Today's Chapter is brought to you by Some Nights by fun.

Warnings: Zexion has an odd choice in breakfast. But other than that, nothing to be afraid of. Onward.

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He didn't bother to puzzle over the early-morning wake-up. It wasn't four in the morning, at the very least.

It was five-thirty.

Sliding his phone off his bedside table, he answered the called with a crackling growl, "If you're not dead in a ditch, you better hang up."

"..." With a sharp click, the line dropped.

Demyx decided to follow the example, letting his phone hit the floor and rolling back into bed.

"I thought we discussed your phone some time ago."

With an indignant sigh, he replied, "I had to replace my phone not long after that, you know."

"And yet, you don't appear to have learned."

He rolled his eyes. "Zexy, you are the biggest bitch when you wake up."

"I'm killing you for that in the morning." Zexion pressed a kiss to his lover's chest, adding, "You better beg for forgiveness."

"I love you."

"I love you too. But that's not enough to save you."

Defeated, Demyx answered, "I'll bring you breakfast in bed."

"What's for breakfast?"

For the love of Pete! More asleep now than he'd been all night, Demyx replied flippantly, "French toast and a fuck."

"...I'll kill you Monday."

It was turning into a late morning for Axel.

Meeting Roxas had played with his sleep schedule, right from the first day. Those six months had been dawn-breaking mornings, the months after that full of late, sleepless nights. Even now, when things had calmed down, he found himself keeping odd hours. But, lying next to his still-sleeping lover, watching him breathe and dream in the morning sunlight, Axel couldn't find a reason to complain about his internal clock waking him up; he didn't even bother trying to get back to sleep anymore.

Axel could lie there forever and watch Roxas sleep.

Since finding Axel, Roxas had started to come back to himself, lining up the pieces little by little, day by day. Sometimes he wasn't sure what to do with the memories (there were years of his life that made him red in the face), but he was glad to start finding them, and loved telling Axel about his past. And Axel loved hearing about it, loved finally knowing the choices Roxas had made to get him here, in their home, their bed, fast asleep, dreaming under his watchful eyes. He was no longer afraid of the blonde waking up and not knowing him.

Which hadn't been easy. Axel had found himself having panic attacks, much in the way Roxas had, for months after they'd come back together. Never quite as severe as Roxas, since he didn't have asthma to contend with, but always at the strangest moments. Shopping for groceries, wondering if he needed to buy so much, if he'd be eating alone or not. Waking up in the middle of the night because Roxas had left the bed, wondering if he was coming back. But in time, the panic had evaporated away. He felt as safe as Roxas did, asleep on his chest.

Then Roxas stretched, catching Axel off guard. Blue eyes blinked lazily open, mildly irritated, having become accustomed to sleeping in.

Irritation melted away when he found Axel's eyes, offering him a warm, sleepy smile.

"Good morning, Axel."

Unable to resist such a demand, Axel slid his fingers through Roxas's, kissing each fingertip. "Morning."

"You know," Teasingly now, "It's not polite to stare, even if I'm sleeping."

Even though Roxas had started to find his memories, he hadn't gone back to the Roxas Axel had met, which neither had really expected. He was meeting himself somewhere in the middle, the wisdom he'd gathered over the years meeting the naivety that forgetting had brought. The awkward, clumsiness was still there, which was usually a result of him over-thinking something he didn't need to think about in the first place; making coffee, parallel parking- seducing me, Axel thought with a chuckle.

"Can you blame me?"

With a small chuckle of his own, Roxas remarked, "Of course I can. I can do anything."

But sometimes, in the sarcastic way he almost teased Axel, in the half-shrug of nonchalance, Axel could almost see the kid he'd gone home with two years before.

Two years. Has it already been that long?

Roxas asked, turning over, still half-asleep, "What time is it?"

"Almost noon."

It had turned into a very late morning for Axel. Not that he was complaining.

Riku was surprised to find the door to Sora's new apartment unlocked- or he wanted to be. Honestly, he knew Sora couldn't be bothered to remember to lock the door. But all the lights were on, and he'd been hoping to surprise the brunette with breakfast. This was his routine, after all: bringing donuts and paopu juice for his best friend's birthday, only to find him half-in and half-out of his bed.

