A/N: Hello there! Hi hello, how are you? Good okay that's great.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and alerted and faved and everything because you're all special snowflakes and I love you.

Anyway, please enjoy the chapter!

Thanks to everyone who expressed interest in being my beta! I did end up finding one, so thank you to Rugiku who worked very hard to edit this =)


Roxas took a moment to drink in the situation. Everyone was stunned at Zexion's sudden outburst and some looked sympathetically at Lexaeus who lay on the ground in anguish. Demyx's mouth went slack-jawed and concern was set deeply in his face, Axel, Marluxia, and Larxene seemed somewhat amused, and everyone else just looked confused. Even though Roxas knew Zexion was still harboring negative feelings about his and Lexaeus' breakup, it seemed way too extreme for him to just slam him onto the ground, especially since Zexion was normally so mild-mannered.

After the situation completely registered in Roxas' mind, he tossed Demyx's clothes to Axel and then began chasing after Zexion. The bookworm had been acting kind of strange lately and he wanted to be there for him when it seemed like he needed it most. He managed to book it through the house and catch up with Zexion as he was silently storming down the driveway towards his boyfriend's car.

"Zexion, are you okay?" Roxas wondered as he approached his friend. He put a gentle hand to his friend's arm and squeezed lightly.

Zexion grabbed Roxas' hand and led him to Demyx's car before prompting him to get in the backseat. His face remained expressionless the entire time, even as he entered the car behind the blond. Only when he had closed the door behind him did his face break. Before Roxas could even determine what level if sadness it conveyed, his best friend buried his face into his chest and wrapped his arms around him.

Without hesitation, Roxas wrapped his arms around his crestfallen friend. He couldn't exactly tell if Zexion was crying or not despite the fact that his shoulders and chest were heaving with weighty breaths. "It's okay, Zexion, I got you. You'll be okay," he whispered comfortingly into the smaller boy's ear. He didn't really know the proper way to comfort Zexion, so he decided to use the method that he used with Sora. He figured everybody just wanted to be told everything was going to be okay anyway.

"Why did he have to be one of them...?" Zexion wondered through his labored breaths. "I thought I would never have to see him again..."

"Shh, it'll be okay, alright? You don't need to work yourself up over him; especially not since you have Demyx. And you know I'm here for you if you ever need me. Even if he hurt you in the past and you don't exactly want to be around him, it's an inevitability now. If he hurt you that badly and then left, then he's obviously a douche bag that doesn't deserve all this power over you. Don't let him have this power. Don't let him change your life more than he already has," Roxas slowly told his friend as he rubbed slow, firm circles on Zexion's back.

Zexion pulled away and let his arms drop, prompting Roxas to drop his arms as well. "You're right, as always," he said with a small, sad smile. A couple of tears littered his face and his eye was red. He wiped at the droplets hastily and took a couple of deep breaths. "You're positively correct. I needn't worry about Lexaeus. He's not my boyfriend anymore and he hasn't been for months, so he does not deserve to have this influence on me. I should steel myself to his existence since we'll be inhabiting the same circles now." Zexion took a little while to cool off. "And even if he wishes to reunite romantically with me, as evidenced by the picture he keeps of me and the fact that he wanted to talk things through with me, he will not be able to. I have Demyx now, and I'm happier than I've ever been; much happier than when I was with him."

The two friends simply sat there and talked a while until Demyx arrived at the car and told Roxas to ride with Axel because he wanted to privately speak with Zexion. Roxas couldn't really argue with that, so he took his leave. Despite him really wanting to stick around and hear the impending conversation, Roxas knew this had to be discussed privately.

When Roxas exited Demyx's vehicle, he noticed that Marluxia's car was already gone, meaning that he, Larxene, and Naminé had already left. Axel's truck still sat there, so he approached it and got in. He noticed Axel staring at him expectantly, but ignored him as he pulled his seatbelt on.

"Well?" Axel prompted. "What was that all about?"

Honestly, Roxas didn't know whether it was okay to tell him or not. Eventually everyone would know Lexaeus and Zexion were exes. Still, Roxas didn't want to say anything to Axel and then have it come around and bite him in the ass if Axel let it slip to Zexion that he knew. The blond sighed in his dazed state.

Axel scoffed at his reluctance, but turned so his body faced forward. He started up the truck as he said, "Look, it's not like I'm gonna tell Demyx or anyone else, for that matter. You trust me, right?" 'Damn, he doesn't even trust me with something stupid like this. Way to build trust, Roxas and Axel.'

That thought scared Roxas in ways that he didn't understand. It was the tipping point. "Lexaeus is Zexion's ex-boyfriend," he essentially blurted.

Axel whipped his head in Roxas' direction as he began shifting into drive. 'Yay, he does trust you!' "No shit?" the redhead asked, eyes back on the road. They began pulling out of the long driveway.

"Yup. Look, Axel," Roxas began, taking a deep breath. He knew he was taking a risk here, but he decided it would serve as a trust exercise between him and Axel. He wanted to be able to trust the redhead, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to give him a chance. "If you ever tell anyone about this, Zexion, Demyx, even Sora, I'll sneak into your room while you're sleeping and cut your balls off. I'm not even joking."

At this, Axel just scoffed. "Like I would tell anyone! Now come on, tell me more, baby."

"Firstly, don't call me that," Roxas cautioned with his eyes narrowed. "Second, Lexaeus dumped Zexion through text and never explained why."

"So that's why Zexy was so upset. How long ago did they break up, do you know?" the redhead wondered. 'Damn, I completely forgot that the reason Zexion wasn't dating Demyx before was because of someone else.'

Roxas nodded his head. "Yeah, they broke up during July apparently. It was one-sided and totally caught Zexion off guard. I think Zexion was too hurt to even ask why. He's got pretty shit self-esteem, so I'm sure he somehow convinced himself that he deserved it. Or maybe he didn't think it mattered." A silence followed before Roxas continued. "And like I said, if you ever tell anyone, I will serve your balls to Riku's Chihuahua."

Axel laughed at that. "Jeez, Rox, have some faith in me, alright? I'd never disobey you like that; I'm a good boy." He took a moment to grin at the blond and then promptly missed the turn that led to Roxas' neighborhood. Axel winked at the blond.

"Sleepover?" Roxas wondered enthusiastically. He really liked sleeping with Axel and ever since sleeping with the redhead, he hadn't been able to sleep as well as he used to without the older boy. The fact that sometimes Axel squashed his legs and made them fall asleep didn't bother him in the slightest because 1. Axel smelled really good, 2. he liked having someone to curl up to, and 3. the redhead was warm as fuck. Plus, the activity before the sleeping made the blond tingly all over.

"Nah, can't today, unfortunately. Reno's home. We could still hang out, though. We can make out on the couch until you have to go home. Reno shouldn't bother us too much as long as our hands don't wander past our stomachs. Sound good?"

Upon hearing that Reno would be there, Roxas cringed a bit. "Are you sure he'd leave us alone? Because you've said that before and it hasn't always been true," he pointed out. Honestly if Reno was there, Roxas would rather just either go to his house or go out somewhere else.

"I know," he said with a sigh, "it's kind of hit or miss with him. But come on! It's dark out and it's like almost 7:30. I mean if you want, I guess we could go out somewhere, but I kinda," the redhead paused for a moment and spoke much more gently than he usually did, "I kinda wanted to have dinner at home with you."

Roxas wouldn't have been able to stop the swooning that overtook him if he tried. He smiled so wide it hurt his face. "Alright, fine. But only because you're such a cutie pie."

Axel grumbled embarrassedly. "Not cute," he mumbled, "I'm manly as hell." But even as he said this, he blushed a little bit and pouted at the road ahead of him.

"You're not helping your cause. You should just finally sit down and accept the fact that you're absolutely adorable," Roxas teased. He actually found great joy in calling Axel cute just because then the redhead got to see how it felt to be called cute all the time.

"Yeah, well, look who's talking. You're just about the cutest thing ever, but you refuse to accept it. How can you not be cute if you come up to my shoulders and still have your baby fat and have these giant, blue eyes? You're basically a circle because of you much of a cutie pi you are." Axel raised his eyebrows and flashed his shit-eating grin at the blond.

"Oh my god. I'll kill you. Pull this car over, I'm walking home," the blond instructed in a deathly serious voice.

"But Roxyyy," Axel whined, "I'm hilarious! Why can't you just love me for who I am inside?" he demanded.

"Because you're a terrible human being. You need to die."

The pair arrived at Axel's house not long afterwards. Roxas insisted on having a make out session in the back seat before going inside in case Reno decided to completely cock block them that day. Of course, Axel didn't complain; he had a thing for Roxas being pushy, which the blond knew and liked. It gave their relationship a feeling of equality, which he adored. Axel clearly had more sexual experience than him, and he found it nice that the redhead didn't feel entitled to be the "dominant" one in the relationship because of it.

After they were satisfied for the time being, they continued on to Axel's apartment where, lo and behold, Reno was sitting in the kitchen talking on the phone. The two redheads shared a short greeting, and Roxas waved hello. Roxas went and sat on the couch while Axel went into the kitchen, explaining that he was going to figure out what to make for dinner and also to make hot chocolate for them both. The blond simply could never turn down food or hot chocolate, so he decided to go to Axel's room and steal the blanket from his bed to use on the couch.

Once he had the blanket, he settled on the couch with it firmly wrapped around him like a burrito. While he'd been in Axel's room, Roxas has been sure to swipe another one of the redhead's sweaters. He'd decided by this point to collect as many of Axel's sweaters as possible until he demanded them back. Any number of his sweaters would never be enough to satisfy Roxas because he just liked them far too much.

"Jeez, Rox, are you really that cold?" Axel wondered with a smirk when he returned. He flopped down onto the couch and wrapped his arms around the blond burrito and kissed his cheek.

"Yes, it's fucking freezing! Anyway, I'm starving; what's for dinner, housewife?" he wondered, his stomach sounding out as if to affirm that he was speaking truthfully.

Axel chuckled. "Well, sweetie," he began in a high-pitched voice that probably was supposed to sound feminine but just ended up sounding creepy, "I started marinating some chicken. So we'll be having baked chicken if that's alright with you, darling." He and the younger boy grinned at each other for a moment before he asked in his regular voice, "Do you want me to hold you? I could make you warmer than my shitty comforter."

Roxas nodded. "Why does this blanket suck so much?" he wondered as he unwrapped himself from the bedding. His boyfriend immediately took him into his arms and warmed himself to an impossibly warm human temperature that made Roxas feel all tingly inside. "And why are you so perfect?"

"Well, I got it because it sucked. I'm so naturally warm that I don't really even need a blanket, so why waste money on a nice one? And as for why I'm so perfect, it's obviously because I was born to serve you for the rest of your life, so of course I'm terrific at satisfying your needs. In return, and with accordance to the blood pact our parents made prior to our birth, you must love me unconditionally for the rest of your life. Does that accurately answer your question?" he wondered with a bat of his lashes.

