Nobody's Fool

Fantacination

Trick IX

Fools

Lord, what fools these mortals be.

–William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

---------------------------

"I didn't say anything because I thought you were fucking serious about Riku!"

"So what changed?" Axel asked with a raised eyebrow.

Roxas ignored him, plowing on, heady with the rush of freedom and the thought that holy shit he really was going to do this, sign his deathwish on the dotted line and con-fucking-fess.

"I wasn't about to throw confetti in the air and tell you I fell in love with him!"

Axel's entire body language seemed to tense, and there was a hard set to his jaw as he tilted his head sideways at Roxas. "You fell in love with him? You, Roxas, Ice Prince? Same guy who couldn't stand the thought of a couple of days talking to him?" He asked, one of his hands curled into a tight fist.

"You fell in love with Riku?" Axel's voice dropped dangerously low.

"Yeah," Roxas breathed, hands clenched into fists and stance wary, an eye to Axel's torso to predict any attack. He tilted his head up, meeting his best friend's brilliant green eyes.

"How many damn times do you want me to say it?"

"Enough to make sure." Axel swung.

-------------

The punch connected solidly with Roxas' shoulder.

Roxas braced himself for the force behind Axel's fist, tensing his shoulder to protect the flesh and acutely aware of how skinny his shoulder actually was. Axel had more practical fighting experience. It wouldn't surprise him if he did break his arm like the twig it was.

Except, he didn't.

In fact, the punch felt barely bruising. Solid enough to be there without actually intending to hurt… Roxas looked up, feeling his confusion mount to alarming levels at Axel's ear-to-ear grin, his teeth catching a faint glimmer of firelight.

Swinging a companionable arm around the smaller boy's shoulders, Axel let out a full, throaty laugh. "Congratulations, Roxas. Took you long enough."

"…What?" The fuck. Roxas gaped, his shoulder relaxing slightly in shock. He brought his guard back up. He knew Axel well enough to expect him to be just this side of not-quite-fair to use a sneak attack.

"You heard me, go get him," Axel rolled bright green eyes, "I've been working on this little plan too long to let you go braindead on me now."

"You what?" Roxas had a feeling he was being redundant. But that small thought was safely tucked away under the confused shock that had blanketed him, as complete and implacable as a glacier.

Some of Axel's words finally filtered through to Roxas' brain. "You planned this?"

Feigning a bored look, Axel examined his nails- glossy and black. "Well, see, your twin and I had a little chat, way back when- his best friend was having a little problem, my best friend was being an ice princess. He said something a little interesting and I decided that it was worth a look-and-see, yanno~?"

Roxas felt his stomach drop. "You… you've been manipulating me?" Plotting and scheming and playing him like a fool. "All of that was just some fucked up interesting game to you?"

Suddenly he thought back to all the little things that hadn't added up- the things he'd ignored or put down as normal Axel caprice. Why Axel had always seemed a little late, a little too pushy, a little less than deeply involved despite passionate claims to the contrary. Why Axel, of all people, had even asked for help with a date in the first place!

"You were lying," Roxas whispered, a little disbelieving, "All of the things you said were just lies." His fists clenched tightly. And I believed you. In you.

Axel's phone started to blare out a tune from a cheesy vintage strip club. "Now that's just unfair, Rocks-ass. Riku's a nice piece of work and I wasn't lying about wanting to find someone steady." He flipped the phone open and pressed a few buttons, smirking as the voicemail started to play and a very familiar deep voice, edged with an electronic static, started to rant. Something about not being a 'Manho' and returning something to the student council office.

Just hearing the student president's voice reminded him of the scent of roses that always clung to his form, if you got close enough, like an afterthought. (That the president worked in the college botanical garden's prized roses was common knowledge enough that nobody ever commented.)… Like Axel's scarf, that one time. And the last piece of the puzzle fell neatly into place.

"I just never explicitly said Riku and that were one and the same. You really need to get over that gullible streak," the redhead noted cheerfully.

"Maybe I just need to get a new best friend."

He couldn't believe this. Axel had the gall to treat this whole thing like a prank, like he'd borrowed something without asking or put something slimy in Roxas' bed. He'd been manipulating him. He had played him for a fool, lied by omission, and had otherwise turned his life upside down, wreaking havoc on Roxas' rusty, disused feelings, just for an underhanded idea to get him… hell, Roxas didn't even know what Axel could possibly have gotten in exchange for this little matchmaking plan. Except the entertainment value. Axel had always felt 'fun' more than worth the effort.

Roxas didn't appreciate being tricked. He didn't appreciate that he'd been set up like a puppet or that everything he'd ever felt these past few weeks had been nothing more than the direct results of a master puppeteer.

"You really have no idea…you fucking bastard, I can't believe you'd do something like this! That you'd do it to me." Intense anger bubbled hotly under the surface of his skin, overturning all pretense of rationality

Roxas threw a punch at Axel's face.

