A.N. Considering the last two were absolute monsters, this chapter seems almost obscenely short, but not as short as Chapter 8, so it's cool. Also, I am well aware that the movies I've chosen are already out on DVD, but they were still in theaters when I started writing this chapter, so I'm sticking with them.

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My Kind of Guy

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Chapter 11

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Roxas was the picture of anxious excitement the following Thursday afternoon as he waited for Sora after practice under the large oak tree on the far side of the school soccer fields. Gazing up into the boughs of the tree, he took a deep breath and prayed for inner calm, for in not but the few minutes yet it would take the brunette to get here, Roxas and Sora would be going on their first official date.

Roxas couldn't wait. Hell, he could hardly believe that this was even happening in the first place. After leaving the party Saturday night almost a week ago in a Sora-induced daze, Roxas had spent all of Sunday in either fits of giddy madness or calling each of his best friends in turn for reassurance that he hadn't just dreamed the whole thing up. But he hadn't, and so on Monday after practice, Sora had asked Roxas what he wanted to do for their date.

Even if it was only a movie, Roxas was still excited out of his mind, but he was nervous as well. He'd never actually had a boyfriend before, he didn't know what to do. He knew that Sora liked him. He knew that Sora knew that Roxas liked him. But how would this mutual knowledge change their relationship and their interaction with one another? They'd kissed once at the party and then again before the Twilight gang caught the train home (for which he'd had to endure much good natured teasing from Hayner, Pence, and Olette), but not since. There hadn't been any opportunities to. By unspoken agreement, neither of them wanted anyone to know about their new relationship but their closest friends, so in public they acted more or less like regular friends, and that was cool. It was being around Sora in private that had him so uncertain. How much affection should he show and how? Roxas didn't want to come across as needy or clingy, but nor did he want to seem standoffish or disinterested, and the blond felt he had too little experience to find the median in between.

Judging from his friends' faces when he told them about these new concerns, Roxas probably over-thinking things again (he usually did) but he couldn't help it. He really liked Sora and Roxas was terrified of doing something to screw up their relationship.

The sound of footsteps on grass announced Sora's arrival to their meeting spot and the end of Roxas' introspection time. Looking over, Roxas saw Sora walking over towards him in brown jeans, a green shirt, and his usual heart-fluttering smile. Roxas smiled back and waved, suddenly feeling a little weak in the knees. The green of the other boy's shirt made his eyes look bluer than ever. Come to think of it, he'd never seen Sora in a green anything before. The blond vainly tried to straighten his own clothing one last time in an effort to hide his nervousness. After much fashion advice from Olette (really, she was going to start charging him consultation fees for her services if he kept this up), Roxas had chosen to go with a black, short sleeved collared shirt, tan corduroy pants, and his usual gray shoes with the red laces. Nice, but not overdone. Only now he kinda wished he hadn't worn the corduroy's, they made funny swishing noises when he walked.

"Hey," Sora greeted as he joined Roxas under the tree.

"Hey, yourself," the blond said, a bit breathless. They stood there a moment, each taking the other in, trying to grasp that this was really happening. Finally, Roxas offered, "Shall we go, then?"

And they were off.

-o-o-o-

The walk from school to the theater was a bit uneasy, Roxas still being way flustered around Sora in private like this. He kept stumbling over his words every time the brunette tried to engage him in conversation, and couldn't really think of any good topics himself. They tried talking about school, but as they only had a single class together and had chewed over their mutually disliked teacher many times before it was starting to get a little old, at least until Jafar gave them some new material, and the topic faded quickly. There were no big tournaments coming up in dueling to discuss, either. Everything he tried to bring up seemed so mundane, trivial, the kind on conversations they always had. Shouldn't they be talking about something more… meaningful for a first date? Either way, Sora seemed to be having as much of a conversation block as the blond himself was. The end result was fifteen minutes of on-and-off semi-silence that was more than a little awkward.

'This dating thing is harder than it looks,' Roxas thought, and was more than a little relieved when they finally made it to the multiplex.

Sora's original proposition had been for dinner and a movie, but between dueling practice after school and Roxas leaving with Cloud to visit their father in Midgar tomorrow evening, the dinner portion of the date had eventually been left out.

When they got there, however, they found it already packed with people, family, couples, you name it. That in itself was a little unexpected, it being a Thursday. But as they entered the building and got in line to get their tickets, Roxas looked up to the listings display above the tellers' counter and saw that the movie they were here to see was sold out for the next four showings.

"Well, darn…" he said, frowning.

"What's up?" Sora asked, leading the blond forward as the line continued to slowly move.

"It's sold out," Roxas explained, pointing to the display.

Sora scanned the listings and frowned himself. "Well, now what? Is there anything else you want to see?"

Roxas looked over the movies still available, considering each one carefully. What kind of movie did two guys see on their first date together, anyway? They'd agreed on Wanted initially because it looked awesome and had only just come out last week so neither had seen it yet, but since it was sold out… Roxas mused that on any other date it probably wouldn't matter so much, but since it was their first date…

"How about Wall E?" Sora suggested beside him.

