This is super self-indulgent and I don't care

Spoilers for KH3. You have been warned.

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Without Question

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In the end, there was no question as to where they'd end up. Destiny Islands and its endless beaches were the physical embodiment of a dream they'd once shared; one Axel had never actually thought they'd get to realise. It was a hope that they had clung to through everything they'd endured, even when things started falling to pieces. And now, after all was said and done, they'd finally reached it. But even as Axel, now Lea, watched Roxas chasing after Terra, and Xion picking up seashells with Naminé, as he took in the happiness he'd thought he'd lost forever, he knew that this world would never be anything more to them than a favoured vacation spot. Because Destiny Islands belonged to Sora, Riku, and Kairi. Because Roxas, still so desperate to prove to everyone, including himself, that he wasn't Sora, would never be happy living here.

Lea caught the Frisbee Ven sent his way, then immediately tossed it towards Isa. Radiant Garden had been their home world. It had fallen to darkness around the same time they had, but he had it on good authority that it had been repaired more or less back to its former glory. It was always an option to return there, pick up where they left off, more or less. Except he hadn't been home in ten years – long enough that he knew it wasn't home anymore without needing to see it. And he had a feeling Isa felt the same way. But that was fine, because there was never any doubts about where they'd go.

As the daylight started to fade, and everyone began to settle down, Lea went to sit in the sand and watched the sun slowly inch its way down towards the horizon. Roxas and Xion appeared at his side as if summoned, leaning against him and each other with such intensity it was as though they were scared that if they left any space between them it would broaden until they were beyond each other's reach again. A few moments later, Isa came to sit on Lea's other side.

They really were all there. Lea, just as Axel before him, had been so determined to get this back, but truthfully he hadn't even known where to start. Truthfully, he'd been scared that he would never find a way. How far they'd come.

"I take it back," Xion said, eyes on the bright red sky. "This is the most beautiful sunset we've ever seen."

It was pretty, Lea admitted to himself, but it was a far cry from even the blandest sunset they'd watched from atop the clock tower. But sitting there in the sand, surrounded by the people he loved most, he found he agreed with her. "Yeah," he blinked against his watering eyes. "Definitely my favourite so far."

"Too bad we don't have any ice cream," Roxas pressed a little further into Lea's side.

"We're real people now. I've gotta start feeding you two something with actual nutritional value or I'll have social services coming after me." Though he'd sooner fight every social worker they sent to the death before he let anyone take the kids off him again.

Predictably, Roxas and Xion simultaneously looked up at him and asked, "What's social services?"

Isa turned away to hide his obvious amusement.

"I don't see why you're laughing," Lea rounded on him. "You're part of this family too. I hope you like answering questions."

Isa's smile slipped away, replaced instantly by unrestrained surprise. Had he really thought Lea didn't want him around?

"Hey, Rox, Xi, Isa's the smartest person I know so make sure you take all your really hard questions to him, okay?"

Roxas and Xion shared a conversation with just one look, then, again simultaneously, "Okay."

I've changed my mind, Lea thought. If I wake up in the middle of the night to them glowing and talking in unison I'll call social services myself.

It was hard to judge how the two of them felt about Lea's insistence that Isa was part of their little ice cream social, and honestly after what they'd been through he couldn't blame them if they hated Isa and wanted nothing to do with him. But so far they hadn't actually voiced anything on the subject – complaints or otherwise. But, then, Xion was the forgiving type. And while Roxas could hold a grudge like nobody's business, the most he'd done was give Isa a few suspicious side-eyes. Lea decided to take that as a good sign.

And speaking of grudges.

"Hey," Riku came to stand on Isa's other side. Roxas immediately scowled and tightened his grip on Xion's hand.

"Hey," Lea looked up at him, because Isa sure wasn't going to say anything, and he didn't trust Roxas to know the 'if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all' rule. Xion seemed to be on good terms with Riku, but she probably wouldn't go out of her way to antagonise Roxas. At least, not right now.

"Terra, Aqua, and Ven are about to head off. Thought you might want to say goodbye."

Lea glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough, he could see the three of them packing up what little they'd brought with them. Even Kairi had emerged from her isolation to join them. "Yeah, okay," he pushed himself to his feet, brushing the sand off the seat of his pants. Isa, Roxas, and Xion, practically glued to his hip, rose with him.

