Chapter II - Bring in the New, Don’t forget the Old

Mickey came to the tower after training today, he seemed happier, which was good. It'd been quite a while since Eraqus' disciples had stopped coming to the tower and had gone off to the Keyblade graveyard, I thought Mickey would never go back to being himself after that.

But no, he came rushing towards me, picking me up and hugging me. He started talking, saying too many things at once.

I had to interrupt him and tell him to start over, which he did happily.

"Squall and Cloud said they'd take you in, adopt you (Y/n)! You can live with a family now, you don't have to be alone in the tower with Yen Sid anymore, you can be a normal kid, have some fun again!" Mickey rocked himself on his heels as I processed this information.

"Isn't this a great thing?!" He was beaming.

"But, if I go live with a new family, will I still be able to train with master?!" I asked, panicked. I'd only been training so long, and I'm not even close to my Mark of Mastery.

Were they kicking me out? Was I too much of a burden?

Most of all, if I go live with this new family, what happens to my relationship with mom, with Sora?!

"Of course, that's why you're going to be living with them," Mickey chuckled. "Your mom already agreed, she said it'd be good for you to live with a family that'll love you instead of here in the tower," Mickey tried to comfort me.

"Why can't I go live with Mom and Sora then?" I grumbled, suddenly upset.

"Because you can't battle the darkness yet, (Y/n), if you went back to the islands you'd be putting everyone in danger." Mickey looked very sad, so I grabbed his oversized, gloved hand.

"And this new family won't be?" I questioned again, softly this time. It was weird, being overrun with so many emotions at once, I felt as if I was losing grasp of my home, of Sora.

Mickey looked back up at me, this time with a smile again, "Actually, that's why they were the perfect candidates,"

"Perfect candidates?"

"Yes! Since they protect Radiant Garden without any key blades, so they can protect everyone, even you, just fine!"

"Without keyblades…" I muttered. "But wouldn't the darkness just come back?"

"Nope! They get rid of darkness permanently!" Mickey looked so proud of himself.

"How?" I inquired, it was the first time I'd heard of people fighting back the darkness without the use of keyblades.

"If you use a keyblade to bless a weapon, then that weapon can act as a temporary keyblade!"

"I see…" That's nice knowledge to know. I'll keep that in mind.

"And mom agreed to this?" I asked after a long pause.

Mickey nodded, "I know it must seem sudden and scary, but I think it'll really help you, (Y/n), to get outta this place and see more worlds, new people."

"But what about Sora?" I looked Mickey in the eyes, questions heavy in my gaze.

He took both my hands in his, "It's a new family, I know. They'll be adopting you into their family, but that doesn't mean you have to give up your old one. It just means you have more family!"

I thought about it for a moment, Mickey spoke again, "And you can always go see Sora and your mom once your training is complete or you have a good grasp on your powers."

I sighed, "Fine, I'll give it a shot, I suppose."

Once again, the mouse smiled, but this was a big smile, the happiest I've ever seen from him. It was comforting, it made me actually want to give this a shot.

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It was nerve racking, to say the least. Walking into this room and trying to get to know these strangers who wanted to adopt me, let me live with them. I don't know what to do in this situation, especially knowing that mom adopted me and Sora long ago and that they're still waiting for me back at the Islands.

I swallowed, Mickey was right beside me, holding my hand. He pushed open the door slowly, taking a step in to let me walk in first.

I take two steps and am immediately tackled by a boy who is much older than me, he looks to be about eight, maybe nine. Light brown hair was pressed against my face as this boy hugged me.

He let go fast, holding his hands at my shoulders, light blue eyes shone into mine.

"Hi! I'm Denzel, it's nice to meet you, (Y/n). I'm very happy and excited we're going to be siblings!" His introduction is fast and peppy, but as soon as he's done he relaxed and stepped back, giving me breathing room.

There's a chuckle behind him, a taller man wearing lots of black and belts with longer dark brown hair walked up and ruffled Denzel's hair.

