Knights and Guards

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. If I did, the boys wouldn't be straight.

Warnings: This is yaoi, and I take full responsibility for all the dirty little fantasies in your head. If you don't like boys doing naughty things to one another, find something else to read.

Pairings: ?

The Shadow Guards:

Roxas - Spectre
Riku - Raven
Zexion - Venom
Paine - Katt
Yuffie - Shimmering Rain
Lulu - Tarot
Cloud - White Skye

The Burnished Knights:

Zack - Black Lightning
Tifa - Steel Fist
Rikku - Pixie
Kairi - Candy
Naminé - Sugar
Axel - Valiant Blaze

Plot: Roxas and Riku have been best friends since middle school, right about the time they both found out that they weren't exactly…normal. Not that anything about Haven City is normal nowadays, not with the Knights and Guards fighting to the death almost every night. Growing up in a city prone to superhero battles has been a way of life the boys have come to embrace; especially now that they've found out they're superheroes too. Let the sweet drama of high school, young love, and learning how to deal with superpowers commence!

Chapter Four: Daring Chance

Riku sighed, face in his hands, back pressed against the warm brick of the outside wall of the school. He didn't know how much more he would be able to take before he ended up doing something he regretted. Not that he would regret it at first, but…if Sora didn't want to then… The boy leaned his head back, resting it against the wall. Stop it Riku, just calm down. Nothing is going to happen. You're in control of your own emotions. You are in control… Who was he kidding? He was a mess around Sora. One minute the younger boy had him laughing hysterically, the next minute he was trying to avoid the soft-spoken brunette for fear of doing something unforgivable. Like reaching over and brushing his bangs out of his eyes, or touching his cheek, or taking his hand… Riku could feel his cheeks burning at the thought of just making contact with the other boy. Let alone those other things that he thought about…

The boy pushed himself up, standing against the school for a moment, taking comfort in the shadows, before he picked up his backpack and snuck back inside the lunch room, looking around for his friends. Roxas was there, sitting beside Axel as always. Demyx was talking with Marluxia and Larxene, the blonde girl waving her hand back and forth, but as for Sora, the boy was nowhere to be found. Taking a deep breath, Riku walked over to the others, Roxas looking up and catching his eye. The blonde didn't ask him if anything was wrong, just smiled at him in a knowing manner. Riku sighed again, reaching up and running his fingers through his long silver hair. He wanted to be around Sora, he did, but for whatever reason when he was around the other boy he was scared of losing control. And that scared him more than anything else, because he couldn't lose control around Sora, for multiple reasons. For one, he didn't want to scare off the boy with his freaky dark powers that seemed to go haywire anytime his emotions became heightened around the other boy. Secondly, he genuinely liked Sora, which was something he'd never experienced before. And he didn't want to ruin it.

Motion caught his eye, Riku glancing up to see Sora was running towards them from across the lunchroom, dodging a few students as he made his way towards his friends, a newspaper clamped in his hands. "I told you so! Look!" He said, holding out the paper towards Demyx as he reached the table, the dirty-blonde reaching out and taking the paper from him, his dusky blue eyes flitting over the text. The brunette stood there with a worried expression across his face, his hands clasped together. "The fights are getting worse. They're saying that at the rate things are going there's going to be a battle between the Knights and Guards that could destroy half of the city." He shook his head. "What happens if they destroy the new high school?"

Roxas looked across the table to Riku, the two boys sighing silently. It was true; their fights had been becoming increasingly more violent, and more destructive. Over the past few days they'd barely been in class at all, Skye had called them out again and again to deal with their opponents. Luckily, it was once again Friday, and they would have the entire weekend to quarrel with the Knights uninterrupted. But with the construction work of the new art school set to finalize in the next week or so, tensions were running high because of all the hype from the media about the opposing superheroes. East Side tended to be one of their most prominent fight-zones. They had recently destroyed a series of radio towers on the east side of downtown rather close to the location of the new school. Several neighborhoods had been without power for a few days. The thought of transferring schools, then going to all new classes with all new teachers, and transitioning from West Side to East Side was stressful enough without having to worry about the Knights and Guards destroying everything in their wake. It was causing quite a bit of unrest amongst the students. They'd been waiting for weeks now to finally start attending the school they were actually supposed to be going to. Worst case scenarios of being trapped at the West Side school forever seemed to be whispered rumors amongst the students, looming in the back of everyone's minds. On one hand, it meant that Roxas, Riku, and their newfound friends would all be together. On the other hand, it meant that they would all be wasting their time not learning anything while the school was being rebuilt all over again. The boys were torn between the two possibilities, knowing that if anything did happen to the school during the fights, it would partially be their faults. But when Skye called, they came. It wasn't like in the heat of the moment that they could choose where they fought against the Knights. It just happened.

