AnimeRoxx: Thank you so much for the kind review.

Hopefully, this chapter meets everyone's expectations.

-Elegant

The day of school seemed to go by in a blur. Everyone hung out together during their breaks and for the most part, it seemed to be a good day. A surprise came over Sora and Roxas as Namine, Riku, and Kairi had managed to swap their classes around so that they could be in the same classes. Something about 'feeling safer'. The girls much to the amusement of Roxas had basically been his bodyguards. The blond offered a rare gesture in the form of a smile to the girls who reciprocated. Even Riku seemed to be giving him a chance which surprised Roxas. He had given the slightest of nods to Roxas that made him do a double-take. It wasn't a smile or anything implying they were friends but definitely a start.

Roxas had nodded back and for once they were all able to enjoy a civil conversation. Before he knew it, he'd become part of a group. How did that happen?

...xas

"Roxas!"

Startling out of his thoughts, the blond looked curiously at the group who were trying to gain his attention for some time now. "What's up?" Kairi and Namine seemed amused by his lack of focus and chuckled to themselves.

"We wanted to hang out after school," Kairi spoke up for the group, and Roxas seemed somewhat oblivious.

"Oh yeah. Good luck with that," Roxas did not clue into the fact that he was invited to the gathering. The girls glanced at each other, smiled, and simply laughed again. Not too much as they didn't want to hurt his feelings but enough to show they were amused.

"Everyone wants you to come with us, too." Sora felt like he had to say it out loud otherwise they were never going to get through this. Some people called him thick-headed or dense and he was glad to not be the only one in the group now. Smiling at Roxas who reciprocated but if anyone dare ask the blond he would deny such a thing, Sora was happy his entire inner circle were for once getting along. Riku and Roxas had obviously both been trying all day and for that Sora was grateful.

"Oh?" Roxas was surprised. Not so much that Sora invited him - which was a nice touch - but the group wanted him to come along. The girls looked like they were waiting in anticipation and Riku. Well, that one surprised him most. He had actually given the blond a slight nod. "I don't think I could turn you guys down." Which was his way of saying he was grateful? Something Sora had definitely picked up on.

"Great!" Sora was glad that Roxas wanted to hang out with their friends too. He couldn't help the grin that made its way across his face. Almost as if on cue, the bell rang and the group was outside walking together toward the beach.

Roxas glanced over at Sora who still seemed giddy. It plastered a small smile across his face. Everyone else either didn't notice or pretended not to. In either case, Roxas gently took one of Sora's hands in his own. Sora looked at him like he was surprised but happy. As there was a bit of space between the girls, Riku and themselves, Roxas didn't see any harm in speaking his normal tone of voice. "So what did you have planned? Were we just going to the beach just cause or?"

Sora shrugged his shoulders and then nodded. "Yeah. We thought we could watch the sunset and hopefully catch some fireworks. You know... I'm glad everyone is able to get together," Pausing for a moment, Sora looked down, and then his gaze met Roxas'. Something that he was working on. It wasn't that he hated direct eye contact or anything like that- it was just because it made Sora's heart pound like crazy.

Roxas could see that Sora truly meant it. All he wanted was peace in his social group and for a bit, there Roxas and Riku's back and forth was causing chaos preventing that. But now that everyone was getting along and even though there were still rumors at school, the blond and brunette didn't care. It was school and just because there were nasty rumors didn't mean it was the end of their academic careers. "Hey," Roxas spoke softly to gain Sora's attention. Once he did, he continued speaking. "I'll go get us some ice-creams."

"Okay!" Sora enthusiastically bobbed his head up and down.

Roxas snorted. And then he chuckled. Sora was literally a big kid and it was good to see he was unphased by current events. Walking over to the vendor, Roxas got to thinking. Like he had said before- he was Sora. Resilient, thick-skulled, and a shining beacon of hope. Thanking the vendor, he walked back to the group with their ice-cream. Two were special, however. Handing one over to Sora who absentmindedly began to chomp down on his, Roxas decided to do the same. He had a lack of self-control when it came to the frozen confection. And Sora. Surprised by his own thoughts, Roxas' cheeks and ears turned a light-hued pink.

"Roxas," Sora whispered his name as he discovered something in his ice-cream. It didn't taste like usual and when he observed his ice-cream more closely he saw fruit. But it wasn't just any fruit. His pounding heartbeat was almost the only thing he could hear right now.

"What's up?" Playing it off like he was oblivious, Roxas whispered back to his boyfriend.

"There's paopu fruit in this," Sora hadn't asked him a question but Roxas had nodded. Pulling a confused face, Sora followed up with a question. "Do you know what that's supposed to do?"

"Yeah. And I don't mind." Roxas shrugged his shoulders then followed up. "Unless you don't want to be stuck with me forever?"