With a trill of laughter, Roxas buried his face into Axel's chest and snuggled up to him. "Yes, I'm totally sure that's what is going on here," he murmured in his relaxed state. A silence fell over them as they turned their attention to the TV where Spongebob was attempting to impress his friends by ripping his pants. The blond eventually got bored and decided to nip at the redhead's neck.

Axel whined in protest and tried to pull away, but Roxas followed him, biting and licking at his throat. "Roxy, no," he whimpered in a shrill voice. He kept leaning backwards and Roxas kept leaning forwards to match his pace. Eventually, Roxas ended up lying on top of the larger boy, still attacking his neck. "Well, two can play at this game, cutie," he threatened before reciprocating the actions, leading to the two essentially making out with each other's necks.

"Children, let's keep things G-rated, please and thank you." Reno rudely interrupted them and then sat on top of Roxas to help punctuate his point.

Both boys whined almost exactly the same in protest, making them grin at each other.

"Get off me, old man, or else I'll hump your son," the blond threatened.

"Do that and I'll inform your dear old daddy and demand to know why his male son would be interested in humping my own innocent, but flamingly homosexual male son." Reno paused for a moment to take a drink from his bottled water. "But here, allow me to help regardless." And then he began bouncing up and down on Roxas' back, knocking the two boys beneath him together painfully.

"Reno!" Axel growled. "Just get off!"

"Fine, but don't take up the entire couch like you're the only ones here." The man got up and allowed the two boys to reorient themselves in a more compact position.

Roxas sat in Axel's lap with the redhead's arms wrapped firmly around him. He kissed the blond's temple as they watched the TV some more.

"Yo, Roxas, are you sleeping over tonight? Axel do you still have condoms or should I go pick some up?" the older redhead wondered innocently.

The blond almost turned around and took a swipe at the man. He really didn't like Reno. Luckily, Axel saw this and stopped him. "No," Roxas had to keep himself from hissing, "I'm not sleeping over tonight." Everything about Reno just rubbed him the wrong way and he didn't understand how Axel could be so different from Reno when Axel was his son and they looked so much alike.

"Reno, please don't patronize Roxas," Axel murmured.

Reno snorted at this. "Don't patronize him?" he asked before clapping the blond on the back. "He can take it; he's not a fucking baby, Axel. Right, Roxy?" He let out a barking laugh.

Before Roxas could respond to Reno, Axel quickly interjected. "Dad!" he begged in exasperation.

The older redhead sobered up immediately after that and narrowed his eyes at his son. "Fine, whatever, I'll leave the two of you alone. You'd better go check on your fucking chicken, son." 'I can't fucking believe the nerve of that boy. Actually, I can! Fuck, you don't get to call me 'dad' the same way I don't call you 'son.' How dare you bring your fuck buddy into my house and take over like you pay the fucking bills,' his forehead said before the writing developed into a series of illegible scribbles.

Axel huffed in contempt. "Whatever," he grumbled before he got up and went to the kitchen.

Roxas watched Reno settle further into the couch with his legs wide open, arms crossed on his chest, and a scowl on his face. Despite that the blond couldn't stand the man, he had to admit he was damn sexy. It was probably at that point that Roxas realized he didn't necessarily hate Reno for the things he did, which he believed did play a certain role in his displeasure for the redhead, but he hated him because he was sexually frustrated over him. Regardless of how much of a douchebag he acted like, Roxas still thought he was fucking hot.

"Excuse me, Blondie, can I help you?" Reno demanded, glaring at the boy on the couch. 'Why do I always gotta put up with this shit? What's so great about this fucker anyway? Riku was a better fit for Axel by a long shot.'

"N-no," Roxas stuttered as he was jolted out of his reverie. "Sorry," he mumbled. He felt his stomach drop a bit in disappointment, which he thought a little bit ironic. He really disliked Reno, or so he thought, but hearing that the redhead didn't like him back bothered him. Perhaps it was more the fact that Reno didn't even think he was good for Axel. It bothered him that he thought Riku was such a better fit. He felt his throat catch a bit and he frowned.

"Reno!" Axel shouted from the kitchen. "Leave my boyfriend the fuck alone! I really like him so if you fuck up my relationship with him, I'll be fucking pissed and then I'll call you 'dad' for the rest of my life."

The man snorted. "Axel, of all the things you could've inherited from me, you inherited my douche-baggery." 'I guess I can't really argue with the fact that Roxas makes Axel happy. Unfortunately.' "Fine, you jerk, I'll play nice." He uncrossed his arms to reach one out to Roxas. "Since the prince demands it; truce."

Roxas took the man's hand and had to keep himself from holding on to it. It was large and warm, just like Axel's hands. "Truce," he agreed.

Eventually, they all ended up eating in the living room and watching TV. Reno decided to clean up the dishes and the sink since Axel had cooked that night, and Roxas kind of suspected he was taking an extremely long time on purpose so that they could enjoy their time together. Thus, the pair took advantage of the opportunity and continued to snuggle up together on the couch.

"So you ready for tomorrow?" Axel wondered.

"Huh?" Roxas questioned. "What are you talking about?"

Axel sighed melodramatically and rolled his eyes. "I guess you wouldn't know." He stopped being dramatic when Roxas lightly punched his shoulder and they chuckled with each other.

"Wouldn't know what?" the blond wondered.

"Tomorrow, we're going to the New Year's Eve fair at the fairgrounds on the outskirts of Radiant Garden. We go every year as a group. It's like Halloween. But this year, I think we might be going with the Organization as well. I'm not really sure about that. I think that Zexion's the one who's making that decision since he's really the only person who would have a problem with that. Marluxia's probably gonna intimidate him into going, though. He'd be pissed if he didn't get a chance to be with his precious Vexen."

Roxas nodded. "I hope Zexion'll be okay. I mean, I don't mean to be offensive, but Demyx can barely handle his own emotions; can he handle Zexion's?"

"Rox, don't worry about Demyx and Zexion. Demyx might not be good with dealing with his own issues, but he and Zexion have a nice connection with a long past together and they probably know each other better than anyone else. See, the way things work out is that Zexion typically hides everything he's feeling, but when he can't hide it all, he goes to Demyx because Demyx understands him better than anyone else. Demyx doesn't like to share his emotions either, and dumps his problems on me, instead. But that's mostly because Dem needs someone to comfort him and Zexion's not very good at that. He does know about Dem's problems and stuff but he just isn't good at making him feel better," Axel explained. "But I guess things are changing with you around. Zexion talks to you now, too, which is good for him. Good job, sweetie, you're such a good person!" He nuzzled his nose against Roxas' cheek and grinned.

"Fuck you," the blond giggled before nuzzling back.

They lay like that for a long time, canoodling together.


A light buzzing in his pockets sent a jittering sensation up Roxas' leg, rousing him from his sleep. When his eyes fluttered open, the first thing he saw was Axel's neck. He'd spent enough time over the course of their relationship gnawing at the thing to recognize it up close. Plus, no one was this warm and the bright red hair falling over the shoulder in his line of vision was a dead giveaway. Immediately after realizing he'd fallen asleep at Axel's house after all, he sat up carefully so as not to disturb his boyfriend, worrying about the fact that he hadn't told his family at all where he was.

The redhead was still dead asleep with a peaceful look on his face that made Roxas ridiculously giddy and forget about his parents. He couldn't help but put a hand to the boy's jaw and run his thumb over his cheek. Axel chuckled and shifted a bit in his sleep, the touch clearly tickling him. Roxas grinned before he remembered that his phone had woken him up. He discovered that it was actually 8:30AM and that the text was from Marluxia informing him that they were, indeed, going to the fair later with the Organization at around noon. He was about to call his house when a voice suddenly startled him.

"Yo, Roxas, good morning. Looks like I was right; you did sleep over," the voice greeted from the hallway.

Roxas glanced over to see Reno leaning against the wall with a grin on his face before he entered the room.

"Sorry about being such a douche last night. Just know that I don't really like you, alright? Axel's been hurt by every guy he's dated so far and he's never been as interested in anyone as he much as he is in you. Sadly, he attracts shitheads that let him down in the end. Maybe I would've trusted you more if I'd met you prior to Axel becoming infatuated with you. But really, to me, you're just a pretty face that Axel wants to fuck. And I wasn't really joking about being a protective father. He's been hurt too much and he really likes you," Reno informed him. "Prove to me you won't hurt him and I'll be nicer to you. And to prove it, just give it time. I'm old and stubborn, but eventually, I'll catch on and realize 'Hey, this kid's being serious.' Got it?" Then he continued on into the kitchen where he began making coffee, eggs, and sausage.

"Alright, I got it," Roxas said, mostly to himself. Before he could say anything, else, Reno began talking again.

"And also, I called your dad and told him you were sleeping over. Seems he knows Axel wants in your pants. He was worried about you leading him on. Ain't that nice of him? I like Cloud. He's pretty cool for an old man," Reno informed him.

That erased one of the worries Roxas had about sleeping over at the redhead's house. He smiled to himself before turning his attention back to Axel, who was mumbling things in his sleep. The blond managed to catch a random string of words that indicated Axel forgot his plunger and thus, could not complete his SATs. Roxas chuckled and flopped back down on top of his space heater. "You can say what you want," the blond murmured to himself, "but you're fucking adorable."


Eventually, Roxas ended up at home in order to change and to see his parents. They tended to get upset when he and Sora happened to be gone for a while without seeing them; they didn't even need to see them longer than two minutes to be satisfied. Axel had decided to go back to his house for a quick shower, which gave Roxas the same idea. He entered his room not exactly expecting to see a shirtless Riku holding one of Sora's legs over his head with a only a single pant leg on. The pair of them stopped to turn and look at Roxas with terrified looks on their faces.

"Um, excuse me?" the blond said as he just stared at them.

Sora immediately blushed bright red like a tomato. "He's just helping me get dressed because you weren't here," he hastily said as he tried to hastily pull up his pants but just ended up hurting himself and cringing.

"Right, sure," Roxas mumbled as he went to the closet. "That definitely explains why he's shirtless in our room at 11AM." Out of the corner of his eye, Roxas saw Riku and Sora blush.

"Look, I don't know what you're thinking, Roxas, but I'm totally straight, remember?" Sora demanded. "Riku slept over because you weren't here. And before you make wild accusations, he slept in the top bunk and I slept in the bottom bunk. He's shirtless because I wouldn't stop talking last night and he threw his shirt at me to get me to shut up, and I didn't give it back because I hid it so he wouldn't find it as revenge for throwing it at me in the first place. So you shut up. And you should know that I'm mad at you for sleeping with Axel."

