"So what's this amazing, uplifting idea of yours Roxas?" Reno asked as Axel looked at the table listlessly. He'd just finished breaking the news to Larxene, and she hadn't taken it well. Not surprising, really, finding out that your husband and father of your son died committing treason. Although technically, since he was the son of the Sultan would that be treason or loyalty? Axel decided he didn't care, it was treason to Larxene. Fortunately, Kairi was doing a good job of comforting her. Unfortunately, that just emphasized that the Princess really was a very nice girl who didn't deserve what was happening to her.

"How would you like to be Emperor and marry Princess Kairi?" That caught Axel's drifting attention like a magnet and Reno stared at the demon-kin, aghast. Roxas grinned back wickedly.

"What?!? Are you mad? I'm not of the royal line!" Reno said after sputtering a moment as Roxas examined his nails.

"You could be. I mean, look at you and look at Axel." Reno's eyes narrowed and Roxas waved his hand. "I'm not saying your mom was a slut, Reno. But I checked with Demyx, your mom was dead when Axel was born. I bet you anything your dad is his dad too."

"So the Empress committed infidelity. So what?" Reno demanded. "How will that make me Emperor?" Roxas smirked.

"No one has to know that, Reno. If we can produce magical evidence that you're Axel's half-brother, and that shouldn't be hard from what Vexen says, then everyone will assume you're the Emperor's son. We don't have to explain the true facts of the matter. And if you marry Kairi at the same time Axel abdicates for you, you should be golden. Kairi will love it, trust me on this." Reno flushed, then suddenly looked at Axel.

"What do you think of this, Axel?" Axel blinked at the question, feeling a bit stunned at the whole thing.

"Me? Uh… I'm all in favor, Reno. You know I never wanted to be Emperor. I'd abdicate for you and go back to Amateru in a heartbeat." Amateru would be the perfect place for him to go, in fact. It was across the sea so he would be too far away for anyone to suspect him of making mischief, and Amateru wouldn't care at all that he was the ex-prince of Lusteria. Mainly because exiled royals were worth absolutely nothing in terms of ransom. Roxas looked suddenly homesick at the thought.

"Amateru. God, I want to go back to that pesthole." Axel smiled, putting an arm around the little demon-kin and letting him snuggle up. He understood exactly how Roxas was feeling. Right now he wanted nothing more than a crappy sausage in a bun, some good beer and a live show at the Down and Out. Reno rubbed his face with one hand.

"I don't want to be Emperor, but… fuck. I want to marry Kairi. And this is the way I can, is what you're saying." Reno swallowed hard, looking at the floor for a moment before looking up. "Alright, I'll do it. We'll need to make it a public announcement for the court." Axel nodded. "And I should talk to Kairi first." He didn't want to just spring this on her the way Axel's engagement had been sprung on him. It might be less romantic but it was infinitely safer.

"It sounds like we have a plan." Roxas said brightly. "I'm going to tell Sora and Riku, they'll love it." Riku was having a bit of trouble adjusting to the palace. Servants tended to make him nervous, especially the ones who cooed over Sora. The silver haired man was trying to adjust to his new half-angel, half-demon status and seemed to be developing a bit of possessiveness towards Sora. Roxas hopped off his chair and shot out of the room to give them the good news.

"Hey guys! Guess what?" Roxas walked into the bedroom with a fine disregard for privacy, then blinked at the bed. There was a hot, heavy scent in the air and Riku and Sora were tangled together in the most intimate way. The angel-kin blushed brightly, pulling away from Sora and grabbing the blanket to cover himself. Sora made a small, protesting sound before glaring at his brother.

"Roxas! God, can't you knock?" Sora complained as Roxas grinned. "You're lucky we were finished." If Roxas had interrupted them right in the middle, Sora would have had to kill him. And Riku would probably have helped.

"Well, it's the middle of the day Sora. I mean, come on. But it's about time! Finally I won't have to listen to both of you masturbating at night." Sora blushed scarlet as Riku hid his face in shame.

"You… heard that?" Riku croaked out as Roxas laughed. "Damned demon-kin!"

"That's me. So yeah, guess what? We're going back to Amateru! As soon as Axel abdicates for Reno." That made them both blink, and Roxas explained his little plot to them. Riku nodded.

"It's a good plan. I can't wait to get back, although." Riku hesitated, glancing at Sora. "We don't really have a home anymore." That made both the brothers blink, and Roxas frowned.

"What do you mean we don't-oh." Roxas stared at Riku. "You sold the house?" Roxas paled. He hadn't thought of that until just now. He'd assumed Riku had ripped off a crime lord or something to get here and they might have to deal with that, but it had never occurred to him that he might have sold the house. Sora looked appalled. He understood how much the house had meant to Riku.

"It was just a thing." Riku said tranquilly. "It didn't matter. We can always buy a new home, especially if we steal some of the appalling art around this place before we leave." There was a stunned silence before Sora burst into giggles.

"Riku, you really have changed." Sora hugged Riku who smiled and hugged him back, nuzzling his spiky brown hair.

"I think it's mostly a good thing." He felt closer to Sora than he ever had before. It was as if a permanent connection had been forged between them when they shared their power, and perhaps it had. Sometimes he felt the loss of his angelic heritage, but whenever he did he only had to look at Sora to know it was worth it. "You've changed too." There was an extra depth to Sora's sweetness now. It seemed more like who he was, rather than just an innocence that would wear off with passing time. "I love you so much." Riku murmured, then winced as Roxas cleared his throat.

"Yeah, well, now that you've mentioned the lack of a home. Riku, we don't want to fight crime anymore." Roxas decided to come right to the point they had been discussing before soldiers had shanghaied them to Lusteria. Riku raised a hand before Roxas could go on.

