Ĉђąρτεŕ Tħïŗŧεεη » Iċεđ Lεмση Tεą

Iced: (adjective) Covered, coated, or chilled with ice.
Lemon: (noun) The yellowish oval fruit of the subtropical Citrus limon tree, well known for its juicy, acidic flesh.
Tea: (noun) A bitter, aromatic beverage that is prepared by immersing cured leaves of a Camellia sinensis shrub in hot or boiling water.
Iced Lemon Tea: (noun) A treat that Tifa enjoys once in awhile, especially after yoga class or a long session of mixing records for one of the sleazy nightclubs down her street. She also enjoys Hugh Jackman movies and practicing the art of being a selective vegetarian, but we'll leave that for another story.

"Aww… Our baby boy is finally growing up!"

As soon as Zexion left The Fix (in quite a hurry I might add – Lexaeus was definitely about to get his ass handed to him), Riku and Sora practically assaulted our favourite punk rock barista with a truckload of invasive questions. Because hey, they were totally spying on the private conversation the musician just had with his object of infatuation and why not act like annoying nosy little brats? Riku was sometimes a classy asshole like that and Sora was just pure nosy in general. Plus Sora actually genuinely liked Demyx (he was born with the need to know anything and everything about the people he liked), and Riku was technically one of Zexion's better friends (i.e. he just wanted a reason to embarrass the shit out of Zexion later).

"TELL US EVERYTHING, YA SMOOTH CRIMINAL," Sora was demanding of the musician right this moment. "Don't skip the deets, man. You've obviously got the hots for that guy." There was a massive grin plastered onto the brunet's face that was kind of really painful to watch. "ARE YOU TWO SEXING?"

Demyx winced. Sometimes, Sora could be a little too blunt. He vaguely wondered if Riku was truly ready to commit himself to such a reckless rollercoaster ride of a boyfriend. Were these two even officially a couple? Well, those sunflowers definitely sealed the deal. Flowers were one step above being Facebook official, right? Demyx was almost a hundred and fifty percent sure that bright yellow sunflowers symbolised vitality and intelligence in Chinese culture. What the heck did that have to do with anything?

Anyway, Riku proved he was perfectly capable of keeping up with Sora judging from his subsequent remarks. Snorting gracefully at his boyfriend's outburst, he stated: "I think that was the first proper conversation they have EVER had, Sora. I doubt they're fornicating. I doubt Zex even knows how to sex." Pause. "Ha! That rhymed." The young man looked exceptionally pleased with himself.

Well, Demyx thought. That wasn't very nice.

The musician stared at the silver-haired, well-toned individual for a moment, unsure if it was in his best interests to make his co-worker's new boyfriend please shut up and go away thanks. But he wisely figured it wasn't his place to do so.

"That was pretty lame," Demyx settled for eventually.

"What? The rhyming bit or the fact that Zexion is probably a virgin bit?"

Demyx huffed in exasperation, clearly unamused and quite offended by Riku's cavalier remarks. Thankfully, Riku noticed almost immediately and relented. "Chill, Demyx. I didn't mean to insult him. I don't know a thing about his sex life. But, perceptive bastard that I am, I do know he's single and ready to mingle. And yeah okay, you're entirely right, my rhyming skills are pretty disgusting. You're probably a lot better. You write songs and stuff, so I've heard. Zex says you're good. God-like, even."

"Does he want to have sex with Demyx?" Sora asked rather unhelpfully.

"Marceline and PB in a bucket!" Demyx whined, his face an interesting shade of Cut It Out, Can't You See I'm Embarrassed? "What is wrong with you two? We just talked! It was a really short conversation. I don't know anything about him!" Liessss, Demyx heard his inner voice immediately reprimanding him in something that sounded suspiciously like Lord Voldemort's voice, you stalk his blog (ienzocannotread dot wordpress dot com) every single evening; you know all the classes he's currently enrolled in: (1) International Humanitarian Law, (2) Medical Law, (3) Ethics & Professional Practice in Medicine, and (4) Foundations in Public Health and Health Care Systems); you know he listens to compositions by Yoko Shimomura and Nobuo Uematsu when he studies; you know he likes ice blended mochas sans whipped cream; you know his eyes are a stunning shade of aqua; you know he used to play guitar with Tidus DeHaan; you know you were chosen to be his replacement when he didn't want to be part of Mismatched Thirteen.

