.o.O.o.

I own nothing! Please don't sue me!

For additional warnings, disclaimers, and summary, see the first chapter!

.x.x.x.

I wasn't man enough to let you hurt my pride
Now I'm only left with my own jealousy

"Jealousy" - Queen

.o.O.o.

Fool Me Twice…

Confusion and Coincidences

-o-

The next morning Roxas opted out of getting up at the crack of dawn and heading off into the snow with Sora and Riku. The energetic brunette had come lolloping into the room at five thirty in the morning, flopping into the bed with Hayner and Roxas and urging them to watch the sunrise with him, but when he got no more response than murderous grumbles he left them to their sleep.

The next time Roxas woke up it was at a far more decent hour, somewhere in the ten o'clock time range. Hayner was already gone, which surprised Roxas. Usually the boisterous blonde loved nothing more than to sleep in to the early afternoon if given the opportunity, but apparently his competitive streak trumped that particular inclination. Roxas was sure if Hayner saw even half a chance to kick Seifer's ass into the dust… er, snow, that there would be nothing that could stand in his way.

Pushing out of bed and taking advantage of the fact that he had the whole house to himself, Roxas took a long, warm shower, before trudging downstairs and fixing himself a simple breakfast of cereal in a bowl with milk. That was about as fancy as he trusted himself to get in someone else's kitchen, and frankly, he was too darn lazy to attempt anything more elaborate that would actually require him to exert some energy.

'Sooooo…' Roxas thought to himself, scanning the downstairs area after he had finished his breakfast. 'I've got the house all to myself. What to do…'

Five hours later found Roxas sitting on his butt in front of the widescreen television, some drama or reality show of some sort unfolding before him. Slouched down in the plush white couch, Roxas was quite physically comfy, but he was becoming mentally restless. Figuring that he could sit around and watch TV anytime he wanted at home (albeit on a much smaller screen, and not while seated on a couch that came close in comparison to this one, comfort-wise), Roxas flipped the idiotbox off, slipping into heavier clothing and big, clunky snowboots.

Stepping out into the cold, Roxas pulled his hood around his face as he trudged down to the ski lodge, intent on finding something to do other than just sitting around in Riku's cabin all day.

And what do you know, as soon as he stepped inside, entering the main sitting room across from the café, who should be on duty but Axel. Well then. It looked like his first not-sitting-on-his-butt-in-the-cabin activity would be making himself as inconspicuous as possible, as fast as possible.

Ducking behind a display rack, Roxas peered through the slats, hoping Axel hadn't spotted him. It appeared as though he hadn't, thankfully, since the elder male continued about his business, unaware of the presence of a certain blonde. The certain blonde in question was surprised that Axel's "Roxas sensors" hadn't gone off and given him away. But no, Axel was calmly doing his work; making drinks and serving customers. Roxas settled for observing him; seeing him in his natural habitat, as it were.

Spying a small table in an out-of-the-way corner of the room, Roxas slunk over, making sure to keep from being spotted by Axel. From his new position he could more easily observe the redhead, and he didn't look so suspicious.

Axel looked… well he looked like Axel. Which wasn't a huge surprise. Roxas watched him hand over a steaming, frothing drink to a customer, grinning in a winning manner. The guy could be charming when he tried, Roxas reluctantly admitted.

Maybe it had just been too long since he had seen Axel, but when he was away from the lanky teen he always forgot about the good points that he had. It was so easy to pick out the annoying things, or the embarrassing things, since they were the most obvious attributes, but towards the end of last summer's camping trip he had started to see the good points too. Roxas suddenly felt bad for cutting Axel out of his life, as necessary as it had seemed. He just… he didn't want anyone looking at them funny, and Axel always insisted on drawing so muchattention to himself…

Sudden laughter broke out behind the café counter, and Roxas broke out of his thoughts to concentrate on what was going on. Someone who appeared to be a co-worker was shoving Axel playfully, joking around about something or another. Axel returned the verbal banter, swatting at the other male in a familiar manner.

