A/N: When I picture this story, I think of it like a Korean drama. (Now you know why it's so depressing). So the first part of this chapter will be the night before, around the same time that Sora and Kairi were getting it on. -wink- and don't ask me who Ventus' wife is. I don't know. I made her up. (Unless you want to suggest someone... and Aqua is already taken).

o.o.o

Follow Me Home

Chapter Twenty-Six

o.o.o

"This one's for the happiness I'll be wishing you forever..."

o.o.o

After an awkward car ride to Ventus' hotel, Roxas followed him up to his room, shivering. Ventus had given him a towel and that was all he had to cover himself.

"Take a shower, then we'll talk." Ventus said to him as he opened the door.

"About what?" Roxas grunted as he went towards the bathroom.

Ventus took some clothes out of his dresser and handed it to him. "Stuff."Roxas rolled his eyes and shut the bathroom door.

'What the hell is he doing here...? I haven't seen or spoken to him in years.'

Roxas didn't exactly have the best relationship with his family. He stopped talking to them the moment that he turned eighteen. His brother tried contacting him several times since then and he never really understood why.

Roxas showered, got dressed and took some time to blow dry his hair so he could put off his conversation a little longer, but eventually, he would have to come out.

Like now.

"Took you long enough." Ventus said. "My wife can go faster than that."

"Your wife?" Roxas wasn't one to keep up with his brother's life.

"Yeah, I've been married for three years."

"Aren't you like, thirty-one?"

"Yes, so?"

"Tch." Roxas sat on the other bed. "So what do you want?"

"Well... I'll get to the point. Dad needs you to take over the auto shop."

"No." Roxas said sternly. Ventus gave him a sympathetic look.

"I would do it, but... you know that I'm no good with cars. Plus, we're kind of... expecting a child." A blush formed across his face. "I just can't."

"Good for you, but like I said, no way."

"But you know everything about that stuff. You wouldn't have any problems-"

"Ventus, I haven't seen or heard from any of you in nine years. For you to come here and beg me to suddenly drop everything and come back home because dad wants me to... It's just not going to happen. Unless he's dying, I couldn't care less about what he wants."

Ventus cleared his throat and stared at the ground. "That's... the thing. Dad has cancer."

"Very funny."

"I'm serious!" Ventus yelled; surprised at himself for getting so heated. "Besides, what do you have here? I've done some research on you. I know what you've been doing and to tell you the truth, it's getting you nowhere."

"How do you-"

"I have my connections." Ventus interrupted. He sighed and then his voice became a little softer. "I know that you enjoyed working in the shop when you were younger. If you could just put aside your bitter feelings and do this for the sake of the family, it would really help us all out. That shop was dad's dream. He worked so hard to keep it running and it was doing really well for a long time. Mom, dad and I all believe that you have the potential to keep it going and getting it back on track. Just think about it."

"Yeah, it was his dream. Not mine."

"What was yours, then?" Ventus inquired.

Roxas was stumped; he couldn't answer him. Ever since being with Kairi, Roxas had lost sight of everything he ever wanted to do. By putting his own life on hold, he really didn't have any ambitions now.

Ventus reached over and turned off the lamp. "Just sleep on it."

"When... would you need me to leave?" Roxas asked in a low, muffled tone. Ventus blinked a few times.

"Uh... as soon as possible, honestly. We could leave tomorrow."

"I'll think about it."

o.o.o

Sora woke up around five in the morning. His arm was wrapped around Kairi's stomach and they were still naked.

'What... happened...?'

Sora quietly slipped out of the bed and found his boxers. He gathered the rest of his clothes and got dressed without waking her up.

'Did we really...?'

He shuddered and tip toed over to the door. It was locked, which was a little confusing to him at first. Kairi was sound asleep. He opened it and quickly shut it again. Just before he reached the front door, Axel stopped him. He was sipping from a coffee mug and reading the paper.

"Leaving so soon?"

"Y-Yeah." Sora rushed out the door.

