.o.O.o.

I own nothing! Please don't sue me!

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

.x.x.x.

The type of guy who doesn't see,
What he has until she leaves
Don't let me go!
Cause without me you know you're lost,
Wise up now or pay the cost
Soon you will know, oh!

"Potential Breakup Song" Aly & AJ

.o.O.o.

Fool Me Twice…

Eavesdropping Kickstarts Initiative

-o-

It was too fucking bright too fucking early.

That was the first thing Roxas's brain registered, as he rolled over with a groan, trying to block out the sun's evil rays which insisted upon shining right into his face.

But rolling over turned out to be more of an undertaking than he would have imagined, and rather than being able to find a more comfortable, sun-free position, he instead found himself in a world of pain.

"OW!" Roxas yelped, immediately awake, trying to figure out why he was on the floor, feeling like his body was one giant cramp. "Ow ow ow bitch shit balls OW!"

"Morning, sunshine."

Roxas glared up at whoever was saying sappy things to him, spotting Hayner in the kitchen, poking around at some bacon that was sizzling in a pan on the stove.

Upon seeing Hayner, last night's events came flooding back to Roxas, and he groaned again, rubbing at his neck, which was sore from Roxas having slept on the couch all night. For lazing around watching television it was a fine piece of furniture, but for getting a good, full night's sleep… not so much.

Glancing to the clock affixed on the wall, Roxas discovered that it was only a little past eight in the morning.

"Hayner." He began. "Why the hell are you up so early? And why are you wearing an apron?"

Hayner flashed a guilty smile. "Well, uh, I know it looks kinda gay, but bacon splatters all over the place, you know? I don't want oil all over my clothes…"

"Mmhmm." Roxas vaguely replied, not really caring too much about the apron. Mostly he had just tacked the apron comment on to get a dig in at Hayner. Because if one of them ever saw the opportunity to make a fool out of the other on a one on one basis, that was not something to be passed up. After all, that's what best friends were for.

"Alright, but so that doesn't explain why you're up so early." Roxas persisted, refusing to let the topic drop.

"Uh…" Hayner attempted the guilty smile again, but this time it came out looking more on the guilty side than the smiley side. "Well, er, actually… Seifer spent the night here, and uh, I figured, you know… I'd make him some breakfast before his shift starts in a few hours?"

Now despite occasional evidence to the contrary, Roxas wasn't stupid. Even if he hadn't walked in on the horribly compromising Seifer/Hayner rendezvous that had gone on last night between the sheets, there were still some gaping plot holes in Hayner's excuse. Why had Seifer come over in the first place? Why was he still here? Why was Hayner going out of his way to make an early breakfast for someone he supposedly hated?

But Roxas wrote it off, deciding that now was most certainly not the time to be discussing that particular issue. Obviously Seifer and Hayner's rivalry had ended up transferring over from violent competition to… violent passion. Roxas really didn't care to hear the whole messy story. In fact, he was pretty sure he wanted to be done thinking about this particular subject, period. Hadn't he just last night sworn to never think about guys or sex ever again?

Roxas became aware of the fact that an awkward silence had settled itself between him and Hayner, and he desperately wracked his mind for something to say that would clear it up. However it seemed as though all he could think about, unfortunately, was mansex. Which led to thoughts of last night. Which, in turn, led to thoughts of Axel. Irritation at thoughts surrounding Axel made him think of Ven. Stupid Ven. That guy was annoying. What made him so great anyways, huh? Did he think he and Axel had a bond or something? Pfft, what did they have in common that Roxas couldn't match up to? What would Roxas have to do to prove that he was better and more compatible to Axel than that Ven kid?

"Should I get a tattoo on my face?"

Roxas had blurted out the next thing that came to mind, and Hayner gave him a strange look.

"Uh… I dunno, man? It's your face."

Deciding that he didn't want to deal with the awkwardness any longer – which would certainly only increase once Seifer came down for breakfast – Roxas snagged a muffin and a bottle of juice from the counter, grabbing a jacket and snowpants to pull on over the clothes that he had fallen asleep in, before walking right out the door.

