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If there was one thing Lea had learned after all of his time spent with the “good guys,” it was that the ceiling above his bed was very, very plain. It was a sort of tan color, but more warm, like how you’d describe “perfectly baked” cookies: golden brown. The room he sat in was no more exciting than the ceiling. Lea didn’t have any possessions to display, nor did he own any decorations from his last dwelling; the cold, white castle in The World That Never Was. The only thing he had from any part of his life was the “winner” stick Roxas had given him. He didn’t even have the envelope the kid put it in. Just an old stick, incomplete without the ice cream stuck to it.
How pathetic.
Yet, he clung to it and constantly kept in on his person, always hoping in the back of his mind that someday, he’d be able to return the stick to its owner. He never really figured out why Roxas had given him it. Maybe it was some type of bitter goodbye or a silent reminder of the friendship Lea had stuck in a trash bag and jumped on, crushing the contents inside. He was good at that ruining friendships thing, he’d done it before with Isa. If Sora managed to bring Roxas back, would he even want to see Lea? Or would he spit in his face and call him a liar who never felt anything and just pretended to know what friendship was supposed to be like.
How many years had it been since he lost him? It certainly couldn’t have been more than a few months, yet it felt like he’d watched the sun set and rise endlessly, a vacant spot next to him where Roxas had once sat.
Lea let out a sigh. Watching Roxas walk away was the most painful thing he had ever experienced. It hurt enough to make him wonder in that moment, if he did have a heart after all. He almost hadn’t believed it was happening, watching Roxas’s black coat swishing behind him as the blond angrily strode away from him, feeling the searing ache in his chest, feeling like a thousand knives were ballroom dancing inside his heart, or where his heart should be. Just the thought of the event made his newly discovered heart ache. He was finally a Somebody again, but did it really mean anything if he didn’t have his best friend back?
His thoughts were abruptly ended by the door to his room whipping open, a silver-haired boy rushing in. He seemed slightly out of breath, like he’d just run up a flight of stairs, which actually, he had. The bright blue-green eyes that darted around the room were lit up, and the hairs on his arms seem to stand up with excitement. “Sora- Sora’s back. And he’s brought someone with him.” And with that, he spun back around and raced downstairs, presumably to greet his friend. The breath was taken out of Lea, like a punch to the gut. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, knowing it could easily be one of the other many hearts Sora had inside his that was awakened. Plus, they weren’t sure they could get Roxas back at all, since he had returned to Sora. But he couldn’t help it.
Still, he moved slowly and flopped himself off the bed, strolling across the room and letting the door close gently behind him. Rushing would just make the disappointment of the visitor not being Roxas that much more devastating. He took the stairs one at a time, but something inside of him was commanding him to move faster, go quicker, be more excited. It was a feeling in his gut, telling him something good was going to happen. Unable to control his emotions any longer, he pushed down the stairs, nearly tripping once, and stumbling more than a few times.
The stairs ended and Lea found himself submerged into a swarm of excited people, each wanting to meet the new visitor. Crowded around the door must have been everyone in the tower: the three fairies, Yen Sid, Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, and Aqua, who had recently found her way back to reality from the Realm of Darkness. Words danced around Lea’s head, incomprehensible chattering and noise. He stumbled back a bit, overwhelmed by the excitement buzzing in the air. It was loud, and crowded, and the room wasn’t big enough for all these people.
Lea tried to see the newcomer, craning his neck to get a better view. He was tall! Why couldn’t he see? After a search of the crowd, he found the source of his obstruction of the visitor. Yen Sid seemed to tower over them, completely blocking them from Lea’s view. He had to get closer. Pushing through the people, he made his way past the crowd to Yen Sid’s back. The crowd didn’t contain many people, but the energy and intensity they all had for the person in the doorway was intimidating, and each one pushed back at Lea with surprising force for some of the smaller bodies when he tried to move them politely. He had resorted to just pushing and forcing his way to the front, only stopping once he had reached the ancient master who would probably smash him into pieces if he tried to shove him away.