The lean teen caught his wrist, eyes sharply wary. "Look, Rox-"

Undeterred, Roxas stepped in and aimed an enraged kick at Axel's side, connecting squarely. Axel bent, holding his ribs. Roxas landed another two swift jabs against Axel's shoulder, barely looking at him anymore. "We're best friends, you idiot, you fucking moron, what made you think you could just-?!"

"Hey, what's all this about?" A large university student, called out, breaking the crest of Roxas' rage.

Shoulders still trembling with fury, Roxas shoved Axel away violently. The redhead fell back, landing with a hand and knee on the sand. "You just never know when to stop, do you?"

Turning heel, Roxas stalked away, not stopping until he was sure he was far away to not run back and kill his former best friend.

---

It was Pence who eventually caught his attention, near the food tables.

"Hey! Hey, Roxas!"

Reluctantly, the blonde acknowledged the other boy with a nod. At least Hayner wasn't with him. He really wasn't up to facing Hayner or anyone volatile right now.

"Donut?" Pence was snacking on crescent-shaped fried dough with red icing and a chocolate center. He vaguely remembered Pence exclaiming rapturously over this particular new flavor a few weeks back- what had he called it again? Ah. Vincent. Pence had probably been eating Vincents since the party began.

"No," Roxas declined shortly, waving away the Vincent shoved into his face. Pence shrugged. His breath, Roxas realized, smelled a lot like cheap beer laced with punch. That was rare. Pence usually thought getting drunk wasn't worth throwing up. (Even if they weren't technically a little underaged.) He usually noticed when the punch had been spiked.

"You sure? It's really goo-od."

"I don't want any stupid donuts." Roxas looked around at the table, spying a bucket half full of ice melt and beer cans. The college students must have brought them. Perfect.

"How can you say that? Donuts are… are the last preserve of sin and carnal delight!"

Roxas snorted and reached for a can of beer, quickly opening it and downing the contents in one go before slamming the empty can back into the table. The alcohol burned a little, this much at once, and his eyes started to water reflexively as he gasped for breath. Stupid fucking Axel. This was his fault, too. Reckless, he reached for another can, popping the lid in record time and downing half of the amber liquid.

"Hey, are you okay? You don't drink…" Pence stared at him, Vincent cream still stuck to his fingers.

Roxas glared.

Relenting, Pence went back to watching the crowd around them while eating. Clearly, Pence thought if Roxas wanted to be moody, he could do it while getting drunk by himself.

There was a lot to watch. A lot of the dancers were wearing glowsticks, the multi-colored glow like frenzied fairy lights on the semi-dark beach. Glancing up, Roxas saw an overcast sky. The wind from the sea was brisk and cold. Rain was likely to fall, with conditions like that. Stupid beach party organizers. He sipped a little more slowly from his can. At least rain would give him an excuse to go home early.

Not that I have anything to stay for.

The music turned abruptly slow as Roxas was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol binge hit him, the lightheaded buzz filling his body. He couldn't see the band from here. He had no idea whether the Black Mages had come yet or if Demyx's band was still holding up. But several people stopped dancing, drifting over to the tables to get water to drink or just take a break.

He finished his can and reached for another, tossing the empty can in the general direction of a woven basket that served as a trash bin. It bounced back, landing somewhere on the sand near his feet.

Roxas looked up, annoyed.

Riku was leaning against the buffet table, right in the trajectory of Roxas' empty can. The hood of a long black denim vest was slung back from his hair. He had the usual loose pants and a white tank top on beneath it. From the way he looked, it didn't seem like he'd been dancing. He wasn't quite meeting Roxas' eyes.

Beside him and a few feet away, Sora and Kairi, (casual in a tank and jeans that matched Sora's shirt and cargo pants), were drinking from paper cups full of water from the huge water jug someone had brought.

"Roxas!" They both waved.

Mutely, Roxas stared at the three of them. Then, he nodded curtly towards his brother and Kairi before turning his head and ignoring the third member of the trio. That was what Riku wanted, wasn't it? He took a swig from his new can. The taste was even more bitter than he expected.

Seeing Riku drove a spike of ice straight into Roxas' gut. Riku reminded him of everything that had just happened- of the heart he'd sealed over with rage. Where did he stand, now? This mess that Axel had orchestrated. Did that mean what had happened... what he'd felt, wasn't real?

Shit. He couldn't do this. Roxas turned heel and started walking away.

Riku kept up.

"Roxas?" That was Sora, confused.

"About… a while ago," Riku began. His fists were shoved into the pockets of his pants.

Roxas flinched. It was the only sign that he'd acknowledged his presence at all.

"I… I heard, okay? When you and Axel were-"

Oh that was too fucking much. "Shut up! What fucking right do you have to talk to me about Axel? What do you damn care about anything I said?"

