Another chapter! So early, you say? Well, it's going to be a busy few days, with ending my exams and packing up and leaving for two weeks (do not fear, I'm taking my writings with me, and I will update as much as I can :)).

This one is quite long, and it's a mixture of things really, and here's where things start to get interesting:). The love angles get looked at, and a little humour too:).

Rated M for swearing.

Tifa's eyes snapped open. She hurriedly checked her alarm clock on her bedside table.

"Oh crap!" she exclaimed and scrambled out of bed. Ignoring the head rush, she tore downstairs, swearing obscenely. She stumbled into the kitchen and found Cid and Cloud sitting around the kitchen island, talking quietly, both fully dressed, the older man sipping some tea.

There was a moment of stunned silence as the two surveyed Tifa: her hair was in an absolute mess, dried drool trailing from the corner of her mouth, wearing Donald Duck silk boxers and a baby pink spaghetti top. Her eyes were still hazy with sleep.

"Well, good morning sunshine," Cid grumbled, chuckling faintly. "Thanks for my tea."

Tifa glanced at the kitchen clock and swore again. "I'm gonna be sooo late!" she groaned, turning around.

"You still have time, wench," Cis drawled. "Now get cracking!"

Ignoring the nickname, Tifa rushed back upstairs, threw on her usual clothes, tied her hair up into a loose ponytail, stuck some toothpaste and a toothbrush in her mouth, and ran back downstairs to the kitchen sink.

Spitting out toothpaste, she cried, "My bag!" and promptly inserted her toothbrush in her mouth. Cloud slowly lifted up her rugsack from beside him. Tifa beamed appreciatively at Cloud, then spat some more toothpaste out.

"Well!" She turned to the two blonds. "I'm ready!" Cloud and Cid looked at her for a second before bursting into laughter. "What?" Tifa asked, her face falling. Cid threw her a tea towel.

"Clean yourself up wench." Grimacing, Tifa grabbed the towel and wiped off the excess off her mouth.

She turned to Cloud. "Please tell me you brought Fenrir today."

Cloud looked at her apologetically. "Sorry Teef. I had to bring it into the shop today for a check up. You know it makes that sound when -"

"Yeah, I know. Lets go!" Tifa said hurriedly. She grabbed Cloud's arm, dragging him out the door, along with her rugsack. They bid farewell to Cid as they fast-walked off the lawn. They ran to school, as fast as their athletic bodies could take them. Soon, it became a race, a game they played during childhood. They stopped at the gates, panting and laughing.

"Hey, you forgot these," Cloud said. He rummaged in his back pocket and handed her the gloves that he promised he would buy her. They were black fingerless gloves, made from leather. They were re-inforced with steel at her knuckles, and had her name stitched in silver on the cuff.

She gasped as she took them from him. She smiled affectionately as she put them on. "Thanks Cloud." She gave him a long hug. She loved how he always smelled so clean and fresh, even after swimming practice. And after a jog or being in the workshop, Tifa expecially loved the smell of sweat and grease on him. It comforted her and made her smile.

Realising suddenly that they were hugging for too long, Tifa broke away, managing to look a little sheepish. She flexed her fingers and clenched them into a fist. "They're really comfy," she said with a smile.

"It should last you," Cloud said.

She looked at him tenderly. "What would I do without you, Cloud?" Cloud just smiled, inserting his hands into his pockets. Tifa then gave him a playful shove, knocking him off balance.

"Hey!" Cloud exclaimed at his disadvantage, and raced after Tifa through the grounds and into the passages.

"What's their problem?" Roxas asked as he watched Tifa vault over a desk standing outside a classroom, Cloud racing behind her.

Axel laughed and said, "I told you so."

Roxas looked at his tall friend in annoyance. Sora beside them meeped and hid behind his cousin. "And what's your problem?" Roxas asked him sternly.

"Hey guys!" It was Kairi. "Awesome party on Saturday. Uhm, why is Sora hiding behind you?" She peeked around Roxas and smiled at Sora.

