I Saw it on Your Forehead

by raybun

The truth isn't always kind. Being able to read people and how they truly feel isn't as nice as it sounds, and Roxas has long since grown tired of it, but it's not like he can turn the ability off. AkuRoku, SoRiku, and other pairings.

36. Give and Take

A/N: Oh wow, it's been a veeeeeeery long time, heheh. I got real down and out about this story for a long time. Every once in a while I would return to work on it, but I was too ashamed of it in general to really put time into finishing it up. I'm not sure if I actually will finish this, but it makes me very happy to think about and I decided to just go for it. I'm not sure about a lot of things in regard to this story, but I guess we'll just see where it goes!

The main reason I decided to return to this story again was because I finally convinced myself to go through all the chapters and edit them all to make them much less cringey. There are things about it I still dislike, but I've tweaked almost everything. Hopefully things actually make more sense now! If you've stuck with this story all the way through, the changes are pretty slight, so you may not even notice them because the same things happen. I mostly worked on fixing dialogue and also correcting details that contradicted other details.

Anyway, I just want to thank anyone still sticking around to read this! I know it's been a long time. At least four years at this point! So yeah, thanks for all the support and everything! It really helps motivate me to continue onwards ^^

Please enjoy this suuuuuper long chapter!

(Also I can guarantee that the next updates won't take nearly as long as this one! No bluffing this time! I came prepared)

---

"Are you serious?" Roxas demanded incredulously, his eyes wide and eyebrows high. His mouth formed a huge grin of its own accord and if he'd been more aware of himself, he'd have realized that he looked like a huge fucking dork with his grin and his bright eyes which may as well have been sparkling.

"Are you serious?" Sora also demanded equally as incredulously, but with his eyes squinted and his nose and mouth scrunched upwards in disgust. He had his arms crossed over his chest and the entire air about him oozed of 'humph.'

Tifa smiled at the blond twin, but her hands came to run through both her sons' hair. "Yeah. Although we're still really shaky on everything, your father and I have decided to at least give Axel a chance. Plus, it'll be nice talking to Reno again. He's an interesting man. And since this is going to be a special dinner, on Wednesday I want you both to be home by five o'clock. You're going to be helping your father with cooking and cleaning. It's been a while since we've had guests, so I want to be sure that everything is up to snuff."

Sora pushed his mother's hand away from his hair and then crossed his arms again. He stood with his feet planted firmly and the ground and a rather serious pout on his face. "Why do I have to help? I don't even like the guy! Why can't you do it? Actually," he paused for a moment "you know, what? I'm just gonna stay at Kairi's house that night. I don't need this."

For a second Roxas was scared his mother would just let Sora walk away like that, but surprisingly, she put a strong hand on his shoulder and gave him a hard look. 'Come on, Tifa, step up to the plate. Treat your sons like equals. Punish Sora for his behavior.' "No you will not, young man. You are going to behave yourself and you are going to be polite and courteous and you most certainly will help your father and brother. I'm going to be kicking ass in a business meeting trying to avoid this stupid merger, so I will not be able to assist."

"But Mom!" Sora whined and stamped his foot.

Tifa scoffed. "Quit being so childish. You're sixteen years old. Act your age." And with that, she disappeared up the stairs, leaving the two twins there alone in the living room.

Sora glared murderously at Roxas. 'I can't believe you're such a fucking asshole. God, how I'd love to kill you!'

Roxas was well aware that this was not the mature thing to do, but he just couldn't help himself. He turned to Sora, stuck out his tongue at his twin, and flipped him the double bird while dancing around in a circle around his fuming brother. "Looks like I win, asshole," he bragged once he'd finished circling the brunet.

Sora stormed up the stairs to their room after that and didn't speak with Roxas for the remainder of the day. Roxas couldn't say that he minded all that much, though. He busied himself with excitedly texting his boyfriend all about what had happened.

---

The following day at school was largely uneventful, the only notable thing was the newfound separation of Sora and Roxas. They didn't speak at all or acknowledge each other's presences at any point throughout the day, which was really strange for Roxas, and didn't feel right, but at the same time, he just kind of felt like he was being pushed along a river current in the opposite direction of his twin and couldn't fight it. Roxas had been saying for a while both aloud and to himself that he would just ignore Sora, but even then he still broke down and at least chatted with his brother. This time it was different, though. This felt much more real. Before, Roxas hadn't really believed that he and Sora had any sort of 'twin connection,' but now he was beginning to think maybe they had had some type of mental link or something because he somehow felt like a piece of him was missing or displaced. He rationalized that feeling of loss as disappointment in Sora and his actions.

It kind of worry him that even when he'd seen the brunet that day, his forehead had been blank. Roxas kept trying to rationalize that, too. Maybe Sora was just really deep in thought. Or maybe he just didn't have anything on his mind. Or maybe he'd started thinking in pictures and feelings and things that Roxas couldn't read on people's foreheads. But maybe he'd lost the ability to read his twin's thoughts. And so the cycle of rationalization continued on.

As concerned and stressed and generally upset as Roxas felt, he was still completely stoked that Axel and Reno would be coming over for dinner the next night. Despite the fact that Reno still wasn't exactly on Team Roxas again, the blond had no criticisms of the undoubtedly major step in the right direction as far as getting his family to accept Roxas' proclivity for man meats. Plus, if Roxas had learned anything about Reno in the relatively short time he'd known him, it was that Reno liked to change his mind rather quickly. Part of Roxas was banking on his family being as tense and shitty to each other as they had been lately to earn the blond some pity and well-deserved slack from Reno, and perhaps that was wrong, but Roxas saw it more as making lemonade out of some shitty ass lemons.

After school on that particular day, the group decided to head over to the Organization's headquarters. Water polo practice had ended early that day, so everyone headed over together almost immediately after school ended, except for Axel who unfortunately had work but would most likely meet up with them when he got off at seven.

When the group of friends arrived at the house, they were met with a little bit of a surprise. As it turned out, Xaldin and Lexaeus apparently had invited some of their friends from school over and they were having a little get together of sorts. About five or so guests chatted and hung out in the living room, a couple was making out in the entrance hallway, and there were probably more in other places. It didn't exactly seem like a party, as everyone seemed pretty chill, just talking and hanging out. A couple of people did have beers, but that wasn't exactly a sign that this was a party. Plus, if Roxas was honest, Xaldin and Lexaeus didn't exactly seem like the party-throwing types.

The group of high schoolers all kind of looked at each other as if to assess each person's opinion, but in the end, they decided to head on inside regardless of the company. They were met with some confusion, but the crowd seemed generally pretty welcoming, so the group settled into their spots. Demyx went to the piano to provide some entertainment for the crowd, Zexion sat next to him on the piano bench and watched him, Marluxia, Larxene, and Naminé joined some of the groups of chatting people, introducing themselves and making friends. It kind of left Roxas in an awkward place, as his partner was not here to entertain him. He decided to head into the kitchen and see if he could get some chips or something to snack on.

Upon entering, he saw Lexaeus and Xaldin chatting amusedly with each other while they set about preparing snacks in the forms of chips, dips, and cookies. The blond's entrance drew their attention to him, and Roxas found it somewhat surprising when they smiled at him and greeted him warmly.

"Hey, Roxas," they said almost in unison. Xaldin turned back to precisely plating all the snacks in bowls and on trays in an aesthetic way while Lexaeus continued speaking.

"Hope you don't mind, but we thought it'd be nice to invite some of our friends over," the huge brunet explained.

Roxas shrugged and leaned against the door frame. "I don't really care. I'm bad with people and social situations, though. I'd kind of rather just hide out in the kitchen and eat all those cookies. What kind are they?" He stood on his tippy toes and tried to peek around Xaldin's back without moving from his spot at the door.

Xaldin all but whirled around to glare at Roxas, protectively shielding the plate of no-doubt homemade cookies with his body. "You are not laying a finger on these bad boys until Naminé gets to see my excellent plating. And she also gets the first cookie." The thing with Xaldin was that his handwriting was far too messy for Roxas to properly read his forehead, but this statement didn't surprise the blond. Supposedly, during the time Roxas had been focused on other things, Naminé and Xaldin had become fast friends. The blond wasn't sure if the nature of their relationship was romantic, but it was certainly something important to Xaldin.

The blond's hands went up defensively of their own accord, and that was enough of a response to get the intimidating college freshman off his back. They didn't talk after that because finally Xaldin felt satisfied with his work, so he and Lexaeus carried all the snacks and a pack of beer out into the living room. Lexaeus did invite Roxas back into the living room on the way, saying he could introduce him to some people at the get-together or that he could just hang out with the monstrous man for a while.

Roxas decided to at least take a handful of chips from one of the bags they left open and eat them while he collected his thoughts. It felt strange being at a social function without anyone to really talk to. The distance that had grown between him and his friends was real, and was hitting home in this situation. During lunch it was easy to ignore because it was just them all together talking and laughing. Plus, he always had Axel as a safety blanket. But here, things were different, and Axel couldn't save him. A deep pit formed in Roxas' stomach as he considered all the nuances that this distance created.

It felt like people had moved on without him, largely uncaring to the struggles he faced. And that made Roxas feel shitty. And he felt like he was so entitled to that love and attention they'd given him just a month ago. Everyone had been saying that he'd really changed the group for the better and that he'd been some sort of missing piece. He'd gotten used to that love and appreciation, but now he felt stupid for feeling like it was something they owed him.

A cycle of thoughts ran through his mind about how maybe trying to focus on each individual aspect of his life made him neglect his friends, but then he justified it by saying he was trying his best, but he couldn't handle everything at once. That went in a circle. At some point Roxas wondered if there even was a distance between him and his friends or if he was creating it or if he was just imagining it because he couldn't tell what was normal and what wasn't anymore.

All in all, Roxas stood there feeling shitty about everything for about twenty minutes before he returned to the living room, hoping to distract himself from his depressing thoughts.

Everyone was in relatively the same position as before he'd entered the kitchen, except for Zexion and Demyx, who were no longer in the room. Lexaeus was also absent, but since Roxas couldn't hear shouting or fighting of any kind, he figured Lexaeus and Demyx weren't off somewhere killing each other while Zexion watched. Roxas quickly found himself caught in a conversation with Naminé and two of the guests Roxas didn't know.

Eventually, the guests all filed out and Lexaeus and Xaldin rushed about disposing of the alcoholic evidence in a discreet fashion. They must've had this whole thing planned out so that they could hide the drinking from the adults. The high schoolers did end up partaking in the alcohol. Roxas himself only had a single bottle of beer, mostly because he couldn't stand the taste of shitty beer for much longer than that. Nobody really drank very much, though, aside from Zexion who had decided that it'd be a good idea to get very obviously drunk.

