Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters.

Warnings: Yaoi

Author's Note: Like I said at the end of last chapter, this one takes place at around Christmas time. The more I write for this fanfiction, the more I don't want it to end. I'm just having so much fun writing it. Just to please the readers, there's a bit of both Akuroku and CloudxLeon in this one. I'm just hoping I get to finish the entire chapter...the power acts like it's going to go out, but it isn't. It bothers me.

Pretending

Chapter 8: Family Tension

Time flies when you're having fun, or so they say. Roxas was definitely having fun with his boyfriend, Axel. The two went out on dates together, although Roxas told his parents that he was only going somewhere with his friends. Kayla thought Roxas' excuses were suspicious; Roxas never wanted to leave the house on Friday nights. Kayla soon found Roxas was gone more and more as the months went by.

Although Roxas wasn't necessarily a huge talker, his presence was still missed by his family. Roxas was hardly ever home now; he was hanging out with his friends until dusk, then coming home and going right to bed afterwards. The only time Roxas spent with his family was dinner, and occasionally breakfast.

Sora was used to Roxas' presence in the household. Whenever Sora needed help, whether it be algebra problems or something as simple as opening that darned can of mayonnaise, Roxas was always willing to give his help without complaint. Sora found himself asking Kayla and Cloud more and more for help with doing things. Although Kayla and Cloud enjoyed the newfound attention, they still felt that Roxas would be doing a better job; after all, Sora and Roxas were twins, though they didn't look and act like it.

Cloud was suspicious of Roxas' sudden disappearances on the weekends. Like a big brother, he worried about what his younger sibling was doing. The possibilities were endless - drugs, crime, street racing. However, Cloud knew that Roxas would never participate in any of those three activities. There was one other activity that Roxas would engage in - dating.

"Hey, Leon?" Cloud asked, cuddling closer to Leon on the bed. Leon grunted as he pulled Cloud closer to him.

"What is it, Cloud?" Leon replied.

"Roxas has been gone a lot more lately...I think I know what's going on," Cloud stated, lazily placing an arm over Leon's waist.

"Roxas...your brother, right?" Leon asked.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, my younger brother. Do you think he could be...dating?"

Leon thought a minute, realizing that Cloud's parents were slightly religious. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Yeah, maybe. You did the same thing."

"Why would he be hiding it, then?" Cloud asked, closing his eyes. Leon could tell how worried Cloud was about his brother.

"Your parents are slightly religious...but you don't know whether they consider homosexuality to be a sin or not."

"..." Cloud had to think for a moment before Leon's words had meaning. "You mean...Roxas could be dating a guy?"

"Why not?" Leon asked. "Your parents never made it clear whether or not homosexuality was a sin...and we've been dating for what, a few years? Maybe Roxas is uncertain as to how his parents are going to deal with it, so he's hiding it. The boy's just like you, Cloud."

"Yeah, I guess he is...Should I ask him about it?"

"No, when he's ready, I guess he'll tell by himself. You might wanna watch his back, Cloud."

"I already am, Leon. I already am..."

"Good boy," Leon said, connecting his lips with Cloud's.

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Axel wrapped his arm around Roxas' waist, pulling the smaller boy into his lap. Axel sighed in contentment as he rested his head upon Roxas' shoulder.

There's a time where everything seems to be right. At that time, if only for a second, there is no pain, no sadness, no worries. Everyone has a trigger of sorts which triggers that time of euphoria. For Roxas, his trigger was simple. Simply being with Axel put him in a mood of euphoria. Roxas was sure that Axel felt the same way.

Though the world was cold and covered in snow, the interior of Axel's house was warm and cozy, an amazing contrast to the weather outside. Little white snowflakes fell from the heavens and danced to the ground, landing on top of their brethren. The snow was pure white, not yet tainted by the dirty air that came from a pipe on the back of every car. Thick light gray clouds prevented anyone from viewing the sun, and a cool breeze blew the snow into miniature twisters, dancing across the streets.

Axel's house had a nice little fireplace, which, thanks to Axel, housed a tiny fire inside of it. Roxas and Axel cuddled on the couch, quietly talking about anything and everything. Two empty bowls with two spoons sat upon the coffee table. All lights in the house were off; the only light provided was a gift from the fire.

"I love you, Axel," Roxas said, resting his head on the said teenager's chest.

"Love you too, Roxy," Axel replied, smiling softly. Roxas had hated that nickname before, but now Roxas insisted upon being called it whenever they were in private.

A moment of comfortable silence passed before Roxas spoke again. "You know you didn't have to quit your job for me, Axel."

