A/N: I FAIL IN AN EPIC WAY!!! I'm so sorry, guys….Shot Hopefully this won't happen again. I'm abolishing my every Monday thing I put up last time so you people don't expect it when I end up not being able to deliver. But try to stick with me for the long haul, ne? Don't know where I'm going yet, but with this cast I've got lined up, it's bound to be amusing and rather smexy. I swear, for all the fans that have rabid otakus inside, there will later be some lemon chapters. Can't say between whom yet, but you should already know one of them for sure, given an earlier kiss scene that everyone enjoyed. Anyway, on with the show!

Disclaimer: I really don't own these characters. Promise. So, if you decide that I'm making money off Kingdom Hearts people and try to sue me, you'll get nada.

-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 3

There was nothing left for them to do after picking up their IDs, since the next day they would be receiving their class schedules. But by the time that they had nearly gotten to the parking lot, Demyx had decided to try and bum a ride to the store, using the opportunity since Axel was already taking him out somewhere.

"Please? Pretty please? If you do, I'll…I'll…" Riku could see the cogs working in his little head. "I'll pay for the drinks tonight!" Demyx grinned smugly, knowing that that bribery would work.

"You can't pay for your own dinner, but you're going to pay for the booze?" Axel questioned, raising an eyebrow at Demyx's logic. "Not that I'll complain about it, but still…When you decide to not make sense, you go for it, don't you?" He shook his head, taking the lead since he only knew where he had parked. He was pretty sure that Riku didn't have a car, and he knew that Demyx was still looking for one, hence his begging for a ride. That left only his baby to get them where they needed to go.

"Hey! I make perfect sense," Demyx defended, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting.

" Yeah, in your head." Riku joined in the teasing, poking Demyx lightly in the arm as he fell in beside the brunet.

" Et tu, Riku? That should be against the rules, making fun of someone you've only just met. Besides, it's not like you guys are going to drink the whole stock of wherever we go! …Right?" He peeked sheepishly at Riku, and the taller man had the sneaking suspicion that Demyx was trying to give him a puppy-eyed look.

"I think that can easily be managed," Sneered a certain redhead, making Demyx splutter and whine (something about Axel being mean and cruel). "Ah, I'm just messing with you, Dem. You know I'd give you a ride anyway, but now that you've offered to pay for drinks, you can't weasel your way out of the bill." Axel shot him an evil look over his shoulder as he pulled his keys from his pocket, pushing some button on pad connected to what Riku assumed was his car key.

Axel was moving towards a four door GMC, and one silver eyebrow rose as Riku watched him. "This is my baby! Yes she is, yes she is!" Demyx sniggered as Axel attached himself to the vehicle, rubbing his cheek against it as he spoke. It was a metallic gray color, with orange and red flames licking from the rear up to the first set of doors. He liked putting a twist on things that were already popular.

"Axel, could you be any more obvious?" Riku jibed, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips when Axel spun around, glaring.

"Whadda'ya mean, obvious?" Axel ground out, a deadly gleam in emerald eyes.

"Axel, your truck is almost as flaming as you are," Riku crossed his arms over his chest, tossing his head back in a quick motion to dislodge a few strands of hair from his eyes.

"Oi! I'll have you know I'm bi, thank you! No gender is safe from me," he threw his arms out, cackling like a mad scientist. And just as suddenly as his mood had changed to that, he was back to glaring at Riku, pointing at him with a warning look on his face. "We don't insult the truck, got it? Or you'll be walking wherever the hell you want to go. For the rest of the year. Maybe longer. Now get in."

"Axel, it's a truck! Sheesh, don't be so touchy," groaned, climbing into the backseat before Riku could even question who was going to sit where.

Riku decided that it would just be faster to get in and let Axel think that his big beast wasn't spelling things out about him. 'Bi my ass,' he thought, snorting inwardly. As fun as it was to tease Axel, he kind of liked the prospect of having rides to places instead of having to walk or get a taxi, or track down another friend with a car.

"So, what store was it ya wanted to go to, Dem?" Axel asked, turning the key in the ignition and grinning when the engine growled into life. Movement caught his attention, and he caught sight of a hand in time to smack it away before the shorty in the back could change his station. "Hey, none of that! I'm driving, it's my truck, I pick the stations." He stuck his tongue out, making eye contact with Demyx via the review mirror.

"I was just going to see what's on…" The brunet rubbed his abused hand.