Roxas rolled his eyes, slapped a hand to Riku's bare back because the vast expanse of skin just begged him to, and left the room. "Sure, Sora, you get all the bitches," he said over his shoulder as he entered the bathroom. His shower time exceeded its normal duration because the thoughts Sora inspired of him sleeping with Axel wouldn't leave him alone.

Once Roxas had finished with his shower, he found Sora waiting for him with Riku in their room.

"Roxy, how interested would you be in giving me a bath? I just realized I haven't bathed in days," the brunet stated with a sheepish smile on his face. 'It was embarrassing enough to have Riku dress me this morning, but if I got a bath from him, I'd just about die.'

Roxas frowned and gave an exasperated sigh as he tossed his clothes into their hamper. "Not interested at all. You can bathe yourself, Sora, you're a big boy," the blond explained. "Anyway, you should've spoken up about it earlier. I may or may not have used all the hot water."

"I just need you to wrap my casts up. Please? Don't you love your own twin brother with whom you've shared a womb and life?" He jutted out his lower lip dangerously and forced it to quiver when Roxas looked unconvinced.

Thus, after wrapping up Sora's casts like he wanted, Roxas and Riku ended up on the couch in the living room downstairs. Roxas was waiting for Axel to show up, and Riku waited for the brunet to finish washing up. They sat together in awkward silence for a few minutes before Roxas just decided to start ranting about Reno. Riku would probably appreciate it anyway.

"So last night I accidentally ended up sleeping over at Axel's house, and I found out that Reno hates my fucking guts," the blond informed him.

Riku instantly grinned like the Cheshire cat. "Oh yeah? How did that happen?" he wondered.

"Well, at first, the night before we fell asleep, he was giving us grief for canoodling on the couch, which then turned into anger at me. The next morning, though, I woke up before Axel and Reno just happened to be up, too, and Axel and I, like, slept on the couch because, like I said, it was a total accident that I slept over there. Then he just came out and said that he didn't like me or trust me at all. He also compared you to me and said that you were a way better person for Axel, and I was mildly confused. The point being is that Reno hates me and there's nothing I can really do about it," the younger boy elaborated.

The senior nodded his head in response. "Yeah, that sucks. Reno likes to hold grudges and stuff, too, so if you cross him, he'll probably hate you forever," he said with a grin. More seriously he said, "But really, you shouldn't worry about Reno not liking or trusting you. Reno's just very protective of Axel and since he doesn't know you all that well, he's just being cautious with you. Plus, Axel's way into you more than he was into any of the other dicks he's dated. He sort of has a past with being let down. He's always been the dump-ee, never the dump-er. So it makes sense that he's being wary of you.

"If you ever broke up with Axel, just," Riku raised his eyebrows and whistled while shaking his head slowly from side to side, "it wouldn't be good for him. He'd be absolutely crushed. Like, you have no idea."

Roxas frowned at these words. "Yeah. Before we were even dating, he kissed me as a way of confessing that he liked me, and I sort of—"

"Yeah, you fucking punched him!"

A thought struck Roxas at that moment. The thought had been weighing on his mind for a while now, but he'd always forgotten about it when either Axel or Riku was around. Even if he had remembered earlier, he wasn't sure if he'd have asked to verify the thought. His fear of the answer held him back. "Riku, did you and Axel used to date? Because Reno really made it seem that way, and it kind of makes sense."

Riku seemed to have expected the question based on the way he didn't react when the question reached him. He looked down at his hands for a second and answered with another question, "Does it matter to you if we did?"

It didn't really make sense to Roxas why it mattered to him. After all, it wasn't like he could be jealous about it now. He couldn't fault Axel for wanting to date the silver-haired teen. He was certainly attractive. Instead of responding verbally he nodded. For whatever reason, it did matter.

A kind smile formed on Riku's face. "Nope, I never dated Axel," he said.

Of course, Roxas knew that he had, but it somehow helped to not hear it. He didn't have to accept the fact now and he didn't have to think about it anymore. He didn't feel inclined to know the details, either, which he felt relieved about. The blond nodded. "I like Axel," he said simply.

"Oh, I know." Riku grinned.

The front door opened at that point and both boys looked over to the entranceway to see Zexion there. He looked better than he had the previous day, but not by much. Roxas said a simple hello, but Riku grabbed at Zexion's shirt with one hand to bring him down closer to him and then ruffled his hair with his free hand, saying "Hey, cuz."

Zexion scowled and smacked his arms away to go sit next to Roxas. "Don't touch me, peasant," he ordered.

"Ooh, Zexion's feisty today," Riku teased. "That's a good sign. You seem stressed, though. Is Dem withholding sex?" He smirked at the bookworm.

Roxas chuckled as Zexion mocked his question. "You feeling better, Zexy? Since we're still going with them today, I guess that means you're okay with everything?"

Without much warning, the bookworm turned his glare on Roxas, despite the fact that he was clearly mad about other things. "Better? If by better you mean absolutely enraged, then, yes, I do feel better," he snorted. He took a moment to sigh and relax a little bit regardless of his previous irritation. "But you were right yesterday. I can't let him bother me this much. I'm trying to let everything go, but it isn't that simple."

"Oh, talking about ex-boyfriend troubles?" Riku wondered. "Did you meet Lexaeus again? Are you trying that 'just friends' thing?"

Confused, Roxas looked at Zexion. "Riku knows about Lexaeus? I thought your relationship was completely secret?"

The younger boy shrugged. "It was a secret. But when I say secret, I doubt I ever mean completely secret. Riku knows all my secrets and I know all his. Though we may not talk extensively, we are very close. That's how our relationship works. Riku doesn't exactly count as a person anyway. He's more like a brick wall that's always there." 'The only thing completely secret from Riku is all this business about inhuman abilities.'

Upon hearing the words, Roxas narrowed his eyes at Zexion. If he and Riku shared all their secrets with each other, then how did Zexion's forehead attest to the fact that he knew nothing about Axel and Riku's relationship? And he'd know more about the girl who'd been blackmailing Riku into dating her. Roxas looked at Riku, a bit confused.

'Sorry, Zexion, but you don't know all my secrets,' Riku's forehead read.

"Oh," Roxas murmured.

"Anyway, to answer your question, Riku, I am not trying to be friends with Lexaeus, but with the people who hang around him. And it's not at all my decision. I'm being forced into it, and it's forcing me to deal with everything that's happened," the bookworm continued on.

Riku just nodded in understanding. "If you want me to beat the shit out of him, the offer's always open. Just give me a call."

Zexion smiled appreciatively at that before a he realized something. "Also, if you see all of us at the fair today, just know that his friends are older than us. In some cases, a lot older. And in other cases, they might be the principal and vice principal of our school and Mr. Price," Zexion warned him.

The trust Zexion had in Riku surprised Roxas. Not that he doubted the strength of their relationship, but as Axel had stated, Zexion was a very secretive person. He didn't easily hand out information, much less information that could be used against him. This coupled with Riku's sharp perception made him a very well-informed person. He really knew what was going on. He could even tell that there was something different about Roxas and Zexion's group of friends.

"Got it. I'll make sure Sora doesn't freak out. He probably would," the senior offered. "Oh, by the way Roxas, you should bring some spare clothes or something. Marluxia told me that you guys were gonna crash at my place after the festival. So I'd get a change of clothes or something unless you wanna sleep in your regular clothes."

With a nod, Roxas went to retrieve a change of clothes like Riku suggested. When he returned, the silver-haired teen asked, "So is Marluxia finally getting into Vexen's pants, or what?"

Roxas saw Cloud, with a clothed Sora in his arms, coming down the stairs out of his peripheral vision and couldn't help but laugh at his father's expression when he heard the words, "I don't think he's managed to fuck him quite yet. But he probably will soon," leave Zexion's lips. The older blond's face contorted with both surprise and disgust.

"Hey, guys!" Sora greeted. "Good morning, Zexion! I didn't know you were coming over."

Tifa came down soon after and managed to catch Cloud in a kiss before he started walking down the hallway to the kitchen. "Good morning, Riku, I hope Roxas' filthy sheets didn't bother you too much," she greeted the teenager. She greeted Zexion with an expressionless glance.

"No, they were fine. But Roxas, I was meaning to ask, is that white stuff in your bed dried ice cream?" he asked with a smirk.

Roxas threw up his hands and sighed in exasperation. "And now everyone knows my secret. Thanks for revealing that, Riku. You're a pal." He smiled over at the older boy as Sora managed to roll himself into the living room.

"Sora, what are your plans for today?" Tifa wondered as she turned to her favorite son.

Sora smiled and chuckled before he said, "I'm going to the New Year's fair with Riku and Kairi. We're gonna stay until midnight to countdown. Apparently, they have a fireworks display if the weather is clear enough when it reaches midnight, and then I'm probably gonna sleep over at his house. Is that okay?"

Tifa nodded. "Yeah that's fine. Roxas, you had better stay away from New Year's parties. You're probably going to another high school party at that Demyx's house, aren't you? You remember how that turned out on Halloween, right?"

"Mom, I'm basically doing the same thing as Sora except with my own friends!" Roxas corrected her, exasperated. "Just because it's a holiday doesn't mean I want to binge drink all night long."

Instead of reacting to being proved wrong, Tifa nodded he head. "Good. Because your father and I are going to a New Year's Eve party tonight and we won't be back until tomorrow. I expect you to behave yourself." And with that, she followed Cloud into the kitchen.

"Fucking bitch," Roxas grumbled under his breath as he glared at where his mother had disappeared down the hall.

"Hey, whoa, Roxy, that's not cool, okay? She's our mom! She made us," Sora scolded, prompting Roxas to roll his eyes.

"So, Roxas, Axel's gonna come pick us up. Well, Axel driving Dem's car. Demyx is resting his hands and fingers for some musical critique he has tomorrow. He told me they'd be here in approximately 20 minutes. We're going out for brunch first, apparently," Zexion explained.

Sora snorted. "Axel's a creep," he nearly growled. "Last night, he kept texting me pictures of you sleeping, Roxy. He finally stopped at, like, three in the morning because I threatened to burn all the sweaters you've stolen from him. Of course he backed down after that."

Riku grinned at Roxas while Zexion looked at the blond with a confused expression on his face. Hastily, he said, "I didn't steal those sweaters! Axel just forgets them here whenever he comes over!"

Of course, Riku knew the truth and was unconvinced. Zexion and Sora, however, bought it, evidenced by the way that the brunet glared at his twin. "You. Broke. Our. Deal," he growled. "You've been sneaking him over here, haven't you?" Before even letting his brother reply, Sora continued on. "Roxas, do you realize how stupid of a decision that is? He could easily take advantage of you! Look, watch this video he sent to me last night; it proves he wants in your pants and nothing else!" He pulled out his phone and looked through it for a moment before shoving the thing into Roxas' face.