Demyx finished reading the newspaper article, looking up at Sora, "You can't believe everything you read about in the papers, Sora…" He handed the boy back the paper. "Don't worry about things like that. We can't control what happens. All we can do is sit back and enjoy the ride. If they do end up leveling half of the city then that just means we'll have more time to hang out together, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so…" the younger boy replied, but his face still reflected worry. Riku watched the brunette curiously, unsure of why he was so upset. Sure, he was eager to get started with his art classes at the new school too, but with Sora there seemed to be something else, something unspoken lingering just beneath the surface. He watched the other boy for a moment before Sora seemed to notice he was being watched, the younger boy glancing over and meeting Riku's eyes, his entire being radiating anxiousness. He crumpled the newspaper in his hands then walked over to Riku, sitting down beside him, the silver-haired boy watching him with soft ice-blue eyes. They didn't say anything, but somehow Riku's presence had a comforting effect on the younger boy's disquiet, Sora eventually letting out a long sigh and looking up at him with a grin. "Sorry about that, when I heard about the fights I had to run off to the newspaper club and grab a copy. I try to keep track of what's going on, you know?"

Riku nodded, "I'm sorry, it really seemed to upset you."

Sora shook his head, "It's nothing, really. I'm just paranoid I guess." He looked down at the crumpled paper in his hands, adding, "I've always been terrified of the Shadow Guard. They're so dark and menacing, and they fight against the Knights for no reason at all. They're chaotic, and unpredictable…" He glanced back up at Riku. "I just worry about it, especially now, since you and Roxas live so close to the school. Did you two lose power the other night too?"

The older boy hesitated, and then said, "No, we didn't lose power. We were a few blocks away from the edge of the power outage."

Sora nodded, Riku noticing the way his eyes were shimmering and his shoulders were shaking slightly. "I just…I don't know what would happen if I found out that you'd gotten hurt because of those stupid Guards…"

The older boy's chest twisted uneasily, reaching out and touching Sora's arm gently, "Hey, it's alright, don't worry about that. We've lived on the East Side all our lives and nothing's ever happened in our neighborhood." He grinned reassuringly at the younger boy, adding, "I doubt our luck's going to change anytime soon."

Roxas overheard his friend's soft words, a smile twisting his lips. Axel noticed the blonde boy's smile and watched him with curious green eyes, wondering what the other boy was thinking. Demyx, Larxene, and Marluxia returned to their conversation about high-fashion in the Inner City, and Sora and Riku sat together in comfortable silence. The commotion of the students flowing in and out of the lunch room went on for another half-hour or so, then the bell rang, Roxas rising from the table, Axel at his side. The boys walked down the hallway together, Riku and Sora right behind him, the bubbly brunette laughing at something the other boy had said a moment before. Roxas glanced over his shoulder, catching the smile across his best friend's face. He was glad that Riku was happy. Sora really seemed to be able to bring out the best in him. He felt badly that Riku had to keep running off and leaving Sora by himself when Skye called for them, in the same way that he felt guilty about ditching Axel in the middle of class to attend to his Guard duties. Hopefully today they would have some downtime to spend with their friends before Skye called for them yet again.

The rest of school passed by slowly, Roxas keeping to himself, texting Axel now and then when the teacher wasn't looking. The red-headed boy really seemed to enjoy talking to him, and Roxas liked talking to Axel as well. It was nice having someone there that he could just chat with about random, normal things; like about how the fruit salad had tasted at lunch, or about homework they never planned on doing, or about going to the beach again. Roxas had ready liked his trip to the beach. He had taken dozens of shells back to the apartment, and several of the prettier pieces were now poised around their living room much to Riku's amusement. The other boy had also been fairly entertained about his roommate's choice of swimming trunks, and the pair that Roxas had picked out for him while he had been at the surf shack with Axel. They were light blue and pink. Riku had sighed upon pulling them out of the bag, then shook his head at the other boy, Roxas giggling softly. The blonde boy was sure that the pale colors would look amazing with Riku's pale skin and silver hair though, once the boy was actually wearing them. Axel, interestingly enough, had agreed. He text the red-head his passing thoughts, smiling as he received a response a moment later, "Well, I don't know about going to the beach tonight, but what about going to the arcade?"

