28.

An hour after the invasion

"And cut and paste and send and we are done!" Xion fist pumped the air.

"Great. Hello extra credit~" Sora slouched into the large, marshmallow-y couch. He absolutely loved the feeling of having something big, weighing over head, being DONE.

"We better." Kairi mumbled from the kitchen. This project wasn't half as annoying as being paired up with her most goodie-goodies of friends. All week prior she had been constantly nagged with phrases like, 'let's get it over and one with,' and 'come on, we'll get bonus marks for submitting it in early,' and 'it'll free up your weekened~.' That last one repeated over and over in Kairi's mind in the same sing-song tune Xion had first said it in. And here we are. "Hey Riku, you're out of lemonade!"

Riku and Sora were sitting on opposite ends of the couch with Xion in between. After cooking enough French toast to feed a small country, he had sat on the right most part of the three-cushioned couch, listening to all the girls and Sora talk about the project, school and everything else he was not in the mood for. "There should be another bottle on top of the fridge." He replied deadpanned, his head resting against his bent right arm. Namine gave him a sorry glance from the chair diagonal from them.

"Thanks, 'Ku." Kairi extended her arm past the stainless steel body of the fridge, but couldn't grasp it. She went on her tippy-toes, yet the bottle still remained out of reach. She groaned, her fingers flitting for the 2L container of the sweet citrus refreshment… And then a strong arm appeared next to her, grabbing the neck of the bottle and handing it down to her.

"Oh!" she said with surprise. "Thank you." Kairi smiled kindly.

"No problem." Loz said shortly and continued to wash the dishes at the sink behind her.

She poured her and a second glass with lemonade and walked back to the living room. "Hey, are we going to Kadaj's thing tonight?" Kairi addressed the whole room, giving Namine the extra glass and sitting next to her.

"I think I can go. Lemme call home and see what's what." Xion felt around her black sweater. "Gah! Kai, where's my phone?"

"I think I saw it in the car. Here," she tossed her the car keys, "go check." The black-haired girl gave her thanks, shut the laptop off, and scrambled towards the front door in fear of her cellular device.

Riku looked towards Sora. He was practically lying down on the massive cushion, squaring his knees with the couch and floor. He looked so cute; eye closed, worn out from working, and nearly melting into the creamy whiteness of his spot on the couch.

"Hey, Riku. Want a popsicle?"

"You mean my popsicle out of my own fridge? Sure."

"Oh! Sora want one too please!" Kairi smiled at how cute the boy had perked up to say that (in third person, too!) before she went back into the kitchen.

Kadaj came thundering down the stairs excitedly, when the front door opened. "I dunno everything yet, but I'll call you when I find out. I'll prolly stay the night with Namine and Kairi, okay daddy? Okay, love you." Xion shut her phone and pocketed it. She suddenly saw the older man at the foot the stairs, staring at her blankly. "Oh! Hi."

No response came, which made her feel awkward. He had silver hair which concluded that he was related to Riku. But he was just standing there, stark-still, clad in slacks, a simple V-neck and a long-sleeved shirt underneath. And though they appeared to be simple, they looked expensive. The attire and the vacant look on his sharp face intimidated her. "Um, I'm Xion, Riku's friend. You are?"

"That's Kadaj, Riku's older brother." Kairi said with a couple popsicle sticks between her fingers.

"Please, don't remind me."

The girl ignored the youngest Crescent on the couch. "He just dropped by today with their two older brothers on break from school," she continued. "We were in ninth the year after he graduated."

Xion nodded, silently making a small 'o' shape with her lips and turned back to Kadaj. "It's nice to meet you," she said politely, extending her hand. What she did not expect was the following:

Kadaj swiftly strode off the last step of the stair and took her hand… to his lips. « Enchante, mademoiselle. Vous êtes très envoûtante, » he said very softly and gave a subtle wink.

Xion blushed. Both she and Kairi stared at the man widely, the other four not being within earshot. They both gulped softly, Kairi not taking her eyes away from the greens locking with the blues . « Merci, monsieur. Enchantée de vous rencontrer. » She bowed her head slightly, briefly closing her eyes while doing so, and then looked back up at the taller man.

