The alarm went off before the sun had come up, and both twins shifted in their beds. Sora groaned a refusal before rolling over and curling under his blankets. Oppositely, Roxas, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, sat up and yawned. And the loud beeping continued.

"Sora," he was breathless with sleep, "Sora, turn it off."

"Nm."

"You're closer."

It was true, since the clock was perched on top of the dresser, but the brunet made no move to abandon the warmth and comfort of his bed. Roxas managed a frown.

"Sora," he whined, clambering down onto the ladder so he could swing a foot around and kick the other boy. A flung arm was the retaliation, which missed, but at least the brunet wasn't completely burrowed into his blankets now.

"Get up. We have class." With a yawn, Roxas stepped down of the ladder and stretched, his arms over his head as he leaned back so that his spine popped. It wasn't a very pleasant thing to say after so many mornings of sleeping in and lazing around, but there was no help for it—spring semester was about to start.

An hour later, dressed and carrying their bags and rather unhappy with being out in the cold so early in the morning, the two brothers made their way across campus towards the school building. Countless other students did the same, all reluctant, some dragging their feet as if to slow time. Despite the now-shining sun and clear blue sky, it was a dismal morning.

"They'll go easy on us, though, right?" Sora asked hopefully as he and Roxas filtered into the building. "Since it's the first day back?"

Even though he'd prepared for today, Roxas was no happier about it than his twin. "I wouldn't count on it."

Sora's hope dissolved and he sighed, parting ways with his brother. "See you later."

"See you."

Alone now, Roxas continued on towards Vexen's classroom. He wasn't much looking forward to another semester of chemistry, but he still managed a smile when he walked through the door. How could he not, when Axel was looking at him with that big stupid grin?

"Hi," the blond greeted as he approached the older boy, slipping his bag off his shoulder and setting it on the floor beside his chair.

Grin still in place, Axel winked playfully. "Hey."

Trying not to blush, Roxas sat beside the senior. "Not sitting by Zexion today?"

"He likes having his own table. Plus, this way he 'won't have to watch me embarrass myself.'"

Roxas frowned in confusion. "Embarrass yourself?"

"By mooning over you when he should be paying attention," Zexion answered before Axel had the chance, not turning to look at the other two students. "It's easier for him to flirt with you if he's over there, and less annoying for me. Consider it a win-win situation."

This time, there was no stopping the pink that colored Roxas' face, and Axel kept his gaze directed at the tabletop. Flirt? Moon over him?

"Um. Thanks." Was it something to thank the blue-haired senior for? Maybe, maybe not, but either way, he couldn't think of any other way to respond.

"You're welcome." Zexion had never taken his eyes off the book in his hands.

More students filed into the room during the net couple of minutes, and Axel and Roxas sat at their table without speaking or so much as looking at each other.

Well, at least Zexion wasn't watching us, the blond thought, so he'd fulfilled his purpose for having Axel switch seats. Still, this wasn't really how he'd imagined spring semester would start. Last semester started with notes. Now he's sitting by me. It sort of made sense when he thought about it like that. Maybe this was the only logical way for it to start.

That thought helped him feel a little less embarrassed.

Just before the final bell rang, Professor Vexen walked into the classroom and stood at the front in his usual place. "Good morning. I trust you all had a relaxing break and are ready to get back to work." He almost smiled then, as if he knew that wasn't the case and didn't particularly care.

"Crazy old bastard," Axel muttered out of the side of his mouth, and Roxas bit his tongue to stop a grin. "No one's ready to work today."

If the senior acted like this all semester, Roxas thought his chemistry grade might drop.

X

It was too funny. Sitting there, with Kairi staring at them so suspiciously, having to act like they didn't even notice, was almost more than Sora and Riku could handle. Their ability to contain themselves was practically a miracle, though they both knew they never would have managed it if they hadn't planned ahead.

"So," Kairi kept her voice low in order to keep Professor Vexen from looking up from his desk, "How'd the snowball fight go?"

Their physical science class had been assigned more than forty problems to do at the end of the chapter Vexen had spent the first half of class going over, and they were allowed to work in small groups as long as they kept their voices. So, the four friends, they three and Namine, who was keeping out of whatever Kairi was determined to get into, were working together, and were making good progress on the homework.

Glancing up from his text book as he marked down the answer to the net problem, Sora was noncommittal. "We tied." There was no reason to tell her just yet that they'd kissed in the snow and were going on a date within the week, or that the kiss had progressed to what would probably be considered making out. No one but them knew about that, and they didn't plan on telling anyone any time soon.

Since she knew them too well to be fooled by that response, Kairi half-smiled and raised an eyebrow. "And you're okay with that?"

"We're not surprised by it," Riku answered her, then leaned over to look at Sora's homework. "What'd you get for thirteen?"

The brunet pointed at his paper. "Eight."

"Eight? How?"

Pulling his book closer, Sora began pointing out how he'd gotten his answer while Kairi watched in suspicious disbelief. There was no way it was that simple, and she knew it. Those two were definitely up to something.