"The arcade?" Roxas text back, curious as to what their visit to the arcade would entail. Arcades were where kids went to go play old-school games, right? It might be fun, but he and Riku had never been to one before, so he wasn't sure. But if Axel thought it would be, then Roxas would definitely give it a go.

"Yeah, there's an arcade downtown on the north-east side on the way to Craigside. That's where Demyx, Larxene, and Marluxia live. It's about half way between everything for all of us, so we go there a lot. It's really fun."

"That sounds like it could be pretty interesting." Roxas replied, "Can Riku come with us?"

"Sure, I'll ask the others if they want to come too."

Roxas smiled, slipping his phone back into his pocket as he waited for the final bell to ring. He was finally going to be able to spend more time with his new friends, something that he found to be almost as exciting as the fact that he was now able to fight against the Knights by himself. He hadn't really had the opportunity to do so yet; lately when they had been fighting against one another Riku had been with him, and then of course the other Guards showed up as well. He actually couldn't think of a time that Riku wouldn't be with him when they fought against the Knights, but the fact that he could if the opportunity arose gave him a small thrill. His phone vibrating in his hand drew his attention, seeing a text from Riku, a small pang of unhappiness hitting him somewhere deep inside. Was Skye calling them away again?

But the he realized his friend was just texting him about hanging out with the others this afternoon, Roxas' eyes skimming across the text. "Heard about the arcade from Demyx, Sora lives nearby and is going to come too. It looks like we're all going to be hanging out like normal teenagers for a change."

"Odd isn't it?" Roxas text back, adding a smiley face at the end. Riku didn't reply, but Roxas knew the older boy was grinning impishly. The teacher drawled on, then eventually the bell rang, students gathering their books and backpacks and racing out of the class, laughing and chatting excitedly about their plans for the weekend.

Surprisingly, when Roxas exited the classroom Axel was standing against a set of lockers nearby waiting for him. The red-head looked over and smiled at him, shifting his backpack on his shoulder. "Hey, I know you and Riku normally take the subway home, so I thought I'd drive you guys over to the arcade."

"Oh, you don't have to do that, Axel…" Roxas said as he walked over to the other boy, but the senior just shook his head.

"Don't be ridiculous, it's no trouble at all." His eyes danced merrily as he gazed down at Roxas, then he said, "I want to drive you. That's okay, right?"

"Of course it is." Roxas replied, laughing softly, tucking his books under his arm and looking up at the older boy.

"Good." Axel said softly, turning to walk off down the hallway to the double doors leading out towards the main entrance of the school, Roxas following after him with happiness bubbling in his chest. Axel was always so thoughtful. It helped him forget about his life as a member of the Guard, and simply enjoy the time he was able to spend as a normal high school freshman.

As they walked through the doors out into the daylight Riku and Sora were there to greet them, the silver-headed boy standing near the flagpole with his arms crossed over his chest leisurely, Sora waving at Axel and Roxas as they descended down the front staircase. "Hey guys! We're still waiting on Demyx. He was wrapping things up with Marl and Larx, they had to work on an art project before heading back to Craigside."

"Yeah, Marluxia said he didn't think they were coming." Axel shrugged, putting his hand in his back pocket. "Oh well, maybe next time."

"I'm sure the five of us will be able to carry on a pretty decent tournament without them," Sora said, grinning. "Do you play air hockey?"

"Do I?" Axel laughed, "You have no idea."

"Well I'm pretty good too ya know!" Sora said, placing his hands on his hips. "I bet I can school you big time!"

"We'll see about that!" Axel replied, chuckling softy. He glanced back at Roxas, the blonde watching him with a hidden grin in his eyes. "What's that look for?"

"Well, we all know how well you did last time you gamed against someone…"

Axel opened his mouth to retort then sighed and let his words die before they could escape his throat, looking back over at Sora sheepishly. "Does this involve the loser buying everyone else's dinner?"

