Well, after five hours, much procrastination and a lot of frustration, I humbly present to you chapter six. I know I said in my review replies that this was going to be a long one and would have Xion's party in it, but I decided not to include the party because firstly, I couldn't write that much on time, secondly, that would make the chapter WAY too long, and thirdly, I think the events that follow shortly are better off in their own chapter. So there. Please don't kill me -dashes away as readers form angry mob and brandish pitchforks-
Song is 'Give Me Novacaine' by Green Day, because our boys need painkillers :P

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. This makes me very sad face :(

Kiss and I Will Surrender

Six

Give Me Novacaine

Sora couldn't understand why Cloud, Zack and Riku were eyeing him with pity and sympathy as they prepared to leave Seventh Heaven. Cloud was checking his hair in the mirror behind the bar, unaware of the fact that Tifa was openly gawking as he played with his spiky blonde hair, but he kept turning away from his preening to look at Sora with a commiserating expression. Zack and Riku were sending similar looks his way as Roxas grabbed his car keys from the hook in the locked cloakroom and pulled his jacket on.

They all left the bar, Tifa hugging everyone as they bade their farewells to the busty barmaid. Zack had ruffled her hair jokingly, awarding him with a punch in the gut (which disturbingly didn't seem to affect the man at all), and Cloud had turned several shades of red when she had hugged him with an equally impressive blush. Snow was still coating the ground, though it was much less cold than it had been recently, and they trudged into the parking lot around the back whilst waving goodbye to Tifa, who stood in the doorway and returned their goodbyes.

Zack and Cloud's bikes were parked next to each other, huge identical black beasts waiting to be let loose on the world. They mounted the bikes with perturbing synchronisation, and then proceeded to pull matching shades over their electric blue eyes.

"You two are so similar it's disturbing," Riku had commented, voicing Sora's thoughts exactly. The two bike riders had shrugged in synchronisation, and then laughed at each other when they realised they were doing it.

"Well, I guess we'll see you guys at the party?" Zack questioned, pulling on a pair of black leather gloves as Cloud did the same.

"Sure thing, we'll be there," Roxas replied, and Sora nodded in affirmation. The two bodyguards said goodbye and gunned their bikes to life, racing out of the parking lot at an alarming speed and zooming onto the main street. Everyone winced when they heard cars honking, and the sound of Zack laughing drifted into the car park over the sound of revving engines and screeching tires.

"They're going to kill themselves with their drag races one day," Riku muttered, fishing keys out of his pocket and unlocking his red VW camper van. "See you guys at the party then."

"See you later Sora," Kairi said, pulling Sora into a gentle hug which he returned briefly before urging her to get in the van. Riku had cast one last mysterious look of sympathy before pulling out of his parking space and driving off, leaving Roxas and Sora alone with the only other car in the parking lot.

Sora looked at Roxas's car, admiration clearly showing in his cobalt eyes as he gazed at the machine. He didn't usually take much interest in cars, but he had to admit that Roxas's car was a beautiful piece of engineering. It was a low, sleek Japanese tuning car. Gun metal gray in colour, it was sporty without being too severe, with expensive looking chrome wheels and red bucket seats that had rally harnesses for seatbelts. Moving round to the back, he saw an exhaust pipe he could have easily fit his fist into, and whistled softly when he noted the engine size.

"Are you sure it's safe for you to drive this?" he asked, trying to keep his tone calm and free of anxiety. "I mean, you have a broken wrist and everything..."

Roxas was bent down and checking the tire pressure of the rear wheel. He didn't answer for a moment, giving Sora time to admire the way his golden bangs fell forward to shade his sapphire eyes. Finally, the blonde replied, "It should be okay, I might need to leave you in charge of the transmission though..."

Sora gulped. That didn't sound exactly safe, but Roxas was already slipping into the driver's seat and buckling himself in. The student dubiously climbed into the passenger side, admiring the expensive looking mp3 player fixed into the dashboard. They shut the doors, and the car became silent as the sounds of the outside world were completely shut out. It hit Sora that he was now completely alone with Roxas, and felt his skin break out in delicious goose bumps whilst the hairs on the back of his neck and on his arms rose as though the air was static with electricity. He glanced across to Roxas and noted that the blonde sat a little stiffly.

"Shall we go then?" Sora's voice cut through the thick silence like a knife, bringing Roxas out of his rigidity with a start. He flashed a half-bashful, half-coy smirk at the brunette and then turned the keys in the ignition, the engine roaring into life with a whine from the supercharger.

