He dreams in blue.
In his visions, Roxas looks at the sky — azure in the morning... sapphire in the afternoon... ultramarine at night. Its essence coincides with the aquamarine sea; splish, splash, splosh. The land around him is covered in trees. Wading through the open island, Roxas reaches above him with extended hands, desperate to fly.
Beside him a shadowed silhouette stands, furtively guiding him, like the secret angel it was. He doesn't know it but around the time the seasons come and go, his angel is watching him... near and far. Fall brings in the spirit of the waves and winter brings joy to Father Nature — snow white like his perfect hair, eyes aquamarine flakes. But when flowers bloom and the sun peaks high, the quiet ocean and the deep blue sky live in perfect harmony.
"Take me with you... we can be together..."
And just when Roxas is about to be lifted by the wind personifying invisible arms, the blonde jolts awake in his bedroom, deprived from seeing the face of nature — of true beauty and brilliance.
You're beautiful.
The beach is crowded today. The television this morning reports a high-peaking sun, possibly the hottest day of summer yet. Without further ado, Roxas says farewell to his parents as they occupy themselves with building the backyard gazebo. Ven is out with his best friend Vanitas so it's just him on the shore like always.
He has a feeling something good's about to happen this afternoon.
Treading through the group of sunbathing individuals and young toddlers having fun in the sand, Roxas keeps his eyes open for that one familiar seaweed clump on the shore. The chitter-chattering around him is very distracting, but he manages to get by another hundred metres before he spots it. Bingo.
He doesn't have to squint to know there's someone hanging around the place. Of all the places in the beach... And since Roxas doesn't like random interactions with people, he hopes he doesn't have to tell the person to move elsewhere. Perhaps there was another line of seaweed around somewhere? The days he visited before, there was noone ever really around, so it could be that he's just looking at the wrong place. It wouldn't hurt him to check anyway.
Step... step... step...
The stranger is clad in a plain white shirt and red shorts, cropped just around his knees. Chocolate spikes excusable for hair almost mimics his own, if not for its photographic messiness. He kneels. Roxas pays him little attention as he treks towards that one special spot.
Step... step... step...
"Hmmm... That's odd..."
What the blonde sees is almost what he expects. For one reason or another, the name's not there like it should be. Roxas checks his watch for the time. Is "Sora" running late today?
Has the name finally been washed away like it should?
The seventeen year old looks around, his closed shoes making patterned prints on the grainy sand. There are so many people around. It could be that he'd definitely gotten the spot wrong; there was plenty of this beach for him to keep searching. But naturally washed up seaweed is rare around this place — he would know this from his frequent beach walks. If it wasn't for "Sora" lining up his signature clump of seaweed, he doubts he'd even find the name in the first place.
WAIT.
.
.
.
The seaweed.
.
.
.
It's already here.
.
.
.
And that can only mean...
.
.
.
...Sora is already here.
.
.
.
"I haven't written anything down yet..." the stranger mutters, compelling Roxas to turn around. "I figured I didn't need to, since you come around almost everyday. Thought it was about time we met, yeah?" He's still kneeling on the sand, arranging a group of shells into the shape of a cloud.
Sora.
The mysterious young teen in front of him is Sora.
.
.
.
The Sora he's been looking for all this time.
...You're beautiful.
Shocked and slightly bewildered, the blonde extends a hand out of courtesy to the boy kneeling in front of him. "Umm, hi. I'm Roxas."
"And I'm Sora."
"Sora" grins back, taking Roxas' greeting and returning it with friendly ease. His azure eyes are lighting up. Like the sun in the sky, they twinkle; the boy genuinely ecstatic at the thought of making a new friend. "I'm guessing there's a lot of things you want to ask me, right?"
"Heh, tell me about it..."
It's both exciting and slightly bizzare for Roxas to finally be talking to the writer on the sand.
They settle themselves on the shore, side by side — eyes travelling from the clearing sky to the sea, to the sand and back to their hands, grappling at fine sedimentary grains to pulling at the strings of their shorts. Roxas speaks up first. He tells him how he first came across Sora's name — from Axel's woeful call to his brother Ven's abrupt denial.
