Dear Roxas,

It was now Aqua's twenty-seventh birthday. And it was the twenty-fourth day I knew you. Since Marluxia and I didn't work that day, we pretty much just waited for Saïx to get home, and then we headed straight over to Kairi, Naminé, Olette, and Riku's place. Except we weren't the first three to arrive for the first time in forever.

You, Ventus, and Sora were already there.

"Well, this is a surprise," Saïx said. "We're literally always the first people to show up to these parties."

Sora smiled. "We've been here all day."

"I got out of work early, so we just decided to head over," you said.

"I figured Xion would be with you," I said.

"Oh, she did come with us."

"She's in the bathroom," Naminé said. "She's really a very sweet girl, too. I'm glad Roxas decided to invite her."

"Thank you," Xion said, joining us in the living room with a big smile.

Naminé laughed. "You're welcome."

"Xion, you know these three," you spoke up again, gesturing to me, Marluxia, and Saïx. "They're also in the Organisation."

"Right, of course. Forgive me, I'm not sure if I remember any of your names." She smiled sheepishly. The three of us quickly reintroduced ourselves to her. "Well, it's nice to meet you all again" she went on. "Officially."

"But no talking about work," Ventus spoke up before anything else could be said on the matter. "This is supposed to be a fun occasion."

"Speaking of which," Riku said, turning on me, "you're not gonna walk out on us again, Ax, are you?"

Olette nodded. "Yeah, you had us all worried before."

"I was fine," I said, ignoring your gaze. "And I'm feeling fine now, too."

"Plus, with us having to go away for the extended mission, we're definitely gonna try to stick around for as long as we can tonight," Marluxia said.

"That's right…" Kairi pouted. "You guys don't know how long you're actually gonna be away, do you?" She paused. "Are they allowed to do that?"

"They can pretty much get away with anything," Saïx said.

"C'mon, that can't be true," Sora said.

"It might as well be." Naminé sighed. "Trust me, I would know."

"Hey, what did I say?" Ventus spoke back up. "We're not supposed to be talking about work-related things."

"Agreed," Demyx announced his and Zexion's presence. "Work sucks."

"You're just mad because Zex is one of the members leaving," I said.

"So what? It's bullshit either way."

"We're just hoping it won't end up taking too long," Zexion said.

Marluxia rolled his eyes. "It's the Organisation, so of course it will."

"Don't say that," Kairi said.

"I'm sorry, who are you two again?" Xion then said.

"Oh." Zexion looked her up and down. "Didn't even notice you there."

"I'm Demyx and he's Zexion."

"Right. Got it." She smiled.

From there, Seifer, Hayner, and Pence showed up. That left Aqua and Terra as the last two people to arrive. The five of them introduced themselves to Xion, and then the party began.

These parties happened so often, yet we always managed to make them different. And Xion ended up fitting in just fine. That was a bit surprising to us given the fact that she was Xemnas, Xigbar, and Xaldin's niece. She really wasn't anything like them, though.

I ended up being able to get through this party. And by the end of the night, the only people left were the first people to arrive: me, you, Marluxia, Saïx, Ventus, Sora, and Xion. Then of course Naminé, Kairi, Olette, and Riku, as well. But Kairi and Olette had already gone to bed. And eventually, Naminé and Marluxia went to bed. Of course, only after enduring teasing from the rest of us. Then it wasn't long before Riku, Ventus, Sora, and Xion all passed out somewhere on the floor.

So, that left just you and me on the couch.

"What do you think of Xion?" you broke the silence.

I shrugged my shoulders. "She's nice. Would never guess she's the boss' niece."

You chuckled quietly. "Right?"

"Yeah."

"So…you leave soon."

"I do."

"At least Mar and Zex will be with you to keep you company."

"Honestly, that doesn't make the fact that Larxene and Vexen are gonna be there, too, any better."

"Is Vexen that bad?"

"To me, yes."

You laughed a little more. "I see."

We fell into an awkward silence. Your gaze went down, and I looked around the dim room, avoiding your eyes. I was trying to think up a good conversation topic. So, finally, I decided to take the risk…

"So, uh…how many relationships have you been in?" I spoke up. "I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

"Not many," you said, seemingly without an issue. "Only two real ones to be exact. First relationship was with a girl in high school and the second was with a guy in college before I dropped out."

"Oh, so you're—?"

"I don't really know what I am," you said with a laugh and a shake of your head.

"How long did they last?"

"They both lasted a decent amount of time. The girl I dated for just short of a year. The guy I dated for a little over a year. Though, only Ven and Sora know I dated him." You paused. "And now you."

"You didn't have to tell me if you didn't want to."

"No, it's fine." You paused. "What about you?"

"I've had my fair share of relationships, to be honest," I said.

"One of them being Larxene, which you tried lying about."

I pursed my lips. "I like to tell myself that never happened. On the plus side, though, I've never had any one-night stands."

You nodded. "That is good." Another pause. "I still wanna know what attracted you to Larxene. Was it her antennae hair? Or was it her screechy voice?" You laughed.

"Hey, she is a pretty good-looking chick. Then you get to know her, and she becomes less attractive."

"How long before you dumped her?"

"She dumped me. Frankly, I was too afraid to end things because I thought she would go crazy and try to kill me or some shit."

"Understandable," you said, obviously holding back a grin. "Why did she dump you, then?"

"Because Naminé started dating Mar."

"Oh, that happened while she was dating you still?"

"Yup. Made my life a hell of a lot easier." I chuckled a bit. "Anyway, I've only ever dated girls, but I would date a guy if the opportunity presented itself. But then it would also depend on the guy."

"What about me?"

I froze. "What about you?"

"Would you date me?"

My eyes widened, and I could feel my face heating up. I tried to relax myself and hoped that you couldn't see my reaction in the dim lighting.

"Well?" you broke the silence that had fallen between us again. "Would you date me? Or am I not your type?"

I swallowed hard. "I-I think I still need to…get to know you better before I can answer that," I said, unsure of how I managed to get the words out.

"Fine, I guess I can accept that as a reasonable answer."

"Oh? What answer were you looking for, then?"

"Yes, of course."

I was taken aback by how easily you answered that. Yet, at the same time, your oblivious confidence had made you even more attractive. "Is that so? Does that mean you would date me?"

You only shrugged your shoulders. "Maybe. I'm not so sure that I could date someone who smokes, though."

"Ouch."

You laughed. "I'm sorry, did I offend you?"

"Little bit, yeah."

You laughed more, and I joined in with you. We then fell silent again. But this time it was a comfortable silence. This time, I wasn't afraid of meeting your gaze. And each time I did, you smiled at me.

"Oh shit, I didn't realise how late it was," you soon said.

You were right. It was 2:30 in the morning.

"Maybe we should try to sleep now, too," I said.

"That's probably not a bad idea, given I still have work in the morning."

"Good point."

And so, we made ourselves comfortable on each end of the couch. Soon enough, you fell asleep. Once you did, I allowed my eyes to close and also fell asleep. I fell asleep across from you.

At the time, I thought that would be the closest we would ever get.

Yours Truly,

Axel