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Roxas couldn’t stop staring.He didn’t mean to be rude, but it was hard not to look at the person who shared your face. His gaze scrutinized Ven’s face for minute differences between them. The most notable distinction between the two were Ven’s bright green eyes and Roxas’s own deep blue. The contrast made it easier for Roxas to meet Ven’s eyes and a genuine smile to cross his face when Ven said something funny. “—yeah, with frisbees. They even had flame designs painted on them,” Ven said.Axel reached across the table to ruffled Ven’s hair in the same playful way he’d do to Roxas. The smile dropped from Roxas’s face.“Hey! I designed those myself! And they held up pretty well against a Keyblade wielder.” Axel flashed a grin of pride while Ven laughed.“You lost instantly,” Isa said, a smirk dancing across his face. Naminé and Xion dissolved into giggles where they were sitting beside Roxas. The group had gathered at the bistro for lunch. Ven had payed them an visit to catch up with Axel and Isa, so they’d grabbed an extra chair and talked well into the afternoon.Roxas fell into silence whenever Ven talked. Their voices weren’t exactly the same, but it still jarred Roxas to hear himself speak at the same time as Ven. He let Ven and Axel carry the conversation as they talked about their meeting in Radiant Garden. Xion and Naminé didn’t hesitate to pepper Ven with questions, and Roxas was more than happy to laugh at Axel’s expense. Ven ran his fingers through his hair, and Roxas’s own hand twitched. He caught himself before he automatically copied the action. He adjusted his body so that he wasn’t leaning forward with his arms on the table like Ven. He chuckled as Ven continued the story but didn’t smile as wide.“I can’t believe you lost to Ven wielding a stick instead of a real Keyblade,” Xion said, poking Axel in the side. “Actually, I can believe that.”“Wait, Xion, you need to tell Ven the stick story,” Naminé said.Ven’s green eyes lit up. “What stick story?”Roxas’s face flushed. “Oh, please not the stick story.” Xion launched into her retelling of their mission to Beast’s Castle, egged on by Axel, who appreciated not being the center of embarrassment this time. Roxas groaned and avoided looking at Ven. When he and Xion had shared the story with all their friends, Roxas had gleefully participated in the retelling along with her. He’d helped her recover her Keyblade, after all, and was proud of the story no matter how embarrassing it was. He also loved listening to her talk. Xion always gestured wildly and spoke with such excitement she’d be breathless by the end of the story.But this time as Xion got to the part about the stick, all he could hear was Ven’s laughter cutting through the air. Roxas’s stomach twisted at the strange familiarity of the sound. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair in an attempt to appear unbothered. The clock tower chimed, and he let his gaze wander to it.He almost savored the rush of relief when a Heartless appeared in the skies.Roxas sprang to his feet, nearly overturning his chair. “Heartless!” he said, summoning Oblivion to his hand.The cheerful mood dimmed. Xion cut off her story, and her own Keyblade flashed into existence. Aubade’s golden spikes glinted in the sunlight, her Keyblade’s new form now that she no longer wielded a copy of the Kingdom Key. Roxas handed Oathkeeper to Naminé. She didn’t have a Keyblade of her own and wasn’t sure if she wanted to be a wielder, but she’d been active in their Struggle matches and knew how to defend herself. Roxas’s heart had swelled with pride when she’d asked him to teach her. The Heartless circled above the town. Smaller Heartless appeared in the streets. As long as the largest was defeated quickly they wouldn’t be a great threat.“Hey, Lea, I’ll give you a hundred munny if you can hit that Heartless with your chakrams from here,” Ven said, stealing the words out of Roxas’s mouth.Axel spun his Keyblade in his fingers. “Oh, you’re on!”A pair of flame-wreathed chakrams soared over Twilight Town’s rooftops. Roxas didn’t stick around to see if they hit their target. He chased the cluster of Shadows to the underground conduit and ignored the way his heart clenched in his chest. Oblivion cut through the Heartless with more ferocity than the small creatures were worth. He released the anger simmering under his skin on his foes, and the passageways were clear in no time. Roxas let out a breath. He toyed with the black and white rings on his left hand, a habit he’d picked up whenever he lent Naminé Oathkeeper. With no more Heartless in sight, there was no outlet for his emotions. Roxas tried not to think about exactly where those emotions were coming from and left the conduit in search of something to fight. The soft glow of sunset streamed through the trees. Heartless lived in the woods outside of town, though they rarely bothered the residents. Today, however, a group of Powerwilds swung between the branches and disturbed the peaceful air. Roxas dodged their claws and cast Blizzard spells to freeze them in place. Oblivion’s teeth shattered the ice, and freed hearts drifted into the air. He’d just finished destroying the Powerwilds when a trio of Large Armors appeared. Roxas vaulted over them as they charged. Oblivion sliced through one’s exposed back.A giant hand caught his shoulder. His Keyblade tumbled from his grasp. Roxas rolled out of the way before a second swipe from the Large Body took off his head. He summoned Oblivion to his left hand, blasted the Heartless away with Aero, and ducked behind a tree. Roxas cursed his own carelessness and cast Cure on his shoulder. The green light