Jayden Winters would like you to note…that you just lost the game again. First and foremost, thank you sooooooo much to my biggest influence and support, Chronos Mephistopheles. She's been there for me through all of my hardships this last year. She is a wonderful friend! That and on top of all that, her fanfiction is exquisitely delightful so READ IT! Next and secondmost, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Unfortunate, I know.

WARNING: This story may contain dramatic 90's themes, pinball wizards, shonen-ai and teenagers with a penchant for the dramatic. If you have consumed any of the above and have experienced symptoms of severe giggling, uncontrollable fangirl attacks or trouble with nostalgia due to boy band references, please contact Jayden Winters immediately via the shiny button at the bottom of the page.

And without further ado...

-.X.-

Baby Got Back

-.X.-

It was much too early to be awake. No human being should have to be up at the butt-crack of dawn vomiting their guts out. Rather…no man should be vomiting at six o'clock in the morning. Being sick in the morning was a woman thing…definitely not a man thing. That is, unless of course, that man happened to have a hangover, which Sora Strife most certainly did not. No more complimentary airplane peanuts for him. As far as that went, no more airplane rides at three o'clock in the morning either.

After losing the remainder of the contents in his stomach, he removed his head from the blue trashcan and about-faced to find his older brother standing behind him, a sympathetic expression upon his face. Sora offered a sickly smile before wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his jean jacket.

Irvine shook his head, chuckling to himself. "I'm going to go over to the luggage area and look for our bags. You gonna be okay…?"

"Oh you know me, Ir-" Sora immediately twirled around and bent over the trashcan for the third time that morning. "I hate airplane rides…"

"I don't blame you," Irvine responded and began heading toward the doors.

Shortly thereafter, Sora felt a little better and decided that he'd better go find what's-his-face with the highlighter-yellow tie. Needless to say, he wasn't hard to spot. The sixteen-year-old took a seat next to the awkward looking CPS agent. Sora noted how his toupee looked like a dead squirrel and how his mustache resembled one that he'd seen in an eighties porno.

"So…What's your name again?" Sora questioned, tapping his fingers on his knee.

"Mike."

"What's your favorite kind of music?"

"You asked me this on the plane."

"I know." Sora's shoulders drooped a little as he let out a sigh. "I'm bored."

"Study then."

"I don't have anything to study with." Sora sat quiet for a moment, squeaking the rubber soles of his shoes on the floor.

Mike's eyes narrowed. "Do you have to do that?"

"Are you married?"

"No."

"Do you have children?"

"No."

"Do you want children someday?"

Mike looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging. "If I can find the right woman, I wouldn't mind children."

"I'm sorry that you haven't found her yet."

The CPS agent chuckled and leaned back in his chair, hands clasped behind his head. "You talk like you've found her already."

A smile crossed Sora's lips and, mirroring Mike, he leaned back in his chair. "Yeah. Kinda."

"Tell me about her."

"Beautiful," he quietly answered, glancing up at the large clock on the wall. "What time are they supposed to be here?"

"Should already be here."


"I have to go to the bathroom."

Mike glanced suspiciously over at Sora squirming around in his seat. "Rinoa should be here anytime."

"That's what you said an hour ago…" he whined and leaned forward.

"It's only been ten minutes," Irvine corrected, sifting through his carry-on. He pulled out a book and handed it to his younger brother. "Read this. I think you'll like it."

Sora examined the cover of the book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. He shrugged and decided that because it wasn't Shakespeare, it was probably safe to open.

"I guess you didn't have to use the restroom that badly, did you?" Brown eyes peered down at Sora over a newspaper, eyebrow quirked.

Sora glared in Mike's general direction before turning the page of the book. A short girl stomped over to Sora, apparently offended by the glare. She placed her hands on her hips and stuck her leg out (like women like to do) while tapping her cowboy boot expectantly.

Sora looked up from Irvine's book and frowned, slightly confused.

And, as fate would have it, the girl didn't take his frown kindly. The brunette girl took the opportunity to clear her throat in an obnoxious fashion. "Why did you glare at me?" she shrieked.

Mike raised his palms to his chest and scooted over. He gave Sora a sidelong glance before he saw someone he recognized. He got up from his seat to greet her.

Irvine looked over at his younger brother and raised an eyebrow. He set his magazine down in his lap and decided that this confrontation was about to get interesting.

"Uh…Excuse me?"

"You just glared at me!"