"Hi, (Y/n), sorry about him. He's been waiting to meet you for a while," he stretched his hand out to me, "My name's Squall, I hope this hasn't been too overwhelming."

I take his hand, "Hello, I'm (Y/n), it's nice to meet you, and it has been overwhelming. But I'll manage," I know he already knows my name, but I didn't care. I should introduce myself to him, at least.

"Well, I hope we can all get used to each other soon. We're really happy to have you here, as a part of our family." His smile's infectious, I find my mouth moving upwards as well.

Denzel looked behind himself, "Dad, come say hi!"

Squall looked behind himself too, "Cloud, aren't you going to say hi to (Y/n)?" His tone is almost warning.

I don't think Cloud wants me here, if Squall has to threaten him over.

Cloud comes from by the far wall, dressed in a black turtleneck and jeans, he seemed to be hiding in the oversized shirt.

His blond hair was almost like Sora's, except his went up instead of sideways, he had these beautiful blue eyes that looked green when the light shone on them. It was weird, but nice.

"It's nice to meet you," He extended his hand, I took it and he gave me a firm shake before letting go.

"It's nice to meet you too," I looked at all of them, "Thank you, I'm very much looking forward to being family with you all."

…If I'm not giving up being family with Sora, it's okay, right?

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I moved in three days later, and it was nice. Denzel and Squall were really nice. Denzel already started calling me little sister.

Squall had called me his daughter once, but other than that he seemed to avoid it, I think he was giving me time to adjust, which I appreciated.

It's been a month so far, I like it, being with with family. Mickey was right, this was good for me.

Everything is great here, Denzel plays with me and spends time with me, Squall has work with the defense of Radiant Garden but he's always around, taking care of me and Denzel. He's a good father.

Cloud though, I think he might be avoiding me, everytime I try to talk to him he finds a way to get away from me. I heard Squall say something about Cloud taking more jobs than usual too.

Did he not want me here, like I suspected on the first day?

I got back from training today, getting my backpack out of the Gummi ship I walked into the house, finding Denzel coloring on the floor.

He looked up, "You wanna join?"

"Yeah, just let me put this away," he nodded and went back to coloring. I walked past him to my room, it wasn't small, but it wasn't too big.

There was a bed, a desk, a dresser, everything I needed, plus the things I'd been collecting over this past month, like the drawings on the walls Denzel and I made. I had taped the papers to the walls with Squall's permission. I plopped my backpack on the desk and left, closing my door.

Cloud closed the door to his and Squalls room at the same time, we looked at each other as our doors are close together, both being on the same side of the hallway.

Cloud looked down at me and I looked up at him before he muttered an "excuse me," and disappeared down the call.

I furrowed my eyebrows, watching him disappear down the corner before I left where I was to join Denzel.

I sat down next to him, hearing the front door slam shut.

"Wow, I've never seen him leave the house so quickly. Even when there was a—" Denzel was looking at the door and speaking in a joking manner before looking at me, his face fell.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't think Cloud likes me, and I don't think he wants me here either," I told him honestly, picking up a crayon and starting to draw on a black piece of paper.

Denzel slams his hands down on the floor, "No he doesn't! I swear he doesn't feel that way!"

"Dad's just shy, that's all!" He exclaimed. I drew a heart with a crown on it, in the sky with wings protecting it.

"It's been a month, Denzel. Shy people would've warmed up to someone by now, plus, I'm five and he's an adult,"

"W, well what if I help you?" Denzel offered, going back to drawing himself.

I looked to him, "Help me?"

"Yeah, like help you and dad bond or something," he muttered, biting his tongue trying to draw a brown bear.

"That's, that would be good, thanks Denzel," I smiled before drawing me and Sora. Adding Denzel, Squall, Cloud, Mickey, and Mom.

It was crowded, but I definitely wanted to put this on my wall.

