Starstruck

[Reno]

The brunette was quiet, listening to the other as he spoke, swooning some at the words. Riku really thought... so highly of him? Even though he'd probably of slept with a hundred other people?

It was easy to think that Riku just wanted him for sex. That was always the easy assumption. What was hard... was believing someone could actually and truly like him.

He curled his hand around Riku's mumbling softly, "I really like you too Riku. You're so interesting and unique and... beautiful." He blushed some but smiled. "I want nothing more than... to get to know you better. And I really don't... want to mess this up. I..." He started then paused, feeling more unsure. But no, he had to right to say this. "I know you erm... want me." He waved his free hand absently, strangely shy about his own previous occupation, "But I... I want that time to be special. I just... c-can we wait?"


"Couldn't help it he says," Terra grumbled, shoving Ven onto the tiles of the roof with a huff, nibbling along his jaw line. He answered the others next question without really paying attention, his lips latching around a pulse line and sucking gently. "My mom moved beds is all."
"Moved... beds?"
That made him pause, and he pulled away some.

The wheels seemed to turn in his head. He hadn't yet told Ven anything... not even the simplest things. He hated telling it; hated relieving something he could never forget. But even beyond all that he was just... scared. He worried what the other would think of him. He knew it would be easy, just half-answer him and then start making-out with him and Ventus would forget everything about what they were talking about.

But he loved his mother... and one day he hoped they could meet. Maybe he wasn't ready to tell him about Hatori... but he could tell him some things about his mother. He pulled away some more, before he sighed sitting down on the blanket. "My mom is... sick. She's... she's been sick a really long time." The blonde blinked, noting the serious tone and slowly sat up as well. "When she gets bad they moved her to a different room and when she gets better they move her back to her original room."
The next question was predictable. "Sick with what?"
"Have you ever heard of Soledad?" The other blinked at him and Terra clarified slowly, "Soledad Mental Institute. She has what they call severe Schizoaffective disorder, depressive type. She's had it... since I was about... eight? And she's lived at the institute since I was about fourteen. My uncle gets most of the updates about her condition and then he calls me and lets me know."


Roxas moved until the last note thrilled it's way over the stage, standing in an artful pose beside Axel, his breathing lighter so as not to catch over the microphone. Then he looked at Axel, the red-hair already sweat-soaked but the gleam in those green eyes glorious, soaking up the praise of the audience. Roxas playfully held his hands out towards him like a show girl presenting a Ferrari, saying, "An Axel Xipil original! Let me hear it! How'd you like his work?!"
He heard a light chuckle, before Axel made a show of bowing with a flourish to the crowd, only making them cheer more.

But soon enough, the night had to move on and Axel was applauded off the stage, only for Kalama, Nico and the rest of the dancers to take his place and Roxas moved on.
"Heh, went pretty well I must say!" Roland praised the red-head as he returned back-stage, handing him a water bottle. From there, the two watched the performance, Roxas moving from song to song to song dancing with each one with an almost endless amount of energy despite his lack of appetite and proper consumption for the day. "He's pretty amazing, huh?" The manager spoke up once, sounding proud.

Even Once Upon Another Dream appeared and Axel seemed especially entranced, seeing the dance he composed to it already being pulled into action. Only once did the dancers clear off stage for a more soft and soulful song - the blonde alone and no longer dancing. It was purposeful; it allowed everyone to get a rest. And then there was the finale... and then the final goodbye. from the band, the dancers, and Star himself before they returned back stage.

[Rikugurl]

Riku wasn't certain where Sora was taking this but his blush increased when he heard the other say he was beautiful. Heh, no one ever said that. Maybe because it was too girly for him and his masculine features but he surprisingly liked the sound of it. His eyes turned sincere, listening to Sora stumble and word find. It quickly dawned to him what Sora meant. Sure, he had been a prostitute and sex shouldn't be such a big deal but Sora wanted more than sex like Riku wanted more than physical. They still hadn't known each other for a month...
"I'm... sorry, Sora. I don't mean to be so pushy. It's just when I'm around you, I feel so overwhelmed. I've never felt like this with anyone before and I guess I need to learn how to refrain myself."

His eyes rolled to look down at their hands that were still clasped together and he smiled. "We can wait."


So that's why he left me in his place all of a sudden...
When he heard the 'Schizo' part, he knew in laymen terms that she was probably off her rocker, especially if she was in a metal institute. He gave his boyfriend a sympathetic look, wondering how hard it was to see his mom like that. It must of been really hard to deal with it when he was so young too. Now he knew there was more to it than just her, remembering that scar he saw when they first went to bed but he was sure that was in a darker corner of Terra's memory and not ready to reveal itself yet. He wasn't going to push the brunette into anything though, already knowing he revealed quite enough already.

"I'm sorry..." He said softly, reaching out and rubbing Terra's arm. "It's nice that your uncle helps out though." He guessed that it was probably her brother. "Telling by your face, she's doing better huh?" When he saw the nod, he smiled, leaning closer to his boyfriend as he felt the chill of the night. "Think I can meet her someday?"


Axel continued to pant, breathlessly thanking the man as the water bottle was taken. His body was shaking from the excitement and strain that it went through, not realizing it was something he would need to get use to. If he continued to dance, he probably would of passed out and not even felt it come on. Green eyes looked out, watching the blonde and others as they danced his number. They were doing a great job... no, excellent! Roxas really had some of the best dancers but it was Roxas himself who still won his eye. "Yea... amazing...."

When the show was over and the band was transported back to their hotel room with the safety of their security, the dancers went to the bar to celebrate but one was missing. Axel. When Roxas inquired, they thought a bit before Kalama spoke up. "Oh, I think he took a cigarette break outside.

The door opened to the back of the hotel and eyes searched around until he saw a glowing of red; the end of a lit cigarette. The redhead was leaning up against the building side, still in his stage clothes, looking up at the sky. He heard he had some company and looked down, smiling softly as the star walked over to him. When Roxas inquired what he was looking at, Axel simply pointed to the sky, revealing the meteor shower up above them.

[Reno]

"R-Really?" Came the uncertain but happy reply. Suddenly arms encircled Riku, bringing him in a hug, "Oh you're the best Riku!" There was a bit of a clueless look, but a chuckle even still. It certainly never took much to make the brunette smile.

But Riku didn't realize he also gave the other a very precious piece of information. Sora pulled away slightly, grinning mischievously suddenly, "And wait a second. did you say you're overwhelmed by me? My, my, I'll have to file that away for later. It'll be good... incentive."


"You... really want me to meet her?" Terra asked in surprise and the other responded with certainty. It made him smile suddenly, and he lent down, bestowing a kiss to the other. "Well, I'd be happy to introduce you some day." And he meant that honestly. He would just have to make sure that it wasn't on any of her bad days. Or else that would raise some other, more hard-to-answer questions.

But from the way he brought Ven closer, seeing that look in his eye right before he kissed him and tugged him back down onto the blanket, he knew Ven knew that he was hiding things from him. And his stomach clenched nervously at the thought of the day he would one day tell him...