Today, however, he found Sora in the kitchen, an intense look of focus on his exhausted face as he poured over a book.

"Aren't you on break from the University?"

Nodding, Sora replied, "It's not a text book. Naminé lent it to me, as long as I don't make a mess or burn down the building."

"...It's a cook book, isn't it?" When Sora nodded again, Riku asked, "And what are you cooking?"

"Making Roxas a cake." He glanced shyly up, reminding him, "When we were younger, he always helped our mom make the cake. But since she and Dad are off on that cruise, I decided I wanted to make it."

Riku deposited his burden on the table before responding as kindly as he could, "Sora, you burn water."

"Well- Yeah, I know!" Turning back to his station, he explained, "But I won't this time! I mean, I've got the flour and sugar and coco and everything in the bowl, and I added the eggs and water and oil and now I'm going to take the mixer to it like Mom and Roxas always did. No boiling water, thus, no burnt water, right?"

And without waiting for Riku to answer, he took hold of his electric mixer, slammed it into the bowl of ingredients, and flipped the switch.

To its highest setting.

When Riku managed to unplug the appliance and the dust settled, Sora was laughing, practically in tears. His kitchen was covered in egg and chocolate, as was he and Riku.

"I must be the only twenty-four-year old in the entire world that can't bake a cake," He mused, "I can speak eight different languages, I have been in sixteen countries, but I can't bake a cake."

Nonchalantly, Riku shrugged, offering, "I'll make the cake. No worries."

"But I wanted to make it." Sora settled on the counter top, disregarding the mess entirely. "To show Roxas how much this means to me. I mean... we haven't celebrated together since we were fourteen."

Riku stood in front of him with a small smile as he said, "He'll be happy knowing you tried, Sora."

"How do you figure?" He asked wryly.

The sea-green eyes refused to meet his as Riku replied, "Because he loves you. Because love makes you unreasonably happy, even when things don't work out. You can't cook, and you don't really like to try, but you love Roxas, so you're going to try, even though it's unreasonable. And because he loves you, he'll be happy knowing he meant enough for you to try."

Before Sora quite knew what happened, Riku leaned over, brushing a splash of batter from Sora's cheek with his lips.

Then, finding the blue gems in the face he loved so much, Riku explained softly, "If Roxas loves you half as much as I do, he'd be happy with burnt toast for his birthday."

Sora didn't have a response for that; Riku hadn't expected one. He turned, running water over a towel and returning to start clearing the mess. He began with Sora's face, gently swiping over his eyes, his nose, the curve of his chin. Sora had grown a lot since they were kids, since Riku had first realized how much he meant to him. But he was still Sora.

And Riku still loved him. He was surprised when, as he finished his task, Sora took the towel from him and returned the favor. With the most intensely confused look on his face, he slowly and meticulously cleared the half-mixed cake batter from Riku's face. And his neck. And the hollow of his throat, and what was exposed of his chest below that.

He wasn't sure he wanted to kiss Riku; but he did.

And once he had, he wasn't sure he could stop.

And Riku sure as hell wasn't going to let him.

"Ready to go?"

When Roxas didn't answer him, Axel walked back into the kitchen to find him. The blonde was in the pantry, holding in his hands a bottle each of soy sauce, sesame seed oil, and whole sesame seeds, with the most amusing and confused look on his face, looking at each in turn, mumbling to himself. When he finally noticed Axel, he held them out for him to inspect.

"Just what the hell did I make with these?" He added, more to himself, "Am I missing something here? Soy sauce, sesame seeds and oil..."

Rolling his eyes with a grin, Axel replied, "Rice flour."

"...OH! Pa Jon." Thusly informed, Roxas threw the bottles back into the spice rack, answering Axel, "I think I'm forgetting something."

"Sora's present," Axel agreed, "You hid it under the sink when he was here last week."

Going to retrieve it, Roxas muttered wryly, "Amnesia may be gone, but now my memory is just shit."

"Worse things have happened," Axel remarked, and when Roxas turned to give him a sardonic stare, he pulled him close and added, "Well, did you forget we were late?"

