Author's Notes: Why write a love pentagon between Zexion, Demyx, Axel, Roxas, and Sora? BECAUSE I CAN~! And why make it M-rated? ALSO BECAUSE I CAN~!

Note: Alternate Universe.
As much as I love the whole, 'Nobodies-and-Somebodies-versus-the-keyblade-master's-destiny' thing, I realized with the high count of Nobodies in this fic, the love/jealousy wouldn't be possible, since they technically don't feel "real" emotions. So… yeah. This is a college-aged AU, in which Axel is a senior, Demyx and Zexion are sophomores, and Roxas and Sora are freshmen. They all live in the same dormitory building with the exception of Roxas, and their relationships to one another will be revealed when you read.

Okay? ;D

Extra note: 'jump' means that it is the same day/hour/moment, but at a different viewpoint; 'skip' means that time has passed, like a day or a few days or a week, and the viewpoint is also different.

Warning: contains foul language, underage drinking, homosexuality, sexual situations, threesomes, a fivesome, and twincest.

EDIT: Heehee, in case any of you were wondering... this is totally a crack-fic. Like, seriously. This is just to poke fun at some of my favorite pairings... all at once. And also to poke fun at soap operas/soap opera fics, and to poke fun at how some of these pairings are portrayed. Not to be mean or anything, since I most definitely enjoy reading them all dramatic and/or sexual and/or violent like this (although not this extreme, haha), but still, it's just meant to be silly/random/mega-sexual/WRONG. So yeah. I'm weird. I apologize. XD

Enjoy, if you're into those kinds of naughty things. And I know at least one person who is. 8D

.:Living In Consequence:.

.Z.e.x.i.o.n./.D.e.m.y.x./.A.x.e.l./.R.o.x.a.s./.S.o.r.a.

[start;]

Axel is becoming a tad more than simply 'annoyed' with his new roommate. Not only is this kid a freshman, but he's also a goofy blue-eyed brunet with naivety and goody-two-shoes behavior up the ying-yang. And the redhead hates it, because it is exactly the sort of personality he has had to endure from his younger cousins his entire life, and he had hoped that going off to college would spare him the torment. Apparently not.

Sighing to himself, Axel stabilizes the younger youth's hyperactivity and eagerness by rubbing one of his temples and saying in a strict tone, "Let's lay down some ground rules, alright? One: don't touch me. Two: don't touch my stuff. Three: don't turn on any water when I shower because I hate showers that are even a single degree under boiling. Four: don't eat the food I have labeled 'A' in the mini-fridge. And five: don't ask me about classes or teachers or homework; I really don't give a shit about your freshman worries. Got all of that memorized?"

The brunet frowns and stands his ground. "I don't have to take any orders from you."

"Stubborn, too, aren't you?" Axel returns the arguing tone with a frown of his own. He steps closer, using his height to his advantage. "Look here, small-fry: I'm getting out of here after this year, if everything goes well. So I do not want my senior year messed up by some scrawny freshman roommate of mine. I want to live life; I want to party, get a degree and a higher-paying job, and then maybe find someone to hook up with now and then. So as long as you keep to yourself, I'll keep to myself, and we'll get along just peachy."

The younger of the two crosses his arms over his leanly-built chest. He narrows his eyes. "And you look here, Red: I might not have all the common sense or tact in the world, and I might be a little too trusting – my Mom has made that much clear – but I'm no pushover. And I'm not scrawny, either; I could take you down. If I can beat my pal Riku, I can beat you, too."

Axel actually smiles. "You know something, kid? I don't doubt it that you and I could brawl it out in a parking lot and you would put up a good fight. Dunno if you'd win or not, but I can believe that you would be the type to get knocked down and stand right back up again. So I'll tell you what: we'll agree that you're not a pushover, you'll compromise to at least loosely follow my rules out of courtesy, and we'll both do our best to stay out of each other's way. Deal?" And he offers one of his fingerless gloved hands, all black leather and embroidered flames.