Roxas pulled the lever over into first gear with his good right hand, which then moved to grip the steering wheel. "No spacing out now Sora, you gotta pay attention if you're going to change gears for me."

"Wouldn't it just be better if I drove...?"

"No! I'm not disabled dammit!" Roxas snapped, and Sora jumped, startled by the violent reaction.

"Okay, if you say so..." he muttered, placing his left hand, which fortunately was his good hand, on the gear lever. "Ready when you are."

Roxas dumped the clutch and pressed down hard on the accelerator, and as they screeched out of the parking lot at what felt like Mach 5, Sora realised why everyone had been giving him pitying looks. Roxas was a terrifying driver.

Tidus slipped another chocolate pocky into his mouth and chewed absently, flicking through the channels on the TV without really looking at what was being shown. He was sprawled out on the small green couch in the living room, his duvet draped haphazardly over himself, in exactly the same position he had fallen asleep in last night. His blitzball lay on the floor next to his shoes and a half finished plate of Chinese food, whilst a strip of light cast across the floor through the partially closed drapes.

He glanced up when he heard the door rattling as a key was inserted and turned, and then Sora was stumbling into the flat, his eyes wide and an expression of horror on his face. A blonde boy who could have been his brother, they looked so similar, followed him into the messy apartment, rubbing the back of his neck nervously and regarding Sora was an apologetic look.

"NEVER again!" Sora gasped, glaring at the unknown blonde as he leant against the wall and pushed his fingers into his bangs in an exasperated fashion. "I thought I was going to die!"

The blonde shuffled uncomfortably, and then caught sight of their audience. Tidus waved a pocky stick at the two of them absently before sticking it in his mouth. "Yo Sora," he mumbled with his mouth full, sitting up and stretching. "Who's your friend?"

Sora looked up and noticed Tidus, and then noticed the less than tidy state of their apartment with a grimace. "This is Roxas," he muttered, starting to pick things up off the floor with an expression that showed quite clearly that he was used to cleaning up after his roommate. "He's in the band I went to see last night with Kai."

Roxas gave Tidus a polite wave with his bandaged wrist, which alerted Tidus to the less than healthy state that the two boys were in. With an indignant gasp, he rose from his seat and crossed the room in two strides with his long legs, towering over Sora as he grabbed the brunette's shoulders and forced him to look at the blitzball player. He pushed Sora's bangs out of his face to inspect the ugly purple bruises flowering all over his face like little violet rosettes.

"What the hell Sora? Why didn't you say anything?! What the hell happened?" Sora's eyes looked away, his face turning red with embarrassment and annoyance, and he pulled out of Tidus's grip to move to the window, where he wrenched the drapes open with a little more force than was necessary. He continued to tidy up with irritable movements, neglecting the question with angry silence. The dirty blonde boy still wearing his pyjamas turned to Roxas and voiced the question again.

Roxas scowled and ran his hand through his hair, shifting awkwardly. "We ran into some trouble with... an old friend," he muttered, not meeting Tidus's eyes. It was clear that neither of the two beaten boys wanted to talk about how they had come to look like they did, and Tidus rolled his eyes, knowing that if Roxas was as stubborn as Sora could be (and they seemed pretty similar to him), then he wasn't going to get much more information out of him without pushing boundaries.

"Some friend he must have been," he replied, and Roxas shrugged, wincing as it put strain on his ribs.

"So Xion is having another party tonight," Sora said, changing the subject abruptly as he piled dirty plates up on his arms like a silver service waiter and carried them into the small kitchen adjoining the living room. Roxas could see him through the serving hatch in the wall as he started to load the plates into the dishwasher. "You coming Tidus?"

Tidus had slumped back onto the sofa and picked his blitzball up, spinning it on his finger like a basket ball. "Nah man, Wakka's been putting the pressure on for me to turn up to training tonight, so I gotta turn ya down."

Sora nodded as he put a tablet in the dishwasher and turned it on. The pipes shook a little in the walls as water gushed through them. Roxas remained by the door, observing the student flat that Sora called home. The main living area was quite large, but was cluttered with sports gear and drawing equipment, with the green couch and several bean bags surrounding the medium sized television. A small table stood under the window, with three folding chairs positioned haphazardly around it, and an easel rested against the wall next to the serving hatch. It held the drawing that Sora had shown Roxas on his phone last night, of the view from the clock tower with the blue crystal refracting a rainbow onto the stone ledge. Two doors stood opposite each other on either side of the small dining table, one with Tidus's name scrawled in black marker pen across it. The other had a cute chibi drawing of Sora holding a banner which stated his name.