His movements had completely halted, knowing that past this man, there was either happiness or disappointment. Waiting and trying to get his mind to calm the hell down, Lea stood, and could just slightly hear the conversation Yen Sid was having. “So, how long were you unable to see anything from Sora’s heart?” “Well, I completely blacked out after talking to Sora in his dream, and I was out until he found me and then he brought me here.” That voice!
Abandoning his reason, Lea started to reach for Yen Sid’s sleeve, feeling the others of the crowd draw closer to his back and swarm around him. “Hey, wait a sec! During Sora’s dream, there were organization members. Sora mentioned something about fighting a new version of the organization, does that mean they’re back?” Lea froze, his arm stilling just before touching the man’s sleeve, hand suspended in the air like a limp feather.
That was definitely him. His best friend. He blinked, shell-shocked, and tried to register that the person who meant most to him in the entire world was right here, in his reach. If he wanted to, if he could make himself move, he could actually touch him. “Yes, they are back, in a way.” Yen Sid’s low voice spoke, and he seeming to tense slightly, as if anticipating the boy’s next question. “And… Axel? Did he, you know, join up again? Have you seen him?” hearing his old name snapped Lea out of his daze and he pushed forward, disregarding the possibility of death from the angry sorcerer, knowing he had to let Roxas know that he was there, that he wasn’t fighting against the boy who Roxas had joined together with anymore.
“I’m right here, buddy.”
The words left Lea’s mouth and his eyes were fixed on the face he had seen so many times, but not for what seemed like an eternity. Roxas’s worried gaze floated from Yen Sid’s figure to Lea’s, his bright blue eyes widening with a shock that paralyzed his whole body. Lea stepped forward and met his hands with Roxas’s. He looked deep into the eyes he’d known so well, and found himself having so many words to say, yet completely speechless. Roxas seemed to melt, unfreezing like he’d come out from a trance and tightening his grip to Lea’s arms.
His mouth opened and the words poured out. “Axel, I saw what you did for me. I saw you try to turn Sora into a heartless to get me back, and I saw you die for Sora, for me. Thank you. I should have never doubted you.” Lea’s jaw went slack. “You, you were there? Through all this time, all the lonely months and the endless days after you disappeared?” Roxas’s eyes blazed with emotion, so insanely happy to have his best friend right in front of him. “I was there through all of it. Every hour, every minute, every second.” Disbelief filled Lea’s thoughts, his mind unable to process the fact that Roxas had never left. He had been so close to him, through Sora, at times right by his side. The room that had seemed so busy and wild just minutes ago had stilled around them, their gazes trapped together, a moment of clarity in the hectic atmosphere.
Roxas’s eyes had filled with tears, an ocean of feelings and memories. “I know that she’s with us too, right now.” Lea smiled, starting to tear up himself. He smiled and softly finished Roxas’s statement. “In our hearts.” The two collapsed into a hug, clinging onto each other as if letting go meant losing the other forever. Lea thought he had spent the past months without a friend in the world, but Roxas was there all that time.
The days that Lea had spent worrying, all the time he wasted feeling lonely, it all seemed pointless to him now. The worries of the upcoming battle, the fear of facing Isa and the other organization members that remained on Xemnas’s side, and the loneliness Lea had held inside him so long all melted away. Lea had his best friend back, and that’s all that mattered. “I missed you, Axel.” Lea laughed and finally pulled away from the hug. “Actually, it’s Lea now. I got my heart back.” He gestured towards himself with a goofy smile. “Oh please, you and I both know we’ve had our own hearts for a while, Lea. ”
The pair burst into laughter, just like the old times, bantering without a care in the world. Somehow, everything felt like it was going to be alright. Like the sun had finally risen, and drove the dark, black night away. It was time to forget about sunsets, and start thinking about sunrises. Besides, Lea knew he’d seen enough sunsets for a lifetime.