The other boy stares at it a moment, thinking briefly about what big hands Axel has, and then nods once in compliance as he shakes the older male's hand. As their hands drops to their sides, the brunet says cockily, "Yeah, sure; have it your way. But for the record, my name isn't 'kid' or 'small-fry'; it's Sora."

The redhead salutes the younger with two fingers. "Pleasure doin' business with you, Sora," he replies. He immediate thought is that this guy has dealt with some real jerks in his life, and knows who to be kind to and who to treat like a rival. Which is good; in college, you need to know these sorts of skills, or else you'll turn into a campus-wide punching bag. But by the contents of Sora's suitcases, Axel can tell that this kid has a real soft spot in him, and is probably the type of guy who helps everyone dear to him. A real martyr.

Axel snorts as he turns away and heads out of the door of their shared dorm room; he can tell that they won't get along. Axel himself doesn't care about much of anyone, and even the people he does care about he doesn't do anything particularly special for. He's the sort who lays back and enjoys the ride, taking every event in stride and not bothering to think over the consequences of his actions, or lack thereof.

Strolling out into the hallway, the redhead whistles and withdraws his lighter from his pocket, flipping it open now and again to feel the soothing touch of fire between his fingertips. He started smoking when he was about fourteen, but stopped when he was sixteen, because he realized that he wanted to live a long time, and getting lung cancer before his time wasn't the way to go. But he still carries around lighters, because Axel also realized at age sixteen that he only took up smoking in the first place because of his pyromania.

In the elevator, Axel burns a strand of stray hair (long and brown, most likely a woman's) clinging to the fabric-covered walls while waits for the floor level to reach level one. At the fifth floor, the elevator pauses to pick up someone who summoned it, and Axel glances up from his fascination with the dancing flame to find the metal doors opening up to reveal a younger male with golden blond hair and brilliant blue eyes the same shade as his roommate's.

Axel's jaw slips open in surprise and he steps aside to let the boy inside. He doesn't need to think twice about how damn attractive this kid is, with his bedhead-styled spiky locks and his tight black tee under a checkered hoodie, and the adorably baggy khaki jeans over his long, lean legs. Axel puts on his most charming grin as the blond reaches forward to push one of the floor buttons. From his angle, Axel can't tell which floor it is, nor does he mind if it's the first like what he needs or if it's the fifteenth.

"And who might you be?" he asks the blond casually. "A new student, I presume? A freshman?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?" the boy snaps, and he has an attitude unlike the brunet's he recently had to deal with. Instead of defensive (in a pouty way) and stubborn, this blond is aloof and expressionless, as if he doesn't give a rat's tail either way.

And Axel is oddly attracted to this. He leans over slightly. "Nothing, just curiosity." The redhead slips his lighter into his pocket. "And I'm also curious as to what your name is. Mine's Axel, spelled A-x-e-l and not a-x-l-e like some car part."

The shorter male almost smiles. Almost. Axel can see the way his lips twitch at the corners, and he only can tell because he's searching this boy's face thoroughly for a sign of any sort of reaction. "Well, Axel-not-axle, my name is Roxas, since you're curious enough to ask."

"What floor are you headed to, Roxas? Because if you're going up, I don't mind waiting for you," he offers respectfully, although his intentions are anything but to be polite to someone he doesn't know. It's flirting, that's what it is.

"The eighth floor," Roxas answers, and Axel thinks first about how eight is his lucky number, and thinks second that that's the same floor that he just came from.

"Really? Which dorm?" he asks, hoping that whichever dorm Roxas is headed for, it's one near his own. That way, he can be sure that he'll see this kid a lot more often in the future.

The blond's eyes pan over to Axel, sapphire blue connecting with emerald green. "That's none of your business."

His cold tone does nothing to deter Axel. The redhead simply shrugs. "Sorry I asked. But can I at least know why you're going up there? Do you live on that level?"