When they got close, though, Roxas broke away to stand with Naminé, just far enough back to not draw attention to themselves but still close enough to be present. Lea couldn't say he was overly surprised. Naminé was still shy and often self-depreciating, and for all that Lea had explained (as well as he understood it, anyway) to Roxas about Ven, the two of them had yet to actually talk to each other (Lea suspected finding out that there was yet another person who shared his face hadn't been Roxas' favourite revelation). Roxas and Naminé seemed to give each other confidence, though, in a way that no one else seemed to be able to. Maybe it was because they were effectively twins. Maybe it was because of the way they'd met. Maybe it was both, or something else entirely.

Xion didn't mind, either way, and happily took up Roxas' vacated spot at Lea's side.

"Thank you," Aqua was saying as they approached, "for everything." Her hands were intertwined with Terra and Ven's. Lea didn't fully know what had gone down, but he suspected the three of them were feeling much the same as he was.

"Feel free to come visit us whenever you want," Terra added.

"We will," Kairi smiled, but Lea could still see the sadness in her eyes.

"You'll find him," Ven told her. There was nothing but conviction on his face – the same conviction Xion had had when she'd told Sora that he would find Kairi. "And if you ever need help, you know where to find us."

"Ditto," Lea cut in. Because he owed Sora that much. And because he knew Xion and Roxas felt the same.

(Roxas had come so far from the kid who would sooner have mugged Sora in a back alley of Traverse Town than give him the time of day, but Sora seemed to have that effect on people.)

Ven turned to him, a questioning brow raised. "Where are you guys going? Back to Radiant Garden?"

Lea could feel Isa's gaze boring a hole into the side of his head, could feel Xion's warmth pressed against his side, Roxas' steady presence somewhere just behind him. There was only one place they would ever call home. "Nah," he grinned. "Twilight Town."

Ven's attention darted briefly to Roxas – there and gone so quickly Lea might have missed it had he blinked. Not for the first time, he wondered at the connection between them. Had there ever really been one? Was it still there? Roxas had claimed that he could still feel Sora, wherever he was. It wasn't impossible that the same could be said for Ven – and even for Xion.

"We'd better get going," Aqua said, punctuating her words by activating her armour. Terra and Ven quickly followed suit.

Lea watched the three of them shoot off on their Keyblade Gliders in awe. "When do we get to learn to do that?"

"When someone bothers to teach us," Riku shrugged. "You guys heading off, too?"

"What do you think?" Lea turned to his family. "Ready to go?"

Xion and Roxas nodded. Isa said nothing, but then he'd been pretty quiet since Lea had gone to fetch him from the castle in Radiant Garden that morning. There was something bugging him. Lea had a pretty good idea of what it was.

"What about you, Naminé?"

Naminé blinked in surprise at suddenly being addressed. "Me?"

"Yeah. You coming with us or are you staying here or what?" He already had two kids, what was one more? Besides, Xion and Roxas loved her.

Naminé looked helplessly from him to Kairi and Riku. "I think… I'd like to stay here, if that's okay. I want to help Sora."

Kairi's smile was answer enough.

"Well, if you change your mind you know where we'll be."

Without further ado, he opened a corridor. In his peripheral vision, he saw Riku grimace.

"You know, we could just give you a lift in the gummi ship," he said.

"This is faster," Roxas refuted with a little smirk that Lea knew meant trouble, especially when Riku was involved. As he stepped into it, he paused just long enough to add, "And we're not scared of the dark."

Lea shook his head in fond exasperation and made to follow him, Xion by his side. He made it halfway through before he realised he was one short. "Oi, Isa! Hurry up or you'll get left behind!"

Being left behind was apparently worse than joining them (and wasn't that flattering), as Isa immediately broke into a speed walk that was just this side of hurrying.

"Bye! Thank you!" Xion called to the others.

And then they were through the darkness and emerging into the perpetual twilight of their favourite world.

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They ended up staying in a hotel on the other side of town, only realising when they got there that they actually didn't have anywhere to live now. Isa had suggested the mansion in the woods – no one would protest them taking up residence there, and it was more than big enough to house them all plus everyone else should they decide to visit. But one look at Roxas' scowl and the way Xion stiffened was enough to veto that idea. There were too many bad memories in that mansion.