"No I didn't," Sora protested and closed the book.

"I saw you do it!"

"No you didn't. I was glaring at Mike, the guy who was sitting next to me!" he exclaimed and gestured to him.

Silence spread between the two for a few moments before she started giggling and sat down next to him. "Sorry about that! I thought you were giving me a dirty look! My name's Selphie by the way."

"Hi Selphie," Irvine intervened. "This is my little brother, Sora. And my name is Irvine. It's a true pleasure to meet you, beautiful."

Selphie grinned at Irvine. "It's a pleasure to meet ya! I'm really digging the hat." She redirected her attention to Sora with a smile on her glossy lips. "So you're this 'Sora' miss Vanille has been talking so much about?"

Confused. Completely lost. Selphie's sudden cheery disposition threw him for a loop. And Vanille? Wasn't that supposed to be his foster sister? How in the world did she know about her?

A dumb look must've been present on his face seeing as, quite suddenly, Selphie chuckled and began to explain herself. "Oh! I'm so sorry. I'm here with Rinoa. I'm the reason why we were late. We had to get coffee. And I wanted to meet you guys before Axel, Demyx and Riku could get their hands on ya!"

Lightning fast, he caught up to Selphie and smiled. "I didn't know there was anyone that anxious to meet us…"

She giggled, "You guys are cute. Do you want to get some coffee while waiting for Rinoa to take care of business?"

"I don't know if-" Irvine abruptly cut Sora off, not only snagging his book back from his brother, but also managing to slap his hand over Sora's mouth. "That would be wonderful! My treat?"

"No silly!" she exclaimed, holding up her tic-tac sized purse. "I've totally got it! Plus…I invited you," Selphie chirped, waggling her index finger in the air. She winked and was first to stand up. The brunette grabbed Sora and Irvine's wrists and said, "The best coffee shop is right over there!"

"But wait!" Sora protested, "What about our stuff?"

Selphie momentarily paused before turning a complete one-eighty and marching back to their unguarded bags. "Sorry. Forgot. Rinoa treated me to a double-shot mocha with extra-extra chocolate this morning." She picked up both boys' carry-on bags and slung them over her right shoulder.

"I can get my own bag…" Irvine murmured, lifting his over-sized suitcase up off of the tiled floor.

"Pssshaw! I got it. You two just worry about your heavy-looking luggage. I've totally got these."

Irvine shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips, and began to follow Selphie. Sora merely shrugged, picked up his significantly smaller-sized suitcase and followed the hyperactive girl and his sibling.

"What kind of coffee do ya think you guys are gonna get?" she asked, slightly slowing her pace.

"Something with vanilla in it…" Irvine replied thoughtfully.

"Do they have smoothies…?" Sora questioned. He hated coffee.

"Mmmhmmm…They have those and Italian Sodas. I take it you don't like coffee?" Selphie replied.

"Not really…" Sora scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously. He felt like a loser. It seemed like everybody in the whole world liked coffee except him.

The three arrived at the modest coffee shop inside of the airport and approached the counter. A tall, lanky guy whose nametag read, "Bill" let loose a forced smile as the three teenagers reached the counter. "What can I get for you." It was more of a statement than a question. He seemed like a very disgruntled employee.

"Uhm…I've already had a huge cup of coffee this morning…So…" Selphie's voice trailed, "Could I get a twenty-ounce butterscotch Italian soda with extra whipped cream?"

Bill nodded and looked to Irvine. "Just a cup of coffee with French vanilla flavoring added…?"

"French Vanilla Frappucino alright." Once again, it was more of a statement than a question.

"Sure."

"What size." He was quite probably an angry guy, Sora decided.

Irvine glanced over to Selphie, who was gesturing that he should get, from what Sora gathered, 'The Big One'. "Twenty-ounce."

"And for you." His voice was absolutely monotone.

"Can I have a butter rum Italian soda?"

"Butter scotch alright." There was that statement-question again.

"Yep."

"What size." He hated his job, Sora was sure. The tip jar was probably empty at the end of the day and he was sure that Bill put in many long hours. Customer service in an airport was probably a pretty tough job. Sora was certain that having to deal with angry people all day would make him angry too.

Sora looked over to the green-eyed girl. She, once again, gestured in a very strange manner that he should get 'The Big One'. "Twenty-ounce, I guess…"

"Alright. Your total will be sixteen thirty-seven."

