A/N: Oh my god, I am such a loser. I was just reading fanfiction (it's called Tease by Paintthesilence and in my humble opinion it is the best fanfiction on this site and if you haven't read it you should right now…) anyway, I was just reading Tease and there's a part where someone goes "Demyx!" and I looked at it for a second and then said it out loud, exclamation point and all and I thought to myself. "Oh my god…I love that name. It's just so much fun to say." And then I said Demyx, like, fifty more times and thought to myself. "If I didn't hate kids so much, I'd totally name my son Demyx." And then I realized that that simple thought made me a complete and total loser. Just thought you ought to know.

Disclaimer: El videojuego de Kingdom Hearts 2 no es mio.

Chapter 13- 20 minutes remaining

Sora let out a small sigh of discontent as he leaned his head back against the couch.

"Is everything okay, Sora?" Roxas asked with a frown. Sora looked at his twin, and nodded.

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine," he lied. In truth, his stomach was in knots and he was more nervous then he'd ever felt in his life. Any minute now, Riku would come out, slip on his flip-flops, grab a bottle of water from the fridge and ask Sora if he was ready to go.

"Hey Sora…we should hang out some time next week. Just the two of us. We haven't done that in a long time." Sora looked at Roxas and smiled, nodding numbly.

"Yeah, sure thing. Should be fun. What do you have in mind?"

"I don't know," the blonde shrugged. "Maybe catch a movie, get something to eat. Something that will take our minds off being alone for next few months." Sora forced a laugh.

"Yeah…that sounds good."

The door to the bathroom opened and Riku made his way out, slipping on his flip-flops and pulling his hair into a low ponytail at the same time.

"Look, all clean," he said with a grin, leaning down and catching Sora's lips in a kiss that the brunet was hesitant to break, fearing it might just be the very last one he'd ever get. Riku pulled away with a laugh and went to get a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Ready to go home, So?" he asked, extending his hand just as Sora knew he would. He took a deep breath and nodded, taking the hand Riku offered and pulling himself to his feet. His heart was pounding crazily in his chest and it was hard to breathe, almost as if someone had wrapped a rubber band around his lungs and they were being constricted.

"I'll call you sometime next week, okay Roxas? Or you call me, whatever works." He was trying so hard to keep up a semblance of normality and he wasn't sure it was working. As they made their way out the back door, three bodyguards came to stand around them, which made Sora relax just the slightest. Riku, who had inevitably moved his arm around Sora's shoulders, frowned a bit.

"Are you okay? You seem…tense."

"I'm a little…nervous about what Xemnas said earlier. I'm relieved by the extra padding we have," he indicated the bodyguards, "but I'm still really nervous. What if he's crazy enough to try even though we have protection?"

Riku shook his head and kissed Sora's forehead. "It's no big deal, really, So. He won't show up, he's all talk. I promise."

Sora shook his head vehemently. "You can't promise that, Riku. You can't…because how do you know he won't? Something terrible could happen and I could lose you forever."

Riku came to a stop, resting his hands on Sora's shoulders and looking him straight in the eyes.

"Look, So. Nothing is going to happen to me. I would never leave you, okay? You're just spooked by that dream you had the other day…"

"It wasn't a dream!" Sora exclaimed, finally losing it. Riku's eyebrows rose and his eyes flicked over Sora's face, obviously checking to make sure that he wasn't having some sort of panic attack. "It wasn't a dream, Riku. It was real. It was all real. This all happened before…and I lived an entire year without you and it was terrible…but I was sent back! I was sent back so we could finish our year out because you died five days before our anniversary…"

Riku looked really worried now, his hand coming up to rest against Sora's forehead as if checking to see if he was overheated.

"So…are you feeling okay?"

"No! I don't feel okay, Riku, because you might die tonight…"

Riku looked to one of the bodyguards. "Call an ambulance or something, will you? I think he's having a breakdown or he's sick…"

"Riku, I'm not having a breakdown…"

His protest went unheard, though, as the man pulled out his cell phone and began to dial, talking to the operator as Sora protested and Riku tried to shush him.

"Come on, So. Please just go with it. You might not be sick at all…but I'm worried about you. So humor me and take a trip to the hospital to get checked out. Please?" Sora could see that he really had no choice anyway as the bodyguard snapped his phone shut and nodded at Riku to show that the job was done. Sora didn't want to go to the hospital, dammit. He wanted to keep moving. He wanted Riku to get in the car and drive away. He wanted him to live through the night.

"That is very touching Riku, how concerned you are for him." Sora froze as he felt Riku's finger's tighten and dig into his shoulders. He looked behind him, and surely enough Xemnas was there with his hood pulled up, the bandana around his face. Those piercing amber eyes were hard and crazed as they watched the pair, Sora's breathing picking up frantically as he turned in Riku's grip, trying to shield the singer's body with his own.

"I'll treat him well, I promise." Time seemed to slow down as he pulled a gun, severely shocking Sora. It had been a knife the first time. Then again, he must have thought ahead, knowing he wouldn't get close enough to stab him. The gun shot off three times before Xemnas was tackled to the ground by one of the bodyguards. Sora let out a gasp as Riku roughly pushed him to one side, though the biting, screaming pain in his shoulder told him that he was hit anyway. A bodyguard flew over to Riku, grabbing him around the waist and taking him to floor as well.

Sora didn't know what had happened to the two other bullets, but he could see the two other bodyguards, one holding Xemnas to the ground and the other holding the gun in his own grip, pointing it at the tattoo artist to keep him in his place.

Sora crawled over to Riku, who was also on the ground, the bodyguard lying over him protectively. As he came closer, he realized that the guard had taken a bullet straight in the back of the head and was already dead. He choked back a sob, just beginning to realize that tears were streaming down his face. He had to see if Riku was okay. Pushing the body to the side, he could see already the blood covering his husband, gushing up from one point in his chest.

