Ello, guys! Here's a chapter. I don't really have anything to say about it, for once. This chapter and the next really did not turn out like either Laci or I expected. I'm not really going to talk about why, though. You'll see for yourself.

I'm going to tell you in advance that any Soriku angst/unhappiness/fighting complaints should be directed towards Laci and that any Akuroku angst/unhappiness/fighting complaints should be directed towards me. If you have Zemyx complaints, then you can shove it, because they're perfect.

Zemyx aside, things can't stay happy forever, you know.

WARNINGS: snowmen, grumpiness, and hot chocolate

It was the middle of February. The year had been extraordinarily warm, which made Roxas perfectly happy. He had moved around a lot, but he always preferred to live in warm places.

He was not happy when, finally, the snow came. There were a few flurries in late January and early February, but the first big snow of the year did not come until late at night on February 15.

The next morning, Roxas woke up to a phone call.

"This is an automated message to alert you that all classes have been canceled due to inclement weather. Thank you, and have a nice day!" The phone call disconnected, and Roxas' face lit up.

Snow days were the only good part of snow.

"Roxaaaaaaaas!" Sora's voice carried from elsewhere in the house.

Roxas walked into the living room to see Sora planted in front of the TV. "Yes?"

"SNOW!"

"Yeah, I noticed."

"I'm excited! Why aren't you excited?"

Roxas shrugged. "I hate the cold."

"HOW?" Sora looked flabbergasted.

"I just do."

"That's dumb."

"No it isn't."

"Mhmmmm."

Roxas sat down next to Sora. "Are you off, too?"

"Hm?"

"School. Are you off?"

"Would I be sitting here in my pajamas otherwise?"

"No. You'd be fast asleep for another half an hour, because it's like 5:00 in the morning."

"Exactly! I had a feeling about the snow, and I woke up extra early."

"It is rare that you're up before me..." Roxas said.

"Yep!"

"So, are we going to stick to the time-honored tradition?"

"Which one?"

Roxas grinned. "The one where we all get together and have an epic snowball fight?"

"I like that one."

"I do, too. If you want, I could bring some of my new school friends, so that it is bigger and more epic."

"Yeah!"

Roxas smiled. "I'll call up Axe and tell him to gather some people. You call Ri... actually, it's 5 AM. We should probably wait a few hours."

"But Roxassssssss."

"No. I know Axe would absolutely murder me."

Sora pouted at him.

"You should go back to sleep, too."

"Not sleepy."

"How much sleep did you get?"

Sora was quiet as he thought about it. "Like five or six hours."

"Oh."

"What?"

"That's a good night's sleep."

"Mhmm."

Roxas thought for a second. "I think I got that much sleep once or twice recently."

"What's the average, though?"

"Enough."

"Roxas, I want a number."

Roxas could tell from Sora's expression that he was not going to give up before he got an answer. "Three and a half."

"Rox..." Sora sighed.

"It's not that big of a deal. I've been that way as long as I've known you guys."

"I know, but still..."

"My body is used to it. Don't worry about me."

"That's like telling my hair to be flat."

"It's better than the alternative, isn't it?" Roxas said, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"Hm?"

"Better than no sleep."

"Well, yeah, but..."

"Those are the two options, really."

"Not really. You could DO something about it."

"Won't work." Roxas shrugged.

"You've never tried. You don't know that."

"How do you know that?"

"Know what?"

"That I've never tried."

"Because I know you."

Roxas shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Just focus on the snow."

"Whatever."

Sighing, Roxas said, "Look, if I'm not getting enough sleep, you'll know. Trust me on that."

"You aren't getting enough. It's not healthy."

"I'm getting enough to survive."

"Barely."

"That's all I need."

"Sure."

"If I'm surviving, then it's all good."

"Right."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "I've been getting more sleep lately, anyway. You don't need to panic."

"Mmkay."

"Axe seems to knock me right out."

"Hm?"