soothed the worst of his pain. He wouldn’t have gotten injured at all if he hadn’t been looking for a fight.The Heartless crashed through the trees in search of him. Roxas sprinted to the conduit entrance, leaves smacking his face and arms. They’re just two Large Bodies. Why are you running when you’ve fought worse?Roxas turned around, Oblivion raised high. The dark blade flashed in the sun.An armored figure leapt down from the town’s wall and landed in the clearing. Wayward Wind spun through the air and cleaved through the Heartless before Roxas even had a chance to strike. He tried not to glare as Ven caught his Keyblade and removed his helmet. Roxas fought down the pang of jealousy at the sight of the other boy’s armor. Those pauldrons and gauntlets would protect his arms from a Large Body’s blow. Roxas resisted the urge to rub his aching shoulder.“Hey, Roxas!” Ven said and waved, cheerful as ever. “I got the Heartless in the sky cleared. Any more in the forest you need a hand with?”“Thanks, but I didn’t need the help,” Roxas said. He dismissed Oblivion. “Oh.” Ven’s smile slipped, and Roxas inwardly winced with guilt. “I saw the others had split off into pairs, so I just thought we could also partner together.”“Well, there aren’t any Heartless now, so we can find them again.” Roxas didn’t mean to be blunt, but the words came out harder than he’d intended. “Yeah . . . you’re right.”Neither of them made a move to return to town, and they stood awkwardly in the quiet forest. The weight of Ven’s gaze constricted Roxas’s chest. He stared past Ven’s ear and didn’t say anything.Roxas’s skin prickled and tension built in his limbs. He’d never been alone with Ven before. Axel wasn’t there to provide a buffer between the two boys. Xion and Naminé weren’t able to draw Ven’s attention with their curiosity and swap stories. Roxas didn’t want to look at Ven’s face and see a false reflection of himself staring back. Ven broke the silence. “Can I ask you something?”Please don’t. “. . . Sure.” Ven’s mouth opened, then he paused, as if changing his mind. “Where did you learn to wield two Keyblades?”The memory of the first time summoning both flashed through his mind. Roxas took a deep breath. “Uh, I didn’t really learn from anywhere. It’s just something I could do. Yen Sid said something about having two hearts to need two Keyblades, so it was probably something to do with the connection to Sora.”“Well, I think two Keyblades is really cool.” Ven’s smile returned, small but hopeful. “That’s so unique, and you’re amazing with them.”Roxas blinked. A blush of embarrassment heated his face. Another, more recent memory resurfaced. The only other time they’d spoken like this was during their fight against the armored Xehanort replicas. Ven had complimented his fighting skills, and Roxas had admired his in turn. He had to admit that the two of them and Xion had made a good team. “Oh, um. Thanks. I think your armor is cool.” Now it was Ven’s turn to blush. “If you ever want to spar or just hang out or something, I’d love to spend time with you. And we could teach each other Keyblade techniques.”Roxas’s breath caught. Ven wanted to . . . hang out with him? Words escaped him as emotions clashed in his heart. The earnest hope in Ven’s face made Roxas want to say yes.But that very face was the problem.“Yeah, maybe sometime,” Roxas mumbled, neither committing to nor rejecting the offer. He forced a brief smile as he walked back to the underground conduit.Ven fell into step beside him. He pressed his pauldron, and the armor flashed into nonexistence as he returned to his casual clothes.Roxas stopped. He turned to Ven and spoke before he could change his mind. “Hey, Ven. Actually, I would like to hang out soon. And . . . maybe you could teach me how to summon armor like that?”“Yeah! I’d love to!” Ven’s eyes brightened with joy. Roxas met his gaze. His heart softened at the sight of those green eyes. The boys weren’t the same, no matter the similarities between them. And maybe he could be true friends with Ven instead of awkward acquaintances.That’s what Roxas told himself as they returned to town to meet back up with his other group of friends.
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“And then Nami hit the Heartless so hard it flew into a window!” Xion made a flying motion with her arm as she spoke with giddy speed.Axel howled with laughter while Naminé hid her bright red face in her hands.“I didn’t mean to, I just wanted to destroy it,” Naminé muttered through her fingers.“Yeah, it sure was destroyed,” Xion said, a grin splitting her face. “When it crashed through a window.”Roxas laughed along with his friends, letting his uneasy feelings from earlier wash away. They’d said their goodbyes to Ven and returned home. Before Ven left, Roxas had agreed to a hangout in a couple days. He’d suggested the sandlot in Twilight Town, since it would be easier for Ven to travel between the worlds with his armor and glider. He didn’t want to think about the future hangout any longer, so he slung an arm around Naminé’s shoulders. “That sounds awesome, Nami! If you can do that without any magic, you’d probably make the strongest Keyblade wielder ever!”“But I broke someone’s window! Xion just threw some munny into the building and we ran.”Axel snorted and even Isa hid a smile. “At least you kids have some manners,” Axel said.