Kairi shuffled through the door, breath heavy and painful.

It was the heart of the winter—the coldest winter Destiny Islands had ever seen—and the Academy was planted directly in the middle of the worst of it. The snow had piled up immensely, making it harder to walk from class to class; a walk that was once five minutes for Kairi had now slowed to a long, torturous half hour. The school seemed to be having trouble keeping the snow at bay, too; machines were constantly out, pushing snow from the paths and tossing sand on the ice to give pedestrians some traction. Already, fifteen people had fallen on the slippery paths and gotten concussions. One boy went out to buy a snack one evening and ended up getting caught in a white-out, and was lost for two days.

Kairi dumped her books on the floor, letting out a cry of exhaustion. She sniffled, tearing off her icy mitts and struggling to take off her snow-filled boots. "Anyone make any dinner?" She called out, hoping at least one person had thought of her whilst cooking. She didn't feel up to doing anything but vegging out for a good hour or two.

From out down the hallway, a deep voice called back. "Of course," It chimed. There was a moment's pause before a blonde head poked out from the doorway of the kitchen, blue eyes shimmering with joy. "Chicken fettuccine."

Kairi's expression instantly lifted, lips spreading into a wide grin. "Roxas!" She hissed, elated. "You're back!"

He smiled a bit sheepishly, stepping out of the kitchen and meeting Kairi halfway down the hallway after she started to stumble towards him. As soon as they were close enough, she threw her body at his, hugging him tightly; he hugged back, then flinched away.

"You're cold as hell. Get in the kitchen—food's hot. Maybe it'll help."

Kairi shivered, nodding and following him along towards the delicious scent wafting from the door. "Great."

The girls were all in the kitchen, and as soon as Kairi entered the conversation seemed impossible to stop. Roxas handed her a steaming dish of fettuccine and plopped her down in a seat, urging her to eat while everyone else chatted. The girls all seemed rather pleased that Roxas was back, especially Namine; she clung to him, their hands seeming permanently tied up to one another. If he moved even a step, she would also move one; it was like they were a single entity. When she looked at him, it was with complete adoration.

Roxas, of course, seemed happy to be back. He held on to Namine just as tightly. For whatever reason, they no longer seemed as shy about their little romance—one that they'd kept fairly quiet about, not speaking about it even in the slightest although their friends were obviously aware of it—and didn't seem afraid to lean into one another quietly.

Kairi couldn't help but feel happy for them. She knew how miserable each of them was away from one another, and now they were reunited, stronger than ever. She supposed that's the way it worked—distance makes the heart grow fonder. She wolfed down the fettuccine to stop herself from thinking about herself and a certain ocean-eyed, spiky-haired boy in the same situation as her friends.

Slowly, bit by bit, the girls all slipped away, heading to bed. Eventually, there was only Roxas, Namine and Kairi left, talking and chatting and laughing. It seemed natural with them. Laughter didn't seem so momentary.

But, as Kairi had expected, the conversation dimmed and Roxas spoke, his voice soft with concern.

"Have you seen him?"

Kairi's eyes immediately dropped to the floor. She did that a lot, whenever anything reminded her of Sora. She was beginning to miss him so much it hurt. "No. Not once."

Roxas' blue eyes narrowed slightly. "He's always with security." He paused. "They don't let him leave the dorm."

Namine frowned. "How is that allowed? That's gotta be intruding on some sort of legal rights of his…"

Roxas shrugged. "Absolutely, it is. But who can we tell? The Dean sure as hell doesn't care. She's the one who assigned the guards."

"And there's no phones on campus," Namine muttered, slumping slightly. "What do we do, then?"

Kairi's eyes were still trained on the ground, hands clasped together. Her throat felt tight, almost too tight—it was painful. She couldn't help but feel pity for Sora, which she knew would annoy the shit out of him if he knew about it. He was trapped, constantly stuck in his dorm building all alone. She wanted to run over there and rip him from his bed, sneak out with him and never come back. She wanted to steal him and hoard him away and never let the Dean touch him again.