"Well, I am going to grab some stuff and then go over to Roxas's to get ready," Sora said, wandering back into the living room as he stretched and several bones in his back cracked in a releasing way. "So I probably won't see you until tomorrow evening."

Tidus shrugged and resumed his previous activity of channel hopping, zoning out rapidly. Sora rolled his eyes affectionately and motioned for Roxas to pick his way across the battle zone of mess towards Sora's door. "It's nowhere near as messy in here," Sora muttered, unlocking the door and shoving it open when it resisted slightly. It clattered against the wall as it swung open to reveal Sora's room.

It wasn't messy in any shape or form, to tell the truth. The royal blue sheets of the double bed were straightened with almost military precision, and the numerous canvas paintings stored in here were lined neatly against the wall in size order. There wasn't even a rogue dirty sock on the floor. A poster of the popular band 'Heartless' was hung over the bed, and there were several photos of Sora on the neat desk, most of them featuring Kairi and a blonde girl who could have been her sister, as well as a pretty brunette with bright jade eyes who looked alarmingly similar to Aerith. Some of the photos however featured a tall man with dark brown hair and a thin red scar across his face.

Roxas picked up one of these photos and scrutinised it as Sora got a rucksack out from under his bed and started flicking through his clothes in the closet, trying to decide what to wear to the party. Roxas brought the photograph close to his face, realising that the scar on the brunette man's face was awfully similar to Seifer's. The man looked familiar in some way... and then it hit him.

"You know Squall Leonhart?" he asked, looking over his shoulder as Sora held up two pairs of jeans and pouted as he tried to decide between them. The brunette looked up from his indecision, his face formed in the most adorable puppy expression as he struggled with his choice.

"Yeah, he's my older brother, why?"

"Well, it's just..." Roxas debated whether to mention how he knew Sora's brother, but decided against it. The last thing he wanted was to bring up anything that could lead to his past being exposed. Sora was already a valued friend to him, and the last thing he wanted was to drive the cute brunette away. "I've met him a few times is all... at clubs and stuff."

Sora looked a little surprised but didn't pursue the subject. He continued with his time consuming selection of clothing without a word, leaving Roxas to amuse himself. The blonde wandered over to the stack of paintings in the corner of the room, and began to flick through them with interest. There were all kinds of artworks here, ranging from watercolour and oil paintings to pastels and felt tips. He paused on one, a samurai manga sketch which Sora had meticulously coloured in with watercolour pencils. The background of a river was particularly impressive, and Roxas admired the way Sora had managed to capture the depth of the water whilst still accentuating the rough waves that lapped around the samurai's feet.

"This is amazing Sora," he murmured incredulously, picking it up and holding it up to look at it properly in the light. The range of colours Sora had used was astounding. "This must have taken hours!"

Sora was folding a shirt carefully so as not to crease it. Not looking up from his task, he chuckled. "The samurai one, right? That's everyone's favourite..."

"I can see why!" Roxas replied, not able to hide the impressed tone in his voice. Sora looked up at him and grinned modestly.

"I just woke up one morning and thought, hey; I really want to draw a samurai! So I did, and it took me all damn weekend just to draw the lines! The colouring took about three weeks, because I had to do it around all my other commitments like my university work and so on, but I couldn't stop until it was finished. I don't know; it just... wouldn't get out of my head!" He closed his rucksack and shouldered it, a faint pink hue to his cheeks as Roxas continued to gaze at the painting with wonder before the blonde replaced it in the stack.

"I kind of get where you're coming from actually..." Roxas replied, leaning against the desk. "When I get an idea for a song, I have to write it down right there and then. It's like some kind of... outside force is pushing me to do it, almost..."

"Like someone has put the idea in your head and is forcing you to see it through?" Sora continued.

"Yeah!" Roxas replied, grinning lopsidedly. They smiled at each other stupidly for a few moments, before breaking the eye contact rather rapidly and coughing loudly. Dammit, why does he make me so nervous? And why do I blush every time we make eye contact?! Roxas thought irritably as they left the room to find Tidus watching Judge Judy with glazed eyes.

"Just leave him like that," Sora muttered, pulling a fresh packet of pocky out of a cupboard and tossing it the nearly comatose blonde on the couch, who opened it automatically and started munching on the treat. "Oh yeah, I better bring another pack for Xion, she loves playing the pocky game at her parties..."

As Sora fished around for another packet in the cupboard, Roxas struggled to remember how to play the pocky game, a frown on his face. As far as he could remember, it involved two people biting either end of a pocky stick and eating their way to the centre, where they could choose to either give up the rest to the other person or 'fight' for the remaining pocky by kissing. His face turned pink at the thought.