“You’re one to talk,” Roxas said. Now it was everyone’s turn to laugh at Axel while he gasped in mock hurt and reached out to ruffle Roxas’s hair. Roxas laughed and ducked out of the way. He ran off down the hallway with Naminé and Xion.The three of them gathered in Xion’s room. They all had separate rooms, but they preferred to hangout together at every chance. Though lately Axel had told them to keep the door open whenever they were by themselves. Roxas kept meaning to ask him why that mattered but followed the instruction anyway. Roxas kicked off his shoes and sat on the soft orange comforter on Xion’s bed. Xion spun in the rolling chair by her desk, and Naminé reclined on the bed next to Roxas. He absentmindedly stroked her hair, and Naminé leaned into his touch. His worries always melted away with the two of them, but today his nerves wouldn’t settle.“Hey, can I ask you two something kinda weird and personal?”Xion stopped spinning the chair and faced him. “How weird?”“Like . . . weird for people who aren’t Nobodies.”“Of course you can, Roxas,” Naminé said, sitting up. His hand fell away from her hair, and he fiddled with his rings instead.“Do you ever feel nervous around Kairi?”Xion crossed her arms over the back of the chair. “Kind of? I guess it’s strange for me to have memories of her that aren’t mine, but now that I’ve gotten to know her, it isn’t that weird anymore. What about you, Nami?”Naminé chewed on her lip. “Honestly, sometimes I still get nervous around her. I feel like people are just going to see her, not me. Kairi is super nice, though, so it’s hard to be too annoyed with her, and I know she doesn’t mean to make me feel bad. Is that why you asked, Roxas? Because of Ven today?”Roxas flopped backward onto Xion’s pillows. They knew him so well, he couldn’t hide his feelings around them. Roxas sighed.“Yeah. I don’t know why, Ven’s so nice and he never says anything bad about our appearances. But it still feels super awkward to be around him.”Xion rose from the chair and sat beside him on her bed. “You’re still you, no matter what you look like.”“Let’s get ice cream afterward,” Naminé said. “How does that sound?”“Sounds excellent. Thanks, guys.”Roxas smiled and entwined his fingers with Xion’s and Naminé’s. They laid down beside in him a cuddle pile. His stomach fluttered with butterflies. The feeling was much more pleasant than his nerves about Ven. Even if his meeting with Ven should go horribly, Naminé and Xion would still be there for him. And he for them. That’s what friends were for.*Later that day, Ven texted Roxas about the hangout. They agreed to meet in Twilight Town’s sandlot that weekend. Roxas breathed easier while texting Ven than talking to him face to face. He’d changed Ven’s profile image to one with his Keyblade armor. Seeing Ven’s helmet instead of his face made it easier for Roxas to focus on Ven’s words and not a picture of his own face staring back.Roxas rode his skateboard down the hill to the sandlot. He held his arms out to the side, imagining what it would feel like to soar through the skies on a glider. He truly did look forward to Ven teaching him to summon one, even if he wasn’t sure about his feelings toward Ven in general. Ven arrived a few minutes later in his armor. He pulled off his helmet and waved at Roxas, grinning wide. Roxas waved back, a small smile of his own on his face. Ven’s enthusiasm reminded Roxas of Sora.“Want to get started right away?” Ven asked. He didn’t remove his armor, so Roxas focused on the gleaming metal pauldrons instead of Ven’s face.“Yeah. Sounds good.”“This is what I use to summon my armor,” Ven said, turning to show off the upper section on his left arm. “It’s not forged like normal armor. It’s an extension of your Keyblade, so it comes from the heart.”“Ok.” From the heart. Easy enough, now that Roxas knew he truly did have a heart, unlike his time during the Organization. A heart that was neither Sora’s, nor Ven’s, nor anyone else’s. Like Xion has said earlier, his identity wasn’t bound to what he looked like. He repeated her words in his mind as he summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion. Roxas twirled them in his hands, feeling the familiar weight and grip of the blades.“Aqua and Terra helped me summon my armor for the first time,” Ven said. “They had already created theirs when I first joined them.”“What was it like?” Roxas asked. Ven talked about Terra and Aqua a lot. Roxas had met them only a handful of times, but he remembered their skills in battle and their softer, playful sides that day on the beach.Ven folded his arms and gazed at the building surrounding the sandlot, lost in a memory. “Hard, at first. I didn’t have the same amount of formal training they did, and Master Eraqus’s teachings just weren’t clicking with me. It took me weeks to figure it out.”“I get it.” Roxas didn’t have any formal training, but doing things his own way had worked out for him. Sometimes Axel would talk about the training under Merlin and show off the techniques he and Kairi had learned. Xion and Roxas would try to learn something new from it, but Roxas mostly stuck with his own style. From what Ven said, it seemed like he had his own mix of self-taught skills and formal teachings. Despite the discomfort of being around Ven, Roxas was glad he’d asked him to teach him instead of Master Aqua or King Mickey. Ven instructed Roxas to close his eyes and feel his connection to his Keyblades. He did so, relieved he had a real reason avoid Ven’s face. He rubbed his thumb along the ridges on Oblivion’s grip.“Now what—”“Shhhh. Just feel it.”. . . Ok. Roxas rolled his shoulders to relax and tried to feel for something as Ven insisted. He imagined all the times he’d wielded his Keyblades, carving through countless Heartless in order to release those hearts. The memory of the first time summoning both Keyblades resurfaced in his mind. The feeling of power coursing through his body, the twin emotions of anger and sorrow driving him forward—Roxas’s eyes snapped open.