#it took me three tries to get roxas' hair right i had to study for it like i was preparing for a math test

[catmewniverse]

my sweet sons

[kessielrg]

[Kingdom Hearts] The Heart of a Dandelion

Summary: By far, Ven’s got the most boring job at the flower shop; the cashier. Sitting day in and day out for someone to browse along the rows of flowers and gardening tools, then probably walk right out again. Sometimes an interesting thing would happen- but they were few and far between. [flower shop AU focused on UX kids][Part 5 in a series of oneshots][VenxOC][EphemerxOC/F!Player]

Rating: K

Word Count: 1,725 words

If you liked this story, please reblog!

---

“Strelitzia needs a different job.”

Ventus gave a rather annoyed eye up at Elrena. Finals were coming up soon, and he was using this time to study. Of course, Elrena wasn't talking to him, she was talking to Lauriam. The older man was gently spritzing some flowers with a glycerin mixture. Elrena felt the need to lean against the front counter and shout at him from across the store. It was really starting to get on Ven's nerves.

“Why are you telling me this?” Lauriam gently asked as he looked over one flower, gave it a small tilt of his head, before giving its petals two sprays of glycerin. “Strelitzia's shift ended ten minutes ago. If you wanted to tell her this, you could have done it before she left.”

“She wouldn't, and didn't.” Ven retorted as he wrote down a math formula to memorize later. “Strelitzia makes her feel emotions. It scares her.”

“Shut up Roxas.” Elrena demanded as she reached over to slam his book closed. Ven blinked for a moment before looking at Elrena with a rather dark glare.

“You know my name is Ven.” he informed her, opening his book back up.

“See if I care.” came the nasty retort.

“Elrena, don't be rude to Ven just because you're worried.” Lauriam idly noted as he inspected another flower. He frowned in finding that it was wilting a bit.

“I'm not worried!” she immediately spat back. “I just… I just hate when she gets hurt.”

“No wonder you're always in a bad mood.” Ven remarked without thinking about it. Elrena flashed him a glare so dark, Ven physically recoiled from it.

“It is nice to know she's cares, isn't it?” Lauriam just as easily laughed. Elrena gave him a dark glare as well, but he simply shrugged it off. Instead, he picked up the wilting flower and brought it up to the front counter.

“In any event,” he said, taking the flower out of the ceramic vase. “You and I both know that Strelitzia's not going to change jobs anytime soon. She loves it here.”

“Must be a stupid masochist then.” Elrena huffed, even folding her arms in defiance. “Not a day goes by that she comes home with some new cut, or bruise, or headache from all these stupid plants...”

“Pretty sure everyone in our family has a high tolerance for pollen.” Lauriam laughed. “I think it just depends on your perspective.”

That earned him a peeved eye roll, along with another huff. Lauriam was definitely not paying her any mind while he laid the flowers in a single row. He placed the vase close to Ven- a hint that the younger needed to dump out the water. Ven made a mental note of it; he was still studying, after all. He did hand Lauriam some loose newspaper when he asked for it, though. Apparently Lauriam was going to dry the flowers out later.

“Our parents started Dandelion's you know.” he then thoughtfully said. “It was right after they got married.”

“I know that.” Elrena grumbled.

“You do, but Ven doesn't.”

Elrena let out an undignified huff. Lauriam offered a small chuckle in response before properly turning his attention to Ventus.

“They used flowers from their own garden. Mother handled the arrangements, and Father actually went to do minor landscaping work around town. Hence the dual 'Floristry and Gardening' bit on the full business name. It's not just because we sell gardening supplies year round.”

Ven gave a small, rather uninterested nod. By now he'd gathered that Lauriam wasn't really related this story to him, he was reminding Elrena. There was a reason why Strelitzia loved working here.

“Strelitzia was the one who brought up the idea of placing the shop here in the outlets. She was about 16 then, and the four of us decided to go out shopping for Mother's birthday. The moment she saw the store front, she knew the store had to be here.” Lauriam let out a soft snort before going on to say, “She had pretty good tastes, honestly, with it being a corner lot and all. Makes it easier to get big deliveries in and out.”

“Hmmph.” Elrena grumbled. “She only wanted it here because Ephemer's sylph worked at the antique store three shops down.”

“I thought she met Strelitzia when Ephemer started working here.” Ven cut in, now a bit confused.

“Anora and Strelitzia dated for a year and a half.” Lauriam gently agreed. “But Anora started working at the antique store when she was 17. Strelitzia was 18 then.” Lauriam offered Ven a kind smile. “You might be thinking of Anora and Brain. They met when Ephemer started working here, and hit it off pretty well from what I understand.”

At this, Elrena laughed in a rather obnoxious pitch. “More like hit on each other!” she cackled. “Those three were threewaying so often, that brat of theirs would have needed a paternity test if he didn't end up with Ephemer's hair!”

Lauriam frowned. “Elrena, you don't know that.”

“I bet they still go at it every now and again.” she went on, absolutely reveling at the thought. “Betcha in the next five years (maybe even sooner if you catch my drift), she's gonna pop another and it'll have hair as black as sin!”

“Elrena!” Lauriam finally demanded. “That's enough!”

Elrena immediately reined herself back in. Even Ven shrunk a bit at Lauriam's tone. Seeing Lauriam angry was possibly one of the most scariest things about him. Assuming he even let that anger show, of course.

“Back to the original topic at hand,” the oldest between the three of them said before slowly returning to a more relaxed demeanor. “It's because of Strelitzia that we were able to understand what Dandelion's meant to the community. Our parents had to raise the money to rent out this property at first. Once the whole town caught wind of it, we were able to meet the goal in a month.”

“That's pretty impressive.” Ven noted. His voice didn't sound as enthused though. Lauriam smiled at the acknowledgment, regardless.

“It was quite the shock.” he agreed. “Our parents were old souls- gentle, and fair too humble for their own good. Moving Dandelion's to the outdoor mall became a rather big affair. At the head of it was Strelitzia. Before Skuld was brought on to be our bona fide manager, it was Strelitzia.”

“Strelitzia's the one in charge of hiring new people too, right?” Ven asked. The thought had came to him suddenly. He could faintly remember his initial interview two or so years ago. Tired of being cooped up at home while Terra and Aqua worked at their respective jobs, Ven had been wandering around the outdoor mall for something to do. He walked by Dandelion's Floristry and Gardening, noticed the 'Now Hiring!' sign taped to the window, and immediately made a choice. Ephemer was the first person he got to know that worked here. Strelitzia became the second.

“She is.” Lauriam agreed with a smile and happy nod. “She has a natural intuition toward other people. We don't hire anyone without her say so.”

Elrena grunted. For a moment, Ven had to wonder why. Had Elrena tried to work here before?

“Point is,” Lauriam went on, “You can't separate this store from Strelitzia, or vice versa. Our parents might have started it, but she is Dandelion's Floristry and Gardening.”

Elrena was silent. The words settled around them as she thought long and hard over the idea. She knew he had a point, and she hated it.

“She's going to kill herself here.” she finally decided, looking up at Lauriam with a steely gaze. “How can she be happy when all she does is hurt herself?”

“Maybe you could ask her yourself.” Lauriam suggested with a sly grin. He then gave a rather bemused chuckle before taking the flowers to the backroom.

Elrena waited for when he was out of earshot just to mimic in a whining voice, “Maybe you could ask her yourself.” She huffed, folding her arms once again, then proceeded to act rather indignant. Ven didn't know why she was still in the store at this point.

He raised an eyebrow at her before questioning, “If you like Strelitzia so much, why don't you just tell her?”

“If you like that tramp Brain calls a sister so much, why don't you just tell her?” Elrena shot back, her voice still obnoxiously high. She let out a frustrated sigh before snapping at him, “It's not that simple, Roxas.”

Ven looked at her. Any thoughts about studying now were thrown out the window. If she wanted to go for the throat, then he was more than willing to fight back too.

“First of all,” he said, “My name is Ventus; Ven if you bothered to be nice for all of five seconds. Second, Strelitzia actually listens if you asked her to. And third, at least I'm trying.”

Elrena stood up a bit straighter at his assertion. A look of bewilderment crossed her face before being replaced with a snide smirk.

“Look at you, growing a spine.” Elrena marveled. Her voice was still chilly, though. “Keep that attitude up and you might just lose your virginity before graduation.”

It took Ven a solid three seconds for what she said to click. His face then started to flush a rather deep shade of red as he tried to return to his schoolwork. Elrena just snorted at him.

“Pathetic.” she mumbled under her breath. Then, without any warning, she shouted at the top of her lungs, “Well, if you're done talking to me, Lauriam, then I guess I'm out of here.”

Lauriam came out of the backroom just to wave her out.

“Have a safe trip home.” he told her. Elrena gave him a half hearted wave as she went on out. Ven, for one, was glad she was gone now. His joy at her departure did not go unnoticed. Lauriam looked over at him in thought for a moment.

“You're a lot braver than her, Ven.” Lauriam noted. “Just… next time? Be easier on her. She's not out of the closet yet.”

Admittedly, it took Ven a moment to realize what Lauriam said. When he turned around to give his coworker a funny glance, he was already gone.

[creamypudding]

Woeful WIP Wednesday

I last touched this WIP in August 2020. It was for the AkuRoku beard event I had tried to get underway for World Beard Day which is annually on September 1st. I never finished the story because it was getting very technical with beard related care products and a lot of sex. Like a lot of it. I have notes where they fuck each other like 4 times? On the couch, in the shower, in bed. I don’t know why I stopped writing it. It’s outlined but I ran out of steam and interest.  As much as I am a smut-writing champion you’d be surprised how often I write stories only to run completely out of steam once I get to the smut. Go figure. In this story Axel and Roxas are in a long distance relationship and have a wager on who can grow the better beard. It is rated T and stops a bit before the ‘good stuff’ was going to happen. Word count - 2385 If you enjoy this, or any of the other WIP’s it would be great if you would let me know. Cheers.

Homecoming

The date, time, and location were set; 1st April, 6pm, Olga's—a favorite haunt of their family and friends’, and the best place to get Polish sausages. Roxas stood a little way down the road from the establishment, his two suitcases; a small one stacked on top of the large one, in hand as he looked at his reflection in his phone's camera. He brushed at his Banholz beard; big, bushy and grew to about his mid-chest. He had oiled, brushed, trimmed, and shaped it to look its best, for today was a monumental day. 6 months ago he had been dared to grow a beard by his boyfriend, Axel. Roxas had agreed but only if they would have a competition to see who could grow the best beard, to be judged by a panel of their relations and peers. 

Roxas thought himself ready and walked on, wheeling his suitcases along behind himself. This competition was the precise reason why Roxas now entered the cozy restaurant. It had been booked out for the occasion and was filled with family and friends who all greeted Roxas with raucous cheers of— 

“Roxas! You’re back!”

“Good to see you!”

“Is that really you under there?”

“Axel! Axel, your competition has arrived!”

The suitcases were tugged away from Roxas and the throng of people around him cleared revealing, there, across the space, standing at the head of a banquet table laden with bigos, golonka, pierogi, schabowy, placki, pączki and a range of drinks like compotes, oranżada, piwo, and żubrówka, was Axel in familiar jeans and a black shirt with flame motifs that Roxas had bought him as a gift two years ago. They looked at each other across the space.

Voices sang out, praising the magnificent beards they both sported.

Roxas saw Axel’s thick, dark beard; a Bandholz, like his own. They walked toward each other and stopped in the middle of the floor. Roxas craned his neck to look up, Axel smirked down.

“You look like a real Viking,” Axel said.

“You look like a mismatched pirate. Didn’t feel like dyeing your beard?”

“It’s too much red. Makes me look like a tomato. I’ll show you the photos of when I tried.” “Cool.”

They grinned at each other and Axel threw his arms around Roxas, lifting him off the ground in a tremendous hug. Roxas’ face got smothered in the scratchy beard but he still giggled and when he dropped back to the ground hooked his hands around Axel’s neck and gave him a chaste peck on the lips.

They pulled apart laughing a little. 

“That’s something new to get used to,” Axel commented, rubbing his lips.

Roxas nodded and threaded his fingers through Axel’s.

“Come on everyone,” Sora, Roxas’ half-brother, shouted over the crowd. “Now that both our competitors are here let's get the judging going and then eat!” Cheers of enthusiasm rose and Axel and Roxas were ushered before the panel. 

Roxas and Axel were examined in turn, their beards evaluated for physical appearance: thickness, length, feel. And then for popularity, which opened up to the entire group of assembled people.

Roxas grinned up wildly as he was crowned Beard King and received a victory parade amongst the shoulders of his friends to wild chanting before he was dropped on his ‘throne’, which was just a high backed chair in the middle of the banquet table laid out. He was presented with an enormous hamper of goodies relating to beard care and then Axel took his seat next to Roxas and everyone joined in on eating all the delicious food before them.

Much talk was had over dinner regarding Roxas’ time away—as he studied in a different state and only came back home over the summer and Christmas breaks. He was caught up in everyone else’s lives as well and then after three hours of eating, chatting, and boozing, wished everyone a good night as well as thanking everyone for crowning him king and coming out, and then he wheeled his luggage to Axel’s red Kia Cerato coup parked at the restaurants car park and got in to go back to their place.

“What does my liege want to do when we get home?” Axel asked, fondling the tip of Roxas’ beard as he drove along the street.

“I want to go through that basket of goodies with you, play with your beard, and play with you. I’ve missed you so much.” Roxas clasped Axel’s hand and rubbed it against his cheek.

Axel stroked him when he stopped his rubbing motion. “At least we get three long months of being together until you have to go back to college.” Roxas groaned. “It’s going to be so good, even when I do have to go back because we’ll be able to video call and won’t have to keep this beard stuff a secret from one another anymore.”

Axel nodded. “Yeah. If I had known what we were getting into I might not have agreed to this. Six months is too long without seeing your… well… rugged face. I can’t really call you pretty now, can I? I didn’t actually believe you’d look so much older with a beard.” “C’mon, you didn’t even think I could grow one. Not that I know why. You’ve seen dad, he’s always had a really respectable circle beard.” Axel shrugged. “I guess I look at your baby face and just… could never picture it.” “I’ll make sure we take a lot of photos so you’ll never forget. Have I shown you photos of dad from when he didn’t have a beard? I get my baby face from him. Underneath his beard, you’d think he’s twenty years younger than he is.” “Can’t say I’ve seen those. So when you’re fifty you’ll look thirty?”

“You know it. I can be your baby-faced sugar-daddy.” Roxas cracked up laughing at Axel’s bewildered scowl.

“For one, you are only two years older than me, and two, at this moment I’m your sugar-daddy since I work.” “True, but once I finish my degree and start working I’ll make so much money that you’ll be able to go part-time and look after our fur-babies.”

A strangled noise left Axel’s throat. “This is why I love you so much. You’re willing to protect me from a grueling working life.” Axel quickly leaned over, Roxas also leaned in and they shared a small kiss.

Roxas giggled. “So tickly and hairy.” ----------------------------------------------------

They arrived at their small cottage-esque house which they were renting. It had an undercover carport, a disheveled wooden fence, dry grassy patches, and a dead flowerbed. The door opened up right to their living room. A hallway ran through the door on the right, leading to the two bedrooms, and bathroom, with a separate toilet, and to the left of the living room was a door which led to the kitchen and laundry. Their backyard was an overgrown monstrosity which Axel only tended to when the landlords came around for inspections. The house was drafty, they were pretty sure black mold grew in the vents in the laundry and bathroom, but it was affordable, small, and let them live together when Roxas came home over college breaks.

Axel helped Roxas get his bags out of the car, they stowed them away to deal with later and sat on their plush, tan faux-leather couch whilst rifling through the content of the prize basket.

“It was really nice of everyone to pitch in and get us this gift basket,” Axel said, pulling out a beard-care kit consisting of several brushes, some oils and waxes, and a few trimming essentials.

“What do you mean us? This is mine.” Roxas glared, but he couldn't repress the bubbling-inside grin.

“You're really gonna use all of this Beard Candy and King of Wood all by yourself?” Axel held up the respectively named balm tin and oil bottle.

Both of them giggled.

“I might.” Roxas grabbed for the bottle. “I am king of wood.”

“You're more candy, darling.” Axel snatched the bottle and shoved the tin at Roxas.

Roxas gasped with playful offended. “Not true. I am King Beard. Everyone thinks so. We had a vote, remember?”

“We did. You really want to keep all this to yourself though?”

“Nah. WHat’s mine is yours—Oooo! There’s dye and glitter!”

Axel looked at the packets Roxas held up and went diving into the basket. “Ribbons too. Who do you reckon snuck this stuff in?”

