A/N: I would like to once again send a THANK YOU TO ALL MY REVIEWERS! You really encourage me! I know I had some random pairings in the last chapter. I read a story once where Luxord defended Larxene when she yelled or something. The two of them never really talked in it, but I thought, "hey, they'd go well together." So I paired them up. Lexeaus and Yuffie…there is no explanation. I just pictured Lexeaus and I wanted to pair him with some girl (I don't like it when everyone's gay – it's unrealistic and less exciting) and I just suddenly thought…"Yuffie?" And they are very contrasting, Lexeaus is all quiet and calm, Yuffie…not so much ;)

ZackxCloud are perfect for each other, so I don't think that pairing needs an explanation (OTP anyone?).

Plot: Demyx's concert…thing (can you tell I don't know what to call it?) is starting! Afterwards everyone heads over to Demyx's! But alas, what has Yuffie and Lexeaus so concerned…?

Disclaimer: there was no naked Axel, therefore, I do not own the game KH…Or FF, 'cus they killed Zack. This story is mine though.

Continuing with Axel's POV

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A dark haired, and very large breasted, woman walked up to the microphone as Axel, Roxas, and Zexion took seats at one of the tables. Axel stared at the woman he did not recognize and scoffed. No way those things we're real.

She cleared her throat, calling the attention of the women and any other man who wasn't already ogling her chest. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am so glad to see so many of you gathered here tonight. We have a very special guest this evening: straight from Twilight Town High, Demyx O'Donohue!"

Demyx walked out on stage and waved to the crowd – which, Axel had noticed, was in no way meager. He seemed, to Axel, to be his usual, bubbly, full of confidence and sunshiny rainbows self. There wasn't a hint of fear or discomfort in his demeanor. At least, not that Axel could see.

"Evening everyone!" The crowd, at least half of which knew or was related to Demyx in some way, cheered loudly. In Axel's peripheral vision, he could see Roxas bouncing nervously in her seat, and reaching out to grip Zexion's arm rather tightly. The tension and excitement was practically radiating from the blond, and Axel only then realized just how close the two blond former-Nobodies had become in his absence.

And, honestly, Axel was a little jealous.

Ok, so he was practically livid at that point, but whatever. Axel still had enough common sense and self control left to realize that he had only just entered Roxas's life, while Demyx had been her friend for years. He couldn't expect to just suddenly appear and immediately become Roxas's bestest, closest buddy after only a few hours. Especially when, in those few hours, Axel had already managed to deny his love for her.

But that didn't mean Axel couldn't seethe quietly.

Demyx spoke again after the cheering died down and Axel redirected his attention to the stage. "I'd like to do a few songs for you guys, if you don't mind." A few people confirmed that they didn't mind at all, and Axel distinctly heard Larxene shout out – rather loudly – "It's why we're here, Nocturne, get on with it!"

Hearing Larxene call Demyx by his old nickname really brought on a sense of nostalgia. It…wasn't an entirely unwelcomed feeling.

Demyx smiled in Larxene's direction. "These are all songs I wrote myself, so, I hope you enjoy them."

Demyx settled down on the barstool provided and pulled his guitar into his lap. How many times, Axel wondered, had he and Roxas, and sometimes a few other members, sat down together to listen to Demyx play like this?

Demyx leaned towards the microphone and almost whispered – a sound that was amplified by the devise at his lips – "My first song I'll be playing for you is cleverly entitled Maybe."

Axel visibly shivered at his words, and a glance in Roxas's direction told him she'd reacted much the same. Their gazes locked together for a moment and something unreadable flashed through her eyes before she turned away again.

Once Demyx started strumming out the familiar tune of a song Axel had heard so many times before, yet never once in his life, it was confirmed. This song…Demyx used to sing it all the time in the Organization. It was the first song he'd ever written, and he'd played it for Axel and Roxas before anyone else, as he was quite close to them in those days. Demyx had inquired to Roxas what he should name it, and Roxas – who, Axel later discovered, was a lot more creative than he let on at that moment – had suggested Demyx just name the song Maybe.

And he did.

Demyx did several songs and the redhead was impressed, but not surprised, to find that the man's music skills had changed little from what he remembered. He even recognized a few of the lyrics to certain songs. Demyx never let his status as a Nobody (or an Organization member) stop him from 'living his life' as he put it. He'd spend hours composing music, strumming out songs on his Sitar, and writing down random lines when they struck him – even in the middle of missions.

