This chapter isn't as long as I would've liked it to be but that's just because I'm anxious to put it up and I didn't feel like writing for this same chapter anymore

; o ; !

Hope you all like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the lyrics in this chapter. All credit to their respective owners.

Fourty-Four: November Sun

Sora made his way hopping down the stairs of his home with one leg. His right arm held onto the railing as his other arm clung to his crutches. He was dressed in khakis and a light weight t-shirt. On his shoulder was a small pull-tie gym bag which held some beach necessities in it.

"Sora," his mom, Rinoa, called from the living room, hearing his heavy jumpy steps on the staircase. "Are you sure you don't need any help?!"

"I'm sure Mom!" He yelled back confidently before losing his step and dropping his crutches as he swung his other arm around to hold onto the railing as well for more balance.

He saw his mom emerge from the bottom of the stairwell with her arms crossed over her chest, giving him a look as if ready to scold.

Sora's cheeks became red, and smiling nervously he said "Can you help…?"

Rinoa laughed as she picked up the fallen crutches.

"Where are you and Riku going again?"

"To the beach."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" She look at his still casted ankle.

"Yes, I'm sure."

Rinoa didn't respond. Instead, she stood the crutches against the bottom of the railing and went back to watching one her morning shows in the living room.

Sora made his way to the bottom, sitting on the last step. He felt a sudden relief that he was able to give his uninjured leg a rest since it had been doing all the work on the stairwell lately. That resting moment didn't last too long though because the doorbell began to ring.

The brunette already knew who it was.

"Riku's here!" Sora called out to his mom before opening the door to see Riku, his white hair nearly glimmering from the bright sunlight cascading down his locks.

"Okay, be sage!"

"Okay!"

Sora shut the door behind him.

"So, as a first date my 'crippled' boyfriend wants to go to the beach."

They were walking down the block towards the beach. Today was hot. Sora hadn't checked but if he were to guess it may have been close to 100 degrees outside.

"In my defense, I didn't think about this problem until this morning," Sora explained. "Selphie made me rush last night!"

The night before when Sora had been in the hospital Selphie had forced him to pick a place for their date before she left, just so she could make sure they would go on one.

Riku laughed. "I bet she's watching us right now."

Sora laughed, imagining it.

At this point, Riku would've held the brunettes hand if it wasn't occupied by his crutch. But overall Riku was happy being with Sora, he couldn't deny that.

"This is so cute!" Selphie whispered in a hushed tone as she watched the two from a hidden area. Her grey binoculars were kept up to her face as she awed and oo'd watching.

"I feel bad doing this, Selphie." Aqua was kneeling beside her. Her short blue hair was pulled back into a tiny ponytail with some parts of her fringe left out.

"Aqua don't feel bad," Selphie let down her binoculars. "If they don't tell us about this date then who will? As long as they don't find us, we'll be alright."

Aqua sighed. The only reason why she came out here with Selphie was because she told her they could get icecream from the parlor in town. Her air conditioning at home was currently being fixed so it seemed like a good idea.

"Come on, they're getting too far away for me to listen." Selphie started moving beside bushes and trashcans, trying to catch up with the couple. Aqua followed.

"Mom," Namine walked into the living room to see her mom already packing up items into boxes. "It's still November, why are you packing so early?"

Her mother brushed a few stray strands behind her ear before piling more memorabilia into a cardboard box. Against the wall was a pile of already packed and taped boxes. "Nothing wrong with getting ahead of packing for a long move," She stood up from her kneeling position and turned towards her daughter. "Besides, aren't you excited to be moving back to Destiny Islands? It's warmer there, and I remember the people being so friendly!"

Namine didn't respond, instead she frowned.

Her mother sighed and picked up an empty box. She took a sharpie and wrote "Namine" on it. "Here," She held out the box to her daughter. "Start packing up some things in your room."

Namine took the box and huffed her way up to her room. She put the box beside her bed and flopped her body onto the cushiony mattress. "I don't want to move." She said to herself, her voice muffled between the baby blue blankets.

She got up off her bed and began packing her stuffed animals and pictures, things she wouldn't need to keep out for the time being.

