"Boys! Come here a minute, will you?"
Riku lifted his head and looked over to see that Axel had done the same. From what he could see, the redhead had long since abandoned his reading and looked to be doodling something across the page of his writing book.
"Coming, Terra!" they cried in unison.
Riku got up off his bed and stretched before smoothing out the covers. Axel followed his example halfway, but he didn't care nearly so much about the mess he left behind.
The two of them weren't brothers by blood, but they had both been adopted by a stern but kind farmer living out in the countryside. Terra joked about bringing them on as cheap labor at the time - was it only 3 years ago? - but Riku could tell that he hadn't really meant it. Anyone would get lonely living in such a secluded area, and as far as the boy could tell, his new guardian had never been married.
Coming from an overcrowded orphanage, Riku and Axel were all too happy to keep him company.
At the foot of the stairs, the tall brunet stood waiting, looking up at them with a strangely solemn expression. Standing in front of him, barely as high as his waist, were two small boys, one with brown hair like Terra's and another with blonde hair. Riku blinked at that, and he and Axel shared a look. They couldn't be getting more brothers, could they? Terra always said that the two of them were more than enough trouble for him.
As he came closer, however, the silver-haired boy was shocked to see how blue their eyes were. And how scared they looked. They were huddled together and holding each other, and while the brunet offered Axel and him an awkward attempt at a smile, the blonde one trembled slightly as they approached, looking down and away. Terra laid his hands on both of their shoulders comfortingly.
"Boys, we have guests. This is Sora," he nodded in the direction of the brunet boy first, "and this is Roxas. They are going to stay with us for the foreseeable future."
"Hello!" Axel said cheerfully, extending a hand to Sora. "My name's Axel! Nice to meet you!"
"Hello," the other boy replied, shaking back. He looked at the blonde beside him. "It's okay, Roxy. You can say hello."
Roxas shrank back further and shook his head, clinging to Sora even more tightly. The little brunet smiled at them apologetically.
"He's just really shy."
"That's not entirely true," Terra said then, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "Sadly, these two are coming to us under the most unfortunate circumstances. Their parents were caught in a terrible accident, and both perished just yesterday."
Riku's eyes widened at that, and he instantly felt a great sympathy for the little blonde. His blue eyes were beginning to well with tears, but Sora cuddled up closer to him and seemed to be whispering reassurances in his ear. Was he the older brother?
"I knew their parents very well, and so it falls to me make sure they are well cared for," Terra continued, as he knelt down and embraced them both. "I trust that you two will help make them feel at home here."
"Of course!" they replied, and though it felt weird to do so, Riku made himself smile wider than he normally would have. He didn't really want to share his room with more people, and he suspected Axel didn't either, but he knew that saying so would be futile and make the new children feel unwelcome. Besides, Sora seemed nice enough, and Roxas probably would be too, once they got to know him.
"My name is Riku," the silver-haired boy said, as Terra directed them outside to get the brothers' things.
"So, how old are you two?" Axel asked casually, lifting up one of the bags like it weighed nothing at all. He looked pretty lanky, as did Riku himself, but they had lots of energy and were pretty strong.
"We're twins," Sora replied, "so we're both 8 years old. I was born a few minutes earlier, though, so I'm a little older than Roxy."
"Twins, huh? That's cool. I thought twins were supposed to look the same though." He flicked a bit of Sora's hair with his free hand before bending to grab a second bag off the ground.
"Not all twins do. That's what Papa said." The brunet kept smiling encouragingly at his twin, but Roxas was firmly attached to him and never spoke a word. "We'd look closer if our hair matched, but I got Papa's color and Roxas got Mama's."
At the mention of their parents, the blonde whimpered slightly and curled further inward.
"Oh, Roxy, I'm sorry!" He hushed his brother as he began to cry, rocking him slightly. "He misses them so much."
"I'm sorry about your parents," Riku said sincerely, looking at the youngest boy in particular. "I know it's going to be hard, but I hope you like it here."
"Yeah!" Axel chimed in. He still sounded excited and chipper, but his expression was gentle. "We'll have some fun! There's a creek near here where you can go swimming, and we can play hide and seek in the woods! It'll be great!"
"Thanks," Sora said, smiling softly at them. He chuckled a little when Axel started staggering comically, weaving back and forth and teetering like he was going to fall over. Even Roxas smiled a little bit at that, Riku noticed, even if it was very faint.
Hopefully, he would see them both smile even wider someday.