Well, we're off to a good start with my revamped goals for this story. The semester starts on the 21st, so I wanted to get at least one more chapter out before then, but optimistically, school won't slow me down too much. I have the next few chapters outlined nearly to completion, and I'm finally getting an idea of just how long this story will be.

I'm sure you've recognized the format by now, but this chapter will also feature memories shown in italics.

Thank you for reviewing chapter 13:

thoughts-of-joy-dreams-of-love: I know I've already PM'd you, but I'll say it again: Thank you so much for reviewing! It was super encouraging to see that review count go up after this story's been untouched for so long.

Chapter Fourteen: The Big Reveal

The next morning, Roxas awoke slowly. It occurred to him as he lay there that the sun was in the wrong place in the sky. The logical thought that followed was that he must be late. Setting his alarm hadn't exactly been a priority last night. He wasn't terribly troubled by this conclusion.

He heard his door creak open and looked up to see his brother standing in the doorway. Sora wasn't dressed and ready for the day either, but he looked fully alert at least, which was strange in itself given how the brunet twin felt about mornings.

As soon as it was clear he'd been seen, Sora gave his brother a small, solemn smile. He let himself into the room and shut the door behind him. Sora climbed up onto the bed, and Roxas scooted over so they could both rest up against the pillows, shoulder to shoulder.

For one quiet moment, all was still. At last, Roxas asked, "What time is it?"

"A little after ten," Sora answered. "Cloud and Leon said we could stay home today. They're both still out in the living room."

Roxas closed his eyes for a beat. "What's happening to our lives, Sora?"

His brother nudged him playfully, and Roxas could picture the smile on his face. "You say that like our lives were ever calm and peaceful."

Roxas opened his eyes again and turned his head to look at his twin. Their eyes met and they shared another moment of silence and stillness. It was Sora's default to joke and keep things light, but Roxas knew he'd been understood.

For so long, their 'normal' had been to push ahead. After all, life went on, right? He could feel a definitive shift in the atmosphere since the day before. The entire world seemed to have slowed down, though Roxas was sure this feeling would evaporate the second he left the house and actually rejoined the world…

But still… For now, he was struck with the same sense of accomplishment and assurance that he'd encountered the night before. Progress. It was time they—all four of them—stopped running and faced their demons head on.

"Roxas?" his brother whispered, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Hmm?"

"I did something kinda impulsive." Sora's voice remained at a sheepish whisper, as if he couldn't quite bring himself to say the words aloud.

This was probably the point where he was supposed to feel dread bubbling up in the pit of his stomach. He didn't. Roxas just smiled and gave his brother a look like, What else is new?

Sora grinned nervously back and dug his phone out of the pocket of his sweat pants. He flipped through a few screens before handing it over.

Roxas read through the last message his brother had sent… and the seven responses. "How did you get Aerith's number?" he asked at last.

"Kairi. Roxas…" Sora was watching him like he'd watch a ticking bomb. He seemed to be worried his twin hadn't fully comprehended the message. "I called an extra session tonight… I want to talk about it."

Roxas didn't have to ask what 'it' referred to. "I saw."

"Please say something," Sora begged.

"I… figured," Roxas admitted. "I can feel it, too. It's just… time, you know?"

Another moment of silence.

"Sora…" Roxas began to feel the first prickles of unease as tears welled up in his brother's eyes.

Without warning, Sora threw his arms around Roxas, his face buried in his twin's shirt. Roxas, his own eyes lost in the mess of his brother's hair, hugged him back, just as tight.

"I thought," Sora choked out. But his voice was too muffled. He pulled back, wiping his eyes. "For years, I thought… I thought I didn't have the right to tell it, you know? 'Cause it's your story too, and I know you don't like to talk about it."

"Sora," Roxas said again, this time assaulted by guilt. It was true. He didn't like to talk about it. But an unwelcome little truth was making its presence known at the back of his mind. He knew he'd always justified his silence by telling himself he was protecting Sora. He could handle it, if he had to. But why put his brother through all that emotional trauma?

It wasn't just guilt. The shame washed over him in waves. "Sora… I'm sorry."

His brother just looked at him with wide eyes, so he elaborated, "You were right… I've been lying to myself for a long time, hiding behind this idea that you needed protection. It made me feel strong, I guess. Like I had more control over the situation than I actually did. But you've been protecting me just as much. I didn't realize that. And I'm sorry if I've held you back."

