Sorry for the long wait, but I'm back!

Acknowledgments

-x-Princess Ashe-x-: Thank you!

bloody-black-valentine: Thank you!

Blubber Nuggets: I'm glad you found this story and don't worry I'm working on the final chapter of Don't Be Racist.

Kasaru-chan: Don't worry I'll explain soon.

New Favers

bloody-black-valentine

Blubber Nuggets


The next four days passed fairly quickly yet differently for everyone. Vexen mostly stayed in the basement of the castle where he was visited frequently by Marluxia. The two often tested each others' intelligence with sometimes trivial but mostly complicated questions about anything and everything to do with science. Zexion and Axel had long given up on getting their comrade's assistance despite Marluxia's insistence that he was helping. Axel split his time between research and Roxas, although even he found the researching to be utterly boring and started spending more time with the youngest blond prince. Things also went differently for the three princes. Roxas and Vexen were a buzz, constantly talking about their days. Demyx would smile happily and joke around until someone, usually Vexen, mentioned Marluxia, which always inevitably lead to the discussion of his boyfriend, thus turning Demyx's mood sour. However, none of the servants noticed the crown prince's mood and even Axel only realized something was up when Roxas mentioned it to him.

Vexen joined his siblings in Demyx's room where Roxas and Demyx were seated on Demyx's bed.

" Vexen, what's that?" Roxas pointing to a rose that was sticking out of Vexen's coat pocket, drawing both of his brothers' eyes to the flower. Vexen frowned and pulled the rose out of his pocket to examine it. It was a fine specimen of a rose with petals of a deep hunter green. Obviously, it was an very unusually rose.

" I guess Marluxia slipped this into my pocket, when I passed him on the way up here." Vexen mused, his eyes too busy examining the rose to notice the way Demyx's eyes narrowed at the mention of the pink head's name. The older prince turned around abruptly and left the room without so much as another word to his siblings. He found Marluxia in the basement, examining a row of bottles lined against a wall.

" I see you found my rose." Marluxia said without turning around, as Vexen came down the stairs.

" I can't believe you call this genetically inferior thing, a rose." Vexen said coldly. Marluxia smirked. Such was their simple greeting. Others could waste precious air with idle pleasantries. Vexen and Marluxia found it much more interesting to cut the pleasantries and get right to the chase.

" You don't like it?" Marluxia asked, turning a around to from at Vexen.

" It's unnatural." Vexen sniffed.

" Science is unnatural." Marluxia countered.

" Science is the study of natural things. It is natural." Vexen said simply.

" Things?" Marluxia asked as he raised an eyebrow. " Wow, your vocabulary is losing its sophistication."

" It looks like your sense of morals has slipped as well if you're giving me a fake rose."

" Why do you consider it unnatural? It's just as alive as you or me." Marluxia said. "At least, I hope you're alive." He added with a smirk.

" That's if you consider plants to be alive." Vexen said disdainfully, ignorign the previous comment as to whether he was alive. Marluxia's sapphire blue eyes narrowed.

" Oh, but I do." He said sourly.

" Then you are unnatural." Vexen stated and plunked the rose into a fat beaker filled with water. Blue eyes widened and Marluxia rushed forward to snatch the rose from the beaker.

" How could you?" He exclaimed in disbelief. " You could have contaminated it."

" I know." Vexen responded with a smirk of his own.

" You did that on purpose." The pink head exclaimed and flicked the rose, sprinkling water onto Vexen's coat. The blond shrugged and took off his coat.

" Yes. But that shouldn't matter as it's unnatural" He said simply and walked past Marluxia to examine the row of bottles. " You haven't been tampering with my chemicals have you?" He called over his shoulder.

" No." The pink head responded with a frown. " I don't 'tamper' with your chemicals so don't mess with my plants."

" You gave that rose to me so its mine to do with as I wish."

" So if I had done something to your poison, that would have been, okay?" Vexen stiffened and whirled around to glare at the other man.

" No." He snapped.

" Exactly, and I wouldn't have done anything, so stop glaring at me. I knew how complicated that poison is and would have not done anything bad to it. So you should have shown the same respect to my rose." Marluxia said and touched the green flower to Vexen's nose. " and not tried to kill it." He said punctuating each word by shoving the rose at the blond's face. Vexen wrinkled his nose and stepped away from Marluxia.