"You bet!" Sora said, thrusting his fist into the air. "I'm dying to get some froyo!"

"Oi…" Axel said, Roxas laughing at the older boy's exasperated expression. Riku watched his friend with a smile, then turned when he noticed someone was approaching them, Demyx walking down the steps towards them with an apologetic look across his face.

"Sorry about that! I was finishing things up with the girls." He laughed at his own comment, Axel raising an eyebrow at him.

"You'd better be careful talking smack like that, I'm sure Marluxia packs a punch."

Demyx scoffed and waved Axel off, the red head shaking his head and smiling over at the dirty blond with amusement. "So what's the plan, guys? We gonna do another air hockey tournament?"

"And some ski-ball!" Sora added, "And maybe that one game where you have to stop the reel on the flashing lights? That one has all the stuffed animals…"

"Are you still trying to get that damn bear?" Demyx asked, the brunette looking up at him incredulously.

"It's a rabbit!" Sora said, pouting and looking over at Riku. "I've been trying to get it for weeks now. Stupid machine…"

Riku laughed softly, then said, "Well, maybe today will be your lucky day."

The younger boy smiled, reaching over and taking Riku's hand, much to the other boy's surprise. "Come on! Let's go before the arcade is packed!"

Riku stammered but allowed the younger boy to pull him along, looking over his shoulder at Roxas with wide eyes, a light blush across his cheeks. Roxas laughed softly, Axel looking down at him with shining green eyes. "Sora's right, we better get going." He looked over to Demyx, "You riding with us?"

"Nah, I'll drive so you don't have to bring me back to the parking lot." The junior replied, waving and trotting off towards his car.

"Oh yeah, guess that's a good point," Axel said, more to himself that to Demyx. The boy looked out across the parking lot, noticing that Sora was leading Riku to his own car, then shrugged and said while looking down at Roxas, "Guess it's just you and me."

Roxas nodded, swallowing to rid himself of the nervous feeling trapped in his throat. It wasn't a big deal that he was riding with Axel, right? After all, Riku was riding with Sora…but then again, that was because the younger boy liked Riku…wasn't it? He found his eyes wandering down the length of Axel's arm, stopping at the older boy's hand. Sora had reached out for Riku so casually, as if they had been holding hands for forever. Was it strange that he suddenly had the urge to do the same thing, to reach out and take the other boy's hand and interlace their fingers? Roxas pulled his eyes away from Axel's hand as the senior stepped towards the parking lot, calling for the freshman to come with him. Roxas ran off after him, pushing down the butterflies flying about in his stomach sporadically. They were just hanging out, it was no big deal. But then, everything Axel did seemed to be a big deal to Roxas, for no other reason that he had never experienced any of it before, and it was effectively making the red-headed boy his first at everything. Maybe even his first crush…

-x-x-x-

The arcade was amazing. There were all sorts of games, ranging from old school games on giant machines to the more modern, sleek variety. There were games with lights, and music, and games that you danced to. But Roxas' favorite game had to be the one with the giant claw, where you had to pick up something without dropping it on its way back to the little door on the other side of the glass box. It didn't matter what it was; a bouncy ball, a random toy, a stuffed animal. He was fascinated by it, the chance of winning something through accuracy mixed with luck. And sometimes, the claw would just drop whatever it was holding without cause. Roxas just couldn't figure it out.

Axel, who had been playing air hockey with Demyx, walked over to the small blonde and peeked over his shoulder, noticing the small mountain of toys out of the claw machines. He chuckled softly, asking, "Are you going to be able to carry all of that?"

Roxas looked up at him with a grin, "That's what I have you for!"

Axel blinked at him, surprised at his cheerfulness. His delayed response seemed to somber Roxas' mood, the blonde looking away shyly. The red-head smiled, reaching out and gathering an armful of the toys. "Come on, let's go see if Sora has had any luck with his rabbit."

"Okay," Roxas said, smiling softly. He was never sure how to act around the older boy. He wanted to be playful and funny, and banter back and forth with him… But he wasn't sure how to gauge his reactions. He was afraid of doing something wrong. Axel didn't seem any different than usual though, so perhaps he was doing fairly well so far.

