Author's Note: I've re-written this chapter. The first chapter wasn't that good, in my opinion, and my writing and characterization of Roxas and Sora have definitely improved since then. I plan to rewrite two or three more chapters also. So here it is, the all new and improved Chapter One of If Only Tonight We Could Sleep.

Re-written 1/18/2013

If Only Tonight We Could Sleep
a Roxas x Sora story
Chapter One: Sk8ter Boi

.oOo.

"Aren't you two some of the prettiest boys I've ever seen."

He asked through glaring lights, and I could see his eyes staring at us through the blinking of strobe lights. In and out, there then gone.

"Twins, right?"

"Yeah! Fraternal actually," Roxas has no problem piping up, speaking out enough over the bass as his fumbling fingers find their way across my hip.

"Oooh," the stranger said as he finally as the lights stopped and I could finally quit squinting. I saw his green eyes, colorful like a mixed drink, and wild stop-light hair. "You know…that's always been some sort of secret little fantasy of mine. A threesome with a cute pair of twins."

"Really?"

"Sorry, not interested," I interrupted before we both did something we knew we would regret.

"Aww come on. You can't be rejecting me." What arrogance.

"…I wouldn't be so sure." I said, though the words are lost under the music.

"Wait! Don't tell me! You two have never had a threesome before?"

"No," my brother said.

"Really? Have you guys ever even kissed?"

"No," he said again.

"We…there's a first time for everything, right?"

.oOo.

My brother had a secret. One that I was sworn to secrecy or risk getting whacked upside the head with his skateboard or something. And as we laid in bed together with the rain pit-pattering against the window, I knew tonight would be another night I'd promise, once again, not to tell.

I tried to relax, my eyes closed as I let the white noise of the rain lull me to sleep, but of course, as I predicted, a flash and a boom later, my brother had thrown his blankets across my face and sat up. I snickered, pulling the blankets away from my head and turning towards him. With my arms folded behind my head, I smirked his way and asked, "I thought you liked the rain? It's all doom and gloom, just like you are."

I don't think he found that very funny and slapped my face in annoyance, not hard enough to leave a mark, but just enough to leave a sting of skin against skin. He didn't say anything, instead worriedly looking out towards the silhouette of trees rustling in the wind, and when they disappeared against a bright flash, my brother immediately ducked underneath his covers faster than a Gopher seeing his shadow.

"But not thunder," I said as I pulled the blankets over my head as well to look at Roxas in the claustrophobic and warm nest underneath the sheets. Yep, my brother was afraid of thunder. So afraid, in fact, that at the almost adult age of seventeen, he still had to share a bed with me whenever there were even storm clouds against the usually blue sky.

Okay, maybe it wasn't the juicy secret I made it out to be, but it was priceless to see Roxas' face whenever lighting echoed and cause the rumbling of thunder. Didn't he know thunder didn't even exist? It wasn't a thing, it was a sound, so why be afraid of it?

"Why do you hate the rain so much?" I laughed, as I rolled onto my side to look at him. Worry quirked his eyebrows, and he had his nails up to his mouth. I leaned forward and took his hand, letting my fingers intertwine with his to stop that horrible habit of his. He let his fingers curl around mine, and tried to look up at me with a smile that meant calm, as opposed to frazzled nerves.

"I don't know. It's just depressing. And gloomy." Roxas shrugged his shoulders before pulling the blanket to nearly his neck.

"Oh yeah? That coming from Mr. Doom-and-Gloom," I joked. Roxas was a bit more sullen and quiet than I was. I was a chatterbox who found reasons to laugh in the face of any situation. Especially this. I knew the sound of thunder sent my brother running under the nearest bed, ever since we were kids. And the childish fear had followed Roxas all the way to his senior year in high school. And that could be kind of embarrassing. Luckily, Roxas' fear of thunder had caused me to grow out of my own fear. I wanted to be big and brave so I could be there for him when he was scared. And I still did that to this day.

It didn't bother me though. We were always the kind of twins who spent a lot of time together. And sleeping in each other's beds didn't bother us one bit. No, we did that on occasion actually.

"Thanks a lot," he muttered to me.

"Don't be scared, widdle Roxas," I berated him and pinched his cheek, making cooing noses against his hear, only to be swatted in the face with his palm.

"I'm not scared!" He said, voice defiant and assertive, but when a bright flash of thunder brightened the room, and the menacing rumble of thunder rattled the window, that blanket was over his head faster than I could say, 'Liar.'