"See?" He was done explaining his answer to Riku. "Eight."

"Mmm….yeah, okay. Makes sense."

"You get to do the next one."

"Fair enough."

No teasing or flirting? Yeah, they were definitely up to something, and she meant to find out what.

X

"Good afternoon," Xaldin was almost cheerful as he greeted the class, all paired off and in their assigned kitchen units. "Since most of you went home for the holiday, we'll be making dishes from your holiday meals. Look through the ingredients we have and make the dish as best you can—experiment if you have to. You will be graded on creativity. For those of you who stayed on campus, make whatever you wish you'd gotten to have. Everyone understand?"

Murmurs of agreement and nods answered him, and the teacher settled behind his desk. "Good. Begin."

The kitchen units exploded with activity as the pairs all turned to each other to discuss what they should make.

When Roxas and Namine made eye contact, the two blondes were equally helpless.

"I have no idea," Namine admitted, and Roxas slowly nodded to show that he was no better off. They were painfully aware that no one else seemed to be having this sort of trouble.

"….let's just see what ingredients we have to choose from," Roxas suggested after a couple of minutes had slowly ticked by.

"Good idea."

Together, they moved towards the small fridge their kitchen had exclusive rights to, and opened it to find a hodgepodge of ingredients. Butter, fresh fruits, a few blocks of cheese, vegetables, a package of ham and one of turkey took up the space on the shelves; Roxas opened the bottom drawers to find a few potatoes and onions.

"Well, we could probably make something out of this," the blond boy was optimistic as he began pulling ingredients out and putting them on the counter. Meanwhile, Namine turned her attention to the cupboards.

"Pasta, spices, baking mixes….we could make soup."

"Fancy noodle soup?"

A smile now growing on her features, Namine looked at her companion and nodded. "My mom had this recipe she used to make, with noodles and turkey bits…it's been a while since I had it, but I bet we could get pretty close."

Roxas nodded, grinning enthusiastically, and took the turkey out of the fridge next. "Just tell me what to do."

X

It added an entirely new element to P.E., now that they didn't have as much sexual tension between them. They weren't any less competitive during the warm up laps, but there wasn't as much smack talk. Mostly, they acted like teammates more than rivals, and the entire class had noticed.

"They're confused," Sora whispered as he and Riku led the class in stretches, and the older boy smirked.

"Wouldn't you be?"

"Yeah."

When they'd decided not to tell anyone right away that they were dating, they'd only had Kairi in mind, but the cluelessness of everyone else was just as entertaining as their redheaded friend. It might convince them to keep it a secret for even longer than they'd meant to, though they hadn't set an actual time limit. They just wanted to see how long Kairi would last before giving up and flat-out asking them. Now, though, the game was a lot more fun.

Together, the athletes sat on the gym floor as the rest of the class followed suit, and started the second half of their stretches.

"How long should we keep this up?" the brunet asked, making sure not to speak loudly enough for anyone but Riku to hear.

Riku shrugged, drawing his knee up and pushing on it with his elbow as he twisted; his spine popped faintly, as did everyone else's as they copied him. "Until we get bored with it, I guess."

"That could take a while."

Refocusing so they wouldn't get in trouble for talking, the two finished out the stretches then clasped hands and pulled each other to their feet, grinning as they rose. When they were upright again, there was a moment when they were so close that Sora was tempted to steal a quick kiss just to see if anyone would notice, and he could see in the older boy's eyes that Riku was thinking it, too, but neither of them attempted it. Instead, they let go and stepped back, turning to look at Coach Xaldin.

"Finished!"

"Good." The dread-locked teacher waited as his students gathered around in a loose bunch, his clipboard tucked under his arm. "Since we're still trapped inside by the weather, we'll be playing kickball today."

That received responses of various levels of enthusiasm, though the murmurs were quickly stifled by a stern look from the coach.

"Captains," he began, and Riku and Sora stepped forward dutifully, "select your teams."

Immediately, the two turned to face their classmates, who didn't look nervous or apprehensive or even curious about what team they would end up on. To be fair, Riku and Sora had been pretty consistent about who they each picked during last semester. Maybe it was time to mix things up a little.

Riku smirked. "Roxas."

That got a reaction. Roxas was on Riku's team instead of Sora's? It'd never happened before, and everyone watched in confused silence as the blond went and stood by the silver-haired boy. Even Sora looked astonished, and he was staring at his fellow captain in astonishment, but Riku just smiled.

"Your turn."

It took a moment, but Sora gathered his thoughts and turned his attention to his classmates. Without Roxas to pick, he wasn't sure who he wanted first. Going with the usual would probably ruin whatever it was Riku was trying to do, but he didn't want to just switch teams entirely.

The brunet sighed. "Jim."

This went on for the next several minutes, with Riku choosing a mixture of his usual team members and those Sora usually chose, and the younger sophomore merely trying to keep the playing field even. He didn't know what his opponent was up to, but he wasn't going down without a fight. Eventually, the class was split between the two, and Coach Xaldin, meanwhile, had gotten the gym set up for the game.