"It's easier to sleep when he's around." Roxas shrugged. "It doesn't always work, but sometimes it does."

"Oh."

"Yup." Roxas wanted to change the subject very badly all of the sudden. Sharing time was over. "Do you and Riku sleep together often?" he asked, a grin plastered on his face.

"No."

"Awe, what a pity," Roxas said, ruffling Sora's hair.

"Sure."

Roxas frowned at Sora's clipped words.

"Why are you so moody, Sor?"

Sora shrugged.

"Is this still about the fucking sleep thing?"

"It's not about anything."

"That's bullshit. You don't ever get upset or annoyed or whatever the fuck you are without a reason."

"Fuck off."

"Not until you explain what the fuck is going on."

Sora was silent.

"I've got hours of free time. I'm not going to leave it alone unless you give me a good reason I should."

Sora shrugged.

Rox frowned. "This isn't just about me, is it?"

"Not everything's about you, Roxas."

Ignoring the jab, Roxas pressed on. "Is it about your parents?"

"It's not always about them either."

"Is it about Riku?"

"No."

Roxas thought for a second. "It's not always about your parents, and everything isn't about me... you technically didn't say no to either of those."

"Observant of you."

"So it's both of us combined. Anything else?"

"Nope."

"You sure about that?"

"Yep."

"I don't mean to upset you."

"I know."

"I'm a dick," Roxas said, rather bluntly. "You already knew that. You've always known that, from the first year we met. Remember?"

"Mhmm."

"I'm pretty sure you hated me for a week or two in there." Roxas grinned slightly.

"Yep." There was no point in lying about it.

Rox pushed Sor slightly. "Hey, you. You're not supposed to admit to it. You're supposed to remind me how fantastic I am, and how I was absolutely fucking right."

"Why deny the truth?"

"I dunno. I didn't understand it, either."

"Hm?"

"You were pissed off at me because you refused to own up to being gay, Sor. If that's not denying the truth, I don't know what is."

"I wasn't ready to! You were practically forcing me to admit to something I didn't want to."

"I didn't say you weren't justified in hating my guts. I'm just saying that I was absolutely right." Roxas didn't mention that, in his brain, the being right was justification for the entire incident.

"Right or not doesn't matter. You're not supposed to force stuff out of friends."

"We weren't really all that close at the time, and I thought I was doing you a favor. The sooner you came to terms with it, the better."

"You had no place."

"Didn't you feel better actually talking to someone about it?"

"No."

"Oh. Whoops?" Roxas shrugged. "I wouldn't have pressed if I didn't think it would help you out in the long run."

"Whatever."

"It happened, either way. No point in dwelling."

"Guess so."

"The past should stay in the past."

"Sometimes."

"Generally."

"I dunno."

"I do," Roxas said firmly.

"Hmm."

There was a long stretch of silence. Finally, Roxas said, "So, since we're both up, want me to make some hot chocolate?"

"Sure."

"Mmkay. I'll be right back." A few minutes later, Roxas returned with two mugs. He handed one to Sora.

Sora took it and smiled slightly at Roxas.

"Extra marshmallows, just like you like."

"You're great sometimes, Rox."

"Damn straight." Roxas' smile looked slightly off, but his words came out with his normal confidence.

Sora curled up on the couch, leaving room for Roxas to sit back down if he wanted. Roxas plopped down, making sure not to spill his own hot chocolate.

"I'm sorry for being moody..." Sora muttered.

"It's all good, kid."

"Promise?"

"Yeah. We all have days like that, sometimes."

"Mmkay."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No."

"My offer to send zombies after your parents still stands," Roxas said, keeping his face straight.

Sora shook his head.

"I'm still sorry."

"Why?"

"That all this crap happened to you."

"It's life."

"Yeah."

"I can handle it."

"You sure?"

"Yep." Sora smiled reassuringly.

"Okay..." Roxas didn't look completely convinced, but he dropped it.

Sora sipped at his hot chocolate.