I laughed at his expense, and threw the cover over my head as well so I could join him underneath the sheets where the air was limited and I felt claustrophobia gripping at my lungs. I could barely make him out from the darkness underneath the covers, but I reached forward and touched his face to let him know I was there for him. Even if I laughed every now and again. I leaned over, and with a bit of efforts finding him, I let my head rest against his chest and listened to the quickened pace of his heart rate.

"Thanks Sora. And thanks for not telling anyone."

"You're welcome. You know I don't mind."

But I could still feel the quiet drum of his heartbeat, and while I expected it to calm down a bit as he laid there, relaxed and in peace, it only seemed to pick up speed as time dragged on.

"Geez, thunder really does freak you out, huh?" I asked him as I raised my head from his chest. The air was beginning to become a bit suffocating, and I threw the blanket from our heads so we could get a breath of fresh air. When I looked at him, he was blushing, and I knew it had to be from some embarrassment he had. "I bet lots of guys are still afraid of thunder. Don't sweat it," I said with a nonchalant shrug, and he shook his head, his eyes looking away distracted.

"I know, I know," he said, and reached forward to stroke my hair, his other hand touching my cheek. "Thanks again. Love you Sora."

And though I wondered what had suddenly come over my brother, I laughed, and replied with a soft, "love you too."

That night, I feel asleep to the gentle sound of rain against the window and Roxas' soft breath against my ear.

.oOo.

"So, you're going tomorrow?" I asked, not even bothering to try and hide my enthusiasm. Across from me, Riku chewed on the cafeteria food, mulling over his answer. Riku's lunch today consisted of a breaded-chicken sandwich smothered in plastic-packet barbeque sauce. I opted for the pizza.

"I don't know," he said after swallowing the bite of food in his mouth, and I felt all my hopes come crashing down against me. No! That sounded like a nice way of saying no.

I had invited Riku—the guy I just happened to have a huge crush on—to go to this new gay night club tomorrow night with me and Roxas. I hadn't known Riku all that long, just this year actually. Roxas had him in his Ceramics class and the two hit it off pretty well. That led to Roxas introducing Riku to me, and that led to me being head-over-heels in like with the guy. Of course, he knew nothing of my attraction to him. But Roxas had been able to tell me Riku was definitely into guys. And I really wasn't able to get that much more dirt on Riku, since Roxas always hated whenever I talked about Riku to him. And I knew tonight would be the perfect opportunity to get to know him better. Maybe it could have even led to something more than just friends. But now I'd never know what it felt like to be dancing alongside Riku to some slow, sensual trance song, now would I?

"But why?" I asked, trying my hardest not to sound too whiny. But it was hard to not sound whiny when I dragged out the 'y.'

"I don't know. I mean, isn't it just going to be you and Roxas? I wouldn't want to interrupt."

"What is there to interrupt?" I asked, but when Riku just laughed, I crossed my arms across my chest, and pouted like a little kid.

"Don't look so sad, Sora," he said as he reached over to ruffle my hair. I shot a glare at him. As if I didn't feel like a kid enough already. Now he had to ruff up my hair? "You'll have fun without me. Just meet a cute guy for me, okay?" He winked, and my shoulders slumped as my great plan completely shattered to bits. I opted for poking at my jello with my spork and looking glum rather than saying anything else.

"I was just looking forward to you to go," I said, a pout on my face. It was something I picked up from my mother. She always had a habit of pouting and batting her eyelashes at us when she wanted us to do something for her. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? Weren't Roxas and I supposed to be the ones pulling puppy dog faces? "That's why I asked you in the first place. Come on, please?" I asked,

"It's open every Friday, right? Next time, Sora," he said with a grin and it seemed the discussion was over when he began to eat his food. I slumped in my seat and poked at my food. I guess Riku was right. There was always next time. "Honestly though, I don't think Roxas wanted me to go. He told me it was a 'you and him' thing. He said I'd probably feel like a third wheel since you two have been planning this for months."

My brows knitted together in confusion. What? Why had Roxas told him that when all I had been talking about for weeks was how excited I was to hang out with Riku at the club. How typical. He was probably just jealous that I had a sort of, kind of date and he didn't. Or maybe he wanted me to play wing man for him and needed me to be available? Either way, Roxas was being pretty selfish.

