A/N: Because being a button-masher but loving the game creates some difficulties. Let fanfics be the new way to play KH! …And let me not be smited down by Karma, Fate, Lady Luck, and especially not Irony.
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy belongs to Disney and Square Enix, respectfully. As much as I wish they didn't…
Fate is a funny person. He and Lady Luck work together, and he picks up habits from her. But, ever since he and Karma have hooked up, he's dropped a level or two of the psycho factor. Instead, he's become more or less philosophical in his ways, linking together people who just need to be. Fate can be a bitch, but at least he's good at his job. Lately, he and Luck have been working on their matchmaking skills; and while Karma usually stops them before anything gets out of hand, he has his own jobs to do, and babysitting just isn't one of them.
For two unsuspecting people in Twilight Town, these a few deities are going to show them exactly how one things links to another. And how these links are so perfectly established, that nothing can force them apart, but everything can push them together.
"Oi, wake up you bratling. School starts in an hour, and I won't be late just because you're too tired to get out of bed. Now, UP!"
Sora Strife groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes. "Cloud," he whined pitifully, "close the curtains…"
"No. Now get up before Mom figures out that your aren't, and brings out the ice water."
"Gah!" The brunet jumped out of his bed, blue eyes wide. "I'm awake! Don't let her get the super soaker!" He cried, not wanted to invoke his mother's wrath.
"Thought so." The eldest Strife smirked, arms crossed, with a smug look in his eyes. "Roxas has your breakfast. Get dressed and meet us downstairs."
"Yessir!" Cloud rolled his eyes, before making his way down the stairs. Sora was an angel, with traditional Strife eyes and a wide smile, but sometimes his brothers couldn't help but worry that he would end up at gunpoint, thanks to his complete and utter lack of tact. That, and the fact that he radiated childishness was enough to put him in several awkward situations.
Roxas met him in the hall. "Sora's still not awake yet?" he asked, absentmindedly running a hand through his hair.
"Not everyone gets up at the crack of dawn, Rox." Cloud said, clearly amused. "Give him a few minutes… Go grad him something to eat, will you?"
"Yeah, yeah." The sandy-blond flapped his hand dismissively. "Nothing too high in sugar, right?"
"You want a hyper Sora bouncing around?"
"True…" The youngest Strife wandered into the kitchen, and with some deliberation, grabbed a cereal bar for his brother. "Although it'd be funny to watch him spazz and stuff."
"I'MHEREI'MHEREI'MHEREI'MHEREI'MHERE!!" said boy stumbled downstairs, tugging on his shoes. "DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT ME!!"
"…Well, that was sooner than expected."
Sora stuck his tongue out at his twin, grabbing his breakfast. "Shut up, you meanie!"
"Oh no!" Roxas clutched his heart. "You wound me with your words. My mere being aches at being thought of as a 'meanie' in my darling brother's eyes. Allow me to seek forgiveness by actually allowing you to sit in shotgun for the day."
Cloud watched his younger brothers banter in amusement. "Come on bratlings, we need to go." He said, shepherding the two into his car. He grinned as Sora slipped into shotgun. "Okay guys, you know the drill. Sit down-"
"Shut up and buckle." Roxas and Sora chorused together.
"Seat belt demon." The brunet added, buckling.
"Damn right!" Twenty minutes of relative silence later- relative meaning Roxas cheerfully humming along to some random screamo music on his mp3, while Sora mumbled to himself in a one-sided conversation- they were at school.
Cloud killed the engine, allowing his younger brothers to escape in search of their friends. He slid out himself, and locked the doors. Seconds later, he was joined by Vincent.
The two walked to the school in comfortable silence, easily falling back into the habit of past years.
"So…" the raven-haired boy murmured. "Seniors, huh?"
"We're old…" Cloud lamented. "All out best times are behind us, life holds nothing but more conformant to society."
"Speak for yourself." Vincent smirked, red eyes twinkling. "Just wait until you get a boyfriend, then you'll see what a great thing turning eighteen is."
"T.M.I! T.M.I.!" the blond's eyes widened comically. "My mind… The mental images… It burns…"
"You're just jealous." His bestfriend teased, turning to enter his homeroom.
"Of what? I can get any piece of ass I want, Vinnie."
"Oh, really? We'll just have to test that theory out, won't we?
"Fine." Cloud stuck out his chest. "I'm the perfect uke. Just try and find someone who can resist me."
Poor boy. He was just begging for Fate to screw him over.
It took all of thirty seconds for Sora to find his friends. Mostly because Demyx and Marluxia had taken it upon themselves to jump around and squee in some type of sugar-induced high.