The bookworm slurred his words and moved clumsily and giggled way too easily. Demyx tried to keep him in line and kept trying to feed him water in an attempt to sober him up, but it didn't seem to be having much of an effect on him. Unfortunately Xemnas, Saïx, and Vexen arrived before Zexion seemed even passably sober. The principal confronted the group of teenagers, saying that he'd have to inform Zexion's parents and that each of them would have to contribute to the $300 fine and that Xaldin and Lexaeus were responsible for cleaning the bathrooms for the next two months for letting this happen.

Zexion had laughed drunkenly in response to Xemnas' lecture. "My dad doesn't give a fuck if I drink!" he informed the principal before laughing more. He honestly seemed like he was having a grand old time. Roxas wasn't sure he'd ever seen as big a smile on his face before. "And Cheryl? Fuck, Cheryl likes it when I drink!" He animatedly waved around the bottle of water in his hand. "She thinks it makes me seem like a normal fucking teenager. Then she gets to ignore the fact that I'm a sad sack of shit. But guess what Cheryl? I am a sad sack of shit. That is my nature. It is me."

Xemnas seemed more amused than anything by Zexion at this point. He simply shook his head and then took a seat on the couch so that he could watch TV. Surprisingly, Saïx wasn't at his side as was usually the case. The blue-haired man had all but run upstairs immediately after arriving, but Roxas reasoned that maybe he just had to go to the bathroom or something.

"Speaking of… interesting family dynamics, how have things been with your family, Roxas? Any better than when you first ran away?" the principal asked with his legs crossed. The silver-haired man seemed quite relaxed, and gave Roxas a kind look as he waited for a response.

Immediately, Roxas mentally noted how Xemnas, his principal, had been the first to ask how his family situation was out of the goodness of his heart, and not out of an interrogation to pinpoint Roxas' actions and motives as of late (Roxas wasn't sure whether Riku's meddling counted, because Riku's motives were always a mystery). He didn't comment on this, however, simply appreciated the thoughtfulness in silence.

"Pretty fucking bad. They're worse than they were before. Everyone's so tense, and I've been having to find places to sleep lately, as you might've noticed. It's not a fun atmosphere," the blond answered with a disappointed sigh.

"Has the counseling been helping at all? Sometimes these kinds of things get worse before they can get better. But sometimes, it's just that the therapist and the patients are incompatible," Xemnas explained.

Roxas shrugged. "Maybe you're right. The problems have kind of changed since running away. It's just really exhausting, you know? I mean, I guess in some ways things are better. Like, Axel and Reno are having dinner at our house tomorrow, so I mean I think they're trying at least. If only Sora was on the same page."

"Well, that's good at least. I'm sure everything will work out. So long as your parents are trying I think everything else will fall into place. Even Sora will get tired of fighting and want to compromise. Your family didn't seem like a family that hates each other. It just seemed like you kind of get in each other's way and step on each other's toes. If you have trouble finding a place to stay if the tensions get too high, you're more than welcome to sleep here. There are a few extra rooms at our disposal." 'Poor kid. I only wish my parents had at least made an effort back when I was his age.'

With that the conversation ended, and maybe the exact words had been a little dry, but they really touched Roxas. He embarrassedly began texting Riku until Axel arrived a few minutes later.

---

"Hey, are you gonna be okay?" Roxas asked his companion, who was draped over his shoulder for support. It seemed Zexion had been much drunker than Roxas thought because he had a difficult time supporting himself even after they'd been dropped off at home. Normally this would've been Demyx's job, but Demyx had seemed rather distracted making sure that Naminé hadn't drunk too much, so Roxas told him to just head on home and promised he'd get the bookworm to bed safely.

"Yeah… Fuck… I'm so god damn drunk, Roxas," Zexion slurred as the pair slowly made it up the front steps of the Corazza household. "I shouldn't have brought those fucking… jolly rancher vodka things. But they taste so god damn good, Roxas!"

"Wait, so you mean that you had more alcohol after Xemnas caught you?"

Zexion, laughed loudly. "Yeah! Vodka-infused jolly ranchers. Fucking delicious and they get you super drunk so quick. Fuck!"

The climb up the stairs to Zexion's room was more difficult than Roxas ever could have dreamed, but he eventually maneuvered the bookworm to safety and guided him to sit on his bed. The blond joined him and offered him a fresh bottle of water he'd retrieved from Zexion's kitchen.

"Dude, why did you need to get drunk so bad anyway? You realize it's Tuesday night, right? We have school tomorrow," Roxas pointed out.

In response, Zexion shook his head. "Nah, it's okay. I'll just stay home tomorrow. Like fuck school, I'm sad so I'm gonna drink all my cares away and then fucking crash for a week and then deal with all my shit when I feel like it, okay?"

"But why are you sad?" the blond wondered. That distance Roxas had been thinking about earlier seemed very real at this moment. "We haven't had a real conversation in a long time. What's up with you, anyway?"

Again, Zexion shook his head. "Nah dude, it's cool. I got it. It's all cool. I'm fucking sad and shit but like that's fine. I'm just so! I'm just…!" the younger boy began making excited humming noises and he fell over backwards onto his bed with his legs tightly hugged to his chest. "So fucking gay! I'm so gay, Roxas! Roxas, I'm gay!" His speech devolved into a fit of laughter.

It was at that point Roxas realized trying to have a serious conversation with a wasted Zexion had been a terrible idea and would never work.

"Okay, Zexion. I'm gonna head home now. I hope you don't feel too terrible tomorrow. I'm kinda worried about you, so take care of yourself, alright? I wanna talk to you about this later, but for now, you should just sleep." Before Roxas could continue speaking, Zexion was cupping his cheeks and giving him a slobbery kiss. Roxas was still stunned as Zexion mumbled a goodnight and then fell asleep right away.

Roxas couldn't help but chuckle at his drunk friend. Drunk Zexion certainly was interesting.

---

To say that Roxas was excited was an understatement. He'd practically been vibrating ever since he'd gotten home from school to begin helping prepare for Axel and Reno's arrival. He kept playing all these delightful scenes in his mind of how Axel would charm the asses off of his parents and how Reno would like him again and everything would be sunshine and roses and life would be wonderful and everything would go spectacular for him that day. Unfortunately, Roxas overlooked one certain brown-haired obstacle who all but stomped into the house and slammed the door behind him.

Instead of helping Cloud and Roxas out as he'd been instructed, Sora went up to the twins' room. As he went, he didn't even so much as look in the blond's direction. The scowl on his face was deep and serious, so Roxas elected to remain quiet and just let him go. The fact that Sora was home at all kind of surprised Roxas because of how upset he seemed, so he was thankful for that at least.

When Roxas finished cleaning up the living room, he headed to the dining room to clean that up as well. On his way he passed Cloud, who mostly seemed absorbed in making dinner. From their positions, the younger blond couldn't get a clear view of his father's forehead and that made him a little uneasy. Maybe his father was dreading dinner. Maybe he didn't want to be there at all. Maybe he wouldn't like Axel at all.

As much as Roxas tried to ignore his negative thoughts, he couldn't help it. His earlier positive outlook had vanished and he found himself feeling very worried about the night. His parents had never really gotten to know Axel. Even at the swim team's barbeque and at Thanksgiving and on Christmas and when Roxas and Sora had been in the hospital after the car accident, they'd only really exchanged greetings. They'd never had the chance to communicate, so it was still completely possible that they would dislike Axel as a person, not just as Roxas' boyfriend, and that terrified the sophomore.

"Roxas, how was your day?" Cloud's voice startled Roxas out of his thoughts and he gave a start.

It took the boy a moment to get his wits about him. "Oh! Uh, it was fine." Cloud had never been one for small talk, and the father-son duo had never really been very talkative even before shit hit the fan, so this was new to Roxas. "It was pretty uneventful. Zexion didn't go to school today because he got pretty drunk last night." The boy continued speaking in response to the bewildered look on Cloud's face, "My friends and I kind of found ourselves at a party last night, but most of us didn't drink."

"Did you drink?" the man asked as he turned his attention briefly to the food cooking on the stove.

"Not really."

"You didn't drink." Cloud seemed unconvinced.

Roxas frowned at him. "What, you think that I just drink every chance I get? Yesterday was Tuesday. I'm not gonna get smashed on a Tuesday night," he snorted, kind of offended at his father's assumption.

Instead of aggressing, Cloud shrugged his shoulders and turned completely back to the food rather than speaking over his shoulder as he'd been doing. "I don't know, Roxas. We're all pretty out of sync," he murmured.

There was a silence after that. Roxas didn't really know what else to say. Luckily, his father continued after a few minutes.

"I know I've been saying that you're still a kid and that you need to let us know where you are and to be careful because you're still so young, but… I don't know. It's just, to some degree, you're right. You're not a little kid anymore, Roxas. You're at a strange age. Not exactly a kid, not exactly an adult. Being a teenager is weird." He sighed. "And if I'm honest, I just kind of thought you'd stay the same as when you were a kid. I kind of forgot that you're growing up. So now there's alcohol involved. And then there's love. And maybe sex…?" he trailed off for a moment of uncomfortable silence. "I guess I just don't know where you are. So sue me for not understanding. I'm trying, Roxas, and there's not much more I can do."

Roxas nodded in understanding even though Cloud was turned away and couldn't see him. As had happened the previous night, Roxas considered if the problems he seemed to be facing were because of him. He wished that everything could just change immediately, but maybe that was asking too much. Maybe he himself wasn't putting in enough effort. After all, his parents had gone out on a limb and invited Axel and Reno over for dinner. The blond figured the least he could do was try match that step forward with one of his own. Relationships weren't a one-way street. Maybe that was what Roxas had been forgetting.

"Yeah, thank you, Dad. I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions. It's just that the only other time you really asked me about my personal life was to punish me for it. You're trying to change, and I get that, I'm just not used to it, I guess," the teenager explained to his father as he began setting the table for six people.

Out of his peripheral vision, Roxas noticed his father nod. It felt like a good moment.

"You know, Roxas, my dad was always really hands-off with me growing up. And I've tried to be that way with you and Sora. Maybe just 'cause that's all I really knew about parenting. But since that day I walked in on you and Axel, it kinda got me started thinking about other parts of your life that I don't know about. And I just got more curious about your life and maybe your grandpa's way of parenting isn't the way I want to do it. We're different, Roxas, even if we are alike in a lot of ways. I didn't even realize that until that day.

"In counseling, I've been quiet and it's been hard to talk about our family's problems, but I like talking to you like this, Roxas. It feels so much less stressful. So much easier." Cloud paused a moment before continuing. "So, since I've been so distant from you, do you maybe wanna fill me in on your life?"

