Follow Me Home

Chapter Thirty-Nine

o.o.o

"Try to leave the light on when I'm gone
even in the daylight, shine on
and when it's late at night you can look inside
you won't feel so alone..."

o.o.o

Xion didn't bring Ayaka back to the hospital after Roxas' incident, but she still wanted to visit him. He was going to be discharged soon and he wasn't wanting to go home with his brother just yet.

Ventus was helping Roxas get into a wheelchair, in which he would have to live in for the rest of his life. Roxas' feet touched the ground, but he felt nothing. A nurse and Ventus lifted him into the chair. The nurse began explaining to him how to maneuver the wheelchair, but Roxas wasn't listening. Would he really be stuck like this forever? The denial was overwhelming that this would actually be his life from now on. His hands gripped the chair rests tightly as he tried to come to terms with it, but he just couldn't.

"Will you be his primary caretaker?" the nurse asked Ventus, who nodded.

"N-No..." Roxas started, but said nothing else when he saw Xion coming towards him. The nurse pulled Ventus out into the hallway and talked with him, leaving them alone in the room.

"How... are you feeling?" Xion asked anxiously.

"...how do you think?" Roxas glared at the ground.

"Look, Roxas... about what I told you..." she felt the tears coming on, "...I don't expect anything from you. But... that's me being selfish."

"How?"

"Ayaka really... wanted to see you."

"How do I know she's mine?"

Taken aback, Xion had to think of the right words to say, "We can get a DNA test. I promise you though, she is. I slept with you simply to get her..." Xion looked away.

"What do you mean?" Roxas gave her a confused look.

"Well... you never knew it, but... I've... been..." she couldn't say it.

"Been what? Just tell me." his impatience and arrogance was showing, something the old Xion would have been able to counter. But right now, she was weak in front of him. She was exposing her deepest feelings that she had kept hidden for so long. She thought that she could find solace in her daughter that they made together, but the truth was, she needed him too. She had no idea how to explain that to someone who had been blinded by what he thought to be love for half of his life.

But... was Xion blind as well?

If the revelation of his daughter wasn't enough, her spilling out her feelings would only be a waste of time.

"Anyway, if you don't want to be a part of Ayaka's life, that will be your choice. But please, I hope you will think of her."

"Xion, you have to understand... I just got out of an eight month coma and now this? Look at me! I'm... I can't do anything for a child!" He slammed his arms down.

"You're wrong."

Sora appeared at the door; Kairi was behind him but Roxas couldn't see her. Sora walked up to him, giving him the most sympathetic look. Sora pulled up the chair and sat down. Xion turned to walk out, but he asked her to stay.

"Roxas, you can speak. Your arms can still move. Your heart still beats. Right?"

Roxas didn't answer him.

"What I mean is, you can still tell her what's right and wrong, hold her when she's sad and love her when it seems like no one else will. Crippled or not, like it or not, you have a responsibility to her."

"Why do you care? Don't you hate me?"

"How can I hate you after everything you've been through?" Sora grinned at him. "I should, but I don't. Besides, have you seen that little girl? She's precious and doesn't deserve to be without you."

"This was just... thrown at me!"

"So was the fact that you and Kairi betrayed me." Sora said simply, more to his words than anyone could imagine. "It may have taken me a while, but... I forgave you. Both of you."

"How..." a tear rolled down Roxas' cheek, "...how... could you be... so stupid, Sora?"

Sora should have taken this as an insult, but he merely laughed.

"I should have just... taken her home that night... when she kissed me... I shouldn't have..."

"Whoa, I don't need details," Sora waved his hands back and forth. Xion figured that this was between them now, so she left the room and didn't let anyone else go inside.

"No, but you do need to know. Kairi and I... we did one of the worst things possible. I knew that she wouldn't choose me. I knew that she would never love me. But yet, I still..."

Sora was quiet; a serious look on his face.

Tears rolled down his cheeks nonstop as he tried to continue, but he just ended up burying his face in his hands. This was the first time Sora had ever seen him cry in all of their years of knowing each other and he wasn't really sure how to handle it.

"I barely cried... when we thought you died. I wasn't very sad... at all..."

"Why was that?" Sora asked.

"I... I don't know. It was like... maybe I had a chance with Kairi. Maybe... but... even in your absence she still loved you. I was so fixated on what I wanted that..."Roxas sniffled, "...god, I'm such an idiot... and now... I will never be able to walk again and have to depend on others all the time. This is my punishment."

"If it counts," Sora got up and handed him some tissues, "I'll always be here for you."

"That's what I don't understand..."

"It's not like you're a random person on the street that my girlfriend went and slept with. I've known you since we were in diapers. I have to admit, I was a jerk to you growing up."

"Sora-"

"I rubbed it in your face. Kairi liked me and I liked her, but I knew that you wanted her. Then it just became a matter of who she wanted in the end. Kairi always had control of... both of us. We did everything for her—in different ways."