"No, but my brother does," Roxas retorts.

Suddenly, everything clicks into place. Axel's smile falls. "Your brother wouldn't happen to be named Sora, would he?" he says with slight conviction, because this poses a new problem: in order to get closer to Roxas, he might have to actually get to know his roommate, or at least pretend to want to, so that he might get on Sora's good side and earn the ability to use excuses to get to know Roxas in return.

Roxas shoots him a look that contains both shock and suspicion. "How do you know what his name is?"

The redhead does his best to look nonchalant. "He got assigned as my roommate. You have the same gorgeous blue eyes. And, come to think of it, the same jaw line as well. But you have a cuter nose."

The younger boy momentarily runs his fingers down his jaw and touches the tip of his nose with his thumb in acknowledgement before looking away. And is that a faint blush Axel detects on Roxas's cheeks? Better yet, are his ears turning into strawberries with an even heavier blush? Axel grins, hoping that it was because he just complimented the boy.

"You're observant," Roxas mutters, and the elevator reaches the eighth level, coming to a complete stop with a musical ding. "Well, this is my floor. See you 'round, Axel."

And the redhead feels like he just won a prize as the blond boy calls him specifically by name, and with a hint of emotion, too. "Yeah, see you," he answers, and while the doors close, he watches as Roxas knocks at his dorm room door, the third on the left, numbered three hundred fifty-eight dash two.

[jump;]

It's Saturday. Demyx loves Saturdays. On normal occasions, Saturdays mean times he can goof off or visit home. Around this time of year, however, these are the moving days before the first semester begins. These are the Saturdays in which all the new students flock to the empty dormitory rooms. Each previously attending student receives a new roommate as the freshman and transfer students join the ranks at Kingdom University.

The mascot of the college is pretty lame – a black mouse decked out in armor and bearing a crown around its circular ears – but the school itself it lovely, with multi-cultured decorations and easy-going teachers. Demyx's personal favorite teacher (of the classes he takes, anyway) is the orchestra instructor, Professor Yen Sid. Professor Yen Sid likes music as much as Demyx does, and although Demyx likes all sorts of music and Professor Yen Sid prefers classical, the two understand one another. But Demyx especially has a fondness for the school nurse, because she is his Auntie Aerith. The sweet brunette woman is the reason why Demyx is who he is; she looked after him for the majority of his childhood, and taught him how to be considerate of others, and how to stand up to his problems even if he isn't cut out for them, and how to be a vegetarian. In fact, his love of animals paired with Aerith's encouragement is why he is here at college, studying to be a veterinarian.

Demyx is on his way to visit his aunt and help her set up the nurse's cabin on the outer edge of the campus when he bumps into another male about his age with silvery, periwinkle-blue hair. "Oh! Sorry," Demyx apologizes with a shy smile. The other male adjusts himself and shuts the book in his hand. That explains why they ran into one another; the other boy had been reading and walking, thus causing him to collide with Demyx, who had been lost in thought a moment ago.

"It's all right," the other replies softly, and Demyx notices with slight frustration that this guy doesn't put much emotion into his tone. Whatsoever.

But Demyx brushes it off and offers a smile. "I'm Demyx. What's your name? – Are you new here? Oh! If you are, no you need help finding your way around?" He likes to be nice to people, in hopes of having them be nice to him in return, unlike the bullies of his childhood.

The bizarrely-colored hair of the other boy hides one of his eyes from Demyx's view, but the visible eye darts up to meet his own seafoam-colored orbs for a fleeting second. As they drop back down to the closed book, the shorter male states flatly, "To answer your questions: my name is Zexion, and yes, I am new here, but no, I am not in any need of your assistance. I can find…" He pauses to yank a folded sheet of paper from his pocket, "Dorm room number ninety-six dash two on my own."

