I've finally got everything planned out, so now all there is left to do is write it! The story's going to end at Chapter 29, and the Epilogue will be right after that. It's coming to an end! I'm sad now. :(.

Disclaimer: I lose track of how often I actually do these, but I don't own. Nuttin' 'cept the plot and little Kiley (whom isn't in this chapter).

&!&!

I took my time getting home; after all, I was supposed to be out getting breakfast and dropping Sora off. Plus, I really didn't want to go back home. I was completely content at Axel's house. But, my fiancé calls. So, I took the scenic route home and somehow ended up on a dirt road that went down about ten miles and just came to a dead end.

Needless to say, when I got home I wasn't a happy camper. I had gone twenty miles out of my way, and my stomach was growling. I should have stopped to get breakfast, but of course I didn't feel hungry until the second that I walked in the door. Mom, Dad, Luxord, Larxene, and Namine were all sitting at the table with Marluxia discussing something. Since Marluxia was here, that could only mean one thing: wedding plans. Oh joyous fun.

I took a seat next to them, and nonchalantly grabbed an apple from the middle of the table. It would hold me over for now until I could sneak some food from the fridge.

"Hey Roxas," Marluxia greeted me; "we were just talking about the wedding."

Wow, what a shocker.

Marluxia continued, "There was something to do today that we can't put off anymore. We have to go cake tasting for your reception cake. They're already going to be angry that we've put this off for so long, but hey, I've been super busy getting this all together." He smiled widely, "It's definitely been a challenge." Everyone shared their 'thank you' with him save for me.

"This is also my favorite part of the wedding." Marluxia smiled at everyone sitting at the table. "Alright, then we're all going to meet at Twilight Bakery in about twenty minutes." He clapped his hands. "Then we feast!"

Namine told me that she had to run upstairs to go get her purse from the spare room, and while she was doing that I ran over to the fridge and grabbed the first thing that my hand touched. I pulled it out and saw that it was a bottle of beer. I scrunched my face, and then dug in again. This time I pulled out some applesauce, and decided that was good enough. There wasn't time enough for me to even care about putting it in a bowl before Namine came back down, so I just popped the lid off and began drinking the substance from the jar.

I know I looked pretty damn stupid doing that, but fuck, I'm hungry! I managed to cap the jar and shove it back into the fridge before Namine came back down the stairs.

"Alright, we better hurry because everyone's left already." She looked up at me and didn't hide her confusion. "Roxas, why do you look guilty of something?" She walked toward me and wiped a blob of applesauce off the side of my mouth with the tip of her finger and laughed. "Applesauce?"

I shrugged, swallowed the massive amount in my mouth, and then spoke. "I like applesauce."

She laughed playfully, "I can tell. Anyway, let's get going." She led me out the door and to my car. When we got into the car, Namine made conversation.

"So how was your bachelor party? My freaking party scarred me for life." She shuddered. The gifts my mom got me were just… ew. Not something that was really at the top of my Christmas list."

Despite the warning that my dad gave me a couple days ago about this, I was tempted to ask what exactly they got her. I thought dad was kidding- a little- okay, maybe not. "Um, what exactly did they get you? I didn't really get anything." Thank god.

Namine blushed profusely, but nevertheless told me. "Well… my mom got me a vibrator, some porno, and your mom got me some lube and some extremely frilly French lingerie."

I almost laughed out loud, but that would probably only embarrass poor Namine even more. "They really did that?"

Namine nodded, and laughed lightly. "You should have seen my poor cousin. She's an extremely innocent girl, and she practically died of a heart attack when she saw everything. She was even quieter than normal the rest of the night. And when the strippers came…" She trailed off because she started laughing and remembering the night.

I'm not sure if I've ever met Selphie, but I can imagine that.

An awkward silence descended upon us in the car, and to lift it I turned the radio on. Sora's girly music was the last station on, and I cursed when it blasted into the car. "Fucking Sora." I was about to reach and change the station, but Namine slapped my hand away.

"You can't change it, I love this song!" She began to sing and (somewhat) dance and I smacked my head on the steering wheel, causing the horn to beep.

However, she ignored me and kept up with what she was doing. I could feel my head starting to ache at the stupid pop music, and for the first time in my life I wished the radio was broken.

&!&!

When we reached the Twilight Bakery I threw myself out of the car, but made sure to check and make sure that my ears hadn't bled on the seat first. It's a good thing they didn't, because I'm too damn lazy to clean my car.