Roxas curiously observed the scene. The coworker was someone Roxas didn't recognize, someone he was pretty sure he had never seen before. Possibly another one of Axel's friends, perhaps? The guy was short, and had golden blonde hair that fluffed up into spikes near the front, but from the angle he was standing at Roxas couldn't tell much more.

It was a slow time of day for the common lodge, with most of the ski resort's visitors being out on the slopes or in the privacy of their own cabins, so the sitting room and café were relatively empty. Roxas again worried that he was going to be seen lurking suspiciously in the corner, but it seemed as though Axel and the blonde kid were too busy palling around to notice. Roxas actually felt a little indignant at the thought. Before, if he'd been within a mile radius of the redhead, somehow Axel had been able to sense that Roxas was there, and had then made sure to go out of his way to bother him.

But now it was like Roxas was a fly on the wall as he passively observed the antics that were taking place between the two, apparently, friends. He should have been glad for the anonymity, but for some reason it irked him. In a childish way, he wanted the attention.

The blonde behind the counter elbowed Axel in his side, pointing to something outside of Roxas's range of vision as he leaned up, cupping a hand and whispering into Axel's ear. Axel looked confused for a minute before he apparently got what was so funny, and then he laughed. Roxas shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He felt a little like he was overstepping his boundaries and trespassing into Axel's privacy, but at the same time he couldn't help it. And besides, how many times had Axel prodded and pried his way into Roxas's personal business? Yes, Roxas definitely had a few free passes of his own when it came to budging into Axel's affairs. He was simply cashing them in, was all.

The more he watched the two, the more he realized how chummy they were together. Although the other blonde seemed to be a little more reserved than Axel, they were completely relaxed and open with eachother. Axel and the co-worker/possible friend seemed to be having a grand old time on the job. Roxas huffed in irritation. Geesh, wasn't Axel supposed to be working? Not chatting it up with some random kid who shared his counter space.

After a while, Axel glanced up at the clock, said something to the blonde, who nodded, and then he walked off, still wearing his apron. At first Roxas was confused as to why Axel could just up and leave on the job, before he realized that it was probably time for a break. Deciding to take advantage of this golden opportunity, Roxas swept in to action, pushing his chair back and carefully making his way over to the café.

"Hey." the blonde greeted as he noticed Roxas heading over. "How can I help you?"

Roxas stopped dead in his tracks. Something was really wrong here. Roxas was… he was pretty sure he was staring at a long lost twin. People had always made comments about him and Sora looking alike (which Roxas had adamantly refused to acknowledge. Sora had brown hair and bigger, eyes that were a slightly deeper blue, and a personality that could stop a charging rhino in his tracks. Yep. No similarities at all.) but this new kid…

It was almost like staring into a mirror.

The freakishly similar blonde shifted uncomfortably, also seeming to notice the strangeness of the situation, but trying to play it off. "Uh… can I get you something?"

"Yeah, hi." Roxas distractedly replied. "Can I have a, uh…" He scanned the menu, picking a random drink to order. The other blonde set to work, quietly humming to himself as he fixed Roxas's drink. When it was completed he set it in front of Roxas.

"That'll be $5.50." He said, and Roxas rummaged through his pockets, trying to come up with the money. His eyes landed on the guy's nametag.

"Ven." He muttered, making a mental note of it.

"Yes?"

Crap, Roxas needed to learn to either keep his thoughts inside his head, or mutter more inconspicuously. "Uh, that's just an interesting name." Roxas covered as he handed over the crinkled dollar bills. "I've never heard it before."

"Uh… thanks." Ven replied, sorting out the money. "I've had it all my life, and I'm rather fond of it, myself."