"Wow, a meteor shower!" Came a call as Roxas was shown it, his eyes glimmering with the dancing lights playing a tune on a hidden, unheard piano. That had to be a sign of good luck! He smiled leaning against the wall, just watching it for a few moments, but slowly he looked to Axel when he heard him stomping out his cigarette. "Hey uh... today was great. You really looked like you loved it out there."

[Rikugurl]

"W-wait!? What!?" Riku cried, not liking the sound of that at all. He pouted, only hearing the laughter Sora let out, hearing it echo through the night.

"Mmmmm~~" Ven smiled at the kiss, feeling Terra's warmth again. His fingers ran up the tanned skin, knowing that this warmth was just so skin deep. He knew eventually, he would learn about the darkness that crawled under it.

"Of course." Axel replied, turning to look down at the blonde. "What isn't there to love? You know, I always heard singers through the radio and on tv but I never heard someone sing like that live, right next to me. It was thrilling actually... and I'm glad I could experience such a nice voice like that so close." He saw Roxas blush more and chuckled. "Come on, you need to eat!"


As the leaves changed and the weather grew colder, it was time to spend more time indoors with the people you love. It was also around that time of the year where the people of the US celebrated one of their favorite holidays where you could stuff yourself silly and go right to be afterwords without feeling lazy!
College was out on break for a week, allowing two boys to put down their books and spend some quality time together. unfortunately the silverette thought he would be acquiring some health problem with the way Sora squeezed him when he asked the brunette if he would like to spend Thanksgiving with his mother.

"Oh, that's great!" The short haired silverette woman smiled, passing the sweet potatoes over to her son. "Children are just wonderful and it's great that someone so enthusiastic wants to teach them. You know, children hold the light in this world~" Riku took the dish and filled a small corner of his plate before passing it to Sora who was all smiles. This was playing out better than he thought. His mom really seemed to like Sora and Sora really enjoyed his mother's character.


The automatic doors opened to Soledad Mental Institute, bringing the couple into the main room where security was standing at both sides of the doors. They were bundled up, getting use to the temperature outdoors but Ven quickly forgot about that when he followed Terra to the security counter, putting all his things in a bucket and doing the same. They retrieved their things on the other side, Terra explaining that this was a precaution and for the safety of the patients and staff since it was a mental ward and such. They couldn't be too safe. Their hands clasped together again and they walked to the elevator, going up one floor and walking down a mauve colored hallway. At least it wasn't white. This place smelt like a hospital but luckily it didn't look like one too much.

Ventus really never liked going to hospitals...

The paused as Terra looked into a room before pulling Ventus inside with him and the blonde quickly learned that this wasn't just a room.... it was her life.
The room was decorated much like a hotel suite with a sitting area in the front and her bedroom in the back. She was sitting by a window, looking out but as Terra called out for her, she turned and stood, walking over to them. He could definitely see the resemblance, seeing instantly that Terra gained his bright blue eyes from her and her milky brown hair. There was a smile on her face, quite empty feeling when she looked at him but brightened into one of Terra's beautiful flowers when she looked up at her son.

"Oh Terra, you made it for Thanksgiving?" When she spoke, Ventus picked up an accent that surprised him. Was this a part of her problem or was English really not her first language. If it wasn't, did Terra know it? He had a lot of questions but they all melted away when Terra introduced him. "Hello, Mrs. Tellus." Ven gave her a smile and her own didn't seem so empty now, a spark lighting up in her eye.
It was kind of sad. Had she looked at him before and was worried that they had met before and forgot? She seemed much more content knowing it was their first time meeting.

"Ventus? It's a very nice name you have. It's so good to meet you. A friend of my boy's is a friend of mine." The woman continued to smile, brightening up the room instantly. "Dinner I guess is almost ready? I still do feel strange not being able to help make it. Cooking and baking is something I really miss doing but they won't let me in the kitchen. They are losing out on some good meals." She chuckled, looking back at Terra. "Will you step out for a moment? I need to dress for dinner."
When Terra stated that she looked fine, her black shirt matching her nice white blouse with the white shall was fine. Ven slowly looked up at the brunette, seeing his face completely change. It was like the look he gave him when he was being really sappy.

He really loved her and it must of been nice to see her acting well.
"Oh.... well if you think this is fine, let's go!" The woman smiled, wrapping her arm around her son's and the three of them left the imaginary house to walk down the halls of the asylum for their dinner.

[Reno]

Thanksgiving. The time of year where everyone was thankful for the things they had; that special day that commemorated that time long ago when the pilgrims first came to this brave new world and found they could make a living here outside of religious persecution and governmental anarchy. Sora merely remembered those elementary days when they made turkeys using the print of their hand, the four digits the feathers and the thumb the head on which they got to glue on little extras like dyed feathers and googly eyes. And then on the back of their turkeys they would write what they were thankful for. Somewhere, possibly lost in the trash or hidden under mounds and mounds of saved class assignments those old projects still existed with the triplets words still written on them in crayon.

In blue crayon (his the only one done right with the feathers and eyes in all the right places), Roxas had wrote ‘That mommy cooks super.’ He remembered super was meant to be supper. He remembered it made his dad a little embarrassed.
In red crayon (with red feathers that were glued to the top of his turkey like some wicked hat and eyes glued onto each finger digit for an overall creepy look), Ven had scribbled, ‘That X-mas is soon!’ Sora had been a bit jealous he hadn’t thought of that one!
And in a flashy yellow (with so many feathers to match the poor turkey could hardly be seen), Sora had written, ‘That I celbate it with my fambily.” Celbate was meant to be celebrate and fambily – well that was kind of obvious.

Yeah, Sora was always thankful, especially now, for the times he could celebrate holidays with his family now that it so often happened he never could – not with the whole family at least. But when he was invited away by Riku, he couldn’t help but be excited because not only would he be getting to experience thanksgiving with another family – but he was also going to be meeting Riku’s mom!

Even still, he was still a tad worried about his own mother…
”Are you sure it’s okay mom? I mean I didn’t know Ven wasn’t coming and I can cancel-“
“Don’t you even think about it!” Came a sharp reply and Sora felt like he was being scolded. “Now Sora, I think it’s wonderful you’re spending quality time with a boyfriend. I’m glad you found someone to make you happy!”
“Yeah… he’s really great.” Sora swooned, but shook his head. “But mom you and dad-“
“Now don’t you worry about me and your father Sora. We’ll be just fine. As long as you promise to come home for Christmas. You know, your cousin is going to be visiting too.”
“Van? Awesome! And yeah mom I’ll definitely be there.”

But being here he completely forgot about everything even his cousin who he hadn’t seen in a few years because Carina, Riku’s mom, was just nothing short of… awesome!
“You know, my mom said something like that when I told her I was going to be teaching kids too.” Sora smiled as he accepted the bowl graciously, “I think it was something like… children are the start of every tune of every song.” He chuckled, “My mom always has to make everything relate to music.”
Riku playfully intoned his own always seemed to make references to light, in which Carina playfully thwapped him. Sora chuckled but when Carina asked about the music issue he smiled.
“My mom used to be a violinist. She would play at all sorts of classical concerts and stuff. She even once solo-performed at the umm… oh what is it called. The philharmonic? That big huge classical music event in New York?”
Carina seemed to know what he was talking about, but asked what happened.
“Well, she met my dad.” He chuckled. “After they got married and she realized she was pregnant with me and my brothers, she wanted to be a bigger part of our lives so she took a job close to home and took care of us. She still plays all the time, but mostly for only us.”