Intending to take a walk and clear his mind, Roxas was not expecting to be accosted the moment he got out the door.

"ROXAS!"

Looking down the hill, Roxas spied Sora, who was waving at him and beaming brightly. He had some sort of ridiculous knitted hat on, with his wild brunette spikes poking out all over the place. Riku was with him, pulling on a rope handle that was attached to some strange sort of sled that Sora was sitting on. Tracks in the snow all over the hill led Roxas to guess they had been playing out there for quite a while already. They were heading back up the hill, and Roxas shoved his hands into his pockets, walking down the hill through the crunchy snow to meet them halfway and see what they were up to.

"Hey Roxas!" Sora greeted, jumping up off of the sled to greet Roxas with a happy morning hug. "You sure are out and about early today!"

"Yeaaaah." The blonde replied. "Guess I just couldn't sleep in this morning."

Riku snickered as they continued up the hill. "Sun wake you up, or did the two lovebirds decide to go for another round?" Roxas made a face at the bluntness of Riku's comment, and Sora giggled.

"Did they keep you up last night? Me and Riku could hear them goin' at it for a looooong time. All those years of rivalry bottling up must have finally exploded and morphed into some weird sort of lust craze."

Roxas was agape at Sora's perceptiveness and utterly direct assessment of the situation. Then again, maybe it was easier to joke around and be casual when you weren't the one who had walked in on Seifer and Hayner in the sack!

"Anyways, we were just playing with the sled I made, isn't it awesome?" Sora informed him. Roxas was amazed at how Sora could so easily make drastic mental skips in conversation topics. Deciding to just go with it, Roxas had a look at Sora's sled.

Blue eyes immediately widening in shock, Roxas honestly didn't know what to think of Sora's 'sled'. The thing was a monstrosity. It had obviously been the unfortunate outcome of one of Sora's 'do it yourself' crafts, and it appeared as though sled building was not one of Sora's many useless talents.

Reaching the top of the hill, Sora excitedly made a grab for his sled, setting it down in the snow and clambering on. "You wanna come, Roxas? It can fit two…"

"Uh…" Roxas struggled to come up with a response that wouldn't be perceived as rude. "That's okay. You have fun, though."

Shrugging, Sora did just that, pushing off and gliding down the hill and attempting to steer his haphazard sleigh. Nearing the bottom, he lost control, steering himself right into a tree. Roxas started in concern, but Riku just rolled his eyes.

"I'm okay!" came the optimistic shout from the bottom of the hill, along with a reassuring wave.

"So you left the springs pretty early last night."

Roxas's attention snapped to the side, but Riku wasn't even looking at him. His focus remained on Sora as the boy began his struggle up the hill, and if Roxas hadn't known any better he'd almost imagine that Riku hadn't even spoken at all.

"Yeah, so what?" the blonde retorted, realizing that he sounded defensive.

Riku shrugged, finally looking at the other boy out of the corner of his eye. "Just asking. It seemed like you and Axel were doing alright, catching up or whatever, and then you just split. We were all a little confused."

"Oh. Uh, well…" Roxas nervously licked his lips. How much did Riku know? What had he seen? Oh God, what had Axel told him?!

"Look, Roxas." Riku cut in, when it became obvious that Roxas was floundering in his mind and wasn't going to offer up an explanation. "I don't know what's up with you and Axel. By the end of last summer's trip you guys seemed… friendly. Pretty close, right?"

Riku was being indirect, but in his sharp gaze it was obvious that he knew what had been going on, at least to an extent. Roxas nodded, affirming his inquiry.

"So then what happened?" Riku continued. "We all noticed that you guys didn't really hang out anymore during school, but we thought you were both just busy or something, so we didn't ask. Even Sora, and you know how hard it is for him to keep stuff in."

Roxas shifted, looking down at his feet. As much as he pretended that he felt nothing but annoyance over having to spend time with Sora and Riku… they were his friends. He felt bad to make them concerned over him.

