Disclaimer : Kingdom hearts and its characters do not belong to me.

As usual, forgive me for the mistakes you'll probably find while reading.

oooOOOooo

That evening, Kairi decided it would be best to tell the truth to her friends so she explained everything, from when she started to have feelings for Hayner to the day he made moves on her and eventually got what he wanted. Of course, they were all shocked but not for the same reasons.

"So, basically, you both betrayed Olette," Axel stated after Kairi had told the whole story. He crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow, showing how much he disapproved of both the girl's and Hayner's behaviours.

"Axel!" Sora exclaimed, turning his head towards said boy with a frown on his face. "It wasn't her fault, okay? She just -"

"Willingly let him have sex with her, knowing full well he was still going out with Olette," the green-eyed redhead finished for his younger friend who, at this point, was fuming.

"He's right, Sora. I should have been more responsible," Kairi stated, her gaze not meeting the others'.

"Well, what's done is done," Axel added, shrugging his shoulders. A heavy silence followed his statement and none of the friends dared say a word, until Kairi spoke again.

"Are you guys mad at me?" she dared, biting her bottom lip nervously. She felt a hand on her shoulder and when she turned her head, she noticed it was Naminé's.

"I guess I can't fully understand but somehow, I know what you did was for the best," the blonde comforted Kairi, giving the lavender-eyed girl her warmest smile.

"Well, in the end, Sora and you aren't really going out, right?" Riku asked. Luckily for him, no one noticed how hopeful he truly was when he asked the question.

"No, we aren't," the brunet replied with a shake of his head. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you anything, Riku," he apologized, scratching the back of his head.

"It's okay," the silver-haired boy replied with a small smile.

"But really, Sora, you shouldn't go and fight with guys who are stronger than you. Look at what that brute did to that cute face of yours! You look like a… Like," Axel began, searching for the right word. "I'd say Quasimodo but even with that swollen eye, you look way cuter than him."

"Is that a compliment?" the brunet asked, arching an eyebrow while the others were trying to hide their laughter, which failed completely when Riku snorted loudly and laughed, soon followed by everyone.

"Man, you really should think twice before you try to say something nice, Axel," Riku managed to say between snickers, wiping away the tears forming in the corner of his eyes as he talked.

"Well, I'm sorry I'm not as good as you when it comes to complimenting the ladies," the redhead retorted with a fake frown. He was hit upside the head and didn't understand why until he realized what he just said.

"Dammit, I'm not a girl, you doofus!" Sora exclaimed, biting his lip so that he himself didn't start laughing. Axel could be such an idiot sometimes and not even know it.

Kairi watched as her friends had fun and smiled genuinely. Never had she thought things would go so well after they all learned about the truth. She had imagined them ditching her, calling her bad names even and just forget about her as if she was never there in the first place. She was so lucky to have them all. There was no way she'd risk losing their friendship for a second time and if that meant forgetting about Hayner, then she'd do it. After the way he had talked to her, even if she thought he was right about most of the things he said, it didn't seem so hard.

sOxOs

The next day was awkward, to say the least. Sora had most of his classes with Hayner and the blond didn't even glance at him. Well, that wasn't so surprising. They did fight, after all. And to make things worse, there were girls sitting next to the blue-eyed boy who spent the majority of the lesson talking about one-night stands and how it was disgusting to sleep with a complete stranger.

But the brunet's uneasiness was nothing compared to Riku's since he wasn't directly concerned. It was during times like this one that the silver-haired boy wished Demyx didn't have classes with him. The blond kept poking at his friend's arm to get his attention but it only made Riku more annoyed with each passing second. How he wished he could rip that damn finger and eventually listen in peace.

"Hey, you listening, pal?" Demyx insisted, no deterred by his friend's lack of attention. "Did you talk to Naminé?"

"Listen, Demyx, I don't want to talk about this, okay? Leave me alone," the younger muttered, taking notes from time to time.

"But you guys will marry really soon! The sooner you tell her everything, the better. Plus, Sora is free now so there's nothing to stop you." Wasn't Demyx growing tired of saying the same things over and over? It seemed like that wasn't the case, at least from Riku's point of view.

