Seven years later

"Roxas, your friend is here!"

A muffled voice was the only response and Marluxia couldn't help but sigh a bit exasperatedly. Really, was it so hard to at least come to the doorway so they could talk like normal people? From his place at the top of the stairs, he glanced towards where the young blond boy stood in their entryway. He looked a bit nervous and wasn't wearing his usual camo-colored pants and vest. Instead, he was wearing dark jeans and a button up shirt; Marluxia couldn't help but wonder why the boy had chosen to dress up, but he knew Roxas would accuse him of snooping if he asked so he kept his questions to himself.

The sound of running footsteps reached him and he turned back to the stairs in time to see Roxas bounding up them two at a time and managed to step out of the way before the fourteen-year-old could knock him over.

"Slow down, Roxas. There's no need to go sprinting around."

His back to the doctor, Roxas rolled his eyes as he shrugged on his jacket, and the boy waiting for him hid a grin. "We're going to a movie and I don't wanna be late, Papa."

"Oh, I see. When did you get your license, Hayner?"

Jumping slightly out of surprise, Hayner offered a slightly nervous smile as he faced the pink-haired man. "Just last week."

"Well, drive safely. I want you home before eleven, young man." Marluxia waited for Roxas to look and him and nod his acceptance of his curfew before he smiled. "Have fun and stay out of trouble."

"We will!" And then they were gone, the door shutting firmly behind them. Shaking his head, Marluxia made his way down into the renovated basement and turned into the first door on the left, which was Roxas and Sora's shared bedroom.

"Sora, do you know what movie Roxas and Hayner are going to?"

The brunet looked up from the comic book he was reading. "Uh, that new one about the two spies, I think. They're eating out, too. Some fancy restaurant near the theatre."

Fancy restaurant? Marluxia's curiosity got the better of him. "Hayner looked nice. So did Roxas."

"Yeah, well, I'd want to look nice for my first date, too."

Both males froze as the words sank in, then Sora sat bolt upright on his bed, blue eyes wide with panic. "You can't tell him I told you that!"

Marluxia couldn't help but be a little hurt by the fact that Roxas was trying to keep secrets from him. "Why aren't I allowed to know? He's my son—I should know about it if he's going on a date."

"He didn't want you to make a big deal out of it. You can get a little fussy sometimes, Papa," Sora explained as gently as he could.

"Does your father know about this?"

"Dad has no idea. I'm the only one who was supposed to know so you really can't let him know I told, okay? He'll tell you when he's ready. They're just going on a date to try it out so it might not lead to an actual relationship."

"Oh." Feeling a little deflated, Marluxia let his gaze wander around the room that was surprisingly clean considering it was inhabited by two teenage boys. "Well, dinner will be ready soon." He left before Sora could answer and went to the next bedroom on that side of the basement, though this time he knocked before entering.

"What's up, Papa?" Axel was sitting at his desk looking over a form of some kind, probably the requirements list for a scholarship.

Marluxia offered a small smile as he moved closer to the desk and looked over the redhead's shoulder. "Just checking on how you're doing. How many of those do you have left?"

"Three due on Monday and five more by Thursday. I've already done…twelve?" He shrugged and leaned back in his chair to grin tiredly. "Too many. But it's worth it to avoid a huge debt from college."

A fond smile worked its way onto Marluxia's face and he tugged one of the eighteen-year-old's hair spikes playfully. "You know your father and I are willing to help pay for your tuition, Axel."

"Yeah, but Zexion and Demyx graduate next year, and Riku will the year after that. Then Sora will, and after him it'll be Roxas and Kairi and finally Namine. You and Dad have more than enough kids and definitely too much college tuition to worry about. I just lucked out with being the oldest of your weird adopted family."

Laughing, the doctor let his hand rest on Axel's shoulder affectionately. "I suppose you're right. It's going to be a hectic few years, getting you all out of the house and into the real world. But it's worth it."

Axel nodded and let out a resigned sigh. "I've been working on these for over two hours and I've only managed to finish one of them. I have to turn in some of my college applications by Monday, too."

Sympathetic, Marluxia patted the teen's shoulder. "Don't work too hard, and remember, you have all weekend, so don't skip out on sleep. You can take a break as soon as it's time for dinner."