" Alright, no use getting upset over that." He said.

" Upset? You tried putting my rose in hydrochloric acid." Marluxia exclaimed.

" Calm down. " Vexen said calmly. " It was just alcohol, I just left the old label on." To prove that he stuck a finger into the beaker and waited a few minuets before pulling it out and showing the finger to Marluxia. " See? Nothing. Besides, you stole my poison. I didn't give it to you."

" You still shouldn't have put my rose in alcohol." Marluxia said with a slight pout. Vexen rolled his eyes.

" Don't pout. You're much too old to be doing that." The blond snapped.

" How do you know how old I am?" Marluxia asked raising one eyebrow slightly. " You haven't been checking up on me, have you?"

" Of course not." Vexen said with a snort. " I just know you're older than Roxas and probably older then Demyx, which makes you a man and men don't pout." Vexen paused and gave Marluxia a once over. " You are a man, right?" He asked. Marluxia's face reddened slightly.

" Of course I'm a man." He sputtered, then calmed down and smirked. " If you want, I could prove it to you."

" You shouldn't hit on others when you have a boyfriend." Vexen said camly, unaffected by the comment.

" What boyfriend?" Marluxia asked. Vexen turned around to see Marluxia was staring in confusion at him.

" Zexion." Vexen said hesitantly. Marluxia laughed.

" Zexion is not my boyfriend. He's cute but not cute enough to date. Cute enough to eat maybe, but not date." The pink head assured him. Vexen frowned and grabbed the rose from Marluxia's hand. Holding up his free hand to stop the other from saying anything, the blond prince looked directly into the pink head's eyes.

" Tell me, truthfully, is Zexion your boyfriend?" He asked.

" I already told you, no." Marluxia said, sounding annoyed.

" Good." Vexen said and turned away abruptly. He walked over to a large wooden closet and pulled out a clean beaker and quickly filled it with water. He gently placed the rose in this new beaker and quickly hurried up the stairs, leaving a very confused Marluxia.


" Roxas." Vexen exclaimed bursting into said blond's room to find him on the bed with Axel. Vexen stopped dead in his tracks as he absorbed the sight of his brother sitting on top of Axel holding a grape in front of the red head's mouth. Vexen backed out of the room, thankful that his brother's one-track mind actually worked in his favor, considering neither of the boys on the bed had noticed the interruption. Although that really can't be considered an interruption if neither noticed it.


Anyway, Vexen decided to walk down to the kitchens for breakfast and found Demyx sitting by himself eating a bowl of oatmeal. Not good oatmeal either, with sugar or cinnamon or even fruit. No, this was the plain, boring, disgusting oatmeal and all three brothers had always refused to eat the stuff, until today, apparently. Vexen wrinkled his nose at his brother's odd taste in food and sat down beside him. Demyx looked up at him when he sat down, but then turned back to his oatmeal as he continued to stir it while staring aimlessly in to space.

" Demyx, you can't sit here felling sorry for your self." Vexen said gently.

" Well, I'm sorry I don't have anyone to spend all day flirting with." Demyx snapped.

" What do you expect from Roxas? He really likes Axel."

" Of course he likes Axel, even to the point to the being so fucking obvious. But I wasn't talking only about him, Vexen. I was also talking about you."

" Me?" Vexen asked in disbelief. " I don't flirt with Marluxia."

" Well, not in the normal way. But then again, you never were normal."

" You're one to talk." Vexen said wryly. Demyx ignored him and rolled his eyes.

" Your little tests of intelligence are just ways to discerning whether he's a potential mate." Demyx scoffed.

" You make us sound like animals." Vexen commented.

" Well we are, aren't we? Our minds are completely wrapped up in either looking for mates or competing with others."

" Demyx, that may be true but you're not supposed to be thinking these things." Vexen said gently.

" What? I'm not allowed to be smart? Intelligence is reserved only for Vexen? Then what do I do? Be funny, because I don't feel like being funny. How the hell can I be funny when I'm pissed?" Demyx nearly shouted.

" Why are you so angry?"

" Why do you think? I don't understand what he would see in a guy like that." Demyx said with disgust.

" He-? Oh, Marluxia and Zexion." Vexen said in realization.