"No! That's not what I was say-" Sora began to explain but found himself caught off-guard. Roxas was smiling at him and there was a look on his face that made it clear he had been joking.

"Oh? So you want me all to yourself?" Leaning closer, Roxas whispered in his ear. "I'm okay with that."

About to answer, Sora and Roxas' bubble was burst by the rest of the group they had been ignoring slightly. Oops.

"What are we whispering about?" Kairi asked with a smile. It was great to see the two of them were largely unphased by these rumors. Roxas openly came out to the group - which hadn't been much of a shock - seeing as Sora and he had been getting along well, nobody really minded much. It was nice to see Sora have a first love. Maybe she was getting too ahead of herself, but a girl could hope.

Sora looked at Roxas who looked back at him. Shrugging, the blond took the lead. "We were discussing whether or not we were okay sharing fruit." It wasn't exactly lying or anything. He just overly simplified the explanation.

"...okay," Kairi gave a weird look and then laughed it off.

'Not just any fruit?' Namine mouthed at Roxas. The other blond shook his head. As if on cue there were fireworks and a paopu fruit erupted across the sky. Having never really been one for 'coincidence', Namine stole a glance at their popsicles. Seeing the paopu fruit, she smiled. It was likely a huge step for Roxas and though she hadn't known him for very long, she was proud of him.

Riku more or less grunted and pretended he was ignorant of how close Sora and Roxas were. He shared a knowing look with Namine. The blonde shrugged her shoulders and smiled while she tried to enjoy the fireworks.

"You guys sure like fireworks... a lot." Roxas hadn't meant to think out loud but once everyone stared at him he figured out the comment slipped out.

"They happen pretty often. People look forward to it, plus this is a tourist town." Shrugging her shoulders, Kairi watched the colors explode in the sky into the pretty shapes and hues. "I guess we're all pretty used to it by now. It'd be weird if they just stopped," Kairi laughed.

Roxas nodded to her explanation. "Figures. It is nice though." Chuckling with her, Roxas clued in that he'd done something out of the ordinary when everyone looked at him. Shrugging his shoulders, he just went with it.

Namine caught the other blond smiling while holding Sora's hand and getting caught in the moment felt one plastered across her face. She shared a knowing look with Riku that went over Kairi's head as she was a little more on the denser side. "Hey, guys," Namine spoke up and once all eyes were on her she cleared her throat and spoke up. "How about we-" Namine motioned from herself to Riku and Kairi. "-go hang out at my place? I've got some special sketches I want to show you... all," Concluding the last part with the emphasized 'all', Namine wanted to be sure that her new friend felt included in the group.

"Sketches!? No way..." Roxas was already excited at the premise of seeing more of her hyper-realistic artwork. His eyes glittered with a look that up until now had been for Sora and family only.

"Careful. You might give a girl hope that she has talent," Namine chuckled and then smiled. Instead of owning it and saying how good she was, she humbly accepted the praise.

"This again?" Riku sighed. "Namine. You have talent. You're artistic. Your sketchpad is literally filled to the brim with sketches." She may not always put the best of her abilities into classes like Gym and Math but when it came to art there was obviously no rival. Everyone in the class knew that when it came time to do projects and a group project at that, Namine was always the one to go to. The only drawback was she only ever paired with her inside group. Which now included Roxas. That last thought ordinarily would have put him in a sour mood but he was trying to tolerate the blond. For Sora's sake.

Kairi smiled and shared a look with Namine. "Riku you sound like Larxene. Telling us our prospective futures and what they 'could be'." Chuckling, both girls earned a look from Riku that quickly shifted to a smile.

"Right?" Namine and Kairi were only teasing so they didn't see the harm. And Riku didn't really seem to mind.

"Yeah yeah. Get mad at the guy who believes you have futures." Riku shrugged his shoulders and then found himself escorted off by both girls who held either of his hands and began rambling on.

Roxas had looked back just in time to see Namine who winked back at him. Nodding to her, he was appeased when she lift her hand and did a thumbs up. Grateful he had a friend like Namine, Roxas wondered what he and Sora should do. For once they weren't being chaperoned. "Sora, I-" Roxas looked over at him but was immediately cut off by a kiss, surprising him. Eerily at the same time, a firework had gone off. His cheeks flushed lightly.

"Sorry," Sora apologized with a grin as he pulled back. "I just didn't want to waste any of our alone time." Pausing for a moment, the brunette chose his words better. "Don't get me wrong! I love them. But I also love it when it's just us."

"Yeah, I get it. They're good company and extremely loyal. I can see why you guys have been friends since...?" Roxas left the question open as he didn't actually know the answer. Was it bad that they were friends and he didn't know something like this? To be fair though he hadn't been friends with them for very long.

"Kindergarten. So I guess you can kinda say 'forever'," Sora chuckled. "Hang on. How come you wanted to know?" It seemed like an odd question. But he was trying to learn more about the others so Sora was happy.