"Yeah, and make him think I'm just using him as a rebound?"

"That's exactly -" the blond began, smiling broadly, only to stop talking. "Oh."

"Do you get it now?"

"I still don't get why you're not letting Naminé know that –"

That was too much to bear for the poor aquamarine-eyed boy. "Just leave me alone, okay?! I know what I'm doing!" the younger snapped. He mumbled under his breath before he looked at the teacher and kept writing in his notebook.

Demyx just watched his friend with a sad expression on his face before he began drawing doodles in his own notebook. It wasn't like the class was so difficult anyway. But dropping the subject now wasn't in his mind at all.

"Y' know, I'm just saying this because I'm worried about you," the blond kept trying.

"I'm fine. Everything's fine the way it is so forget anything I said," the other replied. He glanced at his watch and noticed there were still a few minutes left before class ended. Now, that was good to know.

"Are you sure? Sora's single now, so you should hurry up and tell him how you feel before someone snatches him from you," Demyx advised his friend, who turned his head to look at him, frowning. "He's really cute so I doubt he'll stay single for too long. Maybe you shouldn't take things so lightly and talk to him."

"The way you say this, it seems like you know something that I don't," the aquamarine-eyed boy stated, indirectly ordering the blond to tell him what was going on.

"Well…"

sOxOs

"Do you think it'll be a boy?"

"How should I know?"

"I like 'Josh'. It sounds kind of cool. Or maybe 'Aaron'?"

Sora heaved a long sigh but he couldn't help but smile at his friend's enthusiasm. Kairi was so ecstatic about her baby that it seemed like it could be contagious. Heck, he himself felt a bit annoyed but slowly, he began to find this amusing. Maybe it really was contagious…

"Sora? Are you listening?" the redhead asked when she noticed the brunet had been completely silent for a few minutes.

"Sorry. What were you saying?" the blue-eyed boy apologized with a sheepish smile.

"I was asking you what kind of girl names you like."

"Weren't you talking about boy names before?" Sora asked, confused.

"Since I don't know what gender my baby is yet, I should think of both girl and boy names," Kairi stated as if it were obvious.

"But parents usually wait until they know about their child's gender before they think of a name, don't they?"

Silence met his statement.

"So? Do you have any ideas?"

The brunet sighed. "Not yet but I'll tell you when I get some," he eventually replied. The truth was he didn't really want to try to help her. Not that he was lazy but he felt it wasn't really his place to choose a name for the child. It was just to help her though. Maybe he really was lazy after all.

Now, he wanted to see Riku and ask for his opinion on the matter. He could already picture the silver-haired boy laughing his ass off because of the stupidity of it all. Or maybe he would only tell him he shouldn't be so anxious about such a trivial matter. He was only helping, nothing more.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm only helping a friend," he whispered, staring at his room's ceiling. He didn't know how much time had passed since he came back to the dorm and lay in bed but it must have been pretty late since Riku was also in the room.

"Helping who with what?" the aquamarine-eyed boy asked, arching a curious eyebrow as he turned around in his chair to look at the younger. He was beginning to wonder why his friend hadn't said a single work since he came back from class and now that Sora decided to clearly show he wasn't dead, what he was saying didn't make sense to him.

"Oh, you're here? Man, it must be pretty late, then," the spiky-haired teen answered, sitting up and searching for his alarm-clock, which read ten past eighteen.

"What's wrong with you?" Riku asked, now a bit worried. He stood up and walked towards his best friend's bed. "It's not like you to be that out of it."

"You'll say it's just stupid," the younger muttered, pouting cutely even though it wasn't intended. That is, for it to look cute.

"Of course I won't. Have I ever told you something like that?"

"Well, there was this time when we were at the beach and I was afraid of that jellyfish. You made fun of me and called me stupid. Then, you also said that when I admitted I didn't know how to make babies when we were in middle school. And there was also-"

"Okay, okay, I get it," the older cut him off, rubbing the back of his neck. "I won't make any mean comments this time, promise."