"Yeah, and I know the weird stations you like to listen to, so I just thought it would be nice to warn ya not to go for it before you lose your hand." Not that radio stations seemed to matter when Axel grabbed a CD from the middle console and stuck it in the player. Riku was able to see that it was a burnt disk before the machine swallowed it up, and the islander briefly wondered if he should be afraid. Although, he realized, he was going to have to live with the guy, so hopefully his taste in music wouldn't be too bad. To Riku's surprise, the first song was actually a rock song from their past, one that he'd actually liked.

"And I need to go to the store on AVALANCHE. That big one that sells just about everything. I'm picking stuff up for the room…Xiggles even game me a list when he heard I was going to be begging you for a ride." Demyx pulled a battered and folded piece of paper from his pocket and tossed it up into Riku's lap as if it would bite him if he held it for too long.

"Aw, c'mon, Dem. Give the One-Eyed-Wonder a chance!" Though Axel was chuckling, he was still trying to defend this poor "Xigbar". "He's really not that bad. What did he do to scare you?" They had by now pulled out of the student parking lot, going the back way, or so Riku assumed, since he didn't recognize a thing.

"I dunno…He was kinda eyeing me. And the fact that he's only a year above us, but he's done something dangerous or stupid enough to lose his eye and get that big ol' scar on his cheek." The smaller male fidgeted in his seat.

"Demyx! I never realized that you were so fickle. Never struck me as the kind of person to judge by looks, anyway…" Axel grinned widely, hiding it by turning his head to an exaggerated angle as he checked to be sure that the coast was clear before leaving the stop sign that had slowed their momentum.

"Wha-? No! No, that's not the reason he scares me!" The brunet stuttered in indignation.

"I don't know, it kind of sounds like it…" Riku smirked.

"R-Riku!" There was a definite whine to the keening note. "That's not it at all! It's because he's doing crazy stuff that makes that happen…Maybe…You know?" He almost looked like he was about to beg for them to stop picking on him.

Well, anyway, let's let Demyx wallow in his shallow self," he ignored the glare that spelled out his death for him in gory details in the review mirror, "and see if there's anything we want for our room."

"I can think of a few things. Some ear plugs, in case you snore would be nice," apparently Riku wasn't done teasing; he had just had to find a new target.

"Oi! I do NOT snore! Not even when I'm drop-dead drunk. Right, Dem?"

"I'm sorry. I only speak Shallow, not Asshole," came Demyx's terse reply as he crossed his arms and sulked.

"Aw, Dem! I was only playin'!" By the time that little whine-fight played out, they were considering spots in the parking lot of a store that looked more like a warehouse. Riku had finally snapped them both into silence after they had gone sprinting past the threshold of his patience with their bickering.

There was silence as they found a parking spot, and as they got out of the car, but that was when Axel spoke up again, this time in warning. "Slammed doors mean you get ditched here and starve!" Demyx was careful to not shut the door too hard. He'd tested Axel on that threat once, and he had been ditched at the store, and he'd been late to class as a result.

Riku, however, gave him an odd look. "Axel. It's a truck." Yet he didn't slam the door, though he was tempted.

"Yeah, and it's getting you from Point A to Point B since you don't have a car, and it's getting us to dinner tonight, so show some respect." Axel was just one of those guys who were only a little obsessed over their trucks. "Anyway," he went on, pushing the button for the automatic door lock until the vehicle honked shortly at him to signal it's compliance, "you gonna stop being a dick and answer my question seriously, Riku?" He was referring to the question of them needing anything here.

"You 'gonna' stop being stupid and cursing around small children?" They were getting a few glares from women walking briskly by, tugging on their children's hands to make them pass the three college students faster. Riku smacked the back of Axels head. "Idiot."

The redhead grinned, though the action did hold a little shame as he rubbed where he'd been hit. "Ah, it's not like the kids won't hear it as soon as they get to Junior High anyway…"

Riku just shook his head, and Demyx glared at him. "Those aren't good habits! I'm telling your dad!"

"Dem, my dad taught me how to cuss. Just be glad I didn't pick up any of his other speech patterns," there was almost a groan in Axel's voice as they passed through the automatic sliding doors and into the store. Demyx immediately started towards the side that looked like grocery section.

Upon catching the confused look on Riku's face, the brunette leaned over, filling Riku in. "His dads got this weird habit of saying 'yo' at the end of almost every sentence." He laughed, "it usually annoys Axel whenever he comes to visit and he starts talking like that to all Axy's friends."

