Axel pulled up to the high school, parking in a spot around the area where Zexion usually picked up Demyx. "How long does he usually take to get out here?" he asked the slate haired boy sitting next to him in Zexion's car.
"Not long. He's usually one of the first students to leave. You really didn't have to come with me to keep me company, you know." Zexion said, shaking his head.
"It's your birthday." Axel rolled his eyes as if this explained everything.
Zexion just shook his head again. "That shouldn't change anything – it's just another day."
Axel rolled his eyes again. Demyx hurried over to the car, climbing into the back. "Hey guys – sorry I was running a little late."
"No prob." Axel smiled, starting the car and pulling out of his spot, heading down the street.
Zexion turned in his seat to face Demyx and smiled at him. "How was school?"
Demyx shrugged. "Not bad. How was your day?"
"Surprisingly good. Usually, they go crazy for my birthday. I'm almost hopeful they listened for once when I said I didn't need an extravagant party." Zexion grinned.
Demyx smiled back, but didn't say anything in response.
"I'm picking up Roxas, too." Axel informed them, as he zoomed past the turn to get to their house and continued down the road towards Roxas's.
"That's fine, but are you racing against the clock to get there? I'm sure he'll still be there in five minutes – no need to die in a car crash due to speeding!" Zexion said, glancing nervously at the speedometer.
"I've never killed anyone." Axel insisted.
Demyx blinked. "What about serious injuries?" He asked cautiously.
Axel glared in the rear view mirror at him. "None of those either, thank you very much."
"So Roxas is coming over to hang out with you?" Zexion asked. "You guys have been getting along well."
"Yeah, definitely," Axel grinned. "The stars were a good idea."
"I still haven't seen 'em," Demyx reminded him.
"They're really not that special," Axel shrugged, taking the second turn and making his way down Roxas's street (a little slower this time). Pulling up in front, he honked his horn, knowing Roxas was waiting.
"I haven't either." Zexion told Demyx as Roxas came out, running to the car and climbing in the back.
"Hi Dem. Hi Axel." He leaned forward, kissing the redheaded before grinned at Zex. "Happy birthday, Zexion!"
Zexion managed to smile back at him. "Thank you."
Demyx smiled, and Axel glanced at his boyfriend. "Buckle up," he said as a warning before whipping the car around and heading off.
Hurriedly doing just that, Roxas laughed. "Ax, it's not like we can be late."
Zexion nodded. "The house isn't going anywhere."
Roxas's grin widened and he winked at Demyx. "Right."
Axel just shrugged. "Larx is waiting," he said in explanation.
"Um. Ax? You're going the wrong way. That was our turn back there," Zexion pointed out, frowning.
Axel didn't answer, continuing and taking the next left.
"Axel? Where are we going?" Zexion asked. Resigned, he said, "What did you do?"
Axel just laughed, finally pulling into the parking lot of a wizard-hat shaped building.
Zexion stared before turning to Axel. "The Happy Funtime Place? You guys didn't…"
"We did," Axel grinned at him. "It was Demyx's idea, actually."
Demyx smiled sheepishly.
Zexion groaned and put his face in his hands. "I'm 19, not 2."
"C'mon, Zex, it'll be fun!" Roxas grinned.
Demyx grinned, hopping out of the car and opening Zex's door, grabbing the older boy's arm, "C'mon on, Zex. I know you'll enjoy it."
Zexion blushed, climbing out of the car and letting Demyx pull him towards the building. "I don't know…"
Roxas chuckled, linking hands with Axel and following the pair. "Think he'll like it?"
"As soon as Demyx convinces him to lighten up, yes," Axel answered, locking Zexion's car and squeezing his boyfriend's hand.
"Oh, come on, I'll make sure you have fun," Demyx promised.
Zexion didn't look convinced but followed Demyx inside, spotting Cloud, Leon, and Larxene right away.
"Happy birthday, Zex! Have fun, okay?" Cloud winked, setting out food.
Roxas grinned, "This place is awesome."
Larxene grinned from her perch at the top of a climbing wall, hanging streamers. "I'll dunk you in the ball pit if you don't have fun," she warned.
Axel laughed. "Need any help?" he asked both of them.
"Nah, we're good," she hopped down from the wall, landing smoothly on the ground.
"Good," Axel said, pulling Roxas towards the giant play structure.
"Okay, what do you feel like doing?" Demyx asked Zexion.
Zexion smiled, shaking his head. "They always do something crazy like this – usually I just watch them be childish for a few hours."