“You ok?” Ven asked.“Yeah.” Roxas stared at his Keyblades, unwilling to meet whatever emotion lay in Ven’s green eyes. The brief spike of panic from the memory eased. So many months had passed since that day in the World that Never Was. Roxas had just seen Xion this morning when she and Naminé left to go see a movie, promising their ice cream date after. The memory was just a memory, but whatever Ven wanted him to feel, he was sure it wasn’t that.“So, does summoning a glider work the same as the armor?” Roxas asked, hoping Ven would get the hint and not mention anything about his bad reaction.“Sort of,” Ven said. “It’s a formchange of your Keyblade. I found it easier to summon my glider than the armor, but you’ll need both if you want to travel through the lanes between.”Inter-world travel hadn’t even been on Roxas’s mind, but the glider would definitely be a lot more useful than the gummi ship now that King Mickey and Yen Sid were trying to dissuade the use of dark corridors. The only problem was that Roxas had never done any Keyblade formchanges before. But Sora had mastered the ability, so how hard could it be?“Will you show me how you do it?”“Sure!”Ven took a few steps back and summoned Wayward Wind. He made a show of twirling the Keyblade in his hand before tossing it high into the air. Roxas leaned back to track its spinning form, then covered his eyes when it flashed with light. The glider descended back down, and Ven leapt aboard. Roxas didn’t even try to hide his impressed amazement as Ven circled the sandlot a few times. “That’s so cool,” Roxas said when Ven jumped back down to the ground in front of him, a note of jealousy in his voice.Ven held out his hand. “Here, you try it!”“Wait, really?”“Yeah, why not? I’ve seen how you skateboard, my glider should be no problem!”Roxas looked down at where the glider hovered just below knee height. He held Ven’s outstretched hand and stepped onto the glider. It shifted slightly as Roxas adjusted his weight, and Ven helped him balance. He gave the glider an experimental tilt to the left. It moved like a skateboard, but Roxas felt less stable without the contact to the ground. Ven showed him where to place his feet and how to accelerate. He let go of Roxas’s hand and let him glide around the sandlot at a slow pace.“This isn’t so bad,” Roxas said. Once he’d gotten used to the way the glider gently bobbed up and down, it wasn’t too difficult to manage the speed and direction. He decided to ask Ven if he wanted to try skateboarding sometime and surprised himself when he didn’t cringe at the thought of spending more time with Ven.Roxas let Ven take the glider back and summoned his Keyblades again. They worked on the glider formchange. Roxas wasn’t able to create a glider, but he found himself enjoying listening to Ven’s advice and his stories of his training. And Ven loved the idea of another hangout to skateboard.“Keep practicing the armor and glider whenever you have the chance,” Ven said as he prepared to leave for home. “If you’re fighting Heartless again, try to think about defense as much as offense. The power to defend yourself as well as others.”“Ok.” Roxas returned Ven’s goodbye wave. “Oh, nice rings,” Ven said, his eyes lingering on Roxas’s hand.“Thanks.”It didn’t feel as strange to hear Ven talk after today, even if his face still caused Roxas some discomfort. Ven looked like he was going to say something else, but then put on his helmet and boarded the glider. Roxas watched Ven take off into the sky and disappear into a portal.
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Xion had once said that holding Roxas’s Keyblade felt warm, like holding his hand. The memory replayed in his mind as he handed Oathkeeper to Naminé. His face heated when their fingers brushed, and he couldn’t stop imagining the Keyblade’s hilt warming as hot as his face.“Okay, show us your defensive stance,” Xion said, breaking Roxas out of his trance. Right. Training. Naminé dropped into a crouch like Xion had showed her. She raised Oathkeeper in front of her body, teeth facing outward.“Elbow up a little higher,” Roxas said, forcing him mind to focus on his own instructions and not his own heartbeat. He touched her arm to move it into place, and his hand lingered a moment longer than necessary. The tips of his fingers tingled like he’d been zapped with static electricity.He backed away so that the girls would have the space to spar in the plaza. After a quiet day at Sunset Hill, they took the train back to town, and the empty plaza below the clock tower provided a good spot for an impromptu training match.“Alright, Nami! Ready?” Xion dropped into her own stance, Aubade held at waist height. The new Keyblade suited Xion as she and Naminé sparred. She’d developed her own fighting style unique from Roxas’s, with more speed and spinning flourishes. Xion held back her skill for the sake of the practice fight with Naminé, but Roxas still had to appreciate Nami’s progress as he watched. She met Xion’s every strike with a block or parry, mostly staying on the defensive. Roxas called out encouragement, hoping to bring out her more confident and aggressive side she’d display in fights against Heartless.“Keep up the pressure, Nami!”His words had the desired affect. Naminé blocked Xion’s next attack, then shoved her body forward and sent Xion stumbling. It wasn’t exactly proper technique, but she pressed the advantage and rained down a flurry of blows that forced Xion to roll out of the way. “Yeah! Nice job!” Roxas called out and clapped his hands. Naminé gave him a breathless smile and held out her hand to help Xion up. “Wow, you are getting a lot stronger, Nami!” Xion said, a delighted smile on her face despite a scraped elbow from the fall. Naminé blushed. A shout from across the plaza drew the trio’s attention. Hayner, Pence, and Olette waved to them from station doors. Hayner and Olette were holding hands, and Pence carried a camera. He paused every few steps to get a photo of the buildings or the sunset.