Demyx sighed. He knew too much about Zexion, and yet, "We're not even friends."

Riku rolled his eyes as though he'd already heard this argument from someone else not too long ago. "Perhaps I'm jumping the gun here but seriously, you two may as well be friends," he replied calmly, recognising the fact that Demyx was internally freaking. "He probably knows more about your music than even you do. I'm sure you've figured out by now how much it means to him. And trust me, I was watching. I have never seen anyone get so much undivided attention from Zexion in a very long time."

"And don't think we didn't see him accept your number, dude!" Sora chimed in, nodding sagely. "He was a friggin' tomato! … I mean his face. You are soooo in."

Demyx fidgeted uncomfortably, expression more than a little uncertain. "You really think so?" he asked doubtfully, voice timid and totally lacking in self-confidence.

"Trust us. He likes you, which is a feat in itself. And even if he doesn't—" Riku glanced at his boyfriend, "—I'm sure Sora can cook up some clever plan to fix that for you. I heard he's pretty gung-ho about deciding the fates of people."

Sora grinned and thumped himself in the chest in a self-important way. "Broface! If you ever need help, all you gotta do is ask! I've always got your back, Demyx! We smexy fruitcakes gotta stick together, y'know?"

Demyx didn't know whether to (a) whimper softly, (b) dramatically stifle a groan, or (c) wholeheartedly appreciate the support. What he did know was that if Sora Vaïve and Riku Mesna were going to involve themselves in his love life, he was pretty sure Zexion would want to bolt in the opposite direction in a heartbeat.

Nevertheless, the guitarist couldn't help but remain in a blissful state of unadulterated joy for the rest of the evening thanks to the successful exchange he just had with Zexion. Never in a million years did he think he would actually engage in any sort of proper conversation with his secret crush. He hadn't been this excited since coming second in an online music trivia competition six months ago. He received $600, a blue-rimmed guitar amp and two tickets to see Green Day for all his trouble. He went to that show with Leon of course, but the whole time—between jumping and headbanging on the spot to East Jesus Nowhere, reverently belting out the lyrics to Homecoming, and melodically humming along to Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)—he had the hugest smile on his face. Because he knew Zexion fucking loved Green Day.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Roxas and Axel were—surprise, surprise!—causing a bit of a scene. Leon and Cloud weren't quite so interested in their antics, choosing instead to have their own infinitely more civilised conversation in a private little corner, but Tifa was uncannily enthralled. The yoga practitioner noted the rigid tension in Roxas' shoulders. The boy's expression was borderline wild and he was exhibiting none of his trademark calm-and-collected demeanour. Instead, he was brandishing a spoon in the air and making occasional vicious jabs in Axel's direction.

No one actually knew what set the blond off, but Axel was the last individual on earth capable of rectifying the situation… yet, for some unfathomable reason, the redhead was valiantly trying. And we all know nothing good comes from Axel trying to do anything, especially when it came to Roxas.

"YOU," Roxas was currently snarling at the taller barista, "are very low on my priority list right now."

"Aww, but Rokusasu! I feel like we could've been best friends in a previous life!"

"Keyword here being 'previous'," Roxas ground out.

"Keyword here being 'best friends'," Axel countered immediately.

"That's two words, you imbecile."

"We could throw a hyphen in there and call it one."

Roxas' subsequent glare brought the sun to shame. "My best friends don't try to shove their tongues down my throat."

"Lovers then. We could've been that."