"'Yo'?" Riku grinned over at Axel, who made a face.

"Yeah, doesn't sound that bad, but it's annoying," grumbled the redhead.

"He only says that because it's contagious. He'll walk around doing it for days after his dad leaves. You'll see when Reno gets here. He likes to visit Axy like…once a month or so." Demyx trailed off, starting to look at the items on his list.

The rest of the store trip went relatively well, all things considered. Like the fact that Riku was in the presence of two of the strangest beings he'd ever met, Sora and Selphie included. Riku did end up getting beat over the head with a purse by some older lady who'd been standing too close when he had decided to list all of the reasons why the girl down the aisle was hot, the size of her breasts being the main reason and the one he put the most detail into. When they had gotten their supplies for the room, Riku and Axel only picking up small things like paper, pens, and snacks, and Demyx getting whatever Xigbar had asked for plus whatever he saw that interested him or that he thought was "pretty", they headed back out to Axel's truck, shoving everything in the backseat with Demyx.

"Alright! It's getting dark, so now I won't feel bad about wanting to go eat. And let's not forget, Demyx has so graciously agreed to pay for drinks…" There was definite excitement in Axel's voice.

"Why do I suddenly fear for my bank account…?" The accompanying sigh could be heard over the drone of Axel's music.

"Shoulda feared for it the moment you offered, bud. So, Dem, what have you been doing over the summer break?"

"Mmm, just working on my music and stuff…Oh, oh, oh! Guess what! I finally got my demo finished, Axel!" the dirty blond was nearly dancing in the backseat, grinning broadly. "I'm taking it to the studio here next week. I might have my first album by the end of the year!"

"Finally! You've been pussy-footing around it for forever." Axel mocked, much to Demyx's chagrin. "Good luck, hope you do well. No, I take that back. You will do well, but I wish you luck anyway." That put the grin back on Demyx's face, and that made the redhead beam, too.

"Okay, Riku, your turn!" That caught Riku by surprise.

"Uh…I was just relaxing at home, really…" There wasn't much else to it than that.

"Riku's a beach boy, Dem, even though I'm darker than him. He was probably out playing volleyball in the sand with some island hotties," Axel smirked.

"Island? You live on an island, Riku? That's amazing! Which one?" The grinning brunette asked, sitting forward to get a better look at Riku's face while he spoke.

"One of the smaller ones in the Destiny Islands chain. Why, you know the area?" Riku doubted that he would. No one seemed to know Destiny Islands, but that was to be expected when it was so far away, even if this was one of the closer main lands.

"...Are those the islands with the star-shaped fruit?" The slighter of the trio looked a little confused, trying to piece things together.

Riku blinked, surprised. "Yeah, they are. How did you know?"

"My pops' a shop owner, and he likes to get stuff that people can't find in our town. And let's face it, you'd never find star-shaped fruit-"

"Paopu," Riku interjected.

"Fine, you'd never find Paopu fruit," he amended with a roll of his eyes, "in Olympia."

"Olympia? You don't look like an Olympian…" That was a shocker. 'This little sugar high twig is from there? I thought that was the whole train to bash-and-slash town…'

Demyx grinned shyly, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah…I was never really into trying to show anyone up with how big I could get my muscles. I prefer to wow with my music than with how many tons I can lift."

"And, oh pale one, let us not forget that you don't look like you came from Destiny Islands, either, so don't bug Demy," Axel interjected, smirking.

"Hey, 'Demy' can fend for himself, Mr. Pyromaniac," Demyx snorted, crossing his arms and sitting back in his seat.

"Great, Axel. You're habit of handing out nicknames is passing on to him." Riku groaned.

"Hmmm…You're right. Demyx, I'm afraid that I'm being a bad influence on you…And yet, I find myself not caring. So, welcome to the dark side. We're the fun side, anyway."

"I think I'll be certifiable by the end of the year," the silver haired male sank lower in his seat, shaking his head.

"Yeah, yeah. Are you gonna bitch this bad when we get liquor in ya?" Axel snorted.

Riku smirked. "I can hold my liquor better than some people in this car."

"…That sounded like a challenge, Whitey," Axel grinned, giving Riku an assessing glance from the corner of his eye.

"Think I'm wrong?"

"Thinking's got nothing to do with it. I know you're wrong. Name your terms." There was a devilish gleam to his bright green eyes.

"If you can get the drink down and keep it there without passing out you're still in the game. Or you could just give up and admit I'm better." He crossed his arms cheekily over his chest.