"Aw come on," Denzel whined, "Are you ever gonna call me big bro?"

I paused, "Can I?"

"Yes!"

"Alright then," I giggled, "Thank you for helping me with this, big brother."

Denzel looked smug with himself, nodding and saying "your welcome," ruffling my hair before going back to his forest drawing.

We drew and did puzzles until dinner time. Squall called us and we cleaned up our activities, washing our hands before the meal too.

Denzel sat down at his usual spot and I went to sit next to him, but he shone his head and pointed to the seat next to Cloud's usual seat, he hadn't come home yet.

"If you sit there, I'll get Pa to sit next to me, then maybe Cloud'll warm up to you!" Was his plan.

I sat where Denzel wanted, but as Squall was putting the food on plates for us Cloud came home, he took one look at the table and sat next to Denzel.

Plan ruined.

But Denzel tried anyway, "I wanna sit next to Pa tonight,"

He was stubborn, but Squall came in, handed out food and sat down, Denzel couldn't say anything after that. Not without having to explain himself, which would throw the whole plan out the window for the future, and be really, really awkward.

We ate in peace, the food was good, but I could tell Cloud was avoiding my gaze the whole meal; like usual.

When I was finished I went to the kitchen, Denzel helped me put my plate and utensils in the sink, since I was too short.

"I'm sorry my plan failed; but there's always next time!" At least he was optimistic, but if he had more plans like that I'm afraid I'll never get a chance to bond with Cloud.

"What plan?" Squall walked in, putting more stuff in the sink.

"Nothing!" Denzel exclaimed just a bit too loud to not be suspicious.

Squall raised an eyebrow, "You sure?" He sent a gaze towards Denzel, one that said he wasn't buying it and if we were planning to do anything bad we should confess now.

I grabbed Denzel's sleeve, "Maybe dad can help us?"

Squall looked surprised I'd called him dad, it wasn't the first time, I was warming up to it, but it hadn't been long since I'd said it out loud.

"Help with what?" Squall asked, crouching down.

"(Y/n) thinks Cloud doesn't like her," Denzel confessed rather quickly.

"That's not true," Squall puts a hand on my shoulder, "Cloud likes you, (Y/n), he's just…" he trailed off.

"Clouds awkward with how he shows he cares," it's a weak finish, but Squall's face says this is the best he can explain it.

"If you say so, but if he truly doesn't like me then I want to leave," Denzel freaked out.

"Leave?!"

"You don't have to leave, (Y/n)," Squall stated.

"If he doesn't like me then I shouldn't be here, in his house," I reasoned.

"It's your house now too," Squall stated again.

"I just," I huffed, "I don't know," he put a hand on my shoulder.

"Here's what we're gonna do, tomorrow you have the day off from training, right?"

"Yeah," tomorrow was Sunday, we don't have training on Sundays, to cool off and come back strong for the next week.

"Then tomorrow we'll go out as a family, and that'll show you that Cloud likes you, okay?"

"Alright," I sighed, hopefully he was right. I didn't want to make Cloud uncomfortable, and I don't want to leave either, I really liked it here.

Hopefully things go well tomorrow.

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Squall's big plan was to go to the park. I couldn't bond with Cloud here, it's not like he's going to play tag with us or go down the kiddie slide, he's an adult, and too big for that.

Denzel led me up the play set, we went down the slide, played hide and seek, tag, even a game I'd never heard of, gravel.

Denzel explained it to me, he'd be the tagger and I had to stay off the ground while avoiding him. It would have been rigged against me but then he explained he would keep his eyes closed when not on the ground.

After he said that Squall and Cloud stood a little closer to the play set, circling to stay near us.

It was a fun game, and I was pretty good at avoiding my big brother too.

The only incident we had playing was when he got too close and I fell off the set leaning away from him, Cloud caught me.

When I smiled and tried to thank him he put me down on the set quickly and walked off towards Squall.

The day was nice.