“Nice to run into you guys. I hope we aren’t interrupting,” Olette said, noticing the Keyblades still in Xion and Naminé's hands. “Nah, we were just having a bit of sparring fun.”“Ooooh, practicing for the Struggle tournament?” Hayner said, giving Naminé’s shoulder a friendly nudge. “It’s not too late for you to sign up.”“Yeah, Nami, you’d be great at it!” Xion said brightly. Naminé’s blush deepened.Pence held up his camera. “Mind if I get a few photos of you guys?”“Get a good action shot of Naminé,” Xion said. Olette giggled as Naminé ducked her head in embarrassment. Pence had them move to edge of the plaza for a better shot with the sunset in the background. Roxas made to follow them, but Hayner pulled him aside.“Hey, Rox, I have some news to share with you,” Hayner said.“Yeah? You finally win a battle against Seifer?” Roxas teased.“Actually, Olette and I are dating!”“Oh! . . . Nice!” Roxas tried to mask his awkwardness with a congratulatory grin. That was not what he’d expected Hayner to say. He was happy for Hayner yet not sure why he made it seem like both a secret and a big announcement at the same time.“It’s still a recent thing, but we’ve been on a few dates to the movies,” Hayner said, a shy smile on his face. He glanced over at Olette, who caught him looking and blew a kiss. Roxas raised his eyebrows, and this time Hayner was the one blushing. Roxas hadn’t noticed a change in their relationship. He wondered if he should have realized sooner, but Hayner didn’t seem like he’d expected Roxas to know. Pence probably knew. Had Olette told Naminé and Xion? They seemed to be engrossed in Pence’s photography and not talking about relationships. So why had Hayner pulled Roxas aside to tell him instead of just announcing to all three of them?Maybe he was overthinking this.Hayner leaned on Roxas’s shoulders, breaking his train of thought. “So, are you dating anyone?”“Huh? No?” Roxas didn’t mean to sound unsure but Hayner’s question still made his lungs feel like he’d missed a parry in battle and had been knocked onto his back.“Really? I thought—But hey, that’s cool if you aren’t.”“What’s that supposed to mean?” He pushed away from Hayner, annoyance sparking in his heart. Happy as he was for Hayner, that didn’t stop Roxas’s mood from souring.“Woah, sorry. I didn’t mean to make you mad.” Hayner held up his hands. He smiled with a genuine apology, and Roxas relaxed. A bit. “You’ve been hanging out with Xion and Naminé lately, I just thought you liked one of them. Or both of them.”Roxas opened his mouth but couldn’t find any words to say. He did like Xion and Naminé, but . . . why did that mean Hayner thought they were dating? Maybe sometimes butterflies did flutter in stomach when he looked at them and his heart beat faster than normal when they talked. Maybe hanging out with Xion or Naminé did feel different than spending time with Hayner or Axel or Ventus. Definitely different from his hangouts with Ventus.He glanced over to where the girls were talking with Pence and Olette. Xion was convincing Naminé to pose with Oathkeeper for Pence’s photo. Xion’s encouragement and Naminé’s giggle of embarrassment made Roxas blush.“Oh. No, we’re . . . just friends.” Roxas immediately wished he could take the words back and rephrase them. They weren’t just friends, they were just his friends. Why did a true statement sound so false and hollow?Pence yelled something over to Hayner, cutting off their conversation. Roxas ignored Hayner’s response, his mind too caught up in the confusion of his feelings. He watched Hayner run over to the group and put his arm around Olette’s waist. He wanted to do that casual display of affection with Naminé and Xion. Was that what attraction felt like? “Roxas, can I get a picture will all three of you?” Pence asked.Roxas blinked a few times to ground himself and push away his thoughts. “Yeah. Sure.”He rejoined his group of friends, and Pence asked for him to stand beside the girls and hold Oblivion. As Roxas summoned it to his hand, he ignored the pang of longing that hit his heart. He wished they could pose like Olette and Hayner were where they stood behind Pence, arms around each other and leaning together as they watched. Hayner kissed Olette’s cheek, and Roxas’s stomach flip-flopped as he imagined doing the same to Xion and Naminé.He looked away, face burning hotter than Firaga. He let Pence take the picture and focused on the feel of Oblivion’s grip in his hand. Roxas pretended the warmth of the metal was from his hand entwined with Xion’s and Naminé’s.
