[4]

Green eyes narrowed as pale fingers turned over the star-shaped pendant, delicately made of shells.

Kairi.

It had been a long time since he'd last thought of his sister, and a significant part of Axel would have liked to keep it that way. He'd been shocked speechless (a rare thing, indeed) when Sora had first presented him with the paopu trinket, then proceeding to babble on about the man who had brought it into the bakery. He'd recognized it right away, of course. Kairi had never gone anywhere without that silly thing. A paopu, she said, would bring you to your true love. It had been her good luck charm.

Axel gave a derisive snort as he carelessly tossed the keychain down onto the coffee table. There were no good luck charms, he thought to himself. Life sucked every which you turned, and with a lot of work and even more alcohol, you could maybe just make it suck a little less.

But he didn't dwell long on such thoughts. He had a party to plan, after all.

"Y'know, you might actually have fun tonight."

Sora stared expectantly as his words hung in the air, his gaze returned by Roxas' constant glower. The pair stood just outside the door to Axel and Cloud's apartment, the music of the party inside filtering through the walls and out into the hallway.

"Orrrr maybe not," Sora amended with a sheepish smile when the glare remained Roxas' only response, finally reaching out to open the door. He loved his brother, but damn if the boy wasn't downright surly sometimes.

But just as Sora and Roxas stepped inside, their blonde, spikey-haired friend skirted past them and out the door, running like a bat out of hell.

"Huh? Cloud, where are you-"

"Sora! Roxy!" A drunken Axel loudly interrupted, tearing their attention away from the fleeing Cloud as he threw his arms around the brothers. "Soo glad you could make it. I made some calls to old friends, and now we've got ourselves a party! But it hasn't been much of a party without the sexy Roxy."

Sora watched as his brother was promptly dragged off (most reluctantly), laughing lightly at his employer's antics, only to realize that meant he was left alone. He shifted his weight a little awkwardly, slowly looking around what was apparently the living room. It was an odd crowd that had been assembled, for sure. It was there that Sora saw some of the strangest hairstyles he had ever seen in his life - from the half-mullet, half-mohawk on the guy currently playing a strange looking guitar in the corner to the man with the steel blue bangs in his face. Could he even see?

It was a little awkward to find himself alone, but he still appreciated the atmosphere. He hadn't just gone out, really let loose, since he'd been with Marluxia. Maybe now was his chance to get back to that. Before they'd started dating, he would have thrived in this situation - he could go anywhere, not knowing anyone, and leave that night with a hundred new friends. He now realized he'd become a little too complacent while in a relationship. So it was definitely time to turn that around. And for once, the pink-haired man wasn't the only guy on his mind...

Knock. Knock. Knockknockknock.

Leon jerked awake, groggily sitting up where he had fallen asleep on the couch. He glanced over at the clock on the wall - only 12:30 on a Friday night, but a day at the shop had made him tired. And it wasn't like he actually had anything to do. He sat in half-conscious stupor for a long moment, wondering what had awoken him, when the knocking picked back up. Who the hell visited him on a Friday night? Running a hand through his hair to brush the stray strands away from his face, breathing out a sigh of exertion, he finally forced himself to get up and open the door. Uninhibited in his still-half-asleep state, he didn't seem to care that he was answering the door in nothing more than a pair of old black sweatpants.

On the other side was none other than Cloud. They hadn't seen each other in years, and now Leon was seeing the man with unnerving frequency.

"So...my roommate threw a spontaneous party tonight..." Cloud started, trailing off when he realized he was staring at a half-naked Leon. Even back in their college years, Leon had never been anything less than prim, proper, and fully clothed in his uniform. But the distraction didn't matter - he didn't need to finish the explanation; despite their time apart, he knew the other man would understand. Neither of them had ever been much into parties, and when Zack and Rinoa had dragged them out, they'd kept to themselves and left as soon as was socially acceptable.

After staring blankly for a moment, needing the time to grasp the situation in his sleep-addled head, Leon gave an understanding nod. He swept out an arm, silently inviting Cloud inside. This was strange. Very strange. But maybe some company, a bit of catching up, wouldn't be the worst thing to ever happen to him.

Somehow, even he didn't know, Roxas found himself wedged between a very large, brick of a man named Lexaeus and a tough-looking, but somewhat squirrelly, girl named Larxene. They jostled him back and forth as they played drinking games, Larxene nearly elbowing him in the face for the third time as she accused the others of cheating.