"That's not true. I'd make sure you weren't just a third wheel."

Around a mouthful of sandwich, he said, "Don't worry, Sora. You'll still have fun without me. I'll go next time." He held out his pinky towards me, to which I interlocked my pinky with his own.

"The most sacred of all promises," I said with an empty chuckle, and with a defeated sigh, began to eat my dessert. "I wonder what's up with Roxas," I said as I spooned in a scoop of jello.

"Shouldn't you know? Don't you guys read each other's minds and stuff. You are twins after all."

"No. It doesn't exactly work that way."

"What doesn't work what way?"

I didn't have to turn around to know that Roxas had walked up beside me, and I turned to look at him with a smile. He set his tray of lunch down and looked at the both of us, waiting for an answer.

"Riku's assuming that twins have some sort of psychic powers." I said, looking back and forth as if worried Riku had figured out our super, private secret.

"Oooh scary!" Roxas joined in, looking at me, then lower to chocolate mousse. "I bet Sora knows what I'm thinking right now about his food."

I didn't have to read minds to know what it was that Roxas wanted.

"That you want some?" I guessed.

"Wow, how does he do it?" Roxas said with a grin as he greedily took a scoop of jello from his spoon back to his mouth.

"See, you two are like a pair of Siamese twins, you know, without the whole conjoined thing." The visual in and of itself was odd. I could see it now. Roxas and I with joined foreheads, each contributing one arm and one leg to the torso. Life as twins would have definitely been weird, and as I looked over to my brother, I was glad that we each had our own bodies to do what we wished with.

"We aren't that close," I tried, but Riku gave me a disbelieving look. "Heh, okay, maybe we are," I said and shrugged my shoulders. "I guess we do hang out a lot," I said, and I glanced over at Roxas, who was looking at me with a furrow in his brow.

"We're twins though." I guess that was true. It wasn't so easy to get alone time, especially in the small house I shared with my twin, my mom, and my dad. It was only natural that Roxas and I hung out a lot. I wouldn't admit it, but I didn't particularly enjoy being alone in the first place. "I mean, if it bugs you so much," Roxas said, and I could tell by the tone in his voice that I had definitely offended him, "we can just hang out less, no big deal."

"Ugh, you know I didn't mean it like that," I said, glancing back and forth between Riku and Roxas, who were both looking at me with an expectant look on their faces. I couldn't help but slump in my seat and sigh. Sometimes, it felt like being stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to the two of them.

.oOo.

"H-Hey!" I yelled out with a huff as I tried to catch up to Roxas, who had already begun heading home on his skateboard without me. He knew I had no other way of getting home, and I knew he was just being a brat about what had happened earlier. "Roxas!"

"What?!" He called back, already a few feet ahead of me, and refusing to look in my direction.

I found myself doubled over, hands on my knees as I tried to regain my breath. I had been running after Roxas for the past few minutes, and as I looked up, I saw that he had finally stopped, and was hurriedly making his way back over to me.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" I asked as I glared up at him. "You know its way too far for me to walk home."

"I just wanted to give you your space." He shrugged his shoulders, and though he was acting nonchalant about the whole thing, I knew I had hurt his feelings. And Roxas was the type who had no problem giving anyone the cold shoulder when he was angry. I just wish he hadn't taken what I said so personally. I loved spending time with him. Luckily, we were the type of twins who got along great.

"I didn't mean it like that," I said with a sigh, but I knew there was no way Roxas was going to take me home with that kind of attitude. So I put on a fake smile and attempted a real apology. "Look, I was just trying to defend myself. I didn't mean it okay?" I said, putting on my best smile. "Now can you take me home?"

"What? No! You're just saying that so I'll take your lazy butt home." He argued, and I grabbed his wrist, giving him a look with a pout and big, watery eyes. There was no way he wouldn't fall for that. Really, he couldn't. I didn't want to walk all the way home. Roxas was right; I was lazy.

"Fine..." he said in defeat as he stepped off his skateboard and reached out for a hug. I gladly fell into his arms and smiled against his shoulder when his arms circle snug around my waist.

"Riku thinks we spend every waking minute together," I said against his collar.

"Well...we kind of do," he chuckled, pulling away from me to step back on his skateboard.

"Yeah, and it's not like I mind," I said as I joined him on the back of his skateboard, "but I just wanted him to now it's not like we're joined at the hip or anything.

