With her back to the class, Larxene wrote out that day's assignment on the chalk board. "You may use the rest of the hour to work quietly in groups." Reaching so that her shirt lifted just enough to reveal a peek of her lower back above the waistline of her skirt, she wrote a reminder for an upcoming quiz. "Keep your voices down. No sleeping."
Larxene set the piece of chalk down and turned around. "These will be due at the beginning of class tomorrow, no exceptions."
No one moved until the blonde teacher returned to her desk.
Along with his fellow students, Roxas flipped to the correct page in his textbook. Larxene had assigned fifty questions, and it was lucky they had class time to work. Otherwise, he wasn't sure he would have had time to finish it along with all the homework he was likely to get from his other classes.
"Hey, Roxas."
The blond looked up as he turned to a blank page in his notebook, smiling slightly. "Yeah?"
"You wanna work together?" Axel had a small, crooked grin in place that made Roxas' neck feel warm.
"Sure." He tried not to sound eager.
The redhead's grin widened. "Cool."
Like most of the class was already doing, Axel and Roxas pushed their desks together—Axel claiming one that had recently been abandoned by a classmate who went to join a friend—and rearranged their shared space.
Roxas began writing out the assignment header at the top of his notebook page. "Trade off problems or work them out together?" he asked, glancing at his companion.
"Work them together so we can check each other's work."
"Good idea."
Axel flashed another grin and Roxas focused on the first problem of the homework in an attempt at ignoring the heat creeping up his neck. They worked in silence for a while, marking down the problems and matching them against their notes.
"So," Axel was flipping through the pages of his textbook, "any big plans for Valentine's day?"
Partway through writing out the next problem, Roxas paused. His mind was already pulling up memories of when Kairi and Namine had brought up the holiday…how long ago? He wasn't sure. But he remembered Sora teasing him about getting flowers or chocolates from the redhead. Already, he could feel his face growing warm.
"No," he hoped his voice didn't sound too strained. Was Axel…asking him out?
The redhead had found the page he wanted and was tracing his finger over its contents. "Yeah, me neither."
"No?" Wow, smooth. That definitely didn't sound hopeful or nervous. Not at all.
"Naw." Axel glanced back and forth between the page he'd found and the problem written in his notebook. "But that could change."
"Oh."
Roxas could have smacked himself in the face. Oh? Oh? Yeesh. No wonder Sora made so much fun of him. He didn't have any idea how to flirt, or even if he should be. Was he flirting? Did Axel want him to flirt? It probably wouldn't be a very good idea since they were in class, not to mention Larxene would not be pleased.
The idea of her watching them flirt nearly sent a shudder down Roxas' spine. She'd been bad enough just because Axel liked him. He didn't want to know how much worse it would be if she realized Roxas was starting to return the older boy's affections. Maybe he should attempt to flirt later, and focus on his homework instead. Hopefully, the flush in his cheeks would fade soon.
Axel set his pencil down and leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head, hands clasped. The action pulled his uniform shirt tight over his chest; Roxas felt warm again.
Oh, come on. I've never been like this!
What was wrong with him? Axel was just stretching, there was no reason to be so flustered. They were in class, doing homework, surrounded by classmates and under Larxene's scathing gaze. Now was definitely not the time for Axel to suddenly become very attractive.
Roxas glanced at the redhead—Axel had his fingers laced behind his head now, keeping his shirt pulled taut. Was he doing that on purpose?
Angular green eyes met his gaze and Roxas turned bright red—Axel smirked.
He's doing it on purpose!
His lips pressed together and Roxas gave the older boy a disapproving scowl. Unperturbed, Axel grinned and winked before finally relaxing again. He ran his hands down his chest and stomach, casually smoothing the fabric of his shirt. Roxas deliberately didn't watch, focusing on his text book again.
"What did you get for seventeen?"
"Six."
