Even after getting a body of his own, the boundary between dreams and waking was still a blurry one for Roxas some days.

He knew he was asleep this time though. Twilight Town, as great as it was, was never this perfect. There was just too much of a warm glow over everything, the weather was just a little too ideal, and he knew it was more a memory of the place he called home than an accurate representation of it.

The question was, whose memory was this? As he walked through the late afternoon streets, he became more and more convinced it wasn't his. Too many little details that weren't usually the sorts of things he paid much attention to were here—the names of all the shops, not just the sea-salt ice cream one, the types of plants that were different from the ones on…

Destiny Islands?

He halted. Where had that thought come from? Was this…

If so, he knew why he was here now. And he knew where he had to go.

His feet carried him to the Clock Tower as fast as possible. Who knew how long this dream would last? Who knew how much time he had?

When he reached the base of it, he was panting for breath. He paused for a moment to glance around, but there was no one here. The breeze tugged at his clothes, but otherwise it was pretty quiet. Had he been wrong about this?

Just when he was about to search somewhere else, though, a voice called out to him.

"Roxas."

He turned around, and Sora was waiting for him, two sticks of sea-salt ice cream in his hand. He grinned and offered one of them to Roxas, and Roxas smiled and took it. Together they climbed to the top of the Clock Tower and sat down. The delicious treat was even better than usual, and for a while they both ate in silence as they looked out at the amazing view. He could see everything from here—the tram making its way around the Tram Common, the sleepy streets cast in light and shadow, and in the far distance, the sea sparkling on the horizon.

"I always wanted to come here with you," Sora said. "I mean, I guess I did, when you were still inside my heart. But it's not the same as actually being here with you."

"Yeah. Guess we'll have to take a rain check on that one."

Sora took another bite of his ice cream. "When you showed me your memories, this place… this is home for you, Roxas, just like Destiny Islands is home for me."

"I guess. But I wouldn't say it's because of the location itself. Twilight Town's pretty nice, but that's not why I call it home. It's home because of the people here and all the memories we share."

All those days after work spent hanging out with Axel and Xion on the Clock Tower. Meeting Naminé for the first time, too. Most of his important memories of his friends had been created here. Even Sora had a connection to this place.

"Yeah. That's what home is," Sora said.

"Then I guess I'm home."

Sora smiled sadly. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry you can't be right now."

"It's okay," Sora said, though Roxas didn't exactly agree with him there. "It was my choice, and I'm willing to pay the price. I'm just sorry I didn't get to say goodbye properly. I sort of rushed off because I was in such a hurry." He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Come to think of it, I didn't really get to say hello, either."

"Hey, that's not your fault. A bunch of stuff happened in a short amount of time."

"Still, I wanted to be there for you. You finally came back like we both wanted, and now I have to leave you behind."

Roxas's heart sank. "So it really is true. You won't be coming back."

He had suspected as much—he just hadn't wanted it to be true. He looked away from Sora because he couldn't bear to think about what was gonna happen. It was heartbreaking enough when he'd watched Xion fade away as he held her in his arms, trying to remember her even as the memories were torn from him. And it was awful when he'd watched Axel fade away through Sora's eyes, unable to do anything to save his friend. He'd never forget how frustrating it was to see Naminé but not be able to talk to her a whole lot, either.

He'd gotten Axel and Xion back, and the researchers at Radiant Garden were working to save Naminé, but now he was gonna lose Sora instead. Would he always be this… this helpless? Was he doomed to lose his friends no matter what?

Sora was silent for a few moments as he stared at the town below them. "I can feel my heart fading from this realm," he finally said. "The closer I get to Kairi, the closer I come to dying. I've had brushes with death before, but this… this feels different. Inevitable. Like fate's finally caught up with me." He looked at Roxas, and his eyes were heavy. "I guess it's like how you felt when you were about to return to my heart, huh?"

Roxas's head drooped. So this was why Sora had come to see him. Not just to say goodbye, but because he needed the support of a friend. He wasn't changing his mind about what he'd set out to do, but he needed a little encouragement to go through with it.

"It's scary, isn't it?" Roxas said. "The feeling that you don't know what's coming next."