But she was here and he was there and she couldn't save him.

"Maybe there is a way," Namine said, straightening a bit. She looked over to Kairi. "You guys snuck around here and we didn't catch on for a while, right?"

"Yeah," Kairi nodded. "He's smart like that. He always knew how to keep from getting caught."

"So, maybe he has a plan. Maybe he's already thought one up—he just can't tell us how to do it."

"Sure," Kairi shrugged. Sora was cunning enough to come up with a plan. He was always better than her at that. "But that's the problem—I can't talk to him."

Namine smiled, her hand patting Roxas' chest as she spoke. "Very true. But, we do know someone who lives right down the hallway from dear Sora…"

Kairi's eyes widened. "Roxas!" She cried, shock rushing through her. "You—you can be our middleman!"

"I can?" He blinked.

"Yes, dopey," Namine teased, but with a loving tone. "You live in his building, right? So, talk to him. Figure things out, see if he has a plan. Then, tell us. We can coordinate."

A twinge of hope stabbed through Kairi's chest.

"Sounds great and all, but there isn't a moment that the guards aren't beside him. How exactly do I talk to him about breaking out with them breathing down my neck?" Roxas' blue eyes, despite his realistic approach, twinkled with hope.

Namine frowned. "Well…you'll have to go undercover." She paused. "You know, play the part of the innocent roomie. Gain their trust. Infiltrate the system."

Roxas made a face. "In simple terms, please? Not everyone took war history and learned about the secret Russian spies."

"Oh, you simpleton," She snorted. "Alright—you're gonna have to stay there, stay away from us, that's for sure."

Kairi frowned. "Why?"

"Because," Namine nodded, speaking slowly to make it more clear. "They've definitely got you on their radar, Kairi. If Roxas is seen interacting with you too much, they'll catch on. Even if he's interacting with the girls or me too much, they'll dig deeper. Roxas, you've gotta stay away for a while. Stay at your place, hang around there. Start talking to Sora, just about normal things. Eventually—hopefully—they'll trust you a bit more, seeing as they'll think you're harmless. Then, when they trust you enough, you strike. Make a plan with him, and tell it to us. Easy."

Roxas groaned. "I have to stay there? That means—"

"No sleepovers. Sorry," Namine sighed, patting his cheek. "We can't be seen together."

He frowned even deeper. "Why am I doing this again?"

"Because Kairi is our nicest, loveliest friend and she needs her boy back," Namine leaned into Roxas, resting her chin on his shoulder. He wrapped his hand around her waist. "It won't be too hard."

"You sure?"

"Positive," She smiled.

Kairi shifted, feeling like she was intruding in their sweet, adorable little moment. "You really don't have to do this," She murmured. "You guys should spend your time together—"

"It's alright, Kairi," Roxas replied, eyes honest. "We will spend time together—once we've gotten Sora back. It's only fair."

"Fair?" She blinked. "How?"

Namine spoke up. The answer seemed obvious to her. "You never told anyone about us, even when I ratted you and Sora out." She shrugged. "We sort of owe you."

Kairi looked down. "You don't owe me anything."

Roxas let out a heavy breath. "Shut up, Kairi, and let me do this for you, okay?"

She blinked, looking up to him in surprise. "Okay."

Namine beamed. "Okay."

"I'm gonna head to bed," Kairi said, noticing the cutesy look fluttering into her two friends' eyes again. She put her dish in the sink and made her way up the stairs, then flopped into bed, not bothering to change out of her clothes.

She couldn't think straight. Her head was swarming, swamped with the thoughts of seeing Sora again and touching his face and hearing his laugh. It seemed sort of like a far off dream, one that was fuzzy and unstable—but she wanted it so badly.

That night, she dreamt of back home. Her tall, shabby house with the smell of her dad's cooking wafting through it, and her sitting in the attic watching the water at night, ocean high above. The water seemed bright, even in the dark of the night. Unusually bright. Almost like it was hopeful, too.