"Not happening," Demyx shrugged, pulling him towards the play structure.
"What? But, Dem – we won't fit!" Zexion protested.
Roxas zoomed past, laughing. "You won't catch me!"
Cloud grinned and shook his head, leaning in to Leon.
Leon shifted so that his arms were around Cloud from behind. "Thanks for inviting me."
Axel zoomed after Roxas. "Wanna bet?" he asked, tackling him into the ball pit.
Demyx laughed, "Don't be so sure." He insisted.
Cloud grinned. "Of course. Wanna go pelt Axel and Roxas with those balls?"
"Okay, okay!" Roxas yelled, laughing.
Zexion worried his bottom lip. "Dem… This is crazy!"
Demyx just let go of Zexion's arm and started to climb into a tube.
"Sure." Leon nodded.
Larxene grabbed one of the discarded decoration bags and filled it with ball pit balls before dashing away.
Cloud laughed, grabbing Leon's hand and running to the ball pit, hitting a surprised Roxas.
"Whoa – Cloud?" Roxas exclaimed, before getting hit by Leon, too. "That's it, you're going down!"
Zexion hesitated outside the play tubes, glancing at the craziness that was the ball pit before leaning to peer down the tube. "Demyx?"
Demyx poked his head out from around the corner, "Don't make me drag you in here."
Zexion sighed, glancing back at everyone one more time before cautiously climbing in after Demyx.
Demyx grinned, vanishing around the corner again.
"This is insane." Zexion muttered, following him.
Demyx just laughed, leading him through.
Zexion could hear the others shouting and laughing, and he smiled, shaking his head. Suddenly, he came to another turn, the tunnel branching off in two directions and he frowned, glancing from one to the other. "Demyx?"
Demyx crawled out from around the corner, crawling over to him. "Hi."
"Do you hear them?" Zex asked, shaking his head. "Wouldn't it be more entertaining to be out there watching adults act like children?"
Demyx laughed, "Sure, we can go join them in a minute." He said.
Zexion nodded. "Then where to now?"
Demyx just smiled. "I didn't want to do this in front of them." He said, before leaning in and giving Zexion a quick kiss.
Zexion's eyes widened and he just stared at Demyx, blushing bright red, almost falling on his face.
Demyx hesitated. "Was that okay? I'm not going too fast, am I? I mean…"
"I…" Zexion shook his head, brining one hand up to his lips, eyes still wide. "That was my first kiss." He said, awed and blushing deeper.
Demyx blushed lightly, "Really?"
Zexion just nodded, still a little in shock, glancing from Demyx's eyes to his lips and back.
"Is… Did you mind?" Demyx hesitated.
"I… no," Zexion shook his head again. Glancing down, he muttered, "I hoped it would be you."
Demyx smiled, "happy birthday."
Zexion glanced up, slowly smiling. "Thanks. Does this mean… we're dating?" he asked, blushing again.
"Do you want to be dating?" Demyx asked. "Because I'd like to be."
"I'd… like that." Zexion smiled.
Demyx smiled back, relived. "Awesome. Wanna go pelt Axel and Roxas?"
"Okay." Zexion nodded, still smiling.
XXXX
Larxene felt triumphant as she perched precariously at the top of the play structure. She wasn't very stable up there – her hands were taken up by the bag she was holding – but there was a foam pit beneath her, so she was pretty sure she'd be fine should she fall.
Readjusting the bag, she grabbed a ball and grinned before lobbing it in the general direction of Cloud.
Cloud ducked the ball, whirling to hit whoever threw it only to find Axel and Roxas battling against Leon, leaving him temporarily forgotten. Hearing laughter, he glanced up and grinned.
"How did you even get up there?" Cloud laughed, pointing Larxene out to the others.
"I climbed, of course." Larxene grinned back, before chucking three more balls at him and the others.
Cloud swore, diving out of the way. Smirking, he glanced at Leon, "New target?"
Roxas smiled at Axel. "What'dya say to switching enemies?"
Demyx landed in the ball pit from the slide he had just gone down, only to be hit in the face by a bunch of balls from Larxene's barrage. He blinked.
"Changing targets sounds good." Axel smirked.
Roxas grinned and started throwing balls at Larxene.
Zexion yelped when he fell into the ball pit next to Demyx.
"Having fun?" Cloud asked.
Zexion smiled and nodded.
"Zex is having fun. Well done, Dem. Anyone want cake?" Cloud laughed.
"After we dethrone her!" Roxas yelled, throwing faster.