"Yeah. I mean, I've died before, at the Keyblade Graveyard. But I ended up at the world of ocean and sky right after that. This time… this time I know I won't be so lucky."

"Maybe not, but who's to say what comes next? We really don't know."

It was the best Roxas could do, considering the circumstances. He didn't want to give Sora pat responses to questions he didn't have the answers to.

"Yeah," Sora said. "Whatever happens to me, I'm ready to face it. It's more that I don't want my friends to be sad when I'm gone, you know?"

"We will be sad. How could we not be? You're a part of our hearts now, Sora, just like we're a part of yours."

"I know. I just… I don't want you to suffer."

Sora's voice broke on those last words, and Roxas rested a hand on his shoulder as he wiped his eyes.

"Suffering is a part of caring. It's a part of having a heart."

Sora smiled through his tears. "See? You really do have a heart, Roxas."

"So do you, you big softie. Most people would've given up on their Nobodies ever having their own existences, but not you. You were stubborn and refused to listen to everyone who told you it was impossible."

"Because I knew it wasn't. I saw your heart, and I knew it was real. I couldn't just pretend like everything was okay when it wasn't."

"And you don't have to pretend that everything is okay now. It's okay to grieve. It's okay to cry."

"Thanks," Sora said.

"Hey, gimme some credit here. I am your Nobody."

Sora shook his head. "No, you're not. Not anymore. You're your own person, Roxas."

The words warmed Roxas's heart. Yeah, he knew they were true, but it was still nice to hear them from someone else. Especially from the very person who was the reason he even existed.

"And you know what else?" Sora added.

"What?"

"You're my friend."

He grinned, and Roxas couldn't help but get a little choked up. Man, having a heart was weird sometimes. Was Sora always this… this over the top, about everything?

He sniffed and wiped his eyes before saying, "Sheesh, do you wanna make me cry, too?"

"It's true," Sora said. "You're my friend, and whatever happens next, that's never gonna change."

"Yeah."

That much Roxas knew. Whatever happened to Sora, they would always be friends.

They talked about some other stuff after that, joking around together to get Sora's mind off of what was gonna happen. Then Sora handed Roxas his ice cream stick. Printed on it in small, neat letters was the word WINNER.

"Would you look at that. We're both winners," Roxas said as he showed Sora his stick, too.

"Well, seeing as how I can't really claim my prize right now, you're gonna have to do it for me."

"Sure."

Sora put his hand on Roxas's shoulder and grinned, then stood and stretched. "Time's up. I better get going."

There was a determined glint in his eyes, a set to his jaw. Even if Roxas had wanted to talk him down from this, there was no stopping him now.

"Good luck," he said instead.

Sora summoned his Keyblade and opened up a portal swirling with color in the twilight sky. "Thanks. See you around, Roxas."

This would be Sora's last memory of him, and he wanted it to be a good one. So he smiled and said, "See you around, Sora."

Roxas's eyes fluttered open. Light poured through the window, and he groaned and rolled over.

His breath caught as his fingers curled around something in his hand. Two ice cream sticks with the word WINNER stamped on them.

"But how? I thought that was just a dream."

Rubbing his eyes, he sat up. Dream or not, he had just the idea about what to do with them.

After getting ready for the day, he asked Xion if she wanted to go with him. Axel was busy right now, talking to Saïx about everything that had happened, so it was just the two of them at home. Together they walked through the streets of Twilight Town to the ice cream stall, and he told her about how he'd woken up with the WINNER sticks in his hand.

"You sure you didn't just eat ice cream before you went to sleep?" she teased, her eyes sparkling. "I wouldn't put it past you to eat it in bed, then fall asleep before you could throw the sticks away."

"Hey, I know I'm addicted to the stuff, but I'm not THAT bad," he said with a grin. They turned the corner into a side alley plastered in Struggle Tournament posters, and he stopped. "Actually, I think I woke up with them because Sora gave them to me."

"Sora?" Xion said softly. "But Roxas, he's still—"

"Gone, I know. Searching for Kairi. But I had a dream about him last night."

Xion tilted her head, her dark hair splashing against her cheeks. "You did?"