"Don't take it so seriously, I was just teasing you," the brunet told him with a small grin, not knowing what the older boy's reaction would be but it seemed like he didn't really care. Riku just kept staring at him, waiting for his explanation.

Sora heaved a soft sigh. "Kairi and I were talking during class, today. She was thinking about what name to give her baby and she wanted me to help her."

Riku waited for the younger to continue but when the latter remained silent for a while, he figured that was all he had to say. The silver-haired boy arched an eyebrow.

"And… That is what's bothering you so much?"

"I told you it was stupid," the brunet muttered as he lied down and rolled to his side, avoiding the taller boy's gaze.

Riku heaved a soft sigh and lay beside his friend, looking at the ceiling. He could see a few spider web cobs here and there. Maybe it really was time to clean up their room.

"Listen, I think I can understand how you're feeling about this," the taller began, still not meeting the other's gaze. It wasn't like he could since Sora had his back turned towards him anyway. "It's okay to be anxious. Kairi's a good friend, you've helped her a lot until things turned the way they did and you're still staying by her side and helping her. Somehow, I guess it must feel like that child's really yours."

"I know it's not mine," the blue-eyed boy replied, eventually turning around so he could look at Riku.

"Yeah. After all, I bet you still don't know how to make babies," Riku teased his friend, which earned him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Seriously, Sora, you don't have to be so nervous. As long as you know you're only there as a friend, it's okay."

It seemed like the brunet wasn't convinced. Sora said nothing and lowered his gaze, staring at nothing in particular. He looked up, though, when he felt a hand patting his head softly.

"You've always taken things to heart," Riku whispered with a soft smile playing on his lips.

When it was returned, he knew for sure that his best friend felt better now. He was about to run his fingers through soft, brown spikes but the door suddenly opened, a shy voice greeting them.

"Hey, guys. How are you-" Naminé began, only to remain silent when she found her soon to be husband lying in bed with another man. Thank god, they both had clothes on. "What are you doing?" she asked warily, frowning a bit.

"We were just talking, don't worry," Sora replied, sitting up. He could feel his heart beating quite fast due to the close proximity between Riku and him a few seconds ago. He couldn't let it show on his face, though. He didn't want his friends to have a possible fight because of him. "Anyway, did you come to see Riku, Naminé? Do you need me to leave you guys alone?" He added, already standing and making to exit the room.

"Well, there's that, too," the blonde admitted sheepishly, sorry to ask Sora to leave his own room. "But on my way here, I met Axel. He wanted to have a word with you."

"Axel? What did he want?" the blue-eyed boy asked, raising a curious eyebrow. Sure, the redhead was a good friend but he generally spent time in his room studying hard for exams and doing whatever else medicine students had to do.

"I don't know. He just told me he'd wait for you in that park nearby."

"Alright, thanks for telling me," Sora thanked her with a bright smile. "Just give me a few seconds and I'm out of here."

"Take your time. I'm imposing, after all," Naminé apologized with a shy smile.

"Don't say that. You're free to come see your lover whenever you want. Well, except in the middle of the night 'cause, obviously, I need to get some sleep," the younger teased. He put his coat on and left the room with a quick wave sent towards the couple before shutting the door.

A quite heavy silence fell on the two then and Riku felt this conversation wasn't going to be pleasant. He truly hoped his future wife didn't get the wrong idea when she saw them half-hugging in bed, even if whatever she might have thought surely wasn't far from the truth. The more the aquamarine-eyed boy thought about it, the more nervous he grew. He took a few deep breathes to settle his pounding heart and hoped Naminé didn't notice.

"Actually, there is something that's been bothering me for a while," the blonde began.

"Here we go," the boy thought, stopping himself from rolling his eyes.

"It seems like you've been bothered by something lately. I don't know, it's like you're… Really distant. At first, you seemed thrilled when we talked about getting engaged but the more time passes and the more you seem against the idea. We don't talk as much and you're loosing interest in – in me," she stuttered, her voice a soft whisper at the end. She felt so selfish, saying this, but that was what she felt deep inside. "Is it because of something I did? Or said?"