Running feet and Sora, obviously catching on, broke in, "is this about what Axel's been doing? Listen; don't be too hard on him, okay? He was only trying to help out-"

Roxas threw his nearly full can of beer down. It spilled, staining the sand darker in a little irregularly shaped pool by his feet. "'Don't be too hard on him'? What would any of you know about what he's done?"

"He told me, around three weeks back," Riku said quietly.

Roxas stopped. Then, he turned on them all, mind spinning.

He…what?

"He told me around then, too." Sora was staring at his rubber shoes, seemingly intent on the patterns on his shoelaces. "I know you hate it, Roxas, but-"

He let out a short chuckling breath "Is that it, then? So everyone knew?" his voice trembled slightly as he processed the fact that Riku had known and he had played along and- "Everyone had a happy fucking time with messing up my life? Screw you. Just fuck all of you."

"Don't," Riku began, reaching out.

Jerking his arm away, Roxas narrowed his eyes. "Get a fucking new trick, why don't you?"

Roxas kicked him. Hard enough to bruise, if he were lucky.

Abruptly turning away, Roxas started to run. He wasn't about to stay on the same beach as them anymore.

---

Turning in this road and following that side street, Roxas could not bring himself to care where he was going, so long as it was away; wouldn't stop running so long as he could smell the taint of sea and booze and hear the sound of the beach concert's stereo system echoing the pounding in his blood.

He got all the way to a convenience store before he stopped and realized that he felt incredibly stupid, running pell-mell in an empty midnight street like he was a six and nightmare ghouls and skeletons were breathing down his neck. He hadn't even gotten that far. The brightly lit Moogling Shop wasn't that far from the beach. It wasn't an easy walk but Roxas supposed that didn't matter if you were just dropping by for supplies before driving on to the beach.

Slumping against the brick façade, his knees giving out, Roxas tried to catch his breath.

A tabby kitten with luminous green eyes yowled at him from behind a dumpster. It had been sleeping on a tatty red scarf and very obviously minded Roxas being so close by.

"You'd be too pissed off to care, too," Roxas muttered.

Maybe it was just his state of mind, but everyone seemed to be conspiring to remind him of the huge cock up today. Axel was… god, Axel was so dead. He repeated it firmly in his mind. Bastard deserved it. He had set him up, left him to suffer whatever fate would hand him, blatantly disregarding any emotional trauma Roxas would have to deal with. Roxas had always been careful, in the past, to be wary around the redhead, but to be betrayed like this after all that happened… the whiplash was unbelievable. There was nothing that Roxas hated more than having the truth kept from him; to be kept in the dark, unknowing. His temper boiled just thinking of all that Axel had kept from him again.

"…And what were you going to do with butter at a party, anyway?" It took a while before he registered the voice belonged to a guy and his friend getting out of the store.

"I don't know, it just seemed like a good idea at the time!"

"You…"

Plastic bags full of alcohol and chips bulged at the duo's sides. Roxas scowled, unpleasantly reminded of slender white hands gripping the same kind of bags tightly, pressed up against a wall with a certain redhead sucking his face off.

He'd been trying not to think about that. About him.

Riku had… Riku was a fucking jerk. Always had been. He'd known. He'd known all along and he'd been doing all that- baiting, stringing, probably making up the entire sobstory he'd fed Roxas and he'd swallowed it. Riku must have been faking all this time and that just made him twice the idiot. Played. He'd just pretended to be angry and Roxas had cared.

He'd…fuck, he'd actually broken his heart.

And wasn't that the most mortifying thing of all.

Roxas tucked his arms around himself and clenched his jaw, jerking his chin up and banging his head against the wall savagely. The pain was clearing. Anything was better than this sordid mess.

Just then, his left side pocket buzzed quietly, a threadbare tremor in the baggy confines of his pants. Roxas reached for it automatically, hand slipping into the pocket and flipping the mobile phone open without registering he'd done so.

[7 New Messages]

[6 Missed Calls ]

He stared at it blankly and wondered if his mother had gotten a random panic attack. But no, that wasn't like his mother at all. A few button clicks revealed that the messages were from Sora, Olette, and Kairi.

Sora had sent four, all very short, probably sent as soon as he thought of them.

[Rox, r u ok?? D:]

[Im rly rly SORRY.]

[Pls dont b mad]

[We wantd 2 help u.]

You can keep it. Roxas shook his head. How Sora had even gotten involved in this mess was still a mystery. Besides putting ideas in Axel's twisty mind.

Olette had sent two. That was a surprise in itself. He hadn't noticed Olette. But by then, a certain someone had already filled up his entire range of vision.

[Roxas, where are you? Sora told us some stuff…is it true?]

Yeah, I'm trying to decide if Axel needs to die by stab or cold water.

[You just took off… I think Riku-]

Roxas deleted the message hastily, not bothering to read the rest.

Kairi had sent one, very brief line: [Please believe.]

Snapping the phone closed, Roxas shoved it back into his pocket.

The low seething burn of his anger was back, warming his skin. He picked himself up, rocking a bit on his feet from the momentum and ignoring the low hiss of the tabby cat that had been grooming itself.