The hotel wasn't used to groups of four that didn't include a married couple, and they'd ended up needing to book two twin rooms to make sure everyone got a bed. Fortunately, they still had plenty of munny left over from their Heartless-fighting days to last them a good few months if they needed it. Unfortunately, it reminded Lea that he was going to have to get a job sooner rather than later. Ew.

Lea and Isa had decided to share one room, while Roxas and Xion took the other. Mostly because for all Xion's apparent forgiveness, he didn't think she'd be comfortable rooming with Isa just yet, and he didn't think Roxas' tentative truce would endure Isa's on his own, even for just one night.

After the kids had gone off to bed, Lea reclined back against his pillow and studied his old friend on the bed opposite. He'd found a book in the draw of his bedside table and was flicking through it idly. It looked like some sort of romance novel.

"Okay, what's eating you?"

Isa didn't look up from the book. "What makes you think something's wrong?"

"You're reading a romance novel."

Isa blinked, as if only just realising that yes it was actually a romance novel. He scowled at it and shoved it back where he'd found it as if it had personally wronged him.

"Spill."

Isa sighed and turned to him.

Lea raised a brow and waited.

"…I suppose I'm just confused."

"About?"

"It seems to be your lot in life to bow to the Keybearers' will–"

And damn wasn't that the truth.

"–and they have both made their… dislike for me quite clear, though I can't say I blame them."

Wait, what?

"I simply don't understand why you're so insistent on making me your fourth wheel in spite of their wishes. Or why you'd even want to, after everything."

"You're an idiot," Lea said with absolute exasperation. How could someone so smart be so unbelievable dumb? Isa looked up sharply, insulted, but Lea didn't give him the chance to speak. "You're not a fourth wheel, Isa. I want you here because you're my best friend. We want you here." Or, well, they were tolerating it for now but Lea knew they'd warm up to him when they realised that Isa and Saïx weren't the same. Saïx had had some creepy old guy pulling his strings. Isa would never let anyone put strings on him in the first place.

"I don't think Roxas and Xion share your view."

"Have you met those kids?" Lea gaped. "Xion's probably already forgiven you, and Roxas isn't polite enough to pretend to tolerate someone he doesn't like."

A ghost of a smile twitched at Isa's mouth. "And whose fault is that?"

"I dunno. Whoever took over babysitting while I was at C.O." That was when Roxas seemed to have developed an actual personality instead of that vague awareness he'd had when he'd left. Xion had already figured herself out by the time Axel had gotten the chance to properly meet her.

"No one took over. And Roxas slept through most of that time anyway."

What.

His expression must have given something away, because Isa continued,

"Xemnas hypothesised that Naminé's meddling affected him, too, but we're getting away from the point."

Apparently there was a lot he hadn't been filled in on. Lea filed the information away for later consideration. "If no one took over, then I'm blaming you. You left a three-week-old zombie to look after himself and expected him to become a model citizen?"

"I blame myself, too," Isa said, and there was an actual, honest to god smirk on his face. "I should never have considered you a good candidate for parenting."

"I'm not a parent!" Lea immediately argued. "I only… taught Roxas how to eat, and form sentences, and answered all of his and Xion's stupid questions… Oh god. I am a parent." He had to be the worst parent ever. Fifteen year old Lea had never even thought about having kids, and the next day he'd lost his heart to darkness. What had possessed Saïx to look at Axel, resident assassin and bad influence, and think 'Hm yes he should definitely be the assigned role model for our brain dead Keybearer'?

"If it counts for anything," Isa broke his train of thought, "I think you've done a surprisingly good job so far."

"Well joke's on you," Lea grinned, pretending he didn't hear the 'surprisingly'. "As an adult member of this family, you're now a parent, too."

Isa's grimace was well and truly worth the trouble it took to bring him home.

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Late that night, Lea woke to the feeling of no longer being alone in his own bed. Half the blanket had been snatched from him, but the missing warmth was replaced by two small bodies shoved up against him.

Why did we even bother getting two rooms? he thought, trying futilely to reclaim some blanket. But even asleep, Roxas and Xion had an iron grip.

With a huff that was more fond than truly annoyed, he let his gaze drift over to Isa's bed. Isa was blinking blearily – probably woken when the kids had snuck in (he always had been a light sleeper). Their eyes met, and Isa gave him a look as if to say 'Really?'

Lea patted the mattress. 'There's room for one more,' he sent back, matching Isa's expression.

Isa rolled over.

Lea snorted, shutting his eyes. We'll get you yet, Isa.