The smell of delicious cake wafted from the bakery, and I felt myself being magnetically pulled toward it. Namine was too, but her pull was faster because she beat me by three feet into the bakery. Our parents were already stationed at a circular table, and Namine and I took a seat in the two chairs left.

They all greeted us warmly, but I half ignored them; the smell of fresh-baked cake was all throughout the building, and I wanted that cake now.

"Roxas?" My dad's voice chimed into my peaceful cake-world.

"Wha?" I realized that the whole table was looking at me, including a baker that must've just fizzled into existence.

Namine smiled. "What kind of cake do you want to try first? We all wanted to start with plain 'ol vanilla, if that's alright with you."

I nodded, and the baker walked away to go fetch the cake. "How many flavors of cake do they even have here?" I picked up the menu in front of me, and my mouth dropped at the long list. Are there really that many kinds of cake?!

Larxene also looked at her menu. "Well… I'd say that there are a lot..." Larxene started to look a little lost while reading the menu. I don't blame her; the menu is plenty long enough to get lost in.

&!&!

About two hours and six billion samples of cake later, we had decided what flavors 'suit our fancy' (that came from Marluxia's mouth, not mine). We had the choices narrowed down to three: plain old White cake (with the baker's delicious secret vanilla-ey twist), Confetti Cake (with much prodding on my part), and some fruity type of Chocolate-Caramel swirl. The Chocolate-Caramel swirl was delicious, but I'm not ready to give up the hard-earned stance on the Confetti Cake. I'd worked hard to get it in the top three, and I couldn't let it go now, dammit!

"I like the Chocolate-Caramel swirl. It's sophisticated, and it's completely delicious." Larxene took another bite of the cake.

My dad glanced down at the menu, made a face, and then muttered, "It's also the most expensive."

The baker spoke with a slightly French accent, "And, the hardest to make." He didn't hide his disdain.

Larxene smiled. "It's absolutely perfect!"

Namine shook her head at her mother. "Mom, don't you think we should go with something a little less elaborate? Maybe something a bit simpler? Not all guests are going to like the cake." Namine glanced at me, and I nodded in agreement. Not everyone's going to appreciate such an expensive cake.

I smiled. "That's why we should get the Confetti Cake! It's simple, and who doesn't love colorful cake?"

Marluxia looked at me and sighed. "Please boy, never try to be a wedding planner. Confetti Cake is meant for a five-year-olds birthday, not a wedding. It's hardly romantic."

"But who doesn't like it?" I insisted. There was no way I was budging. Marluxia's going to get a fight to the death for this.

My mom looked sternly at both Marluxia and I, then offered a compromise. "How about we do yours and Namine's personal cake in Confetti? We want something a little less childish for our guests. They're too distinguished to eat… Confetti Cake."

"What do you mean personal cake?" Namine questioned.

"It's the cake that you two cut. It's the decorative cake, and you plus the wedding party eats just that one, you know, since the top layers are fake anyway. The other cake that we pick is for the guests, and that's going to be made into just sheet cakes." Marluxia summoned the baker over to him. "Alright, to keep it simple we'll just do your spectacular White Vanilla Secret cake for the guests, and the, ah," He glanced at us, "Confetti Cake for the big one." He looked at Namine, "Is that alright with you?"

Namine nodded. "I like Confetti cake."

The baker nodded, "I will total that up for you." The baker went to walk away, but Marluxia stopped him.

"I trust you remember the design for the cake?"

The baker nodded, "Yes, I have the picture also. You're cutting this so close to the wedding that I'm going to have to add a fee onto this for rush order."

Marluxia waved it away, "As long as we have the best. Now go get our prices."

Everyone began to chatter while waiting for the baker to return, but my father buried his head in his hands. A moment later he turned his face toward me and spoke, "Son, your mother is draining me with this wedding."

I felt a pang of sympathy for my father. "Sorry dad, I didn't ask for it to be like this. Hell, I would skip to Vegas. It'd be so much cheaper."

He smiled and chuckled, and I was happy to have lightened his mood. "We should have thought of that in the first place. I've been working hard for this money my whole life, and half of its being blown for your marriage. This better last a long time." He was just joking, but I couldn't help but feel extreme guilt again. They were paying so much money.

I shoved it to the back of my mind. "Don't worry dad, its either going to last a long time or not happen at all." Oh how true that statement is.

The baker came back with the bill, and set it down in front of Marluxia. "Alright, about four sheet cakes will work for your amount of guests, so that will be $225 each, so $900 for those not including tax. And, from the picture of the design that you would like, I'd estimate that cost to be $665 dollars, considering it's elaborate." He pulled a calculator out of the pocket of his apron and punched the numbers in. "Your total is $2105.85 with tax and the rush order fee."