Believe who?

He savagely blocked the image of Riku's face, mouth opening to deliver some sort of defense- just what Riku could have said in the face of everything was a mystery.

"Roxas!"

He didn't turn to look around. He didn't need to. He had known that voice for years, heard it far more than he'd like in the past few months, and he never wanted to hear it again until the universe was blanketed in darkness. His first instinct was to fight. But the chances of that ending well were slim. Either Riku would use his height and weight to beat him and he'd be caught- or he could lose him in the twisty, inky streets at night.

So he placed one foot firmly on the concrete and pushed off, running once more.

"Wait! Dammit, Roxas, I wasn't-"

Whatever Riku thought he wasn't doing was cut off by Roxas' swerve into a small alley that he knew led to a network of other narrow streets just like it. Riku had longer legs, but Roxas knew every inch of the town, traversed on foot and skateboard with his messenger bag wind-tossed and streaming behind him.

Just as he sidestepped a prowling cat, it started to rain. Hard. Torrents of icy water broke over Roxas' head as his shoes thumped wetly against the ground, almost slipping and just barely getting purchase. It didn't matter though. The rain had to be tougher for Riku, ill suited as he already was to a night-time chase through the city. Roxas tugged his hood up over his head, knowing that the cloth would be soaked in a matter of seconds if it wasn't yet and not caring.

After that it was a maze, twist and turn and lost, somehow ending up stumbling blindly onto a familiar path.

It took a while and tripping over a stubborn toadstool before he recognized it was the one that led to his favorite hiding place.

Roxas slowed down abruptly, fully realizing where he was. He was pretty sure he'd lost Riku when he turned into Travica Way. He had probably given up and gone back to the party like a good school heartthrob. He had a distinct mental image of Riku seated and drying at a fire while complaining about the crazy brother his best friend had, adoring girls settled around him. Roxas brushed the thought away furiously.

He stopped right at the edge of the lake, watching the perfect stillness of the grove and gasping for breath. Even in the rain and at night, it was peaceful, like a worldlet of it's own, lit by some sort of luminescent moss clinging to the bark of the taller trees. The rain, torrential outside, filtered in through the foliage as a shower, dropping into the lake almost gently. He couldn't see any of the fish, in this light and the trees were indistinct beyond the weak glow of the moss.

There were no stars.

Of course. It was raining.

Still, Roxas kicked off his shoes, suddenly, his rubber shoes hitting pebbled stone with a distinct and heavy thud. He had not bothered with socks earlier that night, knowing sand had ways of getting into the most infernal places with or without them. Without even thinking to roll up his pants, Roxas walked out into the lake, head craned upwards, looking for a glimmer, a hint of the sky. The lake was the most unguarded part of the grove, large patches of it open to the heavens. It wasn't until he found one patch; wasn't until he was staring up at the pale moon, that it occurred to him that it hadn't been the foliage's work at all, but the rain itself that had gentled. Just a little. Enough to see…

No stars, but the moon.

Roxas reached up, framing the moon between the split fingers of his open hand, like he wanted to push it away, catch it, touch it. A beat. His hand dropped down and he was just staring again, the rain tapping down on his face, sliding down to the corners of his eyes and following the cooling trail down his cheeks.

He felt ridiculously alone. Like the world was spinning on and on without him and he was simply standing captured in a moment in time, the last being on earth.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, arms clasped loosely around himself, wet fingers clinging to wet sleeves. It was just the rain falling steadily on him and the quiet darkness.

The water stirred, a splash of movement and rippling liquid.

At first, Roxas thought of the fish, the occasional small scaled body darting away from his encroaching legs foraying into the lake, then he realized it was far too large for that.

Rain-slicked, cold hands wrapped around his shoulders and Roxas flinched.

"Gotcha," Riku said lightly from behind him.

It wasn't fair. This had been his spot, his secret hideaway, his place. And like so many other things it had been turned on its head for Riku.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Roxas asked bluntly. They were knee-deep in water in a forested grove, the rain pouring down over them both- two shadowed figures in a moon-painted lake. His hair and clothes had long been plastered to his skin; his hands cold and his body chilled after the run to get here.

"Why did you run after me? Why did you look?" Roxas demanded. "You could've gone back. You could've waited after school on Monday for whatever the hell you think you need to say."

A small intake of breath. Then, a crooked grin. "Guess it's just not my style."

Roxas jammed his elbow back, surprised when Riku neither made a move to guard against it or dodge it. Riku grunted, but didn't let go.

"I wasn't faking. I didn't fake any of it," Riku said fiercely.

"You… you really expect me to believe that?" Rolling his shoulders forcefully, Roxas tried to get Riku to let go, only succeeding in getting both of them wetter.

If anything, Riku only tightened his grip, holding grimly onto Roxas like he was afraid he'd bolt again, like he'd disappear in front of his eyes, melting into memory.