Sora found a pack of strawberry pocky at the back of the cupboard and straightened up, putting the pack in his rucksack. "Can we walk to your place as it's only around the corner? I definitely do not want to get in a car with you again..."

Roxas rolled his eyes and ruffled Sora's hair before he could stop himself; the boy was just too darn cute. "Whatever you say, puppy," he joked as they made their way out of the apartment. "Catch you later Tidus..."

"Hn," was the elaborate reply from the couch.

Roxas's apartment was in stark contrast to the pokey student abode that Sora had just shown him around. There was a guard in the bright lobby, and Roxas actually had to have his fingerprints scanned in order to gain access to his apartment. He opened his door to reveal an apartment so stunningly white that it hurt the eyes at first. The walls, the carpets, the doors, the furniture... everything was white. The only colour was in a vase of blue poppies on the coffee table in the large living room, which had an enormous white leather couch, French windows onto a balcony, and a plasma screen television mounted on the wall.

"What the... how the hell do you pay for this?" Sora gasped, as he took off his trainers at the door and put them in the shoe basket provided. They padded through the apartment as Roxas took him on a mini tour, showing him the well equipped kitchen, the luxurious bathroom and the impressive master bedroom, which was the only room that had any colour in it, in the form of a crimson bedspread which contrasted sharply with the expanse of white around it.

"Modelling pays," Roxas answered simply, shrugging. "You wanna take a shower?"

For one crazy moment, Sora thought that the blonde singer/model was suggesting they take one together, and floundered helplessly for an answer as red slowly rose up his face like mercury in a thermometer. "I... I..."

"If you're worried about towels, don't worry, I have plenty to spare. I'll make us some food while you're in there if you like," Roxas continued easily, missing Sora's complete misunderstanding, much to Sora's intense relief.

"Um, sure..." Sora practically sprinted into the bathroom then, so bewildered was he by the images that had flashed through his mind that he needed to be by himself for a few minutes. He slammed the door a little more forcefully than he meant to, before leaning against it in horror. "What the fuck?" he whispered angrily, covering his face with one hand and staring through his fingers with wide eyes. Why the hell had he even imagined that Roxas would want to take a shower with him?! The idea was beyond ridiculous! They were both guys, for starters!

He shook his head vehemently, and began to take his clothes off carefully, being mindful of his injuries. He stared at his bruised torso in the mirror, noting with a hint of pride that he had gained more muscle tone in the past month or so. He had upped his exercise regime when Kairi had remarked that he was too skinny, and started drinking protein shakes upon Tidus's recommendation. It seemed to be paying off. The muscles of his stomach were faintly outlined, not quite a six pack but almost there, and as he turned to look over his shoulder at his back, he noticed with pleasure that his shoulders had become more defined. He would have to cut back a little now on the beefing up though, he didn't want to turn into a muscle head like Squall.

He stepped into the walk in shower and stared at the knobs and dials for a moment, trying to figure out which one would turn on the main jet, finally figuring it out and hissing loudly when the water hit his skin and stung the cuts viciously. He let out a soft groan though as the hot water started to work out a bit of muscle tension, resting his forehead against the tiles and feeling his hair eventually give in to the weight of the water to fall flat against his head.

He remained that way for a while, just enjoying the sensation of the heat working out the knots in his shoulders and soothing his marred skin. Eventually though, he stood up straight and began to wash his hair, noticing that Roxas's citrus scent came from his shower products, He winced when the lemon body wash got into his cuts but persevered, knowing it was best to clean the dirt out of the cuts. Finally, as was part of his shower routine, he turned the heat dial around to cold and forced himself to stand under the arctic jet for ten seconds; someone, he thought it might be Kairi, had told him that this made his hair shinier.

He stepped out, shivering slightly, and found clean towels in the cupboard under the sink, all of which were huge, white and incredibly fluffy. He wrapped one around himself, enjoying the soft feeling against his skin, and began to dry himself off slowly; he noticed gladly that the residue of permanent marker courtesy of Zack was now completely gone from his forehead.

"Sora?" Roxas's melodic voice drifted through the door, and it felt like someone had set Sora's veins on fire as he remembered his inappropriate thoughts from earlier. "I've made some sandwiches if you want some..."

"I'll be out in a minute Rox," he called, hearing the blonde chuckle at the nickname. He quickly dried off and got a pair of sweatpants and a blue t-shirt from his rucksack, dressing quickly before towelling his hair. He emerged to find that Roxas had set up cushions at the coffee table, in the traditional Japanese fashion, and had laid a big plate of neat looking sandwiches in the middle, along with some chips in a bowl and an assortment of fruits.