Scrooge McDuck had even had a few rides out at the park, to make some extra cash most likely. Though I was told he didn't need it.

There was a tiny Ferris wheel, it wasn't very high, maybe only three stories tall?

A kiddie ride too, which Denzel went on and I couldn't, I was just below the height requirement. Squall waited in line with Denzel as Cloud waited with me.

"Do, do you want to find a ride too?" He uncrossed his arms, looking down at me.

I looked around, there weren't any more rides per se, just a bounce house and a game where you could fish for ducks.

"I'm good," I told him, leaning on the wall behind us, just as he did.

We waited in silence, I watched the line as Denzel and Squall talked and moved up. I wanted that, I had that with Squall and Denzel, I wanted that with Cloud.

"If you don't like me, you could just say so," the words come out of my lips before I could stop them.

"Huh?"

"If you don't want me around just say so," I rephrased, turning to him and pushing off the wall.

"I don't know why you're avoiding me, but I'm trying. If you don't want me around you could have said something," it's been a month of me trying. Squall and Denzel had accepted me the day we met, and had helped me yesterday and today, but I've been trying with Cloud for a month.

I was tired of this game.

"That's not—" Cloud pushed off the wall, looking towards me with a surprised look on his face.

"Hey you two, after Denzel's done on the coster, do you wanna go on the Ferris wheel?" Squall came up out of nowhere, I didn't even know Denzel had gotten on the ride.

"Sure," I said curtly. Leaning back against the wall again, exhaling.

Cloud did the same as Squall went to stand beside him, putting his head on the taller's shoulder.

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We avoided each other's gaze on the Ferris wheel, and had gone back home, unsuccessful. In fact it might have been more than unsuccessful, I'd lashed out at Cloud and he probably doesn't like me more now.

I should apologize, I decided as I pushed off my bed. I had been ready for bed, but I know Cloud doesn't go to sleep for a while.

I closed my door as I exited my door quietly. I heard a conversation coming from Cloud and Squall's room.

I stayed quiet as I walked closer. I didn't want to eavesdrop, but what Cloud had said had made me want to hear more.

"She thinks I hate her," that had to be about me, right?

"Well, you have been avoiding her ever since she came here,"

"That— It wasn't intentional."

"Looked pretty intentional to me."

"I just," I heard Cloud groan, there was a pause and I think Squall might've said something before Cloud continued.

"She's so little," he said in a smaller voice, "Nothing like Denzel was, when I took him in he was seven, and enough had happened to him already," his voice became shaky.

"What if I do something to mess her up? So many things have happened to her already, what if I do something and scar her or damage her for life, Squall?!"

"That's not going to happen,"

"Bad stuff follows me around like the plague," Cloud snarked.

"But is ignoring her better than not being there at all? She's trying her hardest to connect with you,"

"I didn't even realize I was doing anything wrong until today, she thinks I hate her!" He exclaimed, I heard the sound of movement before the slapping sound of hands hitting legs.

"She doesn't think that," there was a pause before Squall took back what he said, "Okay, maybe she does,"

"BUT, there's a way to fix it,"

"What would that be?" Cloud's voice was suddenly muffled.

"Spend time with her. Be the father you said you'd be,"

"But,"

"No but's Cloud, you're going to give her issues if you ignore her for no reason anyway," Squall's voice was quieter like he'd muttered that.

It just came to my attention that this door was very thin, or maybe it was just the walls in general.

Cloud exhaled loudly, "Okay, okay,"

"I'll do it, I'll be a better dad. I'm gonna show her I don't hate her,"

"The bare minimum,"

"Shut up," there's another impact, it sounds as if it was a pillow. I hear Squall snort, holding back a laugh?

I took a step back from the door, information finally hitting me.

He doesn't hate me. He does want me here. He's been avoiding me because he cares.

It's a stupid reason, but my chest feels lighter as I walk back into my room. He was worried for me.

I'll make sure to apologize in the morning, but for now, I'll fall asleep happy.