" You make them sound even more like a couple." Demyx sniffed.

" Look Dem, you shouldn't be stressing out over a guy you've only known for a day before you found out he had a boyfriend."

" But I just can't help feeling like he's lying to me. Like he and Marluxia aren't dating." Demyx admitted.

" Well, Dem, I don't think they are." Vexen said then winced, not knowing what to expect.

" What do you mean?" Demyx asked.

" Marluxia told me truthfully that he and Zexion weren't dating. He said Zexion was cute enough to eat," Demyx blushed slightly (dirty thoughts) and his brother rolled his eyes, " but he wasn't cute enough to date."

" So that means Zexion lied to me?" Demyx asked slowly.

" Yes, I guess so." Demyx stood up suddenly, almost upsetting his bowl." Vexen, please ready a carriage and call Roxas down." He ordered.

" Why?" Vexen asked.

" I'm going swimming." His brother answered, flashing a bright smile, before turning to leave the room. " Oh, and tell Roxas that Axel can bring his friends along. I want to have a talk with Zexion, away from the castle and I'm sure you wouldn't mind seeing Marluxia 'au natural'."

" What?" Vexen sputtered as his face turned bright red.

" I said 'You wouldn't mind seeing Marluxia out in nature'." Demyx said innocently. " Why? What do you think I said?" He asked cocking his head to the side slightly. Vexen blushed even more.

" Nothing." He muttered. Demyx turned away and his brother didn't see him smirk as he left.


Now I'm sure you're probably wondering what the big deal was about going swimming. You see, water for Demyx, wasn't simply H2O, as it was to Vexen, nor was it simply something to cool down in after a hard day of riding, like Roxas. Water was more of an outlet, a stress reliever. When Demyx was in water, all of his pains melted away and he was one with the cool liquid around him. His brothers knew that from the very first time Demyx had been set into a bath tub, he had fallen in love with the water. The crown prince was currently swimming laps in a huge fresh water spring. The way he moved, you'd think he had fins instead of legs. He dove under water and surfaced, spraying Vexen, who sat by the water's edge, with water. Vexen scowled and wiped the water off his face. Demyx smiled at him then back flipped away to dive again into the water. An otter watched all this then dove into the water and swam beside the prince. Demyx smiled and reached out a hand to pet the otter. The small mammal darted away and, smiling, the prince gave chase to the little animal. The otter swam through a ring of rocks and shot toward the surface, leaping out and diving nose first back into the water, like a dolphin. Demyx followed suit, leaping from the water, again spraying Vexen, and dove back into the water. Vexen stood up abruptly and walked under a large willow tree.

" Vexen, why did you leave?" Demyx called.

" Well, mermaid-boy, I left because someone kept splashing me." Vexen snapped.

" Sorry, Vexen." Demyx called and dove back under the water to play with the otter, who had, somehow, climbed onto his head.

" Mermaid-boy? Now, Vexen, you know your brother is a man, right?" Marluxia asked with a chuckle. Vexen glared up at the pink head. Marluxia was sitting on the lowest branch of the willow tree, which left his booted feet dangling several inches above Vexen's head.

" I was well aware of the fact, thank you, Marluxia." Vexen said.

" Then why call him a boy?" Marluxia inquired.

" Because he acts like one." Vexen snorted.

" You know, I thought Marluxia would ask Vexen why he called Demyx a 'mermaid-boy', not get on him for simply calling the prince, a boy." Axel commented.

" Why would Marluxia asked the obvious questions? You should know him better that that." Zexion muttered, his nose still buried in another book from the castle.

" Zex, you should enjoy your self. How many times does any one get to come here?" Axel asked throwing his arms up to emphasize the space.

" This is a private place owned by royalty. I bet no one comes here, save the princes." Zexion commented.

" Exactly, so enjoy yourself. You might not get a chance to come back here."

" Why don't you? Shouldn't you be attending to the youngest of those royal brats?" Zexion asked.

" Yeah, but Roxas ran off somewhere."

" Then why don't you find him?"

" Because I'm keeping my good buddy Zexion, company."

" You don't have to." Zexion said.

" But I insist." Axel said flashing a cheeky smile. Zexion slowly raised his eyes from the book.

" You really don't have to." He said slowly. Axel laughed.