The blond couldn't believe what he was hearing. This guy was really testing his patience. "Axel. Lovers don't try to harass each other. They respect one another." There was an edge to the boy's tone that caught Axel's attention, but Roxas continued, voice suddenly deathly quiet. "If you can't do that, you have no chance in hell."

It wasn't a challenge. It was a condition. And Axel was pretty sure this meant that while Roxas was still unyielding to his advances, the boy had already considered the option of defeat and was ensuring a compromise.

Roxas may have thought he had this all under control, but the redhead was clearly winning. It's no wonder the blond was in such a bad mood.

The redhead exhaled triumphantly. He could be respectful. But first, he needed to calm the boy down, lest he murder someone.

"Roxas."

Roxas flung his spoon into the sink with so much force it bounced up, hit the ceiling, and clattered noisily onto the floor not two inches from Axel's feet.

"What?"

There was a prolonged silence as Axel grinned goofily. "They're taking the Hobbits to Isengard."

Roxas' eye twitched. No, he wasn't going to crack a smile. No no no, nope. "Don't you even start," he warned almost desperately.

But Axel was having none of that. "The Hobbits the Hobbits the Hobbits the Hobbits to I—"

Sora walked into the kitchen then, with Riku and his mammoth bigger-than-your-face sunflowers in tow. "Tell me where is Gandalf, for I much desire to speak with him," the brunet commanded in a stately voice. "He needs to meet Riku, because Riku insists that he knows him. By Gandalf I mean Leon, of course. Because Gandalf is the boss."

It was then that Leon glanced around and realised that his cousin had indeed just entered the kitchen.

"Riku?" The Leonhart was puzzled. "What in the world are you doing here?"

Riku grinned and shook his head. "No idea, Gandalf. But Sora doesn't believe we're related. Also, I think he wants to tell you something. Actually, I think he wants to tell everyone something." He looked past Leon to where Tifa was standing and waved. "Tifa. Christ, you work here now? Isn't this place getting a bit too crowded?"

"Only just started today, Ri. Did you hear? Leon faceplanted his way through a relationship."

Riku nodded. "Sora gave me the gist of it. Is that why you're here?"

Tifa grinned. "I'm just here for moral support." She glanced over towards Sora. "Riku's our cousin," she stated helpfully, which caused much bewilderment on everyone's part.

Axel reacted fairly well though. "ALL THIS TIME AND WE NEVER KNEW? IS THE FLIPPY HAIRED EMO DUDE RELATED TO YOU GUYS TOO?"

While everyone pointedly ignored the redhead's honest queries, Roxas made it a point to inconspicuously scoot away from his arch-nemesis and was now standing (hiding) behind Tifa.

Leon cleared his throat. "Sora, you wanted to tell us something?"

"Oh yeah!" Sora looked incredibly excited, eyes gleaming like dual sapphires. "The Fellowship needs to know!" His index finger swept the room to indicate everyone. "I mean, Merry and Frodo already know, but yeah, Riku and I are now uh, dating, I guess is the word. Well, we only just got together, so we haven't gone on a date yet. But. Yeah." And unexpectedly, without any warning, the boy looked down at his feet with an uncharacteristic blush and quite bashfully scuffed one of his heavily-graffiti'd shoes against the tiled floor, as though the whole idea had only just hit him. "We're together," he finished simply, looking unexpectedly overwhelmed.

Riku gave Sora an appraising look. The kid was adorable when he was suddenly nervous. He grabbed Sora's hand and squeezed lightly. "I couldn't have put it better myself," he assured the brunet. "Well done."

And everyone reacted a little differently to this beautiful revelation.

"What," Cloud managed to say. It wasn't a question. It was more a noise of distant suspicion. Could Sora be turning everyone around him gay? Was that a super power of some sort?

Leon had blinked several times. "Uh. Congratulations…?" His voice held several ounces of genuine confusion. Maybe he thought Sora and Riku were telling an elaborate joke.

"Didn't see that one coming," Tifa remarked, even though she had always known Riku was as straight as a boomerang.

"Merry and Frodo?" Axel questioned, always one to ask the important questions.