"Captains, rock paper scissors for who's up to kick first."

Facing each other, Riku and Sora lifted their hands. "Rock paper scissors!"

Sora had paper to beat Riku's rock.

"We'll kick first," the brunet announced, and his team jogged over to stand in line behind first base while Riku's team spread out around the gym to play the outfield positions. Coach Xaldin waited for everyone to be in their proper places before he put his whistle to his lips and blew one loud, shrill note to signal them to begin the game.

Half an hour later, the gym class trudged into the locker room, sweaty and out of breath from the game they'd finished only moments before.

"I thought kick ball was supposed to be easy," someone commented, and Roxas glanced over his shoulder to find Axel just behind him. The blond smiled, his eyebrows drawn together and his face still flushed.

"Easy? With those two in charge?" He pointed ahead at his twin and Riku. "Not a chance."

Axel chuckled and pushed his hair back out of his eyes, his spikes holding a little lower than normal thanks to the sweat darkening his roots. "True."

Somewhat reluctant, Roxas parted ways with the redhead and went to his locker to get his towel, and was unsurprised that Sora had already gotten his and was heading for the shower. It made him smile a little to remember how nervous and out of place they'd been on their first day in this locker room, keeping to themselves and hoping no one would notice them too much, and accidentally meeting Riku. Now Sora was at the top of the class, right next to their silver-haired friend, and they got along with their classmates as if they'd known them for ages.

And there was Axel, of course, who was in his towel and was waiting for Roxas at the top of the few stairs that led down to the showers. With an embarrassed smile, the blond gathered his shower supplies, traded gym clothes for his towel, then joined him, following the senior down the stairs.

"Careful," the older boy warned at the bottom, "there's a puddle."

"Thanks." The last thing Roxas needed was to slip and hit his head on the stairs, or worse, knock Axel down.

The pair had to wait a few minutes for their classmates to finish and vacate a couple of the showers, which they then occupied. After hanging his towel up out of the way, Roxas cranked the water on to a nice warm temperature and proceeded to drench himself. He was lathering shampoo into his hair when Axel's voice sounded from the shower stall next to his own.

"How were classes today?"

Roxas had to smile. "They were all right, even with Sora complaining every time we got homework."

"Hey!" the brunet's protest echoed around the locker room, and chuckles from Roxas, Axel, and Riku followed it.

"He's right, Brat."

"Shut up, Riku."

"Please don't start making out in the shower," Roxas sighed, just loud enough for the others to hear, and the locker room went silent except for the running water, before everyone within earshot of the blond burst out laughing.

"Shut up!" Sora's voice rang out over the laughter, though he was oddly silent when no one listened to him, and Roxas could have sworn he heard a curtain moving without footsteps to match.

Suspicion settled in his stomach, but he didn't say anything as the laughter died down. If he was right, he didn't want to call attention to it with so many people around. So he kept his thoughts to himself and continued with his shower, listening to Axel hum under his breath. It was a nice addition to the sound of running water, and the song sounded vaguely familiar—maybe he'd ask about it later.

The handle squeaked when Roxas turned the water off, just as it always did, and he was quick to towel himself off so he could leave the shower stall. He'd only made it up the stairs when Axel stepped out of his own shower, and the blond couldn't help but feel like he should hurry and get some clothes on. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable with the thought of the senior seeing him in nothing but a towel—it wouldn't be the first time, anyway—but he did feel shyer about himself than normal. This being the case, he dressed rather hurriedly and kept his gaze lowered until he was decent, only then letting himself look up and smile at the older boy.

Axel jerked his head towards the showers. "They haven't come out yet."

Unable to help himself, Roxas rolled his eyes and moved to stand at the top of the stairs. "Sora, hurry up. I want to go back to the room."

"Uh," the brunet sounded distracted, "you go ahead. I'll be there in a bit."

That pretty much confirmed his suspicions. "I don't want to walk back by myself."

"I'll walk you back," Axel offered with a knowing smile, clearly also aware of what was going on. "We can work on our chemistry and calculus homework."

As reluctant as he was to leave his twin behind, Roxas didn't have any legitimate reason to say no, and it would be nice to get an early start on the homework, so he nodded. "I'll see you back at the room, Sora."

"Kay."

Exasperated with his brother's antics, the blond went back to his locker for his things, put on his coat, and left the locker room with Axel.

"They're ridiculous," he commented once they'd made it outside, voice muffled slightly by his scarf. "If they wanted to be quiet about it then they're not doing a very good job."

That got a laugh out of the older student. "They're just having fun, Rox."

"I don't know that I'd consider what they're doing as fun. I'd never do that."

"Ever?" Amused green eyes looked down at him as they walked.

"Ever," the blond affirmed, and Axel's grin grew just a little.

"If you say so."

Roxas spent the rest of the walk wondering at his companion's tone.