Roxas turned to look at his father and found his father had also turned to face him. His father's forehead was blank, but that didn't particularly concern Roxas because he also found himself having difficulty forming thoughts. Generally, he just felt very touched and relieved. He'd have been lying if he said he didn't feel tears forming in his eyes and a lump forming in his throat. As quickly as they'd come, he tried to blink them away and put together sentences to respond to his father.

"Well," he began, feeling his throat loosen a tad, "my friend group is kind of strange at the moment. You already know Zexion. Usually he's really smart and well-composed, but lately he seems kind of off. He's still in love with his ex-boyfriend, Lexaeus, who's kind of mutually friends with all of us, and it's been putting strain on him and I know Demyx is jealous. I've been drifting from Zexion, but I want to fix that." Roxas paused for a moment. He'd decided to start with his friend group because it had the largest impact on his life next to his family and he figured his father deserved to know a little bit about the people Roxas would go to when things at their house weren't looking great.

"Naminé, despite her innocent demeanor, is really promiscuous, but Demyx doesn't know and nobody has the heart to tell him since he likes to think she's the innocent angel she appears to be. She tried to sleep with me once, but it didn't really work out in her favor, since I'm gay and all. Generally she's really nice and helpful and she's also really into art. Demyx is really, really nice and enthusiastic and actually a lot like Sora before his, uh, transformation. He's working to be a musician when he's older and he can play—I think it was seven?—instruments. If I'm being honest, I sort of used to have a crush on him. Nobody knew that except for Sora, though."

Roxas paused at that point, not sure what he should say about Marluxia. He did still consider them to be friends, but he had a hard time pinning down what he truly felt toward the pink-haired senior. "Marluxia and I are on weird terms," he decided to start with. It was true. Things were weird. "He's really sweet, but also a huge asshole who has little regard for other people's feelings as long as he finds something funny. We were pretty close, but he did something that really got under my skin while I was staying at his house, and he apologized, but we're kind of weird right now." That hadn't been so bad. With an inaudible sigh, Roxas quickly moved onto Larxene. "Larxene's a bitch and she hates me. She's really mean. She's friends with Marluxia and Naminé, though. She's also really into photography." Roxas made sure to turn his back fully to his father as he prepared to talk about Axel. He knew he'd start blushing, still embarrassed with the idea of talking about the things that meant the most to him. "And last, but not least, Axel. Axel is complicated, I guess. I only see one side of him, really, and he treats me a lot differently from the first time we met. He's really caring and sweet, though. Maybe he can be abrasive? And a little over-protective. But I, uh, I really like him. And I think he has my best interest at heart."

Roxas cleared his throat as his cheeks burned. "Um, so that's basically my friend group and kind of a little of what's going on with them and stuff. Honestly, I've been so focused on our family issues that I've kind of withdrawn from my friends, especially when Axel and I had that fight." Roxas inclined his head back toward his father to continue explaining things. "I stopped hanging out with my friends because of that since I knew he'd be there. I guess it feels like our family's reached some sort of plateau of stress, so I mean, now that it's not building as much, maybe we can figure out how to deal with everything better? It's been really distracting as far as hanging out with friends."

Cloud nodded and stood in silence for a moment, perhaps gathering his thoughts. "Yeah, I can see why that would be distracting. I guess it doesn't help that your mother and I have kind of been punishing you and Sora a lot simply out of frustration. But she and I had a serious conversation the other day and we're going to try to relax a little bit." Cloud's voice tapered off and he stayed quiet for a moment as if deciding on what to say next before chirping, "Plus, if I'm honest with you, we were pretty stressed out so we hadn't really had sex since just about when you went missing, but that problem recently worked itself out."

Roxas scrunched up his face in disgust. "Ugh, why are you telling me that? Parents don't tell their kids about them banging!"

Cloud laughed at that. "Oh, is that so? Maybe I'm a little out of touch with what topics are and are not okay to talk about with your kids. But you're already sixteen so I mean what's point in trying to censor myself like that? You're getting older. Besides, aren't fathers and sons supposed to talk about sex?"

"Aren't you terrified of the fact that I want to have sex with boys instead of girls or something?" The blond boy pointed out.

"Ah, touché." Cloud laughed again, this time uncomfortably. "Yeah, let's just leave that topic alone for now." There was a slight silence before Cloud cleared his throat and started speaking again. "So how's school? I feel like we probably don't monitor your education like we should be doing."

Grateful for the change in subject, Roxas answered easily. "Fine. Since we recently finished with finals, I haven't been too stressed about school. I have an A in everything, except maybe history. If it's not an A it's probably a B. History has always been my worst subject."

"That's pretty good. Especially considering your brother's grades. Last semester the school called us warning us that if he didn't improve his grades, he'd be kicked off the swim team. Luckily, he got someone to tutor him, and I think his grades are still okay as of now. I should probably check on that, though."

The duo continued on talking as they worked. It was nice, despite the uncomfortable silences peppered throughout the conversation.

Tifa arrived home soon after and scolded Sora for not helping out as he'd been instructed, but by that point, everything was clean, the table was set, and dinner was almost ready, so she warned him to be on his best behavior that evening. Sora rolled his eyes the second she turned her back, but said nothing.

Shortly after that, a knock sounded at the door, and Roxas' excitement came rushing back to him. He had to force himself not to run to answer the door and he had to compose himself before opening it. And there Axel and Reno stood on his porch, Axel looking every bit as enthusiastic as Roxas and Reno with a straight face on.

Axel immediately hugged his boyfriend while Reno stepped inside the house.

"You're still on probation, kid," the older redhead muttered to him just as Cloud and Tifa entered the room.

An angry Sora trailed behind Tifa and gave Axel a dirty look.

Reno and the Strife parents greeted each other warmly as Axel planted a kiss on Roxas' temple.

"Long time no see, Cloud, Tifa. Good to see you guys again," Reno commented as he gave the Strife parents friendly hugs. "And it's nice to officially meet you, Sora." The redhead smiled kindly at Sora.

"Sure, whatever," Sora murmured back with a glare and scowl on his face. He had his arms crossed grumpily over his chest.

"Sora!" Tifa scolded, elbowing him in the side.

At that, Sora gave a huge, fake smile. "Oh my god, it's so nice to meet the Reno Flynn! How incredible! I'm so excited I could faint!" he exclaimed over-enthusiastically and then bowed dramatically to the adult.

Tifa sighed and rolled her eyes. "I guess that's better than nothing," she murmured.

Reno seemed a little put off, but just smiled.

"Alright, anyway, dinner's ready so let's sit down and eat," Cloud suggested, probably to prevent an awkward silence.

The group filed down the hall toward the dining room. Axel and Roxas followed behind everyone, holding hands and gazing at each other with stupid grins on their faces.

'I have finally infiltrated the Strife household on official terms and by invitation. Roxas, we're making history here.' Axel waggled his eyebrows at his companion.

Roxas chuckled and gently pushed at his boyfriend. "Just don't fuck it up, okay?" the blond whispered to him.

The group sat down at the table and immediately began digging into the meal Cloud had made. They talked as they ate. For the first few minutes, it was just Reno, Cloud, and Tifa talking about adult things like jobs and taxes and traffic. Eventually the Strife couple began talking specifically to Axel.

"So Axel, you're a junior, right?" Tifa asked.

Caught unprepared for the sudden question, Axel immediately, and smartly, responded with "Uhh, yeah," while his mouth was completely full. Some bits of pre-chewed food came tumbling out of his mouth and back onto his plate. He flushed red in embarrassment as he quickly wiped his mouth and swallowed everything obstructing clear speech. "I mean, uh, yes. I'm a junior."

Roxas struggled to contain his chuckles, earning a light glare from his partner.

"So what are your grades like? Do you focus on school a lot? What's your plan for after high school?" Cloud rattled off a series of questions. 'If I'm supposed to believe that Roxas is fucking around with this guy, he'd better be worth my son's time and attention and I sure as hell am going to get all I can out of this dinner.'

Roxas chuckled at the onslaught of questions, and couldn't deny that he felt warmth radiating from his stomach because of his father's thoughts. Maybe Cloud wasn't quite ready to accept that Roxas was gay yet, but accepting that Axel would be a part of his son's life was a good start.

Along with Roxas, Reno snickered at the interrogation, amused by the bewildered look on Axel's face. Roxas received another glare while Reno received a look that begged for help. Reno just lifted his eyebrows and smirked in a way that communicated that Axel was on his own.

This made Axel sweat a little bit and he stammered a first. 'The fuck, where did all these questions come from? Now they're actually testing me to see if I deserve Roxas? Better than nothing, I guess? Fuck, hope I don't mess this up.' "Uh, well my grades are okay I guess. I have a couple A's and some B's and like a C..."

"So Roxas has better grades than you. Okay," Cloud interrupted in mildly accusatory fashion.

Reno and Roxas snickered some more.

"Uh, he probably does, I guess?" the redhead answered, sounding slightly panicky. 'Damnit, Axel! Why did you have to be honest about your grades? Uh, quick, just talk about your job. Parents love hard workers, right?'"Roxas is more dedicated to his schoolwork than I am, that's for sure. I have to balance school with my job, so there's that. And I also have to find time to spend with friends."

"Oh, you have a job?" Cloud had his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, I work at a grocery store nearby. I've been working there for like a year now?"

"So you prioritize work and friends over school? Aren't you concerned at all about your future?"

Again Roxas laughed. Perhaps he should've been more concerned about the fact that his father was interrogating his boyfriend but he really couldn't find anything but amusement in the situation.

"Babe, seriously? Can you not?" Axel tore his gaze away from Cloud to gripe at Roxas, frowning in disapproval at the younger of the blonds. "I'm trying to impress your parents here and you're distracting me."

"Oh, sorry. My bad. I'll be quiet from now on." Roxas promised sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. He smiled as Axel turned his attention back to his parents.

"Anyway, Mr. Strife, I'm not really sure what I want to do when I'm older, so I was just planning to go to community college while I figure it out. And it's not like I really prioritize one thing over another. Like, I usually do homework and study with Demyx when we hang out."

Roxas had every intention of letting his boyfriend just keep talking and charming the pants off his parents, which had clearly been going so well before. However, the idea of Demyx "doing homework" and "studying" had the boy in fits.

"Okay, can I help you, Blondie?" Axel demanded of his howling partner, though it was unmistakable that there was a small amused smile on his face.

"Demyx studying? Like with books and stuff?"

The redhead had to grin at that. "Okay, you're right. He doesn't exactly do any studying or homework. Unless it involves Zexion." Axel chuckled.

