Summary: When Axel is brought back to life to be with Roxas, they start searching for their other friends from the Organization. Through much difficulty they eventually achieve this goal, but what happens when the superior comes back mysteriously one day? How will Xemnas cope with having to live among normal people and being social? And will love find this man who seems to have a giant stick up his ass! lol. Yeah, better than it sounds. Eventual XemnasxSephiroth. Other pairings include akuroku, cleon, soriku, zemyx, and marluxiaxsaix.
Disclaimer: I obviously don't own kingdom hearts cuz if I did the organization would totally be a sex club.lol.i'm horrible. :D
Genre:Romance/humor/angst
Rating:T(possibly M in much later chapters)
Warnings:language,shounen-ai,and yaoi. 'nuff said.
Author's Note: Well, here's chapter 5. I hope you guys like it. THERE IS A BIT OF RELIGIOUS OPINION IN THIS CHAPTER!!I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO BE INSULTED BY IT, I ONLY USED IT FOR THE FANFICS PURPOSE!! Just thought I'd let you guys know.Enjoy!
It was a busy weekend in Radiant Garden. People were running about the streets to run their errands or go shopping. It was no different in one particular household, which contained several people who were all trying to get ready at once. Some of them were already ready, while others, such as Marluxia, insisted on staying in the bathroom for at least another thirty minutes. There were also others, well, only Xemnas, who flat out refused to go. Xemnas had never been a sociable man, so the idea of going out with people who he either didn't know or didn't like didn't sound too appealing. It had been three weeks since Xemnas had been found, and those three weeks had been hectic. It had been filled with arguments, which were mostly on Axel and Xemnas' part, and trying to make Xemnas more social, which wasn't going too well. Xemnas just didn't seem too interested in talking to anyone. Cloud, on the other hand, had noticed that there was something going on between Sephiroth and Xemnas, though he couldn't place what that something was just yet.
"Come on, you can't tell me that you're not the least bit interested in seeing Radiant Garden." Axel said indignantly. Xemnas had only been with them three weeks and Axel already wanted to strangle him.
"Not really." Xemnas said. He was currently sitting on the couch with his arms crossed. He was trying to make it clear that he wasn't moving.
"You should at least give it a chance!"
"I'm not obligated to do that."
"Obligated my ass!! You're going whether you like it or not!" Axel said as he grabbed the back of Xemnas' cloak and dragged him out of the house. Xemnas still had his arms crossed and was now wearing a pout on his face.
"Don't worry, it won't take long. All we're doing is taking you on a small tour of the town and then we'll come back home." Aerith said reassuringly as she followed the others out the door. Cloud sniggered at Aerith's good acting skills. Aerith was a very honest woman, but when she needed to lie, she could. Cloud wished that Xemnas knew just how untrue Aerith's words were at that moment.
So they all started walking through the town, showing Xemnas different sights and introducing him to several people along the way. By keeping Xemnas busy, he had failed to notice that they had walked up to the best mall in Radiant Garden.
"We're here." Axel said in a sing song voice as he eyed Xemnas, waiting to see his reaction.
"Where are we?" Xemnas asked as he eyed the large building. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like this.
"The mall." Yuffie said simply as she started walking towards the building. Correction, he knew he wasn't going to like this. He had heard about malls. He knew that they were overpriced, crowded, and contained hoards of giggly, teenage girls. In other words, a place he wanted nothing to do with.
"I'm not going in there."
"Well sorry buddy, but you're going in there even if it kills you." Axel said with the smirk that had become common in the past few weeks.
"And if I refuse?"
Axel opened his mouth to say something when Sephiroth stepped in front of him. The look on his face told Xemnas that he was not amused.
"You really should stop arguing. Save your breath for things that are a little more complex." Sephiroth said as he lifted Xemnas over his shoulder without any warning. Xemnas yelped at the sudden contact and struggled to free himself from the other mans grasp.
