Prompto and Roxas returned to the Continental Army within days. The second they returned, Prompto dashed to the infirmary, spilling Roxas into a cot to rest and kissing his brother's forehead.
"Prompto...I was so worried...I went looking for you..." Roxas said, tears welling in his eyes, "I'm so sorry..."
"You crazy, crazy kid," Prompto shook his head, his heart swelling with relief, "don't do something that reckless ever again, do you hear? You could've been killed!"
"I know, I know..." Roxas closed his eyes, and Prompto sighed and kissed Roxas' forehead again.
"All that matters is that you're safe now," Prompto decided.
"What's going on? Is Roxas okay? We saw you carrying him to the infirmary!" Sora cried out, dashing to Roxas' cot. Axel and Reno followed, Axel falling at Roxas' side.
"I'm fine," Roxas assured, coughing. His illness wasn't getting better, but it didn't feel like it was getting any worse. The bruises Seifer had left were turning into nasty shades of purple and yellow, and his clothes were caked in dried blood.
"You sure as hell don't look fine," Axel pointed out. He grasped Roxas' hand, kissing it. "You worried the hell out of me..."
"I'm sorry..." Roxas gave his husband a fleeting smile.
"What happened to you?" Reno wondered.
"Not right now..." Roxas decided, "I'll tell you when I feel better - if I feel better..."
"Don't talk like that," Axel scolded.
"I'm so weak right now..." Roxas replied. "Axel...I love you."
"Don't you dare die on me!" Axel gripped Roxas' hand.
"I'll try," Roxas let out a soft chuckle. He turned his head to look at Sora. "I saw Riku..."
Sora's felt the blood beneath his skin turn to ice. "You did...?"
"He said...he said he still loves you." Roxas said.
Sora's hand drifted to his heart. "Oh..."
"Get some rest," Prompto said, "I'll be right here by your side."
Roxas murmured in agreement, and closed his eyes.
"I want to be by his side," Axel said, "I mean...if you don't mind..."
Prompto smiled gently at Axel. "Thank you...I do need the rest..." He moved to the empty cot beside Roxas', collapsing and crashing into sleep.
Axel sat beside Roxas, rubbing his thumb over his hand.
Sora watched them, his heart aching for Riku now that he knew the truth. Still, he bottled up his sadness and cast it aside. He drifted over to Hayner's cot, where Hayner lay with a bandage around his thigh; they may have made it out of the Battle of Harlem Heights alive, but not unscathed.
Roxas recovered from his wounds and illness to relay his story about his time at the British encampment.
Upon hearing about how Sephiroth used Roxas, Axel's hand tightened into a fist and he stood abruptly, kicking over an empty tin while cursing loudly. "Damn that man to hell!"
Sora stared into nothingness, his mind swimming with Riku's confession. He couldn't think about him anymore; not with a wife and child waiting for him at home.
"If I ever see that man in battle, I won't hesitate to shoot him off his goddamned horse!" Axel declared.
"What will that solve? He's already put his dirty hands on me, his death won't mean anything." Roxas said.
"It will if it also means Riku's freedom." Sora chimed in. "Sephiroth is Riku's father, remember? He has a grip on him like a dog on a leash."
Prompto held his hands up. "Are you all proposing we murder Sephiroth?"
"Not murder," Reno corrected, "we'll just happen to be aiming at him..."
"I suppose that's different..." Prompto faltered. He turned to his brother. "I'm sorry to have to say this, but I'll have to return to my own troop eventually."
"There isn't a way for you to transfer to ours? I can't risk losing you and not knowing about it," Roxas persisted.
"I've already spent your general's kindness when he contacted my troop leader to let him know I hadn't gone missing in action." Prompto reminded him.
Roxas ground his teeth together. "You have to promise me you'll write."
"I promise that, Roxas," Prompto agreed. He stood, brushing the dirt off his trousers. "I suppose I'll get packing now."
"I'll come with you," Roxas stood, too.
Prompto offered his brother a smile and they returned to their tent.
Sora remained by the fire with the redheaded brothers.
"So...Riku still loves you, huh?" Axel said after a long silence.
"Please don't remind me," Sora answered. "I can't keep thinking about everything that could've been; I have to focus on what I have. Besides, that was a silly children's romance."