This guy was way too unruffled, Roxas decided. It was one thing to be obliviously cheerful all the time, like Sora, or even obnoxiously chaotic like Axel, but this whole… 'I'm just gonna take whatever comes my way, even a freaky coincidence look-alike kid, and just do my job and serve hot drinks' attitude annoyed him to no end. Roxas did not approve.

"Here's your change, would you like your receipt?" Ven was asking.

"Uh, no." Roxas replied, distracted by his annoyance. "You can keep it."

"Alright then. Have a nice day." Ven said, by way of parting.

"Yeah, sure." Roxas grumbled, taking his drink and heading back to his little sulking table in the corner. Who did that guy think he was, being so… so… urgh! No wonder he and Axel got on so well. Their freakishly weird personalities were perfectly suited for eachother, what with Roxas's hurricane to Ven's battened hatches. Compatibility had never been so weird before.

Soon enough, the aforementioned redhead returned from his break, and (as expected) he and Ven went back to horsing around. The kid certainly wasn't as enthusiastic as Axel, but he seemed to know how to lighten up and have a good time. 'Just do your job!' Roxas's brain chastised, and he took an angry gulp of his drink, gagging on some froth. Stupid froth. Roxas hated froth. Especially froth created by freaky clone kids.

For a while longer Roxas continued to watch after the events unfolding behind the café counter, and the more he watched the more irritated he became. He had held a job over the summer, and he had certainly never had this much fun doing it. All the horsing around, all of the downtime during the afternoon lull… Roxas was extremely bitter towards Axel and Ven. But mostly just Ven. Something about the other blonde irked him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Well, besides the fact that the kid had pretty much stolen his face.

Before long, Axel's "I'm going to be annoying" setting kicked in, and Ven smirkingly pushed him away as the redhead attempted prodding at him, trying to be as bothersome as possible. Swatting and laughing took place, and other than the playful manner in the actions, it sort of reminded him of when he and Axel had just met, when the older teen had been trying to do some weird sort of version of… of flirting… with… him…

OH GOD! Had Roxas been replaced!?

Watching the two easily banter and jostle eachother, it seemed as though that indeed might have been the case.

"HEY ROXAS!" an unnecessarily loud and enthusiastic voice suddenly called out. "There you are! Me and Riku have been looking all over for you!"

Well there went his cover.

Glaring at Sora and his poor sense of timing and discretion, Roxas refused to welcome the pair to his table. Nevertheless, Sora and Riku pulled some chairs up, shaking some snow off of their jackets.

"Roxas it was great, we've been out in the snow all day, making forts and snowmen and stuff! You totally should have come, it's been so fun! Have you been here for very long?"

"No." Roxas lied.

"Oh. Well, me and Riku just wanted to get some hot drinks, and then we were gonna play in the snow a little more, and then we were thinking about heading to the pools. Did you know the resort has its very own hot springs? Oh, hi Axel!"

Whipping his head around, Roxas saw Axel and Ven approaching their table. Oh well great. This was just spiffy. Roxas only just realized that he might be having some jealousy issues over Axel, and the idiot has to strut right on over, look-alike blonde in tow. Touché, world. Touché.

"Hey guys." Axel and Ven pulled a few more chairs around the already crowded little table, and Roxas noticed that Ven was just a liiiiittle too close to the redhead for his taste. "My shift is over, and Ven's on break, so we figured we'd join you."

"Oh my gosh, you look just like Roxas!" Sora delightedly gasped. "Roxas, isn't that totally cool?"

Roxas silently fumed. He couldn't believe his luck. First he pushed Axel away, and then just as soon as he realizes that maybe he wants him back, Ven tromps into the picture and messes everything up. Sora and Riku took to Ven pretty well, and light conversation drifted around the table. Roxas folded his arms over his chest. This was so not how he imagined this vacation going. Damn Sora never being able to produce anything but failure vacations!