"Put me down immediately!" Xemnas yelled as he continued to struggle in vain. The firm arm wrapped around his waist tightened considerably when he didn't stop struggling. Xemnas decided that he needed to cooperate if he ever wanted his two feet on the ground again and crossed his arms with a scowl on his face. Once inside, Sephiroth sat him down as Xemnas looked at his new surroundings. Just as he suspected, millions of over priced stores that were consumed with way too many people, most of which were teenage girls who were wearing skirts that needed to come down at least three inches.
"Why are we here?" Xemnas asked as he watched people walk by, most of them stopping to stare momentarily at their odd, large group or taking a quick glance.
"You need new clothes." Axel stated simply as he looked around, most likely trying to figure out which stores they should stop by first.
"What's wrong with the ones I have?"
"That cloak of yours? Well first of all, you're going to have a really hard time living off of one cloak. Second, it wouldn't kill you to try to blend in a little. You're human now, and humans don't exactly run around in black cloaks. You already stand out enough as it is with your silver hair and those amber eyes, people are starting to stare."
'Like people don't stare at you with you're awkwardly lanky figure and you're abnormally spiky, flamboyantly red hair?' Xemnas thought to himself as he raised an eyebrow at Axel.
"But I don't think all of the attention you're getting is bad. We haven't even been here five minutes and you already have fan girls." Axel said with a smirk as he pointed to a group of girls. Half of them were whispering and glancing at Xemnas, issuing a fit of giggles when they realized he was looking in their direction while the other half of the girls just flat out stared and drooled at him. Xemnas looked them up and down with absolutely no interest. Axel took notice to this and commented on it immediately.
"Or do you prefer fan boys, because I think you've got some of those too." Axel said slyly. Xemnas looked in the opposite direction of the fan girls and saw a group of men ranging from their teens to their forties looking him up and down hungrily. Xemnas suddenly became very flustered and turned a deep shade of red.
"That's none of your business!!" Xemnas stammered as he stomped off, Axel laughing loudly as he watched his former Superior.
"Hehe…I think I hit a touchy subject." Axel said as he watched Xemnas storm off.
"Can you try to be nice for once?" Roxas sighed as he looked up at Axel hopefully.
"Hmm…no."
"Thought so."
So everyone continued to walk through the mall, stopping at random stored along the way, one of which happened to be the malls largest candy store. Demyx and Sora were currently inside of it, as well as Zexion and Riku to make sure that their boyfriends didn't spend all of their money on candy or didn't buy so much that they would be literally bouncing off the walls later. All four of them came out of the candy store about fifteen minutes later, Sora and Demyx looking content.
"All of this sugar is going to make you pass out later." Zexion said as he poked Demyx in the stomach. Demyx smiled as turned to wrap his arms around the smaller mans waist.
"Don't worry Zexy, I won't pass out until I have some alone time with you." Demyx said as he ran a hand up and down Zexion's side. Zexion smiled at Demyx's antics and batted the hand rubbing his side away and leaned up to kiss his lover. Demyx responded by kissing back and would have deepened it if he hadn't been so rudely interrupted.
"SIN!!"
Demyx and Zexion separated and looked at one another oddly before turning to look for the source of the declaration. A few feet away they saw an old woman with a cane. She was clearly and overly religious woman, seeing as she had numerous crosses hanging from her neck and had a bible in the hand that wasn't clutching the cane with. There was also a teenage girl of about sixteen standing next to her, looking as though the embarrassment she must have been feeling would soon consume her.
"What?" Demyx asked. He seemed very confused, like he had no idea what the old woman was going on about.
"You are a sin against God!!" The old woman said as she pointed a shaking finger at the two. Demyx and Zexion sweatdropped at the old woman's remark. Axel walked over, hand in hand with Roxas.
"What's this old hag going on about?" Axel asked in a bored tone. The old woman caught sight of him and her eyes widened drastically. Axel was definitely what a lot of people would consider a flaming homosexual, which this lady could clearly not handle.
She frantically dug through her purse, finally coming up with a bottle of holy water.
"Sinner!" The old woman screamed as she poured all of the bottles contents on to Axel's head. Axel was twitching and Demyx was practically crying. All he could think of was that that lady had wasted perfectly good water. Axel twitched again and a pleased smirk came to his face when he realized that his hands were still dry. He wriggled his fingers threateningly, about to start a fireball when Roxas stepped behind him and wrapped his arms around Axel's waist.