Selphie pulled a twenty from her purse and handed it to the angry man named Bill and told him to keep the change. The corner of his lips twitched upward briefly and figured that Selphie probably made his morning.

"Good morning!" a dark haired lady exclaimed, "Selphie's probably already told you guys this, but my name's Rinoa. Rinoa Leonhart. Are you boys up for some breakfast this morning?"

"I could use a bite to eat…" Sora responded, smiling coyly.

"Seeing as his breakfast is in the garbage right now…" Irvine joked, glimpsing playfully at his brother.

Sora narrowed his eyes at Irvine and noticed that Selphie was retrieving their beverages. "By the way, nice to meetchya, Rinoa."

"Yes, it's a pleasure," Irvine chimed politely.

Grasping at his tarnished crown pendant, Sora all of a sudden felt a certain nervousness building up inside of him. "Are…you gonna…ya know…keep us for a while?"

A soft smile crossed Rinoa's painted lips. "I'm hoping we can keep you forever. It all depends on you two. We'd better go say thank you and bye to Mike."

Sora expected the worst...but hoped for the best.


Their short trip to Fred Meyer on the way home had proven to be quite fruitful for the three teenagers; each walked out with one delicious item or another. They had also picked up a few bags of chips, Otter Pops, fudge bars, ice cream sandwiches, popcorn, an entire box of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and various groceries of the healthy sort.

As they approached the house, Sora noted a few things. For one, they would be staying in a one-story house. For two, it was canary yellow in color with white trim. Next, the lawn was in very good shape; there wasn't a single piece of crabgrass in sight. He also noticed that there was a very cliché, short, white picket fence surrounding their house. He also observed that the curtains on the inside were white and that there was a flowerbed bordering the walls of the house. It was the only house on the block that looked so…All-American.

"Welcome home, boys!" Rinoa grinned and momentarily took her hands off the wheel as she turned into the driveway.

Sora and Irvine exchanged a satisfied grin and unbuckled. Selphie smiled and waved at the new family. "I have to go home. I guess I'll see you guys around?"

"Are you sure that you can't stay for a while, Selphie?" Rinoa asked, a pout forming on her lips.

"Yep! I have some chores to do at home that I promised Mom that I'd do. But I promise that I'll come back over just as soon as I get done with those," she answered, interlacing her fingers behind her. "Anyway," she began, winking, "I'll let Axel have them for a little while." That said, Selphie turned around and began walking toward the end of the cul-de-sac.

Sora glanced at Irvine and a small smirk formed on his lips. Irvine had definitely taken a liking to Selphie. He was pouting. And that was definitely something that he could use to blackmail Irvine with at a later point in time…providing he didn't use his 'woman-charmer' on her and somehow ended up dating her.

"Bye Selphie!" Irvine shouted. Selphie turned around and waved cheerfully. A dumb grin spread across Irvine's face.

"Irvine and Selphie sitting in a tree-ouch! What was that for?" Sora rubbed his arm.

"Shut up."

Rinoa giggled and began pulling groceries out of the back of the Volvo. Both of the boys gladly helped her.

"Welcome to your new home. I hope you like it!"

Irvine paused in the doorway upon seeing the redhead lazily lounging on the velvety, forest green sectional. He received a small push from behind and ungracefully stumbled inside. He glared at Sora and briskly followed Rinoa into the kitchen.

"Why hello there," the redhead greeted. He presumed that this was that, 'Axel', Selphie mentioned. "And just what might that look that I received from your brother have been for?"

Sora made note of the fact that Axel probably used and entire bottle of hair-product to style his flaming red hair. His eyes were a piercing emerald and just below each of them were purplish-blue upside-down triangles tattooed on his cheeks. Axel's face was very…pretty. Sora nearly slapped his forehead…calling a guy pretty. Pssh.

The redhead wore a black Pink Floyd t-shirt and faded, loose-fitting, frayed blue jeans. Around his wrist, he wore several "Sex Bracelets" - which in teenage culture were two black 'jelly' bracelets hooked together. On his feet he wore a black pair of Vans-Sora liked Vans.

"Dunno. Probably a little jealous," Sora shrugged.

"Shut up!"

The smallest of smirks played at the corner of Axel's lips. "Jealous, huh?"

"Name's Axel, right?"He made a clicking sound with his tongue and tapped the right side of his forehead, smirking. "Got it memorized?"

Sora simply grinned and followed the other two into the kitchen to help put away groceries.