" Ok, emo kid. Just give me a hug before leave." He said raised his arms toward Zexion. Zexion closed the book and raised it above his head.

" If you don't leave me in peace in five seconds, I'll throw this very very heavy book at your head." The slate-haired man hissed. Axel backed away, still laughing.

" Ok, I'm off." And with that he darted into the nearby woods to look for Roxas. Zexion sighed and opened his book again. A shadow fell causing him to frown.

" Axel I sai-" He began, when Demyx cut him off.

" I'm not Axel." Zexion caught a strong whiff of water drenched clothes and looked up. What he saw made him gape. Demyx was wearing nothing but navy blue swim trunks which meant that everything was exposed, especially his lightly tanned chest. Water beaded all over his skin, catching the sun, making the prince's skin glow. The water also made Demyx's hair look even more golden. All in all, the crown prince looked breathtaking. He certainly took Zexion's breath away. His gray eyes took in the prince's swim trunks and he briefly wondered if the tan continued past the swim trunks. Demyx, unaware Zexion was thinking dirty thoughts about him, sat down on the grass in front of the book worm. The blond took one quick look around them. Vexen and Marluxia were wrapped up in another conversation, this one about cat tails by the way Vexen waved said plant around. Axel and Roxas were walking around the lake, stopping every so often to pick up a stick or a rock. By the time Demyx, turned back, Zexion had successfully clamped down on his hormones and wiped the small trail of drool from his face.

" Zexion, I know you lied to me." Demyx began.

" Lied about what, your majesty?" Zexion asked, his eyes betraying nothing of his thoughts.

" Call me Demyx. I know you lied about having a boyfriend."

" But how, Demyx?" Zexion asked looking only slightly confused.

" Marluxia said so himself." Demyx answered, leaving out the fact that Vexen told him. Zexion's eyes narrowed.

" He did? Well, Demyx, when I told you we were dating, we were." Zexion insisted.

" No, we weren't." Marluxia exclaimed. Demyx and Zexion looked over at the pink head to see Marluxia stamping his foot against the tree in anger. He had talking to Vexen and hadn't heard the other two's conversation. " We were never in the kitchens. That old hag is just trying to frame us." Marluxia continued. Vexen frowned and shook his head, but didn't say anything. Zexion turned back to Demyx. The blond was studying him carefully.

" No, you never did date Marluxia, did you?" He asked. Zexion nodded.

" Then why did you tell me you did?" Demyx asked.

" Because I was trying to be delicate."

" How?"

" I couldn't tell you I had not interest in you."

" Of course you could." Demyx said calmly.

" What?" Zexion asked, shooting the blond a quizzical stare.

" You could have told me you didn't have any interest in me. I wouldn't have thrown you into the dungeon or anything." The blond said with a chuckle.

" You wouldn't have?"

" No, of course not." Demyx snorted. " Just tell me that you don't think I'm attractive." He said.

" But I do think you're attractive." Zexion blurted out. His gray widened, as did Demyx's eyes.

" What?" Demyx asked.

" I didn't say anything." Zexion said quickly.

" Yes, you did. You said that you think I'm attractive." Demyx said, slowly smiling.

" No, I didn't."

" Yes, you did." Demyx insisted. Now, he was smiling insanely. Then, the smile vanished and Demyx turned serious. He leaned in to whisper into Zexion's ear. "So Zexion, tell me. What do you find attractive about me?" Your hot sexy body Zexion thought, but instead said,

" Uh, your hair?"

" My hair?" Demyx asked, pulling away to run a hand through his still wet hair.

" Yeah, I like how it stays up without looking crazy." Well, that part was true.

" Oh, ok." Demyx said and leaned forward again. " You know, I think you're cute, too." He whispered. Zexion couldn't help snorting, causing Demyx to pull away. "What?" The prince asked looking confused.

" That's kind of obvious." Zexion said with a smirk.

" It is not." Demyx exclaimed.

" Yes it is." Zexion chuckled.

" Fine." Demyx gave up and stood up. Zexion had to crane his neck to look up at the blond and the sun hid the grin on the prince's face. " Want to go swimming?"

" No, I didn't bring anything to change in to." Zexion said.