"Mm, maybe," Roxas said, "but it starts in like five minutes, we won't make it." They were still only about halfway through the line.

"We can miss the previews," Sora said easily. "Tell you what, then. I'll stay here and get the tickets, you go get us some popcorn and soda."

It was fair enough, and there wasn't anything else Roxas really wanted to see, so he gave his date ten dollars to pay for his ticket and left to get in line for the concessions' stand. Nine minutes later, armed with ticket stubs, two Sprites, a large popcorn and a box of Raisinets (Sora's favorite), the two boys entered Theater 6 and used light from the Pepsi commercial on the screen to peer around for two open seats. There were some in the row second from the top. Not Roxas' favorite spot, but they would do. So, crawling over a family of four to get there, he and Sora sat down to enjoy the show.

"Here's your change back," Sora whispered once they'd settled in with their backpacks and provisions, handing the blond a ten dollar bill.

Roxas took it without thinking but when he went to put it away in his wallet, he saw what it was. "Wait. Sora, this is-"

"You didn't really think I was going to let you not let me treat you," the brunette smiled, "did you?"

"And besides, you bought the snacks, didn't you?" he added, seeing his date about to protest. Sora reached over and swiped some popcorn, to prove his point. Roxas opened his mouth to point out that tickets are a lot more expensive, but he didn't want be ungrateful, so he decided to let the matter go.

The discussion ended just in time. The theater's logo disappeared from the screen, and the movie began. Like all Pixar films, the animation was nothing short of amazing right from the start, though the many heaps of garbage in the opening scene were far from the oceanic wonderland of Finding Nemo and the Paris skyline of Ratatoullie. Roxas settled back into his seat and munched on popcorn as the lead character was introduced, a small yellow robot named Wall E and his seemingly indestructible pet cockroach, toiling to clean up the endless mountains of garbage left on Earth. Roxas was pleasantly surprised to realize that the lunch box the robot carried around with him was very similar to the one Uncle Cid took to work every day. Who knew?

Sora noticed his amused smile and leaned over. "What's up?" he whispered, and Roxas shivered a little at feeling the other's breath tickle his ear.

"Tell you later," he whispered back.

Sora nodded and Roxas found himself feeling strangely disappointed then the brunette straightened in his seat again, wanting him to stay close like that. He just wished he knew some way to broach this physical affection thing without sounding silly or ignorant about it.

Up on the screen, Wall E seemed to share his sentiments. After his long day of hard work, Wall E had returned to the deployment vehicle that he'd converted into a home, playing what looked like an old sixties era musical film on a decrepit iPod while he sorted the various knickknacks he'd found amongst the garbage into their respective cubby holes. By the time he was done, the lively tap dance number had ended and a ballad had began, the actor and actress softly singing their love for one another as they held hands. Wall E sighed in a manner impressively human for a robot and grasped his own three digit appendages together, obviously lonely for someone else with which to do the same.

Roxas smiled softly, empathizing with the little yellow robot immensely. He cast a glance sideways at Sora, hoping his date had noticed the sentimental moment on screen and would imitate it.

But no, Sora was preoccupied with fishing the last of the Raisinets out of the bottom on the box, because yeah, he really had eaten them all that quickly.

Though amused at the sight of the brunette digging around in the thin yellow container like a puppy looking for its favorite bone in the backyard, Roxas slumped against the back of his seat, disheartened a little. So Sora had missed on a potentially romantic moment, it wasn't the end of the world. But it would have been so perfect, though…

Having gotten his treat, Sora looked up and noticed the slight frown on the blond's face. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly. But Roxas just shook his head and didn't say anything, watching the screen ahead of them a bit too resolutely.

Sora withdrew, feeling like he'd missed something, but couldn't figure out what. He looked down at the box of candy in his hand. He'd managed to free the last three raisins that had been stuck on the bottom, but it really didn't seem important anymore.

Wordlessly, he offered them to Roxas.

Roxas blinked, surprised by the gesture and touched that Sora would give him the last of his favorite movie-going sweets, even if Roxas had been the one to buy them for him in the first place.

Smiling again, he fished two of the three remaining chocolate covered raisins from the box and moved to give the last one back to Sora. But the brunette caught his arm by the wrist, tipping it up so the last morsel tumbled into his own mouth with Roxas still holding the box.

Grinning at the other's antics, the blond sobered slightly as his date proceeded to pluck the now empty container from his grip and replaced it with his own hand, pulling Roxas closer before slouching down a little and just barely resting his head against the other's shoulder.

Roxas looked from Sora to their clasped hands and back again, his heart feeling a bit lighter than before. He scratched the back of the other's hand, to show his gratitude, but Sora just looked up at him, smiling that happy smile that he always did and snuggling a little closer.

Roxas could have kissed him then, theater full of other people or no, but settled for giving his boyfriend's unruly brown mop a quick nuzzle before looking forward again, just in time for Eve to make her rather explosive debut.