When Ven asked what he was doing for Thanksgiving, he hadn’t expected Ven would be eager to tag along. He always tried to visit his mother for the holidays, feeling terrible that she was spending it all alone in this lonely place. Even on her bad days he visited – though those visits never lasted very long. The only time he never came to see her was during her worst time of the year because that time… was too hard for him too.

“Mama,” Terra called as he led Ven inside. It always worried him that opening the door never brought her attention to him but thankfully she was instantly responsive to his voice. He smiled, squeezing Ven’s fingers encouragingly as she came over. She looked much better today then she had several weeks ago, her hair nicely combed and pulled up, her clothes fresh and matching. She even wore a slight bit of make-up, so one of the nurses must have spent some time with her that morning. She was really, even in her growing age and disability, a very pretty woman. “Of course, I wouldn’t miss if for the world. Mom, I want you to meet someone.” He looked down at Ven, saying, “This is a very good friend of mine, Ventus.”

As she had when she met Aqua so very long ago, she took to the blonde instantly, perking up even more. She never worried about the friends her little ‘Terry’ made. It was too bad he couldn’t introduce him as his boyfriend. His mother still sometimes found it hard to realize he was grown up and he wanted this day to go well. Another day, maybe alone, he’d tell her and see how she adjusted to it.

“Yes, I miss your cooking too, but now we get to spend more time with each other.” The brunette said, though it was true. He certainly missed his mothers meals – especially her muffin. When she spoke about changing though he shook his head. “Heh, but mom,” Terra said fondly, his eyes soft, “You don’t need to change. You look beautiful.” And that was all he needed to say to have her skipping out the door with them. But, it made his heart feel lighter seeing her in such a good mood. Maybe it was the holiday air.

As they reached the cafeteria, he looked about seeing the brilliant fall-colored confection all around to brighten the room. There were streamers stapled to the walls and as well as decorative pictures of leaves and turkeys. The tables had colorful tablecloths in burnt oranges and dark garnets and earthy browns and as centerpieces were little paper turkeys . Terra had to look away nervously when he spotted a girl trying to eat hers without anyone noticing. He led the two to an isolated table with – to little of Ven’s surprise – a table with an orange tablecloth. He pulled out a chair for his mother, making her laugh at his gentlemanly attitude. Ven didn’t allow him to do the same for him, hearing him mumble how much of a sap he was as he sat beside him.

The best part about this day though was none of the inmates had to get up, stand in line and get their food. Instead the nurses were wheeling the meals around, fresh and hot, in little baskets of food so that it mimicked a normal thanksgiving setting. They did something very similar for Christmas. He glanced at Ven, seeing the blonde fidgeting a little nervously, though he could certainly sympathize. Even after all the times he had come here even still it was hard to get used to the environment. Unseen, he reached out, rubbing his hand over Ven’s thigh comfortingly, giving him a reassuring smile.


“♪Oooooooh you make me smile!♪” Roxas sang into the microphone, trying to fight the urge to sway with the rhythm of the soft music. As the song came to the end, he opened his eyes to gentle applause, bowing his head respectively, “Thank you very much, please enjoy your dinner.”
They were in Philadelphia now, the concert already over with two nights ago. A lot of the team, including Namine, had gone home for the holiday. Had he of known ahead of time, he would have been home as well to see his parents; but the plans of his brothers had changed so unexpectedly and he was already scheduled to do the show. Even though his parents reassured him it was fine, he still felt badly he couldn’t be there.

Of course if Ven had just told him – but he couldn’t do that could he? Fucking selfish son of a…

He shook his head as he stepped into the lounge set up for the acts this stunning five-star restaurant, known as Le Chez Lumière, held, looking about at what was left of his crew. “Roxas, I still need that decision on Christmas!” He heard Roland calling where he was sitting with some of the technicians, discussing something or another.
“Alright!” He called back, but his eyes searched and landed on Axel who was munching away on the appetizers that were brought in. It was no turkey and stuffing though and it made him sigh softly.

”Well, you should think about going home.” Roxas spoke to the red-head one morning, sipping on his coffee.
Still only half awake, the red-head jerked, looking confused. “Huh, go home? What’d I do?”
The blonde cracked a smile, growing used to the other’s inability-to-function without coffee mode, “Nothing silly! I mean for Thanksgiving!”
“Oh! Um well… what about you?”
“Oh I’m not going home.”
“Why not?”
“It’s Ven’s year.”
“……….Huh?”

After he had explained, Axel really thought it was all sorts of silly and ridiculousness that he and his twin couldn’t even go home for the holidays on the same years. Truly, so did Roxas – and his other brother and parents had quite a say in on it all too – but the truth of the matter was, what was the point in going when they would do nothing but fight and ruin each other’s time. And besides, it was at least ONE thing they had been able to agree on in the past three years – that was something… right?

But what really baffled him was why Axel was still here. Had he stayed… because he knew he wasn’t going home? Some of them didn’t have a family to go home too, or didn’t want to, and of course Roxas himself was a bit of an unusual case but Axel had a very caring Aunt or a reformed brother he could be visiting. But… he was here.

He sat down beside the red-head, chuckling some as a plate was practically shoved into his hands, the red-head taking the time to order him to eat. “Yes father~” But, with the rumble in his stomach, he was thrilled to fulfill that request.

[Rikugurl]

"Ah, how wonderful, she sounds like an amazing person." Carina smiled, seeing that Sora was filling up his plate nicely. She loved to see young men eat! "Do you know how to play anything, Sora?" Her eyes widened when he revealed that he did and the harp of all things. "A harp? Oh my, that's a beautiful instrument. Not many people say that and I'm shocked such a nice young boy knows how! You'll have to play for me one day." Unfortunately, his harp was still back at home in Chicago but he believed there was a school harp in the band room of the university and maybe he could arrange something. No one had ever been interested in listening to him play before...

When the dinner was over, thanks was given to the woman who made it all possible and Riku offered to do all the dishes, Sora helping him carry them back to the kitchen but the silverette kicked him out afterwords, telling him to relax. The brunette found himself in a cozy little livingroom where Carina was sitting, hand sewing a little turkey plush. "It was so nice to you to come, Sora. I've been looking forward to seeing you." Sora found a spot to sit, being a nice big comfortable chair that he sank into and inquired. Riku had told her about him?

"Oh yes, a few weeks ago, he called me, telling me he met someone on his trip to Iowa that he really liked but he was really depressed because that someone didn't want anything to do with him." Sora suddenly frowned, looked away and felt guilty. "Don't worry Sora, I told him just to be yourself and if you two had so much fun together, you'll come around. I'm glad you did... I'm never seen Riku so cheerful."
Never? That was quite a statement coming from a mother. He was never this happy even as a child?
"Riku has a very hard time with adjusting, you see? Ever since his father went missing, even if he was too young to remember, he's never really adjusted. For such a long time, I thought I had done something wrong... that maybe I shouldn't of moved away from Japan or maybe I should have found another man to give him a sibling to play with."