Now Roxas rolled his eyes, smacking Axel's chest. "No, I didn't forget we were late, I just got distracted."

"Mhmm." Axel kissed him, sweetly, softly, slowly, continuing in a low voice, "You are a distraction, kid."

Which garnered a feral grin, a quick return kiss, and sarcastic, "We're late, remember!"

"What the hell is it?"

Sora was grinning sheepishly when he replied, "It's your, um... cake."

After a moment of further scrutiny, Roxas's eyes grew wide and he asked, "You made cake?"

"Well, I tried," Sora disagreed, gesturing back to the result and explaining, "But I guess I skipped over the baking soda, and then the oven spazzed out-"

Now thoroughly alarmed, Roxas asked, "Is the house okay?"

"Roxas, we're in the house." Laughing at his brother's panic, Sora replied, "Riku was here, he made sure I didn't burn down the house. And after I got this for cake, he made one we could actually eat."

Axel, having managed to stay silent through this exchange, interjected with a disbelieving grin, "I'm sure you could eat it, I just... Wow, Sora."

"He's a keeper, alright," Roxas shook his head, taunting his brother, "You better marry someone who loves to cook and do laundry."

Insulted, Sora retorted, "Okay, we were eight and that was one time with the washer, I learned my lesson!"

"One time is all it takes!"

"Yeah, just look at my brother, he's got a kid to prove it."

"I resent that, yo!"

Roxas laughed as Reno strolled up, his now-toddling daughter in tow, wife already escaping to the gathering in front of them. Watching Axel and Reno trade insults was nothing new, and when Corrine started adding her input (in Axel's favor), he turned back to continue his discussion of cake with Sora. His brother, however, was staring far-off at Riku, who'd just arrived with Naminé and cake.

Knowing that stare, Roxas mentioned, "You and Riku, huh?"

"Um... Almost," Sora sighed, giving his brother a flustered smile. "I'm still not sure, but I think so."

It's about time, Roxas thought to himself. "It's been almost ten years, Sora. I'm not saying time makes everything better, but I think by now you should know how much you mean to him."

"Yeah, I know, I just-" He paused, considering this before explaining, "I know how much I mean to him. I just don't know what that means, you know?"

With a small smile of his own, Roxas wrapped an arm around Sora's shoulders and answered, "All too well. Here's a hint: Riku knows. Let him show you."

"I'll think about it." Sora returned his stare to the cake, adding, "Please don't try to eat that."

Roxas laughed as he assured the brunette, "I think I'd break my teeth before I got close."

When Naminé made her way over to them, and the cake was explained to her, all she could manage was, "I think it's sweet."

Shaking his head, Sora disagreed, "I'm pretty sure there isn't enough chocolate in the world to make that brick sweet, Naminé."

"In the whole universe, maybe," Roxas added, shoving his brother playfully.

Before he could retort, he heard Kairi calling him from the back yard, and left the pair of blondes to their own devices.

Naminé hugged him before he went, then Roxas as she said, "Happy Birthday, Roxas."

"Thanks," He grinned, leading her in and asking, "So how's life at the University?"

At the University, where Naminé had started teaching art composition (at Zexion's referral). She rolled her eyes and replied, "All I hear is my talents have been wasted until now."

"You wasted them on us, that's for sure," This with another laugh.

By then, Axel had returned to Roxas, making sure to hug Naminé and ask about one of her more psychotic students (named Rikku). When she refused to answer, casting a patient-but-tried look in the older woman's direction, Axel just laughed. He was standing behind Roxas, fingers looped lazily into his front pockets, holding him close. Roxas loved it.

"Still thinking about teaching elementary school art?"

She smiled at the idea and agreed, "I'm told I'd waste my talent there, too, but I feel like the people taking my class are trying to turn it into a science. They're butchering my life."

"Then here's to the eight-year olds!" Axel declared, adding, "Even though they'll never fully appreciate what you do, they'll love you for it!"

Naminé shook her head with a grin, seeing the completely content stare in Roxas eyes as Axel pulled him closer, pressing kisses to his neck. They always go for the crazy ones.

