.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.
Stay cool.