A/N: After re-reading some of JmtT, I noticed that I never gave Roxas a last name... so... random last name insert!

o.o.o

Follow Me Home

Chapter Twenty-Seven

o.o.o

Riku heard a voice coming from the phone instead of ringing sounds. He put it up to his ear.

"Hello?"

"...Hi..."

"Give me the phone." Namine grabbed it from him. "Hey, Kairi."

Kairi greeted her nervously. It was awkward.

"I'm going to come and get Sora's phone, if that's okay." Namine told her.

"Uhh... sure. Can you... bring him too...?"

"I don't think he wants to come."

Her words hit Kairi hard, but she took a few deep breaths before speaking again. "Okay." They hung up.

Namine stood up and stretched. "Well, I'll be back soon." Riku glared at her profusely.

"Did you find it?" Sora appeared.

"Yeah, Kairi has it."

Sora blushed. "Damn... I don't want to-"

"I'll go get it. Besides, I wanted to talk with her anyway... or at least try to. Where does she live?"

"Uhh... Sun Set Valley Apartments... or something like that."

"I think you should just get a new phone. You know she's going to have your number now, right?" Riku glanced over at Sora, who was trying to avoid any form of eye contact. Namine walked by him and went inside. Ken noticed this and followed her.

"Mommy, where are you going?" He asked as he watched her put her shoes on.

"Uncle Sora left something over at a friend's house. I'm going to get it."

"Can I come too?"

Namine smiled and rustled her son's hair. "No, dear. You stay here with daddy and Uncle Sora."

"But daddy won't pay attention to me."

Namine sighed. It really hurt that Riku wouldn't spend more time with his own child and she was starting to see how much that affected him. Sora acted more like a father to him. Still, she left the house and headed towards the apartment.

o.o.o

Just as Riku suspected, Kairi had already added Sora's number to her phone and vice versa. Curious, she snooped through his phone. He had pictures of Ken, Namine, Riku and some of the beach, but none of her. A little disappointed, Kairi set his phone down. The apartment was very quiet. Axel must have been asleep in his room because she didn't see him leave.

Was Roxas really gone?

For the past two years, Kairi had seen Roxas almost every single day. She didn't want to believe that he would be gone for good. It just felt weird and made her a little sad.

Lonely, too.

She never really appreciated him when he was around. Even though he was the reason that she was in the predicament she was in now, she knew that he truly did care for her in a way that no one else—not even Sora did. He held her when she cried, kept her from taking her own life and loved her unconditionally despite all of her terrible choices and depression. He stuck with her. She was so used to crying on his shoulder that she wasn't sure what to do now.

'Did he get tired of me...?'

Roxas truly was a great friend to her.

Unfortunately for him, that was all he was in her opinion... and that made her feel bad.

'What am I going to do if I get one of my... episodes again...? And he's not here to stop me...?'

Kairi really worried about her own mental state. She didn't trust herself.

Roxas held her together.

Could Sora do the same? With his notions of her now, she wasn't sure if he even wanted to be around her. But he was so confusing. Last night was...

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.

'She's here already?'

o.o.o

Ventus and Roxas entered Twilight Town. Roxas never thought that he would be coming back here so soon. They went into a huge parking lot and walked down a few isles, looking for Ventus' car. Five minutes later, they found it.

"Let's go to the hospital first." Ventus said to him.

"Huh? W-Why?"

"Because I need to give my wife notice that you will be staying with us for a while."

"She doesn't know that I'm here with you?"

Ventus shook his head and pulled out his phone. After he was done texting her, he started the car. "I have to stop by the supermarket on the way home."

"Fine..."

o.o.o

Namine stood at the door; both were engaged in yet another awkward silence. Kairi allowed her inside. Namine observed the apartment; it was fairly clean and quiet.

"How... are you...?" Kairi asked shyly as she hesitated to give up Sora's phone.

"I'm okay." Namine saw Kairi hiding his phone behind her back. "Listen, Kai-"

"You don't have to say anything. I know that we're not friends anymore..."

"Actually," Namine tried to ignore what she said, "...I wanted to talk to you about that. I feel like I didn't consider your feelings well enough back then..." she paused, "...I mean, I said I would always be there for you and then..."

"You have a family. I know that you don't want someone like me around your son. It's okay, I understand. Besides, Riku hates me."

"Although my son does come first, you do know that Riku is only upset because-"

"Because I hurt his best friend." Kairi finished.

Namine took a few moments to respond as she gathered her thoughts, "...Do you truly regret it?"

"...More than anything..."

Namine paced back in forth and pondered. She wasn't sure if she wanted to do what she was thinking, but mentioned it anyway. "Do you want to meet me later...?"

"Where...?" Kairi inquired, a little surprised that Namine was asking this.

"Hmm... at that Italian restaurant..."

"The one I used to work at?"

"No, the other one... near the mall."

'Please don't catch on...' Namine thought.

"The... mall...?" Kairi considered it and then nodded her head. "Sure."

"I'll let you know a time later." Namine was starting to look suspicious, so that was her cue to leave. She went towards the door, almost forgetting why she came here in the first place. "Oh, the phone..."

"...Right." Kairi handed it over.

"Thanks."

"So... is Sora happy at your house?" Kairi asked nervously.

"He seems to be. Ken loves him."

"Oh..."

"Well, see ya." Namine left and hurried down the stairwell. Once she was far enough away, she called Riku.

"Hey, did you get it?" Riku asked.

"Yeah. Is Sora there?"

"No, he left for work. He said if you can, just drop it off there. But it's not a priority."

"I will." Namine said quickly and hung up. She went towards the mall.

o.o.o

Roxas and Ventus arrived at the hospital where their father was staying. Ventus reached for the flower bouquet in the back seat and then got out of the car, but Roxas couldn't. Ventus went around and knocked on his window.