"Hey, what a coincidence; that's my room!" Demyx replies excitedly. "You must be my new roommate. C'mon, I'll show you the way and help you unpack! I was actually getting bored, waiting for you, which is why I was leaving, but now that you're here, I can help you get settled! And since you're new, I can show you around and teach you what I know. Like, how our dorm room has a 'dash two' at the end of it because all dorm rooms with two people living in them get their own bathroom, so the rooms with their own bathrooms get labeled with a two, and…" he drifts off, knowing that he shouldn't ramble. He grabs hold of Zexion's free hand by the wrist and drags him down the hall.

"What are you doing?" Zexion sputters, and through his emotional mask, Demyx spies a hint of irritation. "Let go of me."

Demyx ignores the demand. "It's right around this corner," he informs the shorter male as he guides him to their dorm.

Zexion doesn't have the right amount of strength to pull free of Demyx's grasp, nor to stop dead in his tracks and resist. So he sighs and gives up, wondering idly to himself how he got paired with such a spazz as a roommate. Zexion doesn't need his smarts to know that this is going to be one hell of a year unless he asks for a room change, which might be impossible; at Kingdom University, since it is so broad in its range of subjects and so highly regarded for its professors.

"Here we are!" the cheerful guitar player concludes as he halts in front of room ninety-six. He takes out his key and opens the door. "Welcome to my humble abode of the past two years."

The silvery-haired boy calculated right off the bat that Demyx must be a sophomore like himself, but now his suspicions are confirmed. He takes a timid step into the room to find two twin-sized beds on opposite sides of the room from one another, with one bed empty of sheets and the other decked out in aquamarine, ocean-wave patterns with white trim. The half of the room with the decorated bed is messy with guitar picks, sheet music, an amp, and an electric guitar. Zexion doesn't know if the guitar is a bass or of the usual sort, but he doesn't need to find out. Obviously Demyx is a music lover, and an ocean lover; there is a small tank of tropical fish above his blue headboard with a musical note-themed planetarium hanging at the foot of the bed.

Zexion is relieved to find a half-empty bookshelf in the room; it's somewhere he can store his many novels (he couldn't part with them in the least). But he is more relieved to know that since it is merely half empty, Demyx has filled it with books of his own, making him a reader. Zexion would hate it if he had a roommate that hated to read.

"So, what do you think? It's nice, isn't it? I like the view of the Hearts Garden best; Kingdom University has the prettiest courtyard out of all the schools around here, in my opinion," the dirty blond remarks as he plops down on his bed. "Especially the big heart-shaped pool. The seniors go swimming in it sometimes, but they usually get suspended for it."

"It is charming," Zexion agrees mildly. He makes sure not to make eye contact again; Demyx's eyes are full of a rainbow of emotion, which is something Zexion has learned to live without expressing.

Demyx adjusts his position, switching his weight from one side to the other. "Anyway, do you want help with your stuff? I might not look it, but I'm pretty strong; I can carry your belongings up here, if you want."

"No, my friend Lexaeus is bringing up my suitcases as we speak," Zexion informs the other as he folds his legs pretzel-style on his mattress. He begins reading again. "You may leave, if you wish."

"But then I wouldn't be able to get to know you better," Demyx insists, his tone laced with a pout. "We do have to live together for this year, so it makes sense that we should know some things about each other. Right?"

Reluctantly, Zexion sets aside his novel for a second time. He glances up, but doesn't meet Demyx's gaze as he replies, "I suppose so. I'll go first: I like to read and write. I hate everything about school except for psychology and literature. I am a sophomore. My favorite color is purple. I am vegetarian with the exception of fish. I enjoy eating sushi for most meals. I can't do a cartwheel; never have, and probably never will. I get carsick, so I flew here. And, so no complications arise late on, I will add that I am homosexual. Is that all?"