Demyx, not entirely sure what was going on, began chucking every thing within reach at Larxene, Leon and Axel following suit a moment later.
"Hey, wait!" Larxene shouted, surprised.
"Give up, Larx! You're outnumbered!" Cloud grinned, joining in.
Zexion shook his head, watching in amusement.
A well aimed throw hit Larxene in the face and she tumbled backwards off of her perch, landing in the foam pit.
"And the queen is down!" Roxas cheered.
"Everybody out so we can light the candles on the cake." Cloud said, climbing out and offering Leon a hand.
"Larxene? Are you okay?" Zexion called.
Larxene groaned. "Be there in a sec."
Shaking his head, Zexion smiled at Demyx, blushing a little. "Cake?"
Demyx smiled at him. "Sure."
They climbed out and headed to the table Cloud had set the cake on.
"Sit in front of it, Zexion, so we can sing." Cloud smiled.
Zexion sighed but did as he was told, smiling at the large cake and nineteen candles.
Larxene ran over, (mostly) recovered, and playfully pushed Roxas, "Did you have to knock me down?" she joked.
Roxas stuck his tongue out at her. "Of course!"
Larxene just continued to laugh.
"Okay, I'm lighting the candles!" cloud said, doing just that before smiling and glancing at everyone.
They all sang, a bit off key and not quite together, and Zexion laughed, shaking his head. At their insistence, he closed his eyes and blew out the candles.
"What'd you wish for?" Roxas asked.
Zexion glanced at Demyx. "I didn't make a wish – I already have everything I could want."
Demyx blushed lightly and smiled at him.
Larxene resisted the urge to squeal and grabbed the knife, brandishing it. Axel's eyes widened and he pounced at her, wrestling the knife from her hand. "No! You are not killing someone on Zexion's birthday again!"
"I never killed anyone!" Larxene protested even as the knife was ripped from her hand.
"Sending Cloud to the hospital is close enough, goddamn it." Axel grumbled.
Roxas stared at her wide-eyed. "You sent Cloud to the hospital?" He asked while taking the knife from his boyfriend, giving him a look to stop all protests. "Peppers."
"Yeah. It wasn't that bad, though. At least she missed my vein." Cloud said, shrugging.
"Barely." Zexion snorted. "It's a good thing I know a few skilled doctors."
Larxene rolled her eyes. "You're all ridiculous, it wasn't that bad."
Leon just raised an eyebrow.
Roxas shook his head, doling out the cake. Scooping up a piece of his own slice, he held it up to Axel's lips, grinning. "Cake?"
Cloud chuckled. "Don't worry, Leon. It really wasn't that big of a deal."
Axel accepted it with a smirk.
Leon shrugged, "I mean, people attempting murder is normal in my apartment, but you're all family, so…"
"It wasn't attempted murder." Larxene grumbled taking her won slice.
"Sure." Zexion grinned, eating his own slice of cake, occasionally smiling at Demyx.
"I mean really, why would I send Cloud to the hospital on purpose if I could just as easily have sent Axel to the hospital?" Larxene asked. "Cloud fights back."
Axel glared at her. "I fight back too, Sparky."
"Your definition of fighting back must be skewed then, 'cause flailing does not count." Larxene rolled her eyes.
Roxas laughed. "Don't worry, Axe. I believe in you." He winked at Larxene.
Cloud snickered, shaking his head, looking from the left-over cake to everyone's plates. "Take it home or… food fight?"
Zexion groaned. "Not again! That is one tradition I'll gladly skip."
"No skipping traditions!" Larxene grinned.
Demyx blinked, "You guys seriously have a food fight every year on Zexion's birthday?"
"Yep." Axel nodded. "But we do have a question to consider – do we actually want to clean this place? The maid takes care of the kitchen."
"Blasphemy!" Larxene shouted, grabbing a handful of her cake. "Stop acting like an adult on Zexion's birthday!"
"Sparky, wait!" Axel said, but to no avail – Larxene's handful of cake hit him in the face and all of his adult-like concerns about cleaning flew away.
Roxas wiped a few stray pieces that had hit his face, laughing at Axel.
Zexion quickly ducked under the table, determined to not go home covered in frosting.
Thinking fast, Demyx ducked a handful of cake and crawled under the table with him. "Having fun?" He laughed.
"They're crazy!" Zexion said but couldn't help his smile.
Cloud grabbed a handful of cake, sneaking up behind Roxas before dumped it down his shirt and using the smaller blonde as a shield so that Roxas' face was covered in cake. Roxas squirmed, yelling and laughing, trying to get away from Cloud.