Roxas mirrored his chuckling. "He probably keeps detailed notes somewhere of all his observations and calls it the Zexicon."

At that, Axel actually threw his head back and laughed from deep within his chest. As he laughed his hand came up to his chest and his guffaws transcended into silent sobs that seemed a little much for a stupid pun. Roxas suspected his nerves had gotten to him a little.

The group at the table just watched as Axel tried to get himself under control.

Eventually the redhead was able to recover enough to explain his laughter. "Sorry... it's just that you're not wrong." He continued to chuckle after that. "He totally keeps a journal dedicated to his observations about Zexion."

"Oh my god, really?" Roxas asked incredulously. He started laughing along with his boyfriend, but not nearly as hard as him. He playfully shoved at Axel. "Come on, it's not that funny."

Axel shoved the blond boy right back. "Maybe to you it isn't! But I think that has more to do with your poor sense of humor than my awesome one."

Roxas wiped at his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. "Demyx is so obsessed, it's ridiculous. That can't be healthy. I mean, he's been all up in Zexion's business for how long? Like eight years at least?"

It was at this point that Axel quirked a brow at Roxas and gave a devilishly handsome smirk that had the blond's insides melting.

Struck with a sudden case of dry mouth and butterflies in the stomach, Roxas' eyes went wide and he felt his face flush red. He realized he and Axel had gotten very close after their little laughing fit and that his eyes traded focus from Axel's gorgeous eyes to his very inviting lips. A kiss was going to take place and Roxas was very ready.

The sound of Sora grumbling miserably brought Roxas back to the real world from this fantasy land in which he and Axel coexisted apart from all off society. Thus, he punched Axel in the shoulder and turned back to his food, still red from his neck up. "Asshole."

Again, Axel's barking laughter rang out. "Jeez, Rox, can't you keep it in your pants and chill out for a second?" He waggled his eyebrows at his counterpart in the most irritating way. This earned him another punch.

Of course, the hostility Roxas had been expressing towards his beloved was simply banter, so he couldn't help the stupid grin that landed on his face as he looked down at his plate to replay the scene over in his mind and solidify that yes, his boyfriend was a huge, embarrassing dork.

A sudden hard kick to his shin knocked the blond out of his reverie and he yelped unintentionally. Immediately Roxas glared up at Sora, who was glaring back at him. "Sora, what the hell?" he growled at his twin. "What the fuck is your problem?"

Sora didn't say anything in response, he just grumbled angrily to himself and kept his gaze trained on the blond. That, and he totally flipped Roxas off.

"Sora, behave yourself!" Cloud snapped at him.

The brunet shifted his glare to his father. "Why should I? This whole thing is such bullshit!"

Roxas snorted. "Oh, come on, get over yourself. You have no right to be upset. You can't honestly still be mad that I got you in trouble. And anyway, you're the one that pushed Riku away in the first place and treated him like a total dick. So you have no right to act like such a little bitch!"

"Boys, settle down," Tifa warned them. She nudged at Cloud. "Cloud, take care of this before it escalates."

"What did you just call me?" Sora demanded, snarling at the blond. "And you have no fucking right to judge me, Roxas! You're not some perfect, innocent little angel who's just watching from the sidelines!"

Tifa and Cloud began arguing in the background, but Roxas wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying. He was too focused on his issues with Sora.

"I never said that I was perfect, but at least I haven't turned my back on everyone who ever loved me!" Roxas countered.

Sora's eyes narrowed and he practically growled as he palmed his dish and grabbed up a sizeable portion of food. Without hesitation, he drew his hand back and launched the food at Roxas, hitting him in the side of the face and neck and shoulder.

Roxas' eyes widened to the size of saucers and his mouth dropped open in sheer disbelief at first. But then the absolutely rage kicked in and he felt much too hot in his chair, alight with fury. Then he was on his feet, his chair flying backwards with his momentum, and his hands were slammed down on the table. "Are you fucking serious?" The blond hissed as some of the goop on his face dripped down onto the table.

Sora mirrored his actions and rocketed to his feet, hands also coming down to the table. "Yeah. I am. What are you gonna do about it, Roxas? Are you gonna start shit and then run away like you always do?"

Instead of responding with words, Roxas just grunted angrily prepared to round the table to engage his twin in physical battle. The sound of a loud crash and Cloud yelling didn't deter Roxas from his goal, and his twin seemed to be on the same wavelength. Before he or his brother could make contact, there was a large hand closing around the back of his neck and he was being manhandled out of the room by his fuming father who had Sora in the grasp of his other hand.

The two Strife sons were all but tossed onto the couch by their father. Cloud towered angrily over the two teenagers with his arms akimbo.

"Just what the fuck do you two think you're doing? We have company! This is not the time to have a pissing contest!" he scolded the both of them.

"Dad, he totally started it!" Roxas complained. "He kicked me under the table! And look!" The blond pointed to the food still clinging to his skin and clothes.

"Roxas, I really don't give a shit who started it! You both contributed!" Cloud sighed irately and looked up at the ceiling for a moment as he processed what had just taken place. "You can't let yourself get caught up in stupid, shitty squabbles like that, Roxas. I'll punish you later. For now, go change your clothes and get your ass back down here as soon as you possibly can," he commanded, pointing at the stairs.

Although he didn't agree with his father that he had done something wrong, he really did want to change clothes. Plus now he was worried about what Axel and Reno thought of what they'd just seen. He couldn't believe how unbelievably childish Sora was being about everything. Even if he'd been hoping to get some pity points from Reno, he wasn't exactly onboard with him and Axel witnessing such an outburst.

Cloud continued scolding Sora as Roxas ascended the stairs, but the blond paid no mind to the words his father was actually saying. He just wanted to get changed and assess the damage of the situation. He certainly hoped his mother was doing some sort of damage control in the dining room, but he didn't even know what she could say to them in response to what had happened that would make anything any better. Roxas feared that maybe Reno and Axel would leave because they felt so uncomfortable, but he tried to push it out of his mind.

When Roxas returned to the dining room, Cloud hadn't quite finished scolding Sora yet, so only Tifa, Reno, and Axel were sitting at the table. He reclaimed his seat next to his boyfriend as Reno and Tifa chatted, and for a moment it seemed like they hadn't seen what had just happened, but everyone's foreheads expressed varying levels of discomfort.

Axel's arm slipped around Roxas, his warm hand coming to rest on his waist. 'Rox, you alright?' A concerned look twisted his expression.

Roxas nodded to him.

Soon after that, Cloud and Sora returned to the table. Nobody brought up the skirmish again, which Roxas was grateful for. Instead, the two families got to know each other a little better. Reno explained how his little family had formed.

He started by describing his close friendship with his girlfriend in high school. They'd been best friends for a couple of years and decided to start dating. Reno had gotten her pregnant their senior year of high school. He'd been sixteen when Axel's mother initially conceived, and had turned seventeen by the time he was born.

He explained how their families had hated them because they were into alcohol and cigarettes and both families had kicked out their irresponsible children. He explained about how they slept on friends' couches until they finally could afford a shitty shoebox apartment. He explained about how Axel had been born in a tattoo parlor and how their friends, the owners, had closed up shop early and had helped them through the process because they couldn't afford to have the baby in the hospital and then got formally married a few weeks later with a cheap homemade wedding ceremony in a friend's backyard, which their parents didn't attend.

He explained how they had to have friends help watch over Axel as they both had to work in order to pay the bills and provide food and about how they got so far into debt they couldn't afford a loan for a car.

Eventually they broke even and became financially stable for a period of about a year before they found out that Brooke, Reno's wife, Axel's mother, had developed lung cancer as a result of smoking. He explained how their parents refused to give them any sort of financial aid, so Reno had starved himself in order to take care of Axel and Brooke and how they couldn't afford any sort of treatment, and their credit was still shit so they couldn't get a loan, so she died despite the fact that they had caught the cancer at a treatable state.

Reno's eyes had gone real glassy at that part and Axel had to nudge his father and smile at him to bring him back to the table. Reno had laughed then to get rid of the unshed tears that had welled up in his eyes. Then he explained about how he and Axel had both gotten their face tattoos a few years later when Axel was 10 to signify that they wouldn't cry anymore over their loss. Instead they had to celebrate her memory, not mourn her passing.

Axel's thoughts were dark. He felt so guilty that his father had undergone so much grief for someone that Axel honestly couldn't remember very well; he'd only been three when she'd passed. He couldn't empathize with his father's loss. He didn't understand the feeling at all. If his mother had carried him for nine months, and then helped raise him for three years, then he felt like the least he could do was remember everything about her he had experienced, but he failed to remember even the way her voice sounded. He would have forgotten the way she looked if there weren't any pictures of her in their house.

Roxas held Axel's hand through the origin story of his family. The whole thing made Roxas feel ungrateful and sad. Maybe his family had its problems, but at least none of them had died. At least they were all still together. At least they'd never had to suffer like that.

Roxas could tell that everyone in the Strife family felt sheepish for the same reason. Even the angry energy emanating from Sora had softened considerably. The Flynns didn't seem to pick up on the fact that they felt sheepish, instead confusing it for discomfort, and disappointment for the mood having taken a dive for the somber.

They changed topics eventually and just started talking about their lives. Tifa and Cloud talked about life in Destiny Islands. Reno talked about his company, an auto-center that did repairs as well as custom installs and bodywork which Roxas had previously not known about. The image of a Reno in blue overalls with grease on his face and hands truly intrigued the blond in a way it probably shouldn't have, given the circumstances.

Overall, the dinner turned about to be a fairly pleasurable experience. It may have had its bumps, but in the end it was a positive encounter that Roxas felt really good about. He felt as though he'd gotten what he'd wanted out of it and that it had gone better than he'd expected. He even got to kiss Axel goodbye, so that was a definite bonus. Plus, Reno seemed to have hopped back onto Team Roxas, but the blond had honestly expected that.

After the Flynns left, the Strife family didn't really discuss it. Roxas did get a stern talking to from his father about feeding the fire and fighting with Sora, but it wasn't too bad, and Roxas didn't think it unreasonable. He had gone a bit far, he admitted. Following that, however, they silently went about their business as they let everything sink in. It was a nice, quiet evening for the Strife family, and Roxas slept easily that night.

---

School passed by in a seemingly normal fashion, aside from a couple of off-putting incidents. The whole day, Roxas had wanted to sit alone with Zexion and just chat with him and catch up to hopefully lessen the gap between them. Unfortunately, that never came to fruition. A time for them to chat together never came up. Even in Mr. Price's class, they'd taken a test that had lasted nearly the whole period.