"Mmkay," The redhead hummed, already back to reading the list; Marluxia exited the room quietly so as not to distract him then crossed the small hallway into the room opposite.

"Riku? Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes. Are you finished with your homework?"

The silver-haired teen nodded as he took off the large headphones he'd been wearing and turned in his desk chair. "Finished a while ago. Just working on some video editing for a friend."

"All right. I'll call you up for dinner."

"Kay."

The doctor stepped back into the hall and shut the door so Riku could continue working on his laptop in peace. To the right was the last bedroom in the basement he and Luxord had renovated for their six adopted sons, which Demyx and Zexion shared. Because he already knew that Demyx was in the garage with a few of his friends, practicing—they'd recently formed a band—he knocked softly before entering the bedroom to find Zexion curled up on his bed with a notebook propped against his legs as he wrote.

"Almost finished with that?" he asked, smiling slightly. Dark blue eyes focused on him and the seventeen-year-old nodded as he set down his pencil.

"Only a few chapters to go," the blue-haired teen signed, obviously proud that he'd almost finished the book he'd been working on for a little over a year. Despite years of therapy and being adopted by Marluxia and Luxord to live in a healthy, happy home, Zexion had never really gotten back into the habit of talking. He could and did talk if his hands were too full for him to set down whatever he was holding, but he preferred to use sign language, for reasons that no one ever bothered to ask for. It was just the way the quiet boy was, and seeing as everyone in the house was skilled in sign language, no one minded.

"That's great!" Marluxia opted to sign as well, smiling. "Let me know when it's finished, and we'll send manuscripts to a few of the local publishing companies."

Zexion nodded eagerly before he picked up his pencil and continued writing in a pace that was quick but not rushed. Marluxia retreated to the door and began to leave when he remembered the reason he'd gone there in the first place and stopped.

"Dinner will be ready soon so don't get too distracted," he called softly, knowing Zexion heard him even though the teen didn't verbally respond, then he shut the door and made his way back upstairs and into the kitchen.

Standing by the counter was Luxord, icy blue eyes focused on the instructions on the side of a box of bread mix. Wordlessly, Marluxia walked up behind the blond and hugged him around the waist, nuzzling into his back.

"Our son is on a date," he murmured, looking up as the taller man turned around and returned the embrace.

"Which one?"

"Roxas."

"Ah. Who's the lucky girl?"

Marluxia couldn't help but grin a little. "His friend, Hayner."

Interest lit up Luxord's eyes and he smirked back at his pink-haired partner. "Really? Hm. That will be fun."

"Yes, it will. But we're not supposed to know, so don't say anything about it when he comes home," Marluxia instructed when he remembered what Sora had said.

Luxord's smirk turned impish. "I won't, but I might mess with him a little as revenge for keeping secrets."

A laugh escaped the doctor and he reached up to kiss the still-smirking lawyer. "Feel free." Before Luxord could take advantage of how close they currently were, Marluxia pulled away and checked on the pasta that was simmering on the stove top. "Did you yell up to Kairi and Namine?"

"Yes. They said they'd be down in time to eat."

As if that was their cue, two pairs of running footsteps sounded on the floor above and only moments later, Namine and Kairi appeared in the doorway.

"Is dinner ready?" the redhead asked as she took her usual place at the table.

"Not yet," Marluxia replied, "but it won't be long now. That is, if Dad manages to make that bread."

Namine and Kairi giggled as the blond man scowled at his shorter partner.

"It's not as easy as it looks, you know," he grumbled as he opened the box and began following the printed instructions. Marluxia chuckled.

"I'm sure it's much harder than the box would lead me to believe." Turning, Marluxia leaned back against the counter so he could face his daughters. "You two are going over to Alice's tonight, right?"

"Yes, Papa," Namine answered in her usual quiet way. "Her birthday was yesterday so tonight's the party."

"Do you have your gifts for her wrapped and ready to go?"

"Yep! We already packed our overnight bags and everything, so we'll go after dinner," Kairi informed her parents. "Her friend Hatter is stopping by to pick us up."

The name was unfamiliar to him and Marluxia raised one eyebrow slightly. "Hatter?"