Sure enough, a video was playing of Roxas sleeping against Axel's chest. Axel began gloating and teasing Sora about the fact that they were sleeping together. At one point, he recorded himself grabbing a handful of the younger boy's ass, to which sleeping Roxas responded by smiling and snuggling tighter against him.

Normally Roxas would've thought the video funny and, secretly, cute, but the fact that this was physical evidence of their real relationship scared him. Sora didn't seem to realize that they were, indeed, in a relationship, but Zexion wasn't that blind and he didn't want to tell Zexion quite yet. He knew Zexion would most likely be happy for him and would easily keep the secret, but the idea of having too many people know bothered Roxas. The more the people that knew, the higher chance that the secret would get out.

"He's totally joking in the video, Sora. If he wanted to molest me, he would've done it while I was asleep and completely defenseless. And he definitely wouldn't molest me and then record a video of him squeezing my ass in my sleep. That would incriminate him if I ever wanted to press charges or anything for the assault that would have occurred."

"Why were you sleeping curled up with Axel in the first place?" Zexion wondered, still very confused by this new information. 'Could it be that Axel and Roxas are in a relationship? It couldn't possibly be because Roxas definitely would've told me about it sooner.'

That thought brought guilt onto Roxas' conscience. He couldn't bring himself to lie, so he just decided to tell the truth, but leave out a few minor details that changed the situation a bit. "We were watching TV and accidently fell asleep. I like to cuddle with things in my sleep, but you already know that from personal experience," he explained. He was a little worried Zexion would be skeptical of his response because one of the times he'd curled up with the bookworm in his sleep was after they'd been fooling around.

Instead of responding verbally, Zexion nodded in understanding. 'Relax, Zexion, you're worrying yourself over things that shouldn't be worrying you. Because Demyx has been acting secretive lately, you're just assuming things are happening that really aren't.'

If Roxas ever told anyone else about his relationship, Zexion would have to be the first he informed. Luckily Roxas forgot his guilt when he and Zexion got texts from Demyx that they were outside waiting for them. They said their goodbyes to Riku and Sora before continuing outside to Demyx's car with Axel at the wheel.

"You're such a douchebag," Roxas accused Axel when he entered the car and took the passenger's seat next to the redhead.

Zexion settled in the back with Demyx and Roxas was vaguely aware of them as they began making out almost immediately.

"Me? A douchebag?" the redhead questioned innocently. He chuckled at the disappointed look on Roxas' face. "So I take it that Sora told you about those pictures and the video?"

"Are you trying to ruin my life?" the blond wondered sarcastically.

Zexion pinned Demyx to the backseat, their bodies twisting awkwardly with the seat belts restraining them.

"Hey, I know this is your car, Demyx, but please keep the clothes on at least, you two! Remember that there are two other people in the car with you," Axel said as he noticed this new development as well.

"Fine, we'll just make out till we get to the restaurant. Then I will be giving Zexion head because he deserves that and only after that will I enter the eating establishment. His semen will serve as my appetizer," Demyx explained.

Zexion turned bright red while Roxas and Axel frowned and cried out "Ewww!"


"Alright, so we're going to the New Year's fair on the outskirts of town with the rest of the Organization. Zexion told me he would deal with Lexaeus being there, so we're all going. Roxas, I know you're new to this experience, but basically, the fair has rides and booths and things like that, so we walk through its entirety and just kind of hang out," Marluxia explained between bites of his French toast.

Roxas almost wanted to laugh at how Marluxia had appointed himself leader of their little group and how everyone basically just followed without any complaints. It made sense, though, since Marluxia was the most charismatic of them all, and the only one with real leadership capabilities.

Everyone sat together in a café that looked like a wannabe Denny's or IHOP in a very large family-sized booth. Naminé sat on one end and Demyx sat on the other. They all had some form of food in front of them, most of them sharing together, except for Marluxia who insisted no one even touch his plate lest he bite their hand off. Axel and Roxas shared an order of French fries and tried not to grin whenever they brushed hands while grabbing for another fry.

"We usually stay at the fair until midnight because there's always a countdown and then a fireworks show for New Year's Day. After the fair, we usually end up at someone's house to crash for the night. This year, I'm almost positive Riku said we could go to his house, so yes, we'll be sleeping there. Got it, Roxas?" the pink-haired boy prompted.

"Yeah, I got it," he murmured, trying not to blush when Axel ran a hand up and down his leg under the table That had definitely made it difficult to concentrate for the rest of their time there.


A couple of hours later, they were at the fairgrounds, which Roxas had never seen or been to before. He could see various rides sitting inside a giant gated-off area and, since the sun was at its peak and about to begin the descent towards the horizon, the neon lights in the fair barely illuminated the bright sky, but would become more obvious within the next couple of hours. Living in Destiny Islands, Roxas wasn't quite used to it getting dark at four thirty in the afternoon. Still, it was nice.

Marluxia and Axel had tried to park close to each other, but there were so many people there that a few workers from the fair had to direct traffic and tell them where to park. They ended up parking in two different rows of spaces and met up on the walk towards the entrance to the fair. Zexion had a book in his hands, which Marluxia promptly ripped up once their two groups converged.

"You're going to have to actually participate in today's festivities, Zexy," he chided as he tore apart the novel and tossed the pieces into a trashcan strangely full of unrecycled bottles just outside the entrance of the fair.

Zexion, of course, did not take this offense well. Before he could do anything rash, Demyx grabbed onto the smaller boy and restrained him. "That was a library book, Marluxia!" he seethed when he realized he couldn't do any bodily harm the older male.

"Don't worry, Zexy, I'll replace it!" Demyx promised with a pleading look in his eyes. He made sure to lock gazes with the bookworm, which seemed to calm him down a considerable amount. He just bit back a growl as he shook off his boyfriend's arms and straightened out his clothes.

"Naminé gets to keep her sketchbook," he mumbled under his breath but neither said nor did anything more.

"Right, so we're supposed to wait for the Organization here. We're going to go in together with them, so be on the lookout," Marluxia instructed as they approached the crowd of people waiting outside the entrance of the fair. Some were waiting around outside for other people, like them, and others were in line to purchase admission tickets.

They waited near a light post, Demyx, Zexion, and Roxas sitting down while the others stood and Naminé began furiously sketching in her book as she gazed at the fair. She and Larxene spoke together quietly in hushed tones, Marluxia simply kept watch, Axel and Roxas texted less than appropriate things back and forth and Demyx whispered things into Zexion's ear that seemed to have a calming effect on the already stressed boy.

Eventually, the Organization appeared, Lexaeus' head poking above everyone else's. Upon seeing them, the trio on the floor got to their feet.

All the relaxation Demyx had tried to instill in Zexion seemed to vanish, Roxas noticed, for his face contorted in displeasure and he grew tenser just at the sight of the man. He felt bad for Zexion, but couldn't say anything before he found himself buried in someone's chest that definitely did not belong to Axel.

"Hey, I was so distracted by Demyx yesterday I didn't even notice you, kiddo," a creepy sounding voice said, making Roxas cringe at the sound. "You're seriously cute."

He looked up and realized he was in Xigbar's arms. "Uh…" Roxas mumbled, not quite sure how to react.

"You look a little young, but you'll be fine as hell when you grow up a bit, so I might as well try to lock you down now, you know?" he said as he grinned down at the blond.

"Hey, you get your syphilis-infested hands off him! He's straight, you know! And a high school student!" Naminé's voice called out.

Roxas felt very grateful for that, especially when the girl helped him escape the man's grasp with a strong tug. The blond grinned at Naminé. "Thanks, Nam, I thought I was about to be raped for a second," he chuckled weakly as they joined the line with the other Organization members. He shot a wary look at Xigbar, who seemed disappointed for maybe half a second before he moved on to harass Demyx again like he had the previous day.

"It's no problem at all," she murmured with a giggle as she gave him a small hug.

Axel looked angry about the exchange, Roxas noticed out of the corner of his eye. He smiled a bit and then continued to take in the scene. Marluxia and Vexen seemed to really want to interact with the furtive glances they sent each other, but they couldn't appear too eager to speak because then Mr. Diskin—Xemnas or Saïx might have been able to guess about their romantic feelings for each other. Naminé was also surveying the scene and drawing on a different page in her sketchbook and still she was speaking quietly with Larxene. Zexion was trying his best not to look at Lexaeus, but said man seemed to be trying to get his attention by staring him down. Larxene, in addition to speaking with Naminé had her arm slinked around Luxord's waist and his around hers. Xemnas and Saïx were studying everyone and whispering to each other every so often, Xigbar was pestering Demyx, who tried very hard to ignore him while Luxord talked at Xigbar about getting something to drink once inside the fairgrounds.

Even though they were still getting acquainted, Roxas couldn't help but notice how well their groups went together already. Everyone had a certain niche or pair of two people. The idea that he belonged with all of these people made him happy and he was stoked to get to know the other members of the Organization.

Once they'd gotten their tickets and entered the fair, everyone began trying to decide where to go first and which path around the fair to take. Xemnas, being leader, ended up making the final decision that they would go from the right, starting at the displays of awards people had received for entering different homemade items into the fair. Everyone seemed okay with this decision, so they began walking.

Roxas remained quiet, despite the fact that Axel was trying to talk to him, so that he could fully drink in the fair experience. Back in Destiny Islands, they'd never had fairs like this for any reason. The closest to the fair they got was the Christmas parade and the summer parade, and then a street fair that really wasn't a fair at all. Just a group of people selling their crafts, artwork, and products on Main Street in the middle of the small plaza that served as their marketplace at the peak of tourism. Even Twilight Town, a larger town located on a different island from the one his house resided on, skimped on parades and festivals. The most they had were dances targeted at old people to give them something to entertain themselves with.

The scent of fried foods wafted freely through the air along with the smell of meats and even corn. Roxas already felt sufficiently full after having brunch at the café, but the smells made his mouth water and he wanted to buy food right away. Unfortunately, they probably wouldn't be eating until later.

"Hey, Roxas! Did you hear what I said?" Axel finally shouted into the blond's ear, startling him.

The boy jumped and glared up at the redhead giving him his usual shit-eating grin. "What?" he demanded.

"I asked you a question! God, Rox, stop ignoring me all the time!" the older boy ordered with a mock pout on his face.

Roxas chuckled. "I would, but unfortunately for you, I hate you. Therefore, I must ignore you at all costs," he teased. This banter felt a little more romantic and flirty than normal, which worried him a bit. Even if he and Axel had been openly in a relationship, Roxas had never been a big fan of PDA whether others were doing it or himself. He just didn't think other people needed to see the tender moments in romantic relationships. He thought those were private matters.

"Anyway, what was your question?" Roxas wondered, hoping to end the banter.