"Yeah, and it felt pretty real."

"Well, maybe it was real." She took one of the sticks from him and examined it. "Maybe this was his way of cheering you up."

Roxas frowned. There was more to the dream than that, but the details were fuzzy now. All he could remember was the two of them eating sea-salt ice cream on the Clock Tower together, then Sora handing him the WINNER sticks.

He wished he could remember more. But he hadn't thought to write down the details, and now most of them were gone.

"Well anyway," he said at last, "I figured I should redeem both of the sticks for prizes so I can give him his when he comes back."

"Sounds good. I'm sure he'll be happy to get it."

When they reached the Tram Common, they greeted the owner of the ice cream stall, a kind woman with a big smile named Claudette. Her dark hair was tucked under a handkerchief, and her face lit up when she saw them.

"Roxas, Xion! Glad to see two of my favorite customers. What will you two be having today? The usual?"

"Sure," Roxas said, "but before that, I'd like to redeem a couple of WINNER sticks. They're for me and my friend Sora."

He placed them on the counter, and Claudette's black and white cat Mittens hopped up next to them. Mittens purred as Xion scratched her chin, and Roxas grinned at the sight. Xion had always had a soft spot for animals.

"Two WINNER sticks at once!" Claudette said. "Well aren't you a lucky man!"

She went to the back of the stall and started rustling around in one of the boxes. Roxas craned his neck, and Xion did the same. What would the fabled WINNER stick prize be this time? It was something different every time, and Claudette always chose the perfect prize. She'd already given Roxas and Axel and Xion matching ice cream charms for their Keyblades.

"Ta-da!" she cried as she set the two prizes down on the counter. Roxas tilted his head as he examined the items before him. They were little miniature scenes of Twilight Town, gold metal engraved and carefully painted so that it resulted in a 3D effect. The tram was there and so was the clock tower, and the words Twilight Town were written at the top of the little frame. A loop of red ribbon went through the top of one, and green ribbon the other.

"They're Christmas ornaments," Claudette explained with a smile. "Sora visited me a few times, and during one of our conversations, he mentioned that it's his favorite holiday. Well, tied with Halloween. So I figured you'd like to have ornaments of your own."

"Oh, I've heard of these before!" Xion said, her eyes lighting up. "You hang them on Christmas trees, right?"

"That's right! And these ones are handmade."

"They look great," Roxas said. "Thanks, Claudette."

"Of course. Now let me grab your ice cream for you."

Soon, he and Xion were walking to the Clock Tower, ice cream in hand. On Monday, they'd be starting school with Hayner, Pence, and Olette, so they had to make the most of their last few days of vacation. It was nice getting to wear casual clothes like this and just hang out. Life felt normal, like they were no different from any of the other people out walking around.

"Do you think Axel will let us celebrate Christmas?" Xion asked after a little while. "I've always wanted to."

"He has to now," Roxas said. "We have this ornament." He held up the one with the green ribbon, and the light caught it at just the right angle. "It's for you and me and Axel. To celebrate our second chance at life."

She smiled. "Yes. And what about Sora's?"

"We'll keep it for him till he comes back."

"I'm sure he'll like that."

Roxas nodded, and they continued on. They were at the base of the Clock Tower now, and when Xion looked at him again, she said, "Roxas, you're crying."

He stopped and touched his cheek. "I am? But why?"

"You miss him," she said, her voice soft but unwavering. "I do too. We were a part of his heart for so long, it feels strange that he's not here with us, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. But he is still here with us," Roxas said, resting his hand over his heart. "Even when he's gone, we're not alone."

"Yes." Xion looked to the sky and smiled. "His heart is a part of ours now."

Roxas nodded, and together they climbed the Clock Tower. As they sat down and took in the familiar view stretching out below them, Roxas bit into his ice cream and sighed.

No matter what might happen, no matter how long the separation might last, he knew that someday, somehow, they would see Sora again.

It was a new promise, and he was determined to keep it, no matter what.

A/N: Thank you to the zine organizers for all their hard work in bringing this project to life! I really enjoyed working on this zine and being a part of a project celebrating Roxas. And as always, thank you for reading!