Namine had friends here, whether people believed her or not. She had two friends that were very real, but only she (and every other person with a rare sixth sense) could see them. Vanitas and Lumina. She knew everything about them just as they knew everything about her.

Lumina had lived before Vanitas. She lived in that mansion with her family. Enjoying a wealthy life with her family until the night of her fourteenth birthday when a killer found his way to her home. He killed her and her family out of greed, wanting part of their wealth. They never found the killer and because of the murders, the place was left abandoned, torn down, and old. Twenty years later came Vanitas, a fifteen year old boy who killed himself in the white room. He never told Namine or Lumina why. His body was found by the police. And now, over fifty years later, Namine has found two friends who understand her.

Namine sighed, closing the filled box. She went downstairs for the masking tape, her mother surprised that she did as she was told.

"Maybe you'll see those two boys again that you told me about," Her mother said. "You remember? That day of the meteor shower."

"Yes mom, I remember. But that's one in a million."

'And what if they don't even like me.'

"Destiny Islands is pretty small," her mom placed another box into the pile. "And there's only one high school. They're popular for their Blitzball team. I was looking up their school website yesterday. They had pictures, and let me tell you; I bet you'll take a liking to their captain, Riku Satoshi." Her mom winked.

"Mooom!" Namine whined, snatching the tape from off one of the lamp tables and running back upstairs. She threw the tape on top of her box and opened up her laptop. She wouldn't admit it but she was curious about her new school. At first she searched for the name of the high school and once she found it she navigated her way to the Blitzball part of the website, wondering if Riku was actually as good looking as her mom said. Eventually she found the picture. It was of the team, all of them fit into three rows. In the back the named below the picture read; "Zack Fair, Wakka Besaid, Aqua Yano, Seipher Almasy, and Rai Okomono." The middle row; "Hayner Finnlet, Tidus Wakes, and Roxas Strife." And in the front row was; "Sora Hibari, Riku Satoshi, and Selphie Tilmitt."

"No. Way." Namine eyed down the two boys in the front row. She recognized them. Those were the boys she met at the meteor shower.

"Of course they're still friends," She exited the website. "They probably don't even remember me."

"Where are you going" Ventus asked, watching Roxas quickly get dressed.

"To the town." Roxas answered, pulling a white shirt over his head.

"…Can I come?"

"Of course not."

"Why not?"

Roxas grabbed his guitar. "Because you're sick. What if something bad happens?"

"You can't give me that answer anymore," Ventus walked up to Roxas. "I'm a lot better now and I go out more."

"Why are you even asking me this?" Roxas' eyebrows furrowed, which intimidated his brother a bit. Ven took a step back.

"Because, I don't get it anymore," Ventus crossed his arms against his chest. "Why can't anyone know about me now? I'm better…I won't be a burden."

"Ven, I'm sorry but it's better this way." Roxas slid past the blonde and out of the room. Ven heard him head out the door.

He sighed, walking back to his own room. But on his way there he heard his mom calling.

"Roxas! Ventus!"

Ven turned around, running down the stairs and into the living room where his Mom was. He did have to catch his breath for a moment, but only the slightest moment. He can't remember the last time he went down the stairs that fast, if ever at all.

"Yah Mom?" Ven said. She turned to look at him.

"So it was Roxas that left," She put her hands on her hips. "That boy. He never tells me when he's going anywhere. I've got to put my foot down sometime."

Ventus smiled, listening to her talk to herself. "Was there something you wanted, Mom?"

His mother grinned. "I was trying to clean the basement before I left for work at the salon." His mom was a nail artist. "And I found this!" She held up a videotape.

"A tape?"

"It's an old home video!" Ventus could basically see the enthusiasm bouncing off of his Mom. "I believe it's of you and Roxas as little kids. I wanted you to both see it, but since he's gone right now I'll let you watch it on your own."

"You're leaving now?"

"Yeah, I can' t be late. I'll be back home around eight tonight," it was 10:30 AM right now. She grabbed her purse and car keys. "Have fun, make sure to eat and take your medication. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." She handed Ven the tap e and headed out the door.

The blonde sighed and went towards the VCR/DVD player. He was surprised they even still had a VCR.

'Which way do you even insert this…' He guessed and inserted the DVD. Ven turned on the tv and changed it to the right channel to see the tape had already began to play.