Demyx blinks in awe. He's never met somebody so straightforward in his life! And what's more, this guy isn't afraid to say some of the things about himself that Demyx has been trying to hide or deny most of his life; the main of which being that he is gay. Demyx hasn't even told his aunt, whom he's trusts greatest of all. And yet… maybe, since Zexion is also gay, he'll understand. And he won't tell, because he looks like the type who keeps secrets under chains, lock, and key.

"Um. Wow… let's see… where do I start?" the mullet-haired one chuckles weakly. He decides to mimic some of the things Zexion said. "Uh… well, I'm a vegetarian like you, as well as a sophomore. And I love the color green. And sushi isn't my most favorite food, but I think it's really yummy and probably my second- or third-favorite. And, uh… I can do cartwheels, so maybe I can teach you sometime? It's not that hard to do. And… I love music. I'm majoring in animal study to become a vet, but minoring in music so that, if I want to, I can retire from the vet business and take up a job as a music teacher or something; I would love to teach the beauty of music to little kids. And, er, I've never told anyone this, b-but, uh… I'm gay, too."

Zexion isn't phased by this; people who keep to themselves (like Zexion) always have secrets, and while Demyx seems like the opposite (he's overly friendly), this is the only clue Zexion used to deduce the fact that it was safe to confess his own orientation to the blond across from him. "I see that we have some things in common," Zexion murmurs thoughtfully, and allows his eyes to meet Demyx's for a fraction of a minute. The guitar player appears to be very glad to be accepted. Off-handedly, the silvery-haired boy nods. "Hopefully, this will lead to mutual respect."

"I was kinda aiming for friendship, but mutual respect sounds nice, too," Demyx jokes airily to wave aside his embarrassment. He feels uncontrollably giddy, as if he just removed a heavy weight from his chest by sharing personal information with someone who can identify with him on certain levels.

"We'll see," is all Zexion says, and then a tall, burly man with unruly chocolate-caramel hair steps into the room, hauling three suitcases over his shoulder. He sets them down and grunts in Zexion's direction. The shorter male picks up reading again and gives a curt 'thank you' to the large man.

When he leaves, Demyx brings his bulging eyes back into his sockets and stutters, "W-was that the Lexy-guy you mentioned?"

"Indeed it was," Zexion answers.

"Yikes!" Demyx bursts out, trying not to laugh. "That guy was huge! His biceps were as big at my entire body!"

"That is a vast over-exaggeration," Zexion sighs as he turns the page of his novel, "But I agree that he is a tad too beefy for his own good."

"Does he go to school here?" Demyx suddenly has the urge to know. He would hate to meet up with that guy in a dark alley. Or in the hallways of the campus.

"No, but even if he did, you hardly need to worry about him," Zexion responds. He can hear the slight fear in Demyx's tone. "He's nothing but a big softie. On his high school football team, everyone called him the Silent Hero in public, but in the locker rooms, he was known as Teddy Bear."

A giggle bursts from the hydromaniac's throat. "Talk about not judging a book by its cover!" he says with a shake of his head. He runs a hand through his modified mullet-like hairstyle, combing back the wispy hairs that constantly fall between his eyes. "Um, anyway, now that your stuff is here… do you want help unpacking?"

"I prefer to do that task myself on my own terms," Zexion says shortly. "So if you wouldn't mind leaving for a while to do whatever it was you were going to do when we met…"

"Oh." Pause. "Okay," Demyx nods, a bit disappointed. "I'll be back later, then. Bye."

"Goodbye, Demyx."

And as soon as Demyx's back is turned and he is marching out of the room, Zexion allows his eyes to wander up from the page of his book to watch the retreating figure, secretly memorizing its shape. Zexion subtly bites the inside of his lip; it's not going to be easy, living with Demyx; he thought that, if he had to room with another guy, the guy could at least be straight and therefore untouchable, or unattractive and therefore undesirable. But no, Demyx is beautiful and the opposite of straight, which is a problem, because Zexion promised himself years ago that he would never fall in love, not again. Not after his childhood crush, a boy named Repliku, rejected him. It was from then on that he swore never to show emotion again, and that included being attracted to someone.

