You know that awkward feeling where you wrote something a while back and you were so excited to write it because it was fun and then you go back later and are like, "What the hell were we thinking when we wrote this?"
That keeps happening here. I am not very pleased with past!Laci and Kat.
Oh well. Here's a chapter! There's a bit of a time skip between the last chapter and this one, just so no one is confused.
Xion heard the door creak open. She was confused. Vanitas wasn't due home for another half an hour. Who was in their house?"
She walked to the front door, and her face lit up.
"SORA!" she shrieked.
"Hi."
"You're back! Are you staying this time? Please tell me you're staying this time." Xion wrapped her arms around her brother.
"Maybe, yeah."
"Only maybe?" Xion's bottom lip wobbled.
"I don't know, Xion."
"Oh." Xion looked down.
"I'm sorry. I'm here now, at least."
"Yeah."
"Is anyone else home?"
"Nope," Xion answered. "Just me."
"And now me," Sora added.
"Yeah."
"Everyone is in for a surprise when they get home later."
"Yeah."
"Should be fun. Oh! And I have a surprise for you!"
Xion perked up a little at that. "You do?"
"Yeah!" Sora walked to where he'd set his stuff and unzipped a small, oddly-shaped case he hadn't left home with. From that case, he pulled Sammy.
"Is that a kitty?" Xion's face lit up.
"Mhmm. Her name is Sammy."
Xion moved closer to Sora. "Can I hold her? I love kitties!"
"Sure." Sora held out the kitten for Xion to take.
Xion cuddled Sammy in her arms. "Can we keep her?"
"I've had her for two weeks. I'm not giving her up now."
"Good." Xion beamed. "I love her already."
Sora smiled. "Dem's mom found her and made her my responsibility."
"Aweeeee. Sora the kitty's mommy."
"I'm not a mommy, though!"
Xion only grinned, hugging the cat close to her.
"Do you think Mom will let us keep her?"
Xion's chin jutted out. "There's no way Mom is taking Sammy away from us."
"Good."
"Please stay, Sor."
"I'll try, Xi."
"Thank you." Xion knew that was all she would get.
"It was nice, being at Dem's for so long," Sora admitted.
"I missed you."
"I missed you, too."
"Don't tell him I told you this," Xion said conspiratorially, "but I think even Van missed you."
"Aww. I didn't miss him...much."
"You missed him some, then."
Sora shrugged. "A little."
"Did you miss me more?" Xion asked.
"Of course."
She smiled. "Good."
Sora pulled her into a hug. "Love you, kid."
Xion buried her face into Sora's chest. "I love you, too."
"I'll try to stay around for a while."
"Thank you," Xion said genuinely.
"That's not necessary."
"Yes it is," Xion insisted. "I know you hate being here."
"I'll deal."
Xion frowned. "I hate when you're unhappy, though. I want you to stay here with me, but I hate making you unhappy."
"I'm happier than I was."
"You are?"
"Yeah," Sora said.
"Why?" Xion asked.
"Just am."
Although that reasoning made little to no sense to Xion, she decided to accept it and let it be. "I'm glad. You should be happy!"
"I like it."
"Me too."
Sora smiled, and Xion let go of Sammy so that she could hug Sora.
"I love you," she said, pulling him close.
"Xi, I love you too," Sora said, "but don't let her run off! She likes to claw things."
Xion looked sad, but she got up and grabbed the cat back. "Sorry."
"It's fine. You didn't know. We'll just have to...keep in one of our rooms or something until we teach her not to."
"Okay." Xion hugged the cat.
"Do you wanna keep her in your room?"
"Can I?" Xion's face lit up.
Sora smiled bemusedly. "Sure."
"YAY! Thank you, Sora!"
"No prob. She likes to sleep right next to people, so if you wake up and she's in your face..."
"Aweeeeee," Xion said, grinning. "She sounds like a sweetie."
Sora nodded.
"Thank you, Sora."
"No problem."
The smile faded from their faces when Vanitas walked into the living room.
"Oh. You're back," Vanitas said, addressing Sora without even bothering to say hello.
"Yeah."
"For how long?"
Sora shrugged. "However long I'm here."
"Mom know yet?" Vanitas asked.
"Nope."
"Fun."