Axel led him through the arcade to a game with flashing lights, Sora and Riku standing before it, the brunette watching the lights go round and round before smacking the button beneath his waiting hand. The light ticked one too many past the prize box, Sora huffing exasperatedly and looking over at Riku with a pout. The silver-haired boy sighed and said with a smile, "Alright, alright. Let me try."

Sora cheered and moved aside to allow Riku to take his place, the bubbly boy looking over and waving to Axel and Roxas. "Hey guys! Come watch Riku win this bunny for me!"

Riku blushed slightly, saying, "I'm not making any promises…"

"You can do it!" Sora said, cheering with a wide grin. "I believe in you!"

Roxas laughed softly, reaching up and hiding his grin behind his hand, Axel glancing down at him in amusement. The two newest additions to their group seemed to really be enjoying themselves; he was glad that they had decided to come. He wanted to get to know Riku more, and he loved spending time with Roxas. His green eyes flitted down to the blonde's face, watching his expressions change as he followed Riku's movements. He was so innocent, and so easily awed. What else could he show him? What else could he do to make the younger boy happy…

Suddenly loud bells and happy music boomed out of the flashing game, Sora squealing and wrapping his arms around Riku, hugging the older boy excitedly. "You did it! I knew you could do it!"

Riku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, a light blush still across his cheeks. "It was nothing, really…"

Sora giggled at him, then dipped down and retrieved his prize from the prize box near the bottom of the game, pulling it out and cuddling it against his chest. It was about the size of his torso, with large, long ears and soft, yellow and white fur. "Thank you so much! I love it!"

Riku, nearly too embarrassed to speak, looked over at Roxas helplessly. The blonde smiled and nodded to him, reaching over and unconsciously taking Axel's hand. It was effortless, and comforting; Riku noticing before Roxas did himself, the older boy grinning and returning his attention to Sora, the brunette beaming up at him happily.

Axel looked down at Roxas, slightly surprised by the sudden hand in his, but pleasantly so. He interlaced their fingers gently, Roxas feeling the movement and blushing when he realized what he'd done, glancing up at the older boy with uncertainty in his eyes. Axel just smiled down at him warmly, happiness shining in his cat-green irises. The blonde blushed lightly, but didn't look away, squeezing Axel's hand gently, reveling in their shared touch. The red-head chuckled softly, asking after a moment, "You want to get some froyo?"

"Froyo!" Sora chimed, the two boys looking over at their friends, the silver-headed boy blushing furiously where Sora was wrapped around his arm, clutching the bunny between them. "Let's go get some! I'm dying for some mango-pineapple!"

Axel looked from Sora back to Roxas, awaiting the blonde's approval. Roxas smiled and laughed softly, "I've never tried any before, but it sounds yummy…"

"You've never tried mango-pineapple?" Sora asked, "It's the best! I can show you how to mix it!"

Roxas shook his head, "N-no, I mean, I've never tried froyo before…"

"Neither have I," Riku said, his blush fading a bit as the conversation distracted him from the boy pressing so intimately against his side.

Sora seemed shocked, the younger boy looking up at Riku with wide, innocent eyes. "Do you guys not have froyo on East Side?"

Axel laughed loudly, the other boys looking up at him. "Of course they have froyo on East Side you dork." He shook his head, smiling in amusement, then began towards the exit, pulling Roxas with him gently, "There's actually a place right around the corner that will let you sample all of the different flavors…" The red-head stopped himself, looking around the arcade, "Wait, where did Demyx run off to?"

As if on cue, they heard a racket from the other side of the wall of games, Riku and Sora walking a few steps and glancing around the corner, Sora laughing hysterically and pointing while Riku darted off around the corner. Roxas looked up at Axel, "What is it?"

The red-head let go of his hand and walked around the corner to see what was going on, then darted off as well, the blonde boy walking over to Sora's side and looking down the hallway. Demyx was busily shaking a machine, cursing about his damned luck and rigged games, the glass of the machine clattering loudly as he did so. Riku reached him just as the alarm went off in the arcade, pulling the blonde away from the machine, Axel grabbing his friend's arm and hauling him out of the arcade before someone came to investigate the noise. "But I won that turtle plushy fair and square! Wait! But I… Axel…!"