Roxas thought for a moment humming and hawing. 

“Sora!” they both shouted in unison and cracked up laughing.

Axel put the items he held down and got up. “You want anything, babe? Tea? Hot chocolate? Water?”

“A tall drink of something hot and sweet.” Roxas made eyes at Axel, who grinned broadly. 

A spark of lust ignited in Axel’s eyes. He stepped close to Roxas, bent down and kissed him, pushing him against the couch. The hairs against Roxas’ lips tickled. He wrapped his arms around Axel’s shoulders, pulling them chest to chest and Axel climbed up to straddle Roxas’ lap. Roxas pushed his tongue into Axel, who sucked gently. Both of them hummed and pulled apart. 

“I do actually want a drink though,” Roxas sniggered.

“On its way, sugarplum.” Axel slid off and headed to the kitchen.

Roxas’ cheeks were plump and hot from all the smiling. He had missed Axel so much. He listened to Axel banging away in the kitchen, as taps turned on and off, drawers and cupboards opened and shut, and container lids popped in and out of place. Roxas kept looking through the goodies in the basket. He really appreciate everyone's support, but most of all Axel's for doing this with him—even if they were pitted against each other. 

Axel talked to him from the kitchen. They talked about Roxas’ flight home, Axel's job and then Axel was back, carrying a tall mug of steaming liquid, gasped with whipped cream. He set that down on a coaster before Roxas and put a much more sensibly succeed mug down for himself, filled with what smelled like chili tea.

“It's so good to have your back, babe.” Axel leaned over and kissed Roxas, who cupped Axel’s cheek and stoked along where skin met beard. Roxas could taste the light spice on Axel's lips as he had been sipping his tea before he had come in.

Axel left small touches on Roxas’ arms, trailing up to his neck where slender fingers caressed and rubbed. Roxas melted into the touch and hungered with his kissing of his boyfriend.

Axel pulled away, licking his lips. “Have your drink. I slaved over it.”

“Oh, what hard work it was to push buttons, wait for water to boil, and open the fridge to get whipped cream out.”

“It was the hardest. I had to do it all without you there.”

Axel was being ridiculous but it twinged in Roxas’ heart. “Okay, I retract my previous sarcastic remark.” He grabbed his drink, snuggled closer to Axel, and licked at the cream and sipped, humming with appreciation.

Axel looked down at Roxas and simply said, “Yum.”

Roxas huffed out a small laugh and felt his cheeks turning pink. He was glad for his beard.

“You're giving me all sorts of ideas looking like that.” Axel quirked an eyebrow.

Roxas’ stomach knotted. Having been debited their webcam sessions made him feel excessively deprived of his boyfriend touch. “Kiss me.”

Axel obliged, leaning down, sucking Roxas’ lip onto his mouth for brief moments and then flicking his tongue over Roxas to lip, licking the cream off which gathered in his beard.

Roxas held his drink away from the both of them and gently pulled on the end of Axel's beard, drawing the other man in for another kiss. Roxas pulled away then, humming. “I've missed you, babe. Let's never have a comp like this again.”

“Your beard as itchy as mine feels?” Axel scratched at his chin.

Roxas chuckled. “No. It feels pretty good, but I mean the not being able to see each other bit.”

“Ahh, yeah. Agreed. I mean, this,” he brushed the fuzzy edge of Roxas’ beard, “is actually surprisingly attractive on you, but I get what you mean.” Axel leaned in and hushed against Roxas’ love, “Your voice in my ear is honey to me but seeing you touching yourself is my bread and butter.” Axel kissed Roxas behind his ear, making him shiver.

Roxas nuzzled Axel's cheek, making them both giggle because their beards tickled.

Axel clapped Roxas’ thigh. “C'mon, let's do some beard stroking and grooming. I want my beard to look like Nori from the Hobbit. Which dwarf do you want to be?”

Roxas laughed. They had been talking about the wacky beards of the dwarves from that movie trilogy for at least two months now. “Gloin. His beard is magnificent!, plus, I found a packet of beads at the bottom of the basket.”

Axel nodded. “All right, my glorious Norse God. Let's doll each other up.”

Roxas giggled with delight.

They spent the next two hours taking turns combing and braiding each other's beards. Roxas split Axel's dark, silky beard into three prongs, found done large clasps to target the end and hair-sprayed the shit out of the two outer parts of the beard to make them stand stiff and jut out from Axel's face.

Then it was Roxas’ turn. Axel sectioned parts off, braiding and beading the thick, wiry hair into the desired shape. 

They shared many kisses throughout and traversed down memory lane as they recalled the early days of growing out their beards and how itchy the first few weeks were. Thinking about it made both of them itch.

When their beards were all finished they took a photo as a keepsake.

“Are you sure you want to shave off our chin-curtains tomorrow?” Axel asked, touching Roxas’ dark blond hair.

Roxas burst out laughing. “Chin-curtains? Are you getting attached to yours? You've been doing nothing but complaining about it for months.”

“Well, I like all the touching. I like us sitting together and doing each other.” Axel couldn't keep a straight face as he said that.

Roxas rolled his eyes as he smiled brightly. “We can still touch each other no matter what.” He slid an arm around Axel's waist.

[aliceslantern]

Heartlines, a Kingdom Hearts fanfic, chapter 4

Twelve years ago, Xemnas betrayed the royal court of Radiant Garden to his father, Xehanort. Prince Ienzo flees to another city and begins university in the aftermath, hoping the anonymity will protect him from eager eyes with ill intent. The darkness spilling across the country, as well as an individual from his past, cut short Ienzo's new beginning and bring new conflicts to light. Strained between the desires of his magic and his heart, Ienzo's choice will change him forever.

Modern Fantasy AU, Soulmates, Zemyx. Updates Fridays until it's done.

Chapter summary:  Ienzo starts classes. A lunch with peers ends up with more than he bargained for.

Read it on FF.net/on AO3

---

Later that night, still trying to reckon with the strange feeling Demyx had inflicted upon his magic, Ienzo went to Aeleus to tell him what he’d witnessed.

“A Heartless, here?” he asked. “You’re sure of what you saw?”

“I killed it myself.” Ienzo sighed. “Though--it did not reek of darkness, the way they usually do. Perhaps a newborn?”

He frowned. “Potentially. I’ll--reach out to my contacts, and see if they know anything.”

Ienzo nodded. Aeleus and Even had claimed the downstairs study as their own, jockeying for space in a strange show of dominance. “There’s… something else worth mentioning.”

“And that is?”

“The… boy I saved. He’s part of one of the bloodlines.”

“And he could not defend himself?”

Ienzo shrugged. “I was confused as well. I was going to wipe his memories--but he showed me this pendant, this rune. I wish I’d gotten a better look at it.” He sighed. “He also gave me his phone number.”

“Might be worth associating with him--if so just to learn something.”

“Unless his is one of the bloodlines associated with Xehanort.”

“It’s… possible, I admit. But if the boy could not fell one Heartless, I doubt he could hurt you .”

Ienzo felt a rush of affection towards Aeleus. Unlike Even, who tried to protect him from everything, Aeleus had faith in Ienzo’s abilities. Martially, he had trained him, and Ienzo’s spells spoke for themselves. “I shall… keep an eye on it.” He bit his lip, than forged forward. “When we spoke… I felt something in my magic. I’m not sure what , as it did not seem like any spell I’ve ever encountered, or read about.”

Aeleus’s eyes glinted. “That is… curious. Was it like a pull, a thrall, perhaps?”

“I don’t think so… but it was… odd.”

“What did the pendant look like?”

Ienzo described it, and Demyx, as much as he could.

Aeleus just seemed more confused, furrowing his brow. “None of the bloodlines have that resemblance. You said it looked halved?”

“Yes.”

He knotted his hands. “I will ask about that too… but Ienzo. Please, as charming and normal as this boy might be… be careful.”

“I… will.”

---

This settled, Ienzo began classes.

It was strange, to take transport by himself, to have some modicum of independence. Even texted and called him constantly, worrying over him. But for the most part, Ienzo’s first days at the university were… ordinary.

He found himself rather bored with his coursework. A lot of the general education classes were just that-- general , and given the limited amount of courses afforded to him due to his late enrollment, not what he was particularly interested in. He found himself saddled with Intro to Psychology, City-State Culture and You, Music from the 43rd Century On, Women in Contemporary Literature, and Magic and the Law. Of this courseload, only psychology and literature were intriguing, though, he found, incredibly easy. Five page papers? One chapter readings? He aced assignments easily, found himself both grateful and frustrated that Even had been so demanding in his education. It gave him plenty of free time to study on his own.

His psychology professor actually stopped him one day after class. The lecture hall consisted of ninety students, and Ienzo was not the most colorful character there, literally speaking. “Ienzo, right?”

He adjusted his grip on his bag. “Yes, sir?”

“Forgive me--you’re not in trouble for anything,” the man said. He was older, a little wizened, with thick dark hair partially pulled up. “I’m just a little… I suppose, bemused would be the word. Clearly--you’re already beyond the mark of anything you’ll learn here. Your last paper was testament to that. I hadn’t even read some of the sources you cited.” He smiled. “Why haven’t you tried to test out of these basic courses? I’d love to see you in one of my three or four hundred level modules, where you might actually be challenged .”

Ienzo hesitated, feeling something like pride and, at the same time, anger. It was Even’s idea for him to go to school. Why hadn’t he told him this was an option? “Simply because I did not know I could,” he admitted. “Though that must be lack of foresight on my part.”

“That, or an overworked advisor.” His professor exhaled. “Let me speak with them. I’m happy to keep you in this class, but you’d be bored to tears.”

“That would be… much appreciated.”

---

Ienzo was still pondering over this dilemma, unsure of how to respond to Even’s latest messages, a warm anger budding under his skin. Why would Even deliberately hold him back? He slid into his seat in his music class, prepared to simply disappear into the lecture hall and read for the class time. His professor chatted on about assignments (papers which were usually simply reactions to that week’s listening assignment), but before she launched into the lecture, she decided to introduce the class’s new TA. Ienzo felt him before she even said the name.

Demyx.

The boy must’ve felt him too; his eyes snapped towards Ienzo’s, and he gave him a smile. Ienzo returned it hesitantly. Demyx sat at a desk besides the professor’s podium before he was asked to handle attendance, which he did, carrying around a clipboard. When he got to Ienzo, he said in a low voice, “got to say, did not picture you as the music appreciation type.”

“I’m not. Most other classes were full.”

The grin got wider. “I do not want to be back where you were.”

Ienzo scribbled down his name. “Nor do you seem to be the type to be a TA.”

He shrugged. “I could use the free credits. Besides, Ariel is an awesome teacher. Say. You busy, after this? Couple of us were going to go get lunch in town.”

An opportunity to learn more, Ienzo reminded himself, feeling his heart catch bizarrely. “I could eat.”

“Good. Now I gotta get going. See you, Zo.”

It took Ienzo a moment to realize this was a nickname, too long to form a witty retort. He’d had aliases before, of course.

He’d never had a nickname.

The warm prickling feeling in his magic increased, and for some reason, he sighed.

---

As class wound down, Ienzo felt himself getting anxious. Talking to Demyx was one thing, given how they'd met. But talking to others? Ienzo did not know how to socialize, what to talk about. What were people his age into, their music and TV shows and entertainment? What did they do for fun? What if one of them figured him out? Should he simply be very boring so he was not invited back?

Should he be himself?

(Who was that?)

"Zo! Ready?" Demyx had a messenger bag slung over one shoulder.

"Yes."

Demyx clapped his shoulder; the touch was startling. "Awesome. Come on. We're meeting people there."

"Oh, who?" How much did he have to mentally prepare?

"My friend Lea, his roommate Roxas, this girl Yuffie, oh, and one of my roommates, Riku. Just a few of us. And maybe Riku's boyfriend and girlfriend if they're free, I have no idea." He shrugged. "Depends if I run into anyone else."

"Collecting people," Ienzo remarked.

Demyx laughed a little. "Sort of."

Ienzo tried to swallow his nerves. Demyx chatted happily as they left campus, going down some of the older and narrower cobble streets of the city. Ivy spilled over everything, the warm and soft light soothing on Ienzo's eyes after the harsh fluorescents of the lecture hall. "Are you from here?" Ienzo asked. "This city."

"Nope," Demyx said cheerfully. "I'm from Destiny Islands."

An archipelago off of the west coast. "A long way traveled for school," Ienzo said carefully.

Demyx just shrugged.

"Demyx!" The voice was shrill. A small, dark haired woman had her hands on her hips. "I've been waiting for ever. I'm starving."

"I'm sure you didn't die," Demyx replied. "Everyone here?"

She sighed. "Nope. They wouldn't let me grab our normal table until I had more of a "party." I cannot believe , after how much we've invested in this place." She smiled slyly. "Who's your friend?"

"Ah--right. This is Ienzo--uh--"

"Avella," he provided the fake name helpfully. "I take it you're Yuffie?"

"The one, the only." She grasped his hand and shook it roughly. "And don't you forget it."

"...For some reason I don't see that happening."

Demyx smiled. He rested his hand on the small of Ienzo's back, simply meaning to usher him forward. The touch was sudden and disconcerting. He thought of that blue pendant, beneath Demyx's shirt, probably warm with skin--

They were granted a table this time, a corner booth in this small restaurant. All the furniture was mismatching, and Ienzo could see the cook working at the grill behind the bar. "Is that the whole kitchen?" He asked.

"Yep!" Yuffie said cheerfully. "So I hope you're not in a hurry."

Ienzo sighed. He was rather hungry. "I suppose lunch is now an afternoon, isn't it?"

She laughed. "Demyx, you didn't say he was this cute."

Demyx flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Aw, come on," he said instead.

"Table of losers, anyone?" The lankiest person Ienzo had ever seen added.

"Ugh, who brought in the trash?" Yuffie asked, wrinkling her nose.

"That would be me," a blond boy said, rolling his eyes. "Demyx."

"Hey."

Four people was a lot to juggle, Ienzo realized. A waitress gave them some water. As Lea and the blond (Roxas?) regaled Demyx of some skateboarding incident, Yuffie leaned over. "You been here long?" She asked.

"To town? Is it that obvious?"

"You smell like a freshman, but you don't look like one. Dope hair, by the way. How'd you get it to tone down that color? I tried going gray once and it was a disaster." She grinned widely.

Ienzo sighed heavily. "I'm afraid it was all a bit of a mistake," he lied smoothly. "A friend of mine was a cosmetologist and needed a guinea pig. It was supposed to be blond--or so she said." He shrugged.

"Gotta stand out, right?" Lea said. "Where are you from, and how did you con your way to us?"

Meant to be a joke, but Ienzo found himself fighting to stay composed. "Demyx collected me at the library," he said vaguely.

"He was lost," Demyx lied, equally as smoothly.

"You can never leave well enough alone," a new voice added, and Ienzo's head snapped up. He felt the prickle of magic before he could really comprehend who he saw; a tall boy with silver hair. They held eye contact for a moment too long; Ienzo noticed Demyx's jaw clench the slightest. So he knew, too. What was going on? Had Ienzo been lured here? He realized he'd been seated in a corner. Should he excuse himself for the restroom, and leave? Or mine what he could from this exchange?

"This is Riku," Demyx said, taking a sip of water. "My roomie. Remember?"

Ienzo nodded. "Ienzo. Pleasure."

Riku dropped his things at the only available seat. "Nice to meet you."

Ienzo probed at the boy's energy. It felt… odd. Not quite normal. That hair--he couldn't not have magic. Equally, he felt Riku probing him , his teal eyes cautious and calculating. Riku knew something.

"So you're new to Twilight Town," Riku said, with a hint of skepticism. "Why here?"

Ienzo had to be careful. "I've heard good things about the marine biology program," he said. "That aside… my family thought it might be a good fit for us. The city, I mean."

"The darkness has been driving a lot of people out of their homes," Riku said. "It's… it's horrible."

"Indeed it is," Ienzo levelled. He didn't know what to read into that. "Are you from here, then?"

"He's from the islands, like me," Demyx volunteered. It was a casual enough remark, but Ienzo could grasp at the implications. They were magic users who had found one another.

"How fascinating," Ienzo remarked, consulting the menu. "I thought Destiny Islands had a rather small population."

"Oh, it does," Riku said, with an eyeroll. "Somehow we're the only two idiots who didn't know each other."

"That is quaint," Ienzo said. "Now. What is good here?"

He spent the rest of this lunch participating in inane conversations about nothing much. It took most of an hour for the food to arrive. Riku glanced at Ienzo now and again, curious, suspicious; the boy's magic could not penetrate him. Once the meal was over with--the check split awkwardly--they all left.