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Roxas couldn’t sleep.For the past week, all he could think about was that conversation with Hayner. We’re just friends. Just friends. Just . . . Friends? Is that all that he wanted Xion and Naminé to be?Even Axel and Isa were dating. Roxas had somehow forgotten about that until the two of them had gone out for dinner together that evening. Date night, Axel had called it. Xion had teased Axel about it until his face was as red as his hair. “Oh, like we all don’t know who you’re crushing on! Ask them out and we’ll see how long it takes for you to ask me about dating advice!” Axel had teased back. “And don’t get into any trouble while we’re gone!”Roxas had absolutely no idea who Xion was crushing on, and it didn’t seem like it was his place to ask.After a late night of cheesy pizza for dinner and cheesier movies to watch, Roxas had retreated to his room. He’d told the girls he was tired, but the truth was he didn’t want to watch the rom-com they’d selected. He didn’t even care about the movie itself but rather the sudden inescapability of romance. So he ended up staring at the ceiling for a half hour wide awake.Roxas rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.His phone vibrated. Hayner had sent a text to their group chat. When Roxas opened the message, he couldn’t help the frown that pulled at his face. The text was a picture of Hayner and Olette sharing ice cream together on the clock tower. His frowned deepened into a scowl. Ice cream on the clock tower was supposed to be what they did as a group. It was a friend thing, not a date thing. Roxas and Xion had been alone on the clock tower a few weeks ago when the others were busy with various activities, and that hadn’t been a date. Pence and Naminé liked to meet there to talk about their art classes while sketching or photographing the town. Roxas was mostly sure they weren’t a couple. Although, Axel had once said that he and Isa met up there occasionally. Roxas hadn’t given the comment any thought at the time, but now he realized they probably had meant it as a romantic couple date thing. Roxas resisted his urge to throw his phone across the room in frustration at his own obliviousness. It certainly wasn’t his place to dictate who got to sit on the clock tower and for what reasons.The string of messages after the image caught his attention. He sat up and pulled the blankets over his head while he scrolled.Nami_of_the_waves: aww cute!HackerPence: Hayner u look like u r about to fall lmaoXiSellsSeashells: haha didn’t rox also fall onceOmelette: omfg he wHAT??Nami_of_the_waves: that was in the other TT xiXiSellsSeashells: oh rightHackerPence: wait what do u mean also? 🤨🤨XiSellsSeashells: oh yeah i fell one time. in the real TT thoXiSellsSeashells: but Roxas caught me!Omelette: XIONStruggleChamp: k u reckless magic ppl aren’t allowed to criticize how i take pics on the clock towerXiSellsSeashells: hey that wasn’t me it was pence!Roxas could hear Xion’s giggling all the way from the living room, along with Naminé’s voice trying to quiet her.HackerPence: 😌 guiltyOmelette: I still want to hear what happened to roxasRoxas couldn’t help but chuckle. He was about to set his phone on his nightstand when it buzzed again. He tapped on the notification out of habit, but this one wasn’t from the group text. The frown returned when he saw the profile image pop up. Ventus: Hi! Do you want to meet in the LoD for our next practice? 😃Roxas’s thumbs hovered over the keyboard. Talking to Ven was the last thing he wanted to do right now. He sighed and thumped his head on his pillow. Ven could wait until the morning. More texts appeared in the group chat. Roxas opened them, welcoming the distraction from Ven’s question. His eyes skimmed Naminé’s lengthy text recounting the data Twilight Town’s Struggle tournament and aftermath. HackerPence: wow even data hayner can’t win the tourney 💀StruggleChamp: HEYOmelette: wait rox how did you not like dieroxrocks: idk ask rikuroxrocks: WHO ALSO STOLE OUR MUNNY BTWHackerPence: RUDE 😤Nami_of_the_waves: didnt he pay you back for thatXiSellsSeashells: hey i thought you were asleep??!!roxrocks: @Nami_of_the_waves thats not the pointroxrocks: @XiSellsSeashells 😴 😴StruggleChamp: get his ass roxRoxas grinned. He almost had a response typed out when Hayner sent another picture. It was the clock tower again, with him and Olette kissing. His grin disappeared. Roxas muted the group chat and opened the message from Ven.Roxas: yeah. sounds funThe reply came surprisingly fast. Roxas wondered what the time difference was between the two worlds.Ventus: Great! I can give you a ride on my glider.Roxas grimaced without thinking. Ven’s glider was little more than a fancy floating skateboard. He doubted it was made for two riders.Roxas: no worries i can get myself thereVentus: Are you sure?Roxas: npVentus: ✅⚔️🥇⛰️Roxas texted back a few smiley faces and surprised himself by the genuine grin returning to his face. Talking to Ven this way was . . . easy. They traded more emojis and texts, and Roxas found himself asking about the Land of Departure. Ven said it was almost noon there. He, Aqua, and Terra had just finished their morning training. A picture popped up in the messages. Roxas stared at the cloud-wreathed mountains and bright blue sky, eyes wide with curiosity. He’d never been to the Land of Departure before, and suddenly a fierce longing to see the world gripped his heart.Roxas: any good skate spots? i could teach u to stake while im thereVentus: Hm. I think the town might be better for skating. But there are a lot of good hiking trails!Roxas didn’t consider himself much of a hiker, but he sent a thumbs up back. For once, the thought of spending more time with Ven didn’t fill him with dread. Not seeing his face or hearing his voice allowed Roxas to focus on Ven as a person and not an uncomfortable mirror.A hesitant knock on the door made Roxas drop his phone into his lap. He hadn’t even noticed the sound of footsteps tiptoeing down the hall. The door cracked open, and light spilled into the room. Xion peered inside. Roxas glimpsed Naminé standing behind her.“Nami and I staying in my room tonight. Do you want to join us?” Xion asked quietly.“Uh . . . no thanks. Not tonight.”