A/N: Sorry that this took a while. I was hoping to update annually, or something like that, but with my school schedule still being rocky, I don't know how often I'll be able to make it. Let's try for every Monday, for now, with surprise chapters popping up as I write faster or my muse beats me over the head with random blunt items supplied by my evil roommate/beta #2. Anyway, storeh teim:'D

Disclaimer: I does not own any of the characters that will be showing up in this fic over the span of the story, unless otherwise noted. I do not make money off this story. Don't sue, or I'll just send you the spider webs in my wallet and count my debt as paid.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Chapter 2

Axel's eyes widened comically as soft lips actually met his own. While he had been instigating his own end of the kiss, he hadn't really expected it to happen. Though the redhead was a very confident being (and knew what he wanted and would do what he needed in order to get it), even he wasn't used to kissing guys he hadn't even known for more than a half an hour unless he was flat out, drop-dead drunk. With all this swirling in his brain, he surprised himself by leaning into the kiss, eyes slipping closed. He felt Riku shift up against him, lips working against his own, making him gasp. A tongue came up and brushed against his bottom lip, despite how his mouth was already slightly open, and he leaned forward into the touch.

Riku, under the heating redhead, smirked. He could feel the warmth gathering in Axel's neck before spreading to color his cheeks. The worst, hmm? Axel wanted to know the worst. And when he melted into the kiss, trying, hilariously, to be dominant despite the blush staining his pale skin, Riku took that moment to slip his tongue between Axel's lips after nipping his lips just slightly to coax the other into a tongue battle without bothering to wait for a sign that such a bold move would be okay. He played with Axel just enough to get him going…

Just before he pulled away, holding his forearm against Axel's chest so that the taller teen had no choice but to stay back, Riku broke the kiss that had been started with every intention of teasing his cocky roommate. It wasn't hard to tell that Axel had been interested in continuing, but Riku wouldn't. Wouldn't continue, that is.

Axel had asked for it.

"I can change my mind," he all but purred, obviously unaffected by the situation.

Green eyes opened into an automatic glare above him, the color electrified with indignation and something a bit more primal, something buried a little further under the surface that was harder to identify. A soft noise left his throat, something akin to a growl. In his defense, it was not as pitiful in pitch and emotion as it could have been; this sounded manlier, at least. That glare only intensified when he saw the smug expression ghosting across the tanner face of the boy beneath him. Another growl escaped him as his muscles bunched; Axel was fully prepared to muscle his way into another kiss.

"Axel, man, I haven't seen you since the last pizza party before classes ended – OH JESUS!" A loud voice proclaimed as the owner took the open door as an invitation to come into the room. The teen standing there clenched his eyes shut, and, for good measure, covered them with his hands. He was only a little shorter than Riku was, by the look of him, and was dressed in a pair of khaki pants and a light green shirt. His hair was slightly two-toned, and Riku was surprised to see a lighter brown mohawk, and slightly darker sides and an almost-mullet peaking around his neck.

Spinning around, the stranger threw the words, "Axel, you find me later, we need to catch up," over his shoulder, and decided to retreat back down the hall. The last time he had walked in unannounced on Axel…never mind, it just wasn't good to go about invoking Axel's fury. There was a crash in the hallway, signaling that he had indeed fled.

"Demyx…" The name was drawn out with murderous intent in every syllable as the redhead went to the door and slammed it shut. He spun around, noticing immediately that Riku had moved off of his bed and was beginning to unpack. Axel sighed, running a hand through his hair, coaxing his spikes back into place as best he could, before he went to follow Riku's example. As he began sifting through boxes he kept his back to the silver haired boy, pouting. 'Who wouldn't pout a little after that? Can you say sexual frustration?'

He was starting to go through the box full of all his drawer stuff, planning on unpacking in a whirl so he could go talk to Demyx and see about dinner and all that exciting stuff. His first order of business was to start putting everything in its "proper" drawer in his desk. He knew Riku wouldn't fall for this silent treatment; he'd been just a little too eager in that kiss for something to like this cold shoulder to make him think that there was some boundary that had been crossed, but he could try. It only took him a couple minutes to have his desk all nice and cluttered with his random decorations and his laptop and all the stuff that went with it. He was then moving on to his want-to-be-dresser. It was five shelves high and there were two rows of them, but one side would be Riku's. He claimed the ones closest to his closet and bed, and started pulling band logoed shirts and random smartass comment covered shirts and loading them up. He left the middle drawer as his junk drawer, and then loaded pajamas into another. Yet another were his shorts and pants, and then the last was the ever important underwear and sock drawer. There was already a mirror above the drawers with a light switch and a few outlets. That was also where the cable for the room came in. Axel had, thankfully, brought a TV, as well as a game system and a few necessary games.