Axel stared ahead for most of the song, but his eyes were determinedly taking in the blond to his left. Roxas was perched on her seat at full attention, occasionally singing along quietly with Demyx. Her hand rarely left Zexion's arm as she listened to Demyx play. Even Zexion's normally stoic face managed to conjure up some emotion. Once again, Axel couldn't quite quell the jealousy rising up at the fact that it wasn't him Roxas was clinging to.

Axel guessed that Roxas's must've noticed his tension – she was always good at reading him, even though he was sure his emotions were palpable at this point – because after the first song ended and the second began, she snaked her hand over to his shoulder. When he turned to look at her she smirked – which Axel immediately understood to be an apologetic smile – and leaned over to him to whisper: "I'm glad you're here for this, Axel."

Axel couldn't stop the grin that sprung up at these words and he managed to mumble out a: "yeah, me too." Roxas nodded and turned her gaze back to Demyx, allowing her hand to slide down Axel's arm lightly before she laced her fingers with his. Axel, up until that moment, had forgotten just how much he'd missed something as simple as holding hands with Roxas. It comforted him with its familiarity and meaning. To know that they could still interact with each other in the same way they had before, well, it just heightened Axel's hope for the future.

If he didn't fuck it up with his idiocy, he supposed.

Half way through Demyx's third or fouth song Axel's gaze traveled to where Lexeaus and that girl…Yuhfie, or something, were sitting. The two looked incredibly tense sitting next to each other, and Axel didn't miss the way their gazes occasionally glanced over to peer at Roxas.

It unnerved him, to put it lightly. Axel had always been very protective when it came to Roxas. And, to be honest, Axel had a lot on his plate right now. He had suddenly flung himself – willingly, even – into a situation that brought up a past he'd mostly wanted to forget. He didn't want any outside issues being brought between them, especially since Axel seemed to be so good at creating those issues on his own.

When Demyx finished his last song, he got a standing ovation. Even Axel couldn't help the pride he felt as his friend bowed to the crowd and thanked them passionately for their praise. Roxas looked excited but exhausted, the stress having finally taken its toll. Even Zexion looked a little relieved as he smiled up at Demyx. The look on Zexion's face at that moment made Axel's chest constrict slightly.

Roxas used to give him that same look.

...(finally, a scene break!)...

After the show, Demyx invited everyone back to his house. Zexion, of course, agreed to go, as did Roxas – after making sure Axel was coming too. Lexeaus and his girlfriend came also, as well as Roxas's brother, Cloud, and – to Axel's slight irritation – Zack.

Axel hadn't paid much notice to Demyx's home when he'd arrived there earlier (his only intention at the time was finding Roxas). But now, as he entered the foyer with the group, he allowed himself a moment to observe his surroundings.

The house was so very…Demyx, he guessed. There was no other way to put it. Music was clearly an important theme of the household. Sheets of music littered the kitchen table and much of the surrounding floor, all covered with notes and scribbles. Old records lined the walls, some (Axel assumed the more rare ones) were even framed. In one of the rooms, several different instruments were piled against the wall and Axel wouldn't have been surprised if Demyx could play all of them.

Everything – furniture, carpets, walls – were primarily influenced by blue or green, giving the house a calm and fluid feeling. Like water. There was even a rather large fish tank against one of the walls in the living area. It was filled with an abundance of the most colorful and unique looking fish Axel had ever seen. A photo of a man (Axel would later discover to be Demyx's father, Cid) hung above the tank. He wore a flying outfit and goggles, standing in front of a small, Wright brothers-esque plane. Roxas explained to him that Cid was a pilot.

They all gathered in the largest room – the one with the fish tank – and sat around one of the coffee tables as Demyx talked adamantly about how it felt to sing in front of a crowd. Rikku, Demyx's sister who seemed almost as eccentric as he was, came in to congratulate her brother briefly before leaving with a group of friends to God knows where.

Roxas entered the room after a bathroom break and moved to where Axel had sat down on the couch, making as if to crawl into his lap like she used to do when they were still in the Organization. Axel as well had made room for the blond, almost opening his arms to pull her into an embrace, but they both seemed to catch themselves at the same time, freezing for a very awkward moment before Roxas turned sharply settled into the chair opposite the couch and Axel.