"Riku!" he whispered, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. "Riku, are you okay? Riku…open your eyes, dammit!" The wailing sounds of sirens approached as Sora leaned his face against Riku's shoulder, finally letting the sobs overtake him. He'd failed. He'd had the chance to save him and he failed. He could vaguely hear voices around him as he cried and then hands grabbing him and lifting him up. He wanted to cling to Riku, but he found that he didn't have the strength. He allowed the strangers to handle him as the pain overtook him, numbing his mind and he fell into unconsciousness.

"…nine o' clock on a lovely Tuesday morning. It's July 20th, 2008. Sunny skies, partly cloudy with a chance of rain later. This next song is…"

Sora groaned, reaching out a hand and slapping off the alarm clock in mild annoyance. He buried his face back in the pillows and laid there for a good minute and a half before the shock rolled through him. It was…2008. It was his and Riku's anniversary…and it was 2008. He was back. The day he should have woken up…Roxas had taken him out the night before…and Riku was dead again. He blinked, trying to remember if and why he'd set his alarm clock for nine in the morning. He let out a long sigh and pulled the blankets tightly around his body, ready to just lie there and wallow away in self-pity for the rest of his life. It seemed like a really good plan.

His fingertips felt slightly numb. He just couldn't believe that he'd let Riku slip through his fingers like that. He'd been right there, right in his grasp…and now he was dead. Again. Maybe it just wasn't supposed to be. Maybe he was supposed to live out their year and then let it go…but it just didn't seem right. He'd had the opportunity…he'd been willing to protect Riku with his own life…and Riku had pushed him aside. He'd given himself to save Sora…and the brunet was wondering if he was worth it. He knew that Riku was worth it…but was Sora? Was life even worth it anymore? He'd watched his husband die twice and hadn't been able to do a thing about it.

With a newly found determination, he slipped out of bed and made his way toward the bathroom. He stared at himself in the mirror, surprised at how good he looked. He's half expected to find himself gaunt and half dead, but he looked healthy, despite the deep frown set upon his face. He pulled open the mirror and grabbed out a bottle of painkillers that had been there since Riku had broken his collarbone. He looked at the bottle and took a deep breath. He wasn't sure if he could actually go through with taking the whole thing. Could he really…kill himself? He set the bottle on the counter and reached up to close the mirror again, but paused when something caught his eye. He blinked rapidly for a moment before jerking his hand away from the mirror and looking at his wrist.

The black crown outline with Riku's name written on the inside looked just the same as it had when he'd gotten it from Xemnas. The ink was still the same deep black and permanent. He sucked in a breath, a swell of hope building up in his chest. He reached a hand up and pushed his shirt away from his shoulder, letting out a gasp as he looked at the scar from a gunshot wound.

He took a few steps back away from the counter and the pill bottle. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have almost ruined everything? He threw the bathroom door open and ran back into his own room. He ran through that door as well, thundering down the stairs.

"Riku?" he yelled as he ran. "Riku?"

"Sora? Are you all right? What's going on?"

There he was, his Riku looking at him in concern, standing just outside the door to his music room. Sora laughed a tiny bit, aware that he probably sounded manic but not really caring. He launched himself into Riku's arms, hugging him tightly and burying his face in the musician's chest.

"Sora? Is something wrong?" he asked, sounding worried.

"No," Sora answered breathily. "No. Everything is perfect. Absolutely perfect."

"Um…okay. Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure. I love you Riku."

"I love you too, So."

"Forever and ever," Sora mumbled, planting a kiss on his chest as Riku's arms came to hold him tightly as well, his chin resting on Sora's head.

The brunet could have stayed like that forever, but as he pulled away, he knew it wasn't necessary. He'd have many years in which to hold on to Riku, because somehow he'd managed to save him. They could now live their whole lives out together, just the way it was supposed to be.

The pair stood, staring at each other, the brunette grinning triumphantly, the man looking purely shocked.

"So, is there anything you'd like to say to me?" she asked, smiling victoriously. He rubbed a hand through his hair, rolled his eyes, and mumbled incoherently under his breath.

"Wait…what was that? I'm afraid I didn't quite hear you…"

He let out a loud, dramatic sigh and rolled his eyes.

"You were right and I was wrong. They worked things out, Riku's been saved, you didn't get caught, and everything is all hunky-dory. Are you happy now?"

"Extremely," she admitted, letting out a small squeal of excitement, not at all put out by the man's less then enthusiastic attitude.

"I'm not sure if you're psychic or you just have extreme confidence in your bloodline," he sighed.

"It's a little bit of both," she admitted with a shrug. "I knew Sora could do it, he was always persistent, even when he was a little baby!"

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, Aeris, I get it. Your son is a genius. Together, you two could probably break the rules of the universe. Ah, no wait, you already did that, didn't you?"

She scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "He's your son, too, Zack. You'd think you'd have a bit more fatherly pride or something." Zack merely rolled his eyes, shook his head, and wrapped an arm around Aeris' shoulder.

"Come on, babe. Let's go home so you can gush about our son's genius in private."

She let out a small sigh of satisfaction and started home, content with the fact that the world was exactly how it should be.

--

A/N: Yup. So that's the end. Thirteen chapters. How fitting. And coincidental. I'm proud of myself, because I actually managed to give a straightforward, happy ending this time and no one died…unless you count the bodyguard. May he rest in peace. I'm a little upset with myself at the fact that I had yet another gun shot go on in this…check my other multi-chapter fics…they all have gunshots too…ah well. Beggars can't be choosers. Review, if you would.