"And now…" Riku cautiously went on. "I dunno, it's like something weird is going on with you guys. Neither of you are acting normal, Axel especially. He's… it's weird, it's almost like he's keeping himself contained. I've never seen him do that before. Care to explain what's going on?"

"Uh…"

Honestly, as much as Roxas wanted to tell Riku that it was none of his business, there was a sort of unspoken rule around with groups of friends that everyone made everyone else's business their own, and they all worked together to sort things out. Usually the dynamics were between Sora and Riku, or within Roxas's usual Hayner/Pence/Olette group, but seeing as how lately Sora had been making an attempt to bring Roxas into their happy little family…

He almost felt like he owed Riku an explanation. The elder teen wasn't being forcefully intrusive or demanding. He was just asking. Out of concern and interest in his friends. Darnit. It would be so much easier to blow him off if he was being a jerk about it!

"I dunno…" Roxas began. "It just… we drifted apart, I guess?"

Riku scrutinized the blonde, and Roxas fidgeted under his gaze.

"Do you really mean 'we', or is it more a matter of 'I'?" he asked.

Okay now Roxas felt like getting a little defensive. "Look, it just didn't work out, okay? Sorry that me and Axel couldn't work out perfectly like some other people, but…"

Sora quietly rejoined the little group, keeping from interjecting even though he looked very curious about what was going on. He had obviously seen that Riku and Roxas were involved in some sort of important seeming conversation as he made his way up the hill, and it was a good thing he didn't interrupt, because Roxas was pretty sure he would have gotten irritated and snapped something rude to him.

"Look, I just couldn't do it, okay?" he finished with a sigh.

"But did you tell him that?" Riku pushed.

"Well…" Roxas paused. "No, but I mean it became pretty obvious, right?"

Riku raised an elegant silver eyebrow at Roxas. "You sure? Because you might wanna ask him about that. I don't think he gets what's going on with you."

"Um…" Sora suddenly spoke up, nervously fidgeting with his hands. "I'm gonna go get some hot chocolate at the lodge. I'll be back in a little bit!"

Roxas and Riku watched Sora skutter off down the slope. That kid was fast. He was a boy on a mission. Roxas couldn't think of why cocoa had suddenly become so important to him, but he had learned to not question's Sora's… way of… doing… things…

Oh crap.

"Riku, I gotta go. I, um, need something from the lodge too, I just remembered." Roxas quickly explained, already taking off.

"Uh, okay?" Riku replied, looking a little confused. "Do you want me to come with –"

"No!" Roxas shouted back, before offering up an alternate suggestion. "Go kick Seifer out of your house before he defiles it anymore than he already has."

He heard Riku's vague affirmative response, but in truth, he didn't care much what Riku did at the moment. Roxas needed to track Sora down, and he needed to do it fast and without question.

At first Roxas had been perfectly content with simply watching Sora scamper off to get his cocoa, no matter how random the impulse had been, but as the gears turned and clicked in his head he had noticed that even for Sora, there was some weird behaviour on. Sora had just crept on up, listened in on Riku and Roxas's conversation about Axel, and then – with a weird little look in his oh so innocent appearing blue eyes – had made up a hasty excuse to run off to the lodge.

More specifically, to the café.

Which was whereAxel worked.

No, this didn't sit well with Roxas at all. Not one bit. Sora was up to something, he just knew it!

Sora was a quick little sneak, Roxas soon discovered. Even though the brunette had only gotten about half a minute's head start, Sora was nowhere to be seen. His footprints in the snow, however, were a dead giveaway, and led Roxas right to the lodge doors. Stealthily slipping inside, Roxas glanced around, and saw Sora heading over to the café counter on the other side of the room.

Oh crap!

Just as Roxas was about to call out to Sora to get him to stop, the younger teen stopped, gasped, and made a sharp turn into the gift shop. Thank God for shiny things, diverting Sora's limited attention span! Roxas hurried after him, preparing to sidle on up to Sora and strike up a non-suspicious-but-still-information-gathering conversation when someone else beat him to the punch.