" Why don't you skinny dip? I'm sure Demyx wouldn't mind." Axel called. Roxas stood behind him with a hand over his own mouth, trying to suppress laughter but obviously failing. Zexion glared at the red head, not noticing that Demyx's face turned bright red. The crown prince turned and took a running leap in to the spring. Zexion turned toward the spring as Demyx's head emerge from the water.

" What was that for?" Zexion asked. Demyx blushed again and dove back under the water. Zexion merely stared after him before turning back to his book.

Vexen smiled as he watched the latest chapter in his brother's life. Marluxia scowled and jumped down from the tree, making sure not to hit Vexen on his way down. He bent over and dipped his hand into the spring, jumping back almost immediately.

"Does this thing ever heat up?" The pink head whined.

" You should be glad I have such a wonderful sense of humor or I would have thought you were serious." Vexen commented.

" I wasn't. But the spring could be warmer." Marluxia retorted.

" Why? It came from underground, it shouldn't be warmer." Vexen said and put a hand in the spring. "And besides, it's not that bad."

" 'Not that bad'? It's ice water.!"

" Demyx doesn't have a problem with it." Vexen said pointing to the blond, who was leaping with the otter again.

" Demyx is also a 'mermaid-boy'" Marluxia said with a smirk, causing Vexen to roll his eyes.

" Ha-ha, you're hilarious." The blond said sarcastically. Marluxia pulled his boots off and gingerly placed his feet in the water. He shivered at the cold water then sat down on the grass, refusing to put more than his feet in the water.

Demyx surfaced again with his otter companion floating beside him. He looked around for the others to see that they were happily sitting on dry land. The prince frowned then smirked.

" Flotsam, I think I know a way to get them in the water." Demyx said mischievously. Flotsam blinked up at him with large chocolate brown eyes, as if understanding what the man was telling him. In reality, he just want to play again. Demyx took a deep breath and anchored his feet on a large rock in the middle of the spring which left his head well out of the water. " You guys." He called, grabbing everyone's attention. " By order of crown prince Demyx, I command all five of you to get in the water." Vexen and Roxas scowled and started taking off their shirts. Axel watched Roxas with curiosity.

" Do you always listen to him?" He asked.

" No" Roxas responded with a shrug. " It's just that Demyx's orders shouldn't be disobeyed." Roxas said cryptically. Marluxia frowned as Vexen started to unbutton his shirt.

" And you're listening to your younger brother because.. why?" The pink head asked.

" Don't ask just do as he says." Vexen snapped. The pink head shrugged and pulled off his shirt in one swift movement. Vexen pulled off his boots then the blond jumped quickly into the water while the pink head took his time, grudgingly getting used to the cold water.

" Humans aren't made to stand these conditions." Marluxia shivered.

" Of course they are." Vexen replied with a roll of his emerald green eyes. " Just start moving around."

" Even if I do get my blood circulating, that won't make the water any warmer." Marluxia sniffed.

" You complain too much."

" Like you're one to talk. Roxas says you won't shut up during the summer because it's too hot."Marluxia said with a whine for added effect.

" I need to remind Roxas not to tell certain things about his family." Vexen muttered.

Meanwhile, Roxas had leapt into the water and was swimming with Demyx and Flotsam, the otter. Zexion and Axel watched them, both having decided not to get into the freezing water. Axel, mainly because of his intolerance of cold places and Zexion because he was just too lazy. Oh, and the fact that he was actually working! But no one really cared about that. The two younger princes, watched the two on the shore and plotted how to get them in the water.

" I don't know, Demyx. He might get mad if we do that." Roxas said nervously.

" Oh come on, Roxas. What good is a guy who doesn't have a sense of humor?" Demyx asked.

" It's just that, he doesn't really like the water kinda, like a cat."

" Like a cat, huh? Rawr, I wonder how he is in bed" Demyx commented, causing Roxas' face to redden despite the cold water.

" Stop that." His brother said with a scowl. Demyx laughed and looked around for their eldest brother. Vexen was examining something in a patch of hibiscus. Marluxia was nowhere to be found. Then Vexen disappeared underwater. The blond surfaced, filling the air with angry curses which were soon followed by Marluxia's laughter. The laughter itself was silenced when the afore mentioned laugher's head was dunked under water. Demyx ignored the older men, who were acting very much like children, and turned back to Roxas.