"I asked if they ever have fairs like this in Destiny Islands."

Simply, Roxas shook his head before his eye caught on a group of kids running between the other Organization members. "Nah, they don't have anything like this there. Parades and old people dances are Destiny Islands' ideas of holiday fun." He smiled as his eyes followed the kids as they ran to their parents.

They began to approach a beer stand, which made Luxord and Xigbar eager to buy some alcohol, so the members had to stand around and wait for a few minutes while they bought beer. Incidentally, when Xigbar and Luxord returned to the group with their beer, Xigbar realized that he'd forgotten his wallet at the booth, so he handed his beer to Demyx with a wink and asked him to hold it. This led to Zexion swiping the beverage from his boyfriend and downing it in one go. Luckily for him, Saïx and Xemnas had been busy talking quietly together and missed it. Everyone else who saw, including Roxas, was surprised at this.

"Jeez, Zexion, you're drinking awfully early," Marluxia pointed out as the younger boy finished off the beverage.

Zexion just grinned and before he tossed the now empty plastic cup into the trashcan near them and said, "There's no way I can make it through the night completely sober."

Mr. Price seemed the most surprised of them all. 'Zexion drinks alcohol? But he's likely no older than sixteen!' He frowned at the bookworm and scolded, "You know you aren't allowed to drink alcohol before you're 21 years of age."

A dangerous look appeared in Zexion's eyes and he made a predatory expression half like a grin and a glare at the same time. It almost looked sarcastic. "You know, I really couldn't care less," he sneered in a caustic voice that wasn't even intended for the teacher in the first place. It was just a result of the combination of stressors present, Lexaeus being the primary one.

"Zexy," Demyx murmured warningly with a somber look on his face, but didn't seem to know what to say to him. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the smaller male and squeezed him. "Don't be a buttface!" His voice was more chipper this time around. He placed a big, overly exaggerated kiss on the boy's cheek before snuggling him against his chest some more.

Roxas couldn't help but notice the hostility and jealousy on Lexaeus' face as this happened. His hands were balled into throbbing fists and his eyes seemed green with envy. 'Get your hands off my Zexion!' his forehead read. Roxas felt tempted to introduce the giant man to his fist, but he knew if they got into a fight, he'd most likely lose and then get in trouble because Xemnas and Saïx were there. Instead, he just returned to his conversation with Axel.

When Xigbar returned, he looked really confused at the disappearance of his drink. He turned an accusatory gaze onto Demyx. "You little shit! You drank my beer!" he pointed.

Demyx shook his head. "No way! I didn't drink your beer. I don't even like beer! It tastes bad and I don't like it at all, so no, I didn't drink your beer, old man," he responded, clearly intent on protecting Zexion. Nobody else spoke up to turn Zexion in or to take the blame, so Xigbar just grumbled angrily and said he would get another one later. Thus, everyone moved on to the exhibits.

Even though they weren't allowed to touch or eat any of the entries in the fair, Roxas liked seeing them anyway. Axel and Demyx made fun of the silly categories like table-setting. Naminé found great pleasure in the art exhibits and joined Axel and Demyx in the bashing of the works. She also somehow wound up attached to Roxas by the arm. She led him around to different pictures and got especially close to him when they stood still. Roxas just figured she was cold since, holy fuck, was it freezing. Why would they have a mostly outside fair in the middle of winter when it was below seven degrees? Okay, so the exhibits were inside but it was still pretty cold.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly; everyone was attempting to get along and the two groups bonded together reasonably well. Unfortunately, all was not okay when they began transitioning over to the rides section of the fair. A path bridged the two areas and on either side of the path were booths. People were coming and going along the path with their group members and as they were entering the area between the rides and the exhibits, some oafish boys deliberately crashed into Zexion hard enough to knock him to the floor as he and Demyx walked by them. It was lucky he didn't hit the table they were passing on his way to the ground because they'd shoved him so hard he would've been seriously injured if he'd hit it.

"Faggot!" they yelled at him and laughed. They'd seen Zexion and Demyx walking hand in hand and obviously didn't like it. On their foreheads, Roxas could tell that one of them was actually in turmoil because he suspected that he himself was gay. That made Roxas' blood boil and he noticed that everyone else's blood seemed to boil, even if they didn't know that little tidbit, especially Lexaeus' and Demyx's.

Marluxia barred the boys' path when they tried to continue walking as Demyx rushed to Zexion's aid and began making sure he was okay. The expression on his face was absolutely terrifying, twisted up into a furious glare hidden behind gentlemanly politeness. "Excuse me, can I help you gentlemen?" he demanded in a very curt and abrasive fashion. He had a good few inches on even the tallest boy in the opposing group and obviously intimidated them by the way they backed up a bit and exchanged glances with each other.

The guy who'd pushed Zexion stepped forward and warned, "You better get out of my way, Appletini, before you end up like your little boyfriend."

Before anything could progress any further, Xemnas and Saïx took over the situation much to the newfound terror of the offending group at their recognition. Xemnas gently pushed Marluxia aside and demanded to know their names and which school they all went to while Saïx watched all of them to ensure none got away. 'Ahh, excellent,' Xemnas' forehead said when he heard that they were actually students from Radiant Garden Union High School. He took down their names in his phone and assured the boys, who were rightfully terrified at this point, that they would not be allowed to return Monday or even the first week back at school. He even went as far as to say they may be expelled if the superintendent sided with him on the matter.

Zexion seemed dazed as he got to his feet, looking not completely mentally gathered at both being shoved to the ground and at the display of poetic justice that had just taken place. He looked up at Xemnas with a confused expression and murmured, "We're not even in school."

"I don't want bullies at my school, and I do everything within my power to protect my students. Don't let them get to you, Zexion," was the answer, as well as a pat on the shoulder.

The air was a bit tense after that, but it slowly faded as they approached the rides. Demyx bought enough ride tickets to last for days, but he assured Roxas that they'd all be gone by the end of the day. Zexion had grimaced at the words, and the blond would soon understand why. Demyx just grinned instead of explaining, and his thoughts always seemed to be focused on how much he wanted to smother Zexion to death for being so cute, or something to that effect, which was inconvenient for Roxas at all times.

The older members of the Organization went ahead to the food and games area to find a table for when the younger members got tired of riding and wanted to get something to eat. Marluxia didn't seem to want to go on rides, so he went with Xemnas, Saïx, Vexen, Xaldin, and Lexaeus to go find a table, which made everyone in the younger group grin because they knew he just wanted some quality time with Vexen. Xigbar and Luxord were the only members of the adult group that also wanted to go on rides, so they all continued onwards.

Naminé wanted to sit next to Roxas on every ride, and she never let go of his arm for long, which was bothering Axel, as far as Roxas could tell. Of course, Roxas didn't exactly mind Axel's jealousy and he definitely loved the power he had right now over his boyfriend's emotions, so he let Naminé do as she pleased. Especially since it was absolutely freezing and having Naminé cling to him was rather warm. He couldn't cling to Axel without tipping everyone off, unfortunately.

On one particular ride, a giant perpetual loop-de-loop called the Ring of Fire, Axel and Demyx insisted on riding it over and over again. They dragged Zexion along, but let everyone else rest as they continually rode and got back into the short line to ride again. Naminé explained to Roxas vaguely that this was a tradition that they did every year. She seemed too absorbed in her sketching the crowds and rides to really speak all that much which was an odd change in her formerly clingy behavior. The pair just waited by the exit when they were finished riding for the first time. Everyone else kept going, however.

Luxord, Larxene, and Xigbar tried to keep up with the amount of times Demyx, Axel, and Zexion rode, but Luxord and Larxene quit after three rides while Xigbar managed to stick out five rides. On the last one, he seemed particularly scattered in his mental facilities. Axel, Demyx, and Zexion rode the thing at least twelve times before finally, Zexion came running out of the exit and began promptly vomiting in the trashcan strategically placed next to the exit, probably for a situation such as this.

Roxas, Luxord, and Xigbar were alarmed when they witnessed him hacking up his stomach's contents, but Naminé and Larxene seemed very accustomed to it. Demyx held Zexion's hair for him and rubbed gentle circles into his back as he retched despite the fact that he and Axel could not stop laughing.

"Come on, Zexy, it's just a ride!" Axel teased.

"Fuck you," Zexion managed to burp out without ever taking his head out of the can. When he finally stopped throwing up, he excused himself to go brush his teeth in the bathroom. Naminé was definitely right; Zexion had even packed himself a toothbrush and a little packet of toothpaste in anticipation of this tradition.

Everyone else, except for Naminé, waited for Zexion to return before they began walking over to the tables where the older members had gone. Naminé had gone ahead to the food area already, saying that she was tired of standing around. As the rest of them headed to the eating area, Roxas found himself face to face with Riku, Sora, and Kairi. The three were walking alone, Kairi with pink cotton candy in her hand and Riku pushing Sora, who carried a large stuffed whale in his lap.

"Hey, Roxy!" Sora greeted cheerfully. "Oh, and hello to you too, Demyx."

Before Roxas or Demyx could respond, Xigbar butted in. "Who is this?" he asked, shoving a finger into Sora's face.

Roxas pushed Xigbar away from the brunet and huffed. "He's my twin brother, Sora. Sora, you don't want to know this guy, trust me."

"Yeah," the brunet scrunched up his nose, "Riku told me everything, but this guy seems particularly gross. Anyway," his face brightened up considerably, "Riku told me you guys were gonna come sleep at his house, too, so I'm excited. We get to have a sleepover, Roxy!"

"Sora, we're brothers," Roxas murmured as he rolled his eyes. "We always have sleepovers. We live together."

"Well, yeah, but not at other people's houses! This is the first time, well not if you count Hayner's house, that we'll be having a sleepover together at someone else's house!" Sora wiggled in his excitement and his smile made Roxas just want to let the brunet have this moment. "Well, we'll see you guys around. Bye!" And with that, the trio continued walking.

Riku paused before he completely passed Zexion to ruffle his hair and drawl "Cuuuuz," to which Zexion replied by glaring.

They continued on ahead after that and quickly found their comrades when they entered the food and games section of the fair. No other table had both a giant man and a guy with hot pink hair sitting there. As they approached, Naminé revealed that she'd saved a seat between her and Marluxia for Roxas, which made Larxene chortle. Axel seemed almost at the end of his rope at this point, so Demyx said that they would go get food for everyone who wanted it and that Axel should go with him to help carry it all. The redhead seemed grateful for the distraction, so the two left with everyone's orders. As it had turned out, no one had gone to get their food yet, so Saïx tagged along with them to help pay and to help carry food.

Zexion slumped into the seat across from Roxas with an open spot on either side of him for both Axel and Demyx and buried his face in his arms on the table. He seemed very under the weather at this point, which made Roxas feel bad for him.