"Are you happy?" The question had been nagging Roxas for a while, but he had always been scared of the answer Sora would give.

"Yeah, sure."

"I know it's not... ideal. I know you would rather not be here, away from home and stuck with me. I know I'm not always the best friend, and just... I dunno. I had a point, but I lost it."

"I just... miss them sometimes. Usually mostly my mom, because she wasn't all that bad. And... sometimes my dad, even though he... you know." Sora brought his knees up to his chest.

"Do you think that if I took you over there when your dad wasn't around, it would be okay?"

"I don't know."

"Want to give it a shot?"

"No. If my mom wanted me there, she would have done something about it by now."

"Oh."

There was another uncomfortable silence.

"...Is it still too early to call people?"

Roxas looked at the clock. "Yup. Sorry, kid."

Sora drank his hot chocolate rather sadly.

"Give it a few more hours. Axel pitches a hissy fit if anyone gets him up before 1:00 most days."

"Fiiiiiiine."

"Sorry."

"Sure you are."

"Nope, not really." Roxas grinned. "You can learn some patience."

"I despise patience."

"Me too, but I can still advise using it."

"Nope."

"College counselors can advise on how to get into schools they never got into. Why can't I advise about using skills I don't have myself?"

"They're full of crap too."

"Hey, now," Roxas said.

"What?"

"I'm not full of crap."

"Reallyyyyyy?"

Roxas glared at Sora.

Sora grinned back.

"Not cool."

"Whatcha gonna do about it?"

Rox shrugged.

Sora poked him in the side.

"What?"

"I'm bored. Go call Axel."

"No."

"Fine. I AM calling Riku, though."

"Have fun."

Sora got up from the couch and headed to his room. Rox went back to his room, closing the door behind him.

In his room, Sora waited impatiently for Riku to answer his phone.

"Sor?" Riku sounded very tired. "It's 7:30."

"Hush you. I've been up since 5."

"Why?"

"SNOW!"

Riku sighed. "I'm guessing this is my wake-up call?"

"Mhmmmm."

"I'll be over in a half an hour."

"Yay!"

"Is Rox up?"

"Yep."

"Uh oh. Definite decrease in happiness. What's up?"

"Nothing."

"Sor..."

"Seriously."

"Well, obviously Roxas has something to do with it, but that can't be all... Is it the snow?" Riku said quietly.

"I love snow."

"And your mom was the one you played in the snow with when you moved to Maine."

"So? I'm not in Maine anymore."

"No, but even when you moved back, she'd always help with our snowman."

"So?"

"I know you miss her." Riku's voice was getting smaller and smaller.

"It doesn't matter."

Riku frowned. "So then what role does Rox play in this?"

"He doesn't."

"Then why are you upset with him?"

"Because he's stupid."

"How, exactly?"

"He just is!"

Riku sighed. "What'd he do this time?"

"Nothing."

"What did he not do?"

"It doesn't matter."

"If you're upset with him, chances are, he's just as upset. I want to know what I'm walking into." Riku set the phone down on the bed, putting it on speaker phone so he could get dressed.

"We just... had a stupid argument about him not ever sleeping."

"Has it gotten worse?"

"Three and a half average, he said."

"...That's not good. He used to average around four and a half."

"I know."

"That little was bad enough, but if it's getting worse..."

"I don't know what to do..." Sora sounded concerned, which scared Riku. If even Sor was worried...

"I'm guessing talking to him didn't help."

"He got mad."

"Hmmm... that's a problem."

"Yeah..."

"Should I try talking to him, or do you think that'd just push him further away?"

"I don't know."

"I can give talking to him a try."

"Okay."

"When I get there, though." Riku, now fully dressed, went to pick up the phone. He went to the kitchen to get a poptart.

"Mmkay."

There was a muffled bang. "Which should be in... seventeen minutes."

"That's specific. Are you okay?"

"Fine. Just ran into something. I'm leaving in two."

"Okay."

"I'll see you then?"

"Mhmm."