It was amazing how many people could fit into Sora and Roxas's childhood home.

Roxas and Sora, obviously, given that the gathering was for their birthday. Naminé, Kairi and Olette, managing the kitchen (they'd stopped trusting most of the guys there); Rikku was there as well, but she was more interested in mixing drinks in all sorts of interesting ways. Having delivered the cake, Riku had retreated the the living room, watching Sora from time to time, but never quite getting caught (well, not by Sora). Pence and Hayner were trying to make the grill work, aided by Axel and Reno.

Miraculously, Demyx had managed to convince Zexion to make an appearance. The smaller spent most of his time sitting quietly in the backyard, settled on a chair, watching as Demyx worried over Axel's shoulder about his proximity to the flames. His presence seemed to entrance Corrine; she peeked at him from around corners and tables, not sure if she was brave enough to approach. He would notice once in a while, turning to look at her, and she'd scurry away in the clumsy way small children do.

After a few rounds of this, however, she made up her mind, and walked over to him, stretching her arms up at his. Roxas, who'd been watching the two of them in mild interest, was surprised when Zexion reached down and pulled her into his lap, the two of them sitting just as quietly as he had been before, watching the bustle of the groups.

Scattered throughout the rest of the space were more people than Roxas knew what to do with. People he hadn't seen since before he'd stopped connecting, people he'd grown up with and away from. People he never knew missed him but had started to come out of the woodwork, proving that he'd never been forgotten.

And maybe that was what was most amazing to Roxas: the fact that he could look around and know every face there.

Feeling arms wrapping around his waist, though, he knew there was one face he would always know.

"Kinda an odd group, aren't we?" Axel asked softly in his ear.

With a warm, quiet laugh, Roxas agreed, "Well, when you take into account the bartender, the librarian, the stripper and his wife, it gets pretty odd. And that's just your part."

"Not anymore," Axel murmured, pressing his lips to Roxas's temple. "In case you haven't noticed, they're here for your birthday. They're your part now."

Roxas shrugged, turning around to drape his arms around Axel's neck as he asked, "So what'd you get me?"

"I've actually got a question for you," Axel answered, in what might have been a nervous voice. When Roxas just stared at him, waiting patiently, he recanted, "It can wait. I don't want to distract you."

A part of Roxas wanted to press the issue, but he didn't. Because he knew Axel would ask when he was ready to know.

Imagine, if you will, Zexion in a lawn chair with a little girl asleep in his lap. Silly, right?

Demyx thought so as he approached his lover, whose hand was absentmindedly playing with the coppery curls that hung loosely on Corrine's head as she slept. The blonde just took a seat in the grass beside them, eyes locking with the slate-colored ones opposite. He reached for the unoccupied hand, interlacing fingers and squeezing tenderly.

Zexion smiled and remarked, in his not-quite-sarcastic voice, "I think she's got the right idea. Crowds are exhausting."

"I agree. And your lap is the best place for a nap," Demyx replied lightly, adding, "I'm kind of surprised, I didn't think kids like the strong, silent type."

Nodding, mulling this over, Zexion admitted with a thoughtful tone, "This isn't unusual for me, actually. Not that I'm around kids that much, but something about me just fascinates them."

"Well, have you..." Clearing his throat, collecting his nerves, Demyx continued, "Have you ever thought about... maybe having some of your own, someday?"

He watched the red creep up Zexion's neck as he was suddenly struck mute. Not that Demyx blamed him; that was a big question to be asking so flippantly. But it was one Demyx had been wanting to ask for a while. He knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Zexion, and was pretty sure the other felt the same way. And such a decision would be a big part of their life together.

"I don't-" Which made Demyx's heart skip a beat, until Zexion amended, "Is that what you want?"

Wrapping both hands around Zexion's and pressing them against his forehead, as if bowed in prayer, Demyx replied, "I want a family, Zex. Right now, I have that with you, and if it stays just you and me, I'll never complain. I'm just-" He laughed, breathily, continuing, "I don't want you to feel like you can't tell me what you want. I want what you want."

He felt Zexion lean over to rest his head on Demyx's. In a voice with the authority he reserved for students, and the tenderness that only Demyx ever heard, he demanded, "But what do you want?"