"I think he means Demyx and Roxas respectively," Riku surmised.

Sora bobbed his head with a cheery smile. "Gandalf," he pointed at Leon, "Roxas is Frodo, Demyx is Merry, Cloud is Pippin, Axel can be Sam because why not? Tifa…" he squinted at the girl in fleeting contemplation, "you can be Aragorn. Riku is Legolas, of course."

"That makes you Gimli." Riku sounded a little concerned.

"Gimli is hi-la-ri-ous," Sora stated, as though this were all the convincing anyone needed. (With the despairing way Tifa and Roxas were shaking their heads though, it seemed that not everyone agreed with his claim.)

"Well," Riku shrugged helplessly, " I'd rather not be in love with a bearded Dwarf, but if this is something you really think would work out, then as a Sindar Elf of the Woodland Realm, I am willing to make an exception."

"Ahh, to be young again," Axel sang with a longing sigh. "When love becomes a tangible fantasy."

Tifa maliciously flicked the redhead in the back of the head. "You're not that old."

"Hey! 23 is pretty old," Axel muttered.

"Riku turns 20 in December."

Axel rolled his eyes. "And yet he's allowed to date Sora and everybody is cool with it." He looked across the room a little sullenly.

Roxas threw his hands up in exasperation. "Stop staring at me! Did I say I was cool with it?"

"But you totally gave us your blessing less than fifteen minutes ago!" Sora cried out in dismay.

Roxas shot his friend a dirty look. "Work with me here, Sora."

A few minutes following that little altercation, Leon congratulated the happy couple some more and then had to very reluctantly ask Riku to leave the kitchen. Mostly because "my guys have to work," and, "I know you're my cousin and everything, but this is a staff only zone and you're, uh, not exactly on the payroll."

Sora whined a little.

Okay, he whined a lot. But, being the hard working team player he was, the boy knew his job was Very Important and that the coffee bar needed him.

Riku didn't like that he had to leave. In fact, he would've liked nothing more than to be munching on a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Quest Bar and have Sora in his muscular arms telling him highly exaggerated stories about his personal life. He really wanted to get to know the other boy a little better. But he supposed that would have to wait and Sora would just have to settle for sunflowers this evening, and he would have to go home alone—

A sympathetic sigh interrupted Riku's increasingly depressing myriad of thoughts.

"Alright, you can take the rest of the night off, Sora," Leon mumbled. "There's only a couple of hours until we knock off anyway. Nothing we can't handle."

The usually-uncompromising man's generosity was met with disbelieving stares (except from Tifa, who cooed approvingly and gave her half-brother an affectionate pat on the head instead).

"What?" Leon was suddenly defensive at the show of surprise from his staff. "I'm not completely heartless, you know? Go spend time with Legolas, Gimli. You deserve it."

Out the front, Demyx (the only one working the bar, if you hadn't yet realised) was totally getting distracted by his phone. Shortly after his conversation with Riku and Sora, he'd received a picture message from an unknown number. It was an image of a snazzy-looking 150cc Vespa LX 150 motor scooter that looked like someone had dropped an impractically large boulder on it. This picture was followed by a text that read: Fucking Lexaeus, followed by two emoticons: a knife and a gun.

Demyx knew Lexaeus was a big guy capable of destroying anything he touched (or sat on). He'd heard some nasty horror stories on campus and wondered why someone like Zexion would even want to hang out with that bulky, ham-fisted, absolutely non-musically-inclined doofus. Okay, maybe Demyx was just a little bit jealous. Other than Riku, he frequently saw Zexion with Lexaeus and had always wondered what the deal was between them.

Whoa, that's so not cool. Will you be able to fix it? he texted back promptly.

Hope so. Lex just told me he'd pay for the damage, but I don't believe him for a second. He promises a lot, but never follows through. Jerk.