Axel tried not to look too crestfallen. After all, he'd brought it on himself. Hah! A mere half a day amongst Roxas and the others and Axel had already managed to make life uncomfortable and irritating in some way or another.

The group of them spent much of the night, surprisingly enough, singing. Apparently this was commonplace at Demyx's house, as few people showed any amount of surprise when Demyx jumped up and shouted: "Hey, guys! Know what we should do now?"

Roxas audibly groaned from her perch across from Axel. "Demyx…" she literally whined the boy's name, as if she knew what was coming. "It's late and we're tired." She sent him a glare. "You may have had an easy time today, but I spend most of the evening a nervous wreck. Can't we just…watch a movie? Or…sleep for a couple weeks?"

Demyx just laughed and launched himself at Roxas, wrapping her in an affectionate hug. Axel had to consciously refrain himself from leaping up and pulling them apart (and beating the stuffing out of Demyx).

"Oh, but Roxie!" Axel glared a little. Did he just call her 'Roxie'? Axel liked Demyx, but his chances at survival were getting lower by the minute. "Come, on, it'll be fun! You know you want to!"

Cloud grinned from his seat next to Zack and nodded, propping an elbow on the other's shoulder. "Yeah, come on, Rox, don't spoil our fun with your negativity."

Roxas sent Cloud a death glare but in the end she sighed. "Whatever."

Demyx squealed and jumped up, moving to a karaoke machine set up across the room. He flipped it on and tossed a mike to Roxas, who reluctantly caught it, and picking the other one up himself. Roxas sent a sidelong glance at Axel who just grinned at her, determined to act casual and rejuvenate the relationship they'd once shared at all costs.

Roxas rolled her eyes. "What song De-" Roxas cut herself off as the music began to start and groaned again. Axel heard Zack whoo! rather loudly as a song he'd recognized from his childhood began playing.

Axel screwed up his face and looked at Zexion. "Uh, Lion King?"

Zexion smirked, flipping a page in the book he'd started reading the moment he sat down. He shrugged. "Dem has a thing for Disney movies." He didn't elaborate further.

Axel raised an eyebrow and was about to say something else when Demyx's thunderous and overly excited voice rang throughout the house. How Demyx can conduct a mini-concert, then turn around and sing karaoke without having his voice crack, Axel would never know.

"I'm gonna be a mighty king! So enemies BEWARE!"

Next came Roxas's voice. Her obvious disdain for the current situation made her tone fit quite well with the character she was singing for. Axel, who'd never had a chance to hear the blond sing before, was startled at how…beautiful her voice sounded. "Well, I've never seen a king of beasts with quite so little hair."

A loud chorus of cheers and hollers sounded at Roxas's singing, and Axel found himself joining in. Roxas and Demyx – both of whom had obviously done the song enough that they'd memorized the words, as neither bothered to look at the lyrics – had turned and were now singing the song to each other rather than the screen.

For the next handful of hours, the group of them sat around the television, laughing loudly at each other's attempts at singing Disney songs. Lexeaus and Yuffie – who seemed to have put whatever they were discussing before on the backburner – did Gaston's song from Beauty and the Beast. Zack had been more than happy to participate in a few songs as well – Axel was a little irritated to find that the man had a pretty good voice – and coaxed Cloud into singing with him. Axel even did a song or two, including a duet with Roxas on A Whole New World – Roxas had chosen to sing Aladdin's part.

By the time everyone began to settle down it was creeping on 4am. Lexeaus had long since fallen asleep on the loveseat with Yuffie, and Zack and Cloud were dosing in one of the armchairs. Demyx had turned the karaoke off after Roxas vehemently assured him she was not going to sing High-Ho with him. Now, he was sitting in front of the piano, playing a soft melody and humming softly to himself. Zexion sat next to him, the same book in his lap, reading silently.

Roxas and Axel had ended up on opposite ends of the couch, and Axel was trying desperately to think of anything that would break the uncomfortable silence that seemed to follow them wherever they went.

Beside him, Roxas yawned. Axel turned to her and raised an eyebrow, a gentle smile playing on his lips. "Tired?"