“Oh. Okay. Goodnight.” The door closed. Roxas couldn’t shake a strange sense of disappointment as he listened to the floorboards creak under their feet. He waited until he heard the sound fade before reaching for his phone again.His eyes hurt from staring at the screen in the dark but he didn’t want to sleep just yet. He and Ven texted for another hour. When he dimly heard Axel and Isa return home, he glanced at the clock at winced. Roxas sent one last question to Ven before he could think twice about it.Roxas: hey Ven random question: do you like anyone? like have a crush on someone?Roxas: sorry that was personal forget i askedHe almost deleted the message but saw the little dots signaling Ven was typing his reply. His heart beat in his throat.Ventus: Nope! I’m aro! 💚Roxas didn’t know what that meant, but he couldn’t keep his eyes open much longer. He sent another smiley face, shut his phone off, and finally let sleep take him.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Roxas summoned a dark corridor to take him to the Land of Departure. His clothes were imbued with the fairies’ magical protections against darkness, but he still didn’t linger. The rush of excitement pushed him forward, mostly for the fun of visiting a new world but also for his continued lessons with Ven.The portal brought Roxas to world of misty clouds lit with the morning sun. The photos Ven sent didn’t do justice to the deep gorges beneath the cloud-wreathed mountains. The floating castle reminded Roxas of the World that Never Was, though this one shone brightly in the sunlight. He didn’t see Ven, so Roxas hung around the courtyard, unsure if he should enter the grand doors or just knock and wait. He decided on waiting. Roxas leaned on the wall and admired the waterfalls flowing down the mountains. He imagined taking Naminé and Xion on a hike through the mountains outside Twilight Town. Maybe he could borrow Pence’s camera.“Hey, loser! Think fast!” A hand pressed against Roxas’s back. His entire body seized, heart in his throat, and he grabbed the wall to stop the rush of vertigo at almost pitching forward. Roxas jerked his elbow back and connected with someone’s stomach. Oathkeeper and Oblivion instinctively appeared in his grip, and he brandished the weapons at his would-be aggressor.A heartbreakingly familiar face stared back at him. His heart constricted in his chest, and he almost lost his grip on his blades. “You’re . . . not Ven,” Vanitas said, the barest hint of confusion visible in his glare. His eyes darted to the twin weapons in Roxas’s hands.“No shit! What the hell was that for?” Roxas demanded. He embraced the anger and forced away the pain of seeing Sora’s distorted reflection.Vanitas simply shrugged. His glare relaxed into cool indifference, and he avoided Roxas’s gaze. “Thought you were Ven.”The anger in his veins boiled. His mouth opened to growl out another retort, but before he could say anything, the castle doors opened.“Vanitas, have you—Oh! Hey, Roxas!” Ven raced down the courtyard stairs, a grin spread wide over his face. That grin slipped when he saw Roxas’s Keyblades. “Vanitas, what did you do?”“He almost pushed me over the wall!” Roxas said at the same moment Vanitas raised his hands and said, “Nothing!”Ven’s face pulled into a frown—one more of disappointment than true anger, Roxas noticed. “C’mon, Vani, I told you Rox and I were hanging out today.”Vanitas rolled his eyes. “Oh, lighten up. I wasn’t really going to push him. I legitimately thought he was you.”Ven sighed. He had positioned himself between Roxas and Vanitas, so Roxas couldn’t do anything but glare at Vanitas. Of all the people who would understand the annoyance of sharing a face with someone else, Roxas expected Vanitas to be empathetic.But Vanitas didn’t have to deal with constantly seeing his lookalike. Roxas swallowed the sudden rise of pain in his throat. “Well, we have things to do! Let’s go, Rox.” Ven said with a false-cheery voice. He slipped his arm through Roxas’s and pulled him toward the end of the courtyard. Roxas let his Keyblades disappear but not without one last scowl at Vanitas. He was already strolling off up the stairs and through the doors.“I’m sorry about that,” Ven said, the falseness gone. He dropped his arm and sighed again. “Vanitas can be a bit . . .”“Of an infuriating asshole?” Roxas suggested.Ven chuckled. “I was going to say difficult. I really am sorry. He gets along with Terra and Aqua fine. Mostly.”Roxas raised an eyebrow. “I thought he was going to push me off a cliff because he mistook me for you.”Ven winced. “He doesn’t get out much and meet new people. And anyway, I can catch myself with my glider! Speaking of, how has your practice been going?”Roxas knew a change in subject when he heard one, but he took Ven’s hint without complaint. Though he was a little ashamed to admit to his lack of focus.“Oh, uh, I’ve been busy lately. Not much time for Keyblade practice with school and everything.” It was one thing to know about homework from his week in the virtual world and another to actually experience assignments and deadlines, even if that wasn’t the whole truth about not training.Ven grimaced in sympathy. “Honestly, I’d trade Aqua’s training for regular homework for a day.”Roxas laughed. “How good are you at geometry?”They joked easily with each other on the walk to the sparring area. Whenever Roxas needed a break from looking at Ven’s face, he simply gazed out at the beautiful landscape. Blue skies were the norm across the worlds, but he still marveled at the sight.The path circled up one of the smaller peaks and crossed a bridge over a creek. Between a pond and set of practice pinwheels was a grassy clearing with enough space to spar. But Ven led Roxas further up the path to the summit. Decorative lights were placed at intervals around the crenelated wall, and one end of the space had a bench with a perfect view of the castle. Roxas noticed a Keyblade planted in the earth point-first, with a wreath of flowers and three glass stars draped over the hilt.Ven stopped in the middle of the grass and spread his arms, showing off the landscape. “I didn’t get the chance to say this at the castle, so welcome to the Land of Departure!”