"… so anyways, we're going to head back out, but it was nice meeting you, Ven! Seeya later, Axel!" Sora was saying, and Roxas clung to his words like a drowning man. Salvation! Going out with Sora and Riku to play in the snow was not his ideal plan for escape, but it would have to do. Following after them as they headed back into the snow, Roxas looked back once more before exiting the building, and Axel caught his eye, giving him a small wave. Roxas blinked, turning and walking out without returning it.

As it turned out, playing in the snow ended up being exactly as childish as it sounded. Sora chucked snowballs at the back of Roxas's head every time he turned his back to the brunette, and even Riku tossed a few clumps of wet snow his way. Roxas ended up digging himself a fort just to put up a guard between himself and the annoying thunk of snow to his cranium.

Sora insisted on staying out until it started getting dark, at which point he abruptly switched tactics and demanded that they go change into their swimsuits so that they could go to the pools. It was extremely tedious to go get out of multiple layers of clothes just to put one article of clothing on, and then put all of the wet layers of clothing from before back on, but Roxas figured that it might be worth it. Hot springs sounded like a really good idea right about now. After all, there was nothing like warm water and steam to relax you and make you forget all of your troubles.

It turned out the springs were not right in the centre of the resort, and were actually in fact quite out of the way to get to. By the time they got there, it was almost completely dark. As soon as they arrived, Sora was quick to shuck off his clothes and jump in the water of the largest pool. Riku went after him, but Roxas took a little more time to observe his surroundings.

In the center area there was a large pool with a naturally shaped basin. That was the one Sora had flung himself into. The water looked slightly discolored, and Roxas was a little repulsed until he remembered that it was a natural spring, and therefore the minerals in the water were what accounted for it. A hose was draining into the pool, presumably adding in some cold water to get it to a more neutral temperature.

Splashing happily, Sora swam around in the water. Riku lounged on the side, looking utterly content with just sitting after a long day of running around after the energetic brunette.

"Come on, Roxas, get in!" Sora called out, waving.

Deciding he might as well do just that, Roxas hurriedly stripped down to his swim trunks. 'Hurriedly' because he wanted to avoid spending any more time than absolutely necessary out in the cold air, not because he was in any rush to join Sora.

Slipping in to the water, Roxas was pleased to discover that the temperature's balance was leaning heavily in favour of warmth. A few others besides they three were in the pool, but Sora was by far the loudest and most exuberant. After a while, Riku voiced the suggestion that they head to one of the vacated hot springs. Roxas inwardly thanked whatever higher being existed for the suggestion, knowing that the warm water would sooth Sora down, making him calmer and less boisterous.

Quickly padding across the stone-tiled ground with wet feet, the three boys shivered their way over to a hot spring, gratefully collapsing in to its almost-too-hot depths. Sora immediately sunk down and submerged himself until only about half of his face was left out. Blowing bubbles, Sora drifted over to Riku's side, settling against him and letting his eyelids slide shut over his bright blue eyes.

"So what did you do all day?" Riku asked Roxas, fixing him with a smuggish smirk. "Sit around in the lodge stalking Axel?"

"I did no such thing." Roxas defended. Or lied, rather. Actually… it wasn't atotal lie. He had spent a good portion of the day sitting on his butt watching television, after all.

"Riku, I'm sore." Sora informed his friend, pulling his face out of the water and looking pleadingly up at the older male. With a sigh and friendly roll of the eyes, Riku shifted to a position that allowed him to give Sora a shoulder rub. The younger male purred happily, keening into the touch. Roxas awkwardly shifted in his seat on the ring of bench that ran around the spring, feeling a bit as though he was intruding upon a private moment. It wasn't as though Sora and Riku were doing anything outrageously personal with eachother, but their entire friendship had such an unspoken intimacy to it that Roxas always felt a little intrusive when he was alone with just the two of them.

"Well look who's here!"

All three hot-tubbing males turned around at the voice, spotting Axel and Demyx heading their way.

"Hi guys!" Sora returned, not moving away from Riku's touch.