Now that Roxas had noticed the distance, he suddenly seemed to notice all the time he had spent not talking to his best friend. It seemed really obvious to him now, and he had to wonder if Zexion felt the same way. Zexion was the type of person to passive-aggressively send signals that all was not okay whenever there was a problem, but Roxas didn't notice any of that this time around. Maybe Zexion had been too caught up in his own stuff to realize the gap that had formed, but the blond couldn't confidently guess what he could possibly be dealing with. Sure, he had a few ideas, but he couldn't confidently pick one.

At lunch Axel excitedly plopped down next to him when he arrived and nudged the blond with a bony shoulder. "So, come on, spill!" he demanded, practically wiggling out of enthusiasm. "Tell me I totally rocked your parents' world last night!"

Roxas rolled his eyes jokingly and shook his head. "Actually, none of us really talked when you guys left. It was weird." Roxas paused for a moment, immediately embarrassed when Axel's arm suddenly settled around him, hand on his waist very similarly to how they were at dinner the previous night. "Uh," Roxas took a moment to clear his throat as well as his discomfort. "I'm sure we'll talk about it tonight at our counseling session. I'm sure you did fine, though. There was no point where I thought you were just really blowing it."

The junior nodded in understanding.

"Sorry things got a little weird last night. Uhh, like with Sora and the fighting," the younger boy murmured quietly.

Axel shrugged animatedly. "When you said things were really bad at home, I don't think I realized to what extent you meant it. Like, I just thought things were tense. I had no idea everyone was actually fighting like that, especially with company over! If we hadn't been there, I don't even want to think about what would have happened. I will never doubt my cute wittle Woxy again." He pinched Roxas' cheek and made baby faces at him.

Roxas was about to smack his hand away and retort when suddenly Marluxia was sitting down right next to him on the side opposite Axel, causing Roxas to involuntarily flinch very visibly away from the pink-haired senior. His heart raced at ridiculously high speeds and his stomach flipped as the rush of air produced by Marluxia's movement carried his scent to Roxas' nose. He felt sick and trapped for a moment until he realized that he wasn't in Marluxia's car; he was in the lounge by the vending machines with Axel's arm around him and Marluxia peering at him with a startled look on his face.

Embarrassment and guilt overwhelmed Roxas after his reaction to the man's sudden approach and he wasn't sure how to follow that up, especially with Axel and Marluxia staring at him like they were. Marluxia's forehead expressed extreme guilt, and Roxas wasn't at a good angle to read Axel's forehead.

"Rox, you okay?" Axel sounded concerned.

"Um, yeah," Roxas replied as his mind raced to think of an excuse. "Uh, I just felt a sudden chill, heh. Here, let me just..." the blond trailed off as he scooted further away from Marluxia and to the other side of Axel, where he snuggled into the redhead's chest.

Axel seemed to buy it, because he didn't question it any further. He kissed Roxas' temple and nudged at the sophomore's head with his nose, very unaware of the turmoil inside Roxas.

Roxas couldn't believe how caught off guard he was or how his mind had instantly recreated that scenario. He thought that by understanding where Marluxia had been coming from and that with his apology he'd be able to just ignore it and be friends like always again, but that didn't seem to be the case. When he'd gone to talk with Marluxia in Mr. Price's room to discuss what had happened, he'd been prepared to see him for the most part. Since then, though, he hadn't really been in close quarters with Marluxia.

The blond had to wonder about how his emotions could still survive even though in his mind, he understood the situation very clearly. It looked like he'd been too optimistic about it. This problem didn't seem to have any easy solution. Having Axel there didn't help him as much as he'd have liked. He still felt a little anxious from his initial reaction, but he tried to suppress it as he and Axel shared lunch.

Another odd thing that happened, though much more minor than what had happened at lunch, was when Roxas accidentally walked into the wrong classroom. He hadn't been paying attention, focused on his thoughts, on his way to what he thought was his next class. When he opened the door to the classroom, though, he realized that this was not his fifth period P.E. class, but it was, in fact, Sora's fifth period history class. The only reason he knew it was Sora's class was because the brunet was sitting next to Kairi talking to her with a neutral look on his face.

Immediately, Roxas turned and left the class, heading towards the proper direction this time. Why had he gone to Sora's class instead of his own? It'd felt so normal and routine, but he hadn't known previously where Sora's history class was or that he even had history fifth period. Something within Roxas felt amiss and the pit of his stomach felt hollow.

---

"Am I right in saying that you actually had dinner with Roxas' boyfriend and his father last night? Or was that phone call just a dream?" Mrs. Bates questioned, sounding surprised. They'd just gone through their usual recap of the previous session, although no one really wanted to hear about it. Everyone very clearly remembered what had happened. Their special guest visit was definitely something of note.

Tifa didn't seem to know what to make of the idea that Mrs. Bates might've had a dream about them, but she responded anyway, ignoring that part. "Um, yes. We invited the Flynns over for dinner last night. It went... marginally well."

"I think it was a fucking disaster," Cloud grumbled, arms crossed. 'We can't even pull it together the one time we have company over. Disgraceful.' He was disappointed.

Mrs. Bates waited for someone to elaborate, looking curious, her pen ready to write.

"Well, I mean, there was some fighting. And some food was thrown." As she said this, Tifa kept an accusatory stare aimed at Sora, who just glared at the floor from his huddled-up position on one of the lounge chairs.

"Oh, my. That sounds quite serious. Please explain. This is, well, something important we should analyze."

Cloud heaved a sigh. "It was going okay for a while. I started asking Axel questions so I could kind of get to know him a little better, and then suddenly Sora kicked Roxas underneath the table, so they started fighting and then Sora threw some of his food at Roxas. I intervened to keep peace and then I sat them down in the living room and scolded them for their bad behavior."

"Yeah," Tifa snorted, "after I had to yell at you to get you to take care of the situation."

"The point being I still took care of it," Cloud mumbled in response.

Without looking up from her notepad, Mrs. Bates asked Sora, "Now, Sora, what made you feel so strongly that you had to aggress against your brother like that?"

Despite his withdrawn posture, Sora actually responded. "He and Axel were flirting and I didn't like it. I don't like Axel. And I don't think he deserves Roxas. I'm also still really pissed at Roxas for what happened last time. Besides, I never got that opportunity with Riku, and so it's like why hasn't my relationship gotten the same amount of consideration as his? Mom and Dad have known Riku for so much longer and they actually liked him before they found out we were dating."

"Oh, I didn't realize you still had a boyfriend. You know, considering," Roxas grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Hey! You shut up! I'm upset with Riku still and I don't know how to deal with his confession, but I'm not about to break up with him! And he hasn't said anything to me since the session, so officially, we're not broken up."

"Well, guess whose shoulder he cried on afterwards? Mine. Oh, and who else's? Oh, that's right, Axel's! Because that's what you do when someone you love is upset. You take care of them! You don't just throw them to the fucking wolves!"

Sora sneered at his twin. "If you're trying to make me jealous, then congratulations, it's working!"

"Boys, I understand your frustrations with each other, but I think we should move forward and simply discuss the facts before we make any judgments. There are multiple sides to every story, after all," Mrs. Bates interrupted, easily diffusing the argument. "Sora, why is it that you feel so strongly against Axel? What makes you feel like you have to protect Roxas, even though you're so angry at him? It sounds very complex and I'd really like to hear more."

The brunet didn't reply immediately. He had his head hanging off to one side as he thoughtfully played with a lock of his hair. "Axel's an asshole. He pushed me around a lot when we first moved here."

"Didn't you say he just like pushed you into the pool or something?" Roxas scoffed.

Roxas had expected his twin to at least glare at him, but remarkably, he seemed calm as he shook his head. Strangely enough, it seemed almost like his anger had passed.

"Sure, he pushed me into the pool, among other things. He also stole my clothes a few times. And he also called me names and made fun of me. He was probably just jealous because of how quickly Riku and I hit it off, considering that they'd just broken up based on Riku's story. That stuff, nah, it wasn't that bad. No." Sora shook his head gently. "That kind of stuff doesn't really bother me. But then he met Roxas and he quickly found out we were brothers, so then he started threatening me by going through you. At one point he told me this whole story about how he was going to make you miserable. He said he'd get you to fall in love with him. Then he'd fuck you. And then he'd leave. And I honestly don't give a shit if he meant it or not. He still said it. And he doesn't deserve you because of it, Roxas."

Sora paused for a moment, nibbling thoughtfully on a hangnail.

"I didn't really believe him at first because I thought you were straight at the time, so I had nothing to worry about. But then I found out you were gay and I noticed how he was pursuing you. So I don't really know. Everyone says he's not a bad guy, but if that were true, then why do I get this dangerous vibe whenever I'm around him? I feel like he's the kind of guy that gets violent when he gets angry. You shouldn't be with a guy like that. Although, I don't really feel that way much anymore. He could bend you over a cactus and fuck you to the point of bleeding and then break your heart and I'd still think you deserved it." He gave an annoying little shrug that had Roxas seething.

"Wow," Roxas muttered incredulously. That wasn't exactly the answered he'd expected Sora to give. And it made him feel wholly uncomfortable. He was pretty sure that Axel wouldn't actually do that. The guy had cried out of worry when Roxas had run away. But Sora was right in saying that it was shitty of Axel to make those threats in the first place. And as much as he wanted to deny that Axel was dangerous when he was angry, he really couldn't. Axel's anger terrified Roxas. Roxas decided to think over those things later. The thing he wanted to focus on before any of that was how strongly Sora felt and how easily his twin had abandoned him.

"So, all it takes for someone who really loves you to end up on the lowest rung of your ladder is point out some of your worst flaws and make a couple mean comments. Incredible."

"Oh you shut up, Roxas! You are literally so dumb!" Sora shouted. "You're so self-absorbed! And my feelings are justified and they are valid! You don't understand, Roxas, there's just no way you'd ever see on your own how fucking annoying you can be when shit goes south. All this, this snowballing mass of emotion is because of you, you know. You wanted things to be easier for you in the family, I get that. You wanted to be able to kiss guys without Mom and Dad beating the shit out of you, okay. But now you're trying to mess up my life to make yours better. Whenever Mom and Dad lash out at me unfairly, it's because of you. The only reason Axel is even part of my life outside of the beginning of the year is because of you. The reason Riku had been distant from me before the last session is because of you." Sora was jabbing an accusatory finger in the air in Roxas' direction. His voice was shaking with emotion and he continued on. "And we're trying to work together as a family to get through everything so we can finally be happy, but whenever someone says something that you don't like, you just leave. You just fucking leave!"