"Well yeah, those would be considered Siamese twins," Roxas joked, and I wrapped my arms around his waist again from behind him. His skateboard, actually a long board, was just that: long enough so that the two of us could stand comfortably on top of it. I had never learned how to actually ride a skateboard, while Roxas had, and though it wasn't the safest way to travel, the short ride home was safe enough.

"So…" Roxas said, drawing out the 'o' as if he were nervous to even ask, but I had a pretty good idea of what he was getting at. "Is Riku going, or not?"

I sighed and shook my head. "No, he said he wouldn't have had any fun being a third wheel."

"Oh, well, fine by me," Roxas said, obviously not too shaken up about the whole thing. I knew that Roxas never wanted Riku to come in the first place, and I guess he had gotten his way. Mission accomplished, Roxas, you managed to ruin my Friday night.

"Yeah, well, thanks a lot," I said, glaring at the back of my brother's head. But as he tilted his head to look back momentarily, I hid my heated glare behind a poker face.

"Me? What did I do?"

"You probably got it into his head that we didn't want him going."

"Yeah, well good riddance. It'll be just us two okay? Like always. It's always more fun when it's just us anyway."

"That's the thing, Roxas," I said with a roll of my eyes. "It's always just us two. Sometimes maybe we bring other people into the duo? Besides, why did you tell me to invite him if you didn't want him to come in the first place?"

"That was before," he muttered, and I almost wasn't able to hear him over the rush of wind against my ears. I noticed that Roxas skating pretty fast. Too fast. His foot was kicking at the floor, propelling us faster and faster along the sidewalk. Roxas was a good skateboarder and everything, but I was beginning to get a little nervous.

"Before what?"

"Before you were all over the guy! Frankly, it's a little annoying," he said, and I could tell by his tone that he was getting more pissed off by the second. "I mean, he was my friend first, and then I introduced you guys, and ever since that you've been all head over heels in love with the guy."

"I have not. So sue me, I like him, is that such a big deal?" I asked. I didn't understand what the big deal was anyway. So I liked Riku. I had liked guys before...and now that I thought about it, Roxas did get a little possessive over me whenever I was seriously interested in a guy, though that didn't happen to often. There had to be something special about a guy, and there was definitely something special about Riku. His eyes...and and his hair. "He's really good-looking and nice."

"Fine! Just go with him then, see if I care. And watch, since he's so 'good-looking and nice' he's going to get all this attention, so don't come crawling back to me if he hurts you."

"What? Are you saying I'm not good enough for him? Is that it Roxas?"

"No!" He shouted, looking back at me, his eyes darkened with anger. "He's not good enough for you." And though the words were sweet, the delivery wasn't.

"Whatever, Roxas. You're just worried that you're going to be the one whose the third wheel at the club. That's it, you're just jealous. You're jealous that if Riku and I started seeing each other, I wouldn't spend as much time with you. You think I'm going to leave you out, huh Roxas?"

"Good job, Sora!," he said, still glaring right at me, and not even noticing the road ahead of us...the road paved with trees and sighs... "I'm jealous alright! I'm super jealous! You found me out. I'm jealous of you and your stupid, arrogant, cocky—"

"Roxas!" I yelled, about to inform him of the stop sign we were heading dangerously close for, but it was too late, and the both of us collided, Roxas into the stop sign, and me into Roxas. We both flew backwards against the harsh cement, and I could feel the pain of hitting hard floor shooting up my spine. And I got the wind knocked out of my when Roxas landed right on top of me. I pushed him off with a groan, and touched my lower back gingerly. That was definitely going to hurt in the morning.

Roxas looked at me, face flushed, but eyes still heated. My breath caught in my throat at his expression. I hadn't seen him look at me like that in a long time. With so much hatred. I didn't like it, especially when it was about something as stupid as this.

I felt bad. In more ways then one. Physically from the crash and emotionally from Roxas' face. I tried to offer him a smile, and I reached over to ruffly his hair, but he caught my arm before I could.

"Why are you letting him come between us?"

I swallowed and shook my head. "It's not me that's letting him come between us. It's you."

And since our house was close, I stood up and walked away from him without another word. I didn't want to apologize for something I knew wasn't my fault. And hopefully, Roxas could get it through his thick skull that there was something wrong with him being so jealous all the time, and my feelings for Riku weren't a big deal.

But if that didn't work, I could expect the silent treatment when I got home, and knowing Roxas, that was exactly what I was going to get.