Axel laughed, diving out of the way of a cake piece thrown by Leon and landing in the ball pit. Unfortunately, being in the ball pit made him a prime target for Larxene's next throw.
Cloud finally released Roxas, glancing around. "Wait, wait. Everyone – stop!" Everyone froze, although cake still hit Axel as Larx was at mid-throw.
"Where'd Dem and Zex go?" Cloud asked.
Zexion's eyes widened underneath the table and he held his breath.
Demyx resisted the urge to laugh. Axel just groaned, trying to get out of the ball pit with cake everywhere.
"I don't know. I thought they were at the table…" Roxas said, futilely wiping at the cake covering him before going to help Axel.
"Zex? Dem? Where are you hiding?" Cloud called, walking slowly to the table, motioning Leon to go around to the other side.
Together, they pulled back the tablecloth and bent down. Cloud grinned as Zexion groaned and back up right into Leon.
"Found you." Cloud said, scooping up some cake.
"But – Cloud! It's my birthday!" Zexion protested.
Cloud just laughed.
Demyx laughed as well, grabbing Zexion's arm and dragging him towards the tubes they'd been in earlier, "Come on, climb!" he grinned, diving in.
Zexion hurried after him, turning a corner in the tube just as Cloud poked his head in. "You can't hide in there forever!" The blonde yelled.
"Yes we can!" Zexion called back, slowing down his frantic pace as it was apparent Cloud wasn't following them.
Cloud turned to Leon. "Give them a few minutes or send Roxas after them?"
"What?" Roxas asked.
Cloud shrugged. "You're small enough."
"They'll run out of tube eventually. If they don't come out, we'll send Roxas in." Leon shrugged.
Zexion sighed inside the tubes, coming to a stop. "He's right; we do have to get out of here eventually."
"They can come in after us." Demyx rolled his eyes, grinning at Zexion. "I want to see Cloud or Leon climb through these."
"They'll just wait us out. Or make Roxas do it." Zexion reasoned before he paused. "I hope Roxas doesn't listen to them."
Demyx laughed.
Cloud leaned down to yell into the tubes. "Come out now and we'll have some mercy on you. Stay and Rox is coming in."
Zexion's eyes widened. "Define mercy!" He shouted.
Cloud laughed. "One piece in the face for each of you."
Zexion sighed. "Dem? I think… we should probably just get it over with."
"If they want us, they have to come in and get us." Demyx laughed. "I saw some ball pit balls around the corner, we'll set up an ambush."
Zexion stared at him. "We can't do that!"
"Why not?" Demyx raised an eyebrow.
"Because! We'll lose." Zexion protested.
"No we won't." Demyx rolled his eyes. "Come on." He headed towards where he'd seen the stray ball pit balls.
"Demyx…" Zexion hesitated before following him.
"Should I assume you refuse to come out?" Cloud yelled.
Demyx didn't answer Cloud, backing himself into a corner to await Roxas and winking at Zexion.
"Guys, don't make me come in there, please!" Roxas yelled.
Zexion looked undecided before wedging himself next to Demyx. "This is your fault when it goes badly."
"Roxas, go in." Cloud said.
Roxas groaned. "Guys!" He sighed, crawling in. "What do you want me to do, pull them out?" He asked Axel who was now watching him crawl.
"That'll work. Dump 'em in the ball pit or something." Axel shrugged.
Roxas sighed again, crawling through. "Zex? Dem? Why can't you just come out?"
Zexion angled himself slightly behind Demyx, blushing at how closely they were squished together before closing his eyes. "I can't watch."
Roxas rounded the corner, blinking at the two of them just sitting there. "Guys?"
Demyx grinned at him, raising one of the plastic balls, "Choose one. Join us or get pelted down the slide behind you."
Roxas glanced between them. "You know there's not way to avoid this, right? Maybe, maybe if you put up a creative enough fight they'll go easy or lose interest. But I doubt it. There's no where to run and this is all in fun. Right, Zexion?"
Zexion hesitated before nodding.
"I plan to go down fighting, then. I mean, really. Cloud poured cake down your back." Demyx reminded him.
Roxas glared, still feeling the stickiness between his back and his shirt. "What's the plan?" He grinned.
Zexion groaned, trying his best to hide his amusement at them both. "This is impossible!"
"Well the plan was to ambush you and make you fall down the slide, but now they're out of people small enough to fit up here." Demyx said. "Well, Larxene can try I guess."