"Cool." The senior marked down the answer and began copying the next problem into his notebook. "You wanna come over tonight? I think Zexion and Demyx have a date, so we could watch a movie or play a videogame."
The first thing Roxas thought was that yes, he'd absolutely like to go to Axel's dorm for the evening and watch a movie, but then he shook his head. "I shouldn't. There's a book report due on Friday and I need to reread the book to mark down useful quotes and passages."
"I'm surprised you haven't already written the report," the senior teased. "Aren't you usually ahead of schedule with homework?"
Rolling his eyes, Roxas flipped a few pages of his textbook. "I am ahead of schedule. That's why I'm working on the report today instead of putting it off until Thursday night like Sora is."
"Well, how about you come over, and I'll help you take notes for your report?"
"Wouldn't you be bored doing that?" the blond asked, looking up at Axel in surprise. "I'll just be quietly flipping through the book and writing things down."
Grinning lazily, Axel leaned back in his chair again and folded his arms over his chest. "It's not like we've never done homework together before. I've got other things I can work on, or I can help you decide what quotes to use from your book."
Roxas offered an uncertain smile. "Okay."
"We'll go grab some snacks and stuff. It'll be fun."
"Yeah." He could feel his face warming again, which seemed stupid. They were just going to hang out and do homework, like usual. There was no reason to be blushing and flustered. Axel wasn't even flirting! It was stupid, and even worse, he suspected that Axel knew.
The older boy looked at him, the corner of his mouth twitching in a barely concealed smirk.
He knows.
Of course he did. Why wouldn't he? This was Axel he was talking to. The senior had been flirting with him all school year. Duh, Roxas. It wasn't anything new for Axel to tease him, he just had to wrap his head around the idea of flirting back.
Although…
Roxas kept his head bent over his textbook but let his eyes slide towards Larxene's desk, nervous again that she might notice the change in his behaviors and react violently.
Maybe flirting back was best left for outside the classroom.
"What did you get for eighteen?"
Axel's question drew Roxas' attention back to their assignment and he looked at the unfinished equation in his notebook. "Uh, I haven't finished it yet."
"I got twenty-seven."
Quickly, the blond checked the problem in the book and jotted down the steps to solve it. "Me, too."
"Nice. So, do you want to go into town when classes are done? We can go to that little corner store for snacks. They probably have better selection than whatever's left in my room." Axel finished marking down the next problem then smiled at him. "I'll even splurge for dinner if we get hungry while we're out."
Roxas felt his cheeks heating. "You don't have to do that."
"I know I don't have to." Axel was still looking at him, and Roxas couldn't raise his head enough to meet the older student's gaze. He kept his focus on the equation he was solving, reluctant to look up and reveal how badly he was blushing.
Axel, buying him dinner? The idea brought what felt like all the blood in his body to his face. Not that it sounded like a bad idea. It sounded like a pretty good one, if he was honest with himself.
"Yeah," he managed to force out, hoping he sounded normal, "okay."
"Cool." Axel's smile grew.
"Ugh."
Together, Axel and Roxas turned to find irritated turquoise eyes glaring at them from the next desk over.
"Save your flirting for free period, idiots."
The red in Roxas' cheeks rose again, embarrassed and angry. "Shut up, Seifer."
Sneering, the other student pointed at Roxas with his pencil. "Who's going to make me? You?"
"Me," Axel answered him, leaning so he had a clear view of Seifer and his homework partner, another boy called Rai. "So mind your own business."
"You distracting me from my work with your flirting is my business," he retorted, raising his voice just enough that Roxas found himself looking over at Larxene in the hopes that she wouldn't notice.
"Guys," he turned back, keeping his voice down, "I don't want detention!"
The older students ignored him, staring at each other hostilely.
"Axel," Roxas put his hand on the redhead's arm, "come on, just ignore him. Class is almost over." He shot a glance at Seifer. "He's just trying to get us in trouble, anyway."