"I guess you could call me special." Sora says, chuckling a bit. "Not many people care enough about my visits, so it's nice to finally talk to someone new for a change. Although I don't come across as many people who are as interested in nature as you, so I guess that makes you special too."
But why isn't it fading away? Roxas wants to ask. It's why I was drawn to it in the first place. Letters and words don't just stay in the sand like that for as long as they could...
Sora looks at him with joyfully true blue eyes. Roxas isn't sure if the guy knows what he's thinking, but he is sure of one thing — there was... something about Sora; something...interesting. Something oddly inexplainable and... well, special.
It was the kind of interesting and special enough to draw him to the boy like Sora's enigmatic writing on the shore.
And as he told the sea the other day, Roxas wants to know more. He feels that whoever Sora really is, they could be really, really good friends.
.
.
"I've been writing on the sand to see if anyone would notice. Turns out someone did."
You're beautiful... it's true...
I saw your face... in a crowded place...
Roxas sees Sora again days later. The clouds are out again — nature's physical warnings to prepare for a little precipitation come the next few minutes.
The chocolate-haired boy has a stick in hand and from afar, appears to be tracing patterns into the perfect sand. It's around quarter to five. Several beach walkers disregard the boy's presence as they mar footprints onto his intricate drawings, leading Sora to trace over it again.
"Hey you, can you please jog elsewhere?" Roxas says as he approaches a random passerby. Sora looks up, azure on cerulean, and the passerby huffs and leaves with mutters of "dumb blondes" and their "nonsensical territoriality". The blonde shakes his head.
Some people... they just couldn't help being rude and ignorant of others, could they? The guy could have just walked around!
It's not like he was blind or something! Pfft.
"You didn't have to do that, you know. I'm used to it," Sora explains, redrawing his pattern with several strokes. "Plus, it wouldn't matter much. The art's still here, see?"
No, Roxas doesn't see.
"It was still rude of them to not go around." Crossing his arms, the cerulean eyed-teen rolls his eyes in utter disgust. Such situations contribute to why he was an introverted individual. There are so many people out there who he happens to be better off without, that's for sure. Awful, awful humanity.
All of a sudden, Roxas' pessimistic train of thought is shattered by a laugh.
A hearty laugh.
Is... Is Sora seriously laughing at him?
The once cumulus sky diffuses into pure blue as Sora blooms into a million smiles. "It's nice to know I have someone looking out for me for a change." He says. He takes Roxas' hand and brings him to his side, showing him his current masterpiece.
"It's a dove. See the beak over there?" Sora points to a part of his print-flawed drawing. "It must be nice to fly free, huh..."
"I guess..."
Sora's trying to tell him something, but Roxas doesn't pick up on it. Instead he feels the tide coming in under his feet as the water begins to wash out the shore. Footprints dissolve back into the sand, leaving only a clear image of the bird.
"Someday... but not right now..." Sora whispers to himself as the two of them watch the sea come in and go out.
.
.
.
"Someday, I'll be free."
I don't know what to do...
The two boys continue to meet during several afternoons, alternating their activities from making sloppy sandcastles to splashing at the sea beneath their feet. Ven's actually concerned his brother's been out and about more often than he had for the last seventeen years of his life. When the older blonde confronts him one day, Roxas simply shrugs it off.
"Ventus, I'm just at the beach. Trust me, I'm not too far from home."
It doesn't stop his twin from prying anyway. Even Axel's noticed the younger blonde's slightly more cheerful demeanour — something reminiscent of his own love tirades, if he could say so himself. As if someone could be that happy just going to the beach...
"No," Roxas says firmly. "I'm not seeing some girl. Get over yourselves."
"Bro, even Vanitas thinks you're dating someone. That guy's slower than a sloth, man."
Axel nods. "Heck yeah. And how is it that we haven't even met her?"
"That's because there isn't a "her"! Honestly."
"Yeah right..."
Axel and Ven aren't buying it one bit. However, they don't stop him when Roxas leaves for the door yet again, ready to hang out with his newfound friend.
Roxas learns that as good as Sora was an artist, he was also a good listener. He remembers telling him about starting university soon, and how he'd decided to major in art. Sora doesn't say anything back. He just nods and smiles, azure eyes sparkling with fascination.