"Actually, I'm pretty sure all of them could fit if they wanted to – they're just lazy. Larx and Ax almost definitely could fit in here." Roxas said.
"Any luck, Rox?" Cloud yelled.
"I'm trying to find them! There's too many goddamn turns in here!" Roxas yelled back, before saying to the two before him, "Better come up with a plan quick."
"And there's next to no chance of getting Larxene to turn sides." Demyx frowned. "Axel, sure, if you ask, but Larx won't give up the chance to throw cake at anyone."
"That's true. Well, that slide leads to the ball pits – any clue where the rest of this goes? If we can find another way out, we could pretend to still be up here until they eventually give up." Roxas suggested.
"If it's no fun, they'll stop." Zexion stopped.
"We haven't really explored more than this, no." Demyx shook his head. "How long until they come up looking for us, then?"
"Roxas?" Cloud called again.
Roxas shrugged. "Not very, I'd say. Let's go."
"Right." Demyx nodded.
Roxas led the way down the new section of tunnels, finding two dead ends and another that let out to the ball pits.
"Roxas? Everything okay? You stuck or something?" Cloud chuckled.
"Okay, new plan. We can all take some of these and each choose a dead end. They turn, they get hit. When they join up, we'll stop." Demyx said.
"I don't know…" Zexion bit his lip.
"If Axel comes after me, I can't guarantee pelting. Something more like pouncing, probably." Roxas grinned, laughing when Zexion blushed.
"That's fine. Like I said, if you ask, he'll totally switch sides." Demyx grinned.
"This is crazy…" Zexion muttered, shaking his head.
"Come on, Zex… you can do it." He smiled, "Have a little fun."
"Yeah, haven't you ever wanted to pelt them for something? Now's your chance!" Roxas added
"I… Fine. But I will not take the fall when it goes wrong, okay?" Zexion gave in, blushing at Demyx.
Demyx grinned. "Sounds good."
Zexion sighed, muttering about ridiculous parties and convincing blondes before choosing his tunnel, Dem and Rox doing the same.
"Rox? Axel's getting worried." Cloud yelled, causing Roxas to chuckled softly in his tunnel.
"That's it, Roxas, I'm coming in!" Axel shouted.
Roxas held his breath, waiting for Axel to appear, hoping he found him and not the other two. He grinned when a flash of red headed his way.
"You found me." Roxas grinned. "You deserve a reward."
Axel turned and blinked, not catching on. "Huh?"
Roxas rolled his eyes, slowly inching closer to the redhead. "Axel... I've defected to Dem and Zex's team. You should join us. We have candy. Well, not really. But you can have me instead." The blonde smirked, leaning just close enough to kiss his boyfriend's nose.
Axel's brain snapped out of child mode and he smirked at Roxas, "I can do that." he said, inching forward so he could kiss Roxas.
Roxas grinned pressing forward, one hand grabbing onto Axel's shirtfront for balance, never once breaking the kiss.
"Axel! Did you find any of them?" Cloud yelled into the tubes, starting to get frustrated as everyone was suddenly disappearing into those stupid things.
Axel pulled back just long enough to shout, "Do you have any idea how many twists and turns there are up here? I'm workin' on it!"
Cloud cursed, turning to eye Larxene. "Go in or wait them out?"
Roxas growled, yanking Axel back to him, muttering between kisses, "I didn't give you permission to stop!"
Axel smirked into Roxas's kisses, yanking his boyfriend so that he could push him backwards against the dead end of the tube. While play tubes did not make for the best making out conditions, he would work with what he had.
Larxene grumbled, "That depends, am I going up there or are you?"
Cloud grinned. "Ladies first."
Smiling back at him, Larxene spoke, "Fuck you, Cloud." before climbing into the tube.
Leon took Cloud's hand, "You realize that they've probably turned both Axel and Roxas over to their side, right?"
Cloud shrugged. "Probably. This is still the most Zexion's ever actually had fun at one of his birthday parties, so I'm not going to complain even if Larx and I lose. I figure I'll give her ten minutes before going in myself. Guard the exit for me?"
Leon chuckled, "Sure."
"Thanks." Cloud kissed him, before yelling into the tubes, "Well, Larx? Find anyone?"
"Not ye-AH!" she shouted in pain, "What the hell?"
Demyx's maniacal laughter answered her.
"Larxene's down." Leon commented.
Cloud sighed. "Wish me luck!" He started into the tubes. "Larx? Where are you?"
"You got your point across, damn it! There's no reason to push me down the slide!"