Not even bothering to ask if they could join, Axel and Demyx set down their clothes into piles near the ledge of the pool and slid in to the water, wincing a bit at the heat. Sighing, Axel propped his elbows up on the pool ledge, tilting his head back to rest on the cold stone behind him. Roxas involuntarily found himself riveted to the curve of the redhead's neck, unable to look away.

Demyx bounced in his seat, happy to see everyone again. "Hey guys, have you been having a fun trip? I went tobogganing with Larx and Marly today and it was pretty cool!"

"Where are those guys?" Axel commented. "I thought they were going to join us."

"I dunno, it's Larxene and Marluxia." Demyx pointed out with a shrug. "Who knows what shenanigans they're getting into."

Roxas highly doubted that whatever those two were getting up to could be innocent enough to be called "shenanigans". Pillaging and plundering seemed like a more accurate description. Roxas admitted to not knowing either of them terribly well, but they freaked the hell out of him.

"So I never quite knew for sure…" Riku started, looking contemplative. "Are those two shagging, or…?"

"More like partners in crime." Axel supplied, sitting back up. "Or actually, I don't know, maybe they are shagging. I always thought Marluxia was fruitier than a bag of Trix cereal, but honestly, I have no idea what those freaks do when no one else is around. Them in public is bad enough."

Everyone was nodding in agreement when a muted ringing issued forth from Demyx's clothes pile. The sandy haired teen lunged for it, creating a gigantic splash that hit everyone else in the small pool. It hit Roxas straight in the face, and he winced, resisting the urge to let out a war cry and strangle Demyx. Just barely, but he resisted.

Roxas hated being splashed. Especially in the face. 'Demyx, you better watch out.' He mentally threatened. 'One more wrong move will be just enough to get you on my list.'

Before Roxas could elaborate further on his 'list' (whatever that was. Roxas didn't quite know himself, but damnit if it didn't sound threatening) Demyx let out a happy squeal upon seeing the name flashing on his phone's screen.

"Zexion!" he happily greeted, flipping the phone open to talk to the scheming male who was absent from their vacationing. "I'm so glad you called, I've been thinking about you all day!"

Exiting the spring and throwing a big, fluffy towel around himself to fend off the cold, Demyx wandered off to find a more private place to continue his conversation with Zexion.

"He won't be back." Axel commented, watching his friend go.

Roxas wondered how someone like Zexion could ever put up with someone with Demyx's personality, but he figured it wasn't worth the headache of trying to figure it out. And besides, stranger things had probably happened.

Like maybe the dynamics between a certain crazy redhead and a certain sullen blonde, for example.

"It's getting kind of hot in here…" Sora commented, looking rejuvenated after Riku's massaging. "Who wants to go skinnydipping in the ice water!?"

Roxas looked at where Sora was pointing, and saw, to his horror, another pool that he hadn't noticed before. Unlike the others, which had their water sources coming from the ground, this pool was man made at its base, with a waterfall coming straight down the mountain. Barely melted snow served as the water source for this pool, and Roxas was certain that it was maybe half a degree above freezing, at best.

"I don't think so." Roxas replied.

"Pleeeeease?" Sora begged. "We've never gone skinnydipping in freezing ice water before!" Roxas sighed at the reasoning, exasperated.

"Why would wewant to do that?"

"Because it'd be an exciting new experience!"

"Sora, why are you always trying to get naked?"

"Because it's fun!" the brunette clipped back. "And I'm going whether you guys are coming or not!"

And with that Sora stood, ungracefully exited the hot spring, and pattered over to the ice water, shucking his swimtrunks off and plopping in. The water's temperature must have shocked him – despite the fact that Roxas could literally see it pouring straight down from the mountain and there was no way Sora could have not known it would be freezing – and he let out a rather surprised little wail.

Riku sighed, watching the spectacle unfold. "I better go get him." He said. "Make sure he doesn't die or something."

"Or get arrested for public indecency." Axel helpfully put in.