Thing is, he's not sure if he can keep his promise to himself when someone as vibrant and expressive as Demyx is around.

[jump;]

Roxas instantly brightens as he enters his twin brother's dorm. Whenever he's around Sora, Roxas feels completely intact. He doesn't feel lost or insecure or intimidated or hollow; he becomes more responsive in his brother's presence, and smiles more often. He feels like he can do anything, so long as Sora is by his side.

And it's all because he loves his brother. As to what extent, he doesn't know, because most of the time it seems like they're two halves of the same whole, split from one egg into two, one soul into halves. So Roxas isn't sure if that sort of love is normal between brothers, or if they're simply a special case. Whatever the cause, he goes with its flow, because it is the only true love he knows or feels. He doesn't even love his parents; they are merely there, like a background to his brother Sora, whom is the blond's foreground.

In lamest terms, Sora is very important to Roxas, even if everything else isn't important to him at all. Sora is, in some ways, his 'everything.'

Roxas remembers when he used to hate his brother. He used to get so jealous of how perfect Sora is twenty-four seven, and he despised the fact that Sora gobbles up all the attention without trying. The blond hated his brother up until Sora broke a rule for the first time, and the tables turned as Roxas was needed by his brother for means of escape and protection. And Sora never needed anybody, but the fact that he needed Roxas was all the blond ever secretly wanted.

In retrospect, it's a small thing that Sora did to get into trouble; the silly brunet accidentally walked into the girls' locker room at their middle school and got a detention for being a "peeping Tom." He had been distracted while talking to Kairi in their sixth grade year and didn't notice that he followed her into the changing area. Roxas had (reluctantly at first) swept in and saved his brother by dressing like him (Sora had blond hair at this time, exactly like his brother's; it turned brown in eighth grade, while Roxas naturally kept his) and going to the detention so that Sora wouldn't get in trouble with their parents. It had been a success, obviously. And since then, Sora stuck by his brother a lot more, and Roxas learned to like his brother and, in due time, love him.

"Hello, Sora," Roxas greets as he plops himself down on Sora's unmade bed. The stack of folded sheets on the mattress drop onto the carpet from the sudden tremor from Roxas's momentum.

Sora scoops the sheets up and settles down beside his twin. He gives him a short, one-armed hug. "Hey," the brunet smiles, "Thanks for coming over here to help me unpack. I don't know how to organize my stuff like you do."

Roxas emits a small chuckle. "Tell me about it; you usually leave it scattered on the floor." He glances around Axel's half of the room. "In fact, your method of organization isn't much different than Axel's."

The brunet has a puzzled expression adorning his face. "How did you know my roommate was named Axel?"

The blond shrugs as he lies back on the bed with his fingers laced behind his head. "I met him in the elevator on the way here." He smirks up at his brother. "I think he likes me. Judging by the way he was dressed – all black leather and blood red and multiple belts – he isn't the type of guy who goes around being nice to everybody."

"He was nice to you?" Sora questions, truly puzzled now. Axel was anything but nice to him a few moments ago.

Roxas makes a face. "Okay, so maybe not 'nice'; a more accurate description of is behavior would be 'flirty.'" He pauses to roll his eyes. "I mean, he complimented my appearance, Sora! Like, my 'gorgeous blue eyes' and 'cute nose.' What guy says that to another guy?"

The slightly older twin can't help but to laugh. "Roxas, you're pulling my leg. Axel wouldn't say that kind of stuff. He isn't…" But he drifts off, because it could be possible; he doesn't know anything about Axel yet, except that his favorite color is red (his hair and clothing are a dead giveaway) and he likes fire. And that he must like tattoos, because he has two of them on his face (little black triangles like upside-down tears) and Sora thought he saw some ink under the rim of Axel's shirtsleeve, beneath the shadow cast by his gloves. He doesn't know what the tattoo could be of, though.