Sora stuttered, open mouthed, his mind blank. "I-I-I am playing hide and seek with Cloud and Tifa."

Kairi laughed and ruffled his hair. "Hey, where's Namine?" Roxas asked Kairi.

"Oh, she's coming later. She got held up at the art department. Okay, I have to get to my home classroom. See you guys later."

"Smooth, Sora," Roxas commented flatly.

"Whaaat?"

"I thought he did pretty well," Axel said with a sly smile.

Roxas shoved him and the tall red head laughed openly.

"It's a known fact that Axel can't kiss," Kairi said rather loudly in the full dining hall on that Monday afternoon. The gang were lining up for their lunch when Kairi decided to announce the statement. Axel, of course, was atrophied by the statement. He spun quickly on his spot, which was between Demyx and Roxas, to face Kairi.

"What?" he exclaimed in disbelief.

"It's true," Kairi said airily.

"You speak from experience," Cloud said dully from behind her.

"You don't need experience to know that Axel can't kiss," Kairi scoffed, reddening slightly.

Axel, however, was also reddening. "Where did this come from?" he demanded, now outraged,

Kairi jabbed in front of her and Axel glared at what she was pointing at. There beheld the innocent face of Roxas, staring up at Axel.

"It wasn't me, buddy," he said flatly.

Axel focused his green glare back at Kairi, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"If you find it so offensive," Tifa said from behind Cloud, "you should prove it."

Oh yes, Axel found it offensive, and if this was the length that he had to take, then so be it. He dropped his satchel from his shoulder and walked around Roxas to stand in front of Kairi in some kind of child like huff. Then Axel touched Kairi's arm and let it linger there for a moment, then leaned forward and kissed her.

The dining hall faded into a hushed and curious silence as they watched Kairi and Axel kissing in front of them (except for Demyx, who had his back to the scene, and was listening to some rather good music at the time). Everyone knew that Axel and Kairi were great friends, but everyone knew that Kairi hooked up with someone else on Saturday night. What did this all mean?

When Kairi and Axel broke their kiss, the rest of school broke their silence and huddled into a frenzy of mumbles and conversations. Axel straightened and looked at Kairi with the same determination as before.

"Now, after all of that," Axel said loudly, gesturing to Kairi. "Tell me now I can't kiss."

Kairi just stood there for a moment, her eyes blank and her fingers touching her lips uncertainly. Finally, she came back to life and looked up at Axel. "You can't kiss, Axel."

"Oh, come on!" Axel exclaimed in exasperation. The whole dining hall burst into laughter, as Axel stormily returned to his spot in front of Roxas.

"I can tell you who can kiss though," Kairi said. Axel turned back to her. Who dares to over rule Axel's record. Huh? HUH?

"Who is it, missy?"

"Riku can kiss," she said.

"Ri – hang on, how do you know that Riku can kiss?"

"That doesn't matter," Kairi waved the topic away. "What does matter is that he can kiss."

"Someone said my name?" A silver head poked out from somewhere down the line. Axel did the same and acted like he noticed Riku for the very first time...and looked like he was impressed.

"Come teach Axel how to kiss," Kairi called.

Riku looked at Axel, who pulled out his tongue at the silverette. Riku smiled and looked uncertainly at Kairi. He raised an eyebrow but said, "All right then." He dropped his own bag and prepared to make his was to Axel.

The red-head mentioned schmoozed his lips and started to take a few steps to Riku. But before he could get very far, Axel was choked by someone pulling his tie. It was Roxas, looking very stormy indeed.

"Axel, you're holding up the line, and I'm getting hungry," Roxas said flatly.

Axel's face was crestfallen when he looked back at Riku. "We'll save it for a rainy day, ya?"

"Sure thing," came the reply.

The next day, Riku and Kairi walked into the school holding hands. Kairi was grinning like she just scored an amazing goal. Riku, however, looked cool, calm and collected as usual. Sora soon spotted the couple walking down the passage as he was struggling to open his locker. Abandoning his attempt, he ran into a deserted corridor. He clutched his panicked heart, breathing shallowly.