"Well, I walk away so that I can calm down and-"

"No! There's a huge difference between walking away and running away, Roxas!" Roxas had never heard Sora yell so loudly before. "And you've been running. Because then you don't come back to it. You just leave it for the rest of us to deal with." Tears had started rolling down Sora's cheeks and he sobbed once, but pushed himself to go on. "And that was okay for a while, but now it's just gotten ridiculous. I have Kairi right now and that's it. She's the only person I can talk to about anything who at least gives my feelings an ear. But you have Mom and Dad and you have Axel and Riku and all your other friends and even the school's fucking faculty! And the worst part is, you're still so sad inside and you think you've gotten the short end of the stick. Well guess what, Roxas. You didn't. I did. And I can't just run away like you can because I don't have the same resources that you do. And I really hate to admit it, but I also don't have the balls. Please just don't talk to me ever again." Sora's yelling had quickly dwindled down into a fragile voice just shy of an indoor voice. He had tears rolling down his face and he began blubbering just after he finished his tirade. He asked to be excused for a few minutes to collect himself.

The room after Sora left was dead quiet. All the adults had their eyes trained on Roxas, who was deep in thought, going over everything Sora had said but not understanding any of it. A headache quickly formed and he felt so sad and tired. He wished Riku was here so that way he could kiss away the pain. Riku always knew just what to say and he always said it in that sexy, comforting voice of his.

...

Wait, what?

Roxas could not for the life of him even begin to understand why he wanted Riku at this moment. He liked Riku, sure, but not like that. Not at all like that. Plus, he'd never really given special attention to Riku's voice before, so why would that be his go-to thing? Now Roxas felt even more confused and even shittier.

Roxas sighed miserably and was glad when Mrs. Bates actually ended the session early in light of what had happened. She'd never called to end a meeting early before, so Roxas figured that was probably extra bad, but Roxas didn't complain.

He spent the rest of the evening doing homework in his room until he passed out.

---

It seemed fitting when Roxas got home from school the following day to find Kairi helping Sora move his things into the office. He didn't know whether his parents had consented to this or not, but it seemed to be the former because the computers had been moved downstairs to the living room up against the wall just beneath the stairs. Either way, it seemed appropriate and Roxas didn't say anything, though he did share a weird look with Kairi. She seemed uncomfortable and unsure of how to feel about the whole situation. They didn't share words.

Everything was so screwed up and seemed to be moving so fast that it really scared Roxas. Naturally, he was still angry with Sora over what he had done in regards to Riku, but this kind of distance seemed next level. He and Sora had never not been close. Their whole lives had revolved around each other for so long, and even if they had the tendency to drift off now and again, it had never been quite like this. Watching Sora moving into the office like he was, while a logical next step, hurt Roxas to the point where he decided to see if Zexion was home. And then maybe he'd finally be able to talk with him about everything.

Surprisingly, Zexion actually opened the door when Roxas knocked on it. The blond hadn't really expected him to be home. He thought for sure that his blue-haired friend would be out with Demyx. Unless Demyx was here.

"Oh, hello Roxas. I wasn't expecting to see you. Something I can help you with?" he wondered, leaning casually against the doorframe.

"Are you busy right now, actually? I kind of just wanted to hang out and talk, I guess."

Zexion heaved a sigh of relief and grabbed Roxas by the arm. "Oh thank god!" he exclaimed as he hastily pulled Roxas into the house, slamming the door behind the two of them. He led Roxas up the stairs to his room and then immediately face-planted into his bed. He gave a long, frustrated groan.

Roxas, slightly amused by his friend's behavior, sat next to him on his bed. He ran a hand through Zexion's hair to calm him a little.

"Roxas, I'm an idiot. I'm a fucking idiot," Zexion grumbled, muffled by his pillow.

"What are you talking about?" the blond wondered, almost surprised by how easily Zexion fell right back into the rhythm of spilling his guts to him.

Zexion looked up at his fellow sophomore. 'I made out with Lexaeus.'

"Whoa, Zexion, what the hell!"

"Huh? Oh! I forgot you could do that. Anyway, yeah... That happened. It was so good and I fucking hate myself for it. I don't know what to do and I've just been going crazy. I mean, I wasn't exactly over Lexaeus to begin with, but I was doing okay. But ever since then I'm right back to where I was like just before we broke up. I think about him constantly and I want to do all these things with him, I can't stop dreaming about having sex with him, and it's just... Ugh... I'm not even sad about it. I just want him so badly..."

Roxas laid down next to Zexion, hands behind his head. "What happened? How did you even get to the point of making out with him?"

The bookworm heaved a sigh and ran a hand through his bangs as if to get them out of his eye, but they just fell right back to where they always were. "Well, it was that day we went to headquarters and Xaldin and Lexaeus were having a little get-together thing. I was sitting with Demyx at the piano and then Lexaeus came out of the kitchen at some point and started hitting up this guy that was there. I know I should've just ignored them, but I just couldn't. And then he started kissing the guy, and I couldn't take it, so I excused myself to go to the bathroom, but then I just ran upstairs and started crying in the hallway, which was really dumb. And then wouldn't you know who comes waltzing up the stairs? Lexaeus! And so I kind of curled up into a ball so that way he couldn't see me or something? Honestly, I was so out of it, I don't even know what I was thinking. He sat down next to me, of course, and asked me if I was okay. Then, I don't know, one thing led to another and we started making out. I don't know what to do. I haven't told anyone else what happened."

"Oh, Zexy, I'm sorry. That really sucks," the blond murmured. Part of him expected it when Zexion wrapped his arms around the blond and buried his face into his chest.

"Do you think I should tell Demyx?"

Roxas nodded, "Yeah. He deserves to know. Are you sure you really want to be with Demyx, though? I mean, I don't exactly know what's going through your head, but if you want to date Lexaeus more, you shouldn't feel obligated to stay with Demyx."

Zexion poked his head up a little so he could look Roxas in the eyes. "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it. But every time I do, it's just, I love Demyx so, so much. And I also love Lexaeus so, so much. They both bring me something different that I just can't choose one over the other. They're incomparable. It sucks that I have to choose one. I wish I didn't have to. I'd really love to have both. I would not be opposed to a three-way polyamorous relationship. Sadly, they do not feel the same way. God, I'm such a slut."

"Hey, don't do that to yourself. Firstly, you're not really a slut, and even if you were, that's not a bad thing. We're all designed to want happiness, Zexion. It's what we all strive for, so it's only natural that when two people make you very happy like that, you'd want to be with both of them. It definitely sucks that they're not on the same page, but that doesn't make you a bad person for wanting it."

Zexion stayed quiet for a while, seeming to think things over quietly. "I know. It's just a mess, and I feel so terrible to have gotten caught up in this." The younger boy heaved a sigh before changing the subject. "Aside from that," Zexion sat up, "I think something weird is going on with my dad and Cheryl." He was whispering and eyed the door for a second.

"Like, they're gonna have a child weird? Or like you've found chains and whips in their bedroom?"

"No, more like police officers were here one day after I came back from school. Dad told me to just go to my room and do my homework until dinner."

"Oh wow, that is weird."

"Yeah, and it gets even weirder. I asked what it was all about later, and he said that the officers were looking for a runaway, but I'm pretty sure he made that up. Why would officers come into a home for that?" Zexion wondered. "And even weirder still is that I think Cheryl knows what's happening. She's not a blabbermouth like you'd expect, but she's just not very good at excuses or poker faces. She and my dad have gotten a lot tenser lately. Usually my dad is distant at best, but lately he's kind of been in my business. Like when I get home asking where I've been and who I've been with and what I've been doing and that kind of thing. He's been trying to be subtle about it, but even asking what I did that day is asking for more information than he ever has before. Meanwhile Cheryl's gone quieter and quieter. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, that's for sure."

"And you have no idea what it could possibly be?" Roxas wondered.

Zexion shrugged and frowned. "Not really. We live in a shitty little house so I really doubt he deals drugs or anything that would be illegal but also pay out a lot of money. I also doubt he does drugs because he doesn't show any of the signs. I suppose it's possible that he killed someone, but something tells me that's not it either. My dad's not really the murder-y type. But I do think he's done something. He's been so paranoid that he must be hiding something. I just don't know what."

"That's kind of creepy. Good luck with that, I guess." Roxas didn't really know how else he was supposed to respond to that. It seemed like the kind of thing that would remain a mystery until more details came out, and it was so weird that he couldn't exactly give his two cents, especially with how little he knew of Zexion's father and stepmother.

Zexion nodded in response. "So what's up with you lately, huh? Not to sound accusatory or anything, but you've been pretty distant with me. I feel like we haven't really talked in forever, despite the thing with Axel. I would've said something sooner, but I've been a little distracted, as you could probably tell." He brought his legs up onto the bed and sat crisscross. He was grinning at Roxas. "Have you finally gotten to do blowjob stuff with him yet? I still can't believe that's what your fight was about," he snorted.

Roxas felt his face heat up and he scowled at his best friend. "No, and shut up. Reno was pissed at me for a while, so I wasn't really allowed in his house and we haven't really been able to hang out outside of school very much. I'm glad to be back together with Axel and everything, but my family situation is still crumbling away slowly. As we speak, Sora's moving into what used to be our home office because he can't stand living with me. He's so pissed at me, it's really unbelievable. Especially for Sora."

"Really? Sora's moving out of your room?"

"Yeah. Has Riku told you what happened between him and Sora?" the blond wondered. He didn't want to be revealing any of Riku's deep dark secrets, especially not with his cousin who would feel betrayed for not being indulged on this information, so he tried to be vague about his question.

"Well, he didn't say much, he just said that he was fighting with Sora. That's some pretty ridiculous fighting, though, because he was crying when he told me. They haven't even been dating a month and they're already fighting. I thought their relationship would be a bit more stable than that. They were drooling over each other for so long, it just seems ridiculous." Zexion snorted and rolled his eyes, though it seemed to be mostly in jest. "Tch, relationship amateurs."

"Well, there have been some special circumstances at play here. I'm dating Axel, Sora doesn't like it, and Riku doesn't like Sora picking on Axel. The perfect circle of anger for Sora and sadness for Riku. Sora doesn't deserve a guy like Riku anyway. Riku's way out of his league. Riku's in a league all his own which nobody can really live up to, which is sad for everyone."

Despite the snort and the laugh that followed, Zexion nodded in agreement. "He certainly is above us mere mortals. I mean everyone says he's basically a sex god, but what everyone overlooks is that he's basically an actual god that maybe you could probably have sex with, but will never love you the way you love him."

It was Roxas' turn to laugh. "I guess Sora is just his Achilles' heel. Though, maybe Sora just has some type of witchery going on."

"That really is the only logical explanation for such an independent creature to want to group up with someone. Typically the Sex God operates alone because its fear of commitment and overall hotness keeps most from the inner reaches of his heart. Truly, the Sex God is a fascinating creature."