"I think whatever you do, you'll do it well." the chocolate-haired teen mumbles, untangling the clump of seaweed into individual leaves.
"How about you, Sora? You're about the same age as me, right? What do you dream of doing?" Roxas asks.
"Mmm..."
He mistakes Sora's uncertainty for shyness, and Roxas couldn't really blame him. Sometimes he has trouble talking to others as well. "When I'm finally an adult, I'm going to visit the most spectacular places in the world. Someday, I'll find a beautiful place to live in... trees in the backyard, flowers everywhere..." It's a wonder that he's opening up to someone he'd just known several days ago — it usually takes Roxas longer to be comfortable with someone. But there's something about Sora that makes him keel in...
Maybe it's the way they're slightly alike personality wise — quiet, art and nature lovers. Sora's not rowdy like Axel or talkative like Demyx, and he's certainly not overprotective like Ventus. Sora was like him. Like a different version of himself in a another person. And heh, Roxas rolls his eyes at the random thought, they could even be "soulmates" if he could call it that. Someone he was meant to meet, one way or the other.
What in the world is he thinking?
Time flies by so quickly and the sun's about to set — sapphire hues slowly but surely, saturating into apricot. Sora gets up abruptly. "I... I have to go now, Roxas." The's azure-eyed teen's jittery for some reason, and as if on cue, the sky darkens slightly as a mysterious fog kicks up.
"Umm, uhh... sure Sora. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah. See you."
A faint crackle of possible thunder causes Roxas to look up, and just when he realizes he should probably ask for Sora's phone number, the chocolate-haired boy has already disappeared.
"...Umm, okay then. Guess I'll ask tomorrow..." Roxas says to himself, ready to return home to avoid the coming storm. The weather has been quite unpredictable lately.
...You caught my eye, as I walked on by.
"Hey."
"Hmmm? Oh hi Roxas."
Azure eyes sparkle at the sight of his new summer friend.
"Err, my brother Ven made some cookies. I brought you some." the blonde tells him, handing Sora a box of it. They're sprawled out on the damp sand like usual, watching the rage of the sea. The tide is high this afternoon. Sora's been doodling here and there before Roxas arrived, so the shore around them is marked with words and patterns.
"Mmmm... these are really nice. Thank you~" the chocolate-haired boy smiles from ear to ear. Roxas has to look away from him for a moment, because like the summer sun, Sora's beautiful smile is blinding. He'll have to thank Ventus later for the idea.
"Since you're secretly seeing someone and all — don't even try to deny it, I don't care if you are — you may as well bring her something. Here."
Tch. Roxas doesn't get it. He finds it peculiar that he's still trying to explain to himself why he's compelled to visit Sora as often as possible. He'll probably never know why the sky on the sand never fades away, and maybe he doesn't want to know because he hasn't properly asked the brunette yet. Sora's company makes him happy, and even though the beach around them is filled with local strangers, it feels as if they are the only two people there.
Definitely peculiar.
"Roxas, I'm bored." the brunette declares all of sudden, rising to his feet with a determined look on his face. "Let's go swimming. Right here and right now! I mean what's the use of visiting the beach without swimming, right?"
"I don't have a swimsuit, though, s-whoaa!" The blonde doesn't even get to finish his sentence as Sora pulls him into the icy waters of the beach — stumbling and fumbling and feigning for his balance but ultimately failing and tripping over his feet. Sora laughs, sunlight falling over him.
"Dude, what was that for? I can't go home like this!"
"Teehee, neither can I. Sorry..." he grins, and Roxas loses the hesitance to forgive him. Instead he gets him back by splashing at the brunette, and immediately that smile turns into a funny scowl.
"Hey! No fair! Wasn't ready~!"
"Too bad Sor." Another splash attack from the other and they're both laughing at the shallow ends of the sea.
"That's it. You're going down!"
"Not if I get you first!"
Splish. Splash. Splosh. The sea brings together the sky and his light.
Splosh. Splash. Splish. He'll wait for as long as it takes. The light will love his sky someday.
"Oh no. I can't believe I lost against you..." Sora brings himself back on the sand, legs crossed and arms outstretched, his head back in the clouds. Roxas follows after a second or two and they lie on the shore together.