"I assure you, he is," Roxas says as he closes his eyes and relaxes fully into the bed. "My gaydar went off."

"You don't have a gaydar. Nobody has a gaydar," Sora retorts as he gives his brother's arm a little push, as if to say, 'stop messing with my head.'

"But I'm nobody, thus, I have one." Roxas says like a true actor, his tone belying (seemingly) only the truth.

"Just because you ditched anyone who tried to become your friend doesn't make you some unknown 'nobody,'" Sora sighs, but he's smiling. He pauses, and his demeanor shifts. "Besides… you'll always be somebody to me."

Roxas peers over at his twin's face as he sits up, and he doesn't hide the hint of wonder at the statement from his face. Sora's own face is nothing but a profile view, but despite not seeing the entirety of Sora's face, Roxas can pick out the sincere notion of the remark from Sora's downcast lashes and serious tone. The blond smiles without teeth showing; just a reassuring smile, the kind that Sora normally gives him. "Yeah, well, you're somebody to me, too. Someone special: my other half."

Sora laughs. "There you go again. Hey, just because we come from the same egg doesn't make us halves. We're two different people."

"Of 'course," Roxas agrees. He leans over and pecks a kiss on his brother's cheek. Even as college students, he's not ashamed to do this. He knows that Sora adores receiving affection; from anybody, it doesn't matter. "So," the blond continues as he gets up from the bed, not at all noticing Sora's minor embarrassment, "Let's get started. What would you like to do first? Make the bed; put your clothes in the closet; set up your alarm clock…"

Brushing off the strange moment they just had (he's used to them by now), Sora stands as well and gestures to the sheets tossed onto the naked mattress. "Let's make the bed. A room always feels cleaner and more like home when the bed is made."

[jump;]

Left to himself, Demyx sighs and kicks a pebble across the street. What should he do? He was going to go see his aunt, but now he doesn't feel like it. He would rather be back up in his dorm with Zexion; his roommate is an interesting person, and interesting things mend the gaps in Demyx's tendency to act as though he has Attention Deficit Disorder.

He's toying with the idea of going to the community pool in the university's year-round workout center for a nice, long swim, when an idea occurs to him: why not look for Axel instead? The redhead must be around here somewhere…

It isn't clearly detectable to the redhead, thank goodness, but Demyx has a crush on his best friend. All right, so 'crush' isn't the proper term for it; Demyx is undeniably in love with Axel. The man is two years older than him and damn near his exact opposite – fire and water, carnivore and vegetarian, uncaring and concerned – but it is, somehow, precisely these things that forced them together in the first place. When they met in high school, Axel more or less bullied Demyx, but Demyx had been able to soften Axel's callous edges and become his friend.

It was after that when Demyx fell for the green-eyed boy (which, unsurprisingly, Axel's acid-emerald green eyes are the reason why green is Demyx's favorite color). And by doing so, he discovered that he is homosexual. He just doesn't know whether or not Axel could ever feel the same way, since to this day Demyx can't figure out which gender Axel prefers, since he seems to hit on just about anybody that he finds remotely to his liking, female or male.

Like, for example, there was an older blonde woman by the name of Larxene, and then a girl about a year younger than Demyx by the name of Xion. But then there was a pink-haired man named Marluxia whom Axel met at a gay bar, and then a guy with a long black ponytail and an eye he lost while dirt biking named Xigbar.

So Demyx doesn't know if Axel is bisexual or what, but he doesn't care, either, because it means that he still might have a chance.

…If he can ever gather up the courage to do something about his feelings, that is. So far, Demyx has been too afraid of losing Axel as a friend in the process of acting on his feelings to make a move.