He didn't know why he felt like this. Maybe it hurt Sora to see Kairi with another guy. Yeah, that's probably it. Maybe he should get over her. Yes, that sound like a good idea. Despite that, he really wanted to curl up into small ball and die, the world must leave him alone. He peeked into the corridor and saw Riku whisper something to Kairi, who smiled and walked away, leaving Riku alone.

Oh no, Sora said as he saw Riku continuing down the corridor. Don'tcomehere,don'tcomehere,don'tcomehere...

"Hey Sora!" Sora closed his eyes. Great. He opened his eyes and looked through his fingers. "Why you over here?"

"Uuuuhhh," Sora said, his mind going blank. "I'm lost?"

Riku chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair. "I wanted to ask you something, short cake." At that Riku inwardly winced. Short cake? He seriously couldn't think of anything else to call him?

But Sora, who shared Roxas' annoyance to all those who challanged his lack of vertical-ness, tore his hand away from his face, forgetting his embarrassment entirely for the sake of reprimanding Riku.

Riku smiled. This was going well, he thought. "Was wondering if you wanted to have milkshakes at The Bastion?"

Sora brightened. "Who's all gonna be there?"

"Just us."

Sora looked confused for a second, but then put on a big smile. "Okay. Sounds great! See you there at three."

"Great!" Riku said. They looked at each other for a few moments as their usual awkward silence stretched out between them. The panicked feeling within Sora returned.

"Okayseeyouthere! Gottagonowthanksbye!" Sora gushed, and sprinted down the corridor at an amazing speed. Riku sighed explosively, leaning against the wall. He hoped that this afternoon would be better than this.

"Tifa," Leonhart called as she passed by his desk.

"Yeah?" Tifa asked, stopping, weight resting on one leg. Leonhart waited until the whole class filed out, Cloud taking his time, trying hard not to look at either Leonhart or Tifa.

"I enjoyed your idea today in class, Tifa," he said, folding his hands together, his face betraying no emotion. "I'd like to hear more of them later." Tifa swallowed nervously. Although she had various discussions with Leonhart, nothing further happened between the two of them. Even though Leonheart was a bitch to read, Tifa couldn't help but admire the broadness of his shoulders, the fineness of his shoulder-length brunette hair, his stormy-grey eyes that betrayed no emotion and penetrated one's soul. She wasn't like the sighing girls in the lower grades, even if there were some in her own grade, but anyway, Tifa knew that Leonhart wouldn't go for any of them. Until now. But this was a teacher, Tifa kept thinking to herself.

Leonhart continued, "Perhaps in Way to Dawn at three-thirty?"

Tifa arrived late to lunch, looking quite distracted. Not trusting herself to talk to Cloud, she took aside Axel for a walk on the grounds.

"So Leonheart asked you to coffee?" Axel asked her in disbelief. Tifa nodded, her lips pursed. "Wow, I didn't even know if it's even allowed. And it's a really fancy place, too." He gave a low whistle. "So what did you say?"

Tifa took a while to respond. "I said I would be there."

Axel's smile was wide. "So, why not?"

"Cloud...he seems just...really not happy with Leonheart in the first place, for some reason. Maybe I should just leave it, you know. It doesn't feel right -"

"Tifa, no. You need to see other people. If Cloud isn't happy with you, screw him. If he wanted to do something about it, he should've done it a long time ago." Tifa gave him an uncertain look. Axel grabbed her shoulders. "Go for it Tifa. You're basically out of here. It might not even lead to anything else. Besides, it's just coffee."

After the hustle and bustle of the day, Roxas decided to take directions from Axel to the front door instead of an escort. The blond walked in the empty corridors at a leisurely pace, trying to calm himself from the busy-ness of the day. And the few awkward moments with Axel, of course as a result of what nearly happened on Sunday morning.

Hmmm, Axel, Roxas mused. What an interesting guy, with a gorgeous body, but a weird attitude. Something was special about him, he wasn't normal. The guy also piqued Roxas' interest, but strangely also made him feel comfortable in this strange environment. Roxas only hoped, again, that his family would stay for good this time.