"No Axel. Burning old women is not okay, even if they're mean, over religious homophobes." Roxas said as he laughed nervously and dragged Axel away before he had the chance to cause a scene.
"What the hell was that all about?" Marluxia asked harshly as he eyed the old woman grudgingly. He was the most flamboyantly gay out of all of them and he detested homophobes.
"You've gone against God by loving another man! You'll go straight to hell for your sins!" The old woman shrieked as she pointed a wrinkled finger in Marluxia's face accusingly. Marluxia swatted her hand away in annoyance.
"I'm not going to worship some God that claims I'm going to hell for being in love with another man. Love is beautiful in all forms, so it's ridiculous to praise something that says the form of love I've chosen is wrong."
"You'll go straight to hell for denying God's power! You are all too far gone to be saved!" The old woman yelled as she looked at Marluxia fearfully, as if she thought she would die on the spot for merely being in his presence. Others in the mall were starting to stare at the odd scene, some quietly agreeing with the old woman while others sneered at her ignorance. Sephiroth took a stand, looming high over the old lady in front of him.
"He's right. If a person is happy with their life, they should be allowed to love anyone they choose, and they shouldn't be judged for it, even by this so called God of yours. If he's such a great God, then why does he send people that are too different for his liking to hell? People should be allowed to worship any God they choose, even if theirs is nothing like your own. You should not try to force your religious beliefs on anyone. If you can't see past your own faith, than you are a truly ignorant woman.
"It's the devil reincarnated!!" The old woman screamed. It looked as though she were about to faint and seemed that she had not heard a single word Sephiroth had said.
"The devil reincarnated? That's a new one." Sephiroth said sarcastically. He really should have known better that to bother with the woman, some people were too absorbed in their own world to see anyone else.
"Wait, almost all of you are gay couples? That's so hot." The teenage girls said suddenly. Upon these words the old woman fell over, passed out from such words coming from her own flesh and blood.
"Shit, grandma wasn't supposed to hear that." The teenage girl said as she bent down near her grandmother in concern. "Don't worry. I'll be able to convince her it was all just a dream by telling her that she fell asleep while I was shopping. But I'd get out of here before she wakes up and starts one of her religious rants again." The girl said as she waved a hand at them dismissively. Everyone sweat dropped and started walking away slowly. Xemnas took notice to the fact that Sephiroth had begun to walk a bit more aggressively than he had been before the incident with the old woman and became very curious in the sudden change.
"Are there a lot of people like that around here?" Xemnas asked as he walked next to the other man.
"Unfortunately, there are too many in the world to count. If there's one thing I detest, it's people that are so ignorant that they can't except people that are different from them." Sephiroth said gruffly as he walked ahead of Xemnas. Xemnas stayed back, completely surprised by Sephiroth's actions. That was the most emotion he had seen from the other man since he had started living with the others.
'Apparently there's more to him that I thought.' Xemnas thought to himself as he turned to a voice that was calling his name. He saw Axel standing in front of one of the many stores located in the mall.
"C'mon Mansex! We're buying you some new clothes!" Axel shouted as he waved at Xemnas. The amber eyed man twitched at the nickname and stomped into the store with the others.
The inside of the store was chaotic. Everyone was running around either looking for clothes for themselves or looking for clothes for Xemnas. The said man decided to stay out of the mess by staying put near one corner of the store. However, he could not stay safe for long because soon there were several people shoving him into the dressing rooms with clothes, telling him to try certain clothing items on and come out when he was in them. This triggered several arguments about what looked best on him, but there were still others who kept searching for clothes for the stubborn man.
"This is so cute!" Marluxia said as he practically squealed in delight and hugged the article of clothing to his chest.
"Marluxia…darling…no matter how cute you think that skirt is, there's no way in hell you're going to get Xemnas to wear it." Saix said as he looked at his lover skeptically. He loved the man to death, but sometimes he didn't understand his logic.
"Hmm…I suppose you're right." Marluxia said with a pout. He looked at Saix for a moment before his pout turned into a sinister smile. Saix felt a feeling of dread wash over him.