My dad sighed and pulled a checkbook out of his pocket. "I trust that you all want it paid right now? Or do you want just a certain percent?"

The mean stroked his moustache. "For an order like this, I would like it all right now. It's a tall order."

My dad sighed for the millionth time and began to scribble on the check. "Of course." He finished the check and ripped it out. He gave it another quick look, and then handed it to the baker. He mumbled something about two thousand dollar cakes.

The baker smiled and put the check in his pocket. "Thank you, now I must get off to business!" With that, he left the room and walked into the kitchen to begin working on our massive order. I have no idea how the fuck he plans on getting all of this done in three days, but that's his problem, not mine.

&!&!

Our parents and Marluxia went back home to talk more about the venue and decorations, something that Namine and I really didn't care too much about. Namine and I decided that we wanted to do something fun, so I suggested that we go to the mall. We might run into someone, and I was in the mood to buy something. Namine stayed in the cake shop to use the restroom for a minute, and I headed out to the car.

That's when I noticed a note on my seat that I hadn't noticed before, just sat on. I picked it up, and figured that it was from Hayner, judging from the handwriting, and the fact that instead of writing 'Roxas,' he wrote 'Rox-ass.'

I opened the folded paper and began to read.

Hey Rox-ass. Well… I didn't really wanna say this to your face. Just not my thing. Leaving notes aint really my thing either… but whatever. Anyway, remember when I told you about what Kairi told me in the theater? I didn't explain everything to you. She also told me about the stuff between you and Axel that Sora told her. It really shocked me, but I think I'm over it now. I'm not going to like pretend to hate you now that you're gay and stuff, because you're my best friend, but that doesn't mean that it won't take some getting used to. So yeah, I just wanted to tell you that. I just wanna let you know that if you really like porcupine (sorry, AXEL) then you shouldn't marry Namine. And no, before you start thinking it, I'm not going to ask you if I can date her. You know I'm still trying to get Kairi back. But she's just told me that she doesn't want to do that to me again. But, I'm getting off track aren't I? Really, what I want to say is that I'm here for ya, even if you're a fruitcake. Sorry, that was mean. OH WELL.

Peace out Fruity,

Hayner

I smiled. Hayner finally admitted to me that he knew about Axel and me. I was waiting for this. But, if he calls me a fruitcake again I'm going to have to kill him. Since he's been so accepting of me, as his best friend I should really do something for him, right? Maybe there's some way that I can get Kairi back for him. Just maybe.

&!&!

And there was. I expected to just somehow call Kairi later and talk to her, but by some twist of fate Namine and I ended up running into her at the mall. Not literally, but almost. Namine had her arms buried in clothes that she couldn't see past, and she tripped over a rack and almost into Kairi. I grabbed Namine before she could fall, but the clothes ended up on the floor.

The three of us worked to pick up the clothes, and we stacked them a bit more stable into Namine's arms again. Namine took off to the dressing room to change, and I took this as my opportunity to talk to Kairi.

"How've you been Kairi?" I leaned against the wall nonchalantly, and Kairi did the same.

"I've been fine, I guess. Things are a little slow without Hayner to hang out with all the time, but I manage." She laughed, "But the bachelorette party provided some good entertainment."

I laughed along with her. "So I've heard. So umm," no sense in waiting to get to the point, "I heard-"

Before I could finish the sentence Namine came from the dressing room, and she was dressed in a grey cloth skirt with white leggings, and a black shirt. She twirled around, and I gave her a thumbs up. Kairi did the same.

"It's cute." Kairi commented. Namine smiled and ducked back into the dressing room to put on the next outfit.

I continued from where I started before Namine came out. "So, I heard everything you and Hayner said in the theater that one day. You know, when we went to go watch that completely gross movie?"

Kairi's eyes widened to the size of tennis balls. "You-you heard? I'm so sorry Roxas, I-"

I put my hand up to shush her. "Kairi, relax. Everything you said about me is true."

She nodded. "That's everything that Sora told me. But, don't be mad at him, he knew that he could trust me. And you know him; he has to tell someone everything he hears." She laughed awkwardly paired with a sidelong glance at me. After a moment she let out a long breath. "So you heard everything else too, then? Everything about me, and you, and Hayner?"

I nodded slowly. "I heard all that. Hayner told me that much anyway, and he eventually told me the rest. He doesn't know that I heard everything anyway."