As he trotted down the stairs, he tried to recall what exactly happened last night. They must have had sex, considering the spooning in the bed, but Sora thought that it wasn't like him at all. Did he really drink that much?

He arrived at Riku's house about thirty minutes later. Sora jumped in the shower and washed himself off for what seemed like hours. Why did he feel so gross? Why was he so disgusted with himself?

After Sora was done, he crawled into his bed and slept for a few hours.

o.o.o

Roxas and Axel exchanged a few texts; he wanted to make sure that Sora wasn't there anymore. After Axel confirmed it, he and Ventus left the hotel room.

"So, what's your decision?" Ventus asked eagerly.

"I don't know."

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived back at the apartment. A little nervous, Roxas went up the stairs slowly. He was really considering going with his brother, but he wanted to see how Kairi would react. If she asked him to stay, he would.

But he wasn't counting on it.

"This is actually a pretty nice place." Ventus said behind him. They finally reached the fifth floor. Roxas pulled out his key and unlocked the door.

Upon opening it, he saw Kairi there—tears filled her eyes and she was on the floor. Roxas' mouth gaped open and he went over to her. Ventus came in and shut the door; a little confused as to what was going on. Kairi wept while Roxas wrapped his arms around her.

"What happened?" Ventus asked. "Why is she crying?"

"That guy left early this morning." Axel appeared. "I don't know what his deal is... making a poor girl like her cry."

"Sora left?" Roxas repeated, not sure how surprised he should be about it.

"Yeah. Hit it and quit it. Flew the coop. Whatever you wanna call it. It was a dick move."

"Wait... you and Sora...?" Roxas gave Kairi a defying look.

"He... gave me... the best night... of my life... and then... just..."

Roxas cringed at the mental image in his head. Ventus just stood there, one eyebrow raised. Axel turned his attention to him.

"Nice to see ya, man."

"Yeah..."

Roxas lifted Kairi up and sat her on the couch where Sora previously was. She only cried harder. However, Roxas had grown numb to her emotional state and wanted to tell her about his current issue.

"Kairi, I think I will have to leave for a while."

"Leave? Where are you going?" Axel interrupted.

"My dad is sick. I'm going to need to go back home." Roxas clarified, but he didn't even know if Kairi was even paying attention. He waited a moment to see if she would say something, but she just kept crying. A little irritated, Roxas stood up. "If you don't want me to go, tell me now. If not, I'm leaving after I'm done packing."

"Wait... you're... leaving...?"She sniffled.

'Yup, she wasn't listening...'

"How long... will you be... gone?"

"Probably forever."

"...why?"

Roxas didn't like to repeat himself. He was getting frustrated with her.

"Because I have to. But if you tell me no, I will stay here with you."

"It's a lost cause." Axel shrugged and walked off. Roxas glared at him.

"Why are you asking me this now...? Can't you see that I'm-"

"Did you take your medicine today?" Roxas cut her off. Kairi shook her head. Roxas got up and went over to the counter. He got her a glass of water and a pill, went back over to her and handed it to her.

"I... don't want... it..."

"You need it."

"Do you want me to stand outside?" Ventus asked, feeling very out of place.

"No, I'm almost done. Kairi, yes or no?"

"So... your dad is really sick?"

Roxas nodded.

"I guess... you should... go to him..."

A little disappointed but not the least bit surprised, Roxas sighed and stood up. Kairi hesitatingly took her pill and gulped it down with some water. Roxas turned to his brother.

"I'll just be a minute."

Finally realizing what was happening, Kairi shot up and ran after Roxas. She hugged him from behind and cried.

"I'm sorry that you're never happy, Roxas... it's all my fault..."

Roxas said nothing. Kairi pulled away from him. Before he opened the door to their bedroom, he said, "You can stay here with Axel. I really hope that you get better, Kairi."

"Hey, don't pin her on me!" Axel called from his room.

Roxas looked at the bed that he shared with Kairi and noticed that the sheets were messed up. With his current knowledge, he knew exactly what happened the night before. It felt like karma all over again. He did the same thing in Kairi and Sora's bed back then.