"Demy! Marly!" Sora was instantly glomped by his two friends. "I missed you guys!"
"So-chan, I missed you too!" Marluxia shook his long pink hair out of his face. "Beauty school was fun and all, but no one can ever replace you."
"Yeah." Demyx added, blue-green eyes sparkling. "I mean, I love my family and stuff, but one of my cousin's can't say anything without ending it in 'yeah'. Try dealing with that for a whole summer." He pulled a face. "Well, that and the fact that he and his boyfriend wouldn't stop screwing each other. I mean, who wants to hear-"
A tall and lanky figure cut him off. "So guys, what's up?" Axel grinned, ignoring the fact that Demyx was choking in the background.
"As I was saying," the dirty blond growled, pulled the apple that hand been hastily shoved in his mouth out. "…What was I saying?" he asked, ADD kicking in.
The redhead smirked. "You were about to say how sexy and good-looking I am. Not to mention smart, talented, perfect-"
"Don't forget modest!" Sora chirped.
"And you're definitely not a narcissist or egotistical, nosiree." Marluxia added.
Demyx swung an arm around his redhead friend. "Allow me to escort you to homeroom, Sir Can-Do-Nothing-Wrong."
The four sauntered inside, laughing all the way. Life just became a lot more entertaining now that these friends were reunited.
Roxas wandered into his homeroom by himself, seemingly nonplussed. He sat, only to be immediately attacked by Hayner, his bestfriend.
"You!" his fellow sandy-blond exclaimed. "How was nerd camp, you ditcher?"
"Nerd camp was awesome. And I'll have you know that only cool nerds go to CTY, thankyouverymuch!"
"…Isn't that an oxymoron?"
"Big words from the guy who probably spent all summer skateboarding and online."
"You hurt me, Rox. Do you not love your me?"
"If I say yes, will your laptop be mind after you die?"
Hayner blinked. "Uh…sure."
"Then of course I love you!" Roxas grinned. "Now, would you rather be buried or cremated?"
"…Just so you know, I'm keeping my doors and windows locked for all of this year."
"Yeah, yeah. Just you wait…" the other boy flapped his hand dismissively. "Your day will come. Sometime soon, Seifer will lose control and rape you in the locker room or something."
"Seifer?!" A choking noise. "Why the- No. I'm just going to make a snarky comment back, and not question your logic."
"How about 'you can't rape the willing'?" A smooth drawl cut in.
"Hayner cursed, Roxas grinned, and a certain Seifer Almasy smirked.
"Well, isn't his going to be an interesting year?" said platinum blond leered down at a cowering Hayner. "Great seeing you again, babe…"
"Strife." Cloud took a deep breath, resisting the urge to jump, before turning to face the newcomer.
"Leonhart." He replied curtly. The steel-eyed teen had been sitting next to Cloud since high school started. It was some sort of unsaid thing that the two would sit together since. Or maybe it was the fact that no one but the equally antisocial Cloud would dare sit next to Squall 'It's-Leon-you-dumbass' Leonhart. Either way, they were homeroom buddies.
Buddies meaning having the strange ability to speak to each other without really speaking. Buddies meaning talking sometimes, lapsing in companionable silence others. Buddies meaning being sullen and sitting in the corner glaring at anyone who came too close at dances together.
The blond Strife wasn't stupid. He heard the rumors. So what if he was one of the few people Leon talked to? And didn't even need to talk to Leon to interact with him? And glared away any female that even tried asking the stoic teen out? It meant nothing! NOTHING!!!
Cloud ignored the little melty-thing his emotions did when the brunet flashed him Smirk 24. The very fond "you're such an idiot" smirk. 'Yeah' he decided. 'It meant abso-freakin'-lutely nothing.'
"So…" Sephiroth drawled slowly, pulling his very smug boyfriend into his lap. "Care to tell me why you've got an excellent imitation of Leonhart's holier-than-thou smirk on?"
Vincent's grin only got wider. "Would you believe me if I told you that out last year here is going to be a lot of fun?
"…What did you do?"
By the time homeroom ended, a very confused Squall Leonhart was dragged away from his Cloud by his grinning cousin, Sephiroth. Vincent, looking like the cat who'd not only gotten it's cream, and a canary, but also the poor little birdies family as well, waved goodbye.
A/N: Wow. That was long… Anyway, Sephi and Vinnie are one of my favorite pairings. They could be sullen, brooding badasses together! Right.
Pairings will be: SoraRiku, LeonCloud (as if you couldn't tell), SephirothVincent, AxelRoxas, SeiferHayner, and a few others. You can decide whom Fate and Luck decided to shove together. Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out whom.