"Nonsense," Axel replied, shaking his head. "I wanted to spend more time with you, and my job didn't let me do that."

"But still..." Roxas protested, but was quieted by a kiss.

"Better now?" Axel asked. Roxas chuckled.

"Yeah," he nodded, getting off of Axel and onto the seat next to him. He laid back, resting his head in Axel's lap.

"Aw...so cute," Axel said, pinching Roxas' cheeks. He chuckled as Roxas pouted.

"Bad Axel," Roxas said between chuckles.

"Bad Roxas," Axel retorted.

Many minutes of silence passed. Roxas closed his eyes as he thought about the semi-recent events that had taken place in his life.

His summer vacation had started out normal enough. It was only at the end of it that a sudden twist had occurred. He had went to the mall that day and had met Axel in a store. He had given Axel his cell phone number, half expecting for Axel to never call. School started, and soon Roxas found that Axel and his friends were in every one of his classes. Roxas had a fight with Hayner, causing him to temporarily spiral into a period of depression. He had become lazy and depressed. Eventually, Roxas and Hayner made up.

Axel had confronted Hayner after school one day. Axel misheard only two of Hayner's words, causing Axel to fall into a horrible rage. He had given Hayner a black eye. Roxas had discovered what Axel had done, and had proceeded to be angry with the redhead. Axel, depressed and suicidal, went to the old bridge to jump into the frigid waters below.

Roxas had stopped him, and the two fell into love.

But now, the future stood before them, giving Roxas a horrible feeling within the pit of his gut. Something terrible was going to happen, but he could not figure out what it could possibly be. There were too many possibilities.

Meanwhile, Roxas was also trying to balance his family time with Axel time. He realized that he spent a lot of time with Axel, and was neglecting his own family. Roxas wanted to bring Axel into the family, introduce him as his boyfriend, but Roxas had a feeling that it wasn't going to work.

"Axel?" Roxas asked, opening his eyes.

"What is it, Roxy?" Axel replied.

"You know...we're going to have to tell my parents about us. It's been a few months now, and they still have no idea of what's going on. I feel like I'm neglecting them, you know?"

"Hmm..." Axel thought. "Well, would your parents approve of our relationship?"

"I don't know," Roxas replied. "They never made it clear whether or not they approve of people like us."

"So, what are we going to do, then?"

"I want to tell them -"

"- Good. You're going to have to, anyway. Might as well just wing it, right?"

Roxas nodded. "Right."

----------

Monday nights are always terrible. Your freedom, given to you by the weekend, was gone, and you were once again in the torture that they call school. Homework is given daily once again, giving students less and less free time.

Roxas' backpack, full of books and homework, sat next to his bed. Roxas laid upon his bed, one arm draped across his forehead. He was exhausted, mentally and physically.

Gym class was never Roxas' favorite class. Running a few miles was never Roxas' favorite thing to do. Homework was something that he had learned to deal with over the years, but regardless, was always exhausting.

"Oh, man..." Roxas said, wincing as his migraine seemed to become even more painful. Every muscle in his body ached.

"Why do we have to run that much, anyway? It's just torture."

Roxas sighed, remembering his conversation with Axel the previous weekend.

"I need to tell them...but how? I know Cloud's gay, but..."

Roxas paused mid-sentence, realizing what he had said.

"That's right! I'll go ask Cloud for help tomorrow night, then. Assuming he's not at Leon's."

The wind howled outside as heavy snow fell to the ground and collected on the sidewalks and streets. Though they were clean before, after night fell, they were once again dirty. The inhabitants of the town would have to wake up early tomorrow to clear the streets and sidewalks with shovels and snow blowers.

Students across the town were hoping for the school's staff to call a snow day, while the parents hoped that their children would have to go to school, just so the parents would be able to have some free time.

The snow turned to rain, and the rain turned to snow, causing the fallen snow to harden into ice. The wind blew harder and harder, howling louder and louder. A crack and thud was heard as a large old tree fell into the nearby power lines.

At that moment, every light and electronic device in the town turned off, leaving the town and its inhabitants in darkness until sunrise.

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Author's Note: A little bit shorter than what I intended, but I still like the chapter anyway. Luckily, the power never went out. If it had, it probably wouldn't have been back on for about 12 hours anyway. That's the bad thing about living in the middle of nowhere, besides the fact that you don't get city water.

I'm planning at least 2-3 more chapters, right now. This chapter was kind of filler, though. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!

One last thing, since school is starting for me on Tuesday...my updates will be a little less frequent. Just wanted to inform everyone.