"Sora?"

Roxas quickly ducked behind a display rack as Axel appeared out of nowhere, a stack of boxes in his hands. CURSES! His plan of interception was foiled! No way could Roxas just waltz on over there now.

"Oh! Axel!" Sora exclaimed in surprise. "I was actually just coming to look for you – "

'HA!' Roxas's brain mentally cheered in triumph at his skills of successful deduction. 'I KNEW IT, SORA, YOU LITTLE SNEAK!'

" – but I thought you worked at the café!"

Axel raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You thought I worked at the café, so you came looking for me in the gift shop?"

The brunette looked a down with an embarrassed smile. "Well… I saw a snowglobe with glitter in it, and I just thought it would only take a minute…"

With a fond smile and a roll of his bright green eyes, Axel shifted the boxes in his arms. "Well gee, good to know I was overruled by sparkles."

'You're probably not the first.' Roxas thought.

"Well anyways!" Sora continued. "I was, uh, wondering if you had a minute? To talk?"

"Lucky you, I'm about to go on break!" Axel informed him. The guy sure seemed to get a lot of breaks, in Roxas's opinion. These ski resort people sure weren't working him very hard!

Roxas stealthily crept after them as they walked down the hall so that Axel could put his boxes away in the storage room. In a brief moment of panic, Roxas was sure they were going to lock the door, and he wouldn't be able to spy on them, but instead it was left partway open, and if Roxas stood at just the right angle he could see Axel and Sora sitting down on some crates, across from eachother as they geared up for their conversation.

"So what is it?" Axel asked, sounding interested, but a little confused.

"Oh." Sora began. "Well, uh, I was just wondering. About… about you and Roxas?"

'Damnit, Sora!' Roxas mentally swore. 'Have some tact!' He watched Axel carefully, trying to gauge a reaction, and he saw the redhead tense up slightly, indicating that he was uncomfortable with the question.

"Uh… what about us?" he hesitantly asked. "Did Roxas say something?"

Oh crap. Oh crap oh crap damnit crap fuck on a stick. Sora was going to tell Axel what he said and make him look like a complete ass!

"Not really." The brunette smoothly answered. "It just kind of seems like something weird is going on with you guys, and I wondered what it was."

Well goddamn. Sora had gained the powers of insight and discrepancy. Roxas was impressed. Not only that, but now he had the ability to overhear what Axel's assessment of the situation was with no outside influence.

"Oh…" Axel responded, and Roxas could see that he didn't look overly enthused about the direction in which the conversation was headed. "Well, uh… I'm not sure what's up. I mean… it's been a while since I last saw him. I think he said he's been busy with school?"

"Really?" Sora questioned, tilting his head in a curiously thoughtful manner.'No, Sora, no!' Roxas thought. "That's weird, I didn't think he seemed too interested in his homework this year. Or, you know… ever."

Well then. The cat was out of the bag now. Roxas barely held in a groan, not wanting to alert Axel and Sora to his presence, but needing to let out some of his frustration. All there was to do now was see how Axel processed the information.

"Oh." He responded, and Roxas could have sworn he saw the redhead's wild spikes droop a little. "Well I did think it was a pretty weak excuse… But I mean, I've seen him pretty often here and he seems… okay with me. Right?"

Sora smiled, getting up and joining Axel on his crate, pulling the taller, lankier teen into an awkward sideways hug. "I think Roxas is confused." He told Axel.

Hey! Since when did Roxas give Sora the privilege of speaking on his behalf? NEVER, that's when!

"Confused?" Axel echoed.

"Yeah." Sora assured him. "I think he was talking about it with Riku a little, and he seemed kind of stressed out about it. He's never been very good at getting his deeper emotions out, and I think you kind of… you kind of made him own up to the fact that he could express feelings for someone, you know?"