The woman paused in her sewing to look up at Sora. "Riku is a child that any mother would love. He's hard working, smart, family oriented and helpful but... it just seems like he's droning through life. He pushes himself so hard to do difficult things by himself, not wanting or needing any help and it's because he had nothing else to deal with. He never made friends.... he never joined any groups or sports. He'd spend most of his days after school in his room reading and listening to some music." She chuckled softly, remembering something. "One of my old friends who moved away said it must of been the Japanese in him. All work and no play... but I didn't want my son to not enjoy life. I was really happy when he said he enjoyed woodworking, showing me the swords he made and I use to watch him as he ran around outside, defeating invisible monsters.... but he stopped doing that suddenly and I think because it was he had no one else to play with."

The needle pushed through the cloth again as she continued her project. "You have no idea how happy I was when he told me he got a girlfriend. I thought that was it, this was when he would slip and enjoy things but even that didn't work and they broke up a year later. But now, with you, I've never seen him smile so and look so relaxed. It's as if you've been good friends since you were young. He's never showed such strong emotions, whether it be sad or happy until you came into the picture. Hahahaha, that sounds so sappy! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that!"


Ven looked up and smiled some when he felt Terra's hand, knowing he would have to hide his uncomfortable feeling more. He had wished Terra gave him some more insight, now that he was here with this woman, he had no idea what was safe to say around her. What if he said something wrong? What if he made her sick again? What if he said something that would make food hit him? He never told him how she acted out or what exactly she does when things get bad. He was just.... petrified to talk to the nice woman!

Still, he tested the waters as they waited for their meal. "So, Mrs. Tellus, you have a really nice accent. What languages do you speak?" His body tenses as she looked his way, getting ready for ruining their holiday but---
"Oh... thank you." Ida smiled instead, tapping her finger against the table as she thought a bit. "Well English of course," She chuckled, "and Nederlands and a little Portuguese. Terra knows them all well though."
"He does, does he?" Ven's eyebrow rose, glancing at his boyfriend.
"What about you, Ventus? Do you speak any other languages?"
"Huh? Oh yea, actually I know how to speak French. My---"
"Oh! Did Mr. Harmon teach you?"

There was a pause, Ventus never heard that name before and he suddenly felt Terra's hand squeeze his leg. The blonde suddenly felt hot but not in a good way, unsure what the woman was talking about and quickly looked at Terra, seeing him give a nod before looking at the waiting woman. "R-right. Mr. Harmon taught me.
"He is such a good teacher. Are you in the same class as Terra? Is that how you two met?"
"Yeaaaa, our desks are right next to each other." Ventus explained, making the woman smile more. Thankfully, their meal was suddenly placed down before them, the nurses wishing them a Happy Thanksgiving.

Ven had no idea that Mr. Harmon was Terra's elementary teacher...


Their dinner was somewhat quiet as both were interested in the food they were given. It was a crazy day of traveling and no one really had much food so even if it wasn't good, they were starving. However, Axel suddenly spoke up after washing some food down with a drink. "Hey Roxy, does it bother you that you can't.... well... you know.... do stuff without security? I mean.... like.... walk down the street to pet a dog or go out to watch a movie? Everywhere you go you have a body guard. So I guess what I'm asking is... do you miss having a 'normal' life?"

[Reno]

There was an echoing chuckle, Sora smiling. "It's alright. I don't mind sappy," He reassured, but truly he was surprised how much this woman had just told him. Honestly a lot of the things she described... he couldn't even imagine. Being hard-working? Well he could imagine it, but for the past few weeks they've done nothing but goof off together!

Had he... really had such an influence on Riku as Riku had with him?

"Well, I'm glad then." Sora said finally, smiling. "Because... he's really made a difference for me too. My best friends... were my twin brothers. But they started fighting three years ago and hardly talk to each other anymore. So it's been hard lately. Riku's my first real friend I've made since... since moving here and going to college."

He blinked slowly, realizing how truthful that statement was as... he hadn't even realized it. All this time, all the connections he had made with people had been flimsy and fake; just a shadow of what they could of been. He thought it was good enough and then... Riku stepped into his life and reminded him things could be so much better.

"I... suppose that's the best part of a friendship. We're going to be their for each other and help us grow." He chuckled. "Now I sound like the sap!"


"Eh-heh..." Terra shifted some, shrugging at Ven when his mother announced he could speak three different languages. It wasn't true though. Not exactly at least. He could speak Dutch because he had taught himself... but he couldn't speak more than a few words of Portuguese.

No, he wasn't supposed to be taught it until he was older... he wasn't the one his father was teaching.

Things only got increasingly worrisome when his mother started to talk about Mr. Harmon, completely throwing his boyfriend out of the loop, but Ven handled it so well he could of fucking kissed him!
It wasn't until towards the end of the meal Ven finally got a clue of what was sort of going on. His mother started to talk about Aqua, asking if he knew her. When he told her he did, she started saying how much of a beautiful woman she was going to grow up to be and that she hoped they wouldn't fight over her when they grew up. Grew up like....

Terra shut his eyes but smiled to her. "Don't worry mom... Ven, Aqua and I are best friends. We'll... we'll be friends no matter what."


Roxas paused in his ravenous meal, looking over at Axel as he asked the question. He shrugged, nibbling on a chip dipped in guacamole. "Sometimes. It gets a bit annoying but I mean it's not like I'm smothered or anything. I CAN go places on my own if I really wanted to, they don't have me by chain. But Roland oh so kindly has to remind me every time I do wander off alone about every signer whose every died in some horrible way." He chuckled but shook his head.

"When we tour into Chicago I'll have all the freedom I want though and that's all I care about. It would really suck if I couldn't go to my favorite ice cream parlor on my own vacation!"

[Rikugurl]

Carina only chuckled at Sora announcing he was the sap now. "Oh Sora, you are a delight." She pulled on one last string, finishing the soft little bird that thankfully never see a dinner table. "Here you are dear." She said, offering the plush over to Sora whose eyes widened as he took it, asking if she had made it for him. "Yes, I started it this morning. What I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving is that Riku found a friend like you. I just hope you two stay friends for a long time. Please excuse me for a moment." The woman stood and walked out of the living room, heading upstairs to probably use the bathroom.

It was then that Sora looked over the bird, admiring how well it was crafted.
"She's great at sewing, huh?" Came a voice that startled the brunette, making him look up to see Riku leaning against the door frame by the kitchen. He had heard... everything.


Grew up...
Could she not see that him and Terra were pretty grown up already? He was 21 and even though he was on the very short side, he still had a fully developed body. Just ask Terra~
Was she... stuck in a point of time? Was that why she was here? Her mind couldn't leap over that time gap an she was stuck there forever? He had heard about something called PTSD, which brought people back to the time they didn't want to be but was she afraid of the future?

Terra was going to have some explaining to do after this if he liked it or not. There was one thing with dealing with a nutty person but it's another dealing with a nutty person that may one day be a part of your life and you have no clue what's wrong with them.
Nurses started to walk around, taking dishes that were done. Throughout the dinner, they could hear some more severe cases behind them. Some dishes clanking and breaking, some hollers and shrieks. Luckily the nurses made sure everything calmed quickly or removed the patient. Ven's heart sank, knowing that he only saw Ida's good side but a place like this still didn't seem right for her.