“It’s wonderful,” Roxas said earnestly, choosing to ignore the less than warm welcome he actually got. The eager joy in Ven’s eyes at giving a tour of him home made Roxas willing to overlook Vanitas’s . . . poor social skills.Ven leaned against the bench. “This is where Aqua, Terra, and I love to sit and watch the stars.”Roxas imagined the world at nighttime, the sky cloudless with millions of stars spread across the dark. “I bet the sunsets are also great from here.”“They are! But honestly, they’re not as amazing as the ones in Twilight Town,” Ven admitted.“Really?” Pride for his homeworld bloomed in Roxas’s chest. “We should go to Sunset Hill sometime.” Roxas surprised himself at how easy the offer came to him. Skateboarding, hiking, visits to Sunset Hill . . . He really had gotten more comfortable with Ven’s presence outside of training.Ven loved that idea. After making more hangout plans, they got back on track for training. Roxas summoned his Keyblades again. As Ven had instructed the last time, he closed his eyes and reached for the power inside his heart. Roxas held onto that feeling of pride for Twilight Town. Defense of his friends and his home was what drove him to fight the Heartless now that he no longer had to do so for Organization missions. He imagined himself walking through the streets, from Sunset Hill to Market Street to the clock tower and the forest outskirts——The tower where he’d been forced to fight Xion, the mansion where Naminé had been taken from him. Guilt and pain clashed with pride. Roxas exhaled, trying to rid his mind of unwanted memories.Still no armor or glider appeared.“I don’t think I’m doing this right,” Roxas said, opening his eyes and looking away from Ven.“Remember, it’s from the—”“From the heart, I know.” Of course it was from the heart. Everything Keyblade-related came from the heart. But knowing that wasn’t helping Roxas any more than Ven’s other advice. Wielding came natural to Roxas, except for this. He spun Oblivion in his hand, then Oathkeeper. Memories and promises. Yet still no progress.“Let’s take a break,” Ven said, even though Roxas had been practicing for less than ten minutes.Ven sat down on the bench. Roxas followed him and set his Keyblades in his lap while he folded his arms and stared out at the sky.“I keep trying to do what you said—think about defense and protection and all that—but I keep thinking about other memories instead. Painful ones.”“Do you want to talk about them?” Ven asked, the sincerity in his voice taking Roxas aback. He glanced at Ven, who smiled warmly. The invitation tugged at Roxas’s heart, and he felt himself truly wanting to share his troubles with Ven.“I . . . I got my Keyblades from Sora, but I’ve started associating them with Xion and Naminé. That story Xion told you about the stick was because I let her borrow my Keyblade when she lost hers. And she and I have been teaching Naminé how to use one, so I give her Oathkeeper to use.”“Sounds like you’re a better teacher then me,” Ven teased. Roxas chuckled. His mood fell again. He ran his fingers over Oathkeeper’s double blade, unsure how to keep explaining what he felt. “The real reason I haven’t been practicing the armor or glider is because of them. I—I care about Naminé and Xion a lot, but lately it’s like everyone else expects me to feel a certain way about them. And then I can’t stop feeling like a disappointment, which makes the memories of losing them again worse.”Roxas nervously played with his rings and kept in his gaze in his lap. He didn’t want to face whatever questions Ven’s face held.After a moment of silence, Ven said, “Can I ask you something that I promise is related and also apologize in advance if I overstep?”“Um, sure.” Roxas shrugged and inwardly braced himself for awkward questions.“Are you also aromantic?”Now Roxas looked up at Ven, confusion overpowering his nerves. “Huh?” Ven’s face flushed in embarrassment. “Sorry," he said quickly, "When we were texting the other day, I just thought—And then I saw your ring and I figured . . . Sorry, I really didn’t mean to be nosy. It's not my business, I should have—”“Ven,” Roxas interrupted. “I’m not mad, I just don’t know what that is. Or what my rings have to do with anything.”Ven’s eyes widened. “Oh. Oh! You don’t—!” He put his face in his hands. “Wow, that’s my bad.”Roxas could only stare in bewilderment. “Can . . . Can you explain what ‘aromantic’ means?”Ven sat up, a self-conscious half-smile on his face. “So, someone who’s aromantic has little to no romantic attraction. In my old home, it was common for people to show their aromantic pride by wearing a white ring on their left middle finger. The other day, you were super chill when I said I was aro, and I had noticed your white ring, and then just now you were talking about other people’s expectations about your feelings for Xion and Naminé. I sort of . . . thought you were also aro, like me.”Partway through Ven’s explanation, his voice grew distant in Roxas’s head. His lingering nerves completely vanished, replaced with a growing feeling of . . . relief. Conversations replayed in his mind in a new light.His eyes dropped down to the white ring sitting innocuously on the middle finger of his left hand. One ring of two that he’d sprung into existence wearing. Confusion gave way to clarity.Ven had fallen silent and was biting his lip while staring at Roxas. Roxas met his gaze and . . . laughed.“Hey, Ven, I . . . think I might be aromantic.”