"And what do I get when I win?"

"I'll do your laundry for a month, clean your half of the room, and do ONE homework assignment of your choice." He waited for Demyx to look out the window before he leaned in close to Axel whispering, "And maybe we can pick up where we left off…"

Axel's neck almost snapped with how fast he turned to face Riku, eyes wide with surprise. Then they narrowed. He hated having sexy make-out sessions hinge on things like this. Or be held over his head like bribery. He growled at Riku, who smirked back, but relented. "Alright, fine. And if you win?"

"Same conditions apply. Except I get to throw in a mystery element if I win." That sent Axel's alarms off, but Riku spoke up before he could deny the last part. "Then again, if you're too afraid of anything I could throw at you, I suppose we could call it off and just call me the winner right now," he brushed imaginary dust from the bottom hem of his shirt, mentally snickering.

"Deal. I'll even let you pick the drinks, light weight. Shake on it," the redhead ground out, holding out one hand as he continued to drive on.

Riku shook, his grin getting wider and wider by the second. "Good luck. You'll need it."

"Oh, oh, we're here! ...Where is here?" Demyx only knew that they'd started pulling in somewhere, but he hadn't been paying attention to tell where. "Is this…Twilight Tavern? You serious?" There was evident excitement in his tone.

"No, we're going to the place behind it. Yeah, I'm serious. Drove here, didn't I? We might as well start the year off in style! Besides this is the best place to drink in. Which reminds me, everyone got IDs statin' you're legal? Depending on who's working, they get kinda obsessive about ID checks."

"That's only if Xaldins working, though. Unless they've got a new OCD manager." Demyx said this as if it should have made all the difference to Riku.

Riku only held up his Island issued ID stating that he was twenty-one or over. "Age limits a go."

"And I just hit the big 2-1 three weeks ago! By the way, Axy, whatever happened to that birthday present you promised to give me before summer break?" The brunet's overenthusiastic proclamation turned into a pout and whined question. Demyx huffed, punishing Axel by giving Riku a bit of advice, "You wanna go for Bailey's. Axel can't stand it. Something about the smell getting to him or something like that."

"Demyx! Why the hell ya gotta go and tell him something like that?!"

"'Cause you welched on your present, you jerk!" Came the stubborn reply.

"Heh…Oh look, a perfect parking spot," Axel covered, conveniently having to turn away from Demyx to watch what he was doing.

Now parked, they exited the car and made their way to the door of the Demyx practically gushing the whole way, his own excitement distracting him from the present that a certain redhead owed him. "Axel, I love you forever for this."

"Demyx, what have I told you about these endless confessions of love? I'm just one man, I can't handle the kind of commitment you want," Axel shooed away the hug that was launched his way, shoving the smaller body through the door on his way.

"Are all your friends like this, Axel?" Demyx had taken off with the shove, using it as a driving force to propel himself through the two sets of heavy wooden doors and into the bar, so Riku felt it was safe to ask while they took their time catching up. He didn't have a problem with the rest of Axel's group being that way; if it really bothered him he would get his own group going. Besides, it was easier when people acted more like themselves.

"Nope. Demyx's one of a kind. Naminé's this really quiet little girl who's wicked with a pad of paper and a pencil. But she's a sweetie. Then there's Lexaeus. Built like a friggen' wall. And just by looking at him, you'd think he was as dumb as one, too. But he's got some of the best grades in the school. He's a little hard to read…The rest, well, you'll have to see for yourself, but obviously Dem's just in a class all his own." By then, they were just getting into earshot of the exuberant sophomore.

"Good evening, fellas," the waitress drawled, fixing her eyes on Riku immediantly. "Non-smoking or are you here for the bar?"

"We'll take a booth right next to the bar," Demyx threw in excitedly. That was his and Axel's favorite spot.

Nodding, the nameless woman led them to an empty clean booth after grabbing three menus, and passed them out as they all got situated.

"Isn't Zexion working here still?" Demyx asked the woman, propping his menu up in front of him.

"You bet. In fact, he's gonna be your waiter tonight. You want something already? I'll go grab him for you…" Before Demyx could squeak a reply, she was gone.

"Zexion? Another buddy of yours," Riku asked, casting a sidelong glance at Axel.

"Nothin' get's past you, Cabana Boy," Axel answered smoothly, scanning the brightly colored laminated paper before him.

"Again with the nicknames…? Anyway, care to explain?"