"Axel! How come ye didn't wake me up?" interrogated a sleepy child. She had just rolled out of bed and had a terrible case of bed head.

Axel threw his hands up to his shoulders, palms outward, grinning. "Your momma told me that you didn't sleep well last night because you were too excited to meet Sora and Irvine."

"Are they here? Oh me goodness! I need to be gettin' dressed!" she exclaimed, slapping her hands to her cheeks. She about-faced and sprinted down the hallway toward her bedroom, narrowly avoiding crashing into Sora. "Sorry fer that! Don't be lookin' at me yet!"

"Whoa. You'd better slow down there turbo!" Sora walked back into the living room, peering over his shoulder before taking a seat next to Axel. Looking at Axel, he wondered if all of Selphie's friends were attractive. Not that he meant attractive in a 'I want you down my pants now' manner…but more along the lines in a 'Hey! You're not fugly!' manner.

"Where'd your brother go?"

"He's in his bedroom, probably sulking."

"About what?"

"The fact that I implied that he was jealous of you."

Axel grinned and shook his head. "Between you and I, he has nothing to be jealous of here. But don't let him know it just yet…" He winked, "Gonna have some fun with that one.

Sora nodded. "So then you're dating someone?"

"I never said that, now did I?" The right side of his mouth slowly began to twist upright. Sora observed as Vanille stumbled across the hallway to the bathroom, still zipping her skirt. She slammed the door closed behind her. "Cute kid, isn't she?"

Sora nodded in agreement. "A lot cuter than what I was when I was her age. I was a little snot."

"What do you want to do today? Rinoa told me this morning that I was to be your guys' entertainment after lunch; she has to work today and promised Vanille that she could go with her."

"What does she do?"

"She manages at a restaurant. Her co-workers love it when she brings Vanille with her," he explained.

"Which restaurant?"

"Shari's. Dem and I usually go in there when we're broke and don't feel like cooking. She comps our meals."

"Who's Dem?"

"His name's Demyx. He's pretty down to earth," Axel paused, tapped his knee with his fingers. "What did you want to do today?"

Sora shrugged and looked across the room to the entertainment center. "I dunno. What's there to do?"

"A lot. How about I show you around, maybe introduce you to some of my friends?"

The bathroom door swung back open and out tumbled a fully-dressed, pink haired girl. A shy, toothy grin spread across her face as she approached the two on the couch.

"Come here, sweetie. Let me fix your hair," Axel offered. "You've gotta look your best. You're going to work with mom today…"

Vanille sat down on the floor in front of the red-haired teen. "Yep!" She looked over to Sora, gave a petite wave, curling only her fingers in. "Me name's Vanille."

"Pleased to meetchya, Vanille. I'm Sora," he grinned, returning the gesture.

The child turned her attention to the man parting her hair with his slender fingers. "Axel," she whispered, swiftly peeking at Sora. "Is Sora an' Irvine gonna be me brothers ferever?"

"Are Sora and Irvine going to be your brothers forever?" the tattooed teen corrected before flashing an ear-to-ear grin. "I have a feeling these guys are going to be around a little longer than Rox was."

"I'm hopin' so." Her attention returned to Sora, "Are yer parents in the army like my big brother before ye?"

Sora shook his head. "No."

"Em…In jail?"

"Huh-uh."

"Dead?"

Though the question was posed in an innocent manner, Sora felt slightly offended before gloom set in. With a downcast stare, he reached up and fingered the tarnished pendant dangling from his neck. "…Yeah."

"Oh."

"Why don't you go bug Irvine, squirt? Ask him if he wants to come with Sora and I to the mall."

"Right!" she exclaimed as she got up and ran back down the hallway in search of Irvine. Turning around, she waved and smiled sweetly before tripping over her own feet. She picked herself up, giggled and ran into the room next door to Sora's. There was no knocking involved.

"Sorry 'bout that."

His lips curved upward into a bright smile and slapped his hands down on his knees, enthusiastically. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine, really."

There was a stillness in the air. The previous conversation had gone downhill rather quickly. Neither of the two knew what to say next. And Sora was fairly certain that Axel didn't believe a word that had just come out of his mouth. For one, there was still an awkward silence looming in the air. For two, Axel was chewing on his bottom lip. And for three, Sora had never really been a great liar. He was actually a very poor liar. Always had been. Probably always would be.