" Shall we?" He asked. Roxas nodded. Demyx raised two fingers to his lips whistled. At once, Sora popped up from behind a nearby bush.

" You blew, your majesty?" Sora asked, hiding a snicker behind his hand.

" Yes," Demyx said taking on an air of princely authority. " Sora, those ruffians on the shore have disobeyed a direct order. As punishment, I want them thrown into the spring. But take care not to damage the book the shorter one is holding." Sora looked over at Zexion and Axel and nodded, smiling wickedly.

" Right away, your majesty." The brunette said throwing a quick salute before sneaking away into the forest.

This conversation had not gone unnoticed, however, Marluxia was the only one who had heard everything. The pink head decided being thrown in the spring was proper punishment for Zexion for kicking him several days ago. Marluxia didn't have anything against Axel but it was still fun to see Axel's expression when the pyromaniac met water or ice or any combination of the two. Marluxia had distracted Vexen by pointing out a rare species of butterfly. While normally the scientific prince would have ignored such an insignificant specimen, as he called it, he immediately took interest when told that this butterfly was used to pollinate an equally rare species of flower, that only grew in the Queen's garden. Zexion and Axel were caught completely unawares when Sora, and Riku surrounded them with perhaps five other guards. The two men did not seem frightened, and Marluxia hadn't expected them to be. Instead, Zexion calmly set the book down and stood up. It was then that Sora and Riku grabbed him and tossed him into the lake. Axel started laughing so much he didn't notice when the same thing was done to him. The red head squirted water at the slate haired man's face when Zexion laughed in return. Marluxia smirked and turned his attention back to Vexen who had caught the butterfly and was busy examining a pink petaled hibiscus.

" Marluxia, come over here." Vexen called. The pink head came over." Tell me, have you ever heard of a mutation in hibiscus that makes them pink?"

" No, I haven't actually." Marluxia confessed.

" Fascinating." Vexen murmured and reached out a hand to grasp one of the petals when Marluxia grabbed his hand and pulled it back.

" Don't touch that!" The pink head exclaimed.

" Why?"

" Look." Marluxia said pointing to where a small yellow spider sat in the middle of the flower.

" That spider could have bitten you." He explained.

" Wow, thank you." Vexen said in amazement, then reached forward to grab the flower again.

" Fine, get bitten, after I warned you." Vexen wasn't bitten, actually he gently picked up the small spider and allowed the arachnid to scurry across his hand before placing it on a nearby purple hibiscus. Then he plucked the pink hibiscus up by its roots and made his way back to his clothes to preserve the plant.

" I'm not stupid." Vexen said with a proud smirk after he had swum back to Marluxia. " I know how to handle animals." Marluxia rolled his eyes.

" Whatever," He muttered. " Let's go swimming.


The day passed fairly well for everyone. Even Zexion had to admit he was having a good time. Though, it had taken a lot of encouragement on Demyx' part to get the slate-haired man to actually play with the others. As the sun reached its zenith in the sky, Sephiroth called everyone out. When questioned as to why he made everyone get out when it would only get hotter, he informed them that they should eat now and rest while it was still cool.

" But won't it be hot if the sun is way up in the sky like that?" Roxas asked, joking, but only his brothers knew. Demyx snickered and ruffled his hair.

" No, Roxas, its hotter because the sun is all the way up there." The crown prince said pointing to the bright yellow orb in the sky.

" But why?" Roxas asked, adopting the voice of a three year old.

" Well, Roxas, its hotter later in the day because it takes a while for the sun to heat up the planet." Vexen answered.

" Why?" Roxas asked, blinking innocently.

" Because convection currents pass slower through solid objects then they do through the air."

" Why?"

"Because there's more matter in solid objects then gaseous ones."

" Why?"

"Because I said so." Demyx declared, standing up straight with his nose in the air.

" Oh." Roxas said simply and then the three brothers dissolved into a fit of giggles. Even, Vexen was bent over on the ground, holding his stomach as he laughed. Marluxia, Axel and Zexion watched the brotherly exchange and laughing fit with confusion.

" What's going on?" Marluxia mouthed to the other two. Axel mimed drinking and staggered while Zexion merely shrugged.

" Okay, is it just me or did I miss something?" Axel spoke up.