The tape had a bit of a blur to it considering it's age. It showed two small blonde toddlers, which he knew was him and Roxas, playing in the backyard of their old home in Twilight Town. Ven wasn't able to tell him and his brother apart, but one of them was dressed in a blue outfit while the other was in yellow.

They were chasing after was looking like a butterfly, giggling and laughing. Until the one in yellow tripped and started crying.

You could hear the woman, who he assumed to be their Mom, gasp. "Ventus!" She said worried, reaching for the one in yellow. However the boy in blue, which Ven could now tell was Roxas, hugged the young Ven.

"It's okay." Roxas, patting Ven's back like a mother would her own Child. Ven saw himself look up at Roxas, who gave him a big kiss on the forehead.

"Awe." Their mother cooed in the background.

Ven swept his fingers across his forehead, as if trying to remember what he was too young to remember. But then he heard the doorbell ring.

He turned off the VCR/DVD player along with the TV before going to the door. He doubted it would be one of Roxas' friends because usually they would always plan something with him before coming here.

He opened the door to see a flurry of red hair.

"Axel?!"

"Hey Roxy!" Axel had a deviant smile on his face.

"W-what are you doing here?" Ventus tried not to act nervous.

"I thought I'd surprise you." Axel put a hand on the door.

"Well you've definitely surprised me," The blonde rubbed the back of his head. "Um…do you want to come inside?"

"No," Axel grinned. "I want to take you out!"

"In this weather?!" Ven asked.

"We can go see a movie," Axel took a step inside the house, making Ven step back. "It's cool in there."

"All…right." Ven looked down at his feet.

'I should tell him. Of all people he should know, right?'

Axel put two fingers below Ventus' chin, lifting his head up to look eye to eye.

"You okay, Roxas?"

'Roxas…'

Ventus shook his head, shaking away his thoughts.

"Yeah I'm fine. Let me just change my clothes," Ven answered. "And next time, don't surprise me." He smiled before going upstairs and changing his clothes. He debated whether to text Roxas and tell him what's going on so they could switch later but decided against it. 'I might as well have fun being someone I'm not.'

"Riku," Sora sat down beside Riku who lay out on the beach blanket. The large umbrella overhead of them gave a nice circle of shade to keep most of the hot sun away. "How do you stay so pale?"

"Genetics."

The beach was crowded with kids and families wanting to try and enjoy the unruly weather.

"Are you albino?"

"I'm not albino!" Riku snapped defensively.

Sora laughed. "I'm just kidding, Riku!" The brunette moved in closer toward the snow-head. "Do you remember the last time we were here together?"

"When you started crying in that shed," Riku teased. "Yes, I definitely remember." He smirked.

"Hey," Sora grinned, leaning his face over Riku's. "You had really hurt my feelings that day," He pinched Riku's cheek, pulling on it. "You were pretty mean back then."

"It's because—"

"I remember," Sora removed his hand. "Because of your memories."

"And because of my dad." Riku rolled his eyes by just the thought of him.

The brunette frowned. "D-did anything happen last night?"

"He didn't say anything to me," Riku informed him. "Probably because Sephiroth was there." Riku hit his tongue, realizing he said too much.

"Why was Sephiroth there?" Sora's eyes filled with curiosity.

Riku sighed, realizing he just might as well tell Sora everything.

"We're sort of related. He's my half-brother," Riku explained. "From my Dad."

"Mmm," Sora took in the information like a sponge. He didn't ask for more like Riku expected him to. "You have four brothers. I wish I had a sibling."

"Trust me, you don't want any."

"It was lonely back then," Sora explained. "I mostly had myself to play with."

"It's the same for me too. Post memory loss at least," Riku sat up. "My brothers weren't the best playmates."

"If you were to see that boy again, the one you can't remember, what would you say to him?" Sora asked. He bit his lip, feeling kind of guilty.

"I would just want to, like, know what he remembers and how he remembers it," Riku explained. "I want it detailed. Not the fuzzy way I remember it."

Sora leaned in and gave Riku a kiss on the lips, catching the snow-head off guard. When he pulled away he blushed nervously, seeing the surprised look on Riku's face.

"Are you worried…that I might leave you if I ever find him?" Riku asked.