The silence, however, wasn't broken by either of the two on the couch, nor by Vanille and definitely not by the sulking Irvine. "Squall! You can't work late tonight! Please come home-I have to work late too! What kind of family are they going to think we are? Please?"

"Maybe we should get going…?" Axel suggested, making direct eye contact with Sora.

"Should I grab Irvine?"

The redhead chuckled, "Naw. He can stay here and pout. Selphie will be over within the next hour…no doubt. She'd be sad to find nobody home. I'll leave a note on the refrigerator for Rinoa."

"Squall!"

The two boys exchanged another look and nodded in unison.


"Oh my gosh! Sora?"

Sora whirled around to find the source of the squeal only to be pounced on by a fairly short, blonde girl. He stumbled backwards and Axel caught the both of them. Sora blinked twice and, upon recognition, placed his hands on her back. "Hey Naminé."

Axel gave the two a confused look. He was going to open his mouth to ask something but decided that if he listened, he'd figure out what was going on.

The girl released Sora and smiled tenderly, smoothing out her uniform. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm living here now."

"How'd you and Axel meet?"

"I was watching Vanille this morning and, low and behold, in stumbled his brother followed closely by him," Axel declared, ruffling up Sora's hair. Axel had to get a word in; he had a feeling that their conversation was going to last quite some time and he wouldn't get a word in edgewise. And that just wouldn't do.

Sora scratched the back of his head and grinned. "How's Kairi?"

Naminé giggled and pulled her braided ponytail around to the front of her shirt. "That's just like you, Sora. Asking about my cousin before asking how I'm doing." She tapped him on the nose and smiled sincerely. "She misses you. A lot."

Sora burst out in a fit of nervous laughter, rubbing the back of his neck. "How are you, then, Naminé?"

"That's better!" she exclaimed and continued, "I'm well, thank you! But I'd be better if you would've sent me more than a letter here and a letter there. And a phone call would've been nice!"

"Sorry about that. My last place wouldn't let me make any phone calls."

"Were your grades better, at least?"

Sora averted his gaze and suddenly found the menus behind Naminé very intriguing. They were colorful. And there was a stack of crayons in front of them and napkins next to those. Kids menus sat to the side and there were printouts hanging up, colored by small children. They'd grow up to be fantastic artists!

"I'll take that as a 'Nope!'." She briefly halted before looking as if something had dawned on her. "Oh! I bet you guys came in here to sit down, huh?"

"Kind of. But you two are more than welcome to continue talking about your life stories while my stomach gently rumbles," Axel sarcastically articulated.

"Oops. Sorry, Axy." That said, she snatched up two menus and led them to a table fairly close to where they had just been talking. "I'd better get back to work! I'll call your house tonight to talk to you!"

"But…" Sora started, "You don't exactly have my number…"

"I know Rinoa very well! I used to baby-sit for her. I have her number. So…Enjoy your meals! Joshua should be right with you," she winked and skipped back up to the front of the restaurant, her braid flopping from side-to-side behind her.

Axel looked Sora in the eye and grinned. "So…looks like you know someone, huh?"

Sora nodded, smiling dumbly. "Goldenrod's so big…I'm surprised that we even crossed paths."

"And you must've had something going on with Kairi?" the redhead interrogated, tapping his fingers on the table in an impatient fashion. "And, by the way, we're ordering onion rings for an appetizer."

Sora felt heat building up in his cheeks; he found everything on the menu looking mighty delicious. He looked back up and found an expectant pair of eyes boring holes in his skull; he sighed. He couldn't win. "I kind of had this crush thing on her. And I've known her most of my life. I grew up in Cherry Grove until…well…stuff happened."

"…And…?"

"Well…She's my best friend in the whole world. And…like I said. I really liked her."

"Liked?"

"…"

"Or liked as in you still like her…?" Axel rested his chin in his hand, elbow propped up on the table.

"I'd rather not say…"

"So…you've got the hots for her then?"

Sora fiddled with his fingers for a moment and then gazed back into green eyes. "It's more than just having the hots for her. I care for her more than anyone in the entire world. I would give my life for her. She's always been there when I needed her. She always tried to take the fall for me whenever I would get into any sort of trouble." He explained before continuing, "We'd actually end up in trouble together more often than not."

"I see. So you love her then?"