"I've been trying to tone it down…" Axel admitted. "I mean, at first it was cool to just be annoying and get him all flustered, but after he stopped calling… I mean, it was never like I got any explanation or closure or anything so I really have no idea what's up with him. As long as he's around, though, and not acting like he never wants to see me again… I guess I'm just trying to lay off so I don't overwhelm him."

"And that's good!" Sora assured him, patting down Axel's spikes like one would pet a dog who had just done something biscuit-worthy. "As long as you don't completely change yourself, anyways."

"Nah, I'm just taking it down a notch." Axel admitted with a sigh.

"Well don't worry." Sora assured him. "Roxas will come around. He usually does. He'll act like he doesn't care, but deep down. Or you know… really deep, deep down. Like really REALLY deep deep deeeeep down…"

Roxas glowered at Sora from his hiding spot.

"Like really deep. Deep deep down in the dark secret corners of his most deeply hidden –"

"Sora, I get it." Axel cut in.

"Oh. Right. Anyways, deep down, I know he cares. About me, and about Riku, and about all of his other friends, and especially about you."

There really was nothing quite like hearing yourself being talked about and analyzed when the person doing it had no idea you could hear them, Roxas realized. When people talked about other people behind their back they felt like they could say anything that they wanted about the person, whatever their truthful feelings and observations of the other person was. And the crazy thing was, Sora wasn't… he wasn'tgossiping or anything, regardless of the fact that he was talking about Roxas behind his back. He was being kind and insightful and helpful, and saying things that Roxas really wanted to refute, but knew he couldn't. Not if he was being honest with himself.

"Alright." Axel replied. "I'll keep that in mind, then."

"Good!" Sora clipped, beaming brightly. "He'll come around, you'll see."

Axel stood then, brushing the front of his pants off. "Well then, I think I gotta get going. I've got to meet up with Ven – today's his day off and I told him I'd hang with him. Hey, you haven't seen Demyx around, have you?"

Sora shook his head. "Nope, sorry."

"Alright then, I'll have to give him a call. He said he wanted to hit the slopes with you and Riku later."

"Oh cool!"

At this point Axel and Sora were moving for the door, and the Axel/Roxas conversation seemed to be over so Roxas made a hasty retreat. It certainly wouldn't do to be caught spying.

He headed out through the back entrance to the lodge, just to make sure Sora and Axel didn't see that he had been hanging around. Trudging through the snow, Roxas decided that a walk was in order to process everything that he had just heard. As he wandered and mulled things over, it became obvious that Axel didn't realize the full extent of Roxas's, ah, extended absence from his life. Roxas had purposefully cut him out, like a jerky, self-centered asshole who thought he wasn't obligated to hang around riffraff like Axel. And… there was more to it than that, but essentially that was what it came down to, as far as how he had treated Axel.

Slumping against a tree, Roxas let out a long exhale. Axel wasn't a bad person, he just… complicated things. Roxas was going to have to decide if dealing with those complications was worth it or not, sooner rather than later. He thought of Axel, wondering what he was thinking, doing. He said he'd be heading off to spend a day doing who-knows-what with Ven, right?

Argh. Ven. Roxas just couldn't stand him. He had no right to budge in and take away Axel's attention while Roxas was still trying to figure things out! Something had to be done about that.

Plopping down in the snow, Roxas drew his knees up to his chest, folding his arms over the knees and resting his chin on them. Thinking pose: check. Now all he had to do was stay put and wrack his little brain for a plan to figure things out with Axel.

Because… if he didn't do it fast, he might lose his chance forever.

Whoofah. It was going to be a looooong day.

-o-

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

What's this? Another chapter so soon after the last one? XD I certainly hope you enjoyed this surprise treat!

Haha, well you see… I realized that if I paced myself right I could make it so that the last chapter was posted on the 29th of February, and a chance like that only comes around once in every four years! I'm always really OCD about numbers for my posting dates, sooo… yeah. XD I made a little list for myself of what my posting schedule has to be like, so I'm planning on weekly updates (about), starting now.

BE PLEASED WITH ME! X3