" You didn't miss anything. The princes just have 'moments' that only they understand." Sora explained using air quotes when he said he word 'moments'. Demyx smiled at the brunette.

" Indeed, now Sora, I trust our lunch is ready?" He asked. Sora bowed.

" Yes, my liege." Sora responded. " Right this way." He lead the group of six toward a small glade surrounded by tall trees, giving the perfect amount of shade yet also in easy walking distance from the spring. A large black and blue checkered tablecloth had been spread out and decorated with different plates and bowls of various foods. Marluxia and Zexion stared in amazement at the spread, but Axel, used to the food from having eaten with Roxas, merely took a seat beside the youngest blond and started filling his plate. Marluxia took Axel's example and sat down next to Vexen. The two immediately fell into a conversation about various fungi and whether any of the 'special' mushrooms had been eaten by the blonds. Zexion frowned, seeing the only place left was beside Demyx. He sighed and sat beside the crown prince, but remained silent, even ignoring him when Demyx offered him a basket of rolls. Demyx looked around at his companions. Axel was busy munching on a piece of watermelon, the pink juice dripping down his chin, while Roxas devowered his second hot dog. Marluxia had plucked a sprig of some plant up and was waving it in front of Vexen's face until the blond grabbed the herb and ate it, much to Marluxia's dismay.

" Vexen, don't go around eating plants like that." Marluxia said with a disapproving frown.

" Then stop waving mint leaves in my face." Vexen snapped and turned back to his hamburger. Demyx looked over at Zexion to see the man was finishing off his fourth pork rib.

" Woah, Zexy, you're really putting it away. Where does it all go?" Demyx exclaimed. Zexion blushed slightly and wiped barbecue sauce of his mouth with a napkin before answering him.

" In my stomach, Prince Demyx."

With that, he grabbed another rib and set about tearing the meat of it.

" do you usually eat this much?" Demyx asked causing Zexion to pause, reluctantly.

"No, I usually have to ration what I eat."

" What do you eat?"

" Food." Zexion responded cryptically.

" Oh." Demyx said, looking somewhat disappointed. Roxas scowled and stood up. Before anyone could stop him, the youngest prince had crossed over to stand in front of Zexion, with his arms folded. Zexion sighed and looked up at him.

" Yes, your highness?" He asked with just a hint of sarcasm.

" That's not how you talk to my brother." Roxas said sternly.

" Roxas, it's okay." Demyx whispered to him. Roxas shook his head.

" No, Demyx, it isn't okay." He turned back to Zexion. " When my brother asks you a question you answer politely." Zexion rolled his eyes.

" I did that."

" No, not politely."

" Who cares?"

" I do." Zexion raised an eyebrow at that remark.

" And I care why?"

" because you bastard, as a prince I can see to it your locked away for years."

" Oh, how scary." Zexion said feigning terror. " Look, kid, I don't care what you say. I talked politely to your brother so get out of my face." He hissed.

" No." Roxas said simply.

" What?"

" I said, 'no'. I won't move until you apologize." Demyx eyes widened and he blushed slightly.

" Roxas, that really isn't necessary." He muttered. Roxas ignored.

" Apologize for what?" Zexion asked, quickly losing the small amount of patience he had.

" For making my brother as emo as you." Roxas responded. Axel snorted with laughter and Zexion glared at him. The slate-haired man stood up and looked Roxas in the eyes. He was nearly a head taller then the prince but that didn't stop Roxas from glaring up at him.

" Look, kid, I didn't make your brother emo. And second of all, I'm not emo.

" So what's your excuse for not getting laid?" Roxas shot back. Zexion froze and gave the blond a frosty glare.

" What are you talking about?"

" You heard me. " Roxas said as he folded his arms.

" My sex life is none of anyone's business, especially a scrawny virgin." Zexion sneered.

" At least, I've still got my looks, old man." Zexion's left eye twitched and he glared at Axel. He knew there was no way the prince could have known he was older then Axel and Marluxia unless Axel told him.

" Roxas, enough is enough." Vexen spoke up.

" No, I won't stop until he apologizes."

" What do I need to apologize for?" Zexion snapped.

" because of you, my brother went all emo and started reading books by some guy named Edgar Allen Poe." Roxas snapped. Zexion raised an eyebrow.

" why?" He asked.