"No, I'm not," Sora gave a coy smile. "Does this mean we're official?"

"Are we?" Riku asked, raising his brow.

Sora shrugged. "I don't know."

"We are."

"How cute can this get!?" Selphie exclaimed.

"Not much cuter than this." Aqua tried to play along, but rolled her eyes.

"Let's go in the water!" Sora chimed. He maneuvered himself upward, standing on his good leg.

"You're crazy," Riku laughed. "You can't get your cast wet."

"We can go in the shallow area."

"Alright, but if you get it wet your mom will probably be upset." Riku got up and held Sora's hand, helping the brunette stay upright.

"She worries about me too much."

They began walking, Sora hopping. He couldn't exactly use his crutches in the sand. It's be too difficult.

"Probably because you're clumsy and accident prone."

"I can't help it!"

They got to the seashore, the cold water rising up over Sora's toes.

"I wish I could just jump in." He pouted.

"Don't even think about it."

"But-"

"Riku?"

The couple turned around to see Hope, a boy from their rival team. The one they lost against just the day before.

"Hope? What are you doing here?"

The boy came up closer to the two. Sora could see that he was actually quite friendly.

"Since we won yesterday our coach let us stay another day here to enjoy ourselves," The white haired boy explained. "Traverse Town weather isn't as nice as this you know," He looked over to Sora. "You're Sora, aren't you?"

"Yeah!" The brunette nodded.

"You were really good yesterday," Hope complimented him. "My name is Hope. I'm Riku's cousin, if you don't remember from the field."

'Is everyone with white hair related to Riku?' Sora thought of Xehanort Junior and realized that was not likely.

"Yeah I remember! It's nice to meet you!"

"I should go back to my friends now," Hope took a step back. "It was nice seeing you somewhere other than the Blitzball field, Riku."

"Likewise."

Hope ran off.

"He seems really nice."

"Yeah, I don't often see him though."

Sora suddenly felt his leg feeling uncomfortable. He looked down at it, eyes opening wide. "I got my cast wet!"

Riku looked down, seeing a part of the saturated cast begin to morph.

"Sora!" Riku got upset. The brunette smiled nervously.

"Let me take you home."

"Do you think my mom will be mad?"

"Beyond mad."

Ven got into Axel's car. He felt out of place but couldn't tell Axel the truth. He also kept thinking about Terra. 'Is this necessarily cheating?' Ven was thinking so much that he got to a point where he didn't know what to think.

"What movie are we watching?"

"We're not." Axel grinned, looking over at Ven with his bright emerald eyes

"Axel—"

"I said we 'can'," The red head explained as he shifted his car into drive. "It wasn't a definite thing."

"Axel," The blonde whined. "I want to know."

"You'll enjoy it Roxas, I promise." Axel began to drive.

Ven hoped that wherever they went wouldn't involve any strenuous activity…or water. Roxas wasn't afraid of large bodies of water but Ven was and that would cause conflict in his disguise. He was lucky it didn't before when he was on the island.

Ven pressed the power button for the radio and began to shuffle through stations. He stopped on one. "Oh my god," Ventus' face lit up. "This song is so old!" It was a song by an old pop boy band.

"You remember this song?" Axel laughed.

"Remember it," Ven repeated a big haughtily. He turned up the volume beginning to unshamefully sing loudly and dance. "You may hate me but it ain't no lie baby, bye bye bye!"

Axel began laughing, singing along because somewhow he knew the lyrics as well. Ven began to laugh along with Axel once the song was over.

He turned the volume down as it was on commercial.

Axel bit his lip. "Stop being so adorable, Roxy." He joked.

Ven blushed. He then felt his phone bivrate in his pocket. It was a text message from Terra.

'I'm in destiny Islands for another day today. I'm sorry about last night. Can you meet me somewhere so we could talk?'

He responded.

'I can't…I'm out right now.'

'As who? You or Roxas?'

'I'll talk to you later.'

The blonde shoved his phone back in his pocket. He felt his heart begin to sink. 'I'm not cheating. I'm not cheating.' He thought to himself over and over. Ventus couldn't deny he liked being with Axel right now though. The red head wasn't as serious as his boyfriend. The blonde was able to let go and not care about how Axel saw him. But maybe he acted more reserved around Terra because he was shy around him, because he was attracted to him.