"Yep."
"If you die, I get your room," Vanitas commented dryly.
"Why? You have your own."
Vanitas just shrugged. "I could use the extra space."
"Jerk."
"Whatever."
Sora insistently said, "Xion gets my room if I die."
"I don't want you to die, though," Xion said, pouting.
"I probably won't, but I'm establishing that Vanitas doesn't get my room, just in case."
"Whatever," Vanitas said, rolling his eyes. "Have fun getting killed by Mom."
"She won't kill me," Sora said calmly.
Vanitas raised an eyebrow. "You disappeared for two weeks."
"So? She knew where I was."
"Do you seriously not know Mom?" Vanitas asked, sounding almost incredulous. "She got told off by a teenage boy and wasn't allowed in the house."
"Doesn't mean she didn't know I was safe."
Vanitas rolled his eyes. "Doesn't mean she's not ticked."
"She's always ticked at me for something."
"This blows those times out of the water."
"Whatever," Sora said.
"Just warning you," Vanitas said, shrugging.
"I'm sure I'll survive."
"Yeah. You're pretty bad at that whole dying thing, generally," Vanitas said. "Anyway, I'm out of here. Xion, you're in charge."
Sora rolled his eyes at Vanitas. Vanitas walked back to his room.
Xion frowned. "Vanitas is right about one thing, Sor. Mom's really not happy. I think she was part mad and part scared, since she knew you'd be running out of your meds soon."
"Why do you think I'm back?" Sora asked.
"Oh." Xion looked sad.
"And because I missed you."
"That's secondary, though."
"Only because I am almost out."
Xion looked sadder. "See. Secondary. You wouldn't have come if you weren't almost out."
"I might have soon."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
That made Xion smile a little. "Good. We missed you."
"I missed you." Sora paused and checked the clock. "How long do I have?"
"An hour or so," Xion responded, not even needing to ask what Sora was referring to.
"Okay."
"So if there's anything you want to do now, just in case you need to make a run for it..."
Sora shook his head.
"Okay."
"Wanna play with Sammy while things are still calm?" Sora asked Xion.
She nodded happily. "Yes please. Do we have any yarn?"
"Dunno."
"Hmm..." Xion disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a skein of blue yarn.
"Well, that was quick."
"I am magic," Xion said, as if that explained everything.
"Makes sense."
Xion threw the yarn to Sora, who caught it. "Now what?"
Xion shrugged. "I don't know. We've never had a cat."
"I just have normal cat toys. I've never used yarn."
"Hmm..." Xion took the yarn from Sora and handed it to the cat.
Sammy just looked at it, tilting her head to the side a little as she experimentally reached out a paw to bat at it.
"Aweeeeee," Xion said, laughing. "She's so cute, Sora. I want to keep her forever."
"You should see her at foodtimes."
"Hm?"
"She's sillier then," Sora explained.
"Awe." Xion smiled. "I love animals, Sor."
"I like some of them," Sora said pensively.
"Which ones don't you like?"
"I don't like arachnids."
Xion shook her head violently. "But they're so cute! Except the big fuzzy ones... those are scary."
"...they aren't cute!"
"Yes they are!" Xion insisted. "They're adorable."
"Nuh uh."
"They are so pretty when they walk," she said, smiling hugely.
"You are so strange sometimes."
"As long as they don't eat me, they are adorable," she insisted.
"If you say so..."
"So!"
"Okay."
Xion grinned enormously, and the two played with Sammy until their mom got home.
"Xion, is Vanita-" Sora's mother froze when she walked into the living room.
Sora looked up from pulling a piece of yarn around in front of Sammy. "Hi, Mom..."
"You're back," she said quietly.
"Yeah."
"When?"
"Earlier. About an hour or so ago."
She processed the information quickly and started heading into her dangerous mode. "Why did you leave?"
"Because I wanted to."
"That's not a good reason, Sora," she said, her tone warning.
"I think it is."
"Demyx wouldn't let me see you," she said. She sounded hurt.
"I know."
"I was worried about you."
"I know," Sora repeated.
"Why didn't you talk to me?" she asked.
"Didn't want to."
"You could have been dead."
"Except you knew I wasn't," Sora replied.
"Not for a fact."