"Marly, why are you looking at me like that?" Saix asked uneasily as he eyed Marluxia suspiciously. Saix knew that that smile meant Marluxia was planning something devious, most likely involving him.
"I may not be able to get Xemnas to try on this skirt, but you on the other hand…" Marluxia smiled as he slowly approached Saix.
"No…Marly…darling…baby…please, anything but that!" Saix screamed as he tried to avoid the inevitable. He was suddenly being dragged towards the dressing rooms by the foot. Saix screamed for help the entire time, but no one dared to stand up for him, knowing that if they did so they would only have to take Saix's place.
On the other side of the store, Zexion and Demyx were searching for clothes for Xemnas as well. Zexion was looking through a clothing rack, not finding anything in particularly interesting until his eyes fell on a certain pair of pants. Zexion smiled when he realized that they were Xemnas's size.
"Did you find something Zexy?" Demyx asked as he walked over to the clothing rack Zexion was at. When he saw the pair of pants his boyfriend was looking at, he smiled, having a strong feeling he knew what Zexion was thinking.
"Zexy, what are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking we definitely need to get Xemnas to try these on." Zexion said as he grabbed the pants in one hand and took Demyx's hand in the other as they hurried over to the dressing rooms. When they got there, Xemnas had just gotten out of the dressing rooms, finally getting a break after all of the madness when Zexion shoved the pair of pants in his hands and pushed him back into the dressing rooms.
"Number six?! What are you doing?!" Xemnas asked, startled by the normally calm man's actions.
"Try those pants on." Zexion said as he leaned against the dressing room door. Zexion heard Xemnas's feet shuffling on the other side of the door as he put he pants on.
"Number six…these pants seem to be a little tight." Xemnas said hesitantly as he zipped up the pants and buttoned them.
"Oh trust me, they're supposed to be like that." Zexion said with a smirk. This statement caught everyone's attention. Everyone knew that Zexion had a way of picking out incredibly tight, but sexy pants.
"Do you have them on?" Zexion asked as he knocked on the dressing room door.
"Yes…"
"Well then come out so we can see them."
"That's not going to happen Number six."
"And why not?"
"Because I look ridiculous."
"Let me be the judge of that."
"I'm still not coming out with these pants on."
"Well then I guess we're going to have to do this the hard way." Zexion said as he got on the floor and climbed under the dressing room door.
"Number six?! Why are you climbing under the door?! This is an invasion of privacy!" Xemnas shrieked as Zexion stood up.
"Seeing how those pants look on you since you refused to come out yourself. Now let me take a good look at you." Zexion said as he looked Xemnas up and down. Zexion nodded and muttered something under his breath before addressing Xemnas again.
"Now let me see them from the back." Zexion said as Xemnas turned around hesitantly. Zexion looked Xemnas up and down again and smiled to himself.
"I don't know why you won't let everyone see these. They look amazing on you."
"That's a lie."
"No, it's not. Now let everyone see."
"Absolutely not!"
"Well I suppose I'll have to make you then."
"Number six, what do you think you're-
Zexion unlocked the dressing room door and pushed it wide open. Xemnas tried to hide behind Zexion, which proved to be useless considering Zexion was much shorter than him. Zexion sighed and grabbed Xemnas's shoulder, shoving him out the door. Xemnas squeaked in surprise, finding to be the smaller man to be much stronger than he looked as he practically flew out of the door. He immediately became very uncomfortable when he realized that several pairs of eyes were locked onto him. Everyone was surprised to see just how good Xemnas looked in those pants. It was like they were made for him. Zexion had found a pair of tight, black jeans that looked perfect on the amber eyed man. They hugged him in all the right places and brought out how unusually curvy he was for a man. This didn't go unnoticed, especially by Sephiroth, who was currently eyeing Xemnas, looking him up and down several times.
"Damn." Axel said, clearly surprised to find out how good Xemnas looked in the tight jean material.
"Now let them see it from the back." Zexion said as he forced Xemnas to turn around by grabbing his shoulders again, forcing him to show his backside to an eager audience. This triggered several whistles as Xemnas turned red. Sephiroth blushed slightly as his eyes fell to Xemnas's ass, making him get an odd feeling in his lower regions.