Observing the corridors as he went, and memorising routes to his various classes, Roxas saw something interesting. On an oak door was the sign, Music Block. His mind reeling with memories of the old days of playing his saxophone and singing, he cautiously pushed the door open. He was met by a network of corridors, with lockers with various students' instruments and practice rooms. They were currently silent. Bar one.

There was singing, Roxas discerned, as prowling through the corridors to find the source. As he came closer, he could also hear some piano. He eventually found himself at the doorway of the auditorium, and shock grabbed Roxas as he saw who it was.

Tifa was on stage playing the piano softly. Cloud was nearby, singing his heart out. His voice clawed at Roxas' heart, stirring emotions that he thought he buried a long time ago. It was heart wrenching to the point where one felt one was so close to tears but had to choke it out. And when it came out, you could cry for hours and feel it hadn't been enough, yet there were no more tears to shed. Roxas watched Cloud in awe, mesmerized by his bent form, closed eyes and rocking body in an act that could only be described as hopelessness.

Roxas then shook himself mentally, knowing he stepped in at the wrong moment entirely. He turned to leave but then a large BANG ensued, followed by a deafening silence. Roxas' foot caught one of the chairs and turned it over. His neck prickled uncomfortably as he felt the two seniors' eyes on him. He winced and turned slowly to face them.

Cloud's eyes were now open, staring at Roxas in shock and realisation before his emotions shut down completely. Oh shit, Roxas thought to himself. They are gonna hate me. He watched at Cloud silently snatched his satchel from the floor and strode out of the auditorium, purposefully and powerfully bumping Roxas' shoulder on his way.

"Guess I deserved that," Roxas muttered, his eyes downcast. He looked up at Tifa, who had a hopeless smile on her face and shaking her head.

"I – I'm really sorry," Roxas stammered. "I didn't mean to barge in like that. I'll just -" Roxas turned to leave again.

"Wait!" Tifa cried. She vaulted off the stage and ran down to him. "Cloud's just being silly, even if it was a heavy moment you stepped into."

"Sorry," Roxas repeated, not wanting to meet Tifa's eye.

Tifa laughed and clasped Roxas' shoulder with surprising strength. "Stop apologising! Let me make up for Cloud's hissy fit, okay?" She smiled at him warmly. "Come and have lunch over at my place. I'm sure we'd love some company."

Roxas looked at Tifa, surprised. "You sure you want me there?"

She chuckled, "Silly. I wouldn't have asked you otherwise! Come on then. I'm sure you're starving!"

Roxas' stomach spoke for him promptly.

"It's just me and my godfather here," Tifa said while she was digging for her keys in her satchel by the front door. She opened it and walked in, dumping her bag on the couch. She shook her hair slightly before shouting, "Cid! I'm home!"

Roxas placed his satchel next to hers and followed her into the open kitchen.

"I have to make lunch today," Tifa said almost apologetically, fixing an apron on her. "My godfather is an ol' grease monkey, but he cooks alright. Learned everything from him." She smiled affectionately to herself as she took out a pot from the shelf.

"Can I ask you a question then?" Roxas asked cautiously, while sliding onto a barstool situated by the kitchen island.

"Sure," Tifa said with an open smile while she fetched cool drinks.

"Where are your parents then?"

Tifa set two glasses down on the island and opened the juice. "They died when I was three," she said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Roxas said, embarrassed. Hurt was reflected in his eyes. Family was one of the most important things to Roxas, and he couldn't bear to lose any one of them.

Tifa looked at him with gratitude. "Nah, it's okay," she said as she poured the juice. "I hardly remember them anyway. Cid's been taking care of me ever since." She handed him a glass of juice.

Before Roxas could thank her, a voice boomed from beyond the dining room behind him. "Where's my goddamn tea?"

Roxas slowly turned in his chair to find a dirty man with goggles perched on his forehead, his face outlined in cleanliness in its use. He had blond stubble and he chewed on a toothpick. He had a stocky build, looked about in his 40's, but his bright blue eyes suggested he saw much more than his age. A spotted white cloth hung from his shoulder.