Their own plates were taken as they finished and again the nurses gave small thank yous before walking off. "I'm sure you two have some plans for this evening, maybe watching a movie or something? You know they are half-off on holidays." Ida smiled as she stood, the two boys following her lead. Slowly they left the cafeteria and walked her back to her room. "If you need some money, Terra, there is that jar in the den. Take out some and have a good time." She turned to them both when she reached the room on the second floor, giving them another bright smile.

Wow, she was really happy...

"Just don't stay out too late, alright?" Blue eyes turned to Ven and she reached out, taking his hands and rubbing them gently. "It was nice to see you, Ventus. Please stop over any time."
"It was nice meeting you too, Mrs. Tellus. I'll be sure to visit again soon."


"Hahahaha, I never knew anyone who liked ice cream as much as you!" Axel laughed, shaking his head. "I don't think anything would stop you from going to an ice cream parlor, not even the Apocalypse itself!" He continued to laugh, hearing Roxas chime in. As they simmered down, Axel ran a thin finger across his cheek, wiping away some tears that had formed from the laughter. He leaned back, sighing softly before looking up at the ceiling. He really missed his family, never missing one with his Aunt before but even still, he felt right here, with Roxas. For some strange reason, he felt like the blonde completed him in a way.... like he was a stray piece of music paper that was blank for so long and Roxas came around, filling in the notes.

He straightened slowly, taking a peak at Roxas who was still eating up his meal. "Did you... want to share some ice cream with me for dessert?"

[Reno]

He ran his fingers over the top of the bird's head, then it's large glorious tail which had been sown with three different colors but the fabric was very soft. He wasn't sure wait it was, but he swallowed hard, feeling emotion welling in him. She didn't need to give him this just for being her son's friend... Knowing Riku... that was a gift itself.

He looked up when he heard the voice, his breath catching as he spotted the other. "Y-Yeah... She really is." He stood suddenly, setting the stuffed toy on the chair, before suddenly walking over to Riku and without warning, drew him into a tight hug. "Thank you for inviting me. For caring... For everything."


"I won't, I promise. Good night mom." Terra said with a smile as if this was all quite normal, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Ven gave his final farewell before together they walked down the hall, an uneasy silence between them. Terra rubbed the back of his head nervously, glancing at Ven but the blonde refused to look at him. Was... was it really that terrible? This had been a really good day... compared to most.

He bit his lip, looking down at the tiles and the walk out of the asylum was an uncomfortable one. It wasn't until they were outside, with the cool night air blowing chills down their backs and white puffs of breath clouding their faces, that Terra finally spoke. "I'm sorry..."


"You just teased me about me love for ice cream, and now you're asking if I WANT some?" Roxas said, his own voice playful. "Well hell yeah!" They shared another laugh, and when the ice cream got to them, the singer was quite willing to forget the rest of the food for the icy treat.

"So," Roxas said conversationally as he spooned out some of the dessert and ate it quite happily, "You better start thinking about Christmas." The red-head looked at him curiously. "We have a performance on Christmas Eve in Boston, then everyone goes home for the holidays - though you can go home before that if you want. After that, we'll be meeting up in New York City for New Years Eve. They're going to be really big shows. But if you're planning on going home you better start looking for airline tickets now before the flights all fill up."

[Rikugurl]

"Ut..." Riku's eyes widened when Sora brought him into a tight hug, already getting use to it now. "S-sora... you don't have to thank me, alright?" He smiled gently, wrapping his arms around the shorter male. "I'm just glad... you came, is all." His chin rested on Sora's shoulder, feeling the warmth Sora gave off. A warmth that filled his heart with light. He had never hugged anyone and felt this way before. What was it that drew him to the brunette in the first place? What was it that made him break away from his normal behavior to go after the brunette... to have sex with him that night? Sora really did have a cute and innocent face even thought Riku knew that this boy was far from innocent.

It was... Sora though. The man who made him do a double take when he first saw him on campus. Whatever it was, he truly loved it. The silverette pulled away slightly, their foreheads gently coming together. A pale hand ran through soft spikes as he whispered his name, his lips slowly descending and pressed against the other's slowly.


The blonde crossed his arms some when he heard the apology and stopped, making Terra do the same and look back at him. "You could have told me. I was scared to death, Terra." Ventus frowned, looking down at the darkened grass. For once, Ventus wasn't going to give Terra an inch. "I know we've only been together for a month and we have a lot of deep and dark stuff that's yet to be revealed but... please don't ever put me in that kind of position again." He looked up at Terra who still had guilt in his eyes but when he looked at Ven, he could see tears building up in the blonde's. "This isn't about me, Terra.... You're mom is a real sweet lady.... and I didn't want to hurt her. If I did something that would make her....get hurt, I wouldn't be able to live with myself...."


"Christmas, huh?" The redhead paused as he was about to dip his spoon into the cold treat. "Yea, I guess that is coming up fast." He frowned some, taking a scoop and placing it in his mouth with a hum. "Yea... I guess I will have to look for flights to go see my aunt." He knew that he couldn't miss Christmas. Him and his brother were the only family left and if she had to be alone on Christmas too, he knew she would get real sad. She had done so much for him. She... she adopted him. No matter how much he would like to stay and rehearse, he needed to see her. "It's too bad you can't come with me to meet my aunt. I bet she'd really like to meet you. I guess when we tour down in Texas again, you'll consider it?"

[Reno]

"Ven..." Terra said, feeling his heart hurt when he saw the other's tears. He wanted to reach out, to wipe them away and just make it better.
"If I did something that would make her....get hurt, I wouldn't be able to live with myself...."
But those words shattered him and not for the same reason one might expect.

"Heh..." He said, his voice suddenly bitter and full of pain. "You'd be lucky. To hurt her only once." Ven looked up at him, suddenly confused and Terra looked back towards the asylum, tilting his head and staring up at the granite letter that spelled out the name of the place. "I love my mother more than anything. I'd do anything for her. I even learned Dutch... just so I could speak with her on her bad days. And every day... I have to live with the fact... that I put her here."

"You worthless piece of shit!"
Smack!
"Dad!"
Smack!
"Dad stop it hurts!"
Slap! "Shut up! Just shut the FUCK up." Kick!
A sob. "Dad PLEASE!"
"If you didn't exist, she would be fine! This is all your fault!"

Unseeing blue eyes glistened with tears, and Terra shut his eyes, bowing his head. "My fault... it was always my fault."


Roxas nodded, satisfied with that answer, but smiled when he heard the other. To go home... it must be nice. Roxas didn't even know where he would be staying. But it was sure to be just another hotel. He wanted to say he could definitely come along... but he knew that wasn't possible. So instead he just swallowed another bite of ice cream, saying softly, "Yeah... I'd really like that."

[Rikugurl]

"T-terra?" Ven's eyes widened when he saw the brunette turn away, only to look up at the building they had just left and... admitted he was the one who had made her come here. What...? Again, he had not known Terra longer than a month and truly didn't know a thing about his background besides his lover for books and flowers. He never spoke about his family and only seemed to care about Wolf, himself and Aqua. Even still, he couldn't make himself believe that Terra would of driven his mother here on an emotional basis. He loved her too much and it wasn't so possessive that it could be written as guilt. If he really had pushed her to come here, he would of been more---

She's had it... since I was about... eight?