'Oh no…that did not just happen.' Sephiroth thought as he ripped his eyes away from the sight to prevent his arousal from getting any bigger. He was met by a pair of blue eyes that belonged to no other that Cloud Strife. Sephiroth looked at the blonde and realized that he was smiling at him. A smile that Sephiroth didn't like. A smile that said "I know something that you don't."
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Sephiroth asked, a clueless look etched on his face. This only caused Cloud's grin to widen.
"So that's what's going on between you two." Cloud said as he laughed to himself.
"Between me and who?" Sephiroth asked as he stared at Cloud blankly. He really had no idea what the blonde was going on about.
"Oh no one Sephiroth, no one at all." Cloud said with a snicker as he turned his attention back to the others. Sephiroth gave him a final puzzled look before doing the same.
"We should definitely buy these for you." Zexion said to Xemnas.
"Absolutely not."
"Why not?"
"Because I look ridiculous in them."
"No you don't."
"The answers still no."
"Aw, c'mon Mansex. You've got to buy something that looks good on you." Axel interjected.
"Number eight, first of all, stop calling me Mansex! Second of all, I don't think these pants-
"Now get in there and take them off so we can pay for them." Axel said as he shoved Xemnas into the dressing room, not listening to a word the other had said.
Over the next few weeks, Cloud observed Xemnas and Sephiroth's behavior around each other, doing anything he could to get them around each other without making it look suspicious. Of course, Cloud had told the others about his theory on Xemnas and Sephiroth's developing relationship, even though some of them were reluctant to believe it. But none the less, everyone did what they could to help, eager to see the proof themselves.
The first thing that they did was make sure that Sephiroth and Xemnas were sitting across from each other at dinner. Everyone took notice to the fact that one of them would stare at the other, quickly looking away when the other looked up. Then they tried making sure that they sat next to each other and noticed that both seemed to be afraid of even glancing at the other. Cloud and the others were currently discussing the issue.
"So when you were talking to Sephi about it at the mall, he seemed totally clueless?" Yuffie asked Cloud with wide, curious eyes. She had always thought that Sephiroth needed someone, and the idea that he might actually be interested in someone that could have mutual feelings was a bit exciting.
"Yeah, pretty much. It was like he had no idea what I was talking about."
"Ya' think he was faking it?" Cid asked as he pulled out a cigarette. He was about to light it when Aerith grabbed it from him, reminding him for at least the billionth time that there was no smoking in the house.
"No, I think he was genuinely confused."
"If only there were some way to get them together so that they thought they were alone…but they weren't really alone because there was someone following them around, watching their every move and listening to every word that came out of their mouths." Sora said, giving Axel a very good idea.
"I think there just might be a way to do that." Axel said with a sly grin.
"Really?" Sora asked curiously, wondering what Axel could be planning.
"Aerith, the grocery shopping is supposed to be done today, isn't it?" Axel asked as he picked up the to do list that Aerith made every week.
"Yes, but Cloud and Leon are supposed to do that today, it says that on the list." Aerith said, confused and wondering why her list had anything to do with Xemnas or Sephiroth.
"Hehe…not anymore." Axel said as he held the paper in one hand and burned it with the other. Aerith squeaked and her eyes widened as she watched the list she worked so hard on turn into a pile of ashes.
"Don't worry Aerith, I'm making a new one." Axel said as he picked up a pen and a piece of paper and started writing quickly.
"So…why did you burn Aerith's list?" Riku asked curiously as he leaned over Axel's shoulder.
"Well, the way I see it, I can just rewrite the list so that Sephiroth and Xemnas have to do the grocery shopping together. Then Sora and Roxas can follow them around with a camera and take pictures along the way. You guys up for that?" Axel asked, addressing Sora and Roxas as the two nodded eagerly.
"Then go get the camera. I'm about to tell them about their little adventure." Axel said as he watched the two run up the stairs. After he was sure they were out of sight, he called for Xemnas and Sephiroth.