Seifer looked like he wanted to laugh. "You'll get yourselves in trouble if Miss Larxene catches you wasting time like that."
"Yeah," Rai chimed in for the first time.
"Well, I'd like to not get detention, okay? We'll keep it down. Sorry to bother you." As if that settled things, Roxas straightened in his seat and refocused on the problem he'd been working through.
"Yeah, you'd better be," Seifer muttered from his own seat, and Roxas quickly laid a hand on Axel's desk before the redhead could say anything to their irritated classmate.
"Don't," he murmured, looking up at the senior through his bangs. "He isn't worth it."
For a moment, Axel looked at him, then down at the hand covering his papers, and then back up to meet Roxas' gaze. "Okay." He offered a crooked smile.
"Thanks." Roxas pulled his hand back and tucked it under his desk, fingers curling into a tight fist. He hadn't even touched Axel, but his palm felt tingly and like he needed to scratch it, as if his hand had started to fall asleep in those few seconds.
They worked quietly after that, aware of Seifer waiting for another chance to pick a fight. Still, the heat that had risen to Roxas' cheeks refused to fade completely, even when the bell rant to signal the end of the class period. The classroom became a flurry of movement as students pushed desks back to their original places and gathered up their books; Roxas waited as Axel retrieved his belongings from his usual seat and walked with him out into the hallway, glad that the delay meant Seifer was already out of sight.
"So," Axel held his books in one arm, his other hand halfway into his pants pocket as they merged into the sea of students filling the hall, "meet up after P.E. to go into town?"
"Yeah, sounds good." They paused at a split in the hall, needing to go in different directions for their next classes, but keeping close to the wall so their fellow students could move around them while they talked. "I still think you're going to be bored out of your mind helping me take notes for a book report, though."
Axel grinned. "I'm never bored around you, Rox. See you in gym!" Then he winked and was gone, nothing but a splash of red in the crowd of students, heading off to biology.
Roxas watched until the senior had disappeared around another corner, too stunned to be properly embarrassed by the wink he'd been given. Only when Axel was out of sight did he turn and start walking in the opposite direction, towards his history class. Maybe he should ask someone how to tell if something was just hanging out, or a date. Sora was in his next class, so were Riku and Namine. He could probably ask one of them about it—but Sora would make fun of him. It was probably better to wait until he could ask Kairi. She seemed to know more about dating than anyone else in this school.
X
"Come on, we haven't gone to the pool in forever!"
"It's only been a couple of weeks, Brat." Riku ignored the younger boy's answering wail, too focused on navigating the packed cafeteria. They wove their way through tables, chairs, and bodies, stepping over haphazardly discarded bags. "Besides, that means having to shower twice."
"Since when do you not like showering?" Sora asked in a low voice.
A shade of red crept up Riku's neck into his cheeks. "Since we'd be sharing the locker room with probably four other people."
He couldn't deny that was a fair point, but Sora pouted anyway. "I still want to go swimming."
"Then ask if anyone else wants to go." Setting his tray down on their usual table, Riku shrugged out of his coat and draped it over the back of a chair. "I'm going back for a salad." He put his backpack on a second chair to clearly mark the table as occupied.
Sora scoffed, dropping his own belongings unceremoniously, just barely out of the way of passing students. "A salad. Pft. I'm going to the dessert bar."
"Yeah," Riku prodded the other student's stomach as he turned, "that's why you're still pudgy." He started making his way back towards the serving area as Sora followed, protesting.
"I am not!"
"Sure."
"I'm in great shape!"
"Mhm."
"I am!"
Waving a hand to shoo the younger boy away, Riku continued towards the salad bar on the other side of the buffet lines. When he was sure it was safe to do so, he stopped and looked over to where Sora was filling a small plate with desserts—brownies today. He'd probably end up with a bowl of soft-serve vanilla ice cream to go with them, and some caramel drizzle. That boy didn't mess around with his desserts.
Cute.