His eyes darkened, blinking away his own tears and he walked over to Terra, wrapping his arms around him and pulling his face up by his chin. "Baby... don't say things like this..." He spoke softly, rubbing his thumb over his eyes to get the tears out of them. "You know, better than I do, that you didn't make her sick. This isn't your fault. You love her, you take care of her... you're a good son. W-whatever this does that links to you isn't your fault." His words were shots in the dark but they were not empty. He knew that if his uncle was keeping in contact about her with him, something wasn't adding up.

The blonde ran his hands open Terra's neck and fingers gently pushed away brown locks to calm him. "Tere..... I love you.... and if we're going to get through with this, you need to talk to me. I want to be with you... I want to be a part of your life.... and that means through the bad times too. I don't want to feel helpless when you're hurting. I was to mend your wounds and pains but I need to know what they are." His finger slowly ran across the scar he had seen the first night they had sex. "I want to be your cure."

[Reno]

”If you really want to know…” Terra whispered back, his voice hollow with remorse, seeming – if possible – further pained by the other’s loving words and actions, as if he couldn’t quite believe him. “Then we have to go back to my apartment.”

Ven didn’t argue, the ride back near silent and when they reached the little complex he called home, Terra unlocked the door, patting Wolf absently on the head as they were greeted excitedly. The terrier followed his master obediently into his bedroom, tilting his head curiously as he rummaged through the top drawer of his dresser. This drawer, rather than being filled with clothes, was a bit of a storage drawer, full of knickknacks and odd ends.

The springs on the bed creaked as Ven sat down, not even minding as Wolf jumped up with him, just waiting to see what his boyfriend was up to. Terra pulled out what appeared to be a slip of paper, before he walked over and sat down on the bed, and he handed it to him.
It wasn’t a slip of paper at all.
It was a photograph. A photograph of a boy many years younger than either of them. He had wild black hair that was long and spiky, indigo blue eyes, and a handsome smile.

Ventus stared at it for a long time, looking confused before he asked softly. ”Is this…. you?”
“No.” Terra whispered softly. “He’s Zack. My brother…. My older brother.”
”I didn’t know you had a brother! Where is he?”
“…….……. He’s dead.”
”………………..”
Terra shut his eyes, letting out a long sigh, smiling painfully. “He was about five years older than me but even still he was always there for me. He didn’t seem to mind having his kid brother always wanting to tag along when he went out with his friends and would always play with me when I asked. I really… I really looked up to him. I thought he was just the coolest.” His smile fell and he swallowed hard, “But he could be an idiot sometimes. I still remember that last day. My brother was walking me to school, like he always did…”


“Alright you two, have a good day! Terry, give mommy a kiss!”
“’Kay mom!” The little boy said, hopping up the steps of the porch and leaning up to give her her kiss before hurrying back to his brother’s side. The two started to walk away but there was a warning call behind them.
“Zaaack!”
The two shared a sigh, before Zack reached down and took his little brother’s hand looking back and giving her his winning ‘I-can-do-no-wrong’ smile, “I got it covered mom, no worries!”
“Bye mom!”
They waited until they were down the street before Zack looked around and winked at his brother. “Coast’s clear bro.” They let go, rubbing their hands on their pants because, as Terra had learned, it wasn’t a manly thing to hold hands with another boy.
They continued down the sidewalk but it wasn’t long before they were joined by another boy who also had black hair. “Heeey!” He caught Zack in a headlock giving him a vicious noogie.
”His name was Angeal. He was Zack’s best friend.”
“Hey, watch the hair man! It took me twenty minutes to get it the way I wanted it!”
“Oh I see. So that’s how long you sleep in every day!”
“Nu-huh. He really was in the bathroom all that time! Talking at his reflection and called himself Cissnei.”
Angeal blinked and then started to laugh, “Oh I see!”
Zack, blushing in mortification, ruffled his brother’s hair roughly. “Thanks squirt!”
“Zack’s got the hots for Ciiiiiissnei~”
“Shut up! I do not!”
”I liked Angeal-“
“What are you idiots doing?”
”However, I didn’t like his friend Genesis.”
“Hey Ness.” The two greeted, but Terra just frowned at him, holding the strap of his backpack a little tighter.

The tall, red-haired boy simply nodded, walking up beside them, giving a sideways glance to the youngest member of the group. “You seriously still have to walk him to school? Why don’t you just ditch him? He’s got to know the way by now.”
“Hey lay off him.” Zack said a bit protectively, huffing.
“Yeah man, Terra’s cool.” Angeal said, looking down and giving the brunette a smile. He was pretty fond of Terra really – partially because he had a younger sibling of his own.
“Tch, whatever.” Genesis said, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. Terra’s nose wrinkled in disgust when he lit it, but no one paid attention to him. “Playing hooky today. Seph’s coming. You guys in?”
“Depends. What are we gonna do?” His brother asked nonchalantly, ignoring the frown his brother was giving him.
Genesis suddenly grinned. “You guys remember my dad’s old Cadillac? The classic 1985? What say we… take it for a spin?”
“Really?!” Angeal said. “You serious?”
“I’m always serious.”
“Wicked! Yeah let’s do it.” His brother agreed.
The boys started to talk excitedly, and it took Terra a few minutes to get his attention as he tugged on his brother’s jacket. “Zack!”
“What is it Terra?”
“You can’t drive! And Dad told you, you couldn’t skip any more classes! He said he’d get your ass for it!”
“Ah come on Ter, it’ll be alright as long as he doesn’t find out.”
Terra frowned, shaking his head. “I’ll tell mommy.”
“No you won’t.”
The brunette frowned and turned right around and started walking back the way they came.
“Hey… Hey Terra!”
”To this day I still wish… I kept walking.”

“Gee Zack, your brother’s such a goody two shoes.” Genesis said, blowing smoke.
Zack ran after his brother, cutting him off and kneeling down in front of him, gripping his shoulders. “Hey, come on you can’t do that to me!”
“Yes I can! You’re gonna get hurt!”
“Ahhh, no I’m not. It’s just like a curfew Terra. Just because mom and dad say we aren’t old enough to do something, doesn’t mean it’ll actually hurt us.”
The boy frowned, looking away, but Zack knew he was making him waver.
“Hey. And if you do me this one awesome favor I’ll give you that reaaaallly cool birthday present I’ve been telling you about.”
This caught the other’s attention, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “But my birthday’s not for… fifteen more days!”
“Uh-huh I know. And you don’t want to wait allll that time, right? So what do you say, we got a deal?”
“Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm….. okay!”
“Alright!” They shook hands on it and when Zack dropped him off at school, He gave him a thumbs up, before walking in the opposite direction to his own school, following his friends.