"That's the thing. I'm kind of…unsure about my feelings for her right now…I mean, of course I love her…but I don't know if I love her like that. But I'm pretty sure that I want to spend my life with her…but I can't exactly do that because I'm stuck in this stupid foster care system and…yeah. I just need time to figure things out and stuff…"

Much to Sora's displeasure, Axel began laughing. Not just chuckling or snickering. It was a full-blown, if he were standing up, he'd be bent over with his stomach cramping kind of laugh. And this definitely offended Sora in more ways than one. He had practically just spilled his guts out on the table for this guy to see…

"Sorry…I just have a friend that's in a very similar predicament right now. And I just think it's funny that neither of you tell the girl how you feel. You'd be better off, ya know?"

"Like you should be one talking!" Naminé sat down in the booth next to Sora and smiled. She no longer was wearing her red uniform t-shirt. She was carrying it bunched up along with her black half-apron.

"Shut your mouth," the redhead snapped, glaring venom-covered daggers at the younger girl.

"Don't make me tell on you to Demyx! He'll beat you up!"

"As if that pansy could touch me. Now shut your mouth."

"Okay, okay. Sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." She rolled her eyes and redirected her interest to the boy sitting next to her. "My boss sent me on my half-hour lunch break. I told him about you. He says he'll discount your meal," she glimpsed at a still fuming Axel and smiled sweetly. "It's not like I actually said anything, Axel."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" he grumbled. "Where's our server?"

Naminé looked around and frowned. "You mean, nobody's been over to see you yet?"

"Huh-uh," Sora added, shaking his head for emphasis.

"I'll take care of that!" she got up from where she had just been seated and sauntered away, a dark smile upon her face.

"Here's some advice, Sora," Axel began in a whisper, "Don't get on Naminé's bad side."

The other teen chuckled and nodded. "I've seen the results of her anger…She has quite the temper…"

"But only if you've disrespected her or her family or friends…" Axel added, "It's nice to have her on your side. She's the only cheerleader I like."

"She's a cheerleader?" Sora questioned, making sure that he had heard correctly.

"Yeah. She made the varsity team her freshmen year. She's very passionate about what she does. Much cooler than any other cheerleader that I've ever met. How do you know her, anyway?"

Before Sora could respond, they found Naminé quickly approaching the table, a very tall server's wrist in her hand. "This is Joshua. He'll be your server today…He won't be dumping ice on bussers in the back of the restaurant. Feel free to leave him a crummy tip. You've been here a good ten minutes and haven't even been served a beverage." The blonde quickly turned to Joshua and sent him a mega-uber-ultra-death-glare. Through gritted teeth, she hissed, "Joshua will get you everything you need. And he will have a stern-talking to with the boss after you guys hit the road." She turned back to her friends and smiled again. "I have to go and have a little chit-chat with a certain somebody. Sorry I'm not spending my break with you guys and I have to spend it in the office." With one more mega-uber-ultra-death-glare shot at poor Joshua, she did a complete one-eighty and marched herself to the back of the restaurant.

"Hi. My name's-"

"Joshua. Yeah we know. The name's Axel. Got it memorized?" he made the same finger-tapping motion that he had when he and Sora had introduced themselves and smirked. "And I'll take a Shirley Temple, please."

"Uh…I guess I'll have the same?"


It was excruciatingly warm outside. It was very nice. An excellent change from Spokane, Washington. It was always very cold there. In comparison, anyway.

"Want some ice cream?"

The Sora's blue eyes lit up and he nodded vigorously. "I would love ice cream."

"Baskin Robbins alright?"

"That would be more than alright."

"Good. There's someone else that you should meet. He works there."

Sora pondered for a moment. "Demyx?"

Axel shook his head, "He works at Hollywood Video. Any other guesses?"

He shook his head and sighed. "I've never been really good at guessing games."

"Riku. Riku and Roxas are both working right now."

"Who's Roxas?"

The redhead chuckled momentarily, as if some inside joke crossed his mind, before replying, "He's the little punk that used to live with Rinoa and Squall. He's an interesting character."

"He's a punk…?" Immediately, Sora imagined this 'Roxas' guy dressed in a black shirt, sleeves missing, chains around his neck, holey, oversized jeans, mirrored sunglasses, butterfly knife in hand...

"Not really."

"Oh." His imagination did like to run a little wild sometimes. "Then…what is he?"

"Nice kid. Still comes by to visit Vanille whenever he isn't with the choir."

"So his parents were in the military?"

"Father was. His mother passed away when he was much, much younger," Axel explained. "Don't bring it up." He pulled the door open.