Sora was laughing so hard he had tears in the corners of his eyes, clutching his rabbit happily. Riku walked up to them, shaking his head. "And he was giving you a hard time…"

The younger boy wiped his cheek, looking up at the older boy. "Maybe you should try for him next time!"

Riku smiled down at the brunette, and said softly, "You're the only one who gets those kinds of privileges."

Sora smiled and laughed shyly, reaching over and taking Riku's hand again, pulling him in the direction that Axel and Demyx had disappeared to. Riku glanced over his shoulder at Roxas, the two boys exchanging a look. Riku was happy, and so was Roxas. It was a rarity they hadn't experienced in quite some time. And it was something they both were desperately craving more of.

-x-x-x-

Roxas tried the mango-pineapple creation Sora made with a thoughtful expression, the brunette watching him with a smile. "What cha think?" he asked, taking a spoonful and shoving it in his mouth.

"It's alright, but I think it's too tart for me. I liked the vanilla, and the strawberry…"

Axel looked over from the row of froyo machines lining the wall of the shop, asking, "Do you want me to get you some?"

Roxas looked up, blushing lightly, "If you want to…"

Axel grinned broadly and turned back to the levers before him, the blonde smiling at his turned back. Sora giggled, walking over to Riku, who was still sampling the different flavors the shop offered. "Which ones do you like?"

"The cake batter, and the blackberry, and raspberry." The silver haired boy said, his ice-blue eyes flitting over to meet the brunette's sapphire. "But I'm not sure which one to pick."

"Here, hold this and I'll make you a cup!" Sora said, smiling and allowing Riku to take his orange and yellow froyo mix in hand while he made the older boy a cup of his own.

Demyx was already eating his froyo, a mixture of chocolate and peanut butter froyo with bits of graham cracker strewn about in the mix. He watched the other boys with dusky blue eyes, grinning as he watched them interact. Riku definitely liked Sora, and Sora was already crushing on Riku hardcore. Axel and Roxas were a bit more delicate, the red-head taking extra care to wait for the blonde to make the first moves. They were cute together, almost too adorable to watch. It was a shame Larxene and Marluxia weren't here to enjoy the show with him. They would have endless amounts of gossip.

Roxas and Axel walked over to the table a few minutes later, sitting down beside one another across from Demyx. The red-head offered Roxas the mixture he had made him. "It should taste sort of like strawberry shortcake."

The blonde boy took a spoonful and popped it in his mouth, his eyes closing as he made a pleased sound. Axel smiled gently, watching him with shining eyes, waiting for the boy to comment. "It's really good," the younger boy said, reaching for another spoonful and watching Axel out of the corner of his eye, "Thank you for making it for me…"

"Of course." Axel said, chuckling softly, taking a spoonful of his own froyo and looking over at his friend, who was watching them with an impish grin. The red-head raised an eyebrow at him, but Demyx just moved his eyes between the two boys before him purposefully, not saying a word. Axel blushed lightly; he'd known Demyx long enough to know what unspoken words the dirty blonde wasn't saying. How long are you going to wait before you tell him you like him? And ask him out? He scowled at his friend, shooting him a glance that said he wasn't trying to rush things.

Demyx raised his eyebrows and looked off, allowing the questions to fade away for now. His eyes focused on something behind Axel a moment later, the red-head looking over his shoulder to see Sora and Riku were approaching, the brunette smiling up at the silver-headed boy. "I hope you like it!"

"It looks great, thank you Sora."

They sat down beside Demyx, across from Axel and Roxas, the boys each taking a bite of their froyo and smiling at one another. "Mmm, I love mango-pineapple…" The younger boy said, looking over at Riku. "What do you think?"

Riku nodded, taking a bite of his cake batter froyo, raspberries and blackberries mixed in with the froyo. "It's very good. I'm actually quite impressed." He looked across the table to Roxas. "How does yours taste?"

"It's great!" Roxas replied, taking another spoonful before Axel caught his gaze, taking another bite out of his froyo. "What did you get?" he asked, noticing the mixture was bright green.

"Lime," Axel replied, "It's one of my favorite things ever."

"Oh, that sounds sweet," Roxas said, licking his spoon, "Can I try some?"