She turned to him and rolled her eyes. "That's one way to put it. Between Demyx playing tonight and you suddenly appearing on my doorstep it's been a very stressful day for me." She said matter-of-factly. "Not to mention I had a pop quiz in calculus this morning. Calculus! And I didn't do the homework…"

Axel smiled though it was a little guilty. "Well, I'm sorry I contributed to your stress."

Roxas rolled her eyes before meeting Axel's gaze. "Don't be stupid. I'm glad you showed up." She laughed almost mirthlessly. "Hell, I've been waiting for you for nineteen years."

Axel nodded, not really sure what to say other than: "Sorry."

Roxas waved a hand dismissively, gaze traveling to where Demyx had paused in his playing to mumble something to Zexion. Even from this distance, the fatigue was evident in her features. "Don't be. You're here now; that's all that matters to me." She gave Axel a serious look. "I really missed you, you know?"

"Yeah," Axel's voice was a little hoarse, whether or not it was from the singing, he couldn't tell. "I missed you too, Roxie."

He saw Roxas shiver at the nickname before standing, grabbing a pillow at the same time. "Don't call me that," she said, but there was no force behind her words. Roxas would always complain about the nickname, but she only ever let Axel get away with it.

With a sigh she started to move past him when he shot his hand out and gripped her wrist firmly. She glanced down at him, clearly irritated at the interruption and wanting only to get some much needed sleep.

Axel looked up at her, his own eyes beginning to sting with exhaustion. "Where are you going?"

Roxas looked at him, blinking slowly and stifling yet another yawn. "Well as it seems everyone is sleeping down here, so I figured I'd go make myself comfortable on that patch of carpet over there," she pointed to the corner of the room next to one of the chairs, "so Zex and Dem can have the other chair and you can sleep on the couch."

Axel shook his head but made no move to stand or release Roxas. "Hell no, you're not sleeping on the floor. You take the couch."

Roxas made a sound in her throat that could almost e translated as a growl. She was clearly growing frustrated. "Ax, one night sleeping on the floor won't kill me. You've been traveling all day, not to mention you're about twice as tall as me, so you can have the couch."

Axel smirked and cocked his head to the side, deciding to taunt the blond a little. "What about chivalry. My mother taught me to be a gentleman, Rox. I can't sit idly by while a fair maiden such as yourself is forced to sleep on the cold, hard floor."

Axel could almost hear Roxas clench her teeth. "The floor isn't cold, Axel. Besides, chivalry is dead." She pulled fruitlessly as her entrapped wrist. "Let me go, Axel," she whined. Axel knew she was tired at this point, as Roxas was never one to beg. "I really want to go to lie down now."

"Oh, is that what you want?" Axel cocked a brow and before Roxas could form a response, he pulled the pillow from her grasp and yanked the blond onto his lap. She let out an indignant squeal as Axel lay down and brought Roxas with him, positioning her on his chest.

Axel looked down at Roxas with a triumphant smile, wrapping one arm around her waist and using the other to ruffle her hair before resting it behind his head. Roxas looked up at him with obvious surprise.

"Dammit, Axel," was all she said before resting her head on his chest and tucking her forehead against his neck. One arm brought up against the couch to rest next to him – and he was certain he felt her stroke his hair slightly – the other arm flung across his midsection and hanging over the edge of the couch. She sighed into his throat and snuggled closer.

Axel, feeling truly content for the first time in his life, turned to rest his lips against Roxas's forehead, listening as the blond's breathing slowed and evened out in sleep. Only then, as he drifted off with the comfortable weight of Roxas pressed against him, did he notice Demyx has started playing Can You Feel the Love, Tonight? and singing gently. Axel had time to smirk at this realization before sleep overcame him at last.

A/N: These things feel so much longer when you're typing them. I struggled like hell with this chapter (hence the severe lateness, also partly due to lack of reviews – see how I make this you're fault too, lqtm). I'm trying to get better at writing prose, so, tell me how you like/hate/whatever this i hate my writing right now but i cant quite figure out why. More action? Too much dialogue? Shorter scenes? More detail? Just give up entirely?

PS: I loathe coming up with last names! O'Donohue is Dem's English voice actor's last name. I will probably do that for character's who last names I have to create – assuming I can't use some other character's name (i.e. Strife).

PPS: Demyx's songs (even though i only mentioned one) are by Secondhand Serenade, because they're acoustic-y and good and appropriate for an ex-Nobody like Dem, I think.

Reminder: REVIEW!