Riku shrugged as he got out of the water. "They're private springs, and traditionally you go into springs without wearing anything. I don't really think that's an issue. Besides, even if it was, no one else is still here but us."

Roxas glanced around as Riku walked off, finding this to be true. Everyone else had left, so their gathering of mismatched friends made up the entire hot springs congregation. And currently, he and Axel were the only people left in the hot spring that had previously held Sora, Riku and Demyx as well.

"So." Axel began, sliding on over. "Did you have a nice day with Thing One and Thing Two?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess." Roxas returned, trying to inconspicuously put some more distance between himself and Axel. But the redhead was undeterred, and slid on in until he was right next to Roxas, their thighs almost touching.

Axel said something else, but Roxas didn't register it with his mind whirling in a million different directions. He had been through this dilemma before, with trying to figure out his feelings for Axel. At the time the results had come up with a grudging 'yes, I do hold some affection for the annoying freak for God knows what reason.' But then he had realized that it was too much for him to deal with, in the public eye, and he had shoved those feelings as far away as he could.

But now… now Axel was here again, so close, and even though he was still annoying, he wasn't really doing anything. Not making advances like he had before, and Roxas was thrown off. It was like an internal volcano waiting to go off. WHY WASN'T AXEL DOING ANYTHING!? He tried to tell himself that he was just suspicious, that it wasn't like hewanted Axel to come on to him or anything… but the nervous butterflies of anticipation swirling around in his stomache proved otherwise.

"Roxas…? Roxas, are you even listening to me? Helloooooo, earth to Roxas!"

"What?" snapping back to the present, Roxas finally registered that Axel was still trying to talk to him.

"Geeze, Roxie." Axel snickered. "What's got you so distracted? Water got you all hot and bothered? Find some snow bunny out on the slopes today that you just can't stop fantasizing about?"

"…what?" Roxas replied again, confused by Axel's tactic but suddenly coming out of his daze. "No, what the hell, there's no chick. But what the fuck is up with you, Axel?"

"Me?" Axel replied, and he looked and sounded genuinely confused.

"Yes you!" Roxas snapped. "You're acting funny!"

Axel eyed him suspiciously. "Rox, you feeling okay? I mean, it's been a while since I've really hung out with you too much, but – Mmmph!"

Roxas surged forward, capturing Axel's lips. He was sick and tired of Axel dancing around the issue, and damn it he was going to do something about it! He wanted their old dynamics back, even if he had been the one to attempt to get rid of them in the first place.

Axel seemed momentarily confused, and he tried to pull back to look at Roxas, but Roxas shook his head in the negative, going back in to initiate another kiss. He was sick of thinking and analyzing, he just wanted to do this and maybe things would start to make a little more sense in his confused brain. Action over analysis; that was Roxas's motto for his preferred way of dealing with what life threw his way.

Shifting, Roxas moved closer, nearly straddling the redhead's waist. Axel brought his hand up in surprise, and ended up letting it drop to rest on Roxas's hip. 'There we go!' Roxas's brain cheered, pleased to get a positive reaction from the redhead. He matched Axel's movement, settling his own palm against the elder male's chest. Axel squirmed a little, pressing the slightest bit more into their liplock.

Roxas took this as a sign to continue pressing onwards with their little interlude. Moving to fully straddle Axel's waist – although not setting down or applying any pressure – Roxas was able to get a more comfortable angle for kissing, and he tilted his head accordingly, parting his lips. Axel made a small sound in the back of his throat, eagerly keeping up with Roxas's initiative. Dragging his palms up Axel's chest, feeling the muscles tensing at the contact, Roxas slid his fingers into Axel's wet red spikes.