Riku turned away before anyone could notice the affectionate smile he now wore, and busied himself with putting together a salad. The cafeteria probably wasn't the best place to admire his secret boyfriend from a distance. Besides, it wasn't as though they didn't spend nearly every waking moment together, anyway. He could admire Sora as up close and intimately as he wanted.
Just not in the cafeteria in front of dozens of other students.
Riku started back towards their table, salad in hand. Sora had already gone and sat, and it looked like Roxas and Namine had stopped to drop off their bags before going for food; Kairi was still in line.
"…and Hayner caught me between classes to say he'd been complaining in the hall," Roxas was speaking when Riku finally got close enough to hear him over the chatter of the cafeteria's other visitors; Namine had already gone to get in line.
"Who was?" the silver-haired teen asked, placing his salad beside his main plate.
"Seifer," Sora answered, stabbing a fork into his pork chop. "He was being a jerk in calculus this morning."
Riku sat beside the brunet. "Isn't he always being a jerk?"
"Yeah, but he's never tried to get me and Axel in trouble with Miss Larxene before. At least, not Axel," Roxas corrected grudgingly. "He's gotten me in trouble before."
"Most students here don't mess with Axel." Riku took a bite of pasta. "Especially not when it comes to Miss Larxene."
"So then what was Seifer's problem?" Roxas asked, eyebrows sinking together. "We weren't being loud or anything."
Riku shrugged one shoulder. "Seifer's a jerk. He was probably just looking for an excuse to pick on you. He's like that."
"Yeah, but don't worry," Sora grinned at his twin around a mouthful of pork, "we'll take care of him for you." He swallowed then looked at Riku. "We'll get back at him in P.E. today, right? Maybe Coach Xaldin will let us play dodgeball."
"He usually starts his tennis section around now."
"Well, then we'll have to be a team and play against him, just to really kick his butt."
The brunet's grin was infectious, soon spreading to Riku. "I'm game for that. He's always fun to beat."
"Who is?" Kairi had finally gotten through the line and claimed the chair beside Namine's belongings, her plate piled up with freshly made waffles and toppings.
Roxas sighed, "Seifer."
"Oh." Kairi rolled her eyes. "I never hear anything good about him."
"Does anyone?" Sora asking, laughing. "He's a jerk and all he does is try to make everyone else miserable. But Riku and I'll show him who's boss." He nudged the other boy playfully. "No one can beat us."
Grinning, Riku slung an arm around Sora's shoulders. "Yeah, we'll take care of him."
Kairi chewed a bite of waffle and swallowed, pointing her fork at the pair. "Be careful—he holds grudges."
Sora waved off her warning. "Against the two of us? Please. He doesn't stand a chance." They both smiled widely at her, and Kairi shook her head; Roxas quietly left to get a plate of food for himself as his friends bantered.
"Boys."
"You know you love us," the brunet teased as Riku took his arm back, leaning forward against the table.
"Yeah, Kairi," Riku was smirking at her. "I mean, I can't think of anyone else who's been so invested in our mutual well-being than you."
"That's because the two of you are impossible and completely incapable of managing yourselves."
"I wouldn't say that." Sora turned his attention to his plate and began cutting his pork chop into smaller pieces. "I think we manage each other pretty well."
Blue eyes narrowing, Kairi stared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Riku swallowed a mouthful of food as Sora chewed innocently. "That we're perfectly capable of handling ourselves."
"And each other." Sora took another bite. "But that doesn't stop you."
"Doesn't stop me from what?"
"Giving us that suspicious look," Riku held up his fork and moved it in a circle to indicate Kairi's expression, "like you think we're up to something."
"Oh," Kairi sat back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest, "I know you're up to something. You two are always up to something."
Rather than answer, the pair simply smiled at their exasperated friend until Kairi sighed and went back to her waffles.
"Boys."
They laughed, shared a glance, and bumped knees under the table. It was always fun to mess with Kairi.