"Ew, you think your cousin is hot? That's disgusting." Roxas pretended to gag.

Zexion playfully shoved him. "Not like sexually. But you'd have to be an idiot to not realize how hot Riku is. He's the school's diamond. Perfect grades, perfect body, perfect hair. It's hard to believe I'm related to him at all, not to mention that I'm actually really closely related to him." He laughed at that, but it sounded somewhat strained. He'd been half joking but also not.

Without even thinking about it, Roxas flicked his friend's nose as if he were punishing a dog. "Hey, shut up. You're smart, hot, and have cool hair, too, doofus. If I wasn't committed to Axel and you didn't have your weird relationship stuff going on, I'd totally fuck you."

Zexion grumbled and rubbed at his nose. "Your love hurts me, Roxas. I forgot that about you." He laughed when it was Roxas' turn to playfully shove him.

They spent the next few hours together talking and laughing and joking like old times. Everything came back fairly naturally and it felt like they'd never been distant, which Roxas was really glad for. Eventually Roxas decided to just stay the night at Zexion's house, which luckily both the Strife parents and the Corazza parents were okay with. Even better than that, though, Cloud gave Roxas the keys back to his and Sora's car, so the best friends decided not to spend their Friday night at Zexion's house being lame. They elected to go to headquarters despite Zexion's conflict with Lexaeus. They'd never really spent the weekend at headquarters before. Typically there wasn't much happening because they always went during the week, so Roxas was pumped to see if there was anything going on.

Roxas was not disappointed when they arrived, for it seemed there were guests at headquarters on this night, too. Again, they were friends of Xaldin and Lexaeus, but they were a different crowd, and seemed closer to the both of them. Everyone else who lived at the house seemed home as well, with the addition of Vexen. Since the adults were there, there was no alcohol, which Zexion kind of pouted about to Roxas when he realized what the adults being around meant logistically.

"Hey, cool it, Zexion. You don't need alcohol to let loose. We will have fun without the aid of alcoholic beverages, I promise. If you start feeling like you wanna leave, just let me know and we'll bail," Roxas had assured his friend as they walked up the driveway to the front door when they'd first spotted the adults' cars.

"You're right," the bookworm had lamented.

Upon entry, they were warmly welcomed by Luxord, who invited them into the dining room where everyone was sitting and getting ready to eat. It had been around 6:30 when they'd first gotten there and everyone was just about to sit down to a dinner that Xaldin had made. It wasn't the same four-course meal thing that they'd had at the celebrations, instead something more buffet style with a smaller selection of foods.

The duo also received a warm welcome when they walked into the dining room together with Luxord gently guiding them from behind. The group of who must've been friends with Xaldin and Lexaeus seemed intrigued to see them, Zexion in particular. They all ended up sitting at the same end of the table as seemed to be a tradition; grouping the seats by age.

"So, this is him?" One of the college students asked Lexaeus, gesturing to Zexion.

"Ah, yeah," Lexaeus replied, seeming sheepish and embarrassed. 'God, I hope they don't fucking say anything embarrassing...'

Zexion seemed surprised at being pointed out like that. He narrowed his eyes at Lexaeus, who nervously tugged at his shirt sleeves.

"Wow, he's cute," another one of the college students commented with a giggle. She gazed at Zexion with her chin in her hands, admiring him.

"I mean, he does seem kinda young, but definitely attractive. You totally fucked up letting this one get away," the third commented. "He could be a model, you know?"

Lexaeus flushed pink and he rubbed at his face with his hands. "Like I didn't already know that."

One of them, the second student who'd commented, pointed an accusatory manicured finger at Zexion. "Hey, Riku Gallagher's your cousin, right?" she asked, seeming to have just remembered this fact.

"Yeah. He's my cousin. See, Lexaeus, someone knows who Riku is."

"Ugh... It was a romantic enough gesture. Whether or not it was actually a well-informed decision shouldn't matter because my intentions were good. And anyway, he got revenge." Roxas actually found it quite pleasing to see Lexaeus grow more and more embarrassed. There was something amusing about a big man crumpling up and visibly feeling small.

The three guests seemed very lively upon receiving this news of Zexion's cousin. "Riku's so hot, obviously it runs in the family," one said. "Yeah, the triplets were knockouts too," another replied. "So has anyone managed to tame the stallion?" The third asked of Zexion.

"Yeah, he has a boyfriend right now. This guy's brother," Zexion gestured to Roxas.

"Yeah, but probably not for long. Not if Sora keeps doing what he's doing," Roxas pointed out.

"I guess, but maybe you should lay off him, Roxas. I'm sure he's going through stuff too, just like you are," Zexion responded, completely ignoring the astonished buzz that this knowledge of Riku's relationship caused in Lexaeus' and Xaldin's friends.

Roxas snorted. "I don't know Zexion, you haven't heard the things he's been saying."

The bookworm shrugged. "Maybe not. But maybe he's going through a bout of depression or something. Sometimes lashing out and pushing others away is a sign of loneliness or despair."

"Hah! Sora? Depressed?" The blond chuckled at the idea. "It's impossible for Sora to be depressed. Have you ever met Sora? Sure, he's been different lately, but there's no way in hell he could be depressed." Roxas realized what a knee-jerk reaction that response had been when he realized Zexion was staring at him in a wholly unimpressed way that made him reconsidered his words. Sora was normally a bright and cheerful person. Typically he was very open about his emotions, so Roxas had a hard time saying that Sora had depression. Depression was too strong a word, he thought. Though it did make sense that maybe he was feeling lonely.

"Ugh, shut up Zexion. Let me get away from it for at least a little while? Please?" the blond demanded.

'Running is your specialty, I suppose.' Zexion's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, but he didn't respond verbally or in any other manner.

The college students and high school students chatted amicably as they ate, finding that they got along pretty well. Roxas and Zexion learned that these were a few friends that Lexaeus and Xaldin had made in high school. They'd come home because their colleges had a four-day weekend as a means of a study break, so they wanted to hang out with Lexaeus and Xaldin and see what they were up to these days.

Throughout the dinner, Roxas couldn't help but notice Zexion and Lexaeus giving each other looks. Sometimes they seemed embarrassed, sometimes they seemed to be longing for each other, sometimes Zexion was angry, other times Lexaeus was guilty, but overall, Roxas thought they just really wanted to be together. Zexion's unpleasant faces weren't anywhere near as unpleasant as they had been when they'd first talked again after the breakup. He definitely seemed much softer towards the large man.

After dinner, the whole group moved over to the living room where they continued to chat and watch TV and play games together. Axel started texting Roxas during this time, so the blond figured he'd probably just gotten off of work. Unfortunately, Reno was forcing Axel to spend some quality father-son time together with him that evening, so he wouldn't be joining them at the headquarters. So instead of Axel meeting up with them, it was actually Marluxia who burst through the door with a loud greeting.

Everyone welcomed him in, save for Roxas, who tried to keep his mind on the card game he was playing with Luxord, Zexion, and Saïx instead of on the way his heart rate shot up at the thought of him being near. Just like at lunch the other day, he just hadn't been prepared for the pink-haired senior to enter like that.

Saïx excused himself from the card table immediately upon Marluxia's entry and then practically dashed out of the room, holding his nose.

"Hello, Marluxia, how are you doing?" Luxord politely asked as the senior actually came over to sit at the table where Saïx had just been. The blond man dealt him into the game.

Roxas tried to focus on his cards and definitely not on Marluxia's scent, which was so strong to him, it made him feel sick. He felt like his eyes might be watering because of it, but when he rubbed at one of them, it seemed to be the same level of dryness as usual.

Marluxia shrugged in his usual animated way. "Pretty good. I've got some other plans tonight, but I have like an hour and a half to kill so I decided to just come hang out for a while. How are you, Luxy?" He was his usual flirty self, waggling his eyebrows and winking shamelessly at the man.

Luxord grinned and gave a chuckle through his nose at the nickname. "Doing well myself. What've you got on your plate for this evening? A night of debauchery planned?"

"Well, maybe. I'm hanging out with your girlfriend," he teased, "later, but I'm not sure what we'll do. We usually decided what we're doing on the night of rather than in advance. We might go clubbing or we might stay home and watch movies and eat popcorn." He winked at Luxord again as he lightly knocked on the table to get another card.

"Aren't you and Larxene practically neighbors? Did you really drive all the way out here just to drive all the way back?" Zexion wondered, cutting into the conversation as he revealed his cards, showing that he'd busted by 2.

"Nah, I had some errands to run on this side of town just before I came here, so I just wanted to stop by. Larxene's shopping with Naminé right now. I would've gone with them if I didn't have to go to the craft supply store for my mom and then drop off some things at the bank for her. But what can you do. I am a wonderful son, so I shoulder her burdens with a pleasant smile on my face." He flashed a big smile around the table.

Roxas revealed his hand, showing that he'd busted by 1.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. Your mum is your moon and stars. Would you show your hand already?"

Before he could, Vexen interrupted their game.

"Marluxia, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you about some things concerning the lab we had planned for next week," the blond scientist explained.

Of course, no matter the reason, Marluxia was all too willing to do as his blond significant other asked of him. He regarded Vexen with a charming smile. "Yes, of course. Why don't we talk about it in your lab? That way I can show you what I meant earlier." He turned his attention back to the men at the table. "I hope you gentlemen will excuse me. I have a business meeting to attend." And with that, he and Vexen left in the direction of Vexen's lab.

The moment Marluxia left, Roxas felt himself beginning to breathe normally again. It'd seemed almost as if the air around him had been toxic when Marluxia had been in his presence, so he had tried his best not to breathe at all, only inhaling enough to keep him conscious. He noticed Zexion had caught on to his strange demeanor, but tossing the bookworm a warm smile seemed to sate his curiosity.

Saïx returned to the living room at that point and reclaimed his previous spot at the table. Nobody seemed to notice this as strange or when he started glaring in the direction Marluxia and Vexen had gone. 'That fucking smell…They'd better fucking take care of it.' Suddenly Saïx locked eyes with Roxas, seeming to realize that he was being watched, and they both sort of stared at each other for a moment.

Roxas instinctively tilted his head out of pure curiosity, but Saïx only glared at Roxas out of surprise, his forehead going blank. The blond felt extremely uncomfortable, and so returned his attention to the new hand Luxord had dealt him, but he could definitely still feel the vice principal's gaze on him. It gave him the chills, and Roxas considered suddenly that maybe reading people's foreheads was wrong and too personal, despite the fact that he couldn't really stop it. Still, he felt weird about it now. Did Saïx know Roxas had been reading his forehead? Also, what smell was Saïx referring to? It couldn't possibly the same smell that had made Roxas nauseous, could it? The blond tried to focus solely on the round at hand. Surprisingly, he managed to win, getting a total card value of 21 exactly.