Another box held all his sheets and pillows for his bed, and he quickly made it up. The sheets were maroon with indiscernible patterns on the surface. One pillow was this same color, while another was straight black. The comforter that was set atop the bed was half black and half black. On the black side, a burgundy Chinese dragon twisted with jagged scales and wickedly sharp teeth, straining to get to the pillows as if they were his enemy. On the other, a black dragon imitated the red one perfectly, except that his goal was for the other end of the bed. The last item to be put away didn't even need to be unpacked; it was a black guitar case with random stickers all over it that was propped up in the corner by Axel's closet. There were still two boxes left, but he just kicked into his closet, with a mumbled, "don't need 'em now, I'll go through them later." He was feeling lazy.

Riku wasn't far behind him in all this work. He'd merely gone in an opposite order as Axel. He'd unpacked everything for his bed first, getting it set up before climbing atop it to hang some of his surviving posters and random photographs from years past on the walls. Then he moved on to get everything moved into his closet, organizing as he unpacked. Yes, he'd told Axel that he couldn't stand things too clean, but that didn't mean that he didn't like knowing where something was when he needed it. And since he was already getting that done, he figured that he'd finish the job and do his drawers. By the time he was nearly done, unpacking his sleeping clothes and tossing aside a now empty bag, his roommate was already standing beside his own bed, hands on his hips.

"How much longer are you going to take, Ri?" He asked, already having come up with a nickname for Riku. Even two syllables were proving to be too long for him at the moment. "I wanna go see Demyx, the guy who came running in earlier, before we go and pick up our IDs and stuff." Wasn't it just amazing that after pouting, he was trying to play it cool? Like he was just Mr. Thing himself all of a sudden, and naught of this world could phase him.

'Uh, no. That's not going to work,' Riku could feel his eyebrow twitching.

"Ri?" He repeated, turning around from shoving the blue bag under his bed. "You can't be serious, Axy. Don't call me that."That was his nickname when he was a little kid, and no man in their right mind wanted to be called the name from his childhood. It wasn't even like his name was all that long! "Ri-ku. Two syllables. Not that hard." His eyes narrowed just slightly. It might not have been so bad, but he hardly knew Axel, regardless of their potentially great make out session.

"Don't call me Axy, then." Axel smirked back, tucking away the fact that Riku didn't like nicknames that much, apparently. Riku had no idea that Axel loved handing out nicknames, and usually they weren't that bad, but for Riku, he'd make an exception. "Anyway, we going or not, Beach Boy?"

Riku growled at him, eyes narrowing even further as he pushed past Axel, who was bowing mockingly and signaling towards the door. Checking his pockets quickly for his keys, wallet, and phone, he closed the door behind him, locking it with the set of room keys he'd just acquired earlier that day. He led Riku down the hall cheerfully, eyeing one door as they passed it. Riku was just able to catch the words 'R.A. Vincent Valentine' before Axel's fists were blocking the letters as he banged it while he walked by. The door opened, and an exasperated sigh greeted their backs.

"Axel. Don't start already." Came the deep, monotonic voice that Riku could only guess was Vincent.

Axel spun around, hands behind his head as he laughed. "C'mon, Vinny! Gotta keep you on your toes!"

Riku turned as well, getting a good look at their R.A. He was tall, with long, straight black hair. He wore a zip up hoody, crimson in color, over a black-faded-to-gray shirt, and black pants. There was a red bandana tied like a headband across his forehead, and Riku had to take a second look at his eyes to be sure that he had the color right. But even the second time, Vincent's eyes looked red.

"I've told you before, Axel, not to call me that." Axel only cackled in response, moving on down the hall, presumably to Demyx's room.

"How do you already know where he is?" Riku asked idly as they went, looking at the names on each door. He hadn't noticed before, but they all had the names of their occupants on them. Most of the doors were open, and he could see that the boys were all unpacking.