Despite the swearing, Tifa smiled charmingly at her godfather and pointed to the kitchen sink. "Wash your hands first and then you get your tea."

"Why the hell do I need to wash my hands just have a cup of fucking tea?" Cid cried incredulously.

"It's unhygienic, for one," Tifa replied with her hands on her hips.

"It's not like I'm gonna stick my fingers in it!"

Tifa looked at her godfather evenly.

"Oh fine!" he burst out, exasperated.

With a smirk of victory, Tifa returned to her cooking.

Throughout the meal, Roxas found the company of Tifa and her godfather very enjoyable. He could see that the two shared an unmistakable bond, even though it was expressed much differently to how Roxas showed affection with his family. Tifa had her godfather around her little finger, yet Cid did not seem to mind. They bickered constantly and both were extremely competitive, but the love between the two was so strong. Roxas found himself smiling easier.

After the trio had sufficiently eaten, Tifa jumped up and said, "Roxas, let me show you something." She led him to the dining room behind the kitchen, where a large grand piano resided. She sat at the piano and patted the empty spot next to her, looking at her godfather with a clear challenge in her eyes. Cid sighed and made himself get up to go the piano. He looked at Tifa under his bushy eyebrows.

"You sure you wanna do this, girly?"

Tifa smiled dangerously. "I'm gonna woop your ass," she said confidently.

Cid smiled and said, "You gonna start?"

Tifa winked at her godfather and then explained to Roxas, "What happens is that I play something, and Cid has to echo me, two notes behind. The winner either loses the chaser, or keeps up with the leader." Tifa looked at her piano. "Let's go."

It was pretty intense, Roxas decided, as he watched their hands dance over the keyboard, producing intricate melodies and rhythms. Roxas completely lost track of what was happening until the pair eventually finished with a flourish.

"Ha!" Cid cried triumphantly. "I win!"

"What?" Roxas cried, utterly confused.

"Gimme the money girly!" Cid said, gesturing with his hands. Tifa sighed and took a few coins from her shorts.

Roxas' mouth fell open. "You guys actually bet on each other?" he said, astonished.

"Damn skippy," Cid said with a pleased grin. Tifa pouted slightly.

"Unfair," she announced, Roxas taken aback by her sudden show of childishness. And then she laughed. And then Cid laughed. Roxas broke into a faint smile. Oh, he loved the bond between the pair of these characters. He felt a small ache in his stomach. He glanced at the kitchen clock and gasped slightly.

"I have to get back home!" he exclaimed.

"Gosh, it is pretty late," Tifa said, breaking away from her laughter. She led Roxas back to the lounge.

"Walk safe, boy," Cid said from the piano. "Sure you don't need a lift?"

"No thanks, my house isn't far from here," Roxas said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Today was fun, Rox," Tifa said with a fond smile. "We should do this again, ya know?"

"Yeah. I like you kid," Cid said with a rough smile. "Reminds me a bit of Cloud when he was younger."

Roxas' stomach suddenly plummeted when he remembered the incident earlier in the afternoon. Despite that, he thanked Cid and Tifa and headed out the door.

Roxas hardly got off Tifa's garden path before he saw Cloud coming up towards him. Roxas stood stock-still, and watched Cloud pass him wordlessly. Unscathed, Roxas continued his way off the premises.

"Hey, kid," Cloud's soft voice called him back. Roxas stopped and looked over his shoulder at the tall, muscled teen. "About this afternoon -"

"I'm really sorry about that!" Roxas exclaimed before Cloud could go further.

Cloud had a ghost of a smile on his face and paused. "Just don't let it happen again."

Roxas nodded and then left wordlessly.

Whew, there was a lot there that had to be done. I hope it's not too confusing, and that you all enjoyed it.

As you might have noticed, Riku has now got a bit of courage back when it comes to talking to Sora! Next chapter, there will be some locker scenes (not intense at all...yet) and a few heated arguments will ensue!

Reviews will be fantastic. They keep my will to write :)

Signing off:

Caneater