"I wasn't planning on it. Not my business," Sora mumbled, walking through and into the foyer.

"Hi. Welcome to Baskin Robbins," a silver-haired guy smiled. But, upon seeing the redhead, his smile dimmed slightly. "Oh. It's just you, Ax." His gaze shifted from Axel and to his right into the office. "You gonna buy anything today or are ya just here to distract Roxas from work?"

"Hey, hey now, Riku. Don't be rude," he gestured to Sora. "It's not just me today."

"Oh. Oh. Irvine or Sora?"

"I'm Sora."

"Pleased to meet you. Vanille's talked about wanting to meet you a lot." He leaned over the glass counter and smirked. "You play any sports?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah. I play soccer."

Riku quirked his eyebrow. "You play for any school teams?"

Sora shook his head. "Not recently. Foster parents generally don't pay for extras. They usually can't afford many extras."

"You should tryout this year. Rinoa and Squall would be more than happy to enroll you into sports," he explained, looking over to the redhead. "That punk plays basketball."

"Do you play any sports?" Sora asked, leaning forward, fingers intertwined behind him.

"Why yes he does…" Axel intervened, not allowing Riku to answer for himself. "He plays soccer and tennis…"

"Let me grab Roxas," the teal-eyed teen grumbled, disappearing back into the office-looking area. He emerged almost as quickly as he had gone back there, a dishwater blonde following closely behind.

"Hey."

"Hey Rox!" Axel exclaimed, a wide, very bright smile crossing his lips. "How are you?"

"I'm alright," he replied, quickly spotting Sora in the room. He beamed, "You new around here?"

"Yeah," he answered, sticking his hands into his pockets.

"He's the Leonhart's new kid. Roxas, Sora. Sora, Roxas," Axel introduced, patting Sora on the back.

"The Squall and Rinoa are very nice. You'll like living with them."

"That's what everyone keeps on saying." Sora took one had out of his pocket and scratched his nose.

"She grew up in Japan," Riku added, adjusting his visor. "And her husband, Squall, works all the time. He's quiet...not usually very nice."

"I gathered that much…" Sora murmured, exchanging looks with the redhead.

"He's not that bad," Roxas chided, scowling. "He's nice. Just doesn't like Riku very much."

"Why doesn't he like Riku?" Sora questioned, quirking an eyebrow at Roxas. The blonde, in return, gestured he should ask Riku himself.

When Sora's eyes met Riku's, the taller of the two averted his gaze, attention moving to the ice cream just behind the glass. "No reason…really. Just doesn't."

Axel and Roxas rolled their eyes in unison; the redhead crossed his arms in irritation. Sora, slightly confused, decided to shrug the whole thing off and stare lustfully at the ice cream. It was terribly depressing that such a thin piece of glass could separate him from the creamy treats that sat merely inches away from his face…

"Roxas, go on your ten so I can go home. And Sora? What kind of ice cream do you want?"

Axel glanced down at the kneeling Sora whose hands were pressed to the glass case and looked back up to Riku. "You promise not to molest him while we're gone?"

Red in the face, the now embarrassed employee glared daggers at his neighbor. "Just leave."

"Not until you promise to keep your hands to yourself…"

"Leave him alone, Ax."

"Pssh…You're no fun, Roxas," he responded, making eye contact with his scowling best friend. "You gonna be alright alone for a few minutes, Sora?"

Sora simply nodded, licking his lips. "Yeah. Go have fun. I'll see you in ten."

As the blonde and redhead exited the premises, Riku quietly cleared his throat and looked down at the drooling teen. "Sora?"

"Hmm?" He was rather preoccupied, staring at the creamy treats.

"Don't listen to Axel. He's…err…Shouldn't be talking. He's definitely not one to be talking."

That said, Sora glanced up, attention redirected from the ice cream to Riku. A brilliant smile made its way onto his visage. "Hey. Don't worry about it. I'm not in the least bit weirded out by…"

"By what?"

Sora stood back up from his kneeling position, the pendant around his neck making itself noticeable. The brilliant smile was replaced with a goofy grin. "You know…Gay?"

The shining object caught the ice cream man's eye.

Puzzled by Riku's stare, Sora sighed. "Did I offend you?"

"What was that?" he asked, head jerking up.

Sora softly chuckled. "I said that I'm not all creeped out by the gay thing."

Riku's jaw dropped ever so slightly. Was he that obvious?