“I spent the rest of the day so excited about that gift… I didn’t know anything was wrong until a little after lunch. My dad came to school and picked me up and he had this… horrible look on his face. When I asked where we were going, he just said the hospital. But he didn’t compare… to how wrecked mom was when we got there…”


“Mama!” Terra called loudly rushing over the tiles to where his mother was sitting in a chair, not seeming to note the solemn, sterile air of the hospital or the feeling of loss that stuck to the place like the gum did on the bottom of his school desk. “Mama, are you okay?” He asked, noticing she was crying.
“Ida… dear…” His father said, sitting beside her. His father was a tall, strongly built man with the dark black hair his first born had inherited, and dark red eyes. He reached out and rubbed her back but neither his nor her son’s calls drew her from her weeping. Only once did she manage to say,
“A n-nurse came by… she said it wasn’t looking g-good…” The words though, he remembered clearly, made his father’s expression twist too and Terra was a bit scared he would start crying too.
”We were there for what seemed like forever. I spent most of my time playing with the other kids that were there or reading the kid’s magazines on the tables. My dad and my mom, after she stopped crying, were very quiet. The doctor eventually came though…”
“Mrs. and Mr. Tellus?” Terra, who was curled up in his chair and dozing with his head on his backpack, came awake as his parents stood hurriedly facing a tall, blonde man in a lap coat. His expression was grave. “I’m afraid your son Zackary… has passed away.”
Terra would never forget the wail his mother let out and she started to shout loudly in her native tongue that even at that age he recognized as Dutch. Hatori held onto her and though the Doctor tried to explain to them more of what happened, he eventually just left them at peace, leaving only his condolences.


Terra sighed shakily, putting his head in his hands, hardly bothered as Wolf came over and laid down against his thigh. “Everything just… sort of happened so fast. I just remember I thought my parents were like zombies that week, they were acting so… so strange. I had no idea what was going on though and no one thought to… explain it to me. I didn’t realize Zack was… that he was dead. I just thought he was on a really long sleepover with one of his friends. He always used to joke about that. About how he would r-run away and live with Angeal just to get away from our parents.” He smiled some, the expression weak, “It wasn’t until the funeral that someone stopped and told me what was going on.”


“Hatori… Jesus I’m so sorry. Ida, dear, how are you doing?” Terra heard his Uncle Braig saying as he gave them a hug, but he stopped paying attention after that, just sulking in his chair and staring at nothing. He didn’t know why everyone was here – even his Uncle Eraqus came and he knew he lived reallllly far away – but it didn’t matter. All he knew is they weren’t here to give him a surprise birthday party.
“Hey kiddo, how ya doing?” Terra looked up, seeing his uncle Braig had knelt down, giving him this sad smile.
“I’m alright.” He mumbled, looking away.
“You sure…?”
“….It’s just not fair!” The boy said, huffing. “My birthday is in eight more days and my parents are throwing a party for Zack!” The shocked look didn’t register to him as he stuck his tongue out at the coffin. “Of course, he’s missing it all anyways. Sleeping in like always!”
“Ah… Terra… it’s not –he’s not...” His uncle hesitated, looking lost for words as he looked towards the boy’s parents, seeing their dismal, hopeless looks as they spoke with Angeal’s parents. Then slowly he sighed, “Come on kiddo, we have to have a little talk.”
Terra didn’t say anything, just wrapped his arms around his uncle’s big neck with his little arms, being taken outside to the parking lot where he was sat down on the trunk of his uncle’s shiny black car. His uncle propped a foot on the bumper, leaning over and looking at the boy. “Terra… your brother he… he’s gone to heaven.”
“Why would he go there?”
“There was an accident you see. He and some of his friends were driving around in a car but they didn’t know how to drive it. I don’t even know where they got such a crazy idea!” The boy was frowning now, remembering the last conversation he ever has with his brother. He knew… “They went on the highway and they got hit by another car. Your brother Zack… he wasn’t wearing his seat belt and he got hurt real bad. They took him to the hospital and the doctors there tried to fix him, but he was hurt too much.” A large hand was placed on his shoulder. “He died Terra. Do you know what that means?”
The boy frowned, suddenly remembering his brother’s pet hamster he used to have. Terra loved playing with that little black and white ball of fuzz and when his brother wasn’t looking, he sometimes took him out of his cage and played with him. One day when he went to do so, the hamster had been curled up as if asleep but when he reached in and picked him up he remembered him being cold and hard, almost like a rock. His mother, too, told him he had died. The same day, they put the hamster in a shoe box and buried him in the back yard. Now that he thought about it… the bed Zack was on looked like an oversized shoe box – though maybe only clowns had feet that big. “Is it… is it like what happened to Skipper?”
“Yeah Terra… It’s exactly like what happened to Skipper.”
“And they’re gonna… bury him? But Zack hates that… he won’t even let me do that when we play Beach.” His lip quivered though, the impact of what was truly happening finally hitting him. Because he definitely understood that, after he was caught trying to dig up where they buried Skipper and scolded by his mom, that the little creature could never come back to play with him. And now… neither could Zack.
“Oh Terra.”
“He really… r-r-really hates it Uncle!” The young boy started to cry, not minding it as he was lifted from the car and hugged. “Please d-don’t let them u-uncle!!”
Braig started to rock the boy, rubbing his back soothingly, “I know kiddo I know… sssh it’ll be okay…”


“After that,” Terra said softly, his throat a bit dry from talking for so long, “well, things were never the same. I mean, after a couple of months, my dad started to get better and I started to get used to it too even if it was hard. But mom she… she never got better. At first people just told my dad she was just grieving still; that it was hard to lose a son. But… But even I started to know things weren’t quite right when my mom started to… to get up every morning and try to wake Zack up, only to panic and tell my dad that he had run away. Or that she would set a place for him at the dinner table and get mad that he was late coming home. She even once made a dentist’s appointment for him. My dad knew something was really wrong and took her to a psychiatrist. They eventually diagnosed her with schizophrenia and severe depression. The way the doctor explained it was that my mom was permanently stuck in the past. On her good days, it is as if, to her, it is a day before the accident and Zack is still there. But on her bad days… that’s when she remembers. It almost felt like I had two moms.”

The brunette sighed softly, before looking to his boyfriend, “We… We did our best. Dad expected me to always be home, to be there to help her if she needed it. So I came straight home after school every day for years and I had to walk myself to school. They put her on medication and though often she wasn’t all there even on it she was able to function. She could go to work and do normal tasks. Pretty soon the only day we really knew to look out for specifically was… the day he died. On medication or not, mom became a wreck for a couple weeks and just sat in a chair in Zack’s room for hours and hours, crying and speaking nothing but Dutch. That’s why I learned it. I took some of her translation books and checked out some textbooks from the library and taught myself so I could speak to her.” He frowned suddenly. “And that’s how I found out on her bad days… that she forgets everyone. Everyone except Zack.”

