Older Brother - I

Traverse Town

Day 04

Lea

It was an odd feeling, being the eldest within a group of close friends. Lea was certain that such a trifling matter meant little to Roxas and Xion, but to those outside of their group... well, suffice to say that he had grown keenly aware of the grossly facile notion that age and wisdom ran hand in hand. Prior to the events that had lead up to Xion's death, Lea had been the one who was questioned (and often reprimanded) whenever Roxas was late to work; when Xion had shown reluctance to adhere to her designated role, it was to Lea the senior members of the Organization had brought their scowls and accusations. That was not say, of course, that he disliked being thrust into such a role; Lea felt a great affection for both Roxas and Xion and viewed it as his duty to teach them as any elder sibling would. His decisions, while sometimes foolish, were unfailingly earnest and heartfelt. He had noticed a similar trait gradually taking form within Roxas, and took great pride in it.

Just now, however, he dearly wished that there was someone else willing to take up the reins of responsibility in his stead.

He had always known, of course. It was painfully obvious that the relationship Roxas and Xion had constructed went well beyond the territory of platonic friendship. Whether either of them realized such a thing was another matter entirely, however, so Lea had never payed it much mind. But now...

Kissing huh?

Lea supposed that he should have realized that such a thing would happen eventually. It was perfectly natural, if not entirely expected. No, kissing was not something that he took issue with; the knowledge that the two of them were able to finally, clearly communicate their feelings to each other filled him with a heady sense of relief.

What troubled Lea was what would inevitably come later.

Having nearly walked in on the two of them upon returning with their laundry, Lea had stifled his surprise and quietly retreated into the hallway with his thoughts. If that had been the end of it, his fears would have been assuaged and life could have continued as normal.

But it was not to be.

Even with a sizable stretch of hallway to spare between his present position and the door to their room, Lea was able to clearly hear the conversation taking place within.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to… well, you know," said a delicate, shy voice that undoubtedly belonged to Xion.

"Well… me too," Roxas admitted. "But it was a little more…"

"You're blushing," teased Xion.

"So are you," replied Roxas defensively.

"And whose fault is that?" countered Xion. "You're the one who made the first move."

"The first- I did not!" protested Roxas. "You were the one who… with your… you're the one who said that you… well…"

"So I did," sighed Xion. "… And look what it led to," she added wistfully.

"Yeah, well…" stammered Roxas. "It's not like I really… before I realized what I was doing, I-"

"Oh? So you take it back, then?"

"No… no, I don't," replied Roxas earnestly. "It was actually kind of…"

His words trailed off into silence. Lea quietly crept up the hallway and pressed his ear against the door. He thought that he could just make out a faint rustle of movement.

"Well…" said Xion coyly, "we could, you know… I don't think Axel's going to be back for a while, so…"

There was more rustling, followed by a yelp of distress from Roxas.

"H-hey! Where're you putting your hands?"

"Quit being such a crybaby," chided Xion. "That was clearly an accident."

There was yet more rustling, followed by silence.

Lea stifled a groan.

What have I allowed to happen?

It occurred to him that he should probably stop the two of them before things went any further, yet he found that he was oddly uncomfortable with establishing such a role for himself. Part of him also felt that he had no right to impose upon their relationship in such a way, yet…

"Roxas, what're you doing? Get your hands away from there."

Lea choked on his own saliva as he inhaled in shock and threw open the door, red-faced and coughing.

"The- The hell are you two doing in here?" he managed between wheezing hacks. "It's fi-fine that you two feel that way about each other, but-"

He fell abruptly silent as the full impact of the scene arrayed before him took hold. Both Roxas and Xion, sitting some distance away and facing each other, each holding a fan of playing cards, were staring at him in surprise and bewilderment. A small pile of plastic chips lay between them. The cover from Roxas' futon was wrapped loosely around the both of them and they seemed to be sitting rather closer than was necessary, but aside from that…

"Oh wow, look at that!" shouted Roxas suddenly, thrusting a finger toward Lea. "Look at how red his face is turning!"

"You're… you're right," chimed Xion, trying to suppress a snicker and failing miserably. "What's this all about, Axel? You look like you were expecting to see something else."

Lea said nothing for several moments. He tried to affect an angry scowl but from the way Roxas and Xion snorted in unison, he suspected that it had come across as merely embarrassed. There were several things, however, that he did notice that he felt were worth questioning. Roxas' hair, though it had been less than presentable when Lea had left to collect their clothing, was now in absolute disarray. He seemed to be sweating as well, though the room was cool and comfortable. The most telling sign, however, was that Xion, though still clearly sick and feverish, seemed to be in a much better mood than the one in which he had left her.

Sighing, Lea folded his arms and narrowed his eyes at the two of them.

"Just what did you two get up to while I was gone?"

They looked at each other blankly, and then turned back to Lea.

"… Talked," they said in unison.

"Talked," repeated Lea flatly. "I'm sure. What else?"

They simultaneously held up their cards in answer.

"And?"

They paused, thinking. Then Roxas grabbed a handful of the cover wrapped about them and held it out toward Lea in silence.

"Roxas… I could interpret that several different ways, but…"

They sighed in unison, then turned toward each other and leaned in for a light, quick kiss. Their gazes, mischievous and deliberate, never broke away from Lea's own.

"… Mostly," said Roxas, smirking as they pulled back.

Lea scowled.

"Mostly? Meaning…?"

"Meaning… mostly," replied Xion, smiling faintly.

Lea decided, upon reflection, that if there were details to be had, he had little desire to know them. He contented himself with shaking his head in resignation and turned to collect their clothing from where he had dropped it in the hallway.

Rvs: 2.0