"Got a hold of him via email a week ago and made him tell me his room number. Of course, I told him mine, too. Which is why he knew where I was…um…earlier," Axel trailed off, turning a little pink in the cheeks, making Riku snicker.

They came to the door with the names "Demyx O'Donohue" and "Xigbar Otsuka" written messily on respective green and blue construction paper. Of course, Axel took the lead. Like with Vincent's door, he began to bang on it. It wasn't until Axel spoke that Riku knew it was different.

Axel deepened his voice, shouting out, "campus security, open up!" The difference was: he was being more of an ass. Axel then dropped his voice to just talk to Riku. "The kid's adorable. Falls for this every time. He's as intellectual as swiss cheese, but a good guy. Would never hurt a fly. Hell, he'd probably run from it." Yes, he liked picking on Demyx, even when the poor guy wasn't around to defend himself.

Riku rolled his eyes as he let his arms hang comfortably by his sides, his hands finding his pockets and burying themselves there. Soon, there was the sound of someone on the other side of the door stumbling over things in a rush to answer quickly. Swiss cheese indeed. A couple apologies and "hang on's" later, the door was thrown open, and the same mowhawk-ed boy from before stared out wide-eyed and slightly fearful before realization hit, and the look on his face was of one who could not decide whether he was going to close the door in his friend's face or not.

"You ass. I don't see you all summer and the first thing you do is pull that on me!" Demyx complained, reaching out to punch his friendly lightly on the shoulder before moving aside and motioning them inside. Demyx blushed a deeper shade than Axel had just moments before upon seeing Riku, remembering the scene that he had walked in on.

"Shnikies, guys, sorry about earlier…the door was wide open, and I didn't think…I wouldn't have walked in if I'd known. So-"

"Demyx, right? Don't worry about it. We were only messing around. Name's Riku," the acting student introduced himself, looking around the room, eyes landing on where Axel was rubbing his shoulder like an invalid, before his eyebrow ticked. "Wait. Did you just say 'shnikies'?"

"Yep. That's DemDem for you! Dem, could you move that monstrosity of yours so that we can sit down if we want?" Axel moved at just the right angle, allowing Riku the sight of what he assumed was Demyx's bed. He rose the same eyebrow that had twitched at the sight of a strange guitar…cello…hybrid looking…thing.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Riku!" Demyx turned his attention to Axel quickly, hands on his hips as he glared. "You sound just like my new roommate! Xiggles, or whatever his name is." His attitude changed dramatically from offended to slightly worried. "He's scary. I ask to be put closer to the music building, and they put me in with a junior that looks, acts, and credits-wise is a senior!" The boy shuddered.

"Xiggles…? I think you mean Xigbar. It's on your door, Demyx. It's not that hard to remember. Besides, the guy might look like he was on the wrong end of a lawn mower, but he's cool. I know him a little from last year. He hangs out with Lexaues, Namine, and the rest of them. And seriously, dude, don't you have a stand for your stupid sitar for situations like this?" Obviously, Axel really wanted to sit down.

"I still say he's a creepy pirate," Demyx muttered, turning his back on Axel as he set up the stand of which Axel spoke. "Edym is not stupid, and don't you dare call him that!"

"…You named…your sitar. And it's a guy? You have your hands on a guy all day, every day? You're sicker than I thought." He handed Demyx the blue giant as soon as Dem was ready. Riku coughed to cover his snicker, enjoying the red blush of indignation that crossed Demyx's cheeks as he rounded on Axel.

"You can take your 'sicker' comment and shove it up your-"

"Now, now, is that any way to talk when we came over here to see if you wanted to go down to get our IDs and stuff and then go out to dinner?" Axel asked smugly, inspecting his fingernails before looking up at Demyx with gleaming green eyes.

"What? Really? Please, oh Axel the Great, Ruler of all that is Red and Shiny, forgive me. I am only a peasant, a starving one at that, who does not know when to hold his tongue." He wiggled his eyebrows at Axel, and clapped his hands together. "Can we go now? I'll be good!"