"Hey Xemnas! Sephiroth! Come down here for a minute!" Axel yelled from the foot of the stairs. Moments later both silver haired men emerged from their rooms. Sephiroth walked gracefully down the stairs while Xemnas practically stomped down them, in a bad a mood as ever.
"Hey you two. You guys need to do the grocery shopping today." Axel said as he waved the to do list in their faces. Both raised an eyebrow at him simultaneously, both seeming suspicious, although Xemnas was the first to say anything about it.
"I thought that Leon and Cloud were supposed to do that today." Xemnas said. He had obviously seen the original list.
"Well you see, what happened was I kind of "accidentally" burned the first list, so as punishment, Aerith made me write another one." Axel said with a grin.
"It was an accident huh?" Xemnas said skeptically, having a feeling that Axel never burned anything on accident.
"Yep, completely unintentional."
"So, you guys better get going. You okay with all of this Sephiroth?" Axel asked as he turned to the man in question. Sephiroth turned his gaze to Axel slowly.
"I'm ready to leave whenever he is." Sephiroth said as he shifted his unemotional gaze to Xemnas. Xemnas turned his eyes to Axel, not wanting to gaze into Sephiroth's sea foam green eyes for too long.
"And why do two people need to go grocery shopping? Sephiroth's perfectly capable of doing it himself. He doesn't need me to hold his hand." Xemnas said.
'But I bet he'd like it if you did.' Axel thought with a smirk.
"Eh…buddy system?" Axel said uncertainly, saying the first thing that popped into his head. Xemnas raised an eyebrow at him, not believing a single word.
"A lot of people live in this house. Two people are needed to do the grocery shopping because there are too many bags for one person to carry." Leon interjected, giving a more logical explanation. Xemnas gave a short nod, seeming satisfied with this answer.
"Well then I guess we should leave." Xemnas said as he started walking towards the door, only to be stopped by Zexion.
"Wait a minute, you should change first." Zexion said as he stood in Xemnas's way.
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing now?" Xemnas asked.
"Uh…well…you've been running around in those clothes all day! Don't you want to change?" Zexion asked, trying to convince the hard headed man in front of him.
"Not really, why would I-
"Well lets go get you into some different clothes." Zexion interrupted as he pushed Xemnas up the stairs and back into his room.
"The buddy system Axel? They're not five. I really thought that even you could be more creative than that." Leon whispered harshly.
"Shut it Squally!" Axel whispered back harshly.
"Why you-
"Okay, I think Xemnas is ready to leave." Zexion said from the top of the stairs, pulling a reluctant Xemnas with him. Zexion had somehow gotten Xemnas to wear the tight pants he had purchased for him. Sephiroth's eyes widened as he watched Xemnas walk down the stairs, every small movement made more noticeable by the tight jean material that was clinging to his skin.
'Dear God, anything but those pants.' Sephiroth thought as Xemnas stood next to him.
"Let's go." Sephiroth said as he walked out of the door, Xemnas following behind him. A few minutes later, Sora and Roxas followed behind them, ready to spy.
Sora and Roxas soon found Xemnas and Sephiroth holding a small conversation. Sora and Roxas remained hidden in the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment to take pictures.
"How do you feel about living in the house?" Sephiroth asked, still seeming bored and uninterested.
"The same way I did before. I don't belong in the same house with those people, especially number eight." Xemnas said as he looked at the grocery list, paying for certain items in the market along the way.
"He's really not all that bad."
"You're kidding, right?" Xemnas said with a snort. In his opinion, number eight was one of the most obnoxious people he had ever met. The only reason he had kept him in the castle was because he was a valuable asset to the Organization.
"Surprisingly, no. He may have a temper and can be too quick to react to his emotions, but…he's loyal and protects what's important to him. That's something the world needs more of, people who would do anything for those they care about…with less of an obsession with fire."
'Protect what's important to me…' Xemnas thought to himself as he looked up at Sephiroth, deep in thought. Just as he was reaching for an apple to put in his basket, Sephiroth did the same, his hand resting on top of Xemnas's. Sora and Roxas saw their opportunity and took the picture as the two blushed and quickly separated. Sephiroth caught the flash from the camera and turned just as Sora pushed Roxas behind a stand to avoid being seen.
