Riku kept his eyes trained on me, his chest rising and falling quickly with his breaths. "Excuse me?" I finally managed.

"Talk to your dad," he repeated.

"About?"

"Sora."

"What about him?"

Axel bit his lip. "Riku, don't bring Roxas into this."

He spun around, practically bearing his teeth. "I said you owe me."

"Me," Axel insisted, "not him."

Riku clenched his fists. "You help me or I point out the obvious."

"I really—"

I cut in. "Is my brother ok?"

Riku nodded.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Your dad caught us."

I paused. "Did you break the law or something?"

"Are you serious?" Riku made to grab my shoulders angrily, but Axel put his arm out.

"Roxas," Axel said meaningfully. Then he cleared his throat loudly, dropping his arm. My eyes drifted between them; my roommate obviously felt very uncomfortable and nervous as he drummed his fingers across his thigh, while Riku was glaring into the corner.

"Did you…and my brother..." I said slowly.

"Yeah," Riku muttered.

I felt myself stiffen, and all I could imagine was my dad's face, contorted with anger. "Where is he? Where's Sora?"

"In my room."

"Take me there," I half begged.

"Alright." I followed him impatiently and Axel stayed behind. The second he opened the door to his room, I burst inside and rushed in.

"Sora? Sora?" I called frantically.

A small movement came from the corner; it was dark inside, but I threw myself over there anyway. I grabbed my brother in a tight hug. He was lying on the bed, wrapped in a comforter. Sora pushed his head into my chest, sniffing. "Oh, Roxas," he wailed.

"You're ok." I stroked his hair soothingly, resisting the urge to cry myself.

"I can't go back."

"Yes you can."

"No." His voice was shaky and I pulled him closer.

"You have to be more careful."

He squirmed out of my grip so he could look me straight on. Red eyes, running nose…this brought back too many memories I'd rather forget. "You're not mad?"

"No, why would I be?"

"I dunno." He sniffed again. "Cause you warned me and stuff…"

"Not like you did it on purpose." I ruffled his hair like I used to do when we were little, which brought a tiny smile to his face; I looked around for Riku, but he seemed to have disappeared. "So..how long have you guys been together?" I dared to ask.

"Umm, a little while," Sora said shyly.

"You can't do it where he can catch you."

"We didn't!"

"Then how did he find out?"

"He saw stuff on my phone."

I hugged him again, totally unsure of this situation. My dad wasn't a typical homophobic asshole, nor was he particularly religious…it was a huge part of why the family felt so fake. It was just about appearances. "What did he say?" I finally asked.

"Not much," he answered slowly. "He just...didn't like it..even though, you know, it's been awhile and actually dating I guess.."

We stayed there for a while, huddled on the bed. My mind raced for some kind of solution, but the only thing I could see happening was Sora saying sorry, saying he'd never do it again, and waiting it out until college. But could my brother really do that? Knowing him, he was way too stubborn and passionate to stop seeing Riku; on the other hand, he hated lying and disappointing people...however that didn't seem to stop him. He hid this from me too!

"Sora," I broke the silence.

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" I huffed.

He paused and I glanced over right when he started laughing. "I didn't tell anyone, silly!"

"You jerk."

"Well, except Axel."

"..you told Axel and not me?"

"He's very helpful and understanding!"

"And I'm not?"

Sora crossed his arms over his chest. "You deny everything."

"What?" I asked blankly.

"You do!" he whined. "And Axel made me feel better."

"You snuck around my back with both Riku and Axel," I said flatly, something twisting inside my chest.

"Don't say it like that," he fidgeted. A tear rolled down his cheek, and I mentally kicked myself. It was not the time for accusations.

"Sorry." I patted his head.

"It's alright."

"So, what should we do?"

"Karaoke," he said firmly.

"I meant about dad—"

"Karaoke!"

"You guys done?" Riku appeared, making me think he had been there the whole time. Which was a little embarrassing.

"Riku!" Sora shot towards him, wrapping around him.

"Hey, hey," Riku smiled. That was the first time I saw him with any positive emotion on his face.

"Don't have to get all cuddly now that I know about you," I muttered.

"Wanna go to karaoke?" Sora asked hopefully, still clinging to his..boyfriend.

"If you want to," Riku answered.

"Let's get Axel too!"

Apparently there was a place downtown that had a little karaoke machine in the corner. The whole place was dingy and smelled faintly of peanuts; it seemed to be a fast food place where you order then sit at a table or booth. None of these things appealed to me in the slightest. For some reason, Axel did agree to go with us, and provided the transportation. Riku and Sora sat in the back, probably sitting on a year's worth of old wrappers and junk. I kept glancing back at them because I had a weird feeling…it was either concern, or curiosity, or..I don't know.

Sora took the first song. It was terrible. A pop song, plus his enthusiasm and volume, made my ears ring. I settled at a little table, Axel hovering above me while Riku watched on. "Want some food?" Axel offered.

I shrugged. "This place feels like a bowling alley passing for a restaurant."

"At least no one else seems to be here," he grinned.

"Except for the employees."

"You want food or not?"

"Sure."

A few minutes later, he set a plate of fries in front of me, along with a tall glass of soda. "Nutritious," I said, eyeballing it suspiciously.

"I'm sure it's good." Axel picked up a fry, and pushed it into my mouth.

"Will you stop feeding me!" I scowled, chewing. It was greasy, but it had the right amount of spices and I knew immediately that it would be almost addictive. Great.

"No." He stuck his tongue out at me, and I took a sip of my drink. It was my favorite. How did he know that? I glanced over at him, but he didn't seem to notice my amazement. He was watching as Sora grabbed Riku's hand and dragged him over to the karaoke machine. They launched into a Journey song, Riku a little reluctant.

"So, you knew the whole time?"

Axel slid into a seat next to me, stealing a few fries. "About Sora and Riku you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Kinda," he shrugged.

"Why.." I swallowed. "Why would he tell you and not me?"

Axel glanced at me. "I was there when they met, so it was pretty obvious. That's all."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Pain stung my throat, and I had to blink, hard.

"Roxas…" he said gently, his fingers reaching out to brush against my arm. "He didn't want anyone to know."

"I wouldn't have told anyone."

"I know."

We fell silent, and remained that way until Sora came along to try to drag us up to sing.