"Ex-roomy of Demyx's. They bunked together last year. Guess Zexy sprang for a single this year, though. Makes sense, he's got crazy work hours here, so he probably didn't want to deal with a roommate on top of that. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention," Demyx made pleading eyes at him to shut his mouth, "he's DemDem's current object of affection."

Riku arched an eyebrow, grinning at the man opposite him who tried to hide behind the menu. He didn't duck fast enough, though, and Riku saw the red tint to his cheeks.

"Speaking of Sexy Zexy, here he comes, Dem!" Axel crowed with glee.

Making another odd noise, Demyx quickly did a hair check in the napkin dispenser before straightening, hoping the red was gone from his face.

"Axel. Demyx." The voice that came from above Riku was deep, yet soft. He looked up, not really knowing what to expect, but not expecting what he found. The sight that greeted him was surprising; he hadn't thought that such a dreary looking man would appeal to the hyper young boy who'd gone still in his seat. Riku's first thought was that he was staring at an emo. He almost couldn't resist the urge to look down at the guys' wrists just to check it out. He had a wave of hair that could only be described as a dark metallic purple that covered his right eye and half his face, the rest short and out of the way. His uncovered eye was only half open, making him look either agitated or extremely bored.

Demyx opened his mouth to say something in return, but after a few failed attempts, he closed his mouth, and just nodded.

Axel, on the other hand, wasn't shy at all. "Hey, buddy! Long time no see! Still getting dragged into late night shifts here?" He bustled on without waiting for a response. He wouldn't get one, the answer to his question was obvious, and he knew it. He just liked ruffling Zexions feathers. "Got me a new roomy this year! This is Riku. Came straight from a dingy little island to our busy town."

Zexion didn't seem fazed by Axel, at least not on the visible half of his face, but his blue eyes slowly transferred down to Riku. "You have my pity."

"So, you're Zexy, huh? We were just hearing all about you and Demyx-" A swift kick to his shin from an all too innocent looking Demyx shut him up quickly, and he glared over at the brunette.

Zexion could tell that it had been Axel telling the tales. No one else called him Zexy, mostly because they could all tell he hated it. Axel knew he didn't like it; the only difference between the redhead and the others was that he simply didn't care.

"Anything I can get you to start with?" Damn his job.

"Anything with Vodka in it," chirped Axel.

"He means he wants a Bailey's." Riku smirked. "Challenge starts now, Axel."

"Aw, you're kidding me! I don't even get anything decent before you force that shit on me?" He was glaring death at Riku.

"Well, unless you want me to win so bad you'd give me a handicap like that, then no, I'm not kidding," that smug smirk only widened.

There was much muttering, and Zexion had to raise an eyebrow at them before shrugging and writing down the order. His attention then turned to his ex-roommate, pen poised over the small pad of paper while he waited.

"Oh, uh…Margarita. Sugar, not salt, please." His eyes were fixed on the table, meekly drawing little patterns on the smooth surface to distract himself.

"Right. I'll go give the order to Xaldin and be back in a minute," he spun on his heel, leaving them all in silence.

That was, until, "So that's the guy that caught our rambunctious little Demyx's attention? Seems a little…"

"Hot?"

"Emo?"

"Adorably silent?"

"Prissy?"

"Axel! I swear to-"

"I was going to say reserved, but I guess those will all work, too," Riky interjected, trying to end the glare-off the other two had entered in, though Axel was grinning through the whole thing. He was obviously enjoying tormenting Dem.

"Hate to break up the party, boys, but I need ID cards," growled yet another deep voice behind Riku. They all whipped around to face the deep unknown visitor, Axel and Demyx breaking out in groans while Riku was left to once again assess the stranger.

Rugged would have been the first word to come to mind. Tall, pale skinned, black haired, and blue eyed would have been the next few. That black hair looked to be in small dreads- braids maybe?- and they were all pulled back into a ponytail on the top of his head, presumably to keep them out of his way. But it was the sideburns that had Riku turning back around quickly so he could hide his laughter. The guy had the strangest sideburns he'd ever seen! They came out to his cheeks ending almost parallel to the pupil of his eye on each side. Axel gave him a knowing look as he dug in his pocket for his wallet.

"C'mon, Xaldin! You know that I'm legal! Turned twenty-one last year with you right there helping me get the hang over of my life!" The redhead produced the card regardless, handing it over for the older man to inspect.