"Did you see that?" Sephiroth asked as he continued to gaze at the spot that Sora and Roxas had been standing moments ago.
"See what?" Xemnas asked, still slightly flustered by the small contact with Sephiroth.
"Never mind, lets keep going. We're almost done." Sephiroth said as he continued walking.
Meanwhile, Sora and Roxas were still hiding behind one of the many stands at the market, Sora lying of top of Roxas.
"Jeez Roxas, what were you thinking?! Leaving the flash on like that!" Sora said as he took the camera out of Roxas's hand to see how the picture turned out. He smiled when he realized it was perfect. Roxas had truly captured the intimate moment through his camera lens.
"I'm sorry, I forgot! Don't bite my head off!" Roxas said as he tried to sit up and realized that all of Sora's weight was on top of him, their bodies completely pressed together. Roxas cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably, hoping to get his other half's attention. When he realized that the brunette was completely oblivious to the situation at hand, he knew he was going to have to be more blunt.
"Sora, we're really lucky that Axel and Riku aren't here, because this is a rather compromising position that could provoke their dirty minds." Roxas said as Sora looked down between them and blushed, practically jumping off of Roxas in the process.
"Roxas! Stop hanging out with Axel so much, he's turning you into a pervert." Sora said as he stood up and dusted his pants off.
"You think so?" Roxas asked with a laugh as he stood up as well.
"Yeah, I really do. Now let's get going." Sora said as he put the camera in his pocket.
"You don't want to take any more pictures?"
"Nah, the one we got says it all. Besides, Sephiroth said they were almost done shopping, so we better get out of here before he finds out we've been spying." Sora said as he grabbed Roxas's wrist and hurried back to the house.
The next week went by in a blur. Life had gotten simple again, Xemnas becoming a bit more cooperative and his bond with Sephiroth slowly growing. Everyone had seen the picture and knew that something was up, but decided against trying to get the two together, hoping that things would work out on their own accord. It was the weekend and everyone was bored, so they thought it would be fun to train a little bit. They were still looking out for anything suspicious, even though nothing strange had happened in the near two months since Xemnas had arrived. They hadn't told Xemnas anything, but they still thought that trouble was on the way and that it was somehow all linked to why Xemnas fell out of the dark realm.
Leon and Cloud were currently sparring, giving each other one hell of a challenge, although it looked like they were enjoying it. The others looked on, interested as they watched Cloud and Leon dodge one another, one occasionally taking a hit. Xemnas watched without much interest. He thought that Leon and Cloud were good, but he had seen better fighters in his time. Sephiroth stood next to him with the same look of boredom. He already knew all of Cloud's fighting techniques, and he had seen Leon spar enough with Cloud to know his techniques as well, so this was something he was accustom to seeing. Cloud and Leon finished up their fight, both sweaty and tired as they lay in the grass with one another.
"Damn Cloud, you never slow down, do you?" Leon said as he rolled on his side to face Cloud.
"Would you ever really want me to?" Cloud asked as he rested his head against Leon's chest.
"Hmm…not really." Leon said as he wrapped an arm around his spiky haired lover. They stayed like that for a while until Cloud sat up with a sudden realization.
"Hey Sephiroth, are you going to spar today?" Cloud asked as he looked over at the tall silver haired man. Sephiroth just stared at him silently, as if he were trying to make a decision.
"Do you really expect him to want to Spiky? He's already wiped the floor with all of us…or, most of us, that is…" Axel said as he looked over at Xemnas.
"Oh yeah, it's the first time you've come here with us, isn't it Xemmy?" Yuffie asked as she rolled onto her stomach to face Xemnas. Xemnas immediately twitched at the nickname. He didn't know which he detested more, the ridiculous nickname number eight gave him or the ridiculous nickname the monkey gave him.
"Yeah Mansex, you should give it a try. You might actually have fun with it." Axel said as Xemnas began to twitch even more. Oh yeah, number eight's nickname definitely won out over Yuffie's. Though they were right, it was the first time he had come to train with them. All of the other times they had gone Aerith had insisted that he stay home and rest while the house was actually quiet, when Aerith and Cid would be the only other people there.