"Ain't that the truth..." Roxas shook his head.

"It's not an excuse for cheating, but... that's just how it was."Sora cleared his throat, "Look, I know Kairi still cares about you. It makes me jealous and drives me crazy, but I'm going to try and deal with it. No matter what I do or how much I love her, you were part of her life too. You're not someone she can just get rid of."

A half smirk crept across Roxas' face. "Is this supposed to make me feel better?"

Sora shrugged, "I'm just saying what's on my mind."

"Well," Roxas wiped his tears away and straightened up in his chair, "thanks, Sora."

"For what?"

"For just being you."

"Hm." Sora smiled. "Well... Kairi's outside. Want me to get her?"

Roxas shook his head. "I don't have anything to say to her. It's a lost cause. But... I would like to see... my..." he paused, "daughter..."

Sora was a little surprised, but nodded and headed towards the door.

"Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm... truly sorry... for everything."

"I know." with that, Sora went out into the hallway and met with Ventus, Xion, Kairi and now Ienzo and Ayaka. He leaned down in front of the little girl and smiled, "Your daddy wants to see you."

Ayaka hid behind her uncle, but Ienzo assured her that it was okay.

"So it's true..." Kairi glanced over at Xion, who just blushed.

Xion and Ayaka went into the hospital room and shut the door. Sora put his arm around Kairi and just grinned.

"Must be hard for him." Ventus said, "but he'd better not turn down my niece or I'll kick his ass."

"I don't think that's what's happening here." Sora laughed. A bit uncomfortable, Kairi broke away from Sora and walked down the hallway. She went out into the courtyard area and stood next to the fountain.

She should have been the paralyzed one.

Sora came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

She was crying again.

"It just... hurts..."

"What does?" Sora whispered behind her.

"It's not fair. It's too much. We all have suffered too much..."

"Kairi," Sora turned her around, "all of this happened for a reason. Aren't we better now?"

"I... don't know..."

"Sure, there were a lot of set backs... but we have learned so much. You, me, Roxas... everyone. I know that you're a stronger person now. It may have taken terrible circumstances to get to this point, but I'm sure the future can only get brighter. However... you have to just... let it be. What happened, happened. It can't be changed. Someday, everything will make sense."

"I've made my mistakes... I've learned from them... but I can't help it. Roxas is in a wheelchair..."

"Roxas will be fine. He's way stronger than you think. I mean, come on, he put up with you." Sora chuckled. Kairi hit his shoulder playfully.

"Always joking, aren't you?"

"You love me."

"Of course I do..."

o.o.o

Roxas wheeled around to the end of the bed as Xion and Ayaka walked in. Her small, blue eyes looked up at him; she seemed a bit frightened after what happened the other day. Xion held onto her hand.

"Come here, you." Roxas smiled, making everything okay for her. She ran over to him. Roxas leaned over and picked her up, setting her down in his lap. Xion watched with tears in her eyes. This was actually happening?

Ayaka hugged his chest as tightly as she could and Roxas felt calm once again. Even though it was scary, it felt right.

Maybe his life wouldn't be so bad after all.

Ventus came into the room. "Ready to get out of here?"

"Yeah, but..."Roxas looked down at his daughter, "If Xion is okay with it, I would like... to go with her..."

"What?" Xion's eyes widened. "Really?"

"I have a responsibility." Roxas said simply.

"Good enough for me." Ventus said as he pushed the wheelchair out of the room.

It was nice not having to worry about Kairi for once. It was nice to be surrounded by people that cared for him, even if he didn't initially think so. For Roxas, this was the path he was going to take—and whether he was ready for it or not, well, he would find out. He may have failed with Kairi, but now he had another girl. Someone he could guide through life, teach, love and cherish.

He was going home.

o.o.o

A/N: Brb. Gonna go cry.

Oh gosh. One. Effing chapter. Left.
I can't believe it.
I don't want to end it. I don't want to. No!

In the meantime,
I want you all to check out some of the stories written by my reviewers. I have some truly talented people reading this story. And I'm sure for those readers who haven't reviewed yet, you also have some great stories or story ideas.

I also have a bunch of favorited stories that are pretty awesome.

I recommend a much more light-hearted story:

And That's The General Idea by Vixen2004.
"Dating Kairi is like an imminent death sentence - comparable only to stage three terminal brain cancer or a mortally wounding gun shot ... to the face. You choose. Kairi X Roxas"

This is my favorite story on the site. No lie. It's hilarious.

But if you still want your 'darkfic' fix,

Finding Hikari by Princess-Xion

Gosh, don't even know what to say about this fic other than it's NOT for the squeamish. This story is a million times darker than this one, but great.

Also,
check out the playlist. I moved important songs to the top. Haha! Any K-pop has English subs. The words. Wooords.

REVIEW!