"Great." Cloud muttered, continuing to crawl. He heard the sounds of someone making out with someone and rolled his eyes, realizing where Axel and Roxas went and giving that tunnel a wide berth. He came to a fork and took the path the screams weren't coming from, hoping to find Zexion.
Zexion froze when Cloud's head popped into his tunnel, shakily raising a play pit ball.
"Hiya, Zex. Having fun?" Cloud grinned, moving closer. "Whatcha got there?"
"Apparently we are trying to pull of a successful coup." Zexion stated.
Cloud laughed. "You won't win - I doubt you'll even throw that."
Zexion smiled. "I know, but Demyx said it would be fun, so..." Taking a deep breath, he chucked the ball at Cloud, hitting him square in the nose.
Cloud's jaw dropped. "Woah, Zex, wait!"
Zexion laughed. "He's right, it is fun!" He pelted Cloud a little clumsily with the balls, forcing the older blonde backwards until-
"Shit!" Cloud yelled as he tumbled into the ball pit.
Zexion looked around the tunnels. "Demyx? I think we won."
"Get the hell OFF of me, Cloud!" Larxene shouted from beneath them. Demyx crawled over to where Zexion was and grinned.
"Sounds like it. Good job." he grinned.
Zexion smiled back. "Shall we?"
"Sure. Do we dare try and get Rox and Ax?" he asked.
Zexion hesitated before yelling, "Axel! Roxas! We won and are leaving now! Get out or walk home!" Turning to Demyx, he nodded. "There. Let's go." He smiled, moving to slide down, feeling Demyx move behind him. Almost together, they dropped into the ball pit.
Demyx laughed, "Well, that went well." he commented.
Zexion just shook his head. "Sure."
"Wait, wait, we're here! Don't leave!" Roxas yelled, tumbling out with Axel right behind him.
Cloud rolled his eyes before pretending to scowl at Demyx. "So apparently that was all your idea, huh?"
"Pretty much." Demyx shrugged, helping Zexion out of the ball pit.
Cloud sighed, shaking his head and turning to Larxene. "We can't just let him get away with that, can we? I mean, it's Zexion's birthday and yet neither are wearing cake!"
Roxas laughed as Axel pulled him out of the pits as Zexion just shook his head at Cloud.
"I can take care of that." Larxene shrugged, grabbing Demyx's arm before he could protest and tossing him into the other side of the ball pit, where the cake leftover from Axel's last trip in was still everywhere.
Roxas doubled over laughing as Leon helped Cloud out of the pit.
"Yeah, that's better." Cloud grinned. "What about Zexion, though?"
"Zexion actually knocked you down the slide." Larxene reminded him.
"That's true." Cloud said, turning to Zexion, who took a few steps back.
"It was all Demyx's idea, though. Zex was just following orders." Roxas pointed out.
Cloud grinned. "That's also true. Okay, Zex, you get a choice. I can either cake you or dump the rest on Demyx - pick one."
"What?" Zexion said, distressed, looking from Demyx to Cloud and back. "But -!"
"Tick tock, Zex. Pick one." Cloud laughed.
Zexion sighed. "Fine, you can shove a piece of cake on my face. Honestly, you'd think you were all cavemen or something."
"Leon, if you would be so kind as to get me another slice of cake?" Cloud grinned.
Leon walked over to the table to grab one of the few remaining slices of cake and handed it to his boyfriend.
"Thank you." Cloud said, walking over to Zexion and promptly smashing it onto his face. "Happy birthday, Zexion."
"Hope you had fun at least." Roxas said, grinning at Axel. "I know I did."
Zexion sighed, wiping cake off onto his arm. "Yeah. I had fun." He smiled, licking his fingers.
Demyx climbed out of the ball pit, now mostly covered in cake, "Well, that's good."
Zexion smiled at him. "Home?" He asked.
Cloud nodded. "Yeah, I think we're done."
"Are we actually leaving the cake everywhere?" Demyx asked, confused, "I mean, it's all over the ball pit."
"We're leaving extra money for the cleaning costs." Cloud waved a hand. "All we have to worry about now is cleaning ourselves up and getting home. Are you coming over?" He directed the last part to Leon.
"Sure." Leon nodded.
Cloud grinned. "Great. How about you, Roxas?"
Roxas shrugged. "Yeah, I'd like to." He squeezed Axel's hand.
"Okay, Zex, what do you want for your birthday dinner? Someone can get it on the way."
"...Chinese, I guess." Zex shrugged.
"Sure. Leon and I will take care of things here. Larxene, could you go get the food? Everyone else, you guys can just go home and clean up. Sound good?"