"What would it take for you to believe me?"

"Believe what of you? Your story? Your plan? Your fucking huge ego?"

"That I like you, you stubborn, dense, grumpy idiot."

"That you- that you what? You've got to be kidding me!" Roxas squirmed in Riku's grip, turning around so he could tell Riku exactly what he thought of that little pronouncement.

But Riku just yanked him forward and kissed him.

Stunned, Roxas could only reach up and clench his hands in Riku's wet shirt, blunt fingertips scraping against Riku's chest. Riku gasped and Roxas could feel it, right in his mouth, echoing in his dazed mind.

Riku's kiss was rough and demanding, mouth pressing into his insistently, a perfectly executed stop thrust.

Thoughtlessly, his mouth fell softly open, pliant against Riku's determined own. He couldn't think or breathe, a delicious warmth started pooling inside him. He was hyperaware of the way Riku's mouth was warm and wet and breathing into him, his tongue swiftly tracing his bottom lip, how the ends of his rain-slicked hair tickled his neck, and the way his body felt solid, pulled flush against him.

Acting on instinct, Roxas pressed even closer, hooking a hand behind Riku's neck and roughly yanking him down for another kiss. He was clumsier at it, teeth scraping inadvertently. Riku nipped back, but otherwise he didn't seem to mind. Riku's hand slid down to the small of Roxas' slender back, the other cupped Roxas' cheek, gently tilting his head back.

"Roxas," Riku whispered fervently, sliding his mouth over the graceful curve of Roxas' throat. Fingers tugged at the wide collar of his black hooded sweater, a tongue dipping into the slight hollow of his collarbone, licking up the droplets of rainwater that had collected there.

Sliding a hand underneath Roxas' shirt, Riku started to map out the planes of Roxas' torso, the sweater inching up. Roxas stifled a small sound, breath still short. And suddenly realized what he was doing.

"W- dammit, stop!" He was flushed, arms wound tightly around Riku's neck, his shirt half off, and his lips swollen from desperate kisses. Feeling acutely embarrassed, Roxas pushed away, regretting it a half beat later, because god, he wanted it so badly, his body still trembled for the contact, the feel of Riku against him…But he had been making a point, damn it. And stupid Riku with his stupid kisses was just…just… he had had a point.

Roxas stumbled in the water, legs not quite supporting him until Riku caught his shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

Roxas stared at him, wet hair tangled about his neck, eyes clear and bright.

"You kissed me."

"I could be doing it now," Riku pointed out reasonably.

Roxas shook his head. The enemy was distracting him. "You think that's just going to make it all right? Like- like it's some story?"

Riku seemed to consider this for a moment. "Pretty much, yeah."

"Just- Just how the hell does that figure out?" Roxas spluttered, somewhere in between enraged and hysterical at how utterly blasé Riku was being.

Riku waded a step closer, leaning down so he could look Roxas in the eye. "Because I know this is real."

"You-" as he stared back into Riku's clear viridian gaze, Roxas' tart comeback died in his throat. His eyes. They had always been the most honest part of him. The part that couldn't lie. Whether Riku had liked it or not. And some tiny part of Roxas had always known that. Hadn't he secretly watched him, admiring the rare translucent beauty that made him so alive?

'Please believe', huh?

Things might be so much easier if only he could blindfold Riku. Except he'd probably miss his eyes. Damn.

Reaching up, Roxas buried his hands in Riku's long, slightly tangled hair, reveling at how soft it was, even wet. His fingers threaded through the moonlit strands, twisting and knotting until they met at the nape of Riku's neck.

"I've been wanting to do that," Roxas remarked, and crushed their mouths together again. It was warm lips and cold fingers and Roxas leaning into Riku, standing slightly on tiptoe to reach better. Rain still drizzled upon them both, landing on open mouths between kisses as slick hands tugged at clothes.

One moment, Roxas was tugging on Riku's hair, melding into each kiss with the force of one long denied, lighthearted exhilaration thrumming in his veins.

The next moment, they had both unbalanced, falling into the lake with a big noisy splash.

It was Riku who laughed first, picking himself up and offering Roxas a hand.

"We better get back to dry land."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "You'll be lucky to find a damp log, in all this."

"Right now, I'll settle for anywhere I can sit down without my clothes ballooning."

Roxas privately though Riku would do better to get clothes that didn't look like it'd fall off his hips when wet. Not that he was about to point this out. It was Riku's fault his hips were showing, anyway, the sharp jut of the hipbones only drawing attention to the dip between his legs and…

Roxas looked away, quickly, sloshing his way back a step or two behind the other.

They ended up on the pebbled banks of the lake, bare feet still touching the edge of the water. The only things that could be said for it were that it was somewhat drier and the trees overhead sheltered it from the rain. Roxas curled up, knees bent and arms wrapped around them, his chin tucked. Riku shifted closer, thigh pressing casually against Roxas'.

"You were just about impossible to find, you know that?"