Everyone was awkwardly quiet after the three members left to retrieve sustenance for them all. Lexaeus had taken to staring at Zexion with interest and concern apparent on his face. Everyone else seemed to notice his blatant ogling, so Larxene spoke up.

"So what's the deal with you two losers, exactly?" she demanded, glaring at Lexaeus with a judgmental glint in her eyes. 'This guy's a fucking freak. Bookworm over there may not be my favorite, but if it's made him this unhappy to be around this guy again, he must've done something terrible.' Roxas thought that kind of sweet because that was about as nice as Larxene got and the fact that she felt sympathetic for Zexion meant a lot.

Zexion tilted his head upwards so that his eye was poking out from behind his bangs when Lexaeus explained curtly, "We used to date."

Everyone sat there in disbelief for a second, looking from Zexion and Lexaeus alternately, most likely due to the contrast in their sizes. "You used to date each other? How long ago did you break up?" Vexen wondered aloud, voicing similar thoughts to those of everyone around them.

"Sometime in June or July," Zexion answered.

"It was July 7th," Lexaeus corrected.

"Whenever the fuck," the much smaller male snorted, which seemed to make Lexaeus tremble a bit.

"How long did you date for?" Marluxia wondered.

"Around nine months," Lexaeus murmured. 'Nine wonderful months that I screwed up.'

"He's the one that dumped me, before you ask," Zexion added.

"Why?" Vexen seemed very concerned to hear all about this. 'I suppose it makes sense that Lexaeus and Zexion would date; they do seem like they'd get along very well. But if they got along then why would Lexaeus have dumped him? And why didn't he tell me anything about his relationship with Zexion at all?'

"Ask him. I don't know. He just told me we were over and ceased all further contact," the teenager snorted.

Pain and guilt twisted up Lexaeus' strong facial features and his shoulders slumped a little. "I was… worried about going to college and leaving you behind," he murmured. 'I cheated.'

Roxas went rigidly straight in his seat suddenly and glared intensely at Lexaeus. Honestly, the blond didn't know what was worse; the fact that Lexaeus had dumped Zexion through text without explaining anything at all or the fact that he'd cheated and lied so that Zexion didn't know anything about it.

Everyone seemed to notice the blond's sudden burst of movement and Lexaeus looked at him fearfully.

"Liar," Roxas practically spat. He wanted to go off on a tangent yelling and screaming at the huge man, but he didn't really know Lexaeus that well, they were in public, and he wanted to force him to say it on his own.

"Um," the giant murmured before continuing, "well, I didn't want to have to keep you a secret anymore…" Roxas saw that that was actually true, so he didn't say anything quite yet.

Zexion glared down at the table as Lexaeus said this. "Because you were embarrassed to be with me." He pulled violently at the sleeves of his sweater.

"No! It wasn't that, Zexion," Lexaeus promised in a pleading voice. "It wasn't, I swear." He reached his arm across the table to touch Zexion's hand, but the bookworm hastily jerked his arms off the table before he could make contact.

Rejected, the giant retreated. "I just, I thought it would be hard to explain why I was dating a freshman as a senior. My friends would've thought the age and size difference was creepy. And I didn't want you to have to go through that, so I never told anyone about us. And I didn't know you were gifted as well, so I thought you'd be scared if you found out."

These words were also true, and when he stopped speaking, everyone looked expectantly at Roxas. "That's not all," he informed them, putting Lexaeus in a panic, as if he couldn't really believe that Roxas could tell that he was lying.

Finally, the huge man hunched over even more in shame. He let out a sigh and murmured, "I cheated on you."

When those words left Lexaeus' mouth, Zexion's entire face fell and broke away from angry and hateful to completely heartbroken and dejected. This only lasted for a moment, though, for he regained his composure a moment later. "It was nothing I hadn't suspected," he mumbled, his voice sad and slow. "At least now I know for sure now…"

Even more tension rose, and mostly everyone stared at Lexaeus with either disappointment or anger in their eyes.

"Zexion, I just wanted you to know that I'm really-"

"Shut up!" Zexion barked. "I don't give a shit how sorry you are!" he roared. "I'm glad we've broken up! I would much rather be alone than with some douchebag who thinks it a good idea to cheat on his partner! And I'm not even alone. I have Demyx. And he's three times the boyfriend that you ever were!"

Everyone remained quiet for a few seconds, even Xigbar, because no one knew what to say after that. They all had different opinions on the situation, but Roxas could tell everyone felt bad for Zexion and some degree of disappointment with Lexaeus.

Luckily, Axel, Saïx, and Demyx returned after only a brief moment of silence. Axel took the seat to the right of Zexion while Demyx claimed the one on the left. Saïx reclaimed the seat next to Xemnas and then the three distributed the food in their arms.

"What's up with you guys? Why so serious?" Demyx wondered and then chuckled to himself over the reference he'd made. He took notice of Zexion's glum state immediately, and wrapped an arm around the boy's waist. When Zexion slowly sat up, his boyfriend took the opportunity to place several butterfly kisses on his cheek, forehead, and chin.

Roxas noticed, with some degree of satisfaction, that Lexaeus averted his eyes from the display and the fact that Zexion smiled and chuckled at the sudden affection. Jealousy had claimed his thoughts, along with self-hatred, which normally Roxas would've been extremely against, but in this case, he felt the giant deserved to feel at least a little bad.

The tension died down after the little display, and everyone got caught up in their own conversations, though it was more like the older members had one conversation and the younger members had a different conversation. They hadn't mingled quite that well yet.

"So what were y'all talking about while we were away?" Demyx wondered before he set to work on one of the three corn dogs in front of him.

"Today we discovered that our hero, Zexion, used to date that pile of rocks over there and that said pile of rocks cheated on him and then dumped him," Marluxia informed him.

Demyx scowled in response before he pulled his beloved into his side and kissed him on the top of his head. "Some people just abandon the most wonderful, beautiful things." He took a moment to shrug before he grabbed Zexion by the chin. "Oh well, that's good for me, then," he said with a smile before leaning in to kiss Zexion, who stopped him by slapping a hand to his mouth.

"Wipe that grease off your face, and then you may kiss me," Zexion instructed him, fixing the swimmer with a loving stare. And everything went back to normal. Well, relatively normal.

Naminé still wouldn't detach herself from Roxas, which, while it was working to make Axel jealous, was beginning to get annoying. He didn't really like clinginess and this was just grating on his nerves because she'd adjust herself to Roxas' movements so that she was always essentially in the same position. Plus, even if he liked making his boyfriend a little jealous, he couldn't help but feel that it was getting a bit excessive. Despite the fact that he really wanted to tell her to let go of him, he wanted to avoid confrontation. They'd already had a lot of tension in their group today, and they didn't need any more stress amongst them. He liked to think he was taking one for the team.

"Hey, is Riku gonna have weed at his house, do you think?" Larxene asked Marluxia.

The pink-haired senior laughed at that. "Sweetie, this is Riku we're talking about. Of course he will! I doubt he'll share it with us, though. It's a pity, really." He frowned.

"Well, he said he's been trying to get rid of his stash for a while now. He said he doesn't really want to sell it, though, so maybe he will just share it," Zexion interjected.

Roxas looked at his friends incredulously. "You guys do weed?" he wondered, feeling a bit uncomfortable. It wasn't that he really had anything against the consumption of marijuana, he'd just never been around it, and all he could think about was Sora's long-winded rants about the drug. Plus, his friends had never really mentioned it up until this point.

"Not often, but today is a special occasion," Axel responded. "Why? Has wittle Woxy never had weed before?" he wondered in his baby voice.

Roxas rolled his eyes and snorted.

"There was some at Seifer's Halloween party. You didn't try it then?" Marluxia wondered.

Everyone just kind of stared at Marluxia a moment.

"Marly, there wasn't any weed," Axel corrected him. "I guess you wouldn't know, considering you never made it to the party," the redhead reminded him before he, along with everyone else, positively bust a gut and howled with laughter at the fact that Marluxia had forgotten about Halloween, and then at the face the teenager made in response to being laughed at.

Vaguely, Roxas saw the adults quiet down and stare at them in their fit of laughter with confused eyes, but then Marluxia's face turned red and he stood up to lean across the table and shove Axel backwards to the floor on his ass, and then Roxas couldn't see very much at all because tears clouded his vision. Slowly, very slowly, the laughter died down before it got completely quiet and they started laughing again. This happened a few times until they finally stopped completely, a few chuckles the only remnants of the fit.

"You're all assholes," Marluxia grumbled.

Roxas' phone rang shortly thereafter with Sora's name on the caller ID. The blond raised an eyebrow curiously before answering the device. "Hello?"

"Hey, Roxy, where are you?" Sora's voice sounded panicked and anxious, making Roxas immediately concerned for his twin.

"In the food court area, why? Are you okay?" he questioned.

"Mmm, I'm okay, I guess. Can I come hang out with you and your friends? I really need you. I did something stupid."

It took Roxas a moment to consider the idea. He definitely wanted to be there for his brother, but at the same time, he worried about the other part of the Organization. If it had been just his usual group alone, then this wouldn't be a problem at all. He took his cell phone away from his ear for a second and asked Marluxia, "Hey, do you think it's okay if Sora hangs out with us?"

Marluxia shrugged before extending the question to Vexen, who then shared it with Xemnas. Xemnas looked a little concerned, and gave Roxas a look for a second as if trying to gauge how much he wanted this. He nodded his head after a moment. 'I suppose this would be a good opportunity for Vexen to study them a bit, being that they're twins who don't both have gifts.'

Roxas smiled and invited his twin over. Before he could ask what exactly he'd done that was so stupid he had to run from Riku and Kairi, Sora had already hung up. That left him a little on edge, but he tried not to let it show. Despite his efforts, Axel gave him a reassuring smile.

'Don't worry so much, Rox,' his forehead read.

The fact that Axel spoke to him through his thoughts absolutely thrilled Roxas for some reason. Nobody else at all had realized that they could communicate with the blond through thoughts, so it was almost like their own little secret language. He'd been considering telling Zexion at least about it, but now decided against it. He wanted it to stay a secret.

When Sora arrived, he had a fake smile plastered to his face and thanked Roxas for letting him roll with them.

"Oh, how the tables have turned," Roxas crooned, teasing his twin for the reversal of their situation. Usually Roxas was the one to follow Sora around.

Sora grinned and chuckled. "Hey, shut up, this is a one-time thing. I'm not as lonely as you are on a regular basis." He rolled up to the end of the table between Naminé and Demyx.

Axel gave Sora a shit-eating grin, and asked, "So how's Riku?"

Immediately, the brunet's face fell and he glowered at the redhead. "Don't you dare talk to me, demon. I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now," he growled. "Roxy, I'll explain everything later," he then promised his twin.