Riku hung up and drove over. It took longer than usual, because he had to drive carefully on the roads. Much of the snow had been cleared, but there could always be black ice. He parked the car in the driveway and climbed out of the car, trudging through the snow to knock on the door. Before he could knock, it opened abruptly, almost hitting him in the face.

"RikuRikuRikuRiku!"

"Sora, it's 7 AM. Only you could have this much energy at 7 AM."

"Shhh. That's a lie."

Riku grinned. "Can I come in?"

Sora looked at him seriously. "No."

"Why's that?"

"The snow isn't inside."

"Roxas is."

"Hmm, right."

"Do you still want me to try and talk to him?"

"If you wanna."

Riku nodded. "I'll make it quick so we can get outside."

"Okay!"

"You'll have to let me in, though."

"Right right right." Sora moved out of the way.

Riku smiled and stepped in. "I'll be back in a few, okay?"

"Okeydokey."

Riku walked over to Roxas' room. He knocked. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." Riku walked in and found Roxas dressed for the snow and huddled in his bed.

"I hear you and Sora had a not so hot morning."

"It snowed, Riku. Of course it wasn't hot."

Riku rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

Roxas shrugged.

"You aren't getting enough sleep, Rox."

Roxas glared. "Oh, don't you start this, too. It's stupid."

"Rox, it's not stupid. Something tells me you wouldn't have fought with Sor like you did if you had enough sleep in you. I know what you're like when you're tired. You're much touchier."

"Your point is?"

"Sleep more."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious. How do you propose I deal with my insomnia? Counting sheep?"

Riku shrugged. "You might consider talking to someone about it."

"Been there, done that. Didn't help. I don't want to take stuff to knock me out and make me sleep."

"That's not exactly what I meant..."

Rox shook his head. "Leave it be, Riku." He got up from the bed. "I'll work on getting more sleep if you don't pester me about it. For now, let's go play in the snow, okay?"

Riku knew that Roxas was closing the conversation. He didn't like it, but he knew Rox. The kid was incredibly stubborn, and if he said that was the end, then that was that.

"Fine. I'm holding you to that, though."

Roxas shrugged. "I didn't say it if I didn't mean it. Now, come on."

The two left Rox's bedroom and met Sora by the door.

"Snow now?"

"Snow now," Riku said.

"Yay!"

"So what's the plan?" Riku asked.

"Snowman now. When it's a normal people hour, Roxas is going to call Axel and get more people for the snowball fight."

"Sounds good."

Sora grinned and the three went outside.

"Where do we want our snowman to be?" Riku asked.

Sora looked around before darting off to a spot in the yard. "Here!"

"Looks good!"

The three set about making a snowman. It took them awhile, because Sora kept insisted that it had to be the best snowman in the history of snowmen. However, they eventually finished. Roxas took his hat off and placed it on top of the snowman's head.

Sora grinned as they all stood back to admire their handiwork. "Can we call people now?"

Roxas checked his watch. It was still a bit early, but not unreasonably so anymore. "I'll call Dem instead of Axe."

"Is that gonna work?"

"It'll give us a better chance than if we just call Axe."

"Okay!"

Roxas laughed. "Someone take a picture of the snowman. I am going to go inside and call him from there."

"Okeydokey!"

Roxas went inside, grabbing his phone from the table. He had left it inside, since he didn't want it to get wet. He dialed Demyx.

"Hullo?" Demyx didn't sound sleepy, even though it was 9 in the morning on a day with no school. He obviously hadn't checked his Caller ID before answering, though.

"Dem? It's Roxas."

"Hi Roxas!"

"Sorry to call so early, but my friends and I have a tradition when it snows, and we were wondering if you could help us out."

"Oh?"

"Snowball fight."

"Hell yeah!"

Roxas grinned. "Get the others, too."

"I can do that. When should we show up?"

"Whenever you can get everyone together."

"It'll be a little. Axel, you know..."

"Yeah, I know. Just do the best you can, okay?"