"My problem now is how I'll get dry." Roxas chuckles. He squeezes a handful of blonde spikes free of water, but it's not enough.
"It was fun though. I've done both many things and little things. That was one of the little things."
"You've never played in the sea before even though you're always here?"
Shaking his head, the brunette thinks of how he could explain it... "Well, I'm not always here. I'm... err, you could say, a summer person. I usually hang around by myself. I don't think it's any fun playing in the sea on my own though."
"Oh."
Roxas kind of understands. He wasn't too social himself, so he knows the thrill of being with someone for a change. It's funny, because before he met Sora, he wouldn't have dared to imagine he could have this much fun with another individual just like him before. Sure, he has Axel and Demyx. He has his brother who is constanly there in the vicinity. But now he has Sora too, with his ultraviolet smile and clear blue eyes.
The blonde reaches out for one of the brunette's hands. "Rest assured, You have me now. So you won't be alone anymore."
"R-Really?"
The promise on Roxas' lips solidifies. "Yeah. Really."
And the setting daylight sparkles and shines, a burst of colour melting the summer heavens. White, yellow, gold, blue; cherry blurs of beauty. Sora isn't alone anymore.
He never was, and he never will be.
Sora isn't alone anymore.
You can see from my face that I was... flying high...
The time has come for the family to meet the girl of Roxas' dreams.
"Shut up, Axel. That's not funny. If you won't stop being a jerk then you can stay around and clean the kitchen." Roxas is putting on his favourite pair of combat boots. He's ready for another beach outing, but Axel and Ven insist they come with as well.
"Oh come on, Rox. She must be really endearing if you constantly visit her. Is she blue-eyed? We both know how much you love the colour blue."
"Oh shut it."
Ven's outfit is a close replica of Roxas' — he apparently wants to test if this girl his only brother has been pining for loved Roxas enough to be able to tell them apart.
"Are you kidding me right now? You two are such drags."
Ventus laughs. "Just be thankful Vanitas or Demyx aren't here. Dude, Dem would be publicly serenading whoever she is and Vani would—"
"Okay, thank you very much, shut up." The sun is far from going down, but Roxas hopes if he hurries these two hooligans would get lost and give up.
When they arrive, the beach is less packed than normal. The redhead's tossing a yoyo up and down whilst scanning the crowd for potential Roxas-lovers. Ventus remains silent, hands in his pockets as he joins the search. The air is dry and warm, but not to the point where it stings one's skin like a hostile heat wave.
"Wooow. She must be some hottie if she's always at the beach huh. Woot woot."
"Better than you could score anyway, Axel."
"Says who? The girls I pine fo— erhem, I mean, feel an attraction for just don't understand what they're missing out on." he grins, doing that weird clicking sound with his mouth again.
...Why oh why do they have to follow him?
Roxas soon spots Sora tracing patterns into the sand a few metres away, and hoping to outrun the two he brushes past families ready to go home as a means to hide. The seventeen year old's panting when he gets there — Sora just eyeing him inquisitively.
"Hello Roxas. Were you running from someone?"
If he'd been looking up Roxas would have noticed the slightly scarlet hue of the sky. A rose-like tint like the coming of the sunset, an abstract complement to sapphire jewels. He does spot Sora smile, and just like that Roxas feels a whole lot better. If only it's enough to let him ignore Axel and Ven.
"Oh come on, Rox! It's not fun to just leave us alone like that!" Ven hollers as he comes face-to-face with Sora unknowingly. Axel agrees, still playing with his yoyo. "So when are we gonna meet her? You've seen her, haven't you? It's why you ran."
"Nngggh..."
The green-eyed boy is about to hit his new best friend with that infuriating toy of his, and Roxas snaps. "Watch it, Ax. You're gonna hit someone." He drags Sora some feet away from the two, checking he's all okay. The azure-eyed boy says nothing.
"I'm sorry, Sora. They— they followed me and I couldn't..." The three stare at each other with puzzled looks — his blonde brother and his best friend terribly uncomfortable. "—couldn't get away."
Sora nods, the stick he is holding gripped tightly between dainty fingers. Who is this "her" the two are talking about? "Umm, that's okay..."
