Apologies for the late update; got a lot on my plate at the moment. Somehow found the energy to get this out! :)
Sora sits at the table, math textbook open, with a mechanical pencil in his hand. He taps his cheek with the eraser as he wonders what the next step is, what he's supposed to do next. On the tenth tap, the doorbell rings. Ven won't get it, he'd rather stay in his room doing whatever it is he does up there, so Sora grabs his house key and unlocks it himself.
"Hey, kiddo!" the cheery man on the other side of the door says as he steps into the house. Sora says hi back, closes and locks the door, and walks with him down the hall and to the kitchen. The boy sits at the table again, while the man, his brother's babysitter, has a quick chat with him before his brother's bus arrives.
The man's name is Demyx, and he looks after Roxas about every day when he gets home. Demyx is paid by the state, not Sora's parents, so the family doesn't have to worry about spending more money. Demyx is a kind and loving, nurturing type, and prefers to have kids that aren't aggressive or violent. That isn't to say that Demyx is a coward, no, he's just laid back.
"How was school?" he asks, no idea that Sora is doing homework.
"Same old stuff, I guess." Sora moves the mechanical pencil around in his hands. School is school; he and his friends goof off, laugh and have fun. School is one of the only places he feels free. When Sora goes to school, he feels as if the chains around his wrists and ankles are released. Though he's only at school for seven hours, the feeling of freedom is a feeling he never wants to lose. "I don't have as much homework."
Demyx sounds excited when he responds. He always sounds excited. "Sounds pretty great. You got a lot tonight? I was gonna take Roxas to get something to eat, wanna come along?"
Sora hesitated. It's a school night, but it's not like Demyx is going to keep him out forever. Besides, it's only four in the afternoon, and they'll be out an hour tops. But he wants to finish his homework as soon as possible so he can goof off the rest of the night on his computer. "Uh, sure."
"Cool beans! Go ask Ven if he wants to come."
When Sora asks his brother, Ven says no, he doesn't want to go, and immediately closes the door. Sora is stunned for a moment, not used to having a door almost slammed in his face, but recovers quickly. He makes sure he finishes all of his math problems by the time Roxas is home. Roxas is forced to crawl into the back of the car while Sora takes the passenger seat. It's cool; Roxas is probably safer in the back anyway. No one needs to help him put on his seatbelt, he does it himself.
What they're getting is chicken; Sora chooses the little pieces and so does Roxas, while Demyx takes a bite of a chicken sandwich. Roxas eats the fries first, then the chicken, while Sora alternates. Sora also nibbles off the crusty outside of the chicken before eating the rest of it.
It's during this time that Sora gets to look at Demyx. He's young, cute, witty and charming. He's light on his feet and can dodge a punch, but doesn't have much muscle, which is why Sora does most of the holds when Roxas has a meltdown. Demyx loves this outing, too; he's become attached to Roxas, and Roxas responds well to Demyx too. It must be, Sora thinks, because Demyx is a constant in Roxas' life. As Roxas improves, his classes and classrooms change. It causes a sort of unbalance in Roxas, and he can become moody, but Demyx is consistent. Demyx is always there.
Sora feels jealousy.
Soon it's time to go home, so Sora throws away Roxas' trash for him and then wipes his hands with some napkins. He trashes those too, and follows the pair to the car. Again Roxas is in the back, buckling himself in, and Sora takes the passenger seat. It's a quick ride home, and once they're home again, Roxas bounds to his playroom. Sora's mother is home early, but didn't touch his books. He's glad, because he's going right back to work.
Demyx and Sora's mother converse, about their lives, about Roxas, about news, about everything they can think about that day. Sora listens in and out as he reads a long chapter in his history book about American history. It's boring, he thinks; America isn't very exciting, not like the other countries in the world. He thinks Australia's history must be more interesting than America's history. So boring!
Ven finally comes downstairs, dressed in completely different clothing, and catches crap from his mother. "That's more laundry I need to do. What's wrong with the clothes you put on earlier!"
"I just wanted to change," Ven says, and peels a banana. Sora thought about eating that banana earlier, but it's probably going to better use in Ven's body. Sora doesn't know why he thinks that way, he just does.
Their mother asks about school and how their days were. Sora says it was good, thinks about telling her what happened in the cafeteria that day, but is overtaken by Ven. He's so excited to tell his tale that he cuts Sora off. Neither Demyx nor their mother notice, and Sora figures it's better. He can focus on his homework again instead of the conversation everyone is having.
Finally the kitchen table gets too noisy, so Sora moves to the computer room where he can read in peace. It's nice in there; the door closes out a lot of noise and creates a serene space. He thinks about middle school, and how he used to listen to the radio while he did his music in here. Now he can barely stand the radio; it's the same handful of songs over and over between five to six minutes of repeated messages. He didn't want to buy a Honda or a Chevy or whatever; he just wants to listen to some good music!
Which is why Sora turned away from the "mix" channels and listens mostly to an 80s channel. He likes 80s music.
Sora's father comes home a little while later, and then Demyx takes his leave. He says goodbye, I'll be back tomorrow, and closes the door himself this time. Sora's father locks it this time instead of Sora, then gives individual greetings to the family. Then Ven is off again, spouting his tale to their father, who doesn't appear interested. Ven is always involved in some drama, and though he claims to be innocent, his mother knew better. Ven could get mouthy in certain situations, and that caused problems.
"Can you put Roxas to bed?" Sora's father asks. Sora didn't know his father had walked in, but he says yes, he's just about done his notes anyway. When asked to sleep, Roxas took off to his bedroom, leaving Sora to clean up after him. Boxes of cereal, crackers, cookies, his cereal bowl and his cup… Toys on the floor. All of it. Luckily, Sora's done it so many times that he knows the quickest way to get the room clean.
Roxas is easy to tuck in at night. He tucks his feet under the covers at the foot of his bed, and waits to be tucked in for the night. Sora does just that. No tickling this time; Roxas seems too tired for goofing around and Sora's not in a playful mood anyway. He's in a thoughtful one. As he tucks his little brother in, he thinks to himself, "This was a good day. I want more."
Demyx comes the next day. And the next. And the day after that. Roxas is happy. He is content. He is irritated.
Then he snaps.