Riku heaved a soft sigh and closed his eyes. He wasn't so good at hiding his secret, after all.

"It's not your fault, Naminé. I'm just feeling a bit down but it'll go away soon. I promise," the older told her girlfriend, faking a smile.

As if he'd really get over Sora. He couldn't even convince himself so he wouldn't be too surprised if she didn't believe him. He saw the blue-eyed girl frown lightly, clearly thinking hard about the matter. Riku could see her tiny, pale hands shaking a bit but she covered it by lacing her fingers tightly. Her mouth opened, then closed a few times as she struggled to get the words out. What she wanted to say obviously made her nervous. Maybe even scared.

"Do you – Do you want to cancel it?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Maybe we're… Maybe we're still too young for this. We should probably wait, at least until we've finished college."

"Naminé, it's –"

"Actually, I'd prefer it if you agreed," she cut him off abruptly, wiping a tear that had managed to escape from the corner of her eye.

"But you seemed so happy that we were getting engaged. I'm not sure I understand your reaction," Riku admitted, now completely lost. What was it with women and their sudden changes of heart? It wasn't like Naminé, though. Or maybe she was having her periods?

"And that wasn't faked, really," she immediately explained, eventually turning her head towards her boyfriend who still didn't quite get it. "Marriage seemed great when it was still a thought but now that I realize it's really going to happen, I'm actually nervous and I'm not sure it was such a good idea." She let the tears fall freely down her cheeks and didn't bother wiping them away this time. "Seeing as we've become less close for the last few weeks, I'm afraid it won't last more than a few months."

The words left a bitter taste in her mouth. It felt like she was blaming Riku for this and she hated herself because that was what she truly thought. Riku didn't look at her any more, didn't smile at her as much any more, didn't hold hands with her any more. Heck, they didn't even go further than kissing and they've been together for three years! What was wrong with him? She wasn't repulsive, was she? And now, she felt really angry at him.

"I'm sorry I've made you feel that way," Riku sincerely apologized, his gaze not meeting the blonde's.

"Is that all you have to say?" she asked, stunned. Her eyes grew wide on her face and she gaped like a fish out of water. That look would have made the silver-haired teen laugh his ass off if the situation wasn't so serious. "Don't you think something's seriously wrong?"

"What is?" the other asked a bit harshly, getting defensive.

"Riku, all we've done during those years was kissing and holding hands. I mean, you don't even look at me like some boys look at other girls. Don't you have hormones too? Or maybe I'm not pretty enough?"

Oh how she hated to act like that and every word that left her mouth made her feel like Riku was more and more unreachable. Hadn't she come to mend things? Instead of making Riku pissed, her words made him feel ashamed. He'd never considered sex as a part of their relationship since he wasn't interested in having it with girls, and he only realized now that he never considered Naminé's thoughts on the matter.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't –" Riku began, only to be cut off once more.

"I think we need to put some distance between us for awhile," she eventually told him, standing. She vigorously wiped at her cheeks to erase any evidence of her crying.

"No, Naminé! I swear I'll be more careful. Whatever you want us to do, I'll accept gladly," the boy promised, standing too. He made to embrace her but small hands pushed him back softly.

"I need some time, Riku," was all Naminé said before she left the room. He felt awful. Not because of her tears nor because of her wish to separate from him for a while. What hurt the most was that little voice in the back of his head that ignored the girl's pain and kept saying that he might finally be free very soon.

sOxOs

The least one could say was that the weather was pretty nice knowing it was the middle of October. A simple coat was still enough to keep oneself from getting cold and Sora liked that a great deal. He wasn't one for winter and every year he cursed whatever deity decided it would be the longest season of the year. Really, he liked summer so much better. He could go to the beach and spend an entire day lying on the sand and let his skin get that light brown shade Kairi liked so much. She envied his sun-kissed skin since she herself couldn't stay too long under the sun. She told him once that her having red hair was the main reason but it still didn't help him understand why she avoided the star like the plague.