"Hey, Zo, wanna hang?" Demyx asked. "Or do you have any more classes?"

"I've got some time," he said. He had to know more about them.

Demyx smiled. "Awesome. Our place isn't too far from here."

Ienzo followed them, letting his magic wake up. Demyx brought him to an apartment building; Ienzo immediately sensed wards. They climbed two flights of stairs before Riku unlocked the door.

It certainly seemed like an apartment two young men lived in; the furniture was haphazard at best, and while it was clean, it was cluttered, and dull. Riku shut and locked the door, whispered a spell. Then, to Demyx, "what is going on. Is this a joke to you?"

"Hey! You told me to keep an eye out, and I did. So." He scowled.

Oh. So Demyx's friendly interest in him was a ruse; he shouldn't have been so disappointed. He braced his magic.

"I didn't think that the person you referred to would be--" He exhaled heavily, raking a hand through his hair.

"Care to explain?" Ienzo asked coolly.

Riku locked eyes with him. "What's your line?"

"What's yours?"

"Does it matter?" Demyx asked quickly.

"I mean, yeah, it does. If he's one of Xehanort's puppets --"

"I most assuredly am not," Ienzo said. "I take it you're not either."

Riku tried to frisk him again. "Who are you?"

"A person of no importance."

"Yeah, right. With the magic you're packing?"

"Guys. Guys. Let's settle down, okay?" Demyx asked. "Let's just talk."

Ienzo furrowed his brows. "Okay. Talk." He knew he had to be careful. “Were you looking for other magic users?” he asked Demyx.

He shrugged. “Not, like, consciously. But if it happens…”

“So you’re a seeker, then.” He shook his head.

“Not a… dark seeker,” Demyx said. “That sounds way too tiring. I just… I dunno. If some kid pops up, gotta keep them safe, you know?”

“Not that you need it,” Riku said. “You’re the one that saved him, aren’t you?”

Ienzo sighed. “Yes.”

Riku sat on the lumpy, ancient couch. “Guess our friend was right,” he said to Demyx.

The accused shrugged, his eyes on the ground.

“Right about what?”

“Things are changing here,” Riku said. “You can feel it. Something’s… not right. I’m not sure what you have to do with it.”

“He says he’s not with Xehanort. Shouldn’t you trust that?” Demyx asked.

“People lie,” Riku said simply.

“I’m not lying ,” Ienzo spat, feeling his anxiety spike. He had to remind himself he was the strongest of all of them; not that he particularly wanted to fight. “For all I know, maybe you are.”

Demyx rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Then prove it,” Riku said. “Why shouldn’t I report you right now?”

“Because--” How to prove his innocence without revealing his real identity? He took a breath. “Reporting me will just make the situation go from bad to worse.”

“Why?”

“Lives could be on the line.” He stuck his chin out defiantly. “I’m with the resistance. Report me and part of the network collapses.” Not technically a lie. “I suspect you are as well.”

“...We’re independent,” Riku said instead. “We’re not with anyone. But…” Cautious now. “The resistance is still around?”

Had he just made an even bigger mistake? “...Yes.”

“Thought all those guys were gone,” Demyx said.

“Most of us are in hiding in some form or another.”

“Huh,” Riku said softly. “Who would’ve thought.”

“Fighting Xehanort might be futile… but if we don’t, we’re complicit,” Ienzo said.

“He’s collecting them,” Demyx said. “When he can find them. Bloodlines. Made easier by the government rounding us up.”

“Like cattle,” Riku added. “Easier for the Heartless to breed if nobody can kill them.”

“But Twilight Town’s been neutral,” Ienzo said. “They wouldn’t just hand over--”

“A few people in exchange for stopping the darkness causing complete collapse of everything? Dunno.” Riku shrugged. “But right now here is the safest place to be. After the islands…” A sigh.

“I’d heard. I’m truly sorry. I… know how it feels.”

Demyx worried at the pendant. “I try not to think about it too much. All you can do, you know?” He cleared his throat.

“This… resistance,” Riku began cautiously. “Could you get me in touch?”

Ienzo kept his expression blank. “I could.”

“I know you don’t trust me. Why would you? I wouldn’t trust me either.” He held out his hand. “But I won’t sell you out if you don’t sell me out.”

Ienzo took it. Riku was telling what he believed to be the truth. “Alright. Deal.”

Ienzo left soon after; Even was bugging him incessantly. Your class ended three hours ago, why aren’t you home? Ienzo scowled. Demyx followed him out. “Hey… Zo,” he began.

“Yes?” he asked neutrally.

Demyx rubbed his arm. “I didn’t�� look, I didn’t invite you along so Riku could interrogate you. Honestly. I wanted…” He trailed off. “I do want to get to know you. Really.”

Why ? Ienzo nearly asked. He thought briefly of how it had felt when Demyx touched the small of his back.

He blushed. “Why don’t we… get together, sometime? As--as friends,” he backpedaled quickly. “Real friends, not…”

Ienzo smiled tiredly. This day had sapped his energy. “I might enjoy that--if you don’t get killed by more Heartless, that is.”

Demyx laughed a little. “So… I’ll call you sometime?”

“Sure.” There it was again, that warmth.

“And Ienzo?”

“Yes?”

“Get home safe, okay?”

[daybreak-academy-fanfic]

Daybreak Academy: Chapter 56

New Student, Familiar Face

Summary: In which my dumb af ship from 2013 can once again set sail. Word Count: 1,674 First | Previous | Next ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆

There were going to be about 50 new First Year students this year- Ven did the headcount. Was it a bad turnout? It seemed like a low number to him, considering how large the school was. He couldn't even remember his student orientation to recall the amount of students there. But weren't all the students cherry picked from around Departure County? Maybe this count was right after all.

'She's not here.' Vanitas grumbled somewhere to the left of Ventus.

“She is.” Ven mumbled back, making a vague motion to the sound of Vanitas's voice. “She promised she would be.”

Yet, despite telling himself otherwise, Ven still couldn't see Sabrina in the crowd. Right now, the new First Years were taking their house tests en masse in the auditorium. When they were done, they were to give their tests to the headmasters -all five sitting on the stage itself at a very long table- and wait for the others to finish. Once everyone had their tests reviewed, each headmaster took turns in announcing who was a part of their house. It was a very nerve racking time; it almost rivaled the stress during finals.

Ventus had thought that choosing to hide out in the balcony seat would have helped him see Sabrina better. He had been quickly proven wrong in that regard. Sure, he could see everyone, but he couldn't see them clearly. From the back you couldn't tell who was male or female- you only got a very good look at the back of their multicolored haired heads. Sabrina's hair was a raven black. He's never forget that. Too bad she wasn't the only new student with black hair, though…

“There she is!” Ventus declared, almost a bit too loud, when he saw Sabrina head up on stage to hand her test in. It took all it had in Ven to not shout her name and wave over to her in hopes of getting her attention. But it was a massive relief in knowing that she was attending Daybreak Academy; he didn't have to call for her because she'd be on campus from now on. Maybe if the orientation finished quick enough, they could have lunch together.

Ven let out a sigh of relief as he relaxed now. Knowing that Sabrina was here led him to wait for the orientations to finish. He was so relieved that, when Invi stepped forward to announce the students coming into her house, Ventus almost didn't hear Sabrina's name among them. It took a solid minute for the realization to sink in, and when it did, Ven's heart nearly stopped.

He and Sabrina were not going to be in the same house. Okay, yeah, sure, it had been a one out of five shot. They wouldn't be sharing many classes, but they could still see each other after. It could still work. You know, just like it did with Ephemer and his other friends. Nothing to freak out about. It was just… disappointing. Yeah… Really disappointing…

The orientations finished up about 30 minutes after the house results were announced. Ven had snuck out just before the stream of new students came out of the auditorium. He waited at the front entrance for Sabrina to come out- idly passing time by watching the clouds roll by.

He only had half a second to register the happy exclamation of “Ven!” before being tackled from behind. A loud, undignified shriek escaped the boy's lips as both he and his tackler crashed into the ground. Ventus blinked for a moment, waiting for his senses to come back, before realizing who had now pinned him to the ground.

“Sabrina!” he rasped. “You… you're…!”

A wide smile stretched onto Sabrina's face. “Lemme guess,” she said, “I'm a huge surprise! Or the best thing you've ever seen! Or, or…!”

“You're crushing my ribs.”

“Oh.” was the small answer. “Sorry about that...” and she quickly got off of him soon after. She even helped him get back onto his feet.

“So now what?” the girl asked him. “Classes start tomorrow, right? So what do we do now?”

Ventus blinked. There was no stopping with this girl, huh?

“We could go get lunch.” he offered. A nervous laugh escaped the corner of his lips. “The cafeteria isn't that far from here.”

“Sounds great!” Sabrina agreed with a cheerful nod. Ven smiled and before he was able to tell her anything else, Sabrina quickly grabbed him by the hand and led them both to the cafeteria.

. . .

“I can't believe we won't be in the same house.” Sabrina pouted. “What a bummer.”

“Yeah...” Ventus agreed with a little nod. “It'll be a bit harder to get together, but not impossible, I don't think.”

“Will the schoolwork be the same?”

“Should be. I'd have to ask Brain or Lauriam about that.” After a short pause, Ven then let out a small sound of remembrance. “Oh!” he exclaimed, “That reminds me...”

Ventus reached down into his backpack and pulled out a three-ring binder filled with paper.

“I, uh, I wanted to give you some of the notes I made last year.” he nervously said to her. “We won't have the same teacher for a lot of classes because we're in different houses, but it should still help. I think.”

“Sweet!” Sabrina declared, taking the binder without a second thought. “Thanks Ven!”

The boy bashfully smiled while scratching the back of his neck as Sabrina poured through his notes. They weren't the best, but they would still work for studying. Ven watched her- he was quick to notice the faces she made as she tried to make sense of curriculum she had yet to learn. Her eyebrows were knit together and her nose was scrunched up, almost like a little rabbit.

“What was it like being adopted by rabbits?” Ven asked her- not at all realizing what he said before it came out of his mouth.

“Hmm?” the girl hummed. It took her a moment to realize what he was asking; when she did, she looked up at him with her nose even more scrunched up in disgust. “Ortensia's a cat. Oswald's the rabbit.”

“O-oh...” Ven stumbled, “I didn't mean...”

“'S okay.” Sabrina told him with a little wave of her hand. “I know what you're sayin.' It wasn't bad, honestly. Can't complain. They had a lot of money that they didn't know what to do with. Such as it is when you've got a multimillion billionaire to call a brother, and he's one of the slightly more generous ones. Or maybe he has a really guilty conscience? Old Ozzie was cut off from the money for years, so I've been told.”

Then Sabrina's face softened a little. She looked Ventus over with a curious eye before asking, “What about you? What's your family like?”

If it was possible, Ventus's face went from a bright red to a ghost-like white. “M-my family isn't special.” he sheepishly claimed, averting his eyes from her.  “My parents are nice. I've got some siblings, but it's not...”

“How many?”

“Huh?”

“How many siblings do you have?”

“I have… four.” Ven confessed. “Last year, just before I started going to school here, my mom had a pair of triplets. Sora, Roxas, and Xion. Roxas, he… he looks a lot like me. It's really weird. I haven't gone to see them in awhile though- I plan on doing it soon. I've kinda been waiting for Mom or Dad to give the okay. Gets kinda hectic raising three babies at once, or something.”

“And what about the other one?”

He didn't mean to, but Ventus flinched. “What do you mean?” he asked her. But Sabrina wasn't having it; giving him an impatient click of her tongue.

“You said you have four siblings,” she pointed out, “So what about the other one?”

“It's a long story.”

“I have time.”

But Ventus shook his head. “I can't tell you.” he told her in a quiet voice. “You'll never want to be my friend again if I did.”

Sabrina raised a bemused eyebrow at this. She's probably only known Ventus for a full day now and she had massive doubts that she would suddenly decide not to like him. Family was family- how bad could it really be? And, by golly, was she a stubborn one.

“Can I have a name, at least?” she asked him- she even put on her best puppy pout. Ventus made the mistake of looking at her for half a second and immediately gave in.

“Vanitas.”

Without wasting a second, Sabrina followed up with another question. “What house is Vanitas in?”

Ven shrugged as he looked back down at the ground. “He's, uh, he's in An… guis...” He paused, only know realizing what he had said. He looked up at Sabrina with wide, fearful eyes. “Oh no.”

“Oh yes.” the girl snickered. “So he's here, at Daybreak, and we're in the same house! That's so awesome! I can't wait to-”

“But you can't!” Ventus quickly told her; he almost leaped at her to take her by the shoulders, but just barely stopped himself in time. “Vanitas is… Vanitas is…!”

His new friend was giving him a weird look. “Vanitas is…?” she repeated. She even rolled her hand at him- a not very subtle hint that he just needed to spit it out and get it over with. Ventus once more averted his eyes.

“You'll hate me.” he mumbled. Ven's fist started to clench as he thought about Vanitas. He couldn't tell Sabrina about his brother. She wouldn't understand. She just wouldn't…

Ven jumped when he felt Sabrina calmly place her hands into his. He looked up at her to be met with an unreadable expression. His heart leaped into his throat in realizing how much older she looked when she wanted to be dead serious; it was like the ten year old had switched bodies with a thirty year old instead.

“Ven,” Sabrina then said, her voice quiet and still, “Is Vanitas even real?”

[kira-hayashi]

This has a story now

Radiant Garden, one of the purest worlds in the Realm of Light, a bright city full of Light. Storms were rare but not uncommon and after a particiular bad one Ansem the Wise found two rather distinct stones near the castles gates. Both were held inside a sort of protective barrier and Ansem decided to study them, as they were clearly not from Radiant Garden. He kept them inside the barrier, not wanting to risk any outcome should that be removed. Together with his fellow scientist and friend, Even, they soon discovered that the stones held a conciousness. Seeing as both stones showed traces of being damaged even inside the barrier, Ansem and Even decided on trying to replicate the stones. It took them years to accomplish that. First they had started with breaking the stones down to their elements, what where they made of, what was their structure, how could they be replicated. As for the conciousnesses inside the stones, Ansem was able to create digital copies of those and infuse those copies into the replicated stones. It took many errors and failures. Many replicated stones broke apart the second the data was infused to them, some stayed stable at first before bursting apart, and a few even emitted some sort of limbs before portraying some sort of glitch effect and breaking as well. By the time they had there first successful stone replica Braig, Dilan, Aelaus and Ienzo had already arrived at the castle. The first stone to work was the blue one. A humanoid shaped form made out of light emerged from within the stone with the stone itself being located at what seemed to be its right palm. Ansem and Even were only able to make out the silhouette but it wasn’t much taller than young Ienzo. It seemes to be staring at them and Ansem carefully approched it. “My name is Ansem the Wise. You are in Radiant Garden. I found you and your companion outside my castle after a storm. I kept your stones inside the barrier that was surrounding you since both your stones seemed to be damaged. Even and I created replicas of your stone and conciousness”, Ansem talked slowly, not knowing if the stone could even understand him but figured it would be best to explain the situation. The light form could see the two original stones from where it was, kept save inside the barrier and placed in another container to prevent further damaging. Ansem spoke again “Do you know how you came here?” The figure looked back at Ansem. A dissorted voice came from it “World…. darkness… fell… ran… hurt… bubble…” It seemed to be having trouble speaking. “Your world fell into darkness and you and your companion got hurt while fleeing and created the barrier to protect yourselves?”, Even concluded. The figure nodded “friend…”, it said while looking at the red stone. And then the light form glitched and dissapeared. Ansem caught the stone before it could hit the floor but didn’t show any sign of being damaged. Both man took it as a succsess. They kept working and finally got the red stone to emit a light form as well. The red stone was located at the left palm. After more and more tries the forms stayed longer, slowly showing more features like the outlines of faces. They looked like young teenagers. Not long after Ansem and Even started their researches on Hearts and used their findings on the stones. And truth behold the stones took the forms of two young teenagers. Both scientist speculated how they would look like and got quiete the surpise. The blue one had tourquise eyes, sharp and mature for such a young face and short blue hair, while the red one had spiky red hair and vibrant green childish yet mischievous eyes staying in stark contrast to his hair. “Thank you, for helping us”, said Blue, as Ansem and Even nicknamed him after the first light form event. “No need to thank me. I must admit I did most of it out of pure curiosity”, answered Ansem. “You both are quiet interesting being”, Even stated, “With your permission I would like to know more about the two of you” Both stones looked at each other and the red one spoke for the first time. “Well they did help us. We would have been stuck like that forever if it weren’t for them”, the blue one nodded and turned back to Ansem and Even. “We can tell you about us. And our names are Isa and Lea not Blue and Red. Tho we understand the nicknaming due to lacking of knowledge of our names” “So you were able to hear us?”, Even asked curiosly. Isa nodded. “We are able the hear our surrounding when we don’t have these forms. But hearing is the only sense we have then” After some more questions from the scientist they found out that Isa and Lea came from a world full of these so called “Gems” who appeared in various variety. But their world was lost in darkness and they didn’t knew if others survived as well. They also explained that a cracked stone is unable to heal so there original stones are useless to them. They could still take a form but it would glitch and be dissorted and could lead to even more damaging and even shattering of the stone which would kill them. And the barrier, the bubble, was a protection from harm from the outside but also keeps them from taking form. So their original stones were kept inside the bubble and the container from Ansem to keep them secure. Isa and Lea stayed as the castle as apprentices and everyone notices the not so subtle holding hands of the two whenever they were around each other.  Lea joined Braig, Dilan and Aelaus as a guard and Isa followed the scientists in there studies. And Lea almost caused the other guards a giant heart attack when he dissapeared in a cloud of particles after Aelaus hit him a bit harder during training. The large man quickly caugt the stone and all three were in pure painic thinking they destroyed the boy only to have him reappear, now being held by the large man, and screaming “I’m okay!” right in his face. It took the guards five minutes to calm down and another ten for Lea to explain that he and Isa can loose their physical form when injured but as long as the stone is unharmed they can just reform and the reforming time depends on the sort of injury. Neitherless Lea recieved a loud scolding from Isa for his recklessness. And everyone was in for another surpise when both boys fused for the first time. They were all having a night off and spend it in the castles garden, music playing from the radio Braig had set up and Lea decided to pull Isa in for a dance. And the others stared at them as they started to glow and their lights morphing together to one and an entire new person standing where they just were. That person was a bit taller than Isa and Lea, lavender hair with the top spiky like Lea but longer down the back like Isa. They stopped dancing, looked at Ansem and the others still with the gleeful smile from the dance and arms wrapped around themselves. Seeing the starstruck looks on their faces they looked down at their hands, seeing the red and blue stone in both palms. And started to cry. It took some minutes for the fusion to calm down and expain the act of fusion. “So your’re like a mix of both of them?”, asked Braig. “I am everything they are and more. Their thoughts, feelings, fears, hope. I am their love” “Do you have a name we should call you by?”, Ansem asked and the fusion shook their head. “I haven’t thought about one yet. Isa and Lea fused for the first time shortly before our world fell” They got a nod as an answer and the night went on with the fusion staying together until they were tired from all the dancing. Tho Lea and Isa stayed unfused for the most part of their daily lifes as fusion was new for them and they tested the waters slowly.