Despite the unfortunate situation, Demyx couldn't help but feel some amount of relief that Zexion seemed to not like Lexaeus as much as he thought. He was also quite glad about the fact that HOLY SHIT ZEXION IS ACTUALLY TEXTING ME, HE ACTUALLY USED MY NUMBER. Thankfully, our musician barista was still capable of conveying coherent, relatively 'chill' responses.

Sorry to hear man. Did you use it lots?

Yeah. I mean, I've got a car, but I liked the scooter better. Anyway sorry, am I bothering you at work?

Uh nope, not at all! Boss isn't around. Actually nobody's around. They're all in the kitchen, including Riku. Wonder why. Wait, this is Zexion right?

Depends. Is this the barista who just gave me his number?

Haha very funny. Yes it's Demyx.

Ok then yes, this is Zexion. Are you 100% sure I'm not distracting you from your work?

Demyx glanced up quickly and looked around. The bar was quite empty this evening. It was eerie.

Slow night, not much to do. Maybe you can come back and order another mocha? And maybe a lot of other stuff too because seriously there are NO customers.

I would, but I'm dealing with my wrecked Vespa and Lex is not helping very much at the moment.

Just then, an animated Sora bounded out of the kitchen with Riku trailing behind him. They both had huge grins on their faces like they'd just done something incredibly naughty and/or badass.

"I AM FREEEEEE," came Sora's ear-piercing declaration before he disappeared out the front door with his arms sticking out, flapping outrageously like a bird in the wind.

Riku gave Demyx an apologetic shrug and ran after Sora without any further explanation.

Demyx blinked in confusion, stymied for a few seconds, before deciding to return to his conversation with Zexion.

Um. Something really weird just happened.

As soon as Sora and Riku left the premises, Tifa claimed that she had to head off to her other job. As everyone was quick to learn, she moonlighted as a DJ and needed to be at a friend's birthday party to "drop some sick beats". She also didn't waste any time letting Leon know she had an early morning yoga class to teach the next day.

"But I'll be here," she promised her brother. "Expect me at eight o'clock, on the dot!"

And then, just an hour before closing, Roxas sneezed.

It was a cute hiccup of a sneeze. But not twenty minutes later, that sneeze had made multiple mutant babies and the poor boy had probably sneezed more times than was necessary. His rosy nose was both runny and blocked at the same time and would you believe how much those sapphire eyes were watering right now?

Someone was coming down with a terrible summer cold, and everyone knew summer colds were the worst.

It came to the attention of the remaining Caffeine Fixation staff that Roxas' concentration had been shot to hell when the boy pretty much stumbled headlong into Cloud without realising it.

"I think you need to sit down," Cloud told him with some amount of concern, holding him at arm's length and peering critically into his bloodshot eyes. "Or maybe you should just go home," he concluded.

Roxas didn't want to admit he was suffering, but he couldn't deny that his head was spinning and he felt exhausted.

Leon was looking at Roxas sympathetically. He was just about to offer to send the kid home in his newly restored Volvo when lo and behold, Axel beat him to it, stating that he would be more than happy to take one for the team and chivalrously walk the sick boy home since Sora wasn't around to do so.

This suggestion was initially met with outright refusal on Roxas' part. His house was only a fifteen minute walk away, for crying out loud! And what the hell would his parents think if they caught this sleazebag accompanying him to his doorstep?!

But Axel was adamant. Even Leon and Cloud thought Roxas was being unreasonable.

"I'm fine," Roxas grumbled, swaying a little on the spot.

Demyx was having none of it. "You clearly need a chaperone tonight, dude."

Eventually, with a whole lot of coaxing from his colleagues, Roxas relented. While he was feeling a little faint and light-headed, he obviously didn't want to be carried home. But he didn't want to be alone either, in case he passed out on the sidewalk and got pissed on by stray cats.

Ugh, if only Sora didn't bail on him tonight.

Everyone went home after that. Leon had decided to drop Cloud off at his apartment as a gesture of goodwill (and to return the blond's favour of letting him use his couch last night), and Demyx boarded his usual bus home. That left Roxas and Axel to wander the streets of Sundown at 9pm.