Blue orbs moved from the ground to their surroundings in search of the male redhead who happened to be sitting in a wooden bench facing the middle of the park, where tables had been set to let the students play table tennis. It had been a long time since Sora played it. He wondered if Riku would mind playing with him one of these days.

"Hey," he said softly as he approached Axel. He took a sit next to the much taller boy and thrust his hands in his coat pockets.

"Hey," replied the other, not bothering to look at the younger. "So, I assume Naminé fulfilled her mission. I should give her a nice reward, then," he added with a smirk plastered to his lips. The brunet could see the mischievous glint in the other's eyes even when he could only see him from the side.

"Yeah," was the smart reply the blue-eyed boy gave. Silence followed but strangely enough, it didn't make any of them feel awkward but eventually, Sora couldn't take it any longer. "She seemed quite down when I left my room. Do you have any idea why?"

He could see a frown making its way on Axel's face as the redhead thought. Obviously, he had an idea.

"Well, I'd say it has something to do with Riku but I'm not too sure, though," the older eventually replied, stretching his legs and looking at his worn-out tennis sneakers. So that was the reason why his classmates laughed whenever he entered the lecture hall. Those stupid, penny loafer wearers. At least his shoes were cool and didn't make his feet hurt.

"Riku?" the younger repeated, genuinely surprised. "But things seem fine between them."

"Do you think so?" the other asked, lifting an eyebrow. "You're not one observant kid, are you?" Sora was about to tell him he wasn't a kid when Axel continued. "These two don't seem as close as before. I haven't known them for as long as you guys but I can tell by looking at them. Riku sat more and more often next to you even though you two weren't talking that much."

The younger chose not to comment on that particular matter.

"Anyway, how are things with Kairi?" Axel asked, quickly changing the subject.

For a moment, the blue-eyed boy wondered if that was the reason why Axel wanted to talk to him but he quickly scratched that. He could ask Kairi herself.

"We're fine. She talks a lot about her baby. My, I don't even want to be there when it's born. I guess she'll talk non stop about it and show it all around campus," the brunet joked with a goofy smile. "It's nice to see she takes this so well. She's really strong, actually."

"Women can be full of surprises sometimes, even if said surprises aren't always good ones," the redhead added with a grin. "That's why men are so much better. No surprises at all."

"Don't you start with that. You know I hate this particular conversation," the brunet muttered. He was the kind of boy who would gladly forget the world whenever someone began talking about which sex was better. In his opinion, both had good and bad sides. End of story.

"Back to sweet Kairi, it's only natural for her to be this proud. It's her first child and she wants to give birth to it. Of course she'd babble about it. Actually, it's kinda cute, don't you think?"

"I guess it is," the other admitted with a light blush on his cheeks. "Anyway, what was it that you wanted to tell me? Don't tell me it's about Kairi 'cause I won't believe it."

His bluntness took Axel aback but he recovered from the small shock fast.

"Someone's impatient, I see," the older teased as he slung an arm on the bench's back, behind Sora. "I was just curious about something. It's a bit personal, though."

He took a quick look at his friend to gauge his reaction but when all he saw was a confused expression, he decided to go straight to the point.

"Are you gay?"

Now, if Axel didn't believe it was possible to choke on one's own spit, he couldn't say the same any more. He didn't know what to do as he watched the brunet cough, his face turning a bright shade of red really quickly, so he just rubbed Sora's back.

"Where did that come from?!" the younger exclaimed once he was fine again. His friend could see the small amount of fear in his eyes and he wondered what the blue-eyed boy was scared about.

"Well, seeing as you attacked my mouth at that party and all, I was just wondering," the other replied with a sheepish smile. "I didn't know it'd surprise you that much."

"I was drunk, okay? I didn't realize what I was doing at the time," the smaller defended himself, crossing his arms and pouting.

"Kairi got smashed many times but she never tried to kiss Naminé or Olette," the other made known. "Anyway, you sure you don't like guys? Not even a little?"