Letting out a content sigh into the kiss, Roxas gripped lightly at the locks of hair in his grasp. It felt like forever since he had done this last, and Roxas honestly hadn't realized how much he had missed it. He scooted closer, wrapping his arms around Axel's neck. Their chests bumped lightly, and water-slick skin slid together wonderfully. Roxas ran his tongue along the seam of Axel's lips, and was a bit taken aback when the taller boy eagerly reciprocated, slipping his own tongue into Roxas's mouth and doing a thorough sweep of the moist cavern.

The heat from the hot spring was starting to go to Roxas's head, turning everything into a fuzzy haze. Everything was so wet and so overwhelming and happening so fast. Roxas had only acted on a spur of the moment impulse to distract himself from his obsessing over figuring out what was up with the dynamics between Axel and himself. But now he found himself in the middle of a heady makeout session, and even though he had been the one to initiate it, he was having a bit of trouble keeping up with the flow. It was like all of the weeks and months of not seeing eachother had been building up, unspoken, and now it was all being released in a flood of emotions and physical displays.

Axel's hand crawled into the damp hair at the base of Roxas's neck, fingers tangling and tugging gently. Roxas became lightheaded at the sensation, and he found his strength giving out on him. Legs weakening, Roxas collapsed into Axel's lap, plopping down rather suddenly and causing ripples of water to swirl away from him.

At the sudden added weight onto a rather sensitive area of his anatomy, Axel's back arched, and the grip he had in Roxas's hair tightened. Roxas held a growl back, throat constricting, and he out of the kiss a fraction of an inch, taking in a breath. Axel immediately went to work on the blonde's neck with his lips and occasional scrapes of teeth, and Roxas scrunched his eyes closed.

Well then. It appeared as though someone was rather eager to keep at this.

What Roxascouldn't figure out was why Axel had been holding himself back until that point. Roxas had been the one who had to kick start their current… engagements. But usually it was Axel who was pushing for this type of thing. Why hadn't he done so this time around? It wasn't as though he had ever asked for Roxas's permission any of the previous times, after all.

Axel's zeal was starting to make itself known, though, and Roxas floundered to keep up. The redhead slid his arms up Roxas's bare back, lightly scraping his nails along the skin. Roxas hissed, arching his back and pressing closer to Axel. This felt… good. Really good, actually. And comfortingly familiar. Like something Roxas had been missing out on for far too long, but that he hadn't even realized had gotten misplaced.

Vaguely, Roxas felt his reasoning slipping away as Axel pulled him closer, tentatively shifting his hips upwards the slightest bit. With an embarrassed blush, Roxas realized that Axel's body was starting to react to their heated kissing and groping, and to his utmost mortification Roxas realized that his was responding as well.

Axel let his hands slip under the water, gently grabbing hold on Roxas's hips and guiding the smaller boy to put a little more weight down into his lap. Axel's little problem became impossible to brush aside at that point, and Roxas realized that Axel's guidance was slowly but surely directing him into a slow undulation, causing their lower anatomy to press together in an achingly pleasurable way.

Breath hitching, Roxas buried his face into Axel's hair, letting the older teen set the pace for their underwater motions, bodies slipping and sliding in an embarrassingly erotic way. The liquid that surrounded them caused their movements to be fluid and smooth, and Axel had started pushing his hips up in earnest, slowly easing into a gyration that allowed for more pressure, more friction. Roxas panted, embarrassed at how Axel would be able to hear every laboured breath that he took, given that Roxas's face was right at the side of Axel's own, mere inches away from his ears.

But that potentially embarrassing situation was soon overruled by another, when Axel's lips ran along Roxas's neck in one delicate sweep, before the redhead bit carefully but forcefully into the juncture of Roxas's neck and shoulder. With a strangled gasp, Roxas threw his head back, drops of water flying out of his hair at the sudden motion. The action was surprising and unexpected, and almost a bit painful; but underlying it all was a burning pleasure, and Roxas ground his hips down into Axel's, tugging rather harshly at the damp red spikes in his grasp.