"You raging motherfucker - don't think I didn't see that!"

"Bite me, Larx. You're just a sore ass loser!"

But Roxas actually didn't mind much. He'd had at least four cups of whatever fantastic concoction Axel kept handing him, and he was really starting to feel pretty good. So what if these people were crazy. He liked them.

That was when Axel leaned over the back of the couch, his face hovering directly over Roxas. "Enjoying yourself?"

"You know, for a baker, you've got some pretty rough friends."

"Yeah, well, the bakery wasn't exactly my idea."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

But Axel only gave an vague smile and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Roxy." Especially given Roxas' current state, he knew that would be enough to change the subject. And sure enough-

"My name is not Roxy!"

Across the room, Sora poured himself another cup of red liquid. He stared down into the cup, trying to remember how many this made...three? Four? So maybe the night wasn't turning out like he'd been hoping. He had yet to jump in like he kept telling himself he was going to. All of Axel's friends were nice enough, but somehow Sora just didn't quite click with them. Not to mention maybe he just wasn't ready for the total immersion. He was actively toying with the idea of simply calling it an early night and heading home when someone approached him from behind.

"Well, look who made it."

Sora started at the voice, nearly dumping the drink all over himself as he whipped around. Oh. Tall and muscled, long silver hair, and that same almighty smirk on his lips. It was him alright.

"I was hoping I'd run into you here," Riku added with a smile.

Sora could already feel the dull heat of a blush on his cheeks, and he immediately hated himself for it. Couldn't he just be cool? "Oh, well, yeah, y'know. I'm here to please." He inwardly cringed at his own words. Apparently, no - no, he couldn't be cool.

But Riku only gave a low laugh and shook his head, knocking long bangs out of his face. "If that's the case, come for a walk with me. It's a bit crowded in here, don't you think?"

The brunette eagerly nodded, mentally cursing himself a moment later for acting like a besotted school girl. It wasn't as if he liked Riku or anything. Of course he wasn't ready for another relationship. But it was okay to go for a walk...as friends...right? Of course! He was hoping to give his boss a quick thanks and goodbye, but the lanky redhead was currently embroiled in a heated argument with Roxas, claiming that baking was too a manly profession, and Roxas was "this close" to getting a soufflé stuffed up his nose. So he let Riku lead the way out of the apartment, oscilliating between excitement over seeing the man again, and so soon at that, and confusion over why on earth he was there.

As soon as they stepped outside, the cool night wind jumpstarted Sora's foggy brain, and he looked over at the other with a small smile. "So, why were you at Axel's party, anyway?"

"Axel and I go back a long way. He frantically called me this afternoon, saying he needed to get people together for a party. Something about 'that damn blonde minx' and Axel's 'drunken charm'?" Riku answered, thin eyebrow raised curiously.

Sora laughed - amused, but still a little awkward over his employer's constant pursuit of his brother. "So does that mean you're just as crazy as Axel, too?"

"Well, thankfully, no. I mean, someone has to be the cool one. Suave, even. No big deal or anything." He gave a one-shoulder shrug. "And I'm definitely telling Axel you called him crazy."

"No one likes a tattle-tale!"

"You don't like me?"

"Nope," Sora retorted happily, arms swinging wide at his sides as he marched cheerfully ahead. After a few steps, however, he too paused and looked back over his shoulder, "By the way, who's this 'cool one' you mentioned? Maybe you could introduce me to him." Whatever this was, it was fun. Light-hearted, no pressure. It was exactly what Sora needed. He stood still a moment later, trying to gauge to changing expression on the other man's face, and took of running down the sidewalk just a second before Riku bolted after him.

Cloud shifted his weight back-and-forth on the couch cushion. Nope, that position didn't make it any better. This was still definitely the most horrifyingly awkward situation of his entire 25 years. And that said a lot, because Cloud had stumbled into his fair share of awkward and uncomfortable moments.

He and Leon sat on opposite ends of the couch, both staring straight ahead at the TV - which wasn't even turned on. More and more, as he sat there, he regretted his decision to come here, of all places. To be honest, he didn't even know why he had. When he had first fled his own apartment, something about coming here had just seemed the natural thing to do. Which he now realized didn't make any sense, since Leon had only just been reintroduced back into his life. And it wasn't even like they had been best friends or anything, they only knew each other because of Zack.

"Soo...are you and Rinoa still together?" Cloud finally asked, not a fan of small talk but desperate for anything other than the awkward silence.