Now they were both teary-eyed, but Sora was smiling. A real smile, unhindered by guilt or nerves. They embraced again, and Roxas began to mentally prepare himself for the night ahead. It wouldn't be easy, but they would take the next step together.

…

Sora and Roxas stood outside a minute, staring up at the building. Their fathers had finally driven away, having offered repeatedly to at least walk them in.

The twins had spent the day lounging around the house. It had been a quiet day, one brother never far from the other. The solemn atmosphere had never left them, but they hadn't openly discussed what they were in for that night.

Now they took a deep breath in unison and began this journey, hand in hand. And they didn't let go of each other even as they arrived in the doorway to their group's meeting room.

This time, they were the first ones there. The two just stood there in silence for a second before Roxas moved forward again. He began to move the plastic chairs out of their circular formation. It just felt too… formal. Sora helped him, and Axel arrived before they were even halfway through.

Roxas was aware of the older boy trying to catch his eye all throughout their mundane task, but neither said a word. Slowly, their other group members filtered in, some looking curious, Naminé flashing them both an encouraging smile.

By the time Aerith walked into the room, the eight teenagers had seated themselves in their usual circle on the floor. Their circle had condensed a bit. Almost subconsciously, they were all sitting more closely than usual. The woman gracefully took her place among them, nodding at the twins who were once again grasping each other's hands.

"What, no candles this time?" Axel cracked, breaking up the tension a little. Naminé shot him an amused smile.

Roxas felt his brother squeeze his hand as Sora set the ball rolling. "Yesterday was…" Sora glanced at his twin who only nodded. "We had a rough night. Obviously, you all got my text this morning, since you're here."

"You probably think you already know this story," Roxas spoke up quietly. He kept his eyes glued to the floor, but he was picturing Kairi poring over her grandparents' old newspapers. "But there's a lot the media didn't cover."

They'd gained the group's undivided attention and respectful silence. Roxas felt Sora glance hesitantly at him one last time before continuing, "We were four when our parents—our biological parents—got divorced."

…

"What are you boys doing down here?" Terra crouches down in front of his sons, looking tired but gentle. Sora and Roxas had fled to the basement—long ago converted into a weight room—at the first sound of raised voices.

"You and Mommy were fighting again," Sora accused meekly.

Terra sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. Larxene had stormed out just minutes before. "Yeah… Boys… Your mother and I… we've decided it would be best if we didn't live together anymore. We know you don't like to hear us fighting all the time."

"What about us?" Roxas cuts in, wide-eyed.

"Well, we're still… working out the details, but you'd still get to see us both… just not at the same time."

…

"They didn't actually tell us about it until September," Sora explained. "Years later, we found out they'd filed for divorce back in July, right after our birthday. We were young—"

"But we knew something was going on," Roxas picked up. "It was all very civil at first. One week Dad would stay in the house with us and the next week Mom would. They stayed with friends on their off-weeks. They were trying to put us first… But they couldn't be in the same room long enough even to switch us off without fighting. The months went on, and their custody battle got worse. Mom was…"

"She has shizoaffective bipolar disorder," Sora finished when Roxas's words choked off. "Or, I think schizoaffective disorder: bipolar type is how you actually say it. Cloud and Leon explained it as best they could years ago, but we don't really talk about it."

"At the time, we didn't even know she was sick," said Roxas when he found his voice.

And why should they have known? After all, who in their right mind tells a pair of four-year-olds that their mother is dancing right at the edge of insanity? But he could remember feeling betrayed when they had been told. Didn't they have a right to know what was lurking in their DNA?

"The last argument they had… The one that really set her off…" Fuck. Why was this so hard? He felt like he'd known the details forever. Why did the words seem to stick in his throat whenever he tried to voice them?

Sora came to his rescue yet again. "Terra… Our father, I mean, he found out our mother wasn't taking her medicine and he accused her of being an unfit mother."

…

"Unfit," Larxene hisses as she rushes from room to room, throwing 'essentials' into a pre-packed suitcase. "What gives him the right to judge me? To suggest I can't function without a bunch of pills?"

Sora and Roxas watch her tirade from the hallway where they stand huddled together. There's apprehension in their eyes, the beginnings of fear.

"Well? Why are you just standing there?" she snaps when she slows down enough to catch sight of them. The both jump. "I told you both, go pack enough clothes for a few days and anything else you want to bring with you. Only the essentials. Now hurry!"

They scurry off to comply. Neither of her boys is brave enough to ask where they will be bringing these things.