"I..." For a moment, he didn't dare answer. In something like a sigh, he managed to answer, "I think I want a little girl of our own."

Silence. Shaky breaths. Then Zexion replied, barely above a whisper, "Me too."

"Leaving already?"

Shit. Riku replied over his shoulder, trying for the unaffected tone he could usually reach, "Yeah, I think it's about time to head out. I'll see you guys tomorrow anyway, right?"

"Well, yeah, I doubt we're going anywhere," Axel replied, glancing back into the yard, where Sora and Roxas were moving furniture to better suit their desires. Then he returned to Riku, asking, "I just thought you'd at least say goodbye to Sora before sneaking out."

Feeling the guilt that point was meant to inflict, Riku agreed, "I was going to, I just... Didn't want to make him uncomfortable, I guess."

Axel considered this briefly, musing, "Oh. You actually told him, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Riku answered. "Yeah, I... I told him. And he seemed okay with it, but then he's been avoiding me all night, so I want to give him some space."

Which the redhead understood, more than he wanted to. But he just nodded, adding, "He might not need space, kid."

"Heh. Maybe you're right." Clearing his throat, turning to leave again, he mused, "Maybe I need the space."

So he walked away from Axel. When Axel walked back outside, the brothers turned to him; Roxas knew something was wrong, and Sora, taking a quick glance around the yard, knew what was missing. The brunette found him unlocking his car, and grabbed his free hand firmly. He hadn't ever admitted it, not even to Roxas, but the way Riku turned to look at him made his knees weak.

Hell, Riku made him weak.

"You're leaving."

Nodding, Riku tried to explain, "I didn't want to distract you."

"Riku, I-" Swallowing, trying to steady his voice, Sora attempted again, "I don't want you to leave."

The older man closed his vehicle's door, asking, "You don't?"

"Of course not," Sora replied with an almost hysterical laugh before he continued, "Why would I want you to leave?"

Riku answered almost automatically, "Because I confuse you. Because you don't know how to trust me. Because you don't want to trust me. Because I don't deserve you."

You're ridiculous. Shaking his head, Sora could only repeat, "I don't want you to leave."

"Do I scare you, Sora?" When he didn't answer, Riku asked of him further, "Have I been wrong all these years? Did you forgive me a long time ago, and just gave up trusting me?"

Sora felt his eyes beginning to sting, and willed himself to not cry; he hated crying, especially in front of Riku. Riku never cried. "I am scared, Riku, but not of you. Never of you. Of losing you. I'm so sick of losing the people I love, and now-" He was crying now, of course, and rubbed at his eyes in frustration, continuing, "Just when I stop losing Roxas, I start losing you. And I'm so scared."

Gentle hands pulled his away from his face; Riku looked down at him, an exasperated smile tugging at his lips as he chided, "You cry too much... I make you cry too much."

"Stay with me," Sora murmured softly, and when the other didn't respond, he sealed their lips together, ready to burst back into tears when Riku pressed against him tenderly.

"Stay with me. Please."

As the hour grew later and later, the locals (like Hayner, Olette, Pence and Kairi) returned to their homes. Reno, Rikku and Corrine had left when it had started to get dark, as Corrine hadn't appreciated her wake-up, a phrase which here means "the loud crash of Sora and Hayner smacking into a table". Those who'd traveled a long distance like Roxas and Axel and Demyx and Zexion had opted to wait until morning, a phrase which here means "Axel was no longer able to walk a straight line and Demyx wanted to make fun of him".

Roxas thought that Riku had announced his departure at one point, but then he didn't leave. When Roxas saw him sitting next to Sora, watched the way he shyly slipped his hand below the brunette's, he couldn't help but think that was part, if not the entirety, of the reason. Seeing Sora's smile at the touch made him think that, maybe, he was ready to admit that he'd loved Riku the whole time.

Speaking of which. "Axel?"

"Hmm?" The redhead asked, laying in the grass next to him.

Which wasn't a bad place to be. Pretty much all the remaining guests were lounging in the backyard, some in the grass, some on the furniture (Hell, Sora had manhandled the couch onto the patio so he could be outside). Demyx had crawled into Zexion's chair, holding the smaller against his chest, talking softly about something that was written all over Zexion's face.