When Xehanort came around and Ansem caught wind of his true intensions, he took the original stones with him to keep them away from Xehanort, hiding them in another world to keep them save. Saix and Axel never fused.

When Roxas left the Organization and reunited with Sora, Axel finally turned his back to them as well and left to find his only friend he had in the past ten years. During these ten years Saix and Axel turned to take form of adults, the trauma from being turned by the keyblade and all the fights against the Heartless made them grew. And as Axel tried to get Kairi out of the Organisations grip, having kidnapped her in the first place but then failed to keep Saix away from her, he was wounded by Saix who had struck him with his claymore, leaving a gaping wound in Axels side. The only reason Axel didn’t poof was his pure will not to. Fleeing from the Castle That Never Was he encountered Sora in the In-Between surrounded by Dusks. He knew what he had to do. Gathering his last strenght he released all the fire left in him, hearing the crack of his stone loudly in his head. But to his own surpise he didn’t poof and could tell Sora about Kairi and opened a path for him. And then he felt it. It started deep in the roots of his stone, spreading all over his body. The corruption was taking him and formed him into a monstrosity. Sora, Donald and Goofy stared at him in fear, ready to fight again but Axel fleed before that could happen. He quickly appeared back infront of them to snatch Saixs stone as he had poofed after Sora defeated him. Axel put him in a bubble and kept him with him until giving it to Ienzo, hoping he could help him. While being corrupted Axel still had a sense of selfawerness and got Sora, Riku and the King out of Xehanorts grasp. Roaring in rage upon seeing Saix among the Organization. Axel stuck around as they gathered the seven Guardians of Light, acting as a backup but still staying away from them as much as possible. I wasn’t until they found Master Aqua and Ventus that Axel was able to finally be Lea again. Aqua and Kairi, feeling small sympathy for the former Nobody after hearing Soras story, used their combined light to cure Leas corruption and returned him back to normal. The cracked stone was fixed by a trip to Ienzo who provided him with a new one, after Ansem the Wise got hold of the original stones again. When he got the keyblade he agreed to be a fill in until they got Roxas back. And at the Keyblade Graveyard he and Saix fused, fighting Xemnas as one. Unfortunatly Xemnas got away with Kairi and Lea and Saix unfused as Saix began to dissolve.

Back in Radiant Garden and free from Xehanorts hold, Lea and Isa stayed fused for the rest of their days.

[varpusvaras]

“Where have you been all my life?” “Hiding from you.”

Part 2   Part 1

Sora’s car was an older, dark blue Toyota (“It’s a corolla”, Sora told him, with a big smile. “The best car ever made.”), with a lot and lot of stuff in the backseat.

 “Ignore it”, Sora told him, as the threw his own bag to the back.

“I’m going to clean this soon. Like maybe tomorrow. If I have time.”

 “I’m ignoring it”, Riku told him. He kept his bag on his lap.

“…thanks for the ride.”

 “No problem”, Sora grinned.

“I would’ve felt really bad if I had left you there.”

 “What if I was a serial killer?” Riku said.

“You just offered me a ride in the middle of the night after just meeting me.”

 “And you accepted it, so what if I was a serial killer?” Sora shot back, raising his eyebrows at him.

 But I know you, kinda, Riku’s mind argued back, but there was no way he was ever going to say that.

 “Fair”, he ended up saying. Sora hummed, clearly pleased with his comeback, and started to drive toward Garden Park.

 They didn’t talk for a while, and with Sora looking at the road, Riku studied him for askance. How had he not realised who he was at first? Of course Sora had changed, all people did as they grew up, but he still looked so characteristically like his younger self it was almost ridiculous.

 Sitting right there, Riku realised that this was the first time in fifteen years they had been this close to each other with both of them being aware of it.

 Though, it seemed, that while Riku remembered Sora, Sora had no idea who Riku was.

 …at the same time, it was a huge relief, but it also made the whole situation a lot, lot more awkward.

 “So, are you on a second year or something?” Sora asked suddenly.

“Or higher?”

 “Second, yeah”, Riku nodded, trying to not to sound like he had been caught off guard.

“You’re first year, right?”

 “Do I look like it?” Sora asked, patting his cheeks lightly.

“Man, I thought that I had already gotten rid of my babyface.”

 No, it’s just because I know you’re younger than me, Riku thought.

 God, this was horrible.

 “So, um, what are you studying?” Riku tried to change the subject.

 It worked, because Sora’s face lit up at that so much it was outright adorable.

 “I’m going to be a homeroom teacher!” he announced.

Then it was Sora talking about his studies and all of that stuff for the rest of the ride, and Riku was honestly relieved that Sora did the talking. That way there was less of opportunities for Riku to say something weird.

 The trip to Garden Park was a lot shorter by car than by foot, and soon Sora parked in front of Riku’s apartment complex.

 “I’m sorry, I ended up babbling the whole time again”, Sora apologized, rubbing the back of his head.

 “It’s okay”, Riku hurried to say.

“It was nice to listen at.”

 He took his bag, and opened the door.

 “Oh, so, I should have few dollars in here”, Riku remembered, and opened his bag.

“For gas, since you had to drive all the way here-“

 “Nah, keep it, I live around here too”, Sora said.

“So I would’ve driven the distance anyway. Buuuuut, you could use that few dollars to buy me a coffee.”

 Sora smiled at Riku very, very, very brightly, that even the thought of saying no made Riku feel like a complete garbage.

 “Sure”, Riku managed to say.

“Tomorrow?”

 “Tomorrow”, Sora nodded.

“I’m free after three, see you then!”

 Riku ran from the car to the canopy, and he stood there and watched as Sora drove away, the backlights of the car shining through the heavy rain.

 The car drove to other side of the large football field in front of Riku’s house, and parked in front of an apartment there.

 Of course, Riku sighed. Of course.

 As the time went by, first few days, then a whole week, then two weeks and then a month, it became painstakingly clear that Sora had absolutely no idea who Riku was.

 And it made the whole note-thing even more awkward.

 “Riku, you need to tell him”, Kairi said to him when Riku put the envelope in the mail.

“He’s going to figure it out sooner or later, now that you are actually hanging out.”

 “No, he isn’t”, Riku said, even though he knew Kairi was right. She was always right, somehow.

 Kairi rolled her eyes.

 “Whatever you say”, she muttered.

 Riku tried to act natural when he saw the letter in Sora’s hands next week.

 “What’s that?” he asked, putting his sweating hands in his pockets.

 “Oh, this?” Sora looked up from the letter and smiled.

“It’s from my friend!”

 Friend.

 “What are they writing?” Riku asked, even though he knew exactly what the note said.

 “Not much”, Sora answered, opening the envelope. He laughed softly.

“It’s a bit of a funny story.”

 “Oh?” Riku felt his face heating up a bit from embarrassment, and he could only hope that Sora didn’t notice anything.

 “Yeah, it started when I was like four or something”, Sora said.

“Someone sent me peanut butter cups in mail and then started sending me other stuff as well and these cute little notes. I got this for my sixth birthday”, Sora lifted his necklace for Riku to see it.

 “So…you don’t know who they are?” Riku did his best to sound innocent.

 Sora shook his head.

“They’ve never signed the notes”, he said.

“If the handwriting hadn’t been clearly kid’s writing, I would’ve assumed it was only my parents playing a game with me. And Roxas said it isn’t him, either.”

 “Roxas?”

 “My cousin”, Sora explained.

“He lived nearby when we we’re kids, so we played a lot together.”

 Roxas could only be the blonde kid Riku had seen accompanying Sora everywhere, then, Riku assumed.

 “And you still get these notes?” Riku asked, feeling more and more awkward by every word he let out of his mouth.

 “Yep! Every week!” Sora announced happily.

“My parents always sent them to me from their house.”

 Sora took out the note from the envelope, as well as the package of the soda gummies Riku had put in there.

 “Oh, these are my favourites!” Riku looked intentionally to every other direction than to Sora.

 “What do you do with the notes?” he wanted to hit himself from asking that before he got to stop himself.

“I mean, you have gotten them for past fifteen years. That must be a lot of them.”

 Sora looked at him like Riku was a complete idiot.

“I keep them, of course”, he answered as it was obvious.

 Of course.

 “Riku, are you okay? You’re very red.”

 At least, Riku had thought after that conversation, things wouldn’t get even more awkward.

Oh boy, was he wrong, he realised two months and a week after Sora giving him a ride home for the first time, while they were sitting in Sora’s car again, leaning over the gearbox, Sora’s mouth against Riku’s and his hands in Riku’s hair, twisting and tugging as Riku felt hot, too hot, Sora’s lips and breath burning him.

 “Are you free on the weekend?” Sora asked, as he stopped kissing Riku for a few seconds, so Riku wouldn’t burst in flames.

 “Oh, um, no, I’m sorry”, Riku sucked in cool air.

“It’s my mom’s birthday on Saturday.”

 “Oh”, Sora sounded disappointed, but only for a second.

“Do your parents live far away?”

 “Not too far”, Riku answered. And he let his mouth run him without his permission again.

“Would you want to come with?”

 Riku’s parents loved Sora. That didn’t surprise Riku at all. Sora was one of those people who were impossible not to love (and besides, Riku was in that boat too, so he had no right to judge anyone else).

And it went absolutely fantastic. Sora was being the perfect guest and a perfect boyfriend someone took home for the first time, and they were all having a good time.

 But then the accident happened.

 They were talking about something, Riku wasn’t really paying attention, but he did hear how his mother asked where Sora was from.

 “From Destiny Isles”, Sora answered.

“It’s a small town more South from here.”

 “Oh, I know!” Riku’s mom smiled.

“We used to live there too!”

 Riku saw how Sora looked at him briefly. Riku knew why. Sora had told him where he lived, and Riku had only ever told him about living in Twilight Town.

Riku was sweating under his clothes.

 “Really?” Sora said to Riku’s mom.

 “We moved away after I got a new job in here”, she told him.

“I think it was when Riku was at second grade?”

 She looked at Riku, and so did Sora, more openly now.

 “Yeah, at second grade”, Riku answered, somehow managing to sound calm.

“I started the third grade in here.”

 “You never told me that”, Sora said, because of course he did.

 “I was going to”, Riku lied.

“It slipped my mind somehow.”

 He knew this was getting completely ridiculous, and so did his dad, who looked at Sora and then again at Riku, and Riku saw him raising his eyebrows in a way that could only tell that he had made the connection.

 Riku looked back at him in a way that he hoped could only say “don’t you dare to say anything”.

 It seemed to work, because his dad didn’t say anything. Instead he offered everyone more cake, which distracted Sora from the topic.

Riku slumped at his chair, ignoring Kairi’s words ringing in his head.

 It couldn’t get worse than this. There was no way.

But somehow, when they were at Sora’s apartment two weeks later, laying in the bed while watching cartoons from Netflix, Sora resting his head over Riku’s chest and Riku with his fingers slowly combing Sora’s hair, it did that.

 “Hey”, Sora lifted his head a bit.

“Roxas found out that we’re dating now, and he told me to drag you along when I would visit the next time.”

“Sure”, Riku said, because he couldn’t say no either.

 He had been right about Roxas being the blonde kid.

 Just like Sora, Roxas somehow was just an evolved version of his child self, which made Riku think it probably ran in the family.

If Riku had been awkward before, he had no idea what he was now.

 Especially when Roxas, upon seeing Riku, looked at him with uncomfortably piercing eyes.

 “Have I met you before?” he asked Riku, who had now turned into a human shaped pool of sweat with only his clothes keeping him together.

 “Maybe”, Riku answered, because he was sure that Roxas could see if he lied.

 “Riku lived here as a kid too!” Sora told Roxas.

“So you might’ve met somewhere before he moved away.”

 Roxas squinted his eyes at Riku.

 “Really now”, he said, as a statement, not as a question. Riku was sure that unlike Sora, Roxas had not forgotten him.

Roxas did not say anything for the whole visit, for Riku’s relief, but he kept glaring at him very suspiciously for the entire time.

Sora did not notice, thank god.

“Hey, Riku?” Sora tugged his hand.

“Can you show me the house you lived in?”

 Riku knew that if he lied now, it would later come and bit him in the ass.

 “It was that house”, he pointed across the backyard of Sora’s parents house, right across the field. Sora squinted his eyes.

 “No way”, he laughed.

“This close to us?”

 “Yeah”, Riku said.

“Pretty crazy, right?”

 Kairi’s words played in a loop inside his head.

 He couldn’t keep up living like this, Riku thought when they got back, and Sora happily ate the mini Reese’s bites Riku had put in the envelope, reading the small note over and over again, tracing his fingers absentmindedly over the paper.

 So Riku formed a plan.

 Sora lost his keychain somewhere in the campus, so Riku spent one whole night looking for one exactly like it to put in the next letter. He put only in Sora’s favourite candy, tickets to the movie Sora said he had wanted to see, and Riku honestly thought he was being obvious.

 But no. Apparently it was not enough.

 “I’m pretty sure Roxas is lying to me”, Sora told him one day. Riku frowned at him.

 “Why do you think so?”

 “Because he had told me all these years that he isn’t the one sending the notes!” Sora explained.

“But who else would know these things? Like really, think about it, I told him about losing the keychain over the phone and we talked about the movie and he absolutely knows what candy I like! We’ve known each other for our whole lives! Even the very first note had peanut butter cups with it and I love peanut butter cups!”

 Riku didn’t know what to say anymore.

 “Sora…” he started, hesitating.

“I’m…pretty sure Roxas isn’t the one sending them.”

 “Are you?” Sora gave him a confused look, tilting his head questioningly.

“How?”

 “You know I used to live at Destiny Isles too?” Riku said.

“In the house on the other side of the field from yours?”

 “Yes?” Sora said.

“Of course, because I’m honestly baffled we haven’t met each other before. I’m pretty sure I would’ve seen you at least once, because it isn’t a big place and you lived so close! Like seriously, where have you been all my life?”

 Sora laughed, but Riku knew this was it.