"I called Xion a lot. She would have known.'
"She could have been lying," Sora's mother said, though everyone knew the idea was a bit silly.
"Xion, Mom."
"Or you could've been lying," she continued.
"Mom."
"What, Sora?"
"I was fine, I am fine. Drop it," Sora said testily.
Finally, she broke, and she started to get angry. "No. I'm not dropping it, Sora. You disappeared for TWO WEEKS."
"I was at Demyx's house. How is that disappearing?"
"You weren't home. I couldn't make sure you were okay."
"Well, I was, and you have to trust me on that," Sora said.
"How can I trust you?" she asked.
"Because I'm your family?"
She just stared at him. "You don't act like it."
Sora frowned at her.
"It's always about you," she continued.
"No, it's not."
She shook her head. "Yes, it is. Always. Just… don't you dare do that again."
"I'm a legal adult," Sora said, shrugging. "You can't stop me."
"You may legally be an adult, but you're still a kid. I love you, but you are still a kid."
Sora shook his head.
"You are."
"I just wanted some time away. Some freedom."
"You acted like a child," she insisted stubbornly.
Sora shrugged. "I saw no other choice."
"You could have been mature and at least talked to me about it."
"I TRY to talk to you about things. You almost always shoot me down," Sora said. "What would you have said if I'd told you I wanted to spend a couple weeks at Dem's? Huh? You would have said no because I couldn't handle it or it wasn't safe or something equally ridiculous. I can't act maturely and talk to you about things, because you don't give."
"I would have let you stay a week or so," she said, trying to sound calmer than she was. "I trust Demyx and his mother."
"What if it had been Riku?"
"I don't know Riku. I would not let my son stay a week with a complete stranger."
"He's not a stranger to me," Sora snapped back. "I trust him."
She looked at him. "I've never met him. I know nothing about him. To me, he's a stranger."
"I trust him, Dem and Zex trust him. Do you not trust our judge of character skills?" Sora asked.
"I would still like to meet him first." Sora's mother did not trust anyone she had not met, and, truth be told, she did not trust Demyx and Zexion and Sora's judgment. They were young, and could easily be acting out of naivety.
"That is completely doable."
She frowned. That was not what she had meant. "Do you actually plan to stay with him for a week?"
"No, but you could still meet him."
Sora's mother knew that it was better than the alternative, so she sighed and accepted it for what it was. "I would like that."
"Okay."
"Don't leave again."
"We all have to leave eventually, Mom," Sora said. "We're growing up."
"Not like this. This was completely unnecessary."
"I know. I'm sorry."
Glad that Sora had finally admitted that he hadn't necessarily acted the best himself, Sora's mother just nodded, accepting the apology. "Hug?"
Sora walked over and hugged her.
"There'll be punishments for this later," she said, "but right now, I'm just glad you're home."
"What kind of punishments?"
She shrugged. "Probably extra chores. Maybe grounding."
"Mom..."
Sora's mother caught movement out of the corner of her eye, and when she turned around, she saw the cat sitting on Xion's lap. "What is that?" she asked.
"That's Sammy."
"Where did Sammy come from?"
"Dem's mom put me in charge of taking care of her while I was over there and she said I could bring her home with me..." Sora explained.
Sora's mother looked distinctly displeased.
"Pleeeeeeease can we keep Sammy?" Xion asked, giving the best puppy dog eyes that she could.
Sora's mother sighed, not liking it, but too drained to fight against Xion on it. "The cat stays out of sight. If it makes a mess or ruins our furniture, it has to go."
"She'll stay in my or Xi's room," Sora said. "Promise. We'll make sure she behaves." Xion nodded her agreement.
"Fine."
Sora grinned and hugged his mom, not even caring that it was a little lopsided. Xion grinned, cuddling Sammy close to her chest. "Thank you, Mom!"
"I'm going to start on dinner," she said, hugging Sora. "Do you have cat food and kitty litter already, Sora?"
"Yeah. It's all in my room."
"Okay. If you ever need anything for Sammy, let me know, and I'll go pick it up."
"Thanks, Mom."
She gave a small nod. "Okay. I've got work to do. You go work on homework."
"I would if I had any..." Sora muttered bitterly.
