"So we got beer, boxed wine, cheap whiskey, tequila, and all the vodka cruisers twenty teenage girls can drink in one night. Sora and Riku will be by later with the pizzas, and your jalapeño salsa Axel."
"I don't think I even know twenty teenage girls," Axel complained, wrinkling his nose at the stack of drinks.
"You know me," Kairi replied, rolling her eyes. "And Larxene, and Olette - and my sister, Naminé, you know her."
Axel glared at her. "Why the hell is your sixteen year old sister doing at an eighteenth birthday party?" He asked.
"Well," she said, mixing up a bowl of dip, "she asked to come. She's totally crushing on you, Roxas."
He looked up from the oven. "Huh?" He hadn't been listening to the chatter.
"You remember. Pretty, blonde - you nearly burned her lips off with third-hand jalapeño salsa?" Kairi asked, a little bit annoyed on the behalf of her sister. But before she could scold him for forgetting her sister like some drunken hook-up, she broke off. She frowned over the top of Roxas's head. "Axel. Why are you locking the alcohol in the pantry?"
"Because you, Riku, me and Axel are the only people of-age," Roxas explained, as if it was obvious. Which it should have been. Kairi had been friends with Axel at least as long as the rest of them had.
"Axel," she sighed, rolling her eyes, "it's a high school party. A senior party. On an island far away from anyone's parents. People are going to drink; and hook up in every room of the house. Stop being such a stick in the mud and have have fun for once."
"I regularly have fun at parties," he grumbled, locking the padlock. "Riku will have the key. He's in charge of taking car keys and distributing the drinks over the night so people don't get alcohol poisoning in the first hour." He gave her a look, then turned to give Roxas an intense eye. "I'm going to go enjoy my birthday. If you need me, I'll be at the bonfire."
"Okay." Roxas watched the redhead go, then turned his attention back to Kairi. "Kai, you know better than to push him about this - on today of all days."
She roller her eyes at him. "Please. He was grumpy as soon as he heard Naminé was coming."
"Well. You gotta admit it's a bit weird you invited your sophomore sister to our party."
"She's a junior," she corrected, rolling her eyes. Then her expression became rather sly. "It wouldn't be weird if she was your girlfriend."
He spluttered. "Kairi, what the hell? Spin the Bottle last weekend, now bringing her to our birthday party just to shove her at me? Does she have blackmail on you or something?"
"No, it's not like that," she replied. "She likes you. I thought you might like her too. It's not like you haven't dated girls before."
"That's does not mean I'm going to jump into bed with your little sister!"
"You better fucking not. If you use her like that I'll kick your ass, friends or not." She gave him a hard look.
"Good, then it's not going to be a thing."
"I'm just saying!" she said, holding up both her hands. "Why not Nam? You two did get married when you were kids."
"We were five."
"Look, just… dance with her tonight. Talk with her a bit. Spend some time getting to know her. Nobody's expecting anything, Roxas." She gave him a long, serious look. "Besides, it's not like you're involved with anyone else at the moment. Right?"
He sighed, grabbing the oven mitts. If any of their best friends had been here - Sora or Riku or even Axel - someone would have spared him this awkwardness by joking that he and Axel were all but actually married to each other.
But they weren't. So it was just him.
"Ughhhh. Kairi, you're the worst." He took out the breadsticks from the oven. They were Axel's favourite brand, and the familiar smell of warm butter and garlic teased his nose like a fond memory. "Fine. I'll dance with her. But no expectations, right?"
She smiled. "Of course." The doorbell rang and she grinned. "Looks like the party's starting!"