"I was curious, actually. I just realized I don't know too much about them or you." Roxas watched some of the fireworks as a way to avoid his eyes. Sora was probably giving him some look. Definitely not a bad one but... glancing through the corner of his eye, he saw it. His eyes literally sparkled and he was grinning like a fool. But yet there was something about it that made Roxas' heart flutter. Not that he'd openly share that out loud... yet.

Without asking, Sora closed the space between them and stole a kiss from Roxas. Before he pulled entirely back, he murmured. "The paopu fruit was delicious, by the way."

Roxas' eyes widened. "You knew!?" Embarrassed at having potentially been caught, Roxas' cheeks flushed and his ears turned light pink.

"Of course! I'm not a total ditz..." Sora trailed off and then decided to add a joke. "...all the time." He knew he could be dense. People called him that all his life. Whether it was not understanding when someone had an attraction/interest in him, friends, etc. There were countless misunderstandings that he could have solved if he were just a little bit more socially aware and alert.

Roxas managed to smile. "Thanks for taking the heat off me."

Sora smiled back. "Don't worry about it. It's refreshing to know someone who's not me has 'glitches' from time to time."

Roxas began to wonder out loud. "My place or yours?" Wearing a dead-serious look, Roxas didn't want to give away how anxious the phrase had actually made him. He just wanted to tease Sora and get a rise out of him.

"Yours," Sora surprised Roxas with his answer. Smiling, he shrugged his shoulders. "We could hang out and I can check on the cat... Plus, we can be alone there. Relatively speaking." He knew Ventus would more than likely be there but Sora would be glad to just be able to hang out. Plus, Roxas had totally saved him that one time he thought his mother couldn't be more upset. Being the 'good kid' and getting phone calls home saying you're skipping don't usually go hand in hand.

"Good choice," Roxas smiled back at Sora. Feeling a buzz in his back pocket, Roxas produced his phone with a text from Namine.

Let me know how things work out! ;)

Immediately texting her back, Roxas finished just in time for a hand to be held out in his face. Putting his phone back in his pocket, Roxas gratefully took Sora's hand and began to walk back with him to his apartment. "Do you think it really works? The paopu fruit?" Thinking out loud and averting his eyes, he looked up at the starry night sky. Part of him wanted to believe it was true that if you shared one with the one you liked you'd be together forever. But it was likely just a tale spun by locals in order to sell more of the exotic fruit.

"I don't know," Sora answered honestly and shrugged his shoulders. "I think it's just enough for me that you tried. Plus, it was really tasty." Chuckling as he too thought out loud, Sora found it unbearably romantic. He just didn't want to embarrass Roxas for trying.

"It was, wasn't it?" Roxas really hadn't tasted anything like it. Feeling a slight warmth on his cheeks, he saw a tinge on Sora's too and was glad to not be the only one feeling anxious. He may have always projected confidence and never being rattled by anything but Roxas was just better at hiding turmoil than others. It came with the territory of losing your parents so young and having your entire life upended.

"Yep!" Sora chirped happily. He had a tasty treat, was with his boyfriend, hung out with his friends all day and now he was on his way back to Roxas' on a weekend. They could do something totally crazy today like stay up all night and have a movie marathon.

Eventually making it to their destination, both boys walked through the door to be greeted by Ventus and Coal. The black kitten immediately began screaming as he brushed up against Sora and then Roxas. Something that had surprised both Sora and Ventus. Feeling their eyes on him, Roxas shrugged. "Sometimes he comes to me for attention. It's usually only when you two aren't around or immediately available." Reaching out to the kitten, everyone in the room seemed to stop and wait to see if he'd actually let Roxas pet him. To the surprise of Sora and Ventus, Coal leaped up and brushed his head against Roxas' hand.

"Okay. I didn't think I'd actually see that." Ventus admitted, eyes wide for a moment. Regaining his composure, Ventus grinned. "Always full of surprises, little brother." The fact that the two of them came back to Roxas' apartment on the weekend possibly to be alone wasn't lost on him. He made a mental note to give them their space and only eavesdrop a healthy amount. It was one of his elder brotherly duties.

"He is, isn't he?" Sora asked smiling at Ventus who nodded.

Roxas was about to reply when he felt his phone vibrate again. To his surprise, it was a picture. But it wasn't just any picture. It was the one of Roxas and Sora kissing at the waterfront but about 100x way more amazing than that. Recognizing Namine's artistic talents, he was in awe. Everything seemed so realistic. The text is also what got him to smile.

For your new wallpaper~ ;)

Snorting, Roxas hadn't expected to laugh. Ventus and Sora looked at him with the same questioning expression and Roxas shrugged his shoulders. "It was just a funny reference. I'll show you," Moving the phone in front of Sora and Ven, Sora also chuckled when he saw the words and emoji beneath it.