"Not from what I heard on Christmas Eve," Reno muttered.
Sora's cheeks flushed. "What do you mean?"
"Don't think we didn't hear you moaning all the way down the hallway." Axel said.
Sora grit his teeth and turned his head; who else had heard them...?
"The man took your virginity, we understand why you're so partial to him." Reno added.
"Not to mention we all knew you fancied men, even before you knew," Axel continued, "Riku was the first person around whom you could be yourself."
"Even so, my wife and son are waiting for me to come home; I can't let them down with something so important as that. It already bothers me that I haven't seen my son in a little over a year; what if I never see him again? What if I never see the man he's grown up to be...?" Sora rambled.
"We won't let that happen," Axel assured, "we'd all put ourselves before you to make sure you get back to them. Same thing with Zack." Axel nodded his head toward the tent in which Zack slept.
"Thank you, but I couldn't ask you to put your lives above mine and Zack's..." Sora said.
"I've lived my life," Reno replied, "I've been kidnapped by Indians with only my brother beside me; I've escaped the Indians who kidnapped us; I've felt a woman's touch; I've felt a man's touch; I've become part of the revolution to fight for the birth of my country...My life doesn't have too much left to experience before I die anyway."
"And I've done all that, too; and I've married the one I love. I suppose it would be nice to settle down somewhere and raise a child - I see the way Roxas looks at Ven and Noct, and I wish there was some way I could fulfill his wish - but even if that doesn't happen, I'll have done everything I've wanted to do." Axel agreed. "You have more life to live than us; you should be allowed to live it."
The terrible war dragged on for another four years.
When it had seemed they had lost all hope, France stepped in to assist the colonists in their revolution, supplying weapons and other items to aid their allies.
Sora continued to write Naminé, and she spoke of how Ventus was now ten years of age.
"He admires you greatly, and wants nothing more than to see you." Naminé wrote. "He has grown up to be such a sweet boy, kind and caring. He admires the soldiers he saw outside his window, and wants to become a drummer. I encourage him to follow his dreams, but a part of me fears that, if this war continues, he will join the army. Sora, if the time ever comes where he makes that decision, please protect him."
During the four years that had passed, Sora had seen too many deaths; among them had been Zack. He had written a sorrowful letter to Kairi about her husband's passing, to which she responded with a tear-stained thank-you letter.
The rest of the men had nursed their fair share of wounds; Reno even had at least one bullet inside him, perhaps more.
The men counted victories and losses, and despite the hope they had about finally defeating Great Britain, they had grown tired of seeing war tear their friends and family apart.
The summer of 1781, Sora and his men were stationed in New York. Prompto's squad fought alongside them, which delighted Roxas.
In his heart, Sora knew something great was going to happen; something life-changing. Perhaps he felt the end of the war was near, and that he would soon see his sweet son again. Remembering what Naminé had said about Ventus' age, it upset him that he had been away for so long that he hadn't had time to be a real parent.
The others seemed to sense Sora's excitement, as the air around them seemed to change as well. War-beaten Axel and Reno, both of whom had been neglecting their usual jokes, returned to their casual merriment with Hayner laughing along.
One bright day, as they cleaned the dirt from their muskets in the shade of a large tree, Sora looked into the distance to see the musicians practicing. Unease filled him as he remembered Naminé's most recent letter:
"Ven is insistent on becoming a drummer. I will try to deter him from the danger, but I cannot crush his dream. Please, if he ends up in your care, protect him."
He lay down his musket as if he were in a trance, and stood slowly. Roxas noticed his movement and asked what was the matter.
Sora's eyes fixed on a blond boy in the back of the line, and he pointed a finger at him. "That boy...he looks like you."
Roxas tilted his head up to see clearer. "So he does."
Instinctually, Sora strode over to them, first at a hazy pace. Then, he broke into a casual jog; then, a full run, all while Roxas and Axel were shouting, "Where are you going?"
Sora caught up with the line and skidded to a stop. The blond boy had his back turned to Sora, and he found himself reaching toward him when the lead musician, a stubborn man named Vexen, scolding him to leave their practice alone.
The musicians all turned, and Sora stepped back as he met eyes with the blond drummer.
"Father, is that you?"