"You took my weapon away, remember?" Xemnas said as he raised an eyebrow at Axel, remembering how they had hidden his weapon from him because they said it would be "hazardous to his recovery." What they really meant was that they didn't want to have a way to defend himself if he wasn't cooperating or if he tried to run away.
"Oh yeah…I forgot about that. Here ya go." Axel said as he dug the hilt of Xemnas's weapon out of one of his pockets and threw it to him. Xemnas caught it and looked at it in confusion, wondering why number eight would go around with the hilt of his weapon in his back pocket. Xemnas dismissed this and stood up, facing Sephiroth.
"I'm ready if you are." Xemnas said as he looked into the sea foam green eyes, unemotional and uninterested. Sephiroth walked to the field silently, not bothering to draw his sword, silently mocking his opponent by saying "You won't even be enough of a challenge for me to draw my sword." Xemnas summoned his saber, taking a defensive stance while Sephiroth didn't even budge. Axel smirked, knowing that neither men knew what they were getting themselves in to.
Xemnas and Sephiroth stared at each other for a moment, both stepping at the same time and gone in a flash. Both moves so fast that no one was able to read their movements and had no idea what happened between the two in those few seconds. They stood feet apart, Xemnas with his saber still drawn and Sephiroth standing completely motionless. A trickle of blood ran down Sephiroth's face, a drop of blood falling to the dirt beneath him. Surprise flashed in Sephiroth's eyes for a split second before a smirk formed on his lips. It had been a long time since someone had been able to hit him, even longer since someone had been able to hit him on their first try, even if it was just a scratch. He himself had actually missed when he had tried to hit Xemnas, who had narrowly dodged him. Sephiroth and Xemnas turned to face one another, looking into each others eyes and silently challenging the one in front of them. Sephiroth started to draw his sword, standing tall and intimidating. Xemnas watched in fascination as he saw the enormous sword being unsheathed before his very eyes. It glinted in the sun as Sephiroth held it in front of him, ready to attack.
Both moved again, and the next half hour went by in a blur. Both men were trying their hardest, but neither one of them had hit each other once.
'He actually seems to be enjoying himself.' Cloud thought as he caught the small smile and glint in Sephiroth's eyes as he nearly flew past him.
In another moment, Sephiroth caught Xemnas with his guard down and pinned him against a tree, holding his sword dangerously close to the shorter man's neck.
"Too slow." Sephiroth whispered in Xemnas's ear. The shorter of the two tensed at the close proximity of the other. They were fully pressed against one another, Xemnas squirming under Sephiroth's weight uncomfortably as he felt his member harden at the contact. Sephiroth didn't even budge as he gazed at the silver haired man he was pressed against. Xemnas was about to speak when something that sounded like and explosion was heard from the other side of Radiant Garden. The vibration from the explosion hit them and they tumbled backwards, knocking Sephiroth back, but he caught himself and only stumbled a few steps. Xemnas, on the other hand, was caught off guard and stumbled forward when Sephiroth's support was gone. Sephiroth stepped forward and caught Xemnas to prevent him from falling flat on his face. Xemnas's head fell against Sephiroth's sturdy chest as he looked up and blushed at the closeness and scrambled to move away. Xemnas pushed himself away and, in his haste, almost fell backwards when one of Sephiroth's long arms roped around his waist to keep him steady. Xemnas looked up and stared into the beautiful green eyes, forgetting everything that was going on around him. Both ripped their eyes away from one another and separated when they heard a shout.
"Shit, what was that?!" Axel yelled as he looked towards the direction of the explosion.
"I don't know, but we better get over there to make sure everything's okay." Leon shouted over his shoulder as he started running towards the direction of the noise. The others followed him, all wondering if they would have to face another battle.
Author's Note: Haha, cliffie!!lol. This chapter was going to be longer, but I cut it in half so what was going to be chapter 5 is now chapter 5 and 6. Hope you liked it! Be ready for more and leave reviews please. They give me writing fuel!! XD