The night was unusually chilly. This did not bode well for Roxas Montana and his irritated sinuses in the slightest. He had the darkest look plastered on his face as they made their way toward the affluent suburb of Crépuscule Heights. He clearly wasn't in the best mood. His stuffy nose, swollen eyes and stiff posture made him appear terrifyingly unapproachable.

Between the two of them, the silence was almost tangible. Roxas had a lot on his mind and wished he had something to distract his wandering thoughts, but Axel didn't seem to want to break their silence – he clearly wanted Roxas to speak first. After all, the kid had demanded respect and the redhead was damn well gonna give it to him.

They were five minutes into their journey before Roxas eventually said something.

"Stop it."

Axel had to double check himself. "Stop what?"

Roxas indicated the space between them. "You're standing way too close."

"Really?" Axel was perplexed. There was a whole heap of empty room between them that he had consciously given the boy. "I thought this was a very respectable distance."

"Do you want to get sick?" Roxas griped irritably.

"I don't get sick," Axel replied truthfully. "I'm a very healthy individual. It's been like, four years since I last—"

"JUST MOVE."

"Okay, okay," Axel sighed, scooting to the right a bit more. "Don't get me wrong, Rox, I totally appreciate your sudden absurd concern for my wellbeing, but sometimes, you can be really difficult.

"Difficult?"

"Yeah. Difficult."

Despite being on the verge of spiralling headfirst into the clutches of a dreadful bout of influenza, Roxas still found the energy to raise his voice.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean? I am completely normal."

"No, I mean, yeah, you're normal," Axel agreed sincerely, before adding, "to everyone else."

"Because I'm going to treat a guy who enjoys kissing me out of the blue for no reason at all—a guy who calls it a fucking game—normal?" Roxas' reply was several octaves higher than he intended. It didn't help that he felt a sore throat coming on.

At that, Axel stopped walking. This prompted his companion to eventually do the same and whirl around with a scowl.

"Look, Roxas. About last night, uh…" The redhead made an overly eloquent gesture in the air that could have meant anything from I thought perhaps you'd appreciate the taste of cigarettes to there are lots of ants in my hair.

"Please tell me, what the fuck were you thinking?"

"I just thought—"

"That I was someone you could just simply fuck around with?" Roxas snarled, voice scratchy. "Like to play games with little boys, do you?"

"Holy crap, Roxas!" Axel exploded, throwing both hands up in the air in exasperation. "That's not it at all! You obviously hate me and I obviously like you. How the hell else was I supposed to get you to kiss me?!"

Oh.

Roxas shut his mouth and pursed his lips, not trusting himself to say anything while his brain processed this information.

Axel sighed at the boy's silence, taking it as a negative sign. "Okay. I get it. Look, I'm – I'm sorry I kissed you. I'm sorry if it made you feel uncomfortable. Most of all, I'm sorry if it made you hate me even more."

The redhead sounded genuinely crestfallen.

Roxas looked at Axel for long a moment, noting the man's defeated tone with some degree of alarm. Shit, he's actually really upset, he couldn't help but think, panicking for a moment. Then: Oh god, do something! The blond groaned. "Axel, calm down. I… I don't hate you—" Axel looked up with hope in his eyes. "—okay, maybe a little."

It was like a switch had been flicked. "We can work with that!" the redhead babbled eagerly.

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Sure." He was a little relieved that Axel seemed to bounce back quickly. "Can we just stop talking about last night already? All this yelling is making my throat hurt."

"Anything you want, sweet cheeks."

Roxas gnawed on his bottom lip in an effort to remain quiet.

They eventually arrived at Roxas' highly prestigious neighbourhood. Everywhere Axel looked, he saw fancy houses with extensive lawns and expensive-looking cars parked in driveways. It was starting to dawn on the redhead that maybe this kid really was quite out of his league.

They'd managed to keep the rest of their conversation civil and friendly (mostly).