 “Hiding from you”, he said, making Sora stop laughing instantly.

 “What?” he asked, now even more confused than before.

“What do you mean?”

 Five minutes later Sora was still laughing.

 “Oh my god, Riku”, he cackled, trying to stop his almost maniac giggling, and succeeding in it for three seconds before breaking up again.

“I can’t believe you’ve been sending me gifts for fifteen years because you were scared of Roxas.”

 “I was not scared of Roxas”, Riku tried to defend himself.

“They were an apology gifts!”

 “But you didn’t even do anything!” Sora wheezed.

“I was the one who did something!”

 “…what do you mean?” Riku was not following Sora at all.

“Didn’t I break the aircraft and make you cry?”

 “No no no, or like, yes, but no, oh my god”, Sora leaned his face in his hands and breathed hard.

“My uncle had to go inside, and he told us to not to fly the aircraft without him, but we did anyway, and I accidentally flied it straight towards you and you swatted it away so it wouldn’t hit your face! And I started crying because now my uncle was going to know we had not obeyed him and he was going to be mad at us!”

 Oh. That was exactly the part that had faded from Riku’s memory, and apparently, Sora in turn remembered everything else what had happened, but not Riku.

 “I just remember your cousin glaring at me so hard, so I just assumed that he was angry at me and I had made you cry”, Riku muttered, cheeks burning.

 “Oh my god”, Sora said again, finally getting himself somewhat composed.

“That’s just what Roxas looked like. He was awfully shy as a kid and thought that looking angry would keep others from coming to talk to him.”

 “Oh”, was really all that Riku had to say. Sora grinned at him widely, and took Riku’s hand to his own.

 “Well?” Sora said.

“Are you still going to buy me presents every week?”

 “It’s not like I have a reason to stop now”, Riku said, sighing.

“It’s been over fifteen year already, after all.”

 “It did work, kinda, you know”, Sora said quietly to Riku that night. Riku’s bed was honestly a little too small for both of them, so they were squeezed together, the only blanket wrapped around them to keep them in place.

 Riku had already been mostly asleep, so he almost didn’t hear Sora speak.

 “Hm?” he cracked his eyes open, looking at Sora in the light of a nearby street light shining inside the room.

 “Giving the gifts”, Sora said, nuzzling closer to him.

“I’m not mad at you. Not that I ever was.”

 “What a relief”, Riku murmured.

“Now go to sleep or maybe I will be mad at you.”

 Sora laughed, recognizing the empty threat, and pressed his smile against Riku’s forehead.

[princee-ace1]

CH. 004 - Forgotten Friends

They say if you dream a thing more than once, it’s sure to come true. And I’ve seen him so many times.

Title: Bringing Back the Memories Series: Kingdom Hearts Pairing: You/Roxas, You/Sora

---

Sora.

Once upon a dream, you knew a Sora … at least, you think you did. The name’s been ringing nostalgia ever since Roxas mentioned it. All morning, you’ve been sitting in front of your bookshelf, going through albums and scrapbooks, and trying to figure out who he is.

Among the pile is your memory book -- a collection of photos you’ve taken of you and your friends on your adventures. Photos slide out between the pages, and you realize you’ve never had a chance to re-arrange them after finding the memory thief. With a sigh, you pick them up from the ground, and it’s only then that you notice most of your pictures are of Roxas.

Roxas doing a trick on his skateboard. Roxas falling asleep in class. Roxas hitting a bulls-eye on the dartboard in the Usual Spot. Your favorite, however, is a picture the two of you took together.

You broke your camera one day, and you were absolutely devastated when no one in town was able to fix it. Hayner, Pence, and Olette tried cheering you up, inviting you over to watch movies or play games with them. You didn’t know they were keeping you distracted while Roxas picked up several jobs to buy you the same model camera he found at a shop.

He showed up at the Usual Spot for the first time in a while and handed you a box. “Open it.”

“Roxas…” You almost cried -- or maybe, you actually did. He only laughed as he pulled you into a hug, practically smothering your face to his chest.

“You guys should take a picture together!” Olette suggested, grinning from ear to ear.

Pence nodded his head. “Yeah! Try it out, Haruna!”

You frown, disheartened when you can’t seem to find that particular photo anywhere. You’ve turned your entire bedroom upside-down trying to look for it. By far, it’s one of your favorite memories.

Other than yesterday, of course.

And it occurs to you that you and Roxas are … something now.

Butterflies are in your stomach. You suddenly want to see him. Has he already told everyone? What would your friends think? You haven’t even thought about what their reactions would be!

From your shelf, the glimmer of a yellow star-shaped charm catches your eye. A small, neatly-bounded trinket you often carry around with you for good luck.

As you exit your home, its magic already takes effect as Hayner runs toward you with a huge grin on his face. “Haruna! Great timing! I was just looking for you!”

“Oh? What’s up?”

“Today’s the day we hit the beach!” he announces excitedly. “And don’t sweat it about the munny. I told my uncle what happened yesterday, and he gave me enough to cover what we lost.”

“Whoa! Really?”

“I left a note at the Usual Spot,” he continues, jogging in place as he waves goodbye. “Go find the others and tell them to meet me at the station! I’ll go get our tickets!”

-*-

“What’s your name, child?” an older man with black hair and white robes asks as he kneels down to your eye-level. The scar and stern look on his face is intimidating, yet there’s a gentleness in his voice when he speaks to you.

His apprentices immediately took you to him as soon as they found you. Shyly, you answer, “My name’s Haruna.”

“Haruna,” he repeats, the curiosity in his eyes unwavering. “Do you remember how you came to this world?”

You shake your head. He asks if you remember the world you came from, but you don’t know the answer to that either. All you recall is a big clock tower and pretty skies, which doesn’t tell them much. With a sigh, he stands and looks at his apprentices for insight.

“She just … fell from the sky,” a tall, muscular young man with brown hair and blue eyes states in awe, as if he can’t quite believe it himself.

“You feel it too, don’t you Master?” the blue-haired woman inquires.

He nods his head. “Yes, a great power lies within her. It’s a matter I must discuss with the other Masters. Until then, can I entrust you three to look after her?”

“Of course,” the woman answers without hesitation.

“What about our exam?” The brown-haired male crosses his arms as he looks at her. “You and I need to focus on our training.”

“Leave it to me!” the blond-haired boy pipes up. He throws you a grin and ruffles your hair. “It’ll be nice not to be treated like the baby anymore.”

The brown-haired male chuckles. “I wouldn’t hold my breath on that.”

Their Master smiles a bit. “Very well. Haruna is under your charge. Take care of her.”

But the boy is already squatting before you with a bright smile. “You hear that? From now on, you and I are gonna be best friends. Don’t forget it.”

-*-

The first people you run into are Pence and Olette. “Hey, Haruna. Olette’s dragging me to go shopping.”

“Do you want to come with us?”

“Not today. Hayner said we’re going to the beach!” You pass on the message and their eyes light up with excitement. As they ramble, their voices suddenly become … distant. Muffled. Your vision blurs, and you hear a loud piercing ringing…

“Are you okay?”

Just like that, everything’s back to normal. Your friends look at you worriedly.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I think.” You frown, wondering what’s been going on with you these past couple of days. “Have you guys seen Roxas?”

“Not since yesterday,” Pence answers, tilting his head. Again, he asks if you’re okay, but you don’t answer him.

From the corner of your eye, you see him. A man in a black coat. He must be that pick-pocketer Roxas was telling you guys about!

“Wait, Haruna, where are you going?”

“Sorry, I have to go!” Without much of an explanation, you turn your back to your friends and chase after the hooded man.

-*-

True to his word, you and the boy with the dandelion-colored hair become quite close. Everywhere he goes, you follow; and he makes sure you’re never too far from his sight. He’s protective and playful, and gives you the same unconditional love and care the others had given him.

“I’ve never had a family before,” he confesses, plucking the grass as the two of you watch his older companions spar against each other. He picks a yellow dandelion and sticks it in your hair. “My friends are important to me, and I’d do anything to protect them. They’re my family, and now, you are too.”

More often than not, you and the boy would accompany the other two while they work hard on their training. From the sidelines, you watch in awe when the blue-haired woman gracefully casts incredible spells that color the air or when the brown-haired man swings his weapon with a force that shakes the ground.

The first time you’re able to manifest your powers was when you mimicked them during their practice, and a burst of light and darkness knocked you off your feet. It startled all of them when they discovered you’re able to summon raw energies of the two forces at command.

“I think we should teach her how to fight,” the young man brings up a couple days later. He eyes his companion’s reaction. “Do you disagree?”

“Well, no, but…” the blue-haired woman pauses. “Isn’t she too young?”

“To protect herself? You saw it yourself, Aqua. There’s something special about her. Chances are, we won’t be the only ones who sees it. Wherever she got her powers, there are people who will want it for themselves, and we won’t always be there to defend her.”

Aqua sighs. “You have a point there, Terra.”

A week later, Terra presents you with a small, wooden sword -- one he made himself. “A weapon isn’t used to harm people, but to protect yourself and those you cherish. Practice, discipline, and trust the strength of your heart. One day, you’ll be strong enough to do that.”

With wooden sword at hand, it serves as a focal point to harness those powers, which luckily only comes in seldom bursts. It scares you, knowing something so powerful comes from you; it scares the others a bit too. But it motivates them to teach you how to control and conceal them.

“The Master once told me magic is born from the heart,” Aqua tells you one night as she tucks you in bed. “When the time’s right, you just need to look inside yourself and you’ll find it there -- a ray of light, a goal, hope.“ She laughs softly and runs her fingers through your hair. “It might not make sense to you now, but one day, you’ll discover beautiful, wonderful things to hold dear. Magical and all.”

When you’re not with the trio, you’re with Master Eraqus.

After his meeting with the other Masters, it’s been decided you’ll stay under his care until they find your home. He raises you like one of his students -- kind, but firm with lessons of how the Light always overcomes the Darkness.

“A great power lies within you,” he reminds you as he finishes reading you a story in his study. “It can easily fall into the wrong hands if you’re not careful. People may come after you, but you have to be brave. And always remember, where there is Darkness, there will always be Light.”

-*-

You lose sight of him when you reach Station Heights. It feels eerie seeing the plaza completely empty; the stillness of it all makes you wonder if time is frozen again. Then, you hear the sound of footsteps approach you.

Turning around, you see the hooded man you’ve been chasing. Between the stolen photos and your hard-earned munny, you’re certain he’s the one responsible for all the theft in town.

Standing your ground, you demand, “Who are you? Why do you keep taking our stuff?”

“Me? Heh, you must have the wrong guy. I just got here.”

There’s more than one? Your frown deepens. “Then … who are you?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot already.” He shakes his head and sighs. Slowly, he pulls down his hood and reveals his face. “It’s me, Axel. Got it memorized?”

You squint. “What do you mean ‘forgot’? I’ve never seen you before in my life.”

“You sure know how to hit ‘em where it hurts, kid,” Axel mutters in disdain. “In any case, it wasn’t easy tracking you down. That guy sure hid you two well in this place. Even I have to admit, it’s impressive.”

“What’re you talking about?” you ask, clearly confused. He stops looking around and sighs again.

“You know, it doesn’t matter.” He holds his hand toward you. “Come with me, Haruna. Let’s get you out of here before they find us.”

“No, I want to know what’s going on,” you protest, refusing to cooperate with anyone until you know what’s happening to your town. “Are you the one making everything so weird?”

“I’m not. The person responsible for that is keeping you and Roxas trapped here. I’m in charge of breaking you guys out.” He peers at you curiously and asks, “Don’t tell me you haven’t realized this is all a ruse.”

A ruse? So … none of this is real?

He isn’t making any sense, but...

“Why should I go with you anyway?”

He rolls his eyes, getting impatient. “Because if you come with me, it’ll make my job a whole lot easier. Wherever you go, Roxas will always find his way back to you. Got it memorized?”

Your stomach twists when you remember what Pence mentioned after you found all the photos the memory thief took. They’re after the real Roxas after all!

“You must think I’m stupid. How can I trust you?”

“Hmm, well…” he pauses, his face unreadable. “We used to be friends, right?”

Before he could say anything else, the air in the plaza begins to warp around you. Another hooded person appears from behind him. He draws out a wing-like sword and Axel curses under his breath when he realizes he’s out of time. He summons red chakrams to each hand and faces the newcomer.

“Haruna.”

A voice calls from behind you, and when you turn around, you see a girl in white. She says something and suddenly, you feel incredibly drowsy. Struggling to keep yourself awake, you try to focus on the girl before you.

“I’m happy we got to meet one more time.”

The sad smile on her lips is the last thing you see before your world turns dark.

-*-

“Whoa! A meteor shower!” the boy with the dandelion hair exclaims as he presses his hands and nose against the bedroom window. His blue eyes twinkle in awe before he faces you. “Let’s check it out!”

He carries you in his arms with ease and runs outside. The night air makes you shiver and huddle closer to him as he feet quickly takes you two to an open field. It’s not until you gaze upward when you see what’s gotten him so excited. The stars in all its dazzling brightness is shooting across the sky!

You’ve never seen anything like it. And it terrifies you.

His laughter dies down when you cling onto him tightly and bury your face against his shoulder. “What’s wrong, Haruna?”

“They’ll hit us,” you answer in a small voice.

Realization strikes him and he sets you on your feet. He pulls out his key-shaped sword and vows, “Don’t worry. As long as I have this, I’ll always protect you!”

“Really?”

“If a shooting star comes this way,” he declares, swinging it around, “I’ll hit it right back to outer space! I’ll keep you safe no matter what.”

He keeps it up until you’re not afraid, and while he doesn’t actually hit anything, it’s comforting to watch him try. After a while, he collapses on the ground and closes his eyes, catching his breath. Footsteps quietly approach you two, and you see Aqua place a finger to her lips as she sneaks up on him.

“Whoa! Gimme a break, Aqua,” he yells when she successfully scares him.

Aqua laughs and pets his head, lightly scolding that he should’ve brought a blanket if he wanted to nap outside. Terra joins you three as you all sit on a ledge, talking about dreams and stars. His gaze is upward as he states every star up there is another world, and that their light is their hearts, shining down on you all.

A light looking down on you.

“It’s like you!” you tell the dandelion-haired boy, who looks bewildered. The others laugh and agree; to you, Terra, and Aqua, he’s your light.

“Oh yeah, Terra, you and I have our Mark of Mastery exam tomorrow.” Aqua stands and pulls something from her pockets. “I made us good luck charms.”

She tosses one to each boy, who easily catches them. “I get one too?”

“Of course. One for each of us,” she says and hands you a yellow one.  “Even Haruna.”

As you stare at the star-shaped charm, she tells you a story about a certain fruit that represents an unbreakable connection. So long as you and your friends carry this charm, nothing could ever drive you apart -- you’ll always find your way back to each other. No matter what.

-*-

Light. Darkness. Shooting stars. A sword, a charm, dandelions.

You slowly open your eyes and find yourself sleeping against Olette on the steps of the train station. She and Pence are sitting with you, watching over an icebox, some beach towels, and other items they wanted to bring for the trip.

“Hey, sleeping beauty’s awake,” Pence teases when he notices you stirring.

You hear the grogginess in your voice. “What … happened?”

“You told us to meet you at the station, remember?” Olette reminds you, resting her chin on her hand. “We’ve been waiting on Roxas and you fell asleep.”

“Are you sure you told him we’re meeting up?” Hayner impatiently questions, putting a pause to his pacing to stand in front you three.

Pence nods his head. “Yeah, we ran into him by the Usual Spot.”

“Then where is he?”

None of you could answer, and Olette starts to look worried. “Should we look for him?”

They look at you to decide, and you slowly nod your head, still feeling out of it. You don’t remember falling asleep … or anything that happened before you woke up.

Why does it feel like I’m forgetting something important?

Your friends take off to search for Roxas, but you linger behind. You pull out your good luck charm from your pocket, watching as the sun reflects off the yellow glass.

Ventus.

“Haruna, you coming?” Pence calls out. You tuck the charm away for now and run to catch up to him.

Once upon a dream, you knew a Ventus…

-*-

After searching around for a while, there’s still no sign of Roxas anywhere. Everyone’s starting to get worried. The last train to the beach definitely left by the time you decide to regroup at the station.

Deciding to cut through the Sandlot, you’re nearly run into Hayner. When you look over his shoulder, you see what caused him to stop in his tracks.

Roxas is there. While you were all worrying about him, it looks like he’s been sparring with Seifer and his gang.

“Hey, it’s you guys!” Seifer jeers when he spots you. “Come to play?”

From across the Sandlot, Roxas meets your gaze and your name falls from his lips. However, Hayner grabs your arm and pulls you away. “Let’s go.”