"Who was that?" Axel asked curiously, noticing that whoever it was made the blonde uncomfortable.

"It was my Mom," Ven lied. "She wanted to know where I was."

"Out with the most gentleman of gentlemens." The red head smirked.

Ventus laughed. "Right, my humble knight," his tone was sarcastic. "How long until we arrive to my castle?"

"About an hour, my prince."

The blonde laughed once more. He looked out the window at his surroundings, realizing he had absolutely no idea where the car was going. When he heard a song come on he quickly turned the volume up, he and Axel singing along in the same way they did earlier.

" I didn't mean to , Mom!" Sora said, his mom giving him a concerned look.

"Riku?!"

Riku shrugged and shook his head, as if to say he had no idea how Sora got his foot wet. Sora pouted at the snowhead.

Rinoa grabbed her bag and keys. "I'll have to take you to the doctor. I'll call them on the way. Riku are you coming with us?"

"Nah, I'll go over Selphie's house," Riku said. "Text me when you get back, Sora."

"Okay, Riku." Sora sighed. Riku kissed him on the cheek when his mom wasn't looking.

Sora went outside and got in the car with Rinoa, driving away.

Selphie hopped out behind the bushes once the car was out of sight, startling Riku. "That was an interesting date!"

"Of course you were stalking."

Selphie stuck her tongue out. "I was with Aqua, but she left a while ago since her air conditioning in her house got fixed."

Riku looked at the time on his phone. It was 12:12.

"So when are are you guys gonna do the deed?"

"SELHPIE!"

The girls laughed. "I would say I'm just kidding, but I'm not."

"if anything like that even happens between us you'd be the last person I tell."

"I can keep secrets that matter, Riku."

Riku has told Selphie important secrets before. "Let's go somewhere." He said.

"My house?"

"Anywhere."

It was about an hour and a half later and Axel pulled to the side of a trail.

"Is this the part where you murder me and bury my body in the woods?"

Axel laughed. "C'mon, get out."

Ventus got out of the car, seeing the area from a better perspective. It was beautiful. There were many tree's that sloped up a hill. Their leaves were of golds and burgundy, some which lay on the ground. You could see the sun trying to climb away over the top of the hill, peeking some of it's light through.

"Axel," Ven exclaimed. "This is…this is gorgeous!"

Axel came up beside him. "We're on the verge of where Traverse Town meets Destiny Islands."

"How did you find this?"

"Being alone most of the time gives you a lot of free time."

Ven smiled as he looked up through the trees.

"Let's get to the top!"

"What!?" Ventus felt out of breath by just looking at it. There was no way he could make it to the top. "I can't climb that!"

"You run around the Blitzball field all the time," Azel said. "You're telling me you can't climb this?"

Ventus dropped his head.

Axel looked at the blonde for a second before kneeling down in front of him. "Get on," He said over his shoulder. "I'll carry you."

"I'm not too heavy?"

"I'll make that decision on our way up." Axel grinned.

Ven smiled, getting on to Axel's back. The red head began to climb up the hill. Ven was making this ascend harder than it should be, but Axel didn't care.

Axel reached the top in maybe fifteen minutes. Letting out a hug of air when Ventus got off his back, relieved.

Ven's jaw dropped looking at the scenery. "Axel this is amazing! It's breathtaking. You can see all of Destiny Islands from here!"

"Yep." Axel sat in the grass. When Ven looked down at him he patted the area beside him.

Ven sat beside the red head. "It seems so much smaller from up here." The blonde said.

"A lot less troublesome too," Axel lay back, the grass tickling at his limbs. "I'd stay up here forever if I could. No one would look for me, I won't have to deal with my problems anymore, and-"

"I'd look for you." Ven said.

'Roxas too.'

"Hm," Axel smirked. "That'd make me happy."

"You're not happy?"

"Happier."

"Axel, you're not the only one with problems you know," Ven looked out towards the sun. 'I have plenty of them.' "Behind every closed door, there's a secret."

"Roxas, do you know why the sun sets red?"

Ventus looked out towards the sun. It wasn't red and it wasn't setting. "Why?"

"That's the question."

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