They watched the huge television as they ate; Roxas put some anime on much to Sora's delight, and they joked about the naive nature of the two main characters, who were hopelessly in love with each other but didn't ever seem to notice, although it was true that everybody around them did. "I never get people like that," Roxas mused, taking a bite of a sandwich and chewing thoughtfully. "Surely they aren't so stupid as to not notice when someone likes them?"

"I know, right?" Sora laughed, but he couldn't help but remember his earlier assumption that Roxas wanted to take a shower with him. I'm such a pervert... he decided, sighing mentally. Roxas is my friend, and a guy on top of that. Maybe I am depraved...

"Well, I'm gonna go take a shower," Roxas said, rising with a wince. "Feel free to watch whatever you want or play a game or something..." He wandered into the bathroom and shut the door. Moments later, Sora heard the water running, and Roxas's curse when he stepped in and realised the water was freezing, where Sora had forgotten to turn the temperature back up.

"Whoops," Sora giggled, before turning his attention to the number of gaming platforms before him. Roxas had everything, Playstation 3, PSP, Xbox 360, N64, Nintendo DS... the list went on, and he noted with jealousy that his games collection spanned an entire wall, contained in their own bookshelf. He browsed for a few minutes before deciding on old school Spyro the Dragon, putting it into the Playstation and rapidly becoming absorbed in the nostalgic game from his childhood, trying not to think of the fact that Roxas was butt-naked in the next room and covered in moisture and... STOP THOUGHTS RIGHT THERE! He commanded his brain angrily, causing himself to hesitate and get smashed by the club of a giant Rhynoc.

He was in the middle of a Sparx mission when the door to the shower opened and steam flowed into the room. The brunette glanced up and nearly dropped the controller. Roxas had just walked out in nothing more than a white fluffy towel, draped precariously low on incredibly defined hips. With his blonde bangs dripping in his eyes and his toned physique, he looked like something straight out of Baywatch, a hot surfer boy or a lifeguard. Little droplets of water ran down his toned chest and dipped into his navel before disappearing below the waistline of the barely concealing towel. His crystalline eyes looked more like jewels than ever as the little beads of moisture on his eyelashes framed the energetic cerulean like little diamonds. When he slid his tongue out to lick some water off his lips, slightly swollen from where he had been hit there by Seifer, Sora actually did drop the controller.

"Oh wow, I love Spyro!" the blonde exclaimed, oblivious to the fact that Sora was ogling him like a sex-starved loony. He crossed the room quickly and plonked down on a cushion next to Sora, a grin on his face. Sora nearly had heart failure. He was beyond trying to deny that Roxas was probably the most gorgeous human on the planet, beyond denying that he found the blonde attractive, even though before meeting the blonde he had never looked twice at a man. And right now, the boy was sat knee-to-knee with him, in nothing but a towel which was threatening to come undone, covered in water droplets... and Roxas was the none the wiser about how this was affecting Sora. He took several deep breaths and picked up the controller with shaking hands, turning back to the television screen with difficulty. He completed the Sparx mission with barely enough HP to keep an amoeba alive, and rapidly saved his game and handed the controller to Roxas.

Roxas looked at him patronisingly, before waving his cast wrist in Sora's face. "How the hell am I supposed to play with this?" he reminded, rolling his eyes and ruffling Sora's hair, practically causing the brunette to have a nosebleed. Sora forced himself to look away.

"Maybe you should get dressed," he muttered, his heart pounding so heart it felt like his ribcage was going to burst open.

Roxas grinned and blushed. "Whoops, sorry about that! Back in a minute!" And to Sora's intense relief (disappointment), he got up and wandered away into the bedroom.

Sora swore he saw his soul depart from his body as he let out a huge breath he hadn't realised he had been holding. He drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, dropping his head and trying to calm his breathing. Roxas's near nudity had opened some sort of floodgate in his mind and was now trying to send him crazy with confusion. He had never been attracted to guys in his whole life! He'd slept with enough girls to prove he was attracted to the opposite sex and had fantasized about boobs like any other heterosexual male. He'd had plenty of girl friends in high school and had always been popular with the ladies... so why was Roxas, who was just another good looking guy from an objective point of view, affecting Sora so badly that he was actually trying to suppress arousal? It made absolutely no sense!

Little did Sora know that Roxas was having the exact same problem on the other side of the bedroom door.

-shifts awkwardly- I hope you liked the Roxas ogling, it was certainly fun to write, hehe! Our boys are finally starting to realise whats going on inside their little minds XD Now, please click the great green button of joy!