Pence and Olette exchange glances with each other and follow after you two as Roxas tries to catch up.

Wherever you go, Roxas will always find his way back to you.

Somehow, those words echo in your head. Where have you heard that before?

Hayner doesn’t let you go until you’re at the Usual Spot. He immediately digs through the icebox you planned to bring to the beach and pulls out a sea-salt ice cream. Pence and Olette take theirs too as Roxas enters, but Hayner pretends not to see him.

Pence sits in the corner and addresses the white elephant in the room. “So, you hung out with Seifer’s gang today?”

“N-No, it’s not like that. I just happened to run into them,” he assures you guys, but no one is buying it. He’s hiding something, but he redirects the question. “Oh yeah! How was the beach? Wasn’t that today?”

“We didn’t go,” Olette tells him. “It wouldn’t be the same without you, right?”

“Sorry…” He hangs his head, knowing he messed up. Hayner still wouldn’t even look at him, so he tries again. “Hey, what if we go tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” you echo.

Roxas nods his head. “Yeah! We could get those pretzels and--”

“I promise I’d be somewhere,” Hayner bluntly cuts in. It’s then Roxas remembers that the Struggle Tournament is tomorrow and you’re all going to compete. Having enough, Hayner jumps off the pipes and heads toward the exit. “I’m outta here.”

However, Roxas stands in front of him and clenches his fist. “What’s your problem? I … I really--”

“Roxas…?” you call out to him, but he doesn’t hear you.

“My head hurts,” he says after a minute and as he turns away, you catch a glimpse of sadness on his face. “I’m going home.”

Heavy silence follows after him, and for a moment, you could’ve sworn you saw him in a black coat.

-*-

The view from Station Height’s clock tower is one of the most magical, breathtaking things you’ve ever seen. As the setting sun warms your skin, a wave of nostalgia and tranquility fills you. And somehow, you knew you’d find Roxas here too.

Without a word, you take a seat next to him on the tower’s ledge and hand him the ice cream you grabbed from the icebox on your way to find him. He gauges your face for a moment, and when he realizes you’re not there to scold him, he takes your offering and mutters a barely audible thank you. A comfortable silence falls between you two before the breathtaking twilight.

“I’m sorry. I’m so stupid,” he says after a while, balancing the stick between his teeth. “I can’t believe I forgot that promise.”

“Hayner will get over it. He never stays mad for long,” you assure him, but it doesn’t stop him from beating himself up for ruining the day. You try to lighten the mood a bit. “Besides, if Hayner comes after you, I’ll protect you.”

He finally smiles a bit. “Yeah?”

“Hayner, Seifer, everyone else,” you list on and laugh. “Wouldn’t that be something to put in my memory book?”

“That reminds me,” he pulls something from his jacket and hands it to you, “I forgot to give this back to you.”

“Oh! I’ve been looking for this!” you exclaim, staring at the photo in surprise. It’s the very one the two of you took together after he bought your camera. “It’s my favorite picture of us.”

In the photo, your eyes are a bit watery and your face is a bit flushed, but there’s no doubt you’re genuinely happy. Roxas had his arm around you, still holding you close as he presses his cheek on top of your head.

He really does look happy.

Even now, there’s a fondness in his smile as he looks down at the picture. “It’s my favorite, too.”

As you look at him, seeing the way the dusk glows against his skin and colors his blond hair brown, you realize this is the first time you’ve really talked to him today. You feel your heart skipping a bit as you hand it back to him. “Then keep it. So that you’ll always have something to remember me by.”

He looks surprised. “Are you sure?”

“I made a promise, didn’t I? That I won’t forget.” You feel like you’ve heard these words before as you continue, “Nothing can drive us apart. We’ll always find our way back to each other. No matter what.”

“I doubt I’d forget you, Haruna. You’re too pretty not to remember,” Roxas suddenly says, catching you off guard. You realize that he’s been quietly admiring you too.

“I can’t tell if you’re teasing me.”

“I’m not. I mean it.”

“Flatter me all you want, Roxas. Just because I told you I like you doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you tomorrow.”

You can’t help but smile at his laughter.

To be continued… ⇷ prev | luna ✩ tip jar ✩ ao3 | next ⇸

[writteninsunshine]

Let Your Colors Fill My World 001/003 - Axel/Zexion - SFW

Title: Let Your Colors Fill My World

Author: Donnie

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy VII

Setting: Various

Pairing: Axel/Zexion

Characters: Axel, Zexion, Vexen, Reno, Xigbar

Genre: Romance/Humor

Rating: T

Chapters: 1/3

Word Count: 4323

Type Of Work: Chapter Fic, Part of the Run To Me series

Status: Incomplete

Warnings: Gay, Slash, Yaoi, MLM, Secret Relationship, AU - Modern AU, AU - College AU, ABO Dynamics, Mating, No major smut, Vexen is Zexion’s Father, Xigbar Adopted Axel Reno and Marluxia

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything except Axel’s cat Pandora and Zexion’s cats D’Artagnan and Hamlet.

Summary: A thirty kisses meme for Axel and Zexion with an ABO college AU.

AN: Hey guys, it’s me again! Just thought I ought to say, if you want vague updates and to talk to me more, I have Twitter and Tumblr, too! Twitter is Sunshinecackle, and Tumblr is Writteninsunshine! I also have a writing Discord that is currently pretty dead. xD I can PM it to people who want it on FFN, for everyone else, it’s here: https://discord.gg/FyaWw25

I really got into this ship on accident after rping with my husband and it happened on accident. I really can’t help myself, I needed more of them. I hope you guys don’t mind. Here we go!

Let Your Colors Fill My World Chapter Two

Kingdom Hearts Fic Masterlist

Chapter One: Reminded Of Your Pretty Eyes

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(1. Look Over Here)

“And then you-- Axel?” Zexion passed a hand over Axel’s face with a frown, before finally leaning forward and kissing him. That seemed to help get his head back in the game, and the elder man leaned in to chase his lips. Zexion nipped him softly with his teeth and shook his head, “How much of that did you space out for?”

“Huh?” Axel blinked a little bit, staring at him, “What do you mean?” 

“You were zoning out. You’re as bad as Roxas.” Zexion rolled his eyes, smiling slightly as he leaned forward, “No wonder you have to be tutored. Apparently you can’t focus unless I touch you. You’re so tactile.”

“What’s that mean?” It wasn’t like Zexion didn’t insult him occasionally, but he didn’t think right now would be the best time. Was that even an insult? Zexion’s entire vocabulary was way higher than his, despite the younger man being three years younger than him.

“You like to be touched.” Zexion stroked his bare palm over Axel’s cheek and the elder man purred, causing him to roll his eyes again. “You need to focus or you’re going to fail this class. You can’t go into accounting if you can’t even pass the basics.”

“I don’t really think I’m going to fail just because I--”

“If you can’t handle the basics, you will fail.” Zexion sighed, straightening up from where he had settled to lean against the table. Crawling into his lap, he scooted into the best possible position to continue. “Will you listen, now?”

“I-- Y-Yes.” Axel murmured into his hair, pressing his nose to the nape of the other’s neck, “I can do it.”

“Then let’s try again.” Zexion took a deep breath. “Now, let’s see… We’ll start back here,” He began, pointing to a page he turned to in the other’s textbook. Axel knew he was in for a long afternoon.

(2. News; Letter)

[Text To: Fire In The Hole] You are never going to guess what happened.

[Text To: Sexion] Wut? Good or bad?

[Text To: Fire In The Hole] What do you think?

[Text To: Sexion] It’s hard 2 tell with u.

[Text To: Fire In The Hole] Meet me at the fence.

Axel was in his backyard in a matter of minutes, and he could almost hear the vibrating of the sixteen-year-old on the other side. Pushing back the broken plank, Axel’s jade eyes met wide cobalt as the younger teen grinned at him.

“Woah, you look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.” That was something Xigbar had definitely taught him to say. “What’s up?”

“Radiant Garden accepted me to join the Biochem program.” Zexion kept his voice down, but he nearly looked like he could jump for joy. “I’ll be able to begin working in the lab Vexen works for in my second semester.”

“That’s great, Zex,” Axel grinned, crouched in the corner of the yard, “I’m really happy for you.” Even if that meant his boyfriend would probably have to take even more time away from him for studying. 

“You sound sad. Didn’t think you’d be my main focus forever, did you, Axel?” He teased, sitting on his knees and scooting close, “Do you need reassurance?” Axel often needed his attention to prove that he was important. 

“For what?” Axel tried to laugh, rubbing his hair down against his neck as he scooted closer to face him better, “What are you going to do when you start going to school? Get drunk and mate someone else your first day?”

“Oh, hardly,” Zexion cackled, hiding his amusement beneath his hand, “You’re the only person I can feasibly see myself being even remotely nude around, so you shouldn’t worry. Come here.” Pushing more at the loose plank, he pressed the bridge of his nose to the top of the hole. 

Axel eagerly scooted closer, kissing the smaller’s lips and melting into the feeling of it. That was probably better for easing his worries than anything Zexion could have said. 

“Anyway, don’t you go to RGU? What sort of partying have you been doing?” Zexion accused playfully when he pulled back, leaving Axel wanting, chasing his lips.

“Getting tutored by a sixteen-year-old.” Axel replied, “And I’m in the math department. Biochem is on the opposite side of campus.”

“Well, we’ll have to meet in the middle for lunch.” Zexion told him, “I’ll let you know what my schedule is when I get it. Maybe we can even talk Vexen into letting you be my ride.”

“I doubt it.” Axel chuckled, “But a little hope never killed anyone.”

(3. Jolt!)

How long had he been sitting outside of McDuck’s Ice Cream Parlor, now? Zexion was sure that he was going to be waiting all day. If Axel kept him there alone much longer, he’d be forced to start eating before he arrived. Sighing, he placed his elbow on the table and his head in his hand as he closed his eyes, pulling a small paperback of Of Mice And Men from his jacket pocket and began to read. The pressed flower bookmark he had had in it made him smile. A birthday gift from Axel when he’d been eleven, something he had kept in pristine condition all this time.

After a few minutes’ worth of reading, he glanced at his phone. Axel had said that that was where they were going to meet… Maybe he was waiting inside. Sighing again and starting to get up, he jolted instead when he felt hands on his hips.

“There you are.” Axel grinned, happy to take the elbow to the chest that had been apparently waiting for him. He chuckled, unable to help himself.

“Hey! Don’t do that!” Zexion exclaimed, frowning, turning fully to face him and placing both hands on his hips, knocking Axel’s grubby hands from them. “You know I detest being surprised!”

“I couldn’t help myself!” Axel chuckled, holding his hands up in a placating gesture as Zexion bopped his shoulder with his palm. “Okay, okay. At least I didn’t use this?” He held up a pen that suddenly looked menacing.

“What is that?” Zexion asked, unamused.

“It’s one of those shocker pen things. Reno boosted it and got me with it.” Axel explained, earning a bristled scowl from Zexion, “I wouldn’t do that to you, Bunny, don’t worry.”

“You had best not.” Zexion answered easily, “If you want me to buy you lunch, still.” 

“I won’t, I won’t.” Axel laughed softly, leaning down to kiss his lips. Zexion knocked his hair into his face, leaving Axel to kiss it against his cheek, and he sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“You should be for even considering it.” Zexion flipped his hair back, looking up at him and finally smiled softly, “Let’s get your ice cream. I can’t believe your dad lets you eat that for lunch.” He chuckled, knowing that Vexen would have his head for even thinking about it.

“Okay, okay.” Axel smiled, leaning down again and surprising Zexion with an actual kiss on the lips, “Let’s get lunch. Plus, this place has burgers and stuff, so we can get real food, first.” But only if Zexion made him.

“You and I both know that Vexen won’t think of that as food.” Zexion laughed, pushing at the elder’s face and turning to enter McDuck’s Ice Cream Parlor. Axel was quick to follow, taking his hand once inside the building.

(4. Our Distance And That Person)

It wasn’t every day that Zexion was allowed to get a ride home from someone other than Vexen. Axel had taken Xigbar’s wood-paneled station wagon to Radiant Garden University, and Vexen was working late. Zexion had simply told him he was getting a ride home from a fellow student and that he would be waiting when he arrived with dinner ready. That seemed to be enough for Vexen’s hesitant approval, and the ride home with Axel had begun.

Standing on Vexen’s front porch, with Xigbar’s station wagon parked in his own driveway, Zexion spoke in a flurry of hand motions uncharacteristic to his usually quiet demeanor. Axel hadn’t heard the end of the supposed idiot in Zexion’s Shakespearian Literature class, and it didn’t seem like it would let up any time soon. Catching one of Zexion’s hands, Axel tugged him in for a gentle kiss that caught him off guard and stopped his tirade for the first time in twenty minutes.

“I get it, Zex,” Axel said softly against his mouth, “But didn’t you tell me that more than fifteen minutes of talking about stuff that pisses you off is unproductive?” He remembered it being something about being detrimental if one continued to obsess.

“Mn… And you seek to stop me?” Zexion teased with a soft smile, wrapping his arms around the other’s neck to tug him in tighter. Axel lifted him by his thighs, walking him to the porch swing and sitting down. Holding him close, he guided the smaller to tilt his head and lapped at his lips, easily being accepted as the pair kept contact, Axel’s hands sliding to his hips. With both knees folded on the sides of Axel’s thighs, Zexion scooted in until his knees touched the back of the swing.

It went on like that for a while, until Reno poked his head around the seven-foot-tall privacy fence and spoke.

“Dude, Vexen’s definitely on the block. Scatter!” 

Axel deposited Zexion on the porch swing with one final kiss and vaulted over the porch railing in record time, bounding to his side of the fence when the silver Acura NSX pulled past their other neighbor’s mailbox. Once it was parked safely in the driveway, Zexion had already gone inside to start dinner, making a rather decent run of it by chopping as fast as he could. Their chicken carbonara would be done before Vexen was ready to eat, for sure. 

Axel watched warily through a hole in the fence as Vexen paused on his doorstep, key in hand, and sniffed. The other Alpha shook his head and entered the house without a word, leaving him sighing softly, sinking down the fence.

“That was close.” Reno commented absently, arms crossed as he looked down at his twin, “I’d say it’s time you convince Zexion to convince Vexen to let him get a dorm room. Maybe then you wouldn’t have to run away every time he got close.”

“I’d still have to run if he came to visit.” Axel replied, “And you can bet that Zexion would get his own room to himself, too. Vexen’s program is incredibly pricey, I hear.”

“Except for the one kid he ushered in without a test.” Reno reminded, “So Zexion’ll get a cozy little love nest for you two that Vexen has access to. So I guess just be careful and don’t take off your shoes.”

“My-- Reno!” Smacking his twin in the thigh, Axel hoisted himself up to his feet and started for the house. “Shut it, you and I both know Zexion wouldn’t tolerate dirt in his room.” Shoes weren’t allowed in his house, they wouldn’t be allowed in his dorm room.

“I know, I know. Clean freak begets clean freak.” Reno paused, “Did I use that right or are you going to go full ham on me?”

“Oh my God,” Axel groaned, “I think you used it right but I’ll be sure to ask.”

“Dude, no!”

“Then don’t try me.”

“I totally helped you, dude, you guys were playing tonsil hockey and you would have gotten killed with an icicle if Vex would have caught you.” Reno murmured, crossing his arms, “So you should be thanking me.”

“Thanks for saving my life.” Axel started, “But you’re being an ass. The dorm room thing is a good idea, though, so I guess I’ll give you that.”

“Finally, point Reno!”

“Yeah, Reno, one, everyone else, a lot more.”

“Shut it, Axe.” Reno groaned, pushing open the door, “Pulled him off the neighbor, dad, we’re good to go for dinner!”

(5. "Ano Sa…" ("Hey, You Know…."))

“I’ve been thinking about moving out to campus.” Axel began one evening, dipping his french fry in his chocolate milkshake and taking a bite, “What do you think?”

Zexion took a long draw from his coffee malt, pursing his lips around the straw and frowning finally when he swallowed and it dropped from his lips. After a moment, he looked over the red lacquered table, their homework spread beside their blue baskets of burgers and fries, sighing heavily.

“So you’d elect to move away from me?” He asked, already regretting the question when it left him. Axel looked heartbroken for a split second before trying on a hesitant smile.

“Well, it would give us more time to be together.” Axel told him easily, leaning forward animatedly, “You could come by my room and we could do whatever we want.” Winking playfully, he waggled his eyebrows and Zexion snorted.

“Provided your roommate doesn’t complain.”

“Well, I'll have to deal with that, not you.”