Sora's mom merely shrugged. Sighing, Sora picked up Sammy and retreated to his room.
"Mom," Xion said quietly. "Why can't he go to school?"
"Can you imagine him living in a dorm, Xion? It'd be a mess. He'd be in a situation he couldn't control at all."
"He doesn't have to live in the dorm," Xion pointed out.
"Then he has to use transportation, which is just as bad. He can't drive, and the bus is out of the question..."
Xion shook her head. "Why can't he just go with Van, Mom?"
Sora's mother was quiet. "It's scary, Xion."
"Life's scary, mom. Every time Vanitas and I drive we could die. Every time we go anywhere anything bad could happen to us. You don't treat us like we're made of glass, though."
"Xion..." Sora's mom started to talk, but Xion shook her head.
"Give him a chance," she said, walking back to her room.
Sora's mom was left alone in the room. She had some thinking to do.
Within the next few weeks, Riku was allowed in Sora's room a few different times, and he could never get over how unchanging it was. Everything was exactly the same. The exact same clothes were in the exact same places folded the exact same ways. His bed was made exactly the same every day and his door, when it was open, was open to the exact same degree.
It was a bit disconcerting and a bit reassuring.
Riku was sitting on the floor. He was afraid of messing up the bed or the chair or anything else in the room. The floor, though, was safe.
"You don't have to sit on the floor, you know. I'm not going to tell you off for it." Sora was sprawled on his bed with Sammy.
Riku looked up at Sora and grinned. "Nah, it's okay. You're on the bed with the cat, and I've never been especially fond of desk chairs. Unlike you, some of us have long legs to spread out."
"Always with the short comments."
"It's so easy," Riku agreed.
"It's tedious."
"You're not exactly easy to poke fun of, you know," Riku said, shrugging. "Short jokes are classic."
"What do you mean I'm not easy to poke fun of?"
Riku shrugged. "You're too nice to poke fun of too much. Making fun of your OCD or your mom wouldn't be cool, and making dirty jokes around you feels like corrupting you. So, that leaves me with short jokes."
"Most people don't have a problem with any of that."
"It just rubs me the wrong way," Riku said. "I don't think I could say those things to you. Wouldn't feel right."
"I guess," Sora said, shrugging.
"My mother raised me better than that."
"I'm glad for that."
Riku smiled. "Yeah."
"You're a good guy. You know that, right?"
"Hm?"
"You just are."
"Nah," Riku argued.
"Yes."
Riku shook his head. "You're a better person than I am."
"Not really."
"Seriously."
"How?"
Riku shrugged. It wasn't something he had really thought through, it was just something he instinctively knew. "You're just a genuinely nice person."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes you are, Sora."
Sora shook his head.
Riku sighed. "I'm not going to convince you, am I?"
"Nope."
"Oh well," Riku said lightly. "It was worth a try."
Sora laughed. Riku grinned.
There was silence for a second before Riku asked, "What's up?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing," Sora confirmed.
Riku rolled his eyes. "That's dreadfully boring."
"I'm boring."
"I disagree. I think you're interesting," Riku said.
Sora shrugged, and Riku frowned.
"What?"
"You are interesting," Riku pushed.
"Not really, but thanks for saying so."
"No, you are."
"That's your opinion."
"It is," Riku said, as if that were obvious.
"I strongly disagree with it."
Riku frowned. "Why?"
"Because I don't think I'm interesting," Sora said simply. "The only notable thing about me is my OCD, which isn't exactly the most uncommon of mental disorders, so it's barely notable as is."
"That's not all, though."
"Yeah it is."
Riku shook his head. "Nope. You're a good person. The way you interact with other people and the way you talk and the way you act and... everything about you is interesting."
Sora stared at Riku for a moment. "If you say so."
With a wry grin on his face, Riku said, "So."
Sora frowned at him, but Riku smiled.
"I still don't buy it," Sora argued.
"You don't have to, I guess."
Sora shrugged, and Riku sighed. Sora was too stubborn for his own good sometimes, he decided. "Either way, it's my point of view."
"Okay."
"Yup." Riku sighed.
Things were quiet for a minute or two, both of the boys lost in their own thoughts.
Finally, Riku broke the silence. "I'm glad we're friends, Sora."
"Me too."
[TBC]