"You're leaving?"

Roxas cringed. He could never take the sadness in Sora's voice. Something about the inflection in his voice when he was upset made it seem like the whole world was sad too. He probably didn't even know it, he didn't have it in him to be that intentionally manipulative, but it could be pretty damn persuasive at times.

Even so, Roxas's mind was made up. With one hand on the door and the other clutching the backpack strap hanging on his shoulder, he tore his gaze away from that pillar of sadness that made his own chest ache. "Yeah. I just can't do it anymore." This was definitely not the way he pictured this going when he rehearsed this scene in his mind over and over and over the night before as he lay awake in bed but here he was, unable to speak because he could just see those sad blue eyes without even turning to look back on them. He didn't expect to feel a lump in his throat. He expected to say different words, speaking more clearly. Hearing himself say he just couldn't do it anymore, he wasn't even sure what he meant by that. How could he expect Sora to accept it just like that?

Sora wouldn't, he knew, so best to just peel off the bandaid quickly. Roxas turned the doorknob but with his first step onto the welcome mat, Sora spoke, sounding like a kicked puppy if one could talk, and Roxas found himself unable to move.

"But why? Aren't you happy?"

What Sora may not understand was that there was no easy answer to this question. Sora had given Roxas everything he should have ever wanted. He gave him a place he could call home when he had none, all the food he could ever eat and, best of all, access to both the beach and sea-salt ice cream whenever he wanted it. He should have been happy, and for awhile, he was.

"You've been a lot nicer to me than I ever expected." Roxas said quietly, looking down still. "But I don't belong here."

For reasons he couldn't figure out yet, Roxas was having trouble assimilating himself on Destiny Islands with Sora and all of his friends as his brother. Something continued to nag at him no matter what he did. There wasn't anything essentially wrong with islands or Sora or his friends. He managed to get along with pretty much everyone there (he and Riku didn't talk much, but they had a mutual understanding of each other that Roxas was content with) and, well, he liked the beach. But something just felt...off. He could smile and laugh when he was with Sora or his friends but something was still missing. There was an ache that never left him.

But all Sora could see was Roxas walking out of the front door. The blond's words didn't make sense to him. What couldn't he do anymore? Why didn't he belong here? He wanted to understand where Roxas might think he belonged but he couldn't wrap his brain around it. Sora had done everything he could to make Roxas feel at home. Why was Roxas still sad? Why did he want to get away from Sora in order to belong somewhere, to be happy?

Why couldn't Sora make Roxas happy?

Forget the part of Roxas being a part of himself. Sora had thought they were friends. He could even remember Roxas telling him when he first came to the islands that he thought friends were people who shared ice cream together. They'd done that and a lot more. They were sharing their lives together now, having been living under the same roof for a few months now. Why wasn't it enough?

Sora wanted to be able to tell himself that Roxas being happy meant more than his own sadness over their parting. Besides, it didn't mean that they would never see each other again, right? Just...not as much. Though perhaps not even Sora was without his vices, because he was feeling rather selfish.

He couldn't let Roxas leave.

"Please don't go." He said, a crack in his voice.

That crack was almost too much for Roxas. If Sora started crying, it would be all over. Bandaid. Rip it off quickly. Lingering is just more painful.

"Sorry. I have to."

He took more steps away when he felt a desperate tug on his wrist from a hand that shouldn't have been nearly that strong. He started to let out an exasperated sigh because Sora was making this more difficult than it needed to be when he was quickly pulled back far enough to have Sora step in front of him.

"Sor-"

Sora didn't let Roxas finish his sentence, firmly placing both hands on either side of the blond's face, pressing his lips against his other's.

Wait, what?

It didn't register in Roxas's mind right away. Just a second ago he was walking out of the door, but now he was in Sora's grasp, being kissed by him, and he didn't know what to do. So many things were happening inside him at once. Did Sora know what he was doing? Did he really feel this way about him? How long had he been harboring these feelings? Or was it just an impulse decision to keep Roxas from leaving?

Even though Roxas felt an intense pounding in his chest, even though he could swear his stomach was filling with butterflies, he found himself unable to refuse Sora. In fact, quite the opposite. Maybe it was because he hated Sora being sad, but he wrapped his arms around him and returned the kiss. At least, in the best way he knew how, never actually having kissed anyone before. But he moved his lips across Sora's gently, which Sora then responded to for a few moment before he pulled away almost breathless.

"Please stay." The brunette whispered on his lips, caressing his cheek with his thumb.

All at once, all the pain Roxas had felt was, at least for now, overshadowed by something stronger, something more intense and he didn't want to let it go. Couldn't. The response poured out from his lips before he could think about it.

"Yeah. I'll stay."

A faint smile tugged at Sora's lips and the world started getting brighter again, pulling itself out of impending darkness. "We'll fix everything that hurts. I promise." And with that, he leaned in to kiss a perfectly accepting Roxas.

All right, Sora. You win.