Demyx quickly followed suit, grinning broadly. "Guess what, Xaldy! I turned twenty-one a few weeks ago! Now I can see you and Zexion when you guys are working without getting in trouble!"

In his defense, the guy did smile at Demyx in a seemingly friendly way as he passed the IDs back out. "Alright, newcomer, you too," he looked down at Riku expectantly, hand outstretched.

"Newcomer?" Riku gave it to him with little fuss.

"Yeah, I know the whole group. In my last year and a half at the school myself, so I'd know you if you weren't new." Xaldin inspected the given card. "Riku Staley, huh? Pleasure, Riku. Name's Xaldin. Don't get in the bad habit Demyx has of shortening it, either. Destiny Island ID, huh? Haven't seen one of these in a while. Alright, you guys are good. I knew when Zexion placed an order in for a drink with sugar that you were here, Dem, and I had to check you out."

"You know, he already has his eye on someone else, so you should really direct your attentions elsewhere, Xaldin," Axel grinned, glad that Riku was between him and the veritable gorilla, because he might have gotten hit.

"Axel, be careful, or I'll add a few extra ingredients to anything you order." With that, the man was gone, and not long after Zexion came back with their drinks. He placed the margarita down in front of Demyx, who immediately took a fairly large sip. This earned a look from Zexion that the drinking brunette didn't pick up as his attention was monopolized by the frozen drink. The purple haired male then set a glass of Bailey's down in front of Riku, who grinned, being a particular fan of this type of alcohol. The fact that Axel hated it only heightened his enjoyment of it in this instance. But there were still two glasses on his tray, and Axel looked up at him in confusion, a look that soon turned into teary-eyed joy when Zexion set down the Bailey's, soon followed by some fruity flavored vodka mix or another.

"Alright, but it's your ass cleaning my room," Riku sighed, eyeing Axel and shooting down his joy.

"Party pooper. If I gotta do a drinking competition with this shit, I want something good before I have to do it!" He growled.

"Actually, you guys are drinking the last in stock, Xaldin wanted me to tell you. So there won't be any drinking games with it. Anyway, let me get the food order, then you can decide what you want instead."

"Can you give us another minute? I don't know about either of these bums, but I haven't decided what I want yet." Axel murmured, looking back down at the menu that had been forgotten long ago.

Nodding, Zexion left them to make up their minds, grinning just slightly. Axel owed him. Axel owed him big. It had been Zexions second or third night working at the bar when Axel had come in, sporting a fair sized crowd that informed the entire clientele that the spunky redhead had turned twenty one that day. Xigbar had decided that his process of 'getting to know' Axel would be to see how much liquor Axel could hold. And, of course, he'd chosen Bailey's. Axel had complained a little at the smell of it, which Demyx had described as getting a sharpie shoved up your nose and having it kicked a few times, but he'd gone on with it. It wasn't until he was so drunk that he got sick while still at the bar that he decided he hated the stuff. And, true enough, the next time someone had tried to be nice and buy him a drink one night, they made the mistake of buying that for him. He'd gagged, shoving the drink back at Zexion with enough force to tip the glass over and send the fluid across the counter. Knowing all this, Zexion had found it in his best interest to spare Axel, and his work environment, from having to repeat either of those experiences.

-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

So there we have it! It's only about seven pages longer than normal, but I thought this would be a good cut off spot. So now we've met Zexion! The awkwardness between Zexy and Demyx only gets better from here. Again, I apologize for taking so long. My muses are just getting back to me with this fic, so hopefully it won't take nearly this long for the next chapter, eh? I've already started it, so mayhaps…Anyway, on to review replies!

catchmelon- Oh, I agree that the kiss was all to brief. Fans self But it was smexy! Thanks for not agreeing with my mean beta on the "filler" opinion of the chapter. I love some of the exchanges in this chapter. Your thoughts?

Casmut- Isn't he though?! Teasing Axel like that…Riku's just a bastard! Poor Dem…Even though he's gay too, I think they might have damages his retinas…Fruity roommate?! le gasp How could you say such a thing of dear Xiggles?! N'aww, thanks, Casmut! Maybe more will come as the story goes on. People do like to read stories with more chapters up, after all…w We'll just wait and hope, yeah?

Rosalyn Angel- I will continue to continue as I continue on! As long as you leave me comments to fuel the fire. Axel's not going to roll over and take it! He'll get his payback. Don't you worry. Snicker And looky, we met two new characters again! With mention to two or three more:'D We win?

Your ever-loving Juukai