"You didn't have too much trouble," Roxas pointed out wryly.

"I had a hunch," Riku admitted, a corner of his mouth tugging up in a lopsided smile. "I figured there wasn't any reason not to try it."

Roxas bumped his shoulder against Riku's. "You have no originality."

"You're just my kind of weird."

Ducking his face into his folded arms, Roxas said, "don't talk stupid when it's this cold."

"Are you-?" Riku began, attempting to shrug out of his water-soaked long vest. It took Roxas a moment to realize he meant to give it to him.

"That usually works better when it's dry," Roxas pointed out.

Riku made a face and kept his vest on. "You could just accept it, you know."

"If I'm going to try not to catch a cold, shouldn't I take my wet clothes off first?"

For a moment, Riku seemed stunned. Then, he reached out and took hold of the hem of Roxas' shirt, lifting it up slightly. "I was going to do that, remember?"

And suddenly it didn't seem like such a good idea. But it wasn't like he could back down, now. That'd be… really cowardly. Not to mention girlish.

"I can do it by myself." He snatched his shirt out of Riku's grip, feeling a little like he was averting some too-exciting danger.

Hesitantly, Roxas reached to pull his hoodie over his head. "I'm not a live peep show," he snapped, kicking Riku for staring. A tiny part of him was slightly flattered, but for the most part, he'd never actually felt this… molested by a look before. Having Riku look at him while he undressed was…

Ears burning, Roxas hastily took his sodden shirt off, throwing it in Riku's face.

"You actually did it," Riku said, nonplussed, as he dragged the shirt off, toying with it on his lap.

I'm an idiot, naturally. "You can stop staring now," Roxas retorted, ducking his head. "It's just me." In all my scrawny ass glory. He winced. It wasn't like he ever thought he was ugly or anything, but he was definitely starting to feel self conscious.

"Because it's you." Daring a glance, Roxas found Riku staring calmly back at him, his eyes following the trim little lines of his body, pausing just above the belt. "Besides, it's not like you haven't seen me half-naked, too."

"You walked around like that all by yourself," Roxas said, rolling his eyes.

He smiled, anyway, pushing his damp blonde hair back from his eyes. Completely unmanageable, the wet locks fell right back.

Fingers brushed the nape of his neck. "You're beautiful."

"What?!" Roxas yelped.

Riku bit his lip, cheeks coloring slightly. It occurred to Roxas that maybe he hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"You'll probably get cold anyway, you know." Obvious change of subject: check.

"Whose fault is that?" Oh that was just begging for an off-color warming joke, Roxas realized with an inward wince.

Riku laughed and hooked an arm around Roxas' shoulders, tugging him closer until he was part of the warmth radiating from Riku's body.

The off-color joke might've been better. His heart started to pound in his ears at a frantic little pace, making itself known after being ignored in the turbulent… make out session in the lake. But… it didn't feel too bad. His body seemed to fit itself along the line of Riku's own, settling in comfortably.

"How long?" Roxas asked suddenly, keenly aware of where their bodies still pressed together (knee to hip to the junction of arms) and the way the dim light still somehow glints of Riku's hair.

Riku tilted his head at him, questioning.

"When did you…" Roxas trailed off abruptly, wondering why now, after all of that, he still couldn't bring himself to say the words to Riku's face. Even after all but screaming it at Axel…

"I didn't know it, then," Riku replied anyway. "I think… maybe I just never got over my first crush, you know?"

"Who was that?" Which was really a stupid question, now that Roxas thought about it. Riku had only ever been close to two people- Sora and Kairi. It was like Sora's phone calls. A 50-50 chance.

The smile Riku gives him is unexpected, but not as much as the hand that reaches over and tugs at a lock of his longish blonde hair, letting it curl around a finger before letting it go.

"Sitting right beside me."

Roxas felt his ears burn. "I- I don't remember anything like that."

The other boy made a sound in his throat that might've been a laugh. "Yeah, I don't remember a lot, too. We were all still running around in sandboxes, then. But I liked those days. Everything was… nice, back then. You remember things better when you think about them a lot. I used to think about them when things got a little noisy at home."

Riku leaned against the tree, tilting his head back slightly. Roxas knew without a question that he was already staring at the line of his throat, the sweep of his jaw. "I probably started realizing it around the time you were yelling at me and patching me up on your couch, though. While Sora was looking for a sleeping bag."

"Masochist," Roxas commented dryly.

Shrugging, Riku continued, "I… got pretty confused about it, at first. When I started realizing it after…after Axel said some things. He'd cornered me in a freaking hallway to mess with me. I didn't know what to think. What could I think?" Riku sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Roxas supposed that confusion explained away the strange, cold way Riku had treated him at the basketball courts. It wasn't any less stupid, but at least he knew there had been a reason. As for the cornering (not that Roxas was going to tell Riku how he'd witnessed it first hand)… Trust Axel to have his cake and eat it too.