…

"Do you usually call them by their names?"

Kairi's question snaps them both out of the memory. "Uh, what?"

"Your biological parents," Kairi clarifies. "Do you usually refer to them as Terra and Larxene? I tried out my parents' names, and my grandma freaked. But you can remember them actually being your parents. I can't."

"We don't usually use Larxene's name," Sora said slowly. We don't usually talk about her at all, he left out. "But, I mean, we don't have anyone trying to take that spot… Cloud and Leon have been our real dads for a long time. Somewhere along the way, our biological father kind of just became Terra."

"But you call your 'real' dads Cloud and Leon," Riku pointed out.

"Not to their faces," Roxas countered a little impatiently.

The group shifted a bit, the darkness of the story interrupted by their sidetrack questions. But they settled down again easily, aware that this was the point where things were about to get bad.

"So, it was December by then…" For the first time, Sora seemed to be stumbling over his words, his momentum lost. "One day, our mom picked us up from school. It wasn't her week, and this had been going on long enough for our teacher to know that it wasn't her week. So she called Terra at work…"

There was silence for a moment. Roxas tightened his grip around his brother's hand and immediately felt Sora squeeze back. How to even begin to describe what happened next?

"Take your time." Aerith's voice was soft.

Roxas's throat was beyond dry, and Sora had begun to chew on his bottom lip. The cheerful, open twin was on the verge of shutting down. Roxas figured it was his turn to step up to the plate.

"She…" He cleared his throat, very aware that all eyes were on him. "She rushed us home, had us each pack a bag, and…"

"Breathe, kid." The interruption came from Axel, who was watching him the most intently. Roxas finally looked up to meet his eyes, remembering how he'd watched Axel tell his own story. Twice. He nodded and took another deep breath. His voice was stronger when he spoke again. Strong enough to make Sora look up.

"Terra showed up just as we were leaving. He chased us for a while, but eventually Mom lost him. She was going on about some plan to take us far, far away… We ran out of gas in Hollow Bastion."

"Not the best place to be stranded for three weeks… In the dead of winter." Sora was clearly trying to make light of it, but his voice dropped at the end.

Three weeks, Roxas saw Naminé mouth, but their audience remained silent, if a bit apprehensive.

"Those three weeks were… hell," Roxas said at last. "It snowed every couple of days, and Mom was… not right. But back then, we didn't know she was sick."

"It's funny, 'cause the signs seem so obvious now. There were some days when she wouldn't get out of bed and others where she would drag us out into the middle of a snowstorm just to windowshop, because our hotel room was smothering her."

Sora's voice was thick, and the group seemed to have zeroed in on this, wondering if the first tears were about to be shed. But Roxas was brought back to another time.

...

The little blond boy keeps his head down, but the wind and snow continue to sting his face. The snow has been falling for a while now; the sidewalks are coated with it, freezing their toes through their sneakers as well.

Larxene has one boy on either side of her, grasping their hands so they don't trail behind. They've ducked into three different little coffee shops by now, the patrons of each one giving them different directions back to their hotel. Their friendly advice doesn't appear to be doing much good. It's dark now, and they're still lost. Every shady street in this stupid town looks almost exactly the same.

The sound of sniffling draws Roxas's eyes to his brother, an entire world away on the other side of their mother.

…

That image of Sora crying in the snow, the tears practically freezing before they could drip down his face, was still one of his most vivid memories. Those three weeks were the first time it had really been clear to him that he and his twin were very different. Sora had been brought to tears frequently throughout their ordeal. Roxas had not cried once until they were safe.

He wondered now if that's why Sora had bounced back so much quicker after their rescue. His brother had responded well to the nurses' attempts to keep them engaged and in good cheer. Roxas, on the other hand, had been a mess. Suddenly, he found himself crying over everything, the tiniest problems sending him spiraling into complete meltdowns.

Sora took in a shaky breath to steady himself. Roxas continued, "Back home… Terra had the entire police force working overtime. He had a lot of friends and connections. Eventually they did track us down, but… one of those connections tipped off Terra first. He got there before the police did and…"

"By that time," Sora picked up, "Mom was stuck in some sort of delusion. We didn't understand most of it at the time, but she would go on these angry rants about how she was keeping us safe. She thought Terra was cheating on her and that he was part of some sort of drug ring…"

"Sometimes we'd wake up and she wasn't there…" Roxas went on. "Hollow Bastion is a rough place. She found a way to get her hands on a gun…"

A few people stiffened at the last word. This was the part of the story the media had focused on. They all knew what was coming next. Sora ducked his head down, but at this point, Roxas couldn't stop.