"'Ruler of all that is Red and Shiny'? Demyx, where does half the shit that comes out of your mouth come from?" Axel questioned as both he and Riku gave the slighter boy a strange look. "Ah, anyway, let's beat it. We need to get Riku his keys before those other lazy R.A.'s take off. Cousin Vinny's already in his room, so it's probably not long until the others follow."

The three started to file out of the room, Demyx last so that he could lock up behind them. "You know, he hates it when you call him Vinny. You should probably stop before he starts looking for reasons to write you up…I say for punishment of mangling people's names, you treat for dinner!" He laughed, the sound as close to a giggle that Riku had ever seen a guy Demyx's age make.

"I pay?" Axel spluttered, nearly stopping in the hallway as he turned a glare on Demyx over his shoulder.

"Yeah. I've got a gig coming up next week, so I can take us out after then…"

"I'm all for that," Riku chimed in, adding his two cents as they left the room, but only after Demyx had checked the hall for any signs of his roommate.

Finding the coast clear, the musician locked his door, and waited for Axel and Riku to get the proper distance away from him. He then took a running start, his shoes slapping harshly against the tile, the sound alerting Axel that his buddy was quickly closing in on his back. Seconds later, a foreign weight settled on his back, and gangly arms and legs wrapped around his neck and waist. Demyx knew that Axel could carry him, for a while anyway, and he liked getting piggy back rides with the redhead. He was nice and tall, so he got a better view than when he was on his own two feet.

"I should just dump you on your ass one day," Axel grumbled, though his grin, and the fact that his arms latched around Demyx's legs to support the man, gave him away. He really didn't care when Demyx did this, as long as he wasn't currently trying to sweet talk someone or was otherwise entertained. "And I ain't carrying your ass down those stairs, got it?" There was vigorous nodding against his back.

Vincent's door was open when they passed it again, and red eyes watched them suspiciously for a second or two before their owner presumably went back about his own business. When they came to the stair well, Axel unceremoniously dumped Demyx, and began to descend, knowing that the resilient brunette would be fine.

Picking up Riku's keys took no time at all, and without bothering to check and see if they worked, they left and went to the office that most of the other students that were out and about were filing towards. There was a long line waiting for the pictures to be taken, and the man taking them wasn't doing much to try and make the line move quickly, either. He was an older gentleman, only making the "young whippersnappers" stand on the duct tape X before he took the shot. He didn't care if they did anything in the picture, just as long as he didn't catch anything dirty in the viewing square right before he snapped the picture.

Axel and Demyx both used this to their advantage. Riku just took a normal picture, looking extremely bored with eyes half closed. Somehow, Axel noted later, he was able to do that without looking high. Demyx hooked his thumb in a pointing gesture towards thin air, making a thumbs up with his other hand with a big smile plastered on his face. On the ID card, he was actually pointing towards his name, making Riku roll his eyes when he saw it. Axel had pulled a lighter out and flicked it until the flame whooshed to life. In the small photo on his card, it almost looked like he was trying to manipulate the fire, a wicked look on his face.

"You two are such weirdos." Was all Riku could say as they all started towards the student parking lot.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Well, there it is! It's kinda a filler chapter, I know…But the next one will be amusing, I swear! -

Rosalyn Angel: I am a big fan of their banter and power struggles myself. :D The chest quote was one of my favorite lines when I was writing this, too. This whole story started out as an rp between a friend of mine on Deviantart and I, and we already planned for there to be smexing, so neither of us minded it moving so fast. When I was weeding through the rp to make this fic, I decided to keep it, because it gives that first edge that lets everyone know that there will be some sexual tension there. Thank you! Keep reading and reviewing for me, okay? 3

Mizuki hikari: I shall, as long as you promise to keep reading. -

catchmeloon: Yes, Riku is smexy, isn't he:3 You just have to do those two justice and make them as arrogant as you can possibly stand without reaching Xemnas proportions.

hyperactive crazygurl95: Thank you so much! Hope you enjoyed this new chapter. I love this pairing too, now that I know about it. I think we just need to introduce more people to it. D

Casmut: Lol, Riku has such an ego. I couldn't keep that little tidbit out, it just wouldn't be like him (pre-emo darkness, and a little post emo-ness, anyway). Thank you for complimenting the detail. I always try to make it easy for the reader to jump right into how I imagine things. Were you expecting the interrupter to be Demyx? XD Snicker Poor boy, I think they might have almost scarred him.