"It's okay, Roxas. I don't want to anymore either." The two brothers both stared at him, and Riku smiled sadly. "It just wouldn't feel right anymore, and besides… I always knew there would be a time when I would have a family and need to give it up. I've realized that the four of you are my family, so maybe it's time to do something for us." Riku wasn't sure exactly what, although he was sure Roxas had some ideas. "We can decide what later. For now, I think you should get out of here." Sora's hand had snuck over under the covers and was doing wonderful things to him. Riku could easily take the hint, and the demon-kin power seemed to have advantages in stamina. Roxas grinned, jumping back to his feet.

"Okay, later. Have lots of fun and make lots of babies." Sora snarled at him, but Riku easily took his mind off his departing brother, and Roxas grinned as he heard the sounds of passion starting again. It made him want Axel. Sure, it was mid-day, but why not?

Why not indeed? Roxas laughed as he went to find the redhead. Soon they would be going back to Amateru, and he couldn't wait. Soon, they would be free.

"I have an announcement to make." Axel stood in front of the court. By all rights, this should have been his coronation ceremony. But it wasn't going to be, and Princess Kairi was standing to one side, looking radiantly happy. That was getting some odd looks from the nobles waiting for the ceremony to begin. She shouldn't have been there at all. "I am sorry, but I have decided I am not fit to be Emperor." There was a soft gasp from the surrounding nobles and the ambassadors of other realms. "For a time I thought there was no choice, since my cousin Demyx refuses to take the throne. But I have found another claimant of far greater ability than I." Axel continued, expression serene as he put himself down. It wasn't hard, really, since he was still completely ignorant of politics. "I hearby abdicate in favor of my half-brother Reno. The Emperor's Wizards have tested us both and certified that he is indeed my half-brother." Wondering eyes turned to Reno, but no one seemed really shocked. Axel wondered how obvious it had been. The answer looked to be very. No wonder his 'father' hadn't liked him as a child. Reno stepped up to speak.

"We've both agreed that I will take the throne and my half-brother Axel will return to his life in Amateru with my blessings. And also," Reno walked over to Kairi, taking her hands. "Princess, will you marry me?"

"With all my heart." She said, her eyes shining. The proposal was no surprise, but she still seemed overjoyed, hugging Reno impulsively as the applause started. Axel smiled as he heard a few cheers. Kairi had made herself popular around the palace and he felt that it was a good omen.

The coronation ceremony proceeded from there, the only difference being who was crowned, and Axel looked down as he felt a hand slip into his. He smiled as he squeezed Roxas' hand and the little blond smiled at him.

It was going to be so good to go home.

A month later.

Axel walked down the streets of Amateru eating a truly appalling sausage in a bun. Riku sniffed his dubiously and took a small bite of his sausage before making a face.

"What kind of meat is this? It tastes like fish and rat. And sawdust." Riku took another bite before stopping. "This just isn't edible."

"Oh yeah? Pass it over here then, I'm hungry." Riku shrugged and handed Roxas his sausage. The little demon-kin downed it with gusto. "Think they'll start the training today?" They had applied for the Black Jewels and been accepted, but they were currently in a holding pattern waiting for more recruits.

"I hope so, I'm getting bored." Axel replied, finishing his sausage without complaint. He'd put on a ton of hot sauce anyway, so he couldn't really taste it. Always a wise move with Amateru street food. "Although it's nice that they're paying us just to wait." They were all getting a low wage as recruits and it started as soon as they were accepted.

Things were going rather well for the foursome. They hadn't needed to steal the artwork after all. Reno had willingly given them all the money they needed to buy a new house and set themselves up in whatever they wanted to do. It had been all Axel could do to stop him from giving them a small fortune. Riku had already put most of it into the new house, and the rest had gone into various investments. Axel was hazy on most of them, except the condom factory stock. He remembered that one because Roxas had laughed himself silly at it. Condoms were a new invention and apparently were already getting very popular as a way to prevent some of the worst diseases and help out the anti-pregnancy charms. Those things weren't completely fail-proof, especially since they ran out and you couldn't always count on them to last as long as they said on the box.

"Hey, you lot again. You're in luck, the training is starting today." The man at the gate, a powerful demon-kin, said as soon as they walked up and Axel grinned. "Let me show you the way. Martin, you take care of things here." He motioned over another man, and opened the gate for them. Axel admired his wings for a moment. Unlike most demon-kin, they were huge and functional.

"Alright you meatheads, listen up!" The trainer, a gnoll-breed woman with dark brown fur and hard green eyes, barked as they took their place with the other recruits. There were only perhaps fifteen of them, but for an elite outfit like the Black Jewels that was a good number. "I'm Kukui the Vile, and you are all my bitches until I say otherwise." Axel poked Roxas before he could snarl. "This training is going to hurt, and if any of you can't take it you can get the hell out. Got it?" A short pause. "I can't hear you!"

"Got it!" Came back the ragged chorus, and she sneered at them all.

"Good. Show me your weapons." Axel summoned up his chakram in a burst of fire, and her attention immediately went to him. "Showing off, recruit?"

"No ma'am! That's just how they work." He said as humbly as he could. "I use a dagger when I don't want attention." She snorted but examined his weapons, then nodded.

"Fine." She examined the rest of the recruits gear, pausing a bit over Riku and Sora. Sora's key had gained white little jewels set in it, and they glowed with holy power against the blackness of the key. "Your gear will do. Now, let's begin." Axel smiled as the exercises began. He thought he was going to like this.

It was a good start to the rest of his life.

And until I decide otherwise…

~FIN~