All of Roxas's receptive squirming and grabbing apparently did the trick for Axel, because he let out a low, desperate groan; his fingers tightening around Roxas's waist and digging into the sensitive hallows of the boy's hips.

In the back of Roxas's mind something was nagging at him, telling him he'd better start paying attention to what was going on before it got out of control. But he brushed it aside, bucking his hips forward, loving the pressure, the friction, the –

"Ah – Roxas…"

A deep, guttural moan accompanied Axel's reverent outburst of Roxas's name, and the blonde literally felt the whoosh of reality kicking back in. He could hear Sora laughing at something Riku was talking about in the distance, and they seemed oblivious to the drama unfolding on the other side of the springs. Oh God. Axel… Axel and he… they…

They were in the middle of a public hot spring.

Nearly naked.

Writhing against eachother.

And did he mention that he was with Axel, in the middle of a public hot spring, nearly naked, and very surely writhing in the worst of ways.

"Oh God."

Hastily standing on wobbling legs, absolutely mortified by the tenting in the front of his swimtrunks, Roxas exited the naturally heated pool as quickly and gracefully as he could. He failed drastically with both endeavours when climbing out with legs that felt like jelly and a rather straining erection were slowing him down and making his motions clumsy, but he got an 'A' for effort.

"I have to go. Now. Right now." He announced, pulling on his clothes as fast as he could, grimacing at how they clung most uncomfortably to his damp skin.

"What?" Axel was asking. He looked extremely confused. "Wait, Roxas… why?"

"I just…" Roxas refused to look Axel in the eye, fumbling with getting his snowboots on. "I just do."

And with that he left, leaving behind a very wet, very confused, and very much unsatisfied Axel.

.o.x.O.x.o.

The walk back to Riku's cabin was very dark and cold, but Roxas wasn't aware of it. He could only concentrate on the whirling thoughts in his head, letting his feet wander on autopilot, hoping that he would eventually end up back where he was supposed to be.

Oh God.

Oh God oh God oh God oh God.

He had… he had almost done it in a hot spring with Axel. Axel! What had he been thinking? No… no, he hadn't been thinking, that was it. At least not with his brain. Because if he had been thinking with the right head, he never would have done something like that.

…would he?

Miraculously, Roxas found himself back at Riku's cabin, and he gratefully slipped inside, using the spare key that Riku had given him. He was going to march upstairs, take off his clothes, and go to sleep. No more dwelling.

"Urgh…" Roxas groaned, ascending the stairs to his room. "I never want to think about guys or sex ever again."

Shoving the door to his room open, Roxas was completely unprepared for the sight that greeted him. He had been aware of Hayner's absence all day, and hadn't known when to expect to see him again because you could never tell how long a day of rivalry between mortal enemies was going to go, but he certainly hadn't counted on being reunited with Hayner like… like this.

The loudmouth blonde was spread across the bed, very much declothed. Which on it's own would not have been so bad, if it weren't for the fact that one Seifer Almasy was currently sprawled over him, the angle and positioning of their bodies leaving nothing up for interpretation. So involved were the two blondes, that they didn't even notice that Roxas was standing right there.

Roxas's jaw went slack, and he promptly turned on his heel, exiting the room and closing the door behind him.

He was sleeping on the couch tonight.

-o-

.x.x. .o.O.o. .x.x.

Oh ho ho!! Another chapter for you, my lovies! Seems as though dear Roxas can't figure out what he wants, that poor befuddled kid! WANT and DO NOT WANT seem to be having a nice little tug of war inside his blonde little brain. XD

And hahaha, Ven. XD Thanks so much to my darling EcoJak for suggesting for him to have a place in this story – he was a perfect fit for the extra character I needed! (In case you don't know who he is, like I didn't for a while, do a Google search for 'Ven from Birth By Sleep' and that should tell you what you need to know!)

Hope everyone's enjoying the ficcie, and thanks a million billion jillion for all the super awesome reviews, you guys! You're amazing, seriously! 8D