“What if he says something to the school? Vexen will find out--”

“Vexen won't find out. Trust me, babe, this will be better for us.” Axel tried, reaching across the table and taking his hand. Zexion held it limply, not convinced. Anxiety permeated his scent and all Axel wanted to do was scent him to calm him down.

“I suppose it’s something to think about.” Zexion acquiesced finally, sighing softly as he closed his eyes and took another sip of his malt. After a squeeze to Axel’s hand, they fell into relative silence, seemingly as Axel started to think.

“Hey, you know…” Axel began around a bite of his burger, a glare from Zexion making him swallow before he continued, “What if you got a dorm?” 

“What?”

“You’re sixteen now, and Vexen’s on the school board.” Axel told him, “I doubt he’d let you share a room with a stranger, he doesn’t even let you come over to my house.” He pointed out, “So you wouldn’t have to worry about a roommate unless you wanted me to stay over with you.”

That thought had Zexion chewing over his thoughts, another bite of his burger behind him before he spoke once more. Axel found it endearing that he always chewed thoroughly and swallowed before he spoke. That wasn’t common in his house.

“I suppose you have a very valid point.” He finally admitted, drinking down more of the coffee malt he’d found was his favorite at this establishment, “Though convincing him to let me get a room here might be a bit more difficult.”

“How many times have you made and presented Powerpoints to him that have worked?” Axel asked with a sly grin, leaning over the table and nearly uprooting his milkshake in the process, “I know you can do this.” He kissed the other’s cheek, then his lips, and sat back on his side of the booth. “You’ve got this, babe. I wouldn’t steer you wrong.”

“Perhaps not on purpose.” Zexion chuckled, wiping absently at his lips with a napkin. “Very well. I will begin work tonight when I am home. This should be interesting, surely, because Vexen has as of yet decided that I will live at home until I’m his age.”

“You’re never going to catch up to him.” Axel laughed softly, rolling his eyes, “Well, maybe we can convince him that you need to spread your wings, test out being on your own. He won’t be around forever, after all.”

“Indeed.” Even if Reno often said that he was older than dirt. “I’ll have to talk him into it.”

“If anyone can do it, it’s you, kid genius.”

(6. The Space Between Dream And Reality)

“I can’t believe it.” Zexion told him through the fence, leaning on the back wall of it as he sighed dreamily, “My own dorm room, sans medical equipment and a parental figure.”

“It’s going to be so great. I can help you decorate.” Axel sounded more relieved than anything because maybe this was the real start to this five-year-long relationship. Their anniversary was coming up, and he thought it would be good to try and do something for it. Maybe this year they could actually celebrate. 

“You can move in, if you want.” Zexion laughed softly, trying to keep his voice down, “I wouldn’t mind having you as a roommate.”

“Vexen would flip his shit.” Axel chuckled, “But I’d like to stay with you as much as I can. I can’t wait to get you to myself.”

“I suppose one Powerpoint was an awfully cheap price to pay for a little freedom and a lot more time with you. But it had better not interfere with my studying and work.” Zexion leveled a finger and wagged it at the other’s face through the hole in the fence.

“You look just like him when you do that. I’m sure he’s proud.” Axel rolled his eyes playfully, scooting towards the broken plank and pressing his cheeks to the wood, pursing his lips. “I won’t, I promise.”

“And you’ll seal it with a kiss?” Zexion chuckled, moving to his knees to place a soft peck on the other’s lips. “Then you had best not fall through on this promise. I need to maintain my studies.”

“I know, I know.” Axel leaned in for another kiss, “You have to maintain contact with me, too. Maybe you can study in my lap, and I’ll just hold you while you work.”

“That… Sounds rather nice, actually.”And brought a heavy blush to his cheeks, to boot.

“You’re beautiful,” Axel said that way too often for Zexion’s comfort, but he accepted the compliment with a tilt of his head to hide his face in his hair. “I honestly think I could--”

“Zexion! What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be packing?” Vexen’s voice signaled the end of their rendezvous, and Axel dutifully closed the loose plank so that he wouldn’t be seen. 

“I’ll text you.” He whispered before disappearing into his house, and Zexion rose from his spot behind the strawberry bushes to enter the house.

“Yes, I know, Vexen. I was just taking a moment in the backyard, I needed some fresh air.”

“Well, you should know better than to take breaks before your toiling starts,” Vexen began, guiding him into the house with a sigh. The screen door slammed shut behind him, but he closed the inner door gentler, leading his son to his room, where boxes awaited him. He was going to have to take his time, even if he wanted to throw everything in the boxes. If he didn’t, his OCD wouldn’t give him a break.

(7. Superstar)

“No, no, no.” Zexion frowned a little bit as he placed his hands on his hips, weight shifting to his right foot, “That isn’t going up.”

“Oh, come on, Zex, he’s a good musician. Have to support our friends.” Axel pouted, holding up the poster that he and Demyx had made together so he could feel special. “He’s a regular superstar.”

“And he doesn’t get along with me very well.” Zexion pointed out, “I’m not going to stare at Demyx while you’re not here. I said ‘no’. Demyx is your friend, not mine.” 

“Okay, okay, jeez.” Axel rubbed a hand through his hair, “I just thought--”

“You thought wrong.” Zexion crossed his arms, “Plus, I know he likes you. That doesn’t help.”

“He does?”

“He does.” Crossing the room to where his poster of the elements had hung up a minute ago, he placed it back on the wall and tacked it back into place. “And I don’t want the reminder every time I look at this wall.”

“Okay, I see your point.” Axel sighed, rolling the poster back up and putting it in his bag. “I’m sorry.”

“...You don’t have to be. I know he’s your friend.” Zexion crossed the room to his bed, sitting down. “Come here.”

Axel listened, walking to him and sitting beside him, head down. Zexion carefully reached over, taking his chin in hand and bringing him forth for a kiss. 

“I'm sorry. I just… We really don’t get on well and I don’t really want to see him every time you’re here…” And if Axel got used to staring at Demyx, he might leave. Zexion was always anxious about that because Axel had so many options that were probably better than him.

“It’s okay, babe, I promise. I don’t want to stress you out more.” Living by himself was already bothering the younger teen, and Axel didn’t need to add to that. “I promise, it’s okay.”

“Okay… Thank you for understanding.”

“Of course.” Axel smiled softly, holding his free hand and kissing him again. “Try not to worry so much. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

(8. Our Own World)

The fairie lights around the bed were a good touch, and even Axel could appreciate them. They made Zexion’s cobalt eyes sparkle as he looked at up Axel, laying in his bed laden with pillows and blankets like the veritable king he was in his palace. He lay with his head on a cat-themed pillow, one hand curled by his face and the other on his hip. It was a beautiful look on him, and Axel’s breath was caught in his throat. 

“Axel?” Zexion asked softly, head tilting a little bit, “You’re staring.”

“You’re beautiful.” Axel purred happily, reaching forward to brush some hair from his face, “You made your room pretty beautiful, too.” 

“Thanks.” Blushing a little bit, Zexion nuzzled his nose against Axel’s hand and kissed his palm.

“I love you,” Axel said softly, leaning forward to kiss his lips. “I really do.”

“I… I love you, too.” Zexion replied against his lips, and he nuzzled their noses together, “I’m so glad that you do.” He was always thankful for it.

Despite Vexen trying to tear them apart, the couple was happy to float in their own little world, oblivious to the elder man’s attempts to drive them away from each other.

(9. Dash)

Zexion opened the door to his dorm with his bag on his shoulder, only to find Axel fumbling with his keys. Blinking a couple of times in rapid succession, he looked up at him with a curious glint in his eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was coming to see you between classes.” Axel replied, “But you look like you’re leaving?”

“I have a class in fifteen.” He replied, laughing softly, “So it’s a bad time. I’m not missing Vexen’s class.”

“Oh, shit, yeah..” Rubbing his hair, Axel blushed slightly, “I’ll come back, then.”

Leaning up on his tiptoes, Zexion pursed his lips, and Axel leaned in to kiss him lovingly. 

“Gotta run.” Patting his shoulder, Zexion laughed softly as he made his mad dash to Vexen’s class.

“Wait,” Axel started, sucking his own lips into his mouth, “I could walk you most of the way to class?” He offered, clearly wanting to spend at least some time with Zexion. He liked to see him off to class, anyway, making sure the younger man got to class safely. 

Zexion considered it, tapping his lower lip with his pointer finger, and finally nodded. “As long as I’m not late, I don’t mind.”

The pair walked together in companionable silence, Axel humming a song stuck in his head as he held the other’s hand. Leading the way to the science building, Zexion leaned his head on the other’s arm, closing his eyes for a second. The crisp fall air was chilly and he was thankful for his scarf, even if it was almost too big and chunky.

“I love the fall.” Zexion murmured, a couple leaves crunching under his boots, “It’s so relaxing…”

“Plus, you love Halloween.” Axel pointed out, “And all things spooky.”

“I do, don’t I?” Zexion chuckled, shaking his head as they arrived at the building. Leaning up on his toes, he delighted in Axel leaning down to kiss him again.

“You do,” Axel replied against his lips, holding the other close as they shared in another long kiss. Zexion didn’t realize how long they had been kissing until his phone began to sing, reminding him that he had a minute left to make it to class. Eyes popping open wide, he pecked Axel’s lips once more before ducking around him.

“I’m almost late! See you later!” He called over his shoulder, rushing into the building to try and make it to Vexen’s class on time.

(10. #10)

“I can’t believe Luxord won’t bet against you. He bets against everyone.” Axel sighed softly, shaking his head. “It’s like he’s scared, he was so adamant about it.”

Everyone had gathered at Luxord’s house for poker that night, and Vexen had brought Zexion along. He played the game like Luxord did, counting cards and folding a lot in the beginning, but in the end, he’d left with everyone’s munny. 

“I think he just knows my tricks to play, he knows I’m the best and he won’t take the bet against me because we’d never finish playing.” Zexion smiled slightly, flicking his hair out of his face, watching Axel as he adjusted something on Zexion’s desk.

“You were cheating, weren’t you?”

“I still won the pot.” He replied, shrugging slightly as he placed a few more books on his desk. Zexion was always reading in his spare time, and Axel liked how he smelled like an old library all the time. But he was giving a nonanswer, and Axel knew that that meant that he had definitely cheated.

“That you did.” Axel chuckled, slouching slightly as he paced the room towards the other, taking his waist with his hands. Turning him, Axel kissed him softly on the lips. “But did you have to take all my munny, too?”

“Yes. That’s the point of poker.” He chuckled, “I’ll buy us dinner to celebrate?”

“Yeah, that sounds good. I think I want pizza.”

“Pizza sounds excellent.” 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

AN: There we go, part one is finished! It took a little longer than I’d like, but I still like how these are coming out. I hope you guys enjoyed it!

Prompts: Thirty Kisses Theme Set 1

[willows-horde]

The second part of Kingdom Hearts school AU I posted earlier today. word count: 5123 (told you it was long. over 9000 for all of it)

Roxas stared outside of the bus window. He sat alone in one of the seats and had a pair of headphones on his ears. His mind wandered slightly as he listened to his music. He thought about the friends he had to leave behind when his parents made him move. They moved a few weeks after his freshman year ended so he didn't have long to hang out with his friends before he left. He missed them. Just then someone caught his eye. Namine was walking home. He watched her until the bus passed by her and she was out of his sight. He assumed she lived close to the school. He thought back to when he was talking to her in their fifth hour class. Namine was also a Sophomore and they shared two classes together. They had Math and History... and to his disappointment, so did Sora. No, it's not that hated Sora. 'How can someone be so cheerful all the time..?' Roxas caught himself wondering. '... And he always chases after me after our math class. He bothers me constantly and butts into conversations I'm having with people...' He sighed.  “What is with him...” he muttered under his breath. He remembered snapping at him at the end of their History class, and the headache he ended up with afterwards. Sora had looked like he was in a daze as they were leaving the class. Looking back on it now, Roxas guessed that no one had ever blown up in his face like that. He shrugged it off as the sixth song on his mp3 player ended. He was almost home.

When Roxas saw his house come into view he hit pause on his player. When the bus came to a stop, Roxas got up and left the bus without a word. He reached into his pocket and removed the key to get inside. He heard the bus leave as he unlocked the door and headed in. No one was home; and no one would be home for about forty-five minutes. Roxas knew this and that made him hate his situation even more.

As he stepped into his room, he carelessly dumped his book-bag on his bed before he changed out of his school uniform. Then dropping down to the floor, Roxas reached under his bed and pulled out his skateboard. He headed back outside, locking the door behind him, and hit play on his mp3 player.

“I'm home...” Namine called softly, with a hint of sadness. Turning, she closed and locked the door behind her. Taking off her shoes, she placed them neatly on the shoe-rack across from the door. As she sat down on the edge of her bed, she glanced around her room. Across from the bed, and next to the shoe-rack, sat a small fridge-freezer, a small sink, a stove top, an empty counter-top and finally a small stacked washer and dryer. All in that exact order with little to no space between each item. Taking a deep breath and wiping at her eyes, she got up. Walking over to her desk, which was against one of the adjacent walls, she sat down to begin her homework.

Riku walked into Cloud XIII. It was the usual hang out spot, especially for people his age. That and birthday parties. However, he wasn't here to hang out. “You're late.” He turned around. There stood Tifa, manager and owner of Cloud XIII.

“Sorry. I had to help a class-mate.”

Tifa smiled. “That's good to know.” She patted him on the shoulder as she started to walk off.

Riku sighed softly and walked into the back room; only employees were allowed to go back there. “Hiya, Riku!” a girl called out. It caught Riku off guard when she jumped on his back. He jerked forward slightly, and she clung onto him, which threw him off balance even more and made him fall backward. She cried out surprised when he started to fall back and let go of him and fell on her butt, while Riku brought his hands back trying to brace himself, and hoped he wouldn't land on her. “Owie... that hurt... You're supposed to have better balance than that,” she whined.

“I would have if I knew you were going to do that,” Riku muttered. “Don't you know you shouldn't attack people like that?” he questioned the blonde girl as he went to get up.

“I didn't attack you,” she said with a pout.

They heard someone giggle and turned to look. There stood two girls. The one that was giggling had beads in her brown hair. The other girl had grayish-brown hair and had her arms crossed. “You know, Rikku, you probably just lost some respect points from him.”

The blonde girls' eyes widened. Quickly, she turned to Riku. “Oh no! I didn't did I?”

Riku brought his hand to his head. He didn't care about respect points he just wanted to get to work then go home and get his homework done. He sighed when he realized that he'll be up late completing all his work. “All right everyone, it's time to get back to work.” The group turned to see Tifa.

“Yes, ma'am,” the girl with the beads in her hair said with a slight bow. Her and the other brown haired girl started to head out of the room.

Rikku quickly jumped to her feet and hurried after them. “Yunie, Paine; what should I do? I think I lost some major respect points from Riku.” Riku could hear her saying to her two friends.

Tifa turned to Riku. “Is something the matter? You look troubled.”

“Oh? No, it's nothing. I'll go ahead and get started.” With that said he took his leave and got to work.

“Argh! It's official. I am so banning you from entering the kitchen!” Zoe exclaimed.

“What the hell? The foods fine, what are you bitching about?” Axel questioned her annoyed.

Zoe directed her hand towards the counter. “It's a total mess! Can't you do anything without messing it up or making a mess?!”

He frowned. “So, what, you're calling me a screw up?” He turned his attention away from the food.

Zoe was taken back by his statement. “I-I didn't mean it like that. I was just ...”

“Don't worry about it,” he muttered as he turned back to the food. “I should be used to it by now...” he added but too quiet for her to hear him. Zoe watched him for a minute, unsure if she should ask him what he mumbled. Instead, she went to the cabinet to get their plates so she can set the table. Axel glanced at her. “I'll do it.”

She stopped what she was doing and looked over at him. He still had his back to her; while working on their dinner. “You sure?”

“Yeah.” As she closed the cabinets, he added, “I'll call you when I'm done.”

“...Alright.” Zoe went to leave the kitchen, only to stop and look back at him before she continued out of the room. She reentered her study and sat back down on the couch to resume her homework. Flipping open the book to the page she had left her bookmark on, she tried to continue reading. Staring at the page, her thoughts started to wander. With a sigh, she rested the book on her lap. She had the nagging feeling like something was wrong. Normally her and Axel's arguments didn't upset him as much as this one did. And they especially didn't make him distant. 'I wonder...'