" because you rejected him." Zexion was glaring at Roxas, so he didn't see who had said it, he merely registered the words. Zexion turned to Demyx and their eyes meet. Zexion's hard gaze softened and he sighed.

" Demyx, I have no interest in pursuing a relationship with you, romantically." He said firmly. Demyx looked sad by this remark.

" I know, but can we still be friends?" He asked, hopefully.

" Yes, I don't see why not." Zexion said, nodding. Demyx beamed and pushed Roxas aside to hug the slate-haired man. Zexion gasped as his bare chest was pressed up against Demyx's. If he had no interest in Demyx, then why did Zexion's stomach flutter as Demyx hugged him?


After the rather strange lunch everyone returned to the water. By mid afternoon, however, no one was in the water, everyone had climbed out and was napping in the shade. Vexen slumped on the grass underneath an evergreen, using one arm as a pillow, and Marluxia leaned back against the great tree, his head nodding as he tried to stay awake but lost the battle and fell asleep. Roxas was curled up with Axel under an oak tree that rained down leafy fire around them. Demyx was slumped near Zexion, who had his book open on his lap, but both were already on their way to Dreamland. Sephiroth chuckled as he and Sora surveyed the sleeping men.

" Gather them up." The silver haired guard ordered to his men and women who hurried forward to pick up the sleepers. The older princes were easily placed in specially prepared carriages. This happened so much, Sephiroth had learned to always come prepared. The other four were trouble. As one of the royal guards laid a hand on Marluxia's shoulder, the pink-head's arm's flew out punching the man squarely in the jaw. The guard howled in pain and stepped away from the pink head. Another guard met the same fate when trying to remove Roxas from Axel's arms. The red head tightened his grip on the small blond and even growled when the guard tried tugging Roxas out of Axel's grip. Axel's foot kicked the man in his shin and he flew over and tumbled down into the spring, seeing as Roxas had decided to nap on a hill. A female guard who went to move Zexion, grabbed his ankles, only to find her self staring into, very awake and not at all pleased, granite gray eyes. Zexion snarled and tugged his ankles from her grasp and in one swift motion kicked her in the stomach. Now the guards, even royal guards hadn't expected that. They looked questioningly at Sephiroth, who shrugged.

"Well if we can't bring them along asleep, wake the other two up." He ordered. This time a couple, man and woman, cautiously approached Marluxia and tried waking him up. Marluxia scowled in his sleep and knocked both of them away from him. A woman tentatively walked up to Axel and nudged him with a stick. The red head's hand fell out and snatched the stick away, throwing it away in to the spring. Zexion sighed.

" Axel, Marluxia, wake up." He called. In a flash the two were up and on their feet, their eyes open wide as they watched the guards who surrounded them. Sephiroth rolled his eyes.

" Get into the carriages, you three. We've already wasted enough time then we should on low-lifes like you." Sephiroth barked. Axel scowled and opened his mouth to argue but twin glares from Zexion and Marluxia silenced him. Instead, he climbed into a carriage with Roxas, the female guard having snatched him when Axel grabbed her stick. Marluxia and Zexion shared a carriage with Demyx and Vexen, the two princes sleeping like children, blissfully unaware that anything had happened. Marluxia slipped a small hibiscus behind Vexen's ear, ignoring as he did so, the glare from Zexion.

" Stop pouting. You had your chance and you blew it." Marluxia said smugly to the smaller man.

" Blew what? I don't like him." Zexion insisted.

" Sure," Marluxia said, although he sounded like he didn't believe him.


Sephiroth sat up front of the foremost carriage with Sora, musing over the day.

" I don't trust those three. They seem too experienced for servants. Roxas seems the closest to them. Make sure you keep an eye on him, Sora." He ordered. Sora nodded.

" Right, sir." Sephiroth glared at the brunette.

" I'm serious, Sora. I don't want to hear anymore reports of you skipping out of practice to.." He paused trying to find a good way of saying it.

" Go to second base with Riku?" Sora suggested. Sephiroth glared at him but nodded.

" Yes." He said firmly.

" Yes, sir!" Sora exclaimed as he threw a salute. " We already hit home base anyway." The brunette muttered with a chuckle. But luckily for him, Sephiroth didn't hear him.


That's it for now! Hope you liked it! Please review, I could really use the encouragement.