Kairi looked down at her feet and shuffled them. "Look, Roxas, I'm sorry about what I did to Hayner. It's not like that anymore, really. That's why I broke up with him." She paused for a moment, looked up, and then continued, "He's been trying to get me to go back out with him. He started to actually like me, didn't he?"

Namine came out of the dressing room again, this time in a black tube top and some jeans. Kairi and I both nodded and smiled, and with that she flitted into the dressing room to try something else on.

"He did."

She half-smiled. "I was afraid that would happen to one of us. After all, when a guy and a girl," She looked at me and paused for a moment, "or a guy and a guy, spend so much time together that always happens to at least one of them." When I didn't respond, she kept talking, "What should I do?"

This was something that I didn't need to think too much about. "I think you should give him another chance. But focus on him this time, not making someone else jealous." I laughed to ease the tension between us, and it worked. "Go somewhere with him, he's a cool guy." I laughed more and shook my head. "Damn, I feel like a wingman."

She laughed as well, and Namine yet again popped out of the dressing room. I wasn't sure exactly how many outfits she took with her, but considering the size of the pile, a lot.

I might be here awhile.

We both critiqued the outfit, and Kairi said that the shirt made Namine's shoulders look a little boxy, so Namine scowled then threw the shirt over the door when she was in the dressing room again.

"Roxas?"

I gave her a sidelong look. "Huh?"

She returned my sidelong look, "What are you going to do about marrying Namine?"

I sniffed. "That's the million dollar question; I'll tell you when I get there."

She smiled. "Yeah, you're probably thinking too much about it and stressing yourself out."

She was right, I was stressing myself. I nodded at her. "Exactly. Now how long do you think it will take Namine to try on that whole pile of clothes?"

Kairi shrugged and then thought for a moment. "At least a half hour. You can bail if you want; this is a girl thing anyway. I think Axel's working at the cinema today, you can go say hi." She winked at me, and then I playfully shoved her.

"Thanks, I really don't want to shop." I told Namine that I was leaving, and then walked swiftly out of the store. Being surrounded by colorful girly clothes isn't really my scene.

&!&!

When I got there, Axel was just ready to take his break. He was working the counter this time, and when I reached it he had his back to me.

"I need six large popcorns and ten medium cokes. Throw in four slushies with that please."

Axel snorted. "I'm on break, go to the next counter."

I started laughing, and Axel turned around to see what was happening. "Thanks for recognizing my voice, douchebag."

Axel smiled and threw himself over the counter, earning a shout from the other person working there. He ignored it. "What are you doing here?"

"Namine's shopping with Kairi, and Kai told me that you were working, so I thought I'd say hi. You know, since I won't be seeing you that much." I averted my eyes from his face, because I was thinking one thing: Because you won't be at my wedding.

He put his hands on my shoulders and looked right into my eyes, "I swear I'm trying really really hard to get the wedding day off again. My boss is an asshole."

I nodded and looked him square in the eyes as well, "I know, I know. You just know I'm going to miss you there."

He quickly hugged me. "I want to be there, I really do. I'm trying my hardest to get him to let me have that day off. He's thisclose to firing me, since I'm so annoying. But, we're short on staff here so he won't."

A man in a cinema uniform identical to Axel's came up to us and addressed the redhead. "Axel, some kid just puked in the boy's bathroom. Go clean it."

Axel shut his eyes and was obviously restraining himself from hitting the person. "Boss, I'm on break right now. Sorry, get Wakka to do it." Axel rolled his eyes and attempted to lead me away.

Axel's boss put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him. "You can continue your break after you clean up the puke. It's full of gummy worms too, so have fun with that."

"Come on!"

"That's an order, Axel!" With that, Axel's boss stomped away, leaving a very furious Axel in his path.

"It takes me forever to clean that shit up," he grumbled, then faced me. "Its gunna take me some time to do this, so I'll just talk to you later, okay? Besides, I'm going to smell all pukey when I get out."

I wrinkled my nose. "Alright, I'll try and come visit you when I can."

Axel nodded, and then planted a kiss on my forehead. "Bye blondie."

I smirked at him. "Bye porcupine."

He playfully smacked me in the head, and then strode over to the supplies closet to get what he needed to clean the puke.

I kind of felt myself having to pee, but I didn't want to go in the pukey bathroom, so I held it. Instead, I turned around and left the cinema, headed for the mall and the hell of shopping with two girls. Maybe I'll pick up a pretzel in the food court on the way.

&!&!

I'm cranking these out faster than I thought I would, just because I don't want to keep you all waiting. So here's chapter 26, only four main chapters left, then the Epilogue!

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