"What about you?" Riku asked, in the comfortable silence that followed.

Roxas started and tucked his chin in between his drawn up knees. "I… I knew after I fell. From the railing."

"…You don't do things normally, do you?"

"Shut up, it's not like I planned to fall." Either off the railing or for Riku. And somehow he'd ended up here, anyway.

"But it started here." In this dusk-dawn place, where he'd felt that touch of a soul that echoed his own.

He chanced a look at Riku through his bangs, hoping he hadn't sounded as stupid as he was feeling, right now. But Riku's eyes were soft, and he didn't laugh or say anything.

Making a small sound at the back of his throat, Riku shifted so he was sitting with one knee drawn up, too, an unconscious mirror of Roxas'. "Here, huh? I decided I was going to tell you, here. About the stuff at home."

"Those people at your house… Your dad was back, but the others?"

"My mom came home, too. With Shalua- psychiatric social worker. They're starting to work things out." Riku smiled thinly. "It doesn't always go too well, though." Roxas mentally snorted. Of course. That would explain the broken pane of glass.

Nodding slowly, Roxas looked back up at Riku. "It's starting, though?"

A smile. Then Riku leaned a little left and bumped his head gently sideways on Roxas'. "Yeah."

"I wanted to say thanks, by the way."

"For what?"

"For the ice cream and freeing Set. I didn't think you'd remember my favorite flavor."

Paopu flavored ice cream was just one of those things that got stuck to your head while you were contemplating someone's lips around them, Roxas supposed. "…You guessed?"

"It wasn't that hard. Like I said, Setzer doesn't like a lot of people… And Sora told me you were late, that night."

"You guys were talking about me…yesterday?" That was… really weird and enlightening. Sure, Sora had mentioned they did (he assumed it was an occasional thing), but hadn't he also said Riku was refusing to talk about him?

"A lot, actually." Riku laughed. "He and Axel came over to talk some sense to me, last Tuesday, too."

"But.." That was when… when Axel had called him up to ask what was wrong... The sneaky bastard. He'd been worried about his plan falling through.

Huffing irritably, Roxas looked upwards. "So you really were pissed off?"

"A lot," Riku said bluntly. "I kinda thought you'd… well, betrayed me, I guess."

It still stung, Roxas realized. Feelings didn't go away just because your brain had rationalized them already.

He traced a path on the pebbles with a finger. "Do you still think that?"

"No."

Well there was a start. Silence descended on them again, disturbed only by the sound of their breathing.

"About Axel…"

"What about him?" Roxas eyed Riku a little suspiciously.

The thought hurts less, now. Axel still hadn't had any right to do what he did, but at least he'd had a shred of good intention. Guess even bastards had a heart.

"I was about to kill him before he told me everything, you know."

"Get in line," Roxas said dryly.

"But, after thinking it over, I decided it wasn't fair. Maybe I should thank him, after all."

"…For what?" Being a good kisser? Holding back?

Reaching out, Riku interlaced his fingers with Roxas'. "For pushing us together."

"…That's a pretty brief description." Pushing together didn't begin to sum up things, in Roxas' opinion. For one thing, it left out the bit about elaborate trickery.

"Doesn't make it any less true, right?"

Unbidden, Vivi, shy and steadfast sprang to mind. 'But they take care of me, too.'

"Maybe…" Roxas sighed. He had a feeling he was going to regret going soft on Axel. "But I'm making him suffer a bit more, first." He wasn't about to take something like this lying down, after all. He wasn't quite that nice.

Riku laughed. "Yeah, he does deserve that much."

"…A lot of things make sense now, too. All the little hints and comments about using those 'gifts' he dumped on me," Roxas mumbled, half to himself.

"That reminds me. Uhm, I got something for you."

Roxas tilted his head. "Something for me?"

"Yeah. For your birthday."

"…That was a week ago, Riku."

"Well, it's better in person, right?"

Roxas gave him a skeptical look. But Riku was already busy rummaging in his pockets, drawing out something wrapped in string and Japanese paper. He pressed the small parcel onto the palm of Roxas' hand. It lay there, heavy for it's size and indistinctly-shaped.

Curious in spite of himself, Roxas unfolded it. There, in the center of his hand was a heavy silver pendant shaped like a sharp, stylized shuriken. It was the same design as the keychain he'd been checking out at the store when he and Riku had gone to the mall. Turning the pendant over, he found five small letters etched on the back: R-O-X-A-S. A thick chain was threaded through the loop at the top, just long enough that it might…

Riku tugged the necklace gently out of Roxas' loose grasp. Then, he reached around and fastened it just at the nape of Roxas' neck, fingers brushing over the sensitive skin around his throat.

It was just long enough to rest perfectly on top of his heart, a comforting weight.

He meant to do this all along. Roxas mouth went a little dry at the thought. The window shopping and 'modeling' had been for this.

"…You didn't write your name?"