The red head nodded, dipping his spoon into the green froyo and offering it to Roxas, the blonde blushing lightly and opening his mouth, allowing the older boy to feed him a spoonful. The act was innocent, but it seemed to have an unforeseen effect on Axel, who hesitated a moment before pulling the spoon back and getting up from the table, the boy saying a bit breathlessly, "I-I'll go get us a bottle of water."

"Okay…" Roxas said, watching him go with a curious look, wondering what had made him think of water all of a sudden.

Riku watched the exchange as well, looking down at Sora, thinking to himself for a moment before asking, "Do you want to try mine?"

"Sure!" Sora said, reaching over with his own spoon and dipping it into Riku's froyo, taking a large bite and grinning up at the older boy. "Mmm! Yum!"

The older boy sighed inwardly, pouting ever-so-slightly. He would have much preferred to feed Sora the way Axel had been feeding Roxas. It looked so cute… The silver-headed boy met eyes with his blonde room-mate, the two boys exchanging a look, but both off in their own little worlds.

-x-x-x-

Axel shut himself into the bathroom, allowing himself to breathe once he was sure he was safely locked away out of sight. He looked down at his hands, noticing the steam pouring off of his skin, his fingertips glowing a dim golden-red. Get ahold of yourself, Axel… He chided inwardly, If you want to be around him, you're going to have to learn to control your thoughts…

Blushing furiously, he allowed himself to relive the moment he'd just shared with Roxas. The boy was so innocent, and so cute, and he wanted to be with him. Wanted to hold his hand, and brush his bangs out of his eyes. And he wanted to…to kiss him…and hold him…and never let him go… But he couldn't do that, not right now. Not without risking something unforgivable, like revealing who he was unintentionally, or accidentally burning the younger boy. That thought darkened his mood a bit, his skin slowly cooling, his soft glow fading into darkness. He would never be able to look at the other boy again if he accidentally hurt him. Accidentally burning Roxas would break his heart. Not to mention it would probably freak out the younger boy so badly he would never want to see him again. He bit his lip, worry radiating through his being. What could he do? He wanted to spend time with Roxas, get closer to Roxas, and maybe even date Roxas if the younger boy would allow him to… But he was Valiant Blaze of the Burnished Knights. Was he even capable of having a relationship with someone who was normal? Or were he and Roxas destined to be driven apart?

-x-x-x-

Axel eventually returned with the water bottles, as promised, his companions greeting him as he rejoined them. "We were wondering if you'd gotten lost or something!" Demyx jeered, quirking an eyebrow at Axel with a knowing expression.

"Nah, not quite," the red-head replied, laughing softly. "I was just thinking, while we're over here on this side of town we could swing by and see the new school. Since the construction is finishing up they might even let us onto the grounds."

Sora smiled widely, hugging his rabbit to his chest. "That's a great idea! I haven't seen the school yet! I heard it's beautiful…"

"Yeah, sure. We know where the school is," Riku said, looking over at Roxas who nodded in agreement.

"We've walked by it a few times over the last couple of weeks. It's made a lot of progress. I'm excited that they're finally going to be opening soon."

Demyx shrugged, saying, "That's fine with me. You guys will have to show us how to get there though. I'm not too used to driving around East Side."

Riku nodded. "I can show Sora the way if you want to follow us."

The brunette nodded excitedly. "Maybe we'll be able to see the greenhouses!"

Roxas smiled, Axel looking down at him. "Yeah, I'd like to see the gardens too."

-x-x-x-

The three cars parked beside one another in the school parking lot, Demyx leaning out of his window and calling over to Axel, "Do you think they're open?"

The red-head rolled down his window, Roxas and Axel peeking out from behind the tinted glass. "I don't know man, you want to get out and walk around?"

Sora had already gotten out of his car, running across the large plush finely trimmed lawn surrounding the parking lot. "Look! I think that's the top of the dome to the rose garden!"

Riku followed after the younger boy, catching Roxas' eye and shrugging. "We might as well go take a look."

The blonde laughed softly and unbuckled his seatbelt, getting out of Axel's car and following after his friend. Axel and Demyx turned off their cars and followed after him a moment later, trailing behind a bit. Demyx didn't say anything until he was sure Roxas was too far ahead of them to hear anything, then he leaned over and asked, "So? How goes it?"

Axel sighed, smiling over at his friend. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

The dirty blonde looked over at him knowingly. "I haven't seen you act like this in a long time, Ax. How badly are you falling for him?"