"No."

"Oh. I see." Had he really been expecting the taciturn man to delve into a talk about relationships? Now he'd just made it worse.

Maybe Cloud's pitiful attempt at conversation made Leon finally take pity on the situation, or maybe the brunette had started feeling just as awkward, but Leon finally turned his head to look at the blonde with the ghost of a smile on his lips. "But do you remember that time she and Zack got us arrested?"

Cloud gave an unexpected snort of laughter as memories came flooding back. "Which time? When they accidentally set fireworks off in one of the school training rooms, or after she 'liberated' that dog from the pet store and talked Zack into keeping it in your room?"

"It peed on my textbooks."

"Oh, please. You loved that damn dog more than anyone."

Leon shrugged in silent acquiescence to the statement. Somehow, though, the moment wasn't that same uncomfortable silence anymore. The tension had broken, and a moment later, a flood of recalled memories began pouring out between them. For now, the memories were all they had, and they were enough. At least until they could learn to forge a new friendship, one that no longer relied on people of the past who were no longer there.

They spent the night like that, talking more in those hours than either of them typically said in an entire week, until Leon finally graciously offered to let Cloud sleep on the couch for the night. Knowing Axel like he did, Cloud feared what he might walk in on if he returned home at that point.

It would be hard to pinpoint how, exactly, it had come to this. The party had started dying down awhile ago as people filtered out, but Roxas had repeatedly insisted he couldn't leave without Sora, even though Axel pointed out the other had clearly already left. Then Roxas, in his intoxicated state, would pine for a little like a dog left at home until it all started over. Then it was just the two of them. Axel threw an arm around Roxas on the couch, and when he wasn't rebuked, started absently playing with the blonde's hair. And somehow it gained momentum from there, until -

Roxas shifted, pushing Axel back into the couch as he straddled his hips. Deft fingers slipped around the belt loops of the redhead's pants, giving the clothing a quick, demanding tug - demanding what, though, Roxas wasn't entirely certain at the moment. One hand slid up into the red hair, surprisingly soft despite its spikey appearance, and tugged his head back, exposing the smooth paleness of his neck. He kissed Axel's jawline as he moved down, alternately biting and sucking until he reached the dips of those collar bones. With no more free skin to kiss, his other hand slid upward, moving from Axel's waist to trail along his sides and painfully slowly push the dark t-shirt up. He could feel the muscles beneath the taught skin, and let his fingers trace their definition.

"Roxas." There was some part of Axel's brain - some tiny, quiet part buried deep down - that knew they shouldn't be doing this. Roxas was drunk. Hell, he was drunk. But every other inch of his body screamed for this, wanted this, craved this. "I want you," he finally said, sultry voice bringing a smirk to the the blonde's lips.

"Then have me," Roxas resolved simply, a teasing smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He leaned back to put a little distance between them, grabbing onto the hem of his own shirt and pulling it up over his head in one smooth motion. The expanse of island-tanned skin contrasted starkly with Axel's pale color, but Roxas liked the contrast, and apparently Axel did, too, because only a second later his fingers were running over Roxas' torso.

Axel leaned forward, a knowing smirk tugging at his lips as he flicked his tongue over a hardening nipple and then took the small nub into his mouth. Roxas couldn't help the small noise of approval that dropped from his mouth, and both hands were now tightened in the long red hair.

Before he knew what was happening, Roxas felt himself lifted up, and he vaguely registered that he was being carried to the bedroom. He kissed Axel's neck as they walked, not even willing to wait those few moments until he was dropped back onto the bed. A moment later Axel was on top of him, wasting no time before unbuttoning and pulling off the blonde's pants.

It was fast and feverish, a string of messy kisses and demanding bites. There was no particular finesse to it, just the heat of two people who had it coming. Sweaty bodies moved together, all instinct.

Somewhere in the back of both their buzzing minds, a nagging thought kept saying this didn't bode well. But it just felt so damn good.

Lots to say. But I'm just going to shut up, because I suck for letting this story go for an entire YEAR. If anyone's still with me, hope you like the chapter..! xD It's choppy and rushed, so maybe I can come back and fix it later...

I feel like there's a lot of Roxas and Axel this chapter, so I'm hoping to balance it all out with the next one. WHICH WILL BE SOON 'CAUSE I'M WRITING IT RIGHT NOW, NOT A YEAR FROM NOW.