He stood suddenly, the picture, long forgotten as the tale was told, fell onto the ground. Wolf’s head rose, his tags jingling as his master paced over to his window, leaning his hands on the sill and looking out at the silent street of Aurora. The shadows of the night made him appear almost like a silhouette. “Things were okay though for the most part. We… we dealt with it. But… But everything changed the year I turned fourteen. Mom was still really bad. She always was through my birthday that wasn’t unusual. But that time… it didn’t get better. She was still on medication but even still this bad stage… it lasted for months. It was so hard to live with and she needed almost constant care and us watching out for her. Things, no matter how much I wanted to, couldn’t give her. Dad had to call the doctor again and that’s when he told us we would have to put her in a mental ward. He guessed that… that it was because I had surpassed Zack in age. Somewhere, she realized I was getting older, older than my big brother, and that wasn’t right… unless he was gone. And she couldn’t deal with that. She still can’t deal with it.” He bowed his head. “If I hadn’t of been there… maybe she’d still be okay…”

He heard the bed springs shift, Ven getting up, starting to protest, but Terra turned. His face was twisted some in pain, whispering softly, “That’s… not the worst part. As I grew up, I started to look more like Zack. And on her bad days… that’s who she thinks I am. Sometimes she yells accusations to me, asking me why I did what I did… and other times she just cries and cries and begs me to come home. I… I always hope one day on these days she’ll realize she’s looking at me not… not him. That… That she’ll figure it out that he’s not coming back and pull out of it… but it’s been over fifteen years and… and nothing’s changed.” Tears had formed in Terra’s eyes again and he shook his head.

“I…I can’t tell her anything. I can’t tell her how I graduated from high school or how I’m almost done with my bachelor’s degree. I can’t tell her where I work or that I have a dog.” His eyes shut, tears tracking down his face. “I can’t even tell her how much I love you and how happy I am! B-Because to her I’m still seven years old… or… I don’t exist at all.”

[Rikugurl]

"AAAAAAAAAAH!!! Nee, mijn jongen! NEE, MIJN JONGEN! Hij geeft nooit op! U laat hem sterven! U LAAT HEM STERVEEEEEEEN!!!" Strong arms wrapped around her body, pulling he away before she could advance towards the doctor as she cried out hysterically. "NEE, MIJN JONGEN! ZACKARY! ZAAAAAAAAAACK!!"


"Terra..." Ven closed his eyes, feeling hot tears run down his cheek while his arms wrapped around the man's neck and leaned his head against his chest. It was all starting to make sense. It's why she thought they were in school together. That's why she said when Aqua 'grew up'. He mind oddly only saw them as children. She was lost in denial. She couldn't move on. She couldn't accept Zack's death. She had been lost for so many years, letting the time pass her by as she lived on that continuous day that would never end. She was.... missing out on life.

And it was not only her hurting, it was her whole family. Terra himself couldn't move on because his mother wouldn't understand. Like many people, their mother was the sun of their world and they want to share their lives with them. Terra couldn't even celebrate his birthday with her and it was the day, so many years ago, that she brought him into the world. He couldn't tell her all the things he had achieved in his life or tell her he found someone he really loved because he was still a child in her mind.

And what about other people? What about her husband? What about her job? What about this uncle B? Could they not move on either in her eyes?
What made her realize that Zack was really dead? Medication. There was.... medication that helped her live a lie. Was being there actually helping? How could she move on if she never had to? All these questions ran through the blonde's head, not wanting to ask them now as Terra needed more than just the same unanswered problems. He needed more support and reassurance that he was not the fault. No one was.

"Terra..." His voice was softly, pulling away from the man to reach up and again wiped away the tears. "You know that you have no control over this. D-don't blame yourself for what happened. You didn't know anymore than what anyone else did and you were too young to understand. And.... and you aging well, of course you can't stop that." His hands ran through the soft brown hair and his toes pushed up in shoes, bringing them almost face to face to lean his forehead on Terra's. "I'll always be here for you. N-no matter what."

[Reno]

Arms wrapped around Ven, bringing him closer to the warm, solid body of the tall brunette, the elder trembling. "Ven..."
That night, Ven made good on his words as he stayed with the brunette that night, the two cuddled close on the brunette's too-small bed, the blonde just watching as Terra fell asleep hoping one day, maybe, he could heal his heart indefinitely.


"Riku, Riku look! I have proof now!" Came a triumphant crow as a picture was shoved in his face.
Now, if Sora hadn't expected the last place he would celebrate Thanksgiving at another person's home, this was the LAST place Riku would ever imagine he'd greet the new year!
"Hey sugars, here you go!" Called a man dressed in vibrant shades of purple and blue as he set their drinks out.
...a gay bar.

And they weren't alone. While the female silverette of the table was tipping the waiter, a picture was being snatched out of Riku's numb hands for a better look.
"Holy SHIT!"
Sora laughed behind his hand, picking up his drink and sipping some of it.
"Is this fucking fake?" Terra demanded to know, staring at the Christmas picture with three boys in it. One he instantly recognized as Ventus and the other was Sora... but the third boy... He could of been Sora's long lost twin or something.
"No! That's my cousin, really!!"
"But-ow!" Beside him Ventus scolded his boyfriend for his rudeness, taking the picture from him and handing it back to Sora.
"It's really true." Sora said with a nod. "They even had articles about us when we were kids about how unlikely and amazing it was. they said it was a 1 to a 5.27 billion chance two relatives of that nature could ever look so similar."
"Heh, I think it's pretty cool." Aqua joked some. "Though its a little weird that you and Ven are actually twins and don't look alike."
"Maybe a little, but I like it that way." He shared a grin with his brother but looked at the picture and huffed. "But you know what REALLY sucks? He's TALLER than me. How unfair is that!"


"Five songs!"
"FIVE?! On New Years Eve?! In New York?!!?!" Roxas cried in complaint the rest of the crew listening to them in disappointment. It was the worst they've done in awhile.
"They were booked solid Rox, there was nothing I could do. Besides at least we've got a slot closer to midnight this year."
"Five songs..." The blonde mumbled angrily, running his hand through his hair, then paused. "Five songs.... that's perfect!"
"Oh now it's perfect he says." Roland mumbled, rolling his eyes and making some of the others laugh, but as Roxas turned to them with a smile, they all wondered what the blonde was thinking.
"Guys, we're going to have a change in the performance!" Everyone shared an uncertain glance. "Five songs. And Axel's been with us precisely long enough to make five dances! So what say we greet this new year with our whole new performance line-up?"
Now that decision was met with cheers and bouts of excited agreement - and Axel never looked happier.

Roxas ran his hands nervously through his hair, remembering the conversation that had taken place just a few days ago. Five songs. It wasn't a lot, but it was still a half hour of performance time of nothing but dancing under hot lights. There would be no breaks. Roxas wasn't worried though - they could handle it.
"Jeez this place is packed! Who got the midnight slot any-" Nico was complaining while Kalama hissed at him and pulled his hair (which she was personally styling). "Ow!"
New Years was, arguably, the biggest performance of the year. It was a big deal just to even get in! They performed close to New York Times Square, down on Broadway Avenue, so close they could see the dazzling ball that dropped every year. With over a million people crowding the streets by the time midnight rolled around, the closer one got to the midnight slot, the better as they pick up the majority of the crowd. But the performances last almost all day, starting at nine in the morning all the way through midnight and beyond. They had gotten pretty lucky - they had been given the 9:30 PM slot. They were going to get a HUGE audience.
"It doesn't matter who has the midnight slot." Roxas suddenly spoke up, looking at the crew and smiling. "What matters is we give our crowd the best show of their lives! We're out there to wow them so I better see you guys giving it your all!"