"Come on."

Roxas didn't want to see his father. He couldn't believe that he was even here. His nerves got the best of him and he refused to move. Ventus opened his door and sighed.

"He's not mad at you."

"He has to be... I basically abandoned you guys..."

"Just get out of the car."

Roxas slowly walked a few feet behind his brother as they made their way up to their father's room. Ventus greeted the nurses as they walked by, but Roxas' gaze was locked on the floor. He nearly ran into Ventus when they arrived.

Ventus looked through the small window. Sure enough, Mr. Yonehara was asleep. Before he pulled the handle, he glanced back at Roxas, who was shaking in his boots. "You might not have to say anything to him, after all."

"Huh?"

Ventus opened the door and walked inside. Roxas stood there for a moment, then slowly made his way over to his brother, who was now standing over the bed.

"Dad..." Roxas felt a mixture of emotions as he stared at his father for the first time in so many years. He was speechless.

"He's been here for six months." Ventus murmured; a hint of sadness in his voice. "He just... sleeps the days away. I can't imagine how lonely he must-"

"I don't want to hear it." Roxas turned around. "I can't take this."

Ventus gave him a sympathetic look. He knew how stubborn his brother was and he didn't expect any other reaction. He took the dead flowers out of the vase next to the bed and replaced them with the new ones that he brought. "We'll have to come back another time."

They left the hospital and headed for the supermarket, just like Ventus said they would.

o.o.o

Namine entered Pac Sun. Sora was at the cash register helping a customer. After he was done, he greeted her.

"Here." Namine gave him his phone.

"Thanks so much..." Sora went through it for a moment and then glanced back down at Namine, "...how is she?"

"Why do you want to know?" Namine winked at him.

"J-Just! ...Never mind..."

"By the way, what time do you get off today?"

"Four, why?"

"Well, Ken and I are going out for dinner... want to meet us after?"

"Just you and Ken?"

"Yeah, Riku doesn't want to." Namine lied.

"Umm, okay."

o.o.o

Roxas and Ventus entered the supermarket. Ventus seemed to race through the isles and Roxas had trouble keeping up with him. Ventus threw different items in the cart as they went by, seemingly not even paying attention to the price or anything. Ventus quickly turned into the next isle and almost ran into someone else.

"Oh, God. I'm so sorry, is the little girl okay?" Ventus apologized.

"Ienzo?" Roxas looked past his brother and noticed the familiar face—and the little girl who was now crying.

"Shit... um... hey!" Ienzo greeted, rubbing the back of his head and then proceeding to try and soothe the little girl.

"Oh, isn't this your friend, Roxas?" Ventus asked.

"Yeah, Xion's brother." Roxas eyed the little girl. "So... when did this happen?" He inquired over the noise.

"Oh, she's my niece." Ienzo had to be careful with his words; he may have been able to tell everyone else but he knew that Xion would murder him if he revealed it to Roxas.

"Xion had a baby?!" Roxas yelled.

"Uhh... yeah... with... this... one guy..." Ienzo said anxiously.

Roxas walked over to him and took a closer look at Ayaka. She stared at him, amidst her tears and quieted down a little. Ienzo gulped.

"She's cute."

All of a sudden, Roxas felt a little weird... as if he had some sort of connection with her. It was a random, funny feeling that was shaken away when Ventus interrupted him.

"My wife doesn't like to wait..." he whispered.

"Are you whipped?" Roxas asked. Ventus merely smiled.

"Umm... well let me give you Xion's phone number. I'm sure that she wouldn't mind... hearing from you..." Ienzo was really tired of her hiding this from him and felt that Ayaka definitely deserved her father, so that was why he did it.

"Okay..."

o.o.o

Xion dragged her feet on her way home from the Family Mart. She was completely exhausted.

Lately, she had considered just telling Roxas and not even caring that he had feelings for Kairi. At this point, her stress was really daunting and she just wanted her life to be easier. But even if she told him, there would be no guarantee that Roxas would even believe her.

But she knew that he was the father.

"I got what I wanted... yet I'm still miserable..." Xion sighed and stepped into her apartment. It was eerily quiet.

She looked around in each of the rooms. Ienzo and Ayaka were nowhere to be found.

In a panic, Xion pulled out her phone and called him. She hated it when she didn't know where her daughter was. At the same time, she heard the front door open and he walked in with the seven-month old. Ienzo was carrying some grocery bags.

"Oh my goodness... you scared me!" Xion went to hug Ayaka, then shot a glare at her brother. Her stress level was so high lately that she immediately would jump to conclusions, even if it was Ienzo caring for her daughter.

"My bad..." Ienzo set the grocery bags down. "By the way, guess who I ran into?"

"...Who?"

"Roxas and his brother."

"WHAT?!"

"I gave Roxas your number." He said casually before retreating to his room. Xion was about to follow him, but Ayaka suddenly started crying.

"Damn you...!"

o.o.o

Kairi stood in front of the restaurant and waited for Namine. She was told to be here at four-thirty sharp and she was right on time, but she didn't see Namine anywhere. She started to walk around the front of the building, mostly out of boredom but was also keeping a look out.

That was when she saw him.

Sora leaned against the wall near the door and played with his phone. As soon as he looked up, he saw Kairi.

"Damn it... I knew this was a set up..."

"Sora-"

"Looks like Namine tricked both of us. In that case, I'll be going."

Kairi grabbed his hand. "Although... I didn't know that you would be here... and I thought that Namine and I would actually get our redemption... she did this... for a reason... and..."

"Kairi-"

"Sora... let's just take a walk together... please...?"

He didn't know what to do.

o.o.o

A/N: I feel like so much went on in this chapter, but that's okay, right?

Please review!