"Remind me to thank her extra hard later for that one," Sora said while making eye contact with Roxas.

"A public display of affection. I'm glad you two decided to give things a go." Ventus picked up Coal and smiled. Yawning, Ventus made a show of covering his mouth. "I'll be going to the room now. I'm a heavy sleeper so don't mind things 'being too loud'. Roxas knows. See ya." Smiling at both, Ventus nodded and went to Roxas' and his now temporary room.

After Ventus left, Roxas once again felt his heart rate pick up. It was just the two of them again. But before he could get caught up in all that, Roxas replied to Namine.

We both love it. I'm definitely going to use it every day. -R

Heart reacting to the photo before he kept true to his word and changed the wallpaper/lock screen, Roxas found himself led into the living room by Sora. "Sorry. I'm texting too much, aren't I?"

Sora shrugged his shoulders. "Not really. We're teenagers, aren't we supposed to be on our phones all day?" Wearing a care-free smile, Sora sat down with Roxas and began to flip through channels for something to watch.

"Good point," Roxas reached out to pet Coal and the kitten let him.

Sora looked at Roxas' hands. He hadn't really noticed because they were in school but Roxas had been wearing gloves. "Is that for the cat?" Wondering out loud, Sora figured they were for cat scratches. Even a kitten was capable of dealing out some damage.

"Yep. He's about as stubborn as I am." Roxas made a show of taking off the gloves, revealing many scratches and scabs. Some were fresh others were old. But in either case, it didn't seem to matter as Sora gently took his hands in his own.

"Okay. We really need to get some ointment on these," Sora wanted to make sure they were at least disinfected. Cat scratches could be nasty. Plus they had literally picked the kitten up off the street.

Roxas was surprised when Sora gently led him to the bathroom and sat him on the toilet with the lid down. Watching him in fascination, Sora grabbed the med-kit and a few cotton swabs with the promised disinfectant.

"This is going to sting." Sora flipped the bottle upside down and once the cotton swab was sufficiently coated, he gently dabbed Roxas' cuts.

It did sting as Sora had promised but it wasn't the worst pain in the world. Roxas felt a cooling sensation on his hands after the burning and then suddenly everything settled down again. Never having been one to voice his pain, Roxas made no sounds to show it had stung. He also sat as still as possible for Sora to apply it. "You remembered where the med-kit was," Casually starting up a conversation, Roxas hated how quiet it was.

"Yep. Are you feeling okay now?" Sora was still a little worried. Some looked agitated but if Roxas said he was okay then Sora would do his best to believe him.

"I'm fine. It's nothing. You should've seen me when I was more of a brawler. Scared Ventus half to death some times." It was also a good thing that Ventus always covered for him to their parents. Chuckling, Roxas was surprised when he was pulled into a hug.

"Well, hopefully, you don't have to do any more fighting here. And you're not alone anymore, Roxas. You've got me, Kairi, Namine, and Riku. If there's trouble you can come to us with anything. I really hope you feel like you can," Sora hugged him a little tighter than he would a friend. Roxas just didn't seem like he had good people in his life aside from family and Sora wanted to make sure that he felt accepted amongst his - their - friend group.

Roxas had tensed up when Sora told him he wasn't alone anymore. Sora didn't see it but his eyes did water for a second. How long had it been since he'd been hugged? For the longest time, he thought he hated it but maybe he'd just been hugging the wrong people. "Sora..." Roxas whispered the brunette's name in his ear. "you don't know how happy that makes me." Hugging Sora a little tighter, Roxas for once felt happy. It was probably just the effect Sora had on him. No matter how miserable he tried to be there was always this beacon of light and hope beside him. Hard to be negative with that around.

Once they both pulled out of the hug, Sora was smiling. "Come on, let's go find something to watch." Leading Roxas by the hand, Sora sat beside him on the couch and put something on that they could watch. He didn't really pay much attention as he was too busy thinking about what Roxas had said and how happy he was. It really made Sora's day to hear that.

Roxas felt Sora's head on his shoulder and gradually got used to the weight. He immersed himself in Sora's selection and eventually felt on the verge of sleeping. Shutting his eyes, he accidentally thought out loud and spoke softly. "I love you," His heart stopped. Roxas actually held in a breath and opened his eyes back up. Glancing at Sora, his eyes were shut and he actually began to snore a bit. Glad he hadn't been 'caught', Roxas shut his eyes and once again began to drift off.

Once he was sure Roxas drifted off, Sora opened his eyes and smiled the biggest, widest smile he could manage. He'd heard something amazing, after all. Shutting his eyes, he let sleep take him. One of the last sensations he felt prior to sleeping was warmth and weight around him and Roxas.

Ventus smiled at the duo. Discreetly taking a picture of them with the blanket he'd draped over both, he walked back to the room with the kitten and went to sleep.