Roxas pulled his suitcase out of the closet and started putting the little amount of clothes that he had inside. He gathered his things in the bathroom. He couldn't believe that he was actually leaving Kairi. It was a little frightening—he didn't know what would come of it. He didn't even know how long he could go without seeing her... talking to her... holding her...

Kairi watched in the doorway; it seemed like her medicine was taking effect. Roxas checked one last time for any missing items and then went over to the door. He set his suitcase down next to him and wrapped Kairi in a tight embrace.

"It really has to be him..."

"Huh?"

Roxas looked Kairi in the eyes and smiled warmly at her. He moved her hair out of her face and pressed his lips on her forehead.

"I truly wish you the best, Kai."

He picked his bag up and walked past her. Taking a few deep breaths, this was way harder than he thought. A tear rolled down his cheek. When he entered the living room, Ventus got up and noticed his state, but said nothing about it.

"L-Let's go."

Kairi turned around in the doorway. Was this really happening? Was she really never going to see Roxas again?

"R-Roxas..."

But she wasn't loud enough.

The front door closed.

o.o.o

Sora joined Riku and Namine out in the backyard. Namine was hanging up some laundry and Ken was helping her, while Riku sunbathed. Sora pulled up a chair next to him.

"So where were you last night? You didn't come home like I told you to."

"Riku, I barely remember anything that I said or did last night..."

"Phew. That's good, because you said some pretty crazy things."

"Like... what?" Sora asked out of curiosity. Any explanation for why he woke up next to Kairi would have sufficed, other than the fact that he was extremely wasted.

"I don't even know if I should repeat it. But does Roxas really have a kid?"

"Damn... that was supposed to be a secret..."

Namine overheard their conversation and listened in.

"A secret? Did Roxas ask you to keep that secret or something?"

"N-No. Xion did."

"He had a kid with Xion?!" Riku sat up in shock. Sora nodded his head.

"But he doesn't know. Xion doesn't want him to for some reason."

"Psh... so he really did cheat on Kairi. Serves her right."

Namine finished hanging up the clothes and came over to them. They kept their eyes on Ken as they talked.

"That's crazy." Namine added to the conversation, even if it was a little late.

"So where were you last night?" Riku drilled, hoping he didn't confirm his suspicions.

"I... um..."

"Kairi's?"

"Look... I was extremely drunk..."

Namine gasped. "So you did go over there? Sora, what were you thinking? Or... not thinking?!"

"I... woke up... next to her..."

"What?!" Riku smacked Sora in the arm.

"I think... we did something... and I feel really stupid..."

"Great, just great. So what did she say when you woke up?" Riku shuddered at the thought.

"She didn't say anything... because... I left at five in the morning... when she was still sleeping..."

Namine slapped him this time, but in the face.

"Hey! Why do you guys keep hitting me?!"

"Because you're an idiot!" Riku went to hit him again, but Sora dodged. "Argh, that's it. Give me your phone."

"Why? I don't have it on me."

"Then go and get it." Riku glared.

Sora complied and went down to the basement. He looked around, but it was nowhere to be found. He checked his pant pockets from the jeans he wore the night before, but it wasn't in there either.

"Oh shit..."

Sora ran back up the stairs and went outside. "Hey, call my phone. I don't know where it is." He seemed very nervous. Riku got out his phone and called over and over again as Sora searched all throughout the house.

It wasn't there.

o.o.o

Kairi sat alone in the living room. She felt something buzzing beneath her. Kairi dug in between the couch cushions and found the source.

It was Sora's cell phone.

Riku's name was on the screen.

Kairi gulped and hesitated before answering it. She finally just pressed the button and put the phone to her ear.

"H-Hello...?"

o.o.o

o.o.o

A/N: Let's play spot the KH reference again!

I love Axel in this. He's like a comedy relief.

Tell me what you think of this chapter through a lovely review!

I can't believe that there's only 10-12ish chapters left. Maybe I'll finish this before my birthday in the beginning of March!

I hope everyone has an awesome day! Don't forget to write something in the box below!