The older boy blushed, looking away, "Pretty badly…"

Demyx laughed softly, reaching out and patting his friend on the back. He didn't say anything but Axel knew how his friend felt. Axel had been alone for a while, and had been hurt before. Demyx had been his friend through all of it, and he could be rather protective of his long-time companion. If Demyx was curious about Axel's feelings for Roxas, it must be because he was evaluating their relationship. He wondered fleetingly what Demyx thought about the younger blonde, but he saved his thoughts for another time. He was sure the other boy would let him know when he had something to say about it. And if he had something bad to say about Roxas, he would have already let Axel know about it way before they had progressed to being friends. Let alone something more…

Roxas was waiting for them near the entrance to the school, his hands clasped behind his back, watching the two older boys curiously. What had they been talking about? Axel smiled and walked up to him, brushing the back of his hand against Roxas', the blonde blushing lightly and taking the older boy's hand. "Want to go explore?"

"O-Okay…" Roxas said, his heart fluttering as Axel interlaced their fingers gently. The two boys took a few steps forward, Sora waving back at them from where he and Riku were standing beside a giant elaborate wrought-iron gate surrounding the premises. There were flowers blooming around the gate, ivy winding up the gate, the bright green foliage contrasting beautifully against the black iron. Everything was serene for a few precious moments, then a sick feeling washed over Roxas, an anxious pounding replacing the fluttering in his chest. What was that? What was happening? Instantly Riku had pulled Sora away from the gate, the younger boy protesting with a soft whine. The wind instantly picked up, the sky darkening, plump raindrops beginning to pelt down from the sky, thunder rumbling ahead. Riku grit his teeth, looking over at Roxas. Not now…

The bright blue sky disappeared behind thick grey-black storm clouds, lightning searing the sky above them. Axel pulled Roxas against his side protectively, his soul humming with the energy of the fight that was descending upon them. He had to go to his fellow Knights…but Roxas…

Riku was in much the same state of mind, Sora huddled against his side, clutching his rabbit, looking up at the sky, "But it wasn't supposed to rain today…"

Roxas looked around, eyes darting between the school and the surrounding buildings, eyeing the rooftops for any sign of the other Guards. Then the wind shifted, and something cracked in the distance, large chunks of metal and debris raining down from the sky, Axel pushing him to the side and out of the way of a large shard of glass from a broken window. Roxas lifted himself up off of the wet grass, scrambling to his feet. "Axel! Axel are you okay?"

Roxas couldn't see him through the thickening rain and the dust rising up from the fallen debris, but he could hear his voice between the claps of thunder echoing overhead. "I'm fine! Are you alright? Can you get back to the car?"

"I think so! Can you see Riku? Or Sora?" he glanced over his shoulder, Demyx was no longer there either. "Axel! Demyx is gone too!"

He listened for a reply, but was greeted only by the wind and the rain, and the storm raging above. Angrily, the boy jumped across the piles of debris now littering the once beautiful schoolyard, jumping the fence and darting into the construction zone on the interior of the school, quickly locating Riku. "Sora?" he asked, the silver-haired boy looking over at him.

"He's alright, I made sure that he found Demyx before I left him." He searched Roxas' expression. "Axel?"

"I think he's okay…"

The two boys stripped quickly, untying their masks from around their respective hiding spots and allowing the material to form against their eyes, quickly encasing the two boys in their separate armors. Raven summoned a cloak from the shadows, his white braid tossed over his shoulder. "Are you ready?"

Spectre nodded, his blue hair shifting with his movements. Please be safe, Axel… He stilled his inner turmoil, then reached over and clasped his friend's shoulder, and they disappeared into the darkness, joining the fight.

Sora has a serious crush on Riku, and the older boy seems to be in favor of returning his feelings, but will Riku be able to confess his feelings to the younger boy? And will he be able to control himself around Sora?

Axel and Roxas are slowly becoming closer, but as their feelings for one another grow, will it end up putting both of them in grave danger? Spectre and Blaze are about to meet for the first time, and with their emotions heightened as they fight against one another, for one another, will they be able to survive one another's wrath?

More next time, in Chapter Five of Knights and Guards!

Author's Note: Thank you very much for the reviews! I love hearing from you!