Everyone nodded, all leaving the building besides Cloud and Leon. Zexion grabbed Demyx's hand, blushing but holding onto it. "Thanks for the fun today. It was... entertaining."
Demyx smiled back, squeezing his hand, "No problem. Glad you enjoyed it."
XXXX
Reno plopped down onto the couch, glancing at his brother, who was sitting in a chair, "Hey, whatcha doing?"
"Learning how to play the piano." Riku rolled his eyes. "What does it look like I'm doing?"
Reno rolled his eyes, "Sarcasm doesn't suit you."
Riku snorted, shaking his head. "What are you doing?"
"Waiting for Namine. She's on her way over." Reno shrugged.
"Oh. Okay." Riku nodded. "You guys doing anything special or...?"
Reno shrugged, "Probably just hanging out here. That okay? And where's Sora, anyway?"
"Sure. And working on homework or something." Riku shrugged.
Reno just nodded, leaning back on the couch, but hopping up as he heard a knock on the door.
Namine smiled when he opened the door. "Hi."
"Hey." Reno leaned in to give her a quick kiss, but didn't want to make his brother uncomfortable and pulled back quickly, letting Namine into the apartment and shutting the door behind her.
Namine smiled, sighing a little.
"Hey, Nami." Riku said as they walked into the living room and sat down together.
"Hi, Riku. How are you?" She asked.
"Good, how about you?" Riku grinned.
Namine smiled back, glancing at Reno and taking his hand. "I'm well."
Reno smiled at her.
Riku rolled his eyes. "No coupley stuff while I'm sitting here, okay?"
Namine laughed. "Of course, Riku! We have to let you get used to the idea first!"
Riku paled slightly. "No thanks! Do not want the mental image!"
Reno laughed, but his cell phone ringing interrupted it. Sending Namine and Riku an apologetic glance, he pulled it out. "What's Zack calling me for?" he blinked.
"Who knows?" Riku shrugged. "If you don't answer it, he'll just keep calling or show up here."
"You should answer it, then. It could be important." Namine nodded.
"Alright." Reno shrugged, flipping his phone open and lifting it to his ear, "But Zack has this tendency to go on and on and on and on and on-"
"Hey! I do not!" Zack yelled.
Reno laughed, "Yes, you do. What's up?"
"Aw, Reno." Zack pouted for a minute before saying, "Guess what?"
"What?" Reno answered, leaning back and putting his other arm around Namine, accidentally (or possibly on purpose, it was Reno) dragging her back with him.
Namine smiled at him and Riku rolled his eyes.
"You're supposed to guess! I'll give you a hint - I got a verrrry interesting phone call today." Zack said.
"That is not a hint." Reno chuckled, knowing Zack would give in eventually.
"Reno, you're being no fun! Are you not alone or something?"
"Riku and Namine are here." Reno laughed, "And I'm being plenty of fun, I just have absolutely no idea."
"HI RIKU! HI NAMINE!" Zack yelled.
Reno pulled the phone away from his ear as he jumped, shouting into it, "FUCK, Zack, you don't have to yell it! I'll put you on speaker for god's sake!" Hitting the button to put his best friend on speakerphone, he put the phone down on the table in front of them and rubbed his abused ear.
"Sorry." Zack said sheepishly. "Hi Riku and Namine! Guess what?"
"What now, Zack?" Riku groaned.
"Aw, are you cranky because Sora's not there?" Zack asked.
"No!" Riku yelled, blushing a little.
"That's okay, I won't tell." Zack laughed. "Come on, somebody guess something!"
"You won the lottery?" Namine said.
"Nope! Guess again!" Zack said cheerfully.
"Aerith's having twins?" Namine asked.
"What! She is? Wait - no, that's not it." Zack said.
Reno rolled his eyes, "What is it, Zack?"
"Wakka called me - he's a friend of mine" Zack added, more for Riku and Namine than for Reno, "and someone rented out his place for the entire day! The entire day!"
"What place?" Namine asked.
"Oh, sorry. He owns the Happy Funtime Place." Zack explained.
"Who can afford to rent out the Happy Funtime Place for the entire day?" Reno blinked, "Place is pretty big, right?"
"Yeah, it's huge! It's got tunnels and ball pits and swings and places to eat and benches and did I mention ball pits?" Zack said.
"Sounds like you've been there before." Riku commented.
"Yeah, I love playing around in there!" Zack said happily.
