;-; Yes, I know. I'm terrible. But I won't go into that. This was supposed to be longer, but I didn't want to delay anymore. Sooo...here you are. enjoy, apologies again. 3s to those who stuck beside this, and are still sticking. ;3

Leon sighed tiredly, rubbing at his shoulder and neck with the hand that wasn't holding his briefcase. Work had been hard and demanding today, and he'd loosened his tie before he even got on the train. That alone was an indication that he was pretty worn out.

So when Leon got to his apartment building, he was completely ready to crash in his bedroom, and be in as much peace as possible with Axel as a roommate.

He wasn't ready for the brunet standing at his door, self-consciously holding a messenger bag to his chest. Leon sighed, wondering briefly if just walking away would make the boy leave.

"Sora, right?"

Said brunet seemed to nearly jump out of his own skin, almost dropping his bag. "L-Leon! Hi…I came to see Axel, since he invited me today…but he hasn't answered after almost ten minutes of knocking. I thought I somehow had the wrong place…"

Leon acted as though the sheepish smile on the blue-eyed boy's face wasn't endearing, and heaved a tired sigh. "He's probably listening to music on his mp3…hold on." Leon fished the keys out of his pocket. He nodded at Sora's breathless "Thank you!" and unlocked the door. "You come on the one day the door is actually locked…if you weren't sure, why didn't you go home?" Leon asked as he pushed the door open.

"Took the train here. I didn't feel like walking all the way back, since the bus isn't due back for another hour…" Sora's earlier shyness seemed to wear off now that he knew he was in the right place. Leon chuckled quietly at that.

"Hey, Leon! You seen—" Axel came in the living room, headphones slung around his neck. His eyes landed on the blue-eyed boy. "Sora! Holy shit, I completely forgot…I was listening out before, but I got distracted and—"

"It's fine, don't worry. I wasn't there long, and Leon was here to let me in!" Sora smiled warmly at Axel, then at Leon. "Thank you again."

Before Leon could even give the boy a proper grunt of acknowledgement, Axel tugged Sora off toward his room. "I got this awesome game to show you!"

Leon shook his head with a chuckle, dropping his briefcase and suit jacket off in a chair near the door. 'Axel's always looking for a sex buddy of some type…I hope that kid's alright in there'. Leon cast a definitely not-worried glance at the door. If Leon heard anything suspicious, he would just happen to need to borrow something from Axel's room at that time, like a pencil or a blank CD. Not to see what they were doing, or to check on Sora of course. Because Leon didn't care about Sora, didn't even like the brunet otaku.

So why was he so uneasy? Why did that honest, sweet smile keep flashing through his mind?

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Hey, Axel?" Sora spoke suddenly, looking up from his spot on the bed to where Axel was at the computer on the desk. The two of them were playing an MMO; Sora on the laptop, and Axel on the desktop computer.

"Yeah? Oh, heal first. Health's below twenty," Axel warned, casting a fire spell and thus killing one of the ogres surrounding them.

Sora healed, then smiled. "Thanks. Anyway, I was wondering about Leon…oh, there's a Flying Pig right behind you." Sora and Axel made quick work of the creature before Sora continued. "Why is he…like that?"

"You mean why is there a stick eternally lodged in the orifice between his two ass cheeks?" Axel smirked, leading their party to another area.

"Well…something like that," Sora laughed.

"Because," The redhead took a drink of his melon flavored Ramune. "That's just the way he is. Life wasn't easy on him…say, why the sudden interest in dear old Leon?"

Sora almost missed the slightly bitter tone of Axel's question. "Nothing…usually when someone's mean to you, you wonder why they're like that and what made them that way." He said, healing Axel's character.

"Thanks. And yeah, I get what you mean…hey, you wanna play another game?"

"What game?" Sora asked curiously, switching his game off when Axel did so.

The redhead stood, walking over to the bed and plopping down. Much to Sora's surprise, Axel leaned back until his head was in the brunet's lap. "Let's play…I dunno. Tell me about yourself." Axel grinned.

Sora laughed. "That's not a game."

"It's not? Oh well, let's do it anyway."

Sora shook his head with a smile. "Okay…not much about me to tell…uh, I'm in high school. I'm seventeen…my favorite color is blue. And red," He added, ruffling Axel's spiky locks. There was a grumbled "Watch the hair…" that made Sora chuckle before continuing. "Hm…that's it, I guess."

"Not gonna tell me about your family?" Axel asked.

"Not much to tell…I live with my mom. She's the one that got me hooked onto games and anime. She plays a lot of dating sims, which is why I like them…'cause she had me play them too when I was younger."

Axel snorted. "Not lax at all is she?"

"Not really." Sora chuckled. "I do the cooking and cleaning mostly, but sometimes we take turns. She works a lot now, so she can't be around like she used to."

"Oh. Sorry, kid." Axel frowned, then reached up and ruffled Sora's hair with a slight smile. "Well, I guess it's my turn now. Twenty three, favorite colors are red and green...blue now. I work in a manga cafe. And before you ask," Axel added, when Sora perked up. "You have to be eighteen or older to work there."

"Darn." Sora sighed, then smiled. "Do I at least get free coffee or something?"

Axel snorted. "Even I can't get free drinks. And I work there, so I don't think you getting something free will be happening. Of course, it's different if I pay for it for you instead..."

"Yes! Momoko was so cute in her Season Two outfit…"

Leon sighed.

"More like hot! I'd pound her so hard! They had that ending originally available normally, but unless you got one of the first ten copies then it's a nearly impossible to get unlockable."

"I-I have the seventh official copy…"

Leon couldn't take much more of this. He refilled his coffee cup, rolling his eyes. "Are you two freaks going to continue this…thing?"

"What do you mean, 'thing'?" Axel asked, not at all put off by being called a freak. Sora, on the other hand, looked a little hurt.

Leon didn't know why he was being so hostile lately, especially toward Sora, but…well, he chalked it up to stress, bills, and work. He wasn't jealous or anything.

"Whatever." Axel had apparently grown tired of waiting for Leon's reply. "Oh yeah, Sora! You left your Magical Girl Mizumi here yesterday! I'll go get it." Sora nodded, and Axel disappeared into the dark confines of his room.

Cue the awkward silence, Leon thought, never taking his eyes off of the bowl of sugar cubes (and soon realizing, much to his distaste, that he'd forgotten to put any in).

"So…um."

"If you want to speak to me in Freakanese, I only have knowledge of English." It came before he could stop himself.

"That is it! I am so tired of you thinking I'm just this different species of human because I like something not everyone else does! I…already get it from school, I don't need it from you…" His tone grew weaker by the time he'd finished.

"…Sorry. It just…it gets annoying, you know? Hearing it all the time. But heaven forbid I bring up spreadsheets; he tunes me out."

Sora nodded, smiling a bit. "I understand…you just want someone to listen to you, too." He said, then tilted his head. "How about…coffee? Tomorrow? You can talk to me about spreadsheets." Without even waiting for a response, Sora smiled and left.

"Hey, So—huh? Where's Sora?" Axel was holding a box of pocky and a game case. "I didn't even give him his game…"

Leon wasn't listening, his coffee cup still at his lips despite being empty.

I didn't even agree…