The year 1773 brought the end of a rebellion in North Carolina. While the North Carolinians had won the struggle, it only proved to British forces that their control was slipping.
By now, Kairi had a child: a boy with black hair and inky eyes named Noctis. Axel had finally moved out of the house he and his brother had owned to live in a small house near the shipyard with Roxas. Roxas would look upon the faces of his nephews and silently wish for a child of his own, but he did not know how to make that dream a reality.
Prompto married a woman named Cindy Aurum; she had been Cid's apprentice at the shipyard in Manhattan, and the two continued to live in Manhattan where Prompto worked alongside the New York Sons. Only Reno remained a bachelor at age twenty-seven.
Hayner, Pence, and Olette remained in contact with Sora, though their adult lives kept them busy. Hayner and Olette had a daughter named Selphie, and Pence carried on his family's silversmith business. Hayner and Pence had joined the Sons of Liberty shortly after Sora had.
Sora knew the colonies were on the brink of war. Secession from Britain seemed imminent, but an unlikely victory.
Taxes on British imports had grown so high that the colonists now resorted to drastic measures to protest.
Reluctantly, but with the desire for liberty igniting a fire in his heart, he followed his fellow Sons into the fray.
By the dim lantern-light of the tavern, the Sons prepared their next demonstration.
On that fateful December night, Reno smeared paint on Sora's cheeks and decorated his hair with feathers.
"Do we really look like Mohawks?" Sora questioned.
Reno snorted. "Sora, Axel and I were raised by Mohawks; you don't think we don't know what they look like?"
"Besides," Axel added, swiping paint on Roxas' cheeks, "it's dark, and if we're lucky, soldiers will only see us from far away."
Sora squirmed uneasily. "I don't know how I feel about this..."
Reno draped a blanket around Sora's shoulders. "What is there to be nervous about?"
"An awful lot!" Sora protested.
"Sora's right," Roxas piped up, "What will we do if we get caught?"
"Well, I can't speak for the rest of these men," Axel gestured to the men around him, "but Reno and I are gonna do what we were raised to do: raise hell."
Naminé, with Ventus on her hip, placed a cup of tea beside Sora.
"Ironic, really," Reno snickered, "seeing as you're drinking the exact thing we're aiming to destroy."
Sora blew on the cup and took a sip. "It may be overpriced, but it's damn good."
"I've never had much of a liking for tea," Axel mentioned, "we didn't splurge for sugar too often, so it was always bitter."
Once they finished their disguises, the men set out for the Boston Harbor.
The snow fell softly around them, the entire town still and silent save for the group heading out for destruction.
They split up into three groups to board the three ships that carried the infernal drink: the Beaver, the Dartmouth, and the Eleanor.
Axel, Roxas, Sora, and Reno took to the Dartmouth. They crept to the cargo hold, the silence aboard the ship unsettling. Sora's blood chilled, his senses on full-alert. Someone's foot creaked against the floorboard, and Sora visibly jumped. Roxas placed a hand on Sora's shoulder, which was helpful to a degree.
Axel shone his lantern over the cargo crates, locating the crates filled with tea. He nodded to the others, beckoning them over.
One by one, the men lifted a crate and carried it above deck. Once on the main deck, they chucked the crates into the harbor. The loud splashes sent Sora's heartbeat into disarray.
Someone will hear us, he thought, his mind screaming.
He carried his own crate, his mind swimming. His heart slammed against his chest, and his hands trembled. His foot caught something, and he toppled forward, his crate smashing against the deck and scattering the blocks of tea across the floor.
Sora's stomach dropped as the other men scrambled to pick up the blocks, tossing them off the ship.
Panicked and spooked, he pressed his back against the wall of the ship, tugging at his hair as he struggled to breathe.
Naminé, I need Naminé here...I need her...I need...what if...what if someone finds us...what if Riku finds us...Riku...
His breathing turned shallow, becoming erratic wheezing. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes, but he knew he couldn't do this here. Frantically, he scraped the tears from his eyes.
A hand on his shoulder jarred him, and he almost shrieked aloud. Another hand clapped against his mouth kept his outburst muffled.
Roxas knelt by his side, removing his hand from Sora's mouth slowly. "Sora, it's going to be okay. We're almost done."
"What if someone finds us? What if he finds us?" Sora hissed.
"He won't," Roxas assured.
"How do you know?" Sora insisted.
"I just...know, alright? Come on, we'll go back to the tavern." Roxas helped Sora to his feet.
Returning to the warmth of the tavern before the rest of the men, Sora sat by his cold cup of tea. Anger filling him, he swept his hand across the table, knocking the cup off the table and shattering it against the floor.
"Sora!" Naminé exclaimed, rushing to him.
Grudgingly, Kairi knelt to sweep up the pieces.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't do it," Sora wept, burying his head in his hands.
"It's alright, what's one man's difference...?" Roxas offered, though Sora didn't seem to take a liking to that statement.
"What happened?" Naminé asked.
"I just...I broke down," Sora answered, "I became so scared that we'd be discovered that I broke down. I thought about you, thought about coming back to you. I was scared that...Riku would be the one to find us."
At the mention of his name, Naminé fell silent.
Sora shook his head. "I wish I could forget him..."
"Forgive him, maybe," Naminé corrected, "forget him? Never."
Confused, Sora knitted his eyebrows at her. "What do you mean...?"
Naminé smiled patiently. "I know you care for him very much, and you would never want to forget him. You might want to forgive him, but never forget him. I know your connection runs much deeper than just friendship, though I don't know how deep."
Sora blushed, wondering if he should tell his wife the absolute truth. He glanced at Kairi, who gave him an expression that urged him to speak up.
"Well...you are right about that..." Sora offered. "We were closer than any brothers could be; even closer than Reno and Axel..."
"Oh...?"
Before Sora could complete his thought, Axel and Reno returned from the raid, cheering as they burst into the tavern.
"Close the door; someone ought to hear you!" Kairi scolded.
Reno slammed the doors behind him, and Kairi sighed in exasperation.
"Sora, what happened to you out there?" Axel asked.
Sora shook his head. "I just too scared..."
"Oh...well, we didn't get caught, and it's not like we were going to kill someone," Axel pointed out.
Roxas shot him a dirty look, and Axel silenced himself.
"I'm sorry," Axel mumbled.
Sora shrugged. "I know what you mean...I suppose if we really go to war eventually, then I should swallow my fear; for the sake of our nation, right?"
Reno clapped a hand on Sora's back. "That's the Sora we know."
Sorry for all the rare pair stuff..honestly I'm just throwing around names at this point. Also, I don't know how much I'm feeling this AU anymore, but I'd never abandon it.