"Will do!"

"Thanks, Dem. See you later."

"See ya, Roxy!"

Rox hung up and looked up as the others walked in.

Xion was the first to show up. Around 9:30, she walked in the doorway, dressed up in a warm, puffy coat. She rang the doorbell.

"Heya, Xion," Roxas said, opening the door. "Come on in."

They sat down in the living room to wait for the others.

"Heya, Xion," Riku said, waving.

"Hi!"

"Do you know when the others are coming?" Roxas asked.

Xion shrugged. She had no idea. Demyx told her they wouldn't take long, but that was not very descriptive.

After another half an hour, Zexion showed up.

"Dem is attempting to get Axel."

"If anyone can do it, Dem can," Roxas said, shrugging.

It was another hour before Demyx appeared, Axel trudging unhappily behind him.

Roxas grinned. "Good work, Dem."

"I hate all of you," Axel muttered.

"No you don't," Roxas said, walking over and kissing his cheek.

"I do."

"Crab."

"What?"

"You're crabby in the morning, you're red, and you have spikes. You're a crab." Roxas grinned.

"Fuck off."

Xion got off the couch, walked up to Axel, and looked incredibly sad. "Axel, please be nice. Roxas just wanted you to be able to enjoy the snow with the rest of us."

"Roxas could have waited two more hours."

"The snow could all melt, though."

"Not fucking likely."

Xion looked like she was going to cry.

Axel looked like he didn't care.

"Don't screw with Xion, Axe," Roxas said quietly.

"Hmm."

Riku cut in. "I don't mean to interrupt, but can we just go have a snowball fight?"

"I just want to sleep more."

"Coffee?" Zexion offered.

"No."

Roxas' voice was flat when he told Axel, "Fine. My bed's open."

"Good."

The room was silent. Roxas put his hat on and walked outside.

Roxas' exit made Axel sigh and look at Zexion. "Coffee," was all he said.

Zexion nodded and went to the kitchen. The room lapsed into silence again.

Axel looked at Xion. "I'm really sorry for snapping at you..." He held out his arms in an offering of an apologetic hug.

Xion hugged back. "It's fine."

"Promise?"

"Promise," Xion said, letting go of Axel and looking him in the eyes.

"Okay." Axel half-smiled at her.

Zexion returned with Axel's coffee and handed it to him.

"Should someone go after Roxas?" Zexion asked.

"No," Riku said immediately. "That'd be a very, very bad idea."

Why?" Demyx asked.

"Because," Riku explained. "Roxas left because he wanted to be alone. When he's upset, he always does this. He breaks away for a while, calms down, and comes back acting like it never happened in the first place. Following him would do more harm than good."

"What if one of us just waited outside for him?" Axel asked, sipping his coffee. "Would that do any harm?"

Riku thought for a second. "As long as you let him make the first move, it should be fine."

"Awesome. See you all in a bit." Axel left.

It was flurrying outside, but Roxas barely even noticed. He walked out of the house without thinking. He had just wanted to get out of that room. He was tired of bickering with everyone. He needed some space and some good, old-fashioned alone time, or he was going to snap on someone.

That would not have been pretty.

He walked around the block, working things through. Why was everyone in his life so goddamn moody? He knew he wasn't exactly entirely innocent with Sora, but Axel was just being downright crabby.

Rox let himself settle down. It was stupid. Completely unimportant. It was over and done with. No point in being upset. Neither had even been big arguments, and it was stupid getting worked up over them.

By the time he walked back around to his house, he had calmed down.

He looked up to see Axel waiting on the steps.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"What's up?"

"Just hanging out on your porch."

"That can't be very comfortable. It's kind of cold out."

"Yes, it is." Axel shrugged and held up his coffee. "This helps."

"Whatever happened to sleeping?"

"Wouldn't have been able to."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault."

"That's true," Roxas admitted.

"Yep."

"It's okay, though."

"Okay."

"You want to go back in?"