Kairi nodded. "He's one of her theatre friends. I think he helps make the costumes for their shows."

Even though he wasn't entirely comfortable with the thought of a boy he didn't know picking up his fourteen-and-fifteen-year-old daughters and taking them all the way to Alice's house for a sleepover, Marluxia didn't object. He trusted Kairi not to get in a vehicle with someone she didn't know and trust, and he knew Alice well enough to know that even if her friends were a little strange, they were harmless. "I suppose that's all right."

"He's really nice, Papa," Namine assured him, "and he'll probably come inside so you'll get to meet him before we go."

Slightly relieved, Marluxia nodded then glanced over to check on Luxord's progress with the bread, only to find the blond glaring at the box as if it had done something to personally offend him. "Lux?" The lawyer didn't move right away, though after a few more moments of silent glaring, he huffed and shoved the box into Marluxia's hands.

"I give up. You make the bread, I'll take care of the pasta."

Marluxia couldn't help but roll his eyes as he smiled, which made Namine and Kairi smother giggles as he traded places with Luxord and took over the making of the bread. It was some Italian recipe for cheesy bread that sounded delicious but would probably turn out horribly from even the slightest mistake. This being the case, the pink-haired doctor was especially careful while he gathered the listed ingredients and began to measure them out. Just over ten minutes later, sounds of movement from the basement reached them as boys' stomach reminded them that it would be dinner time soon.

"Someone get Demyx from the garage," Marluxia said without taking his eyes off the mixture he was working on. "And tell his friends that they're welcome to join us."

Namine was the first to move to do as the doctor asked, disappearing just as Axel, Sora, Riku and Zexion wandered in looking as if they were about to start chewing on the table if they weren't given proper food within a few minutes. Chairs scraped against the tile floor as they dropped into their proper places around the table. Only a moment later, Namine returned with Demyx in tow and resumed her seat.

"The guys had to go home, but they said thanks anyway for offering dinner," the blond boy said as he sat beside Zexion. Marluxia glanced at him and frowned.

"Your hands are filthy, Demyx. Please go wash up before we start eating."

Demyx looked at his hands as if surprised by the grim smeared on them that had resulted from setting up his equipment in the garage, but he didn't argue before getting up again and retreating to the bathroom to wash his hands. While he was gone, Luxord finished the pasta and began putting the food out on the table; Kairi wordlessly jumped up and began to hand out plates, cups and silverware to her siblings. By the time Demyx returned, everyone had their proper tableware and Marluxia had put the bread in the oven to bake while they ate. The moment everyone was seated the teenagers all but fell on the food as conversations picked up, and Marluxia watched his family with a small smile on his lips.

It had been difficult to gain permission to adopt all eight of them, and even more work to renovate the basement to make it suitable for the boys to live in, but it had been more than worth it. Axel would be graduating from high school in only a few months and attending college as a business major. Roxas was on his first date with a boy he'd been friends with for years and had recently expressed interest in becoming a teacher. Sora wanted to join the military, though Marluxia wasn't entirely sold on that idea. Zexion was almost finished writing a book and Riku had already been hired by one of the local music companies to help with advertising. Demyx was part of a band, Kairi was very serious about pursuing a career in fashion and Namine was set on following in her papa's footsteps and becoming a psychologist with a specialty in memory.

They were all growing up so fast; it hardly seemed like seven years had passed since the trial against Larxene. Seven good years, full of laughter and a few tears, full of the Silents rediscovering their voices one by one and making Marluxia happier than he'd ever have thought was possible.

Unconsciously, the doctor reached over until he found Luxord's hand and held onto it under the table; the blond didn't even blink, though he did smile a little. They were a strange bunch and certainly not what anyone would have expected to see living together under one roof, but Marluxia thought they were perfect. They were his, and they were perfect.

Author's Note:

Ta da! Here's the extra chapter I promised! I hope you all enjoyed it! So this story is officially over but never fear because I have plenty of other Kingdom Hearts fics to write. However, if anyone's interested, I will be writing little tidbits of this story that weren't shown in the chapters and posting them as notes on my FB page—the link is on my profile if you feel like checking them out, just know that I haven't posted any yet. Thanks for reading!