Xion was ready to take her hand back and follow Kairi into the living room with the rest of her friends, when Kadaj tightened his hold on her palm and became more like Kadaj.. « Voulez vous coucher avec moi, chérie? »

-SLAP!-

Riku, Sora and Namine looked over to see Xion standing in front of Riku's brother, on his knees and holding his face. "Ooh, feisty. Je l'aime."

« Dégage, cochon. » And Xion strode back into the living room without a second glace.

"What just happened?" Sora asked while unwrapping the bright red popsicle.

Loz answered, drying his hands with a dishcloth from behind the couch. "Kadaj was hitting on someone he'd just met, and a girl finally put him in his place." On the floor, clutching his face. "I must say, Xion. High five." The black haired girl, leaning on the wall, smiled back, pleasantly.

She then proceeded to converse with everybody about what was to happen that night, ignoring Kadaj's unhelpful (innuendo-laced) comments from the kitchen from where he was fishing out ice. Everyone else downstairs talked about the parties that used to be held by the Crescent brothers, during their eminent reign in their very high school. They all laughed about the time 13-year old Riku had accidentally gotten drunk.

Loz had guys in a van mixing drinks at the party he threw the summer he graduated. And when 16-year-old Kadaj is whisked away by a 21-year-old blonde, the fruity chick drink of hers found its way into Riku's adolescent fingers. And by 'chick', it means strawberry, lime and a whole lot of vodka, which slipped into the boy's stomach undetected.

It wasn't until Yazoo found the poor boy struggling to stand up straight, that anyone found out what had gotten into him. But after close analysis of Riku's breath and the broken glass next to him, the second child gave Riku some water, put him to sleep in the back of their car, smacked Kadaj up-side the head, and told the blonde dancing with him about a mysterious rash her partner had, thus leaving the younger silveret to lose his virginity a whole year later.

Yes, everybody laughed at Loz's impression of Riku tripping over a flat surface, especially Kairi. But when everybody was about to look at the star of the anecdote, she swiftly brought up an even more comedic pastime of Kadaj's graduating-year party. It involved Kadaj, a stage, a mic and H.O.T's Full of Happiness. And whiskey. Can't forget the whiskey.

Everybody in the room seemed to enjoy the story, except for Riku, who was staring. The seventeen-year-old seemed to have been in the process of putting the blue-raspberry treat into his mouth, when a large distraction in the form of a cherry popsicle beside him being devoured heartily. Indeed, Sora was licking, nipping and sucking on the bottom of the bar so it wouldn't drip. He failed, however from getting the sticky juice on his ring and middle fingertips. Passing the wooden stick to his other hand, he brought the digits to his lips, and sucked on them slowly.

Well, everything to Riku at this point was done slowly.

It wasn't until Kadaj unceremoniously plopped himself between him and the object of his fantasy, did he snap out of slow-motion mode and bounce back into regular play. By then, Riku'd had enough.

"I'm gonna take a shower," Riku said rather irritably. If it weren't for his brothers who then left the door open for Kairi to follow, he and Sora would be going at it like bunnies. He shot up, shoved the nearly slushy blue treat into Xion's hands and started for the stairs. He passed Yazoo at the bottom, clad in a white and sliver-lined bathrobe, and towel-drying his hair.

"Oh, I wish you'd told me," he said in that smooth tone of his. "I just used all the hot water."

"Even better." The reply was almost instantaneous, as he disappeared upstairs, down the hall.

Yazoo just shrugged and started for the kitchen, when he spotted a pair of blue eyes in his peripheral vision. Lowering the towel to his neck, he saw the petite blond perched daintily on the black chair. She looked very pretty just sitting there, so the silveret faintly smiled and nodded as a greeting and continued into the kitchen.

Back in the sitting room, Kairi scoffed. "You think having a hard-on around people is awkward? Try running down the stairs without a bra."


Teeheeheehee ^^
Why yes, I like KadajxXion, YazooxNamine and KairixLoz
I found it cool since both groups are technically the same person xP
Uwahhh~ Kadaj and more French. (L)
I feel bad for Riku. Cock-block xP
GAH! I need to get through this day! It's slowing me down x-x

Kadaj & Xion: Une petite revision, s'il vous plait? :D

YHS
xDelfin