"Who rented it out, do you know? Was it for a special occasion or something? Maybe someone wanted to have their child's birthday there." Namine suggested. "It's a kids place, right?"
"Yeah." Riku nodded.
"I think Wakka said it was for a birthday, actually. Maybe." Zack said.
"Oh! I think I heard Roxas telling Sora about it - I'm pretty sure Axel and his roommates were going to take Zexion there for his birthday. Maybe they ended up renting the place." Riku said.
"Roxas? Axel? Zexion?" Zack asked, confused.
"Roxas, Sora's younger brother, is dating Axel who lives with Zexion." Riku quickly explained.
"Sounds confusing." Zack laughed. "But oh man, what a great birthday idea! Hey, Reno - whatcha doing for yours?"
"It's your birthday soon?" Namine asked, looking at Reno.
Reno nodded at Namine, "Yeah, on the 27th. But I'm not doing anything." he shrugged, "I mean, honestly, Zack, when do I ever do anything for my birthday?"
"Come on! It's not like you're getting so incredibly old or something! Riku, take your brother out for his birthday!" Zack demanded.
"Yeah, right. I've tried, Aerith's tried. He's no fun." Riku stuck his tongue out at his brother.
"I'm turning 25, not 16." Reno rolled his eyes, "Birthdays aren't really that big of a deal after 21 anyway." he said, "And all people do when they turn 21 is get drunk, and I can do that whenever." he reminded his brother.
"At least promise you won't sulk at home! We should go out or something!" Zack said.
Namine stood. "Excuse me for one moment." She slipped into the bathroom, pulling out her cell.
Reno's shout of, "I don't sulk at home!" reached her from the living room.
Quickly dialing, she waited for the line to be picked up. "Aerith? Hi, it's Namine."
XXXX
Aerith blinked as Namine spoke, glancing at her husband who was having an energetic argument with Reno and Riku on the phone. "Namine? Hello. Is everything okay?" she asked even as she nudged Zack.
"Yes, everything's fine. I was wondering if you could help me with something, though." Namine said.
"Sure, of course." Aerith answered, "Er... you do realize that my husband was talking to you literally a second ago, right?" she asked, "I mean... he's still talking to Reno and Riku and he's sitting next to me."
Namine laughed. "I know, but I didn't want Reno to hear this part - I want to throw him a surprise party."
"Oh, that's a great idea!" Aerith grinned. Nudging Zack again, she whispered, "Be right back," and stood up, walking into the kitchen, "What did you have in mind? Every attempt Riku and I have had to make him celebrate his birthday for the last three years has failed, but he's pretty likely to go along with anything you do."
"Well, I was hoping to have it somewhere big enough for everyone, and somewhere that he won't be suspicious of. Do you think his boss would let us use the Chocolate Chocobo?" Namine asked hopefully.
"Most likely, if she doesn't have anything else planned. Tifa's a good friend of mine, would you like me to call her and set it up? That way you wouldn't have to worry about it. I can call her now, actually." Aerith glanced at the clock on the stove, "She wanted to tell me about her date anyway."
"That would be great! Thank you! I think it'd be best if Reno thought he was working - that way, we don't have to worry about him getting there. I'll tell Riku later, and of course you'll tell Zack. Is there anyone else that should be invited?" Namine asked.
Aerith thought for a moment, "Well, there's Rude." she said, "I can ask Zack to call him, he knows him better." she began to list off people in her head, "Yeah, there's a few more people, but Zack and I can handle getting them there."
"That'd be great! Would Tifa be willing to provide food? Sora's brother is an extremely talented baker - I can get a cake from him." Namine said.
"I'm sure she would, but I'll check and let you know for sure." Aerith said, "Lemme call her now, and I'll send you a text and you can call me later for the details of what she says." she suggested.
"That'd be great! Do you think he'll like this?" Namine said, suddenly worried Reno would be uncomfortable.
"I think he will." Aerith smiled, "Even besides the fact that it's an awesome idea, Reno would love anything you planned for him."
Namine smiled. "Okay. I'm excited! I'd better go before he starts to get worried, but I'll talk to you later!"
"Sounds good! And thanks, Namine." Aerith smiled.
XXXX
Jasmine: I need your AN's so I can post.
Cami: But I have no ideas.
Jasmine: ...But I need them to post.
Cami: But I have NO ideas!
Jasmine: ...But-
Cami: None!
Jasmine: -sighs- Fine. Cami has no ideas, so I guess I'll just say I hope you liked it and I really love these characters :)
Cami: Sounds good.
Jasmine: Quiet, you.
Please review! :D