They ambled past a huge, stately mansion emblazoned with the words Vaïve Residence on a swanky golden plaque out the front.

"That's Sora's house, by the way," Roxas muttered, pointing at the sprawling complex.

Axel whistled lowly, eyebrows raised. "So his dad really is some kind of big shot?"

"Yep. Current mayor of Twilight Metropolis, actually. Sora hates talking about his family's high-profile background though, so don't go bringing it up."

The redhead nodded. He wasn't too curious about Sora's personal life anyway. He looked down the street with some amount of interest. "Which one's yours?"

Roxas pointed at an arguably smaller (but no less extravagant) three-storey manor across the road. The one with the brightly lit stone panel depicting an ornately engraved house number: N° XIII.

"Is that a Porsche I see parked out the front?" Axel asked.

"That ugly pink thing? Yeah. My mom's. She doesn't really understand how to be discreet. Then again, she's a trashy supermodel so, you know." The boy sniffled distastefully.

They slowly made their way toward Roxas' home in silence. Axel was clearly sullen that they had come to the end of their journey and were about to part ways. Roxas didn't seem to have the confidence to say anything at all. Instead, he preoccupied himself with glancing up at the window where he knew the master bedroom was to ensure his meddling mother wasn't secretly spying on them. He'd never hear the end of it if he was caught being escorted home by some older guy with unnaturally red hair and tattoos on his face.

They finally arrived at the large wooden double doors that marked the entrance to the house.

"Guess this is your stop," Axel muttered, breaking the silence as the blond moved to unlock the front door.

"Yeah," Roxas murmured, pulling the door open as soundlessly as he could. Stepping cautiously inside, the boy glanced back at Axel with an evaluating expression, fingers restlessly thumbing the key in the door, eyes involuntarily assessing his co-worker's pale face and sharp features. Well, okay, maybe if he squinted juuuust a little, the guy could actually be pretty hot—

NO. Stop, you fucking idiot. Roxas mentally slapped himself with the violence of a tornado. Don't fucking do this to yourself. NO SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL! Roxas wanted to kick something. Sora, this is all YOUR fault!

With a tired frown, the blond collected himself and sighed heavily. Axel was giving him the weirdest look now and was probably wondering why he wasn't moving or saying anything. He attempted to shrug in the most nonchalant way he could manage before opening his mouth to speak.

"Never thought I'd say this—actually I don't want to say this—but uh, thanks," he mumbled as gratefully as he could, "for walking me home."

Axel smiled, utterly thrilled that Roxas had appreciated his company. "Any time at all, Rox. I'd do it again in a heartbeat," he replied honestly.

Bet you would, Roxas thought bitterly. And I'd probably let you. FUCK YOU SORA, YOU ARE DEAD.

"Well, I'd better let you get some rest," Axel said then, interrupting Roxas' murderous thoughts. "G'night, Roxas. Please get better. I need entertainment at work, and if you're not there, everything would suck. A lot."

Roxas struggled with his response for a bit. He knew he was treading on very uncharted territory here and, in a desperate bid to return to some previous state of normalcy, looked like he was about to respond with some callously sarcastic remark and shut the door in the redhead's face. This was something he would've had no problem doing.

Until now.

Instead, the boy made a miraculous split second decision to smile grudgingly at Axel.

"I think Demyx and Sora are entertaining enough," he found himself saying.

Axel grinned and shook his head. "Subpar substitutes. You're the way better alternative."

Roxas rolled his eyes and made a little shoo-ing motion with his hand. "Night, Axel."

"Dream of me?"

"Honestly, I'd rather not." It was a blunt comeback, but that grudging smile was still plastered on the boy's face, and as he moved to push the door shut, he added: "Don't you dare get your stupid ass lost on the way home."

Author's note: Literally minutes after I started typing up the final scene of this chapter, I developed an insanely terrible sore throat. Now, every time I swallow, it's like knives going down my oesophagus. Not cool. Roxas, how dare you?

Reeeview? :)