A/N: ugh, i know this chapter is short, but i'm trying to get through all the talking and to the action or whatever, but the reviews for this are...lacking, to say the least. so, honestly I NEED MORE MOTIVATION (FYI MOTIVATIONREVIEWS!!). i really intend for this story to pick up a bit, sorry its so dialogue heavy, but i'm working to stop that asap, as in this chapter is hopefully the last one that's like, talktalktalkpivottalk. you get me.

Disclaimer: uh, no, i don't own kingdom hearts. lack of akuroku smexme no own.

...

"S-Superior?" Axel spoke incredulously.

Roxas fought the urge to run from the increasingly awkward moment. "Dad?"

Axel's head whipped around so fast Roxas was surprised he hadn't completely lost his balance – or broken his neck. "Dad?!"

Indeed Xemnas stood in the doorway, looking down at the two with mild shock lining his sharp features. His hair was still long and the same platinum white, which drastically contrasted his tan skin, making it seem darker than it was. His eyes, however, did not hold the same blatant, fury that they did when he lead the Organization.

Xemnas's eyes darted back and forth between the two before settling on Axel. He took a moment to stare at the redhead before addressing him with a slow yet powerful voice.

"Number Eight?"

Axel was clearly at a loss for words, he tried to say something several times, but never quite managed coherent language until he said, a little too loudly, "Xemnas is your father?!"

Roxas sighed and placed her head in her hands. It was stressful enough before her father decided to suddenly burst through the door of his own house all unexpectedly. Don't people call anymore?

"Yes, I am." Xemnas drawled, taking a step forward into his house and shutting the door behind him. He gave Roxas a calculating look before turning to Axel. "It's been awhile, Axel. Exactly when did you get here?"

Axel just stared, mind obviously working a little slower than usual. Roxas imagined it must have been pretty unnerving to suddenly be confronted by the ruthless leader of an Organization he had not only once been a part of but betrayed. And no matter how different the situation this time, Roxas knew her father could be more than intimidating in most circumstances.

"Uh…I just got here."

Xemnas looked between the two of them, his face carefully blank.

"And what, exactly, have you two been doing?"

Roxas let out an embarrassed cry before Axel could decipher what Xemnas meant. As leader of the Organization, Xemnas had not been unaware of Axel and Roxas's 'relationship', and now, it was only natural for Xemnas to be suspicious, and a little protective of his only daughter.

Regardless, Roxas was unable to stop herself from blushing. "Dad for the love of God! We've just been talking."

Xemnas's eyebrows rose at Roxas's outburst. There was a moment where no one spoke, the only sound being Axel's awkward mumbling as he tried to deal with the situation.

Then he smiled. Roxas saw Axel jump at the sight, which was understandable, all the Organization XIII members had learned quickly enough that it was never a good sign when Xemnas smiled.

The look on his face this time, however, was genuine and filled with an innocent humor that Roxas was quite used to by now.

"Well, carry on then. I just came home to see if you needed a ride tonight."

Roxas shook her head. "No, thanks." Since Sora had taken the car, she wasn't really sure how she was planning on getting to the club tonight, but she'd sooner run naked through the streets than endure ten minutes in the car with Axel and her father. This was awkward enough.

Xemnas surveyed the two for a moment longer before nodding. "Alright. You two should hurry and be on your way then." He made a motion with his hand. "You want to get there early."

Roxas nodded, shuffling her feet slightly. "Uh, yeah we were just leaving. Demyx should be there early to set up, so we can meet him."

"I'm disappointed I have to miss it." Xemnas stepped past the two and dropped off his coat. "Apologize to Dem for me will you, Roxas?"

Again, Roxas nodded, desperate to get out of this situation and talk to Axel in private. She reached out and grabbed his hand, gripping it tightly to hide the fact that she was shaking. She pulled a slightly disoriented Axel towards the door, stopping only when she heard her father speak again.

"Oh and, Axel?"

Axel turned his head and stared at his former Superior.

Xemnas smiled again, however this one looked a bit more threatening. "I may have gotten over the 'betrayal'," Axel flinched, "but Roxas is my daughter." He narrowed his eyes. "And I expect you to be a gentleman."