After that round of blackjack, Zexion seemed bored of the game, and Roxas followed him when he went to crash on the couch in a display of massive boredom. The blond flopped on top of him and eventually they ended up play-fighting with each other on the couch, fighting for dominance over the other.

They roughhoused for about five minutes before the two best friends decided just to lay down next to each other, grinning at the other and holding hands. Roxas thought it was just so nice that he had Zexion again. Knowing he hadn't lost his best friend to the void was quite reassuring, and he attempted to express his relief by kissing the bookworm's forehead.

Zexion swatted him for that, but then quickly maneuvered himself so his mouth was poised at the blond's ear, his free hand forming a cup around it so that no one else would hear what he was saying.

"Roxas, I think I'm gonna fuck Lexaeus if he keeps looking at me like that. And I won't even feel bad about it," Zexion whispered to his blond friend.

"Oh my god, Zexion! Keep it in your pants!" Roxas whispered back, surprised at Zexion's directness.

"I can't help it! He's so hot." Zexion paused for a moment to sigh. "And he keeps looking at me like he just wants me to mount him and take a huge bite out of his neck and fuck him 'til he's whimpering and begging because the pleasure is just overwhelming. Then I'll—"

It was Roxas' turn to swat at his friend, smacking him square in the face. He sat up on the couch frowning down at Zexion. "Dude, you need to sort your shit out. You can't just say things like that, you know," he chastised, trying to keep his voice quiet.

Zexion snorted and made a face at Roxas. He hastily sat up next to his blond friend and rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, me, I'm the one that needs to sort out their shit." Zexion glared at him.

Roxas returned Zexion's disbelieving expression and scowled. "And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know, maybe the fact that you're looking down on me with your holier-than-thou expression as if I'm the one who's dodged every single one of my problems while then simultaneously looking down on someone for doing the same, and on a much smaller scale. Maybe it's the fact that you keep running out on your family drama instead of actually fucking dealing with it. Same with your relationship drama. You have a serious victim complex, Roxas, and it's not a good look. I'd forgotten why I'd drifted from you recently, but now I remember it perfectly clearly." Zexion had his arms crossed and he looked completely annoyed with his blond counterpart.

Roxas didn't know how to respond to his best friend saying such a thing to him. It kind of blindsided him, especially considering that he typically had some kind of grasp of what people thought of him thanks to his ability, but Roxas hadn't seen any indication of anything like that. And this marked the third time that someone had accused Roxas of playing the victim. Maybe normally he would've been mad, but instead he was stunned.

No words came to Roxas' mind or his mouth and he just kind of stared at the blue-haired bookworm. A strange ethereal kind of pain ghosted throughout Roxas' body and he felt himself develop goosebumps as a result. It wasn't a strong pain, just the ghost of what might be considered pain. A bubble of defensiveness and betrayal rose towards the surface but popped before it could reach its destination, instead absorbed by this smoky hurting.

Zexion tilted his head at Roxas, waiting for some kind of reply. He didn't seem aware of the inner turmoil permeating Roxas' core. "Roxas? Aren't you going to try to twist this around so it's my fault or something? Or give some bullshit excuse about how stressed you are?" he mumbled.

Roxas just shook his head, his eyes stinging as he did so. "No," he said simply. "Although if you thought I was being shitty or that I was playing the victim I wish you would've told me sooner. I didn't realize it."

Although Roxas had meant this entirely truthfully, Zexion seemed to take offense to it, his visible eye narrowing. He scowled at the blond. "Oh, so it is my fault for letting this happen to you. Because you can't keep yourself in check. Glad to know I'm the one responsible for your shitty behavior!" Zexion seethed.

A stabbing sensation rocked through Roxas' core and he shook his head violently. "It's not your fault Zexion, it's just... I didn't know I was being shitty."

"Oh, you didn't realize you were being shitty when you decided to impulsively run away out of the blue for no fucking reason, telling no-fucking-one where you were going? And you didn't realize it when you suddenly broke up with Axel because of a stupid fight? And you didn't realize it when you then later blamed it on Riku? And you didn't realize that maybe Sora has feelings too even if he's also been kind of a dick lately? And you did not realize, it did not even occur to you, that maybe I know my feelings are fucking wrong but you can still, despite all the shit you've done tell me I need to get my fucking shit sorted out?"

"Zexion-"

"No! Stop it! Don't you dare try to tell me that you've been doing everything within your power not to be a shitty person! You've been really shitty, Roxas! And you're so self-absorbed and so unaware of all the dumb shit you've been doing this whole time! It's incredible." Zexion had started yelling at this point, garnering the attention of all the people in the room.

"Zexion! I just-"

"Roxas! Stop it! I can't even fucking deal with you. Don't talk to me until you've decided to get off your fucking high horse, release the stick that's been so firmly lodged up your ass, and apologize for all the shitty things you've said and done over the course of the past month!"

And with that, Zexion was up on his feet and storming out of the room, steam practically rising from his ears as he went. Lexaeus headed after him at a more gradual pace and in the end Roxas was left feeling very alone. He wished that Zexion hadn't run off like that. This was not the first time someone accused Roxas of 'playing the victim,' and he wished that Zexion would've explained to him more what he'd been doing, aside from the list of things that he'd already given. Roxas felt like he did his best with each situation, but with everyone telling him his perspective was shit, he couldn't help but second-guess himself.

Roxas sat there for a few minutes in deep thought, considering all the things that had happened recently. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Zexion wasn't wrong. And even more than that, Sora wasn't wrong either. With all his problems recently, Roxas would just stir things up and then leave before they could be resolved because he got too upset. He always did it with the intention of going back to the situations to deal with them, but never actually followed through. The fact that he'd just been trying to tell off Zexion for not dealing with his problems immediately and directly made it that much worse.

Remorse settled over Roxas like a thick, tangling blanket. He didn't want to continue with this pattern any longer. He didn't want to fuck up more of his relationships while his family situation was already so up in the air. Plus, Zexion really didn't need another stressor in his life. With the weight of a million elephants in his legs, Roxas forced himself to follow the direction Zexion had gone. Swallowing his pride and admitting his failure was difficult, but he knew that if he didn't stop it here, it could continue to fester until he and Zexion were too far gone to try to reconcile everything.

Roxas could feel everyone's eyes on him as he went, but he tried not to pay them any mind. He ended up going down the main entrance hall to the dining room where he heard muffled voices that sounded like Zexion and Lexaeus' coming from the indoor pool, which was through a door on the right wall. The door was glass, so he could easily see Zexion and Lexaeus sitting together on a small metal bench on the opposite end of the room. It looked like they were talking, but their conversation seemed to be interspersed with slow, calm kisses. Roxas heaved a sigh and waited until their kissing turned back into conversation before deciding to knock on the glass door and alert them to his presence.

Zexion and Lexaeus turned their heads to look at the door. Upon seeing Roxas, Lexaeus stood up and approached the glass door. He gave Roxas an indecipherable expression as he passed the blond to leave the room. His forehead was unhelpfully blank, but he didn't seem hostile, at least. Zexion was another story, Roxas realized as he entered the room and got slightly closer to his friend.

"Are you here to further plead your case as to why nothing is ever your fault?" Zexion questioned, sounding none too friendly.

Roxas shook his head. "No." He sat down next to Zexion on the small bench. "I actually came to apologize. It's not your job to police my behavior." There was a long pause where Roxas expected Zexion to respond, but when he didn't, the blond continued on. "And I've been shitty and a huge dick. I'm sorry for getting up on a pedestal and talking down to you, and I'm sorry for always running. I've gotten so used to it, and I know it's bad and I need to stop." He heaved a sigh and let his head hang, eyes trained on his hands in his lap.

Suddenly, Roxas felt himself being lifted into the air and thrown. He barely had time to open his mouth and squawk out of surprise when he felt himself submerge in the pool's warm water, effectively inhaling a bunch of water. The second Roxas' wits returned to him, he quickly struggled to swim to the side of the pool and surface. He hoisted himself up over the side, coughing up a bunch of water that he'd inhaled.

As he dribbled water from everywhere and hacked up more water still, he saw in his peripheral vision a pair of feet walk themselves in front of him and stop. A hand followed, offered to him to grab. With a grumble, he grabbed Zexion's hand and let himself be pulled up out of the pool.

"Why, though?" Roxas wondered as he shook his arms and legs in a futile attempt to get all the water off of his person. He could feel the beginnings of anger trying to smolder in his stomach, but all the water he'd just swallowed made it difficult to mean much of anything. More than anything, he felt embarrassed and humbled. When he finally looked up, he saw pure amusement on Zexion's face.

"Payback. Now we're even," Zexion explained simply.

Roxas looked at him incredulously for a moment before narrowing his eyes in confusion at his smaller friend.

"You were a dick, and then I was a dick. So we're all good now." There was no malice or condescension in Zexion's expression or his words. In fact, he mostly seemed relieved. "I'm glad you've recognized your behavior and I accept your apology. I'd like to have my best friend back, so if that's possible, I'd like to continue along this path."

With a wild shake of his head purposefully to fling water from his hair onto Zexion's person, Roxas chuckled. "I guess that's doable. Having my best friend back would be pretty swell, too." The cold air sent shivers through Roxas, though. "But I'd also really like a towel and maybe a change of clothes? That'd be cool, too."

The two friends threw an arm around each other's waist as they left the pool in search of towels and dry clothing. A significant weight that had been pressing down on Roxas seemed to have lessened and he felt good about his and Zexion's conversation. The fact that Zexion forgave him so easily was sort of bittersweet. It made him feel guilty because Zexion was being such a good friend when Roxas had been a bad one. At the same time, he felt relieved because it meant that Zexion probably understood where Roxas had been coming from and didn't hold it over him.

The whole experience made Roxas consider the other aspects of his life where he was lacking in honesty. It was all very humbling and he felt like maybe now he was ready to deal with other unpleasant aspects of his life. The first thing he decided he wanted to try tackling next was his weakening relationship with Sora. He couldn't go much longer being mad at Sora before the damage was irreparable, assuming it wasn't already. If things hadn't tipped yet, they were very close to doing so and Roxas wanted to avoid that. Roxas decided to hold off on it for just today. He wanted to enjoy his evening rekindling his friendship with Zexion. Tomorrow he planned to talk to Sora for sure. Things couldn't change drastically within the next few hours anyway, so Roxas relaxed and hung out with everyone until it was far later than anyone had anticipated and the blond drove himself and Zexion home for the night.