"Bro... Roxas... I don't understan—" Roxas' twin trails off.
"I'm with you on that, Ven, I can't believ—"
"No, you listen to me," the cerulean-eyed teen says. "You wanted to meet Sora, so here he is. There is none of this "her" business, and don't say I didn't tell you." He is standing between them, arms outstretched protectively to shield his beautiful sky.
"Sora, this is my best friend Axel. The blonde on the right's my twin brother Ventus. They're both hooligans, I'm sorry. Don't pay them any mind."
The shore behind them crashes violently into marred sand, filling up their unwanted silence.
"Hi, I guess." Ven mutters, elbowing Axel to reply.
"Yeah, err, nice to meet you... S-Sora?"
Emerald eyes and cerulean travel just above Sora's head, like they're awkwardly afraid to meet his eyes. The brunette in question stays speechless and blinks. Reaching out to shake one of their hands, Sora backs away when they don't respond. They're just like everyone else, unfortunately.
"Nice to meet you, Axel and Ven."
The two leave sooner or later, whispering amongst themselves as Roxas continues to keep Sora company. He's gone mad. All this time and they never expected that their brother and friend's anti-social behaviour has taken a turn for the extreme. But Roxas is happy. Axel has noticed his eyes, alight with pure glee, leave not the unsubstantial figure in front of him. Ventus can't deny the love Roxas has for this Sora — his attraction evident from these daily visits and the way he's picked up a bright summer smile.
Roxas, on the other hand, can't help but want to be closer to the azure-eyed boy. There is something so exhilarating from seeing someone he feels he can relate to, and if the blonde only looks close enough, he would see that Sora feels the same way. It feels natural, almost, to dedicate his time to these summer escapades. To listen to the song of the ocean, to be surrounded by nature's beautiful wonders. It's perfect. And to think all this comes from his wild curiosity, from the words on the shore that brought two and two together.
And from human nature alone, Roxas still desires for more.
"Sora, can't you stay a little longer?" Roxas mutters. The brunette always leaves before or when the sun sets. He's tried to get him to stay, but Sora is shy and refuses to change his mind. "I can't stay. Roxas, I have to go."
They can't drop by to other places either, and Sora doesn't even have a phone. Roxas has even tried inviting him back to his home for dinner. But unlike the patterns on the sand, Sora has to leave sooner or later. The cerulean-eyed teen just watches him go.
He swears, everytime he blinks even once, Sora is gone before he knows it.
When the sky is black-blue and the stars shine their first glimmers of light upon the earth, Roxas goes home with the hope for a better tomorrow. He feels ecstatic for reasons he can't explain — the fact that his new friend is the cause of this puzzles him somehow. But when Ventus and Axel greet him at the door, that feeling disappears as he's met with worried and concerned expressions.
"What do you two want?" It's futile to push past them, the persistent nuisances they are. The television voice over tells him his parents are in the living room, and when he leaves for his bedroom Axel pulls at his arm like he expected.
"Roxas, we need to talk. About Sora." His twin all but knows that it's not a good way to start a discussion.
"Can you just leave me alone? If you don't like him then fine, but that's not going to stop me from visiting him."
Axel clears his throat, his normally fixed hands fidgety with a hinted fear that his best friend would lash out. "There's something wrong, Roxas. Don't get us wrong, we're really happy for you. So happy. Extremely happy."
"Don't push it, Ax." Roxas says. Ven's not feigning well with this either. They're staring at Roxas from elevated steps, and he of all people knows how angry Roxas can get.
"What we're trying to say is... there's something off with Sora. And it's not that he's umm, a guy—" Cerulean begins to boil into an infuriated indigo, "-but... you see...umm..."
The red-haired teen saves his brother from agony. "...Roxas, remember when Ven said you saw some unwashable words on the sand?"
The younger blonde barely nods. "What about it?"
"Well, err, Sora- he..."
"Roxas. The person we supposedly met today? We... couldn't see him. It was like you were talking to the wind."
.
.
.
Axel's prepared for the incessant hitting, but when none comes, he's almost baffled.
It seems that there is more to Sora than Roxas originally knew.
...I don't think that I'll see you again...