"Definitely."

Roxas nodded. "Let's go, then."

"Mmkay."

Axel stood up. Roxas hugged him.

"Sorry for storming out of there."

"It's all good."

"Knowing Riku, he probably already explained."

"A bit, yeah."

"That's what he does," Roxas said, smiling slightly. "He's the peacemaker. Always has been."

"I can tell."

"Riku doesn't know as much about me as some people do, but he knows more about how I react when I'm upset than just about anyone."

"I'm sorry about upsetting you."

Roxas shook his head. "Nah. Not entirely your fault."

"Partially, though."

"It's all good. It's over and done with."

"Okay."

"Really, I was already upset when you came. It just didn't take much to set me off again."

"Still..."

"Still nothing," Roxas insisted.

"Okay."

Roxas released Axel and backed away a bit. "Seriously."

"Okay."

Nodding, Roxas moved to go inside. However, Axel stopped him.

"What?"

Axel leaned down and kissed Roxas quickly. "Now you can go in."

Roxas laughed and kissed Axel back, taking his time. Axel smiled.

"NOW we can go in."

Laughing, Axel said, "Okay."

Roxas grabbed Axel's hand, and they walked into the living room. "Everyone ready for the snowball fight?"

"Yeah!" Sora said louder than necessary.

"Let's go," Riku said, grinning. "Sora's been bursting at the seams all morning waiting."

"Shhhh." Sora mock-glared at him.

Zexion eased up from his chair. "What are the rules?"

Sora laughed. "What are rules?"

"No throwing in the face," Riku said. "Anything else is fair game."

"Well, and no throwing it... you know."

"Crotch is out-of-bounds," Roxas clarified.

"Snow does not feel good there..." Sora muttered.

"Sor was the one who established the rule," Roxas said. "He accused me of playing dirty."

Sora sulked.

"If I remember correctly," Riku said, "You hit him there in the first place because you have terrible aim..."

Roxas glared. "Shush."

"Either way, it sucked!"

"You kept hiding! I had to find SOME way to stop it."

"Jerk."

"Can we just go?" Riku interrupted. He had heard this argument hundreds of times.

Yeah!" Demyx made his presence known again.

They made their way outside, this time going to the backyard. There was more space and more snow there, so it was better for a snowball fight. There were also plenty of hiding places.

"How do we start this?" Zexion asked.

"On the count of three!"

"One," Roxas said.

"Two," Riku said.

"Three!" Sora shouted.

After that, all hell broke loose. Snowballs were EVERYWHERE. After a while, though, they started to get tired, cold, and wet, and things settled down.

"Okay," Roxas said. "This is a hell of a lot more fun with this many people."

"Heck yes it is!" Sora agreed.

"I'm going to head in and make hot chocolate," Riku announced. "Anyone not want any?"

A chorus of no's sounded.

"Perfect. I'll be right back." Riku disappeared through the door.

"Ugh. It's cold out here," Roxas said. Since he was standing still instead of moving around, the cold was setting in.

"C'mere," Axel said.

Roxas walked over to Axel. Axel wrapped his arms around Roxas.

"I have my own personal heater," Roxas said, smiling.

"Mhmm."

"We should probably go inside," Zexion said, "Before we start getting colder."

"I agree!" Sora said.

Roxas stood on his tiptoes and placed a kiss on Axel's cheek. "Sounds good."

The group relocated to inside the house, where Riku was waiting with mugs of hot chocolate. They all sat around, warming up and drinking hot chocolate.

Eventually, everyone had to go home. However, they all agreed that, if it snowed again, they would have to have another huge snowball fight.

[TBC]

Also, I totally was not joking about Zemyx being perfect. Zexy is love in a jar. He's not my favorite, but I love him a lot.

Which brings up another point: Laci and I are super, super curious. We both have our favorite characters, but we write them. You all do not write them. So, we were wondering who you guys' favorite characters are. Let us know in messages, reviews, etc...

See you Tuesday!