"So, Roxas, this is your brother, then?" Vexen asked as he eyed Sora curiously. All the older members of the Organization looked surprised that he was in a wheelchair despite them being twins, but nobody said anything about it quite yet.

"Yeah. This is Sora. We're fraternal twins," he introduced the brunet and jerked a thumb over in his direction.

"Why is he a cripple?" Xigbar asked, gaining him glares from the other older members of the organization.

"Oh my god, you can't just ask people why they're cripples!" Marluxia scolded melodramatically, making Larxene and Naminé giggle.

"I'm not normally a cripple," Sora defended himself with a pout on his face. "Roxy and I got into a car crash a few weeks ago and both my legs got broken," he explained, then elaborated, "I was driving but it totally wasn't my fault because we were a drunk driver hit us. I got pretty lucky, I guess, because if it'd gone just a little differently I could've died. Luckily, it's just my legs. And Roxy only got whiplash, so he's pretty much okay, too."

"How long until you get out of that chair?" Luxord wondered.

"Just a couple of weeks. Probably less because I'm, like, super antsy and I'll probably start walking next week even though I'm not supposed to put any weight on my legs until they're completely better. I have a problem with sitting still, so this is absolute torture for me. I think it would've been better if Roxas had his legs broken instead of me because he doesn't even do anything anyway." Though he sounded serious, the look on his face clearly expressed that he was joking about the last part.

"Well fuck you, too," Roxas responded.

Sora just grinned playfully at his twin and shrugged. "Gah, I'm so excited! We get to sleep together tonight; I just remembered!" Sora exclaimed in a celebratory tone.

"Whoa, whoa, you two, unless you wanna take one of Riku's brothers' rooms, there's only gonna be one open room for that, and Zexion and I happen to have that reserved, because it's his room, anyway," Demyx interrupted.

"Demyx, you're blocking my game hardcore right now. I hope you know this," Sora deadpanned. His ocean eyes still expressed his delight in the current conversation, however.

"Deal with it. We got dibs," the sandy blond responded and then stuck his tongue out at Sora, who promptly reciprocated the action. "But if you wanted to, I'm sure Riku's bed will be free. Well, you know, with Riku inside of it. You know." He winked at Sora, who immediately glared daggers in return, which surprised Demyx. "Whoa, I'm totally joking, dude," he immediately backpedaled.

"I'm not exactly in the mood for Riku jokes," the brunet grumbled. Under his anger, though, Roxas could easily recognize his despondence. 'Jeez, I screwed everything up. Why am I such an idiot?'

They sat there and talked for a while as everyone finished their food. Roxas felt very accomplished by the end of their meal because he'd managed to make Zexion laugh. He had pulled an onion ring from the little tray that he and Zexion were sharing and found that it was shaped more like an infinity symbol for its size caused it to fold inwards. Then he'd looked up at the blue-haired boy and said, "And in that moment, I swear we were onion rings." He was glad it made Zexion laugh.

The rest of their time at the fair went smoothly and pleasantly for the most part. Marluxia and Zexion managed to get into a huge argument where they both brought up the sensitive subject of their parents; Zexion's mom and Marluxia's dad. Zexion managed to quell the tension when he exposed one of the carnival games as a fraud. It had been one of those strong arm games where the player is supposed to hit a little pillar with a hammer and it would test for strength. Marluxia had hit the thing as hard as he could, but he never managed to ring the bell. Thus, the bookworm had decided to hit it so hard, the cement beneath it cracked under the force much to the alarm of the booth worker. Of course, it still said he hadn't hit it hard enough. It even said he'd been weaker than Marluxia had been, which was not the case. Marluxia thanked him for that and for the stuffed, pink elephant the bookworm had won from the little display.

At the countdown, everyone gathered near the Ferris wheel where the fireworks would be launched behind because the weather ended up being clear enough, though Vexen revealed that he actually did that on purpose every year. Everyone got ready to kiss someone, as happened to be tradition at the fair to ring in the New Year. Roxas really wanted Axel to be his first kiss of the year, but he knew he couldn't with Sora and everyone with him. He didn't really have a choice anyway, because Roxas realized that Naminé had been clinging to him all night just for this moment. She kissed him in a surprise attack as the clock struck exactly midnight.

She pulled away and smiled shyly at him before he could even stop her. He just stared at her with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Honestly, he didn't even really know how he was supposed to feel about this. He didn't feel very good about it, that was for sure. He especially didn't feel good about it when Axel went to bury his hands in his pockets and his pants started to smoke and melt.

Naminé practically ran away giggling after that, sketchbook under one arm. She disappeared from Roxas' line of sight, so he turned his attention to the fireworks, but found that his eyes were more drawn to Zexion and Demyx unabashedly making out in front of him. He couldn't bring himself to look at Axel and see the disappointed look he was most definitely giving the blond.

The two groups split up after the fireworks show, and Marluxia informed Roxas that Naminé wanted to talk with him for a moment privately in his car. Despite the fact that the blond was anxious as to what she wanted, he decided he'd better be polite. Marluxia had seemed a bit reluctant to inform him that the blonde wanted to talk while Larxene seemed especially pleased, which worried Roxas a bit. Still, he went ahead and entered the pink car and sat in the backseat.

Naminé sat in the backseat on the other side. She had a smile on her face, which seemed to glow in the light from the neon rides and attractions at the fair. Roxas had never been an artist or really known anything about art or photography, but he honestly felt that if he could take pictures with his eyes, this would win every award ever just for how beautiful she looked.

"Hey, Roxas," she greeted with her shy smile still firmly in place.

"Hey, Nam. What's up?" he wondered.

Instead of responding, the blonde scooted into the middle seat next to Roxas and put a hand gently to his arm. "Roxas, you're such a nice, good person," she murmured. Her eyes dropped as her smile grew. She seemed to be seeing something else before her attention quickly returned to the boy.

"Uh, thanks, I guess," he replied. The look in her eyes scared him, as did the hand slowly making its way toward his face.

"You're always really nice to me," Naminé elaborated as her hand finally found Roxas' cheek. Her other hand went to land on his other cheek much more quickly than the first one. "And I really admire your integrity. You're not like a lot of people I know, and the fact that you treat me like I'm someone important means a lot to me…" she trailed off.

Suddenly, her mouth pressed desperately against his in a passionate kiss. She straddled him, pressing her thighs and breasts against him as one of her hands stayed on the boy's face while the other traveled down to his chest. Her breathing was hot and heavy and the sweet scent of her perfume filled Roxas' nose.

His brain had a tough time processing the situation, and he didn't really know how to respond because of it. Roxas just experienced being made out with without participating or doing anything. He could only really think of Axel's face.

"I'm thanking you, Roxas," she whispered in his ear before giving it a lick. "And I know you like me. So we should be together." Both her hands roamed his torso now, rubbing at him sensually. She planted one hand on his chest while the other began travelling south. "I can make you feel really good, Roxas, so you should say yes." Her hand reached its target and she lightly placed her hand over his crotch.

That catalyzed his brain and zoomed his thought process forward. He immediately removed her hand from his private area and pushed her away, successfully removing her mouth from his neck. Thoughts of Axel and how hurt he would be when he heard about this filled his mind. He was so angry and frustrated at both himself and Naminé. He knew he didn't really deserve to be angry at her since she knew nothing about Axel or that he was gay, but he was anyway. How could she just come along and try to screw everything up?

"Roxas? Why—?"

"Naminé, you're mistaken," he began in a low, serious, firm voice. "I don't like you. Not in that way. Even if I did, this is the absolute wrong way to go about starting a relationship." Adrenaline coursed through his veins along with his festering anger and he fought to remain verbally calm. "Relationships aren't all about the sexual side, and if you think you need to promise someone sex to get them to date you, then you're wrong and you've been taught wrongly. Relationships… they progress with friendship first and slowly build upwards as you get to know each other better. They don't start with sex. And I know we were friends before all this, but it's different. I don't even have romantic feelings for you and yet here you are jumping to conclusions and trying to get into my pants."

Naminé's face was one of sheer terror and guilt and sadness. "But, Roxas, how can you get people to like you if you don't sleep with them?"

Roxas sighed and tried to forget Axel's gorgeous green eyes distorted with pain. "Because you're a nice person. And if you find someone you want to be in a relationship with, then your personalities should fit together and attract each other. It's not easy to find people you want to be with, but it's worth it when you finally do. Naminé, I'm not the person for you. I'm really sorry."

Tears quickly welled in the blonde's eyes and she began to sniffle. She looked so fragile and confused that Roxas felt his anger die away instantly. She honestly wasn't used to being turned down. Obviously she also wasn't familiar with the idea of moving slowly in relationships. He opened his arms for her, and she immediately buried her face into his chest and began to sob.

"I'm so s-sorry," she blubbered. "I-I-I-I didn't realize…"

Roxas held her close and couldn't help be reminded of his ex-girlfriend, Xion. She was also fragile and crying like this when they broke up. It brought him back and he just had to be there for her. "It's okay, Nam," he promised with a smile. "Now buck up. I'm just one person! You'll have other opportunities, I swear."

She shook her head. "It's not that." She hiccupped as she began wiping her eyes hastily. "It's just, I feel so stupid and embarrassed… You were so different and way nicer than all the other guys that I've been with that I should've realized you wouldn't want to do that. I'm sorry… I'm an idiot…"

There wasn't much else Roxas could do aside from stroke her hair softly.

She calmed down about five minutes later and apologized again. "Could we please forget this ever happened?" she requested, searching Roxas' eyes for signs of protest.

"Of course. I think I should go now. The guys are probably getting impatient." With a final hug, he left Marluxia's car to find that the pink-haired senior and Larxene had been standing guard over the vehicle. He ended up coming out of the end Marluxia himself guarded.

"Did you do it?" he wondered quietly.

Roxas shook his head.

"Good." He ruffled Roxas' hair. Suddenly he said, "You're my favorite, Roxas." He slapped his pointer finger to his mouth and shushed the blond and winked at him as he did so.

The boy smiled and nodded before returning to Demyx's car. He found everyone seated inside, and since Sora had taken a seat in the back, he'd take the passenger seat next to Axel.

"So what did Marluxia want?" Sora wondered as soon as Roxas sat down.

Roxas tried to avoid Axel's gaze and stared down at his lap once he had his seatbelt on. "I don't really wanna talk about it." He opted for glancing out the window and felt grateful that no one asked any further questions about it.

Almost immediately after they arrived at Riku's house, which Sora seemed extremely anxious about entering, Zexion and Demyx left them, holding hands and eyeing each other longingly. As they entered the estate further, it became apparent that Riku hadn't arrived yet, and neither had anyone else.

Sora took advantage of this opportunity and ordered for Roxas to help him go to the bathroom, which Axel seemed disgusted by, and led the blond into one of the bathrooms downstairs.