"What does it matter to you, anyway?" Sora retorted a bit too harshly. He cleared his throat and tried again, this time more calmly. "I mean, why do you want to know?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Axel asked, a blank expression on his face. "You really are slow," he added as he let his hand on the bench's back rise a bit so that his fingers could play with a strand of hair at the base of the other's neck. That small gesture was enough to help Sora understand what Axel was trying to say.

"Wha- You mean..?" the brunet stuttered, pointing at himself. "But why are you only asking now?"

"Oh, I don't know. I think it has to do with the fact that I've only met you last year and didn't know you well enough. Or maybe that's because you made everyone think you were going out with Kairi and-"

"Alright, I get your point," Sora cut him off, shaking his head. "I just don't know," he added, heaving a long, miserable sigh.

"Am I not your type?" the other asked, raising a single eyebrow. "You can just say it, y' know. I won't hold it against you, promise."

"It's not that, really. You're very attractive and frankly, I'm a bit surprised that you'd want to go out with me but," the younger began, getting more and more nervous.

"But..?"

"I can't tell him I like someone who's getting married in a month!" the younger mentally screamed. So he juts said the first thing that came to his mind. "Never mind."

"Okay. So, do you agree?" Axel asked after a short pause, not losing hope just yet.

And once again, the brunette didn't reply right away. "This could be my chance to try and forget about Riku. I don't really like the idea of using Axel like that but as long as he doesn't know, I think it's okay," he thought.

"Yes," he eventually replied with a bright smile.

sOxOs

It really was a nice day. Kairi was lying on her bed, reading a comic Naminé had bought a few days ago and laughing at the jokes the author had thrown here and there. She was currently waiting for her roommate's return, who had told her she needed to have a quick talk with Riku. Her expression had let the redhead know this was something serious so she hadn't tried to know what was going on. She figured it only concerned the two lovers.

Kairi let a hand rest on her stomach that had been hurting a bit for the past few hours. Stress could do that to you so with everything that had happened with Hayner, Olette and even Sora, she wasn't all that surprised. She was turning the page she was reading when the door opened suddenly, revealing a very angry and very sad Naminé who simply headed for her own bed and fell on it on her stomach, hiding her face in her folded arms. The redhead watched her worriedly, not really knowing what had happened that made the blonde so upset and not knowing if she should try and talk to her or just leave her alone for a while.

"Naminé," she whispered, eventually deciding that talking would be better. She got up and kneeled in front of her friend's bed, reaching out to put a comforting hand on a shaking shoulder. It was an undeniable proof that the other was crying.

"That idiot, he said nothing!" Naminé suddenly exclaimed, making the other girl jump at her outburst. "I told him he was nearly ignoring me and everything and all he could say was he was sorry. He didn't even try to give me a reason!" she continued, sitting up and hitting her pillow repeatedly.

Kairi stared at her, silently sorry for that poor pillow that had done nothing wrong. "Maybe he was just confused?" she offered.

"Confused?" the blonde repeated softly. "Confused?!" she then exclaimed more loudly, twisting her head to frown at Kairi.

"I don't know why he didn't reply but I guess there was a reason," she defended herself, standing. Pain shot through her at the motion but she just ignored it, not even wincing. "How should I know?" she mumbled, going back on her bed and resuming her previous activity.

Naminé said nothing for a while. She wanted to apologize to the lavender-eyed but couldn't. Not right now. Obviously, Kairi couldn't help her figure out why Riku was acting so strangely and Riku himself didn't want to tell her anything. That only left the other boys. She could always ask them a few questions, just to know if they also noticed something was wrong. And if they didn't…

"I'll just have to call him if I can't figure out what is wrong with Riku," she decided, nodding curtly.

Kairi lifted her gaze up towards the blonde and gulped nervously. If what she thought would happen was going to happen, then she'd better warn Riku.

oooOOOooo

I'm so sorry this chapter is so short but I can't continue it for now. Not that I don't want to but it's better for the story if I end it now. I'll try to make the next chapter longer. I think I'll make things go a bit faster from now on. I'm afraid this story will soon get boring if I keep on delaying the main events. Anyway, thanks a bunch for your lovely reviews. You guys are so nice! D