Roxas was sure at that moment that she was going to die of humiliation. In the back of her mind she silently thanked the heavens that she had never had a boyfriend before. Xemnas had become quite the protective father, and it embarrassed the hell out of her.

"We're leaving!" Roxas shouted before pulling Axel out onto the porch and shutting the door behind them.

Letting go of Axel's hand, though not without a twinge of regret, Roxas turned away from him and started walking down the sidewalk, trusting Axel to follow.

After a moment Axel fell in step beside her. Still a little dazed. "Well, that was weird."

Roxas grunted in confirmation, her gaze trained to the sidewalk. This wasn't exactly how Roxas hoped her little reunion with her former…'best friend' would go. And after all this time of fighting feminine stereotypes, Roxas had defiantly never felt more like a nervous high school girl than she did right now.

All of a sudden, Roxas stopped, waiting until she heard Axel stop as well before looking up. Dammit, this is where she needs to start acting like a man…well, sort of. She'd waited long enough to talk to Axel, and she was determined not to wait any longer.

"Hey, Axel."

Axel turned to face her, expression unreadable. "Yeah?"

"Do you, um…" God, she felt ridiculous, "what the hell are we doing?"

Axel gave her a curious look. "Going to see Demyx?"

Roxas glared at him. "That's not what I meant, Axel." She crossed her arms over her chest and forced herself to get through this conversation. "I'm asking you what you and me are doing."

Axel gave her a blank look, though she knew he understood what she was getting at. Still she decided to play along.

"Axel, back in the Organization, we…well, hell you know what we did! We went way beyond the boundaries of friendship, and I'm asking you where that leaves us now."

Axel's face paled. He shifted uncomfortably and seemed to have trouble looking her in the eyes. "Uh, Rox, I-"

"No, no." Roxas waved her hand, signaling him to stop. She felt an excuse coming on, and that's not what she wanted. Roxas had always been a very blunt, get-to-the-point kind of person. She wanted a straight and honest answer from the redhead. "I'll make this easy on you." She stood akimbo, and he seemed a little intimidated by her, even though she was still a good head shorter than him. "Before I left," Roxas saw Axel's pale green eyes sadden slightly, "you told me you loved me, even though we didn't have hearts." Axel's eyes had widened. "What I'm asking you now is 'do you still love me'?"

If Axel had looked uncomfortable in front of Xemnas, he looked twice as awkward now. "Look, Roxas, it's not that-"

"No!" Roxas almost shouted. She had to struggle to keep herself from breaking down at the sound of oncoming rejection. "Axel I don't want excuses! I'm a big girl, dammit, and I don't need you to sugarcoat things for me! It's a simple question: yes or no?"

Axel met her gaze. Roxas suddenly felt the years the spent they'd apart more than ever. There was a time when Roxas knew Axel better than she knew herself, as cliché as that sounds. But now Axel's face was more unreadable to her than ever. Perhaps that was because they didn't have hearts before?

"Roxas, I…" Axel hung his head a little, shoulders drooping. "I don't know."

As these words hit Roxas she was sure that whatever heart she'd obtained had just withered and died in her chest. Though she found some small comfort in the fact that Axel hadn't just rejected her here and now, she still couldn't help how broken she felt at that moment.

However, Roxas was and always had been a professional at guarding her emotions. So her face was kept carefully stoic as she nodded. "Fair enough."

"Roxas…" Axel started, looking a little uncertain.

Roxas just shrugged. "look, I understand." Did she? "Let's deal with this later, Demyx will be playing soon, and I'm honestly stressed enough…"

Axel stared at her a moment longer before nodding slowly, and the two of them continued walking.

Roxas cleared her throat. She couldn't handle silence right now, and even though she had possibly just lost the one man she'll ever love, she was still pretty happy to see him. They had been best friends, once upon a time.

"So, Axel, where the hell have you been, exactly?"

...

A/N: lol, REAL PLOT IS COMING! right now it's just talking and shit. next chapter is gonna be mostly action and that's where the fun begins, i hope. but seriously if i don't get MORE REVIEWS i wont update as often. i need motivation. even if it's just critisizm. i do care about what u think as far as writing style and how i portray characters. is it fluid? boring as hell? got suggestions for upcoming chapters?

REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, PLEASE! (i use caps so the people who don't read author's notes know what i want from them: REVIEWS...do i sound desperate?)