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The walk to the train station more than an hour later was easier than the one to the theater in more ways than one. It had been such an adorable and tender-hearted movie, it make everything seem softer somehow between the young couple strolling through town side by side, hand in hand. Discreetly cuddling for the latter two thirds of the movie had definitely helped Roxas to mellow out a little in the affection department. He was still a little apprehensive about holding Sora's hand in public, but rather than not holding hands at all (Roxas could tell that Sora kinda really wanted to), they stuck to the side streets and alleyways were it was more deserted and the blond could relax a little. They did get a funny and none-too-friendly look from the old man who ran the junk yard when they passed him as he let himself into the back of his shop, but that geezer was like that to everybody, so Roxas did his best to ignore him.

They talked about stuff whenever either of them thought of something, but the silences that sometimes followed weren't as heavy, and without the distraction of words, Roxas found that he was actually better able to focus on Sora being there beside him. It was nice.

Thus Roxas was caught off guard a bit when Sora suddenly pulled on the blond, stopping him before he could step out from behind the next building and into the main street. It seemed they had arrived at the train station, only two buildings over from the mouth of the alley. Roxas could see the ledge he, Hayner, Olette, and Pence always sat on high up on the clock tower. The blond felt a little sad, he didn't want their date to end yet.

It seemed that Sora didn't, either. "So, I guess this is it for today, huh?" he said shyly, looking down at their clasped hands for a moment before meeting the other's eye.

"Guess so," Roxas replied. A bit of the awkward feeling from before had returned, but no so intensely as before. "Kinda short, but still nice overall. I had fun," he said, smiling to show his appreciation.

To his surprise, Sora reddened slightly. "Me, too," the brunette replied, rubbing the back of his neck in what Roxas had come to recognize as his trademark nervous gesture. That puzzled the blond. Why was Sora nervous?

But then, Roxas glanced down at the other's hand, still entwined in his, and considered that he himself had been very flustered on this date as well. Sora always seemed so confident, but why shouldn't he be a little unsure about their new relationship, too? Sure, the brunette had more experience than him when it came to this kind of stuff, but that didn't mean they were all good ones, nor did it mean Sora was an expert on relationships. The brunette was allowed his reservations, too.

Still, it was kinda nice, knowing that he wasn't the only one having trouble bridging the gap between casual camaraderie and romance. Sora didn't know everything about dating, so it was okay if Roxas didn't either.

Cheered by this new thought, the blond decided right then and there to start taking the initiative in this relationship more and to stop expecting Sora to all the time. That settled, Roxas braced his other hand on the other's shoulder and leaned in, intending to kiss him as a thank you for the date. Seeing what he was about to do, Sora met him half way.

His skin was warm in the slight evening chill. It wasn't as deep or as passionate as the kiss at the party, they couldn't afford to lose themselves here. But it was no less sweet, lips lingering on lips.

Still, as the kiss ended and they slowly pulled away, Roxas was pleased to see that Sora's cheeks were just as flushed as his were.

"See you tomorrow, then?" the brunette asked softly, arms still wrapped firmly around the other's waist.

Roxas nodded. "Bye, Puppy," he said, still a bit breathless. Sora gave him a quick kiss on the lips again and they let each other go with obvious reluctance before heading out onto the main plaza together. Sora went left and disappeared into the throng of commuters coming and going from the station. Roxas turned right and headed for home.

All in all, today had gone well, he thought. It wasn't without its complications, but still a good first date. There would be many more awkward moments in this relationship before they got it right, figuring it out together as they went along. And wasn't that how love's supposed to be?

Roxas was smiling the whole way home.

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A.N. So yeah, it's short. But I wanted their first date to be nice and easy, nothing too elaborate. Poor Roxas-kupo was stressed out about it enough as it was. He just needs time to get used to this new phase of their relationship is all, don't worry. :)

And I know Wall E has been out of theaters for so long that it's already out on DVD. But it's a Pixar, one of my favorite film companies, which I consider to be half-Disney anyway (kinda like Kingdom Hearts), it's really good, and the holding hands theme it had going on was a perfect way to break the ice between Sora and Roxas. That said, I'd like to mention I've decided that Disney does exist as a film company in the MKoG universe, but it only does live action movies, like The Parent Trap, Mary Poppins, National Treasure, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc. Just so we're clear, okay?

And speaking of movies, in a rather shocking development (seriously, I was staring at my monitor open mouthed for like five minutes), it has been confirmed that our own beloved Jesse McCartney will be starring in the 2010 film, The Last Airbender, based off the wildly popular animated series Avatar, The Last Airbender, of which I am a huge fan, as none other than emo prince Zuko. Oh, and the guy who plays Jasper Hale in Twilight is playing Sokka. Who'da thunk?

Cool! Love ya, guys! And Happy Holidays!

10/26/09 Edit: So it turned out McCartney didn't get the part, after all. Scheduling conflicts, I think. Oh, well.