"Terra burst into the room, shouting something… And Larxene shot him."

The words came out mechanically, as if he was reading them off a report and not recounting a memory.

"You saw that?" The words came from Fuu, her eyes wide and horrified.

One twin nodded as the other shook his head.

"I wasn't looking," Sora said quietly. "But I heard it."

"The police weren't far behind," Roxas continued as if the interruption hadn't happened. "But the paramedics arrived too late. They dragged our mother out in handcuffs, and they took us straight to the hospital, even though we weren't hurt."

"Roxas." It was Naminé. She was staring at him worriedly.

He blinked, finally breaking off his monologue. The entire room looked a little shaken up. There was a haunted look in his eyes, a dead quality to his voice. Sora, too, was looking at him with wide eyes. Roxas was suddenly aware of how tightly he was gripping his twin's hand.

Roxas pulled back suddenly, releasing his brother's hand for the first time since the start of their story. He began to breathe normally again and ducked his head, blocking his view of the room.

"Would you like to take a break?" Aerith's voice was steady. She looked every bit the professional.

"No…" Sora grabbed his hand back, though they were both stiff and clammy. "Let's finish this."

"What's left?" Kairi looked horrified at the prospect of the story getting worse, but Sora offered her a smile.

"Most of the story. This is where it starts to get good."

His words had the desired effect. A grin began tugging at Roxas's expression as well.

"They kept us hospitalized for a while," Sora continued, encouraged by the sudden lightness of the tale. "The social workers wanted us to move on as quickly as possible. Neither of our parents had any family, so that meant foster care for us. But the nurses were nice. The only thing they could officially treat us for was shock, and they argued that throwing us into an orphanage would be detrimental to any progress we'd made."

"Our biological father wasn't the only one with legal connections," Roxas cut in, getting into the spirit.

The twins smiled at each other. Real smiles. Sora's words were almost triumphant. "We first met Cloud and Leon on Christmas Day. They kept us in the hospital for another week and a half, and Cloud and Leon visited every day. They got all the legal stuff straightened out in record time, and we got to go home and start our new lives."

It was a nice story, but their smiles were a bit deceiving. Sora had sugarcoated the tale, leaving out how these 'new lives' were still peppered with nightmares and a resistance to suddenly being gifted replacement parents. As if Happily Ever After was really that simple.

"I don't mean to be the one weighing you down again…" And Naminé truly did look apologetic. "But what about the rest of the story? What happened to your mother?"

Roxas's mouth was set in a grim line. "She fought her charges with an insanity plea and won. She spent the next four years in an institution—"

"Four years?" Riku exclaimed incredulously at the exact same moment Axel burst out, "She murdered her husband!"

This time Sora's smile was sad. "She really is a different person when she's on her medication… And she had to take it when she was… hospitalized. She got a lawyer and went back to court. The judge gave her mandatory outpatient treatment… She had to check back in with some approved doctor on a regular basis, but she was free."

Sora maintained his sad smile as Axel grumbled about how this was "bullshit." Roxas squeezed his hand again, hoping this was the end of it. Neither of them wanted to go into the most recent developments. How, after ten years, Larxene had suddenly voluntarily checked herself into treatment and what this might mean for their futures.

"And you told me you weren't strong enough for this." They'd just bared their souls, shared a horrific story, and Naminé was smiling at him. Teasing him. This should have felt offensive or out of place. It didn't. He smiled back.

Roxas looked around the circle again, fully aware of how far they've come since that first day. There were still a lot of closed doors, but he saw trust in their eyes. Or, the beginnings of it at least. Looking around this group now, he was starting to feel like recovery just might be possible. This was just a first step. But they were on their way.

Review please!

I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Wow… I don't think this is actually the longest chapter I've posted, but it sure felt like it… Usually, the bulk of my chapters are all written in one sitting. This one was done over three or four writing sessions. But I am so glad it's finally out.

I know I mentioned this early on… But this story is my story… only dramatized a bit so I could fit Cloud and Leon into the story. I think the scary thing is, after writing it out in story format… I really didn't have to exaggerate much. My mother didn't kill my father… but I still have no contact with her.

Okay, I think that's enough about how this was my own personal sob story. Thank you for reading, and hopefully there won't be too much of a delay for chapter fifteen!