"So why did you need me?" the blond wondered. "At the fair, I mean."

"Well," Sora's shoulders slumped. "I totally screwed everything up with Riku at the fair and I just needed to be with you." He beckoned for his twin to take a seat on the bathtub across from the toilet at sink.

"What did you do?" he asked as he sat down in front of his brother.

Without warning, Sora's face turned bright red. "I kissed him."

"What?" Roxas demanded, alarmed. "What do you mean by 'kiss' exactly? Like, lip to lip? Or lip to cheek? Or like tongue to mouth?" He couldn't believe that Sora would make such a bold move. Not that Sora wasn't brave enough, it just surprised him that he'd forgotten that Riku might not like him back.

"Ugh!" he groaned. "Okay, so here's what happened: Kairi went to go get some more cotton candy, so me and Riku were sitting on a bench waiting for her, and we were talking and kind of flirting, or at least, I thought we were. Anyway, so I was just admiring Riku and his beauty because Riku is absolutely gorgeous. He just looked so hot! His eyes, oh gosh," Sora shivered, "and his hair!" He put a hand to his chest and stared off into the distance as he spaced out. If Roxas squinted, he would swear he saw pink hearts and sparkles in the air around Sora. "Oh gosh, his muscles!" He swooned briefly before he abruptly continued with his story. "Anyway, so I was just marveling at his perfection and he was leaning down all close to me as we talked because sometimes he likes to talk in my face and I just couldn't resist, so I just… kissed him. It was completely on the mouth and I just stayed there until I realized he wasn't responding, so I pulled back and looked at him and his face was just… blank. His face was completely blank and I just knew he was thinking of ways he could let me down easily. I could see him telling me I wasn't the one for him. I just, I couldn't deal with that, so I ran away. Well, rolled away, whatever. I just… I don't know how I'll be able to face him now."

Roxas felt bad for his poor brother. It wasn't like he had any idea that Riku actually returned his feelings, and he couldn't tell the brunet quite yet. Riku had better figure the cancer thing out quickly, because Sora was clearly ready for more than friendship. The blond put a hand on his brother's because he looked about ready to cry. "Sora, calm down," he began. "You probably just surprised him. Give Riku a little time to think about it. Did you forget that he just got out of his a relationship? Maybe he just wasn't looking to start another one so soon."

Sora didn't respond right away. He gazed down at his lap for a few moments before he lifted his head again, looking a bit more at ease. "I guess you're right. I probably did surprise him. He doesn't even know I'm gay, so I'm sure this was a big shock to him." He nodded as he thought it over more. "I guess I should just act like everything's normal until he figures out how to respond. Thanks, Roxy," he smiled, "It's like you always know what to say! See? This is why I need you! Love you, Rox. Come here so I can kiss you!"

"Are you sure? Maybe I just got out of a relationship, too…" the blond trailed off.

Sora immediately scowled at his twin. "No," he said simply.

Roxas cackled as he moved close enough for Sora to kiss his cheek. "Just yankin' your chain, bro."

Roxas began pushing his brother out of the bathroom and down the hall. He could hear Marluxia and Larxene yelling at each other in the living room they'd lazed around in on Thanksgiving, but he didn't get to see what it was about when suddenly Axel entered the hall from the room and stalked over towards the twins. He grabbed Roxas by the arm and began forcibly pulling him back towards the bathroom.

"Axel, what are you doing?" he wondered.

"We need to talk," the redhead said sternly. He fixed Roxas with an intense glare before focusing his attention forward again.

"Axel, let go of my brother!" Sora shouted at him.

Axel stopped for a second and Roxas' arm suddenly burned under the older boy's hand. He turned to scowl at the brunet. "How about no. Now you turn your little self around and go to the god damn living room or else I'll tell everyone you fucking kissed Riku."

Fear flashed on Sora's face for a second before angry defeat settled in and he did as he was told. "Jerk," he muttered over his shoulder.

The couple continued on into the bathroom where Axel closed the door and then promptly slammed Roxas up against it. He stared into his boyfriend's blue eyes with fiery rage. "Tell me what the fuck happened in Marluxia's car." His tone held no question, only angry demand.

"Axel…" Roxas trailed off before he stared down at his feet.

"Roxas, don't you fucking try that with me. Look me in the god damn eyes and tell me what the fuck happened. I know something happened in there. Marluxia and Larxene suddenly showed up and just started screaming at each other. I couldn't understand what the hell they were saying, but I know it's about whatever you went to his car for. Now you tell me what happen or else… Or else…" he struggled for a moment before he completed the sentence, "or else I won't fucking talk to you for a week."

Roxas looked up into Axel's eyes. 'Please don't make me do this, Rox. I fucking love you, but you let Naminé hang all over you and then she fucking kissed—' and then everything became scribbles and angry words. He felt his stomach drop and he buried his face into Axel's searing chest, bearing the heat as best he could, and wrapped his arms around the redhead. "I'm really sorry about everything, Axel. I shouldn't have let Naminé cling to me. I know it hurt you and made you jealous and I know it was wrong of me to do that. She caught me off guard with the kiss, and I know you're really jealous about that, but there was nothing I could've done about that. But I still feel bad about it." The blond tried to ignore the burning sensation all over his front as a result of Axel's anger.

Axel sighed angrily, but kept breathing rather loudly as if regulating his respiration and trying to calm down. His body temperature dropped a bit towards normal and he wrapped his arms around the blond. "Tell me what happened," he demanded again, but more gently this time around.

"Naminé was waiting for me inside Marluxia's car. And please, don't be mad at me or her because it wasn't really her fault for thinking I liked her, and I didn't know she was gonna do what she did. Promise me you won't be mad. Please?" he requested, pulling back a bit to look into Axel's emerald eyes.

"Roxas…" He stared intently into his sky blues. "I can't promise that."

Roxas bit his lip and braced himself for the retribution. "She started making out with me and she tried touching me, you know, like sexually. But I stopped her before she could really—" Before he could continue, Axel had his hand gripping Roxas' face roughly and forced the blond to stare into his eyes.

"She touched you?" he growled.

Honestly, Roxas was a bit scared to respond. He knew Axel meant well and that he just had a really intense anger issue and that he would never put a hand to the blond in anger, but he couldn't help the fear making his knees tremble. "Well, she didn't get to touch me, you know, there. But she was rubbing her hands against my chest and then she pressed her boobs against me, and—"

Axel's mouth crashed against his roughly and he began making out with the blond passionately, hands everywhere on him in a matter of seconds.

Roxas responded by reciprocating the affection and felt blood rise to his face and couldn't help but also picture it traveling southwards, especially with the sudden heat he felt beginning to appear in the depths of his torso. He accidentally let out a small moan when Axel began servicing his neck and slowly massaging his package.

"Roxas, you're mine, okay?" Axel murmured between kisses to the blond's neck. "And that means nobody else can fucking touch you. Only I can do that." And to punctuate his point, he replaced his hand against Roxas' crotch with his own crotch. He rubbed their clothed, budding erections together and groaned against his shoulder.

"Axel, please not here? Please?" Roxas begged, unsure of how much longer he'd be able to hold out. Even though he didn't want to do anything here in a bathroom in Riku's house with all his friends walking about, he couldn't deny the thrill that came along with secretly fooling around with his boyfriend. It turned him on way more than he would've liked to admit.

"Mmm, it's too late for me to stop now." Axel's hand was once again at his crotch, opening first the blond's jeans and then his own. "You know you fucking like it." He grinned against the skin at the base of Roxas' neck as he removed both their dicks from their confines and began rubbing and stroking them together. "Fuck… Rox…" he moaned as he worked.

"Mm… Axel, I fucking hate you, I hope you know that." Roxas couldn't handle the excitement standing up, and his weak knees fell away as his pleasure sky-rocketed, leading him to falling forward. Luckily, Axel caught him and grinned at him for a brief moment before just continuing to rock the blond's body with pleasure. "Ah…! Axel!" Roxas moaned out as he succumbed to the pleasure his boyfriend's ministrations caused. He panted afterwards and felt his cheeks burn as Axel placed his mouth right next to Roxas' ear as he came, moaning directly into the cartilage.

"That was fucking amazing," Axel murmured through his hot breaths in the blond's ear.

"Mmm," Roxas agreed. "Now get off me before I get hard again. We've already spent enough time locked up in here." He began to retrieve some toilet paper to clean up the mess they'd made on each other and a little on the floor.

"Roxas, you really won't leave me for Naminé, will you? Or anyone?" Axel wondered.

Roxas turned his head to look at the redhead and found himself heartbroken at the worry and true concern on the boy's face. He approached the taller boy and got up onto his tippy toes to give him a brief, sweet kiss. "Of course not. Don't be silly," he promised and smiled before resuming his cleaning.

Axel chuckled and then began helping.

Upon opening the door after everything had been cleaned up, the couple found Riku standing in the doorway with his arms crossed on his chest and a smug grin on his face.

Immediately, Roxas and Axel's face turned red, especially as the senior started chuckling.

"Axel!" Roxas hissed. "I told you!" He smacked Axel's chest and tried his best not to meet Riku's gaze.

"Told me what, exactly?" Axel hissed back as he gently placed a hand on the spot his blond companion had assaulted.

"You guys are just lucky I'm not anyone else," Riku interjected. "You'd have a lot of explaining to do otherwise. Next time, you should try to keep it down a little." The joy suddenly vanished from his face and his stance became strained. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you guys that I'm getting checked out on the 6th. I want to go earlier, but I already set the appointment."

Axel and Roxas looked at each other a moment, blushes gone, and exchanged unsettling glances for a moment. "So what are you gonna do about Sora? He's really worried," Roxas pointed out.

Riku remained silent for a moment as he looked down at his feet and let out a sigh. "Well, in a perfect world, I'd already be humping him, but I know he's not exactly ready for that. I don't really know how to respond to that kiss right now, though. I don't want to leave him hanging, but at the same time, I don't want him to get too attached in case… you know…" His voice cracked a bit, sounding stressed. "I think I'll try to talk to him about it. Maybe I'll make up some excuse about how I'm not over my ex yet. But, my god," Riku's tone suddenly shifted and he stared off into space with a very love-struck and uncharacteristic expression, "the face he made right before he kissed me…" A smile split his face in two and his cheeks turned a light shade of pink.

"Well, looks like somebody's in love," Axel accused with a grin and a pat on the silver-haired boy's shoulder. Then he shoved past Riku and beckoned for Roxas to follow to the living room. Of course, Roxas followed his boyfriend's wishes, leaving Riku there grinning like an idiot as he thought of Sora.


A/N: Wow, look at that. Chapter. Whoa. That was cool. Wow. Okay.

I hoped you enjoyed the chapter! Um, I like it, I guess. I don't know.

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Have a terrific day/night! Love you!