Roxas shook his distractions clear, reminding, "You had a question."

"Oh, right." Axel pulled himself up, sitting in front of Roxas with a look of forced focus. "Today, Roxas, is your birthday."

Laughing, Roxas replied, "Yes, I know."

"Don't laugh, that wasn't the point. Or, it was, but I- Just stop laughing!" Because Roxas laughing was making Axel laugh, and he struggled to continue, "Two years ago today, it was also your birthday. But, more importantly, two years ago today, I met you in a bar called Lufaine. It was your birthday, and you were all by yourself."

Before he could follow through, Roxas interrupted, "You're not drunk, are you?"

"Nah, I only had a few shots, and that was WAY earlier, and Rikku did NOT mix them," Axel assured him, explaining when he realized he was rocking back and forth, "This is not from drinking. This is from the beginning of the extremely premature hangover, because I've become a lightweight. Being with you has pretty much wiped out my alcohol tolerance."

He managed to sober himself as he added, "I know what I'm saying, Rox, I wanted to ask last year, I just... wasn't sure it was the right time. Because I was afraid you wouldn't have an answer."

Which Roxas understood, and staring into Axel's eyes, Roxas believed him.

"Your question?"

So Axel finally asked, "Why were you in a bar, alone, on your birthday?"

Roxas took a deep, almost shaky breath, and replied, "Sora had called, earlier that week, to ask if I was going to see Mom and Dad. I told him I'd think about it, but I... for the week before that, and until that night, I'd been having these weird dreams. And not like my usual weird dreams, I'm talking Alice in Wonderland drunk and high and upside down."

"That's a fairly descriptive explanation," Axel mused.

With a soft chuckle, Roxas conceded, "That's what it felt like. Not that dreams ever make sense, but those were... Even in the dream, I knew something was wrong. But that night, before I met you, that night I dreamed about the hospital and how I wasn't supposed to exist. Only the people I black were people I knew. Mom and Dad, Naminé, Leon, old doctors and teachers. And front and center was Sora."

"Needless to say," He added after a moment, "I wasn't quite sure I wanted to be around them that day. So I was alone."

And for a moment, Roxas looked alone again. Small and lost and scared. Axel hated seeing him that way.

But then it was gone, and with a smile, the blonde moved forward, straddling Axel's hips and murmuring, "But you found me, so I wasn't alone."

"Mhmm." Axel kissed him, sweetly, softly, slowly; in all his life, he'd never wanted to hold onto a moment the way he wanted to cling to this one.

Just sitting in the grass, Roxas's hands against the back of his neck, arms wrapped around his waist. Just staring straight into the blue eyes, falling further and further into them.

"I'll never leave you alone again, Rox."

Trembling, Roxas replied, "I wouldn't want it any other way."

Another kiss before Axel added, as he often did now, "I love you, Roxas. I love you."

"Mhmm," Came the almost teasing recourse, before he answered in kind, "I love you, Axel."

And THAT, my good people, is the real and final end. Gosh. TWO. MOTHER. LOVING. YEARS. Gracious.

I'd like to thank everyone who's ever reviewed, and especially those who became regulars. The entire point of is to build a community of readers and writers, and you guys have helped to do that. In writing this story, I've made connections with people all over the world, near and far. I gained a pen pal, became a beta-reader- life is good.

On that point, I'd like to make a note here: Vincent Corazza, the English voice actor for Zexion, can perfectly replicate Zexy's expression; he has also lent his voice to Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon. If that means nothing to you, you have no childhood and I'm sorry. Google it. Please. As part of the community, I'd like to introduce you to it.

In related news, in a lot of your Huzzah-Endings-Reviews (thanks again, by the way), there was well-wishing for my future works, which sprung up a new issue: I had NO IDEA what to do after finishing STCT. Thankfully, that has taken care of itself, and the next story has already BEGUN! Ahaha! Ahaha haha haha! Anyway. It's titled Cavalcade, should you want to read it. And I hope you want to.

Be safe. See ya around!