As if reading his mind, Sora waved his hands in the air and shook his head. "You're not obvious at all. Kay? It was your comment about Axel not being one to talk that tied up loose ends." Sora paused for a moment, scratching his head. "Am I wrong? I mean…Err…" He probably sounded stupid. Had to just spit it out. "Axel is gay, right? His face lit up like a flashlight when he saw Roxas."

The older male's shoulders drooped as he let out a heavy sigh. "Not my place to say anything about him."

"Are you, though?" Sora pressed, hands on his hips.

"Are you?"

Sora shrugged. "Dunno."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Sora's cheeks darkened and, instinctively, he grabbed at his pendant. "I'd rather not say. Not like I know you or anything. Why should I tell you everything about myself?"

The corner of Riku's lip twisted upward into a smirk. "Well, putting all of the loose ends together, I'd take it that you're gay."

"How did you come up with that?" he demanded, frowning.

"A straight man would deny he's gay."

"According to your logic then, you're gay too."

Riku shrugged. "Maybe I am."

For some odd reason, he was feeling tiny butterflies fluttering in his stomach. Sora couldn't help but smile. He felt silly, smiling at nothing. His hand made its way back up to the tarnished pendant and he stood there, gazing into Riku's aqua eyes.

"So what kind of ice cream are you after? My treat. Get whatever you'd like."

"Cookies 'n Cream!" Sora exclaimed, readdressing the creamy treats setting in front of him.

"Cookies 'n Cream?" he confirmed, taking his scoop out from the well of water. Sora nodded, staring at the ice cream that Riku was pulling out from the tub. "How hungry are you?"

"I won't lie. I'm not hungry in the least bit. But when it comes to creamy delights, I can eat until I upchuck."

Riku smiled to himself and put the ice cream into the large, paper bowl. "I'll keep that in mind."

"What do you do for fun, Riku?"

"Roxas and I get together."

"Are you two…dating?" he inquired, cocking his head to the left.

The silver-haired teen chuckled and shook his head. "No. One of my friends called dibs."

"Axel?"

"Can't tell."

"Well…What do you guys do?"

"Play videogames mostly."

"What games do you play?" Sora questioned as Riku passed the paper bowl over the counter. He eagerly took a hold of the ice cream and scooped up a spoonful.

"I don't know. Depends. Sometimes we play Mario Party other times Golden Eye 007...Depends on whether or not he's staying the night."

"What else do you guys do?"

He shrugged. "Different things. We're both part of the jazz choir at school."

"So you sing then?"

"Yeah."

Sora grinned, "You really are gay, aren't you?"

"You wanna make something of it?" Riku chuckled, shaking his fist in the air.

"Do these shorts make my butt look big?"

"Very."

Sora laughed and took another bite of the already half-eaten ice cream. "So what are you doing after work?"

"I don't know. Don't have any plans."

"You want to hang out later?"

"Hang out with the gay boy, huh?" Riku replied, glancing out into the parking lot. The pair of absent teens were making their way back.

"Gay doesn't change who you are, you know."

"Tell my dad that…"

Sora looked up from what little remained of his creamy delights. "Huh?"

The teen opposite him shook his head, sad smile upon his lips. "Nothing."

Shrugging it off, Sora scraped the bottom of the ice cream dish and sighed. He had already consumed all of the contents. He glanced up toward the glass door and noticed that both Roxas and Axel were walking into the foyer. It was nearly time to go.

"About time you two get back," Riku teased. "You're five minutes late."

Sora looked back up to his new friend, smiling. "Thanks for the ice cream, Riku."

"No prob, Sora." After a brief pause, he peered over to the two teens talking amongst themselves and cleared his throat. "Hey Axel? Mind if I commandeer Sora from you for the rest of the afternoon?"

"That's not for me to decide," he answered, glancing down to Roxas. "Need company?"

"Not really," the blonde replied. "But if you don't want to go bother Demyx, I guess you can irritate me until Olette gets here."

"Guess that settles it then," Riku stated, removing his visor. "Axel will distract Roxas from work and I'll show Sora my mad soccer skills."

Sora flashed his pearly whites. "Yeah right! I bet I'm twice as good with a soccer ball than you are!"

"And I bet Riku's better with balls than you are," Roxas threw in, placing his visor back on.

"And you'd know how…?" Axel taunted, winking.

The blonde sent a smirk back in the redhead's general direction. "Oh. You know."