Knock knock. Zoe looked up to the doorway to see Axel standing there. “It's done.” She gave a nod and he walked off. Making sure the bookmark was in place, she closed the book and got up. She set the book on the end table then headed off to the kitchen. Once she entered the kitchen, however, she saw Axel walking out the other door. Looking over at the table Zoe noticed it set for only one person. Confused, she sat down in front of her plate, which Axel was nice enough to put her food on already, and picked up her fork. She poked at her food for a moment, then sighed. She got up out of her chair and picked up her plate and silverware, then headed out of the room. Having a feeling as to where she would find him, Zoe headed up the steps to the loft.

Just as he stuck a forkful of food in his mouth, Axel heard a knock on the door. He turned around in his seat to face the door when it opened and Zoe stepped inside. He swallowed what he had in his mouth and said, “Now what'd I do wrong?”

“Nothing. I just didn't want to eat by myself.” Axel stared at her for a moment before he sighed heavily, then motioned to the chair next to him. She gave a slight smile and sat down. They resumed eating in silence.

Kairi got up from her seat at the dinner table. “I'm going to go upstairs and work on my English homework.”

“Alright, Angel. Don't stay up too late,” her father told her. Kairi giggled.

“Okay, Dad. I won't.” She hurried upstairs to her room. She flipped on the light and sat down on the edge of the bed. Reaching into her book-bag, she removed her copy of Shakespeares' Romeo & Juliet. They were assigned to read the play and write a paper of their interpretation of the play. The paper had to be a minimum of three pages. Just as she had settled down on her bed, with her back against her headboard, her cellphone went off. Kairi picked it up and looked at the little window to see who was calling. She smiled and answered the call. “Hi, Sora.”

“Hey, Kairi,” came Sora's voice from the ear-piece. “Have you started your English homework yet?”

“I was just getting started on it.” She was going to say more but Sora spoke up.

“Can you help me? I can't understand any of it,” he whined. “It's too confusing.” He could hear her giggle on the other end. “Why're you laughing at me?”

Kairi turned around and leaned her arms on her headboard and looked out her window. “I'm not laughing at you, exactly,” she told him with a little laughter still in her tone. “So where do you want to meet? Did you want me to come over so I can help explain it?”

Sora grinned when he saw her at her window. “Oo let's go to the tree house.”

“Sora, we haven't been up there since we were ten,” she told him while laughing. Sora pouted.

“Come on, please? It'll be fun to go up there again.”

Kairi laughed. “Okay, okay. You win.” She disappeared from in front of the window. “I'll meet you at the tree house. I just have to tell my parents that I'm meeting up with you, okay?”

“Yeah. Thanks Kairi. This is so cool. I'll see ya in a couple minutes then.” Kairi could hear the excitement in his voice.

She smiled. “Sure. See you.” They both hung up their phones and Kairi replaced her book in her book-bag then hurried downstairs with her book-bag over her shoulder. “Mom, Dad, I'm going over to Sora's,” she called to her parents as she headed to the door. She heard them answer with a 'alright' and 'have fun', before she had closed the door behind her. In the backyard was a large tree next to the fence separating her and Sora's houses. There are a handful of planks attached to the tree leading up to a tree house. As Kairi climbed up she remembered doing this so many years ago. She smiled at the thought.

As she arrived inside the tree house, she was surprised to see that it was well kept; with a couple additions. Just then she heard a door open then close next door, and not even a minute later Sora climbed up a rope ladder and into the tree house. Sora grinned at her. He rubbed the back of his head and asked, “So, uh, what do you think?”

“I didn't know you still came up here.” She looked over at him and smiled. “It looks nice.” She sat down in one of the beanbags. Sora grinned and plopped down next to her in the other beanbag. “So... ready to get started?” Kairi asked him as she pulled her book out of her book-bag. Sora grimaced, then nodded and removed his book from his pocket.

The sun was showing its first signs of setting for the day. Roxas quietly closed the door behind him and started to his room. “And where have you been young man? I've been worried sick.” Roxas stopped and turned around to face his mom.

“You should have been back hours ago,” his father commented as he entered the room.

Roxas sighed. “I was just out with my skateboard. It's no big deal,” he muttered and started to head to his room.

“Roxas, you best apologize to your mother. She's worried enough about you starting at a new school, you don't need to scare her half-to-death by staying out as late as you did.”

“Fine. I'm sorry,” Roxas answered without turning around. “I'm going to my room to do my homework.” After saying this, he stormed off to his room and slammed the door closed.

Roxas dropped his skateboard on the floor and flopped down on his bed. “Why'd we have to move here,” he muttered as he shut his eyes. “He could've just driven the extra distance.”

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Roxas jerked awake at the sound of the alarm on his cell-phone. It had fallen out of his pants pocket and was now lying on the floor next to his bed. Quickly, he sat upright and got up off his bed to grab his phone. He flipped it open and turned off the alarm. “Aw man...” he muttered. 'I didn't want to fall asleep.' With a sigh, he grabbed his uniform and headed to his bathroom to take a quick shower before heading out to catch the bus.

In the bus, Roxas removed a couple sheets of paper and his biology textbook from his bag. Since he accidentally fell asleep the night before, he hadn't done any of his homework. Now he didn't have a choice but to do it on the way to school. He sighed. 'I gotta get as much done as possible.'

When Roxas got to school he dropped his bag off at his locker. He headed off to his first hour class, which just happened to be biology, with only the the things he needed for the class. Xemnas, their instructor, was waiting at the door to collect the assignments as they walked in the room. Roxas walked over and handed the two assignments he had finished to Xemnas, who asked, “And the third one?”

“Well, we were finishing with the move, so I couldn't get all the assignments done.”

“In that case, I suppose I could give another day to get it done,” he told him. Roxas was a little surprised by what he said, considering the fact that everyone had said he was mean. Not wanting to waste this opportunity, he decided to head into the class. He was stopped, however, when Xemnas stretched his arm across blocking off the entrance to the class. Startled, Roxas looked up at him. “I've changed my mind.”

“Huh?”

“I'm not going to give you extra time to finish your assignments,” Xemnas told him. Allowing Roxas access to the classroom again he said, “Now get in my class, before I change my mind again and not give you credit for any of your assignments.”

Not wanting to get in any more trouble, Roxas hurried into the class. He slumped in his seat. The day already sucked and it was only his first period.

“Daaamn. Now I remember why I like to sleep in.” Zoe sighed. “He just drones on and on...” Axel grinned. “Now that I think about it; you do that too.” Zoe elbowed him. “Ow.”

“I do not drone on,” she told him then stormed off. Axel rolled his eyes and started off to his next class as well.

'It's good to know that he's acting like himself again, even though I feel the blunt end of it. But even so, I wonder what was up yesterday. I've nagged him countless times about other things but for some reason he seriously took offense to it this time. I wonder why that..'  Zoe was drug out of her train of thought to someone saying her name.

“Zoe, are you paying attention?”

She suddenly felt a bit awkward. She had been paying attention but... “Yes.”

“In that case what is the answer to the question I just asked?”

Now she felt embarrassed. “Ah, what, was the question again?” Some of her classmates laughed.

Luxord sighed. “Just as I thought. Try to pay more attention if you don't mind.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now then, where was I...”

Namine held her books close to her as she made her way through the halls as she headed to her third class. Then just as she was entering her class she heard someone telling her 'hi'. Namine looked over. “Oh, hi Zoe.”

Zoe smiled and gave a wave before she hurried off. “I'll see you later at home ec.”

Namine gave a slight wave before she entered the classroom. She was the first one in the room, aside from the teacher of course. Though shortly after she sat down, people started to file in. “Look out! Walking dead coming through!” She looked up startled as Sora walked in followed closely by Riku and Kairi. Thawp! “Ow! What'cha do that for?” Riku unfolded his notebook and went to sit down. “I don't think...”

“You don't,” snickered Axel who was just sitting down.

“Wha-” Sora questioned confused. Most of the people in the room started laughing. Luxord looked on amused. Riku glanced at Namine before he sat down. 'He looks tired,' Namine realized.

The class laughed and joked around until the bell rang. “Alright everyone. I've corrected your quizzes from yesterday, so I'll be handing those back to you,” Luxord told his class as he picked up a stack of papers from his desk.

Zoe shut her locker with lunch in hand. She had packed a couple snack packs of yogurt, with spoons of course, and a couple sandwiches. Since it was a nice day, she went to sit outside on one of the benches. Then just as she was unpacking her lunch she was a bit startled as a hand, open palm up, was held out in front of her. She looked up at Axel. “Can I help you?”

“Well, yeah. I'm hungry.” She shook her head with a hint of a smile, and deposited a sandwich in his hand. He mumbled a 'thanks' as he leaned against the wall of the school.

They were quiet for a moment as Axel ate the sandwich. “So, how did you do on that math quiz from yesterday?” she asked as she removed the other sandwich.

Axel shrugged. “Better than I thought, I guess.” She looked up at him and was about to say something but stopped. He noticed her looking at him. “What?”

A bit startled she said, “Nothing,” then turned and looked elsewhere. She noticed Riku a distance away.

“Hey, I'm bailing,” Axel told her, then without waiting for an answer, walked away.

Zoe watched him walk off. He looked so deep in thought earlier. She wondered what was up. Was he thinking about yesterday? Suddenly, to her surprise, she heard music coming from the roof of the school. That must be why Riku was sitting against one of the trees furthest away from the rest of the students outside. The musician on the roof missed a couple notes in the song and stopped playing for a minute. “I can't believe I missed that.” She could faintly hear. He started playing again, but from the beginning of the song. Zoe smiled. He's improved a lot. She's heard him play in the band room multiple times, and he says he doesn't play at home. She plucked one of the yogurts from her lunch bag and, while listening to the music, continued eating her lunch.

“Heeey, Riku!” Riku sighed and turned around. “You're not gonna be on the roof?”

“No.”

“Oh. Well, you wanna join me an' Yuffie an' Wakka? We ordered a couple pizzas and they'll be here soon.”

Riku raised a brow. “You ordered pizza?”

The girl grinned. “Yeah! Well, Yuffie's the one who actually ordered it. It was cool. She ducked out of class to order and the teacher didn't even notice! But anyway, you wanna come? My brother'll be there so Kairi'll come too.”

With a shake of the head, Riku told her, “No thanks Selphie. I already have a lunch with me so...”

“But it's pizza!” Selphie interrupted.

“Yes. I'm aware. But I already have a lunch with me,” he told her as lifted his lunch bag.

“Oh. Well, you can come by and grab a piece later if you want. Alright?” Riku responded with an 'alright' and Selphie started off but stopped before she got too far away. She turned back to Riku who had started to walk off. “Hey, Riku!” Riku stopped and looked back. “Stop by sometime! We haven't seen you for awhile!” she called to him before she ran off.

Riku watched her ran off for a moment. He saw her run into someone, quickly apologize then ran off again. He shook his head and walked outside. He settled down in the shade of one of the trees a distance from the entrance of the school and unpacked his lunch. He had almost half of his lunch finished when he saw Axel walking in his direction. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets. Axel glanced over at him. “Yo,” he said as he removed one of his hands from it's pocket to give a slight wave as he walked past.

Something was up. Riku looked in the direction that Axel came from and saw Zoe sitting on a bench by the school entrance. He found it a bit odd that they, they being Axel and Zoe, were actually hanging around each other quite a bit. Last year they had absolutely nothing to do with each other. He was a mix between a class clown and trouble maker; and she didn't want anything to do with that type of person. That was last year. Now he wasn't really that much of a clown anymore and more negligent than a trouble maker. And Zoe, seems more tolerant towards his actions and she hangs out, to an extent, with him. Riku was a little curious what caused the change.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by music. Riku looked up to the roof of the school. Riku had actually planned on eating his lunch on the roof again but he was beaten to it... by the school's infamous musician. He didn't really talk to him but knew who he was. Usually he would spend every lunch period in the band room toying with his guitar. He was a junior, same as Sora, so they only shared one class together. Now what was his name? He should know this, Sora hung out with him sometimes... Oh, that's right. It was Demyx. Just then the music stopped. “I can't believe I missed that.” Riku looked back up to the roof. He was a bit amused when the song then started over from the beginning.

Namine knocked on the open councilors office door. The woman looked up. Her name was Aerith Fair; as her name plate on her desk said. “Um, I need to change some information for the administration. Do I do that here?”

“Oh no. You would actually need to go to the main office for that,” Aerith told her. She pushed her chair back and stood up. “Would you like me to pick up the papers you need so you can fill them out here?”

“Is that okay?”

Aerith smiled. “Yes, of course.” Namine nodded. “Alright, I will be right back. Please, have a seat.” Namine stepped into the office and sat down in the seat that Aerith had motioned towards.

Not too long later Aerith returned with a couple sheets of paper. “Here we go. I just need to know what you need to change.”

“... The address.”

“Oh that will be simple. You will need to print your name at the top, than fill out this part,” Aerith told her as she circled a section. She then laid the paper in front of Namine. “May I ask the reason for the change?” she asked as she sat down behind her desk.

“It's.. a personal matter,” Namine told her softly. Aerith looked up at Namine a little startled. Whatever the personal matter was, Namine was hurting because of it. There was silence as Namine filled out the section that was circled. “I'm finished filling it out. Should I just give it to you?”

“Yes, that will be fine.” Namine handed her the paper.

Namine got up from her seat. “Thank you for letting me fill it out here.”

“Your welcome.” Namine offered a smile and started for the door. “Oh, Namine?” Namine stopped in the doorway and turned to look at her. Aerith smiled. “If you ever feel the need to talk to someone, you are free to stop by anytime.” Namine nodded than walked out of the room. Aerith looked over the paper before she brought up Namine's information on her computer and changed the data.

Namine went to her locker and picked up the things she would need for art, before she headed to the classroom. The teacher looked startled when she walked in and sat down in her seat. “Is everything okay?” Namine nodded before she laid her head down in her arms on the desk. They were quiet for a couple minutes as the teacher wondered if she should question any further or try to comfort her. Namine took a deep breath and sat up straight. Opening her sketch book she flipped to the drawing she was working on earlier that day.

“Man, I am not looking forward to Accounting.”

Kairi looked at him. “Why's that?”

Sora swallowed the pizza he had in his mouth. “Our teacher is mean!” Kairi turned to Sora.

“No, kidding. We've got the worst luck.” Kairi laughed. It was always interesting to hang out with both Sora and Demyx.

Selphie laughed at her brother and his friend. “Ha ha. You have mean teachers. I don't have any.”

“What about Sir High-and-Mighty Xemnas?” asked Yuffie.

Selphie made a face. “Ugh. I forgot about him.”

“Ya, he's the worst,” Wakka agreed as he grabbed the last piece of supreme pizza.

“Hey, hey; that's the last piece!” Selphie cried out. “Now what'll Kairi have?”

Kairi laughed and waved her hands in front of her. “No, no I'm done. And besides, we only have ten more minutes before lunch is over. So I'm going to go get ready for government.”

Selphie and Yuffie looked at each other; then cried out at the same time, “Dig in!” and quickly grabbed for the last of the pepperoni and sausage pizza. “Yeah, I got it!” Yuffie exclaimed.

“Aw, no fair.”

Kairi giggled as she walked out of the cafeteria. She picked up her books at her locker and started to class. As she was walking to class the warning bell rang. Government was a difficult class; but that was mostly because of the way their teacher taught it. Kairi began to wonder if geography was as difficult as this one since it was taught by the same teacher. She was one of the first people in the classroom.

When Riku entered his fourth hour art class, he was surprised to see Namine was already there. The five minute warning bell had just rung when he walked inside. “Oh, there's the bell. I should get the material ready.” The teacher got up and put the chair back at the table it belonged. “Thank you for showing me the sketches you've done Namine. They're very good.”

Namine smiled. “Thank you Mrs. Porter.”

Mrs. Jane Porter turned around and started back to her desk. “Hello, Riku. How are you doing?”

Riku returned the smile she gave him. “I'm fine. Thanks.” He took his seat next to Namine. Their was silence for a moment between the two. “So, how was your lunch,” Riku asked feeling a little awkward by the question he asked her.

“It was good. I ate at the salad bar. ...” Namine looked over at him. “Did you eat on the roof again?”

Riku shook his head. “No, not today. I ate outside; someone else was up there.” He noticed their classmates start coming into the room.

“Do, you always eat by yourself?”

“Yeah.”

Namine was quiet for a moment as she looked down. “You.. don't like eating with other people?”

“Well...” Riku hesitated. He could feel, and also noticed, some students looking at him. “It's not that exactly. ...” The two were quiet after this and the bell rang signaling the start of class.

You're going to fail if you don't do your work. Axel blinked. The message sounded like something Zoe would tell him. But she's not in this class. Which must mean... Since your telling me this that means you not doing yours either Isa. Axel hit enter to send the message.