Riku smiled, mouth twisting up at a corner. "I figured I'd let you decide if you wanted it there or not."

"Ah," Roxas said. He paused, then tucked the necklace away. "That's okay. I'll put it on, myself."

Riku gave him a startled smile, his eyes lighting up so brilliantly that Roxas could almost see the child he had been.

He didn't realize he'd reached out until he felt Riku's fingers sliding onto his neck; didn't know he was leaning forward until he felt the brush of Riku's slightly chapped lips on his own, and Riku's arm curl around his waist.

This kiss is gentler, melting on his tongue like dark chocolate. It is intimate in a way that the other kisses hadn't quite caught. It makes his skin tingle with a buzz that had very little to do with either the cold air or the long forgotten cans of beer, warmth pooling in his stomach, spreading to his fingertips.

Tenderly, a little nervously, Riku cupped Roxas' cheek. A thumb gently swept out, feeling the texture of his lips, fingers flicking away a droplet of rain that had gathered on the tip of his nose. The rain fell into a strange hush, a soothing backdrop on leaf and lake as Riku unhurriedly traced the curves and sharp edges of Roxas' face, pausing at one or the other. Roxas felt the press of Riku's body and allowed himself to be leaned back, mouths still firmly latched onto each other. Riku's clothes feel cold against the bare skin of his chest, but the warmth of his skin more than makes up for it.

They might've gone on forever. As far as Roxas was concerned, that was fine.

But nature probably won out when, just as Roxas was tangling his arms around Riku, he gave a small sudden sneeze.

Roxas blinked. Riku did, too. Then, Riku rolled over onto his back beside and started shaking with laughter, Roxas not far behind.

"It's your fault, you know," Roxas commented absently, when the laughter had subsided. His hand is on top of Riku's upturned palm, clasped loosely.

"But I like you with your shirt off," Riku shot back. Then, he looked up at the patch of sky they could see above the lake.

"There aren't any stars," Roxas pointed out uselessly.

Riku nodded, looking pensive. "Did you ever want to go to other worlds?"

"It's not something you can just walk into."

"But if you could? Have you ever thought about what might be there? What might happen?"

Roxas considered it for a moment. He shrugged, hand tightening around Riku's.

"Nah, I already got what I want."

------------~fin~-------------

Tender your eyes as a maiden's kiss,
Fine moon, wine moon, no one knows this,
Under the spell of your witchery,
Dream moon, cream moon, first he kissed me.

Author's Rambles:

Poem ref: (see previous chapter's A/R)

I swear, there really IS a donut called Vincent Crescent. I went to a seminar outing and the donut place we stopped by had it! It was a Halloween limited edition flavor and there was a poster and everything! I laughed myself sick, of course, quietly. It's even funnier now that I'm playing Dirge of Cerberus.

Welps everyone, especially those of you who kept faith in this fic: thank you. :) The epilogue will be the last bit. Thanks for all your support and interest in the story and the characters- I hope you had as fun a time reading this as I did writing it. ;D Particular shout outs to the following: Nox Wicked, Karise-Paisley92005, smiley smackdown, catchmeloon, xClutteredxChaos, aniuwolfe, oathkeeperxoblivion, and blacksakura13 for consistently reviewing (especially the first three! All the way from chapter one, whoa.)

I do have a confession to make, though. Some of you commented on my writing style improving- it's a nice compliment, and I'm grateful. Time and experience are probably only two of the factors, though! I initially started this fic with the intention of creating fun badfic- (HS AU, lots of angst and over the top gay (happily supplied by Axel and Reiko), etc.) with a little less grammatical incorrectness (this is why chapter one is all sorts of awkward nicknames and too many pop references, which I've fixed up a bit, now.). I had a small bet with myself on the results. XD;; Buuut, yeah, I got really involved writing it and decided I wanted to make it as believable as I could, instead. Particularly in the area of building up my all time favorite pairing, Riku/Roxas.

In a lot of ways, that's what I really wanted, I guess: have people appreciate Riku and Roxas in their own right and show how these two can be people and a couple with and without their best friends. That you can have both a best friend and a boyfriend and they don't have to be the same person.

Besides, it would be a waste not to make some real effort (although I tried to preserve the lighthearted style). My other goals were to see if I can write more and keep up with a continuous writing exercise while at the same time seeing if I can make people believe something while dropping clues it was otherwise. That is, of course, Axel's little twist. For that, I had to push myself to confine everything to Roxas' POV. XP

I think I got by, somehow, and this was definitely quite an experience for me. :D And I made it in time before the year ends, after all.

My thanks to everyone who's read this through, author's rambles and all.

Also, is there anything anyone wanted to see in Nobody's Fool? I'm still considering writing that blooper's reel and cut scenes sort of thing. It doesn't have to be Roxas' POV.

Just out of curiosity, how many of you have caught on to the canon parallels I've been making with Riku and Roxas? They're events, usually, but sometimes, it's a statement or description. :)

Any comments or reviews? :D