The guitar player wanders to the cafeteria hall, which is more like a lounge with some cheap, hot food and snack and soda machines than anything else. He's ecstatic to find Axel at one of the cushioned booths at the far side of the room. The redhead has his back to him, so Demyx doesn't bother to wave; he merely paces over to his friend and covers his eyes. "Guess who?" he teases, using the deepest voice he can muster.

A chuckle escapes from Axel's throat. "Hullo, Demy," he replies, and brings up his hands to grasp Demyx's and yank him forward for an awkward hug, Demyx's chest warm on his back. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Demyx says, trying to keep down a blush as he stumbles out of the semi-embrace. He tries not to think about the delicious scent of Axel's hair and cologne as he strolls around the booth to sit opposite of his best friend. "I just met my roommate."

Axel cracks a grin. "Funny, 'cause I just fled from mine."

"Is it that bad?" Demyx says with a cock of his head. "What is he like?"

"He's a stubborn little brat; a freshman who thinks he's a junior, ya know? And he's way too cutesy for me to handle. He's one of those people you can't help but like, and I hate people like that, because it makes me want to actually be his friend when I don't want to be," Axel complains as he stirs the ice cubes in his drink around with his straw. Without having to look, Demyx knows that it's Mountain Dew; Axel always gets Mountain Dew. Never diet, though; he says that diet pop gives you cancer and tastes like a cheap imitation of the real stuff. Like imitation crab meat, or soy milk. But that is Axel's opinion; to Demyx, diet soda and imitation crab and soy milk are all fine.

"What is his name?" Demyx asks.

"Sora," Axel mocks in a falsetto. He takes a sip of his soda and says in his normal voice, "God, that kid is so infuriating! I just try to lay down some ground rules, and he's all, 'I don't have to take orders from you!' and I'm trying to compromise, and he's being difficult about it, like he can't trust me. I'm not a bad guy, am I? Surely someone could trust me at first glance… somewhat. Am I right?"

"I know I trusted you at first sight," Demyx shrugs, trying to calm down his friend.

The redhead laughs and pulls off his faux-leather fingerless gloves. "Yes, but you were much more gullible back then. And this kid looks like he is, too, but I dunno… maybe I'm overreacting and he and I will become best buds in the end or something. But right now, I can't stand to be around him."

"Anything is possible," Demyx sing-songs.

It never fails to make Axel laugh. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He leans back and relaxes into the bright cherry red cushion behind him. It strangely doesn't clash with his fiery red hair. "But he has a hot brother. His name is Roxas. He's a blond, like you, but blonder. And his eyes are less green-blue; they're the same blue as Sora's, except there's more maturity in them, ya know? I like his eyes."

Demyx can't stop the path his smile takes as it arches downward into a scowl. He wipes it quickly away, glad that Axel hadn't caught it when it has been there, but inside he is still seething. Axel likes somebody already? And another guy, no less? It's both an encouragement and discouragement at the same time.

"So, what about your roommate?" Axel says suddenly, and breaks apart Demyx's inner conflict.

"He's great!" Demyx says in a chipper tone to hide the remains of jealousy. "His name is Zexion, and he's a transferred sophomore. He likes to read and write, and he's a vegetarian, like I am."

"That's cool," Axel comments as he finishes off his Mountain Dew and picks out an ice cube from the cup to munch on.

A bright pink blush swarms the hydromaniac's cheeks as he observes how Axel's tongue sucks at the ice cube before he crunches it to bits with his teeth. Demyx pictures, for a fleeting second, what it would be like for that tongue to dance in such a way inside his own mouth, with his own tongue.

The redhead one-eighties the conversation back to his roommate's brother in a heartbeat. "I wonder if Roxas is a hippie like you are, or if he's like me and doesn't give a shit about animals, so long as he gets his food." A crooked smile lifts one corner of his mouth.

Shaking the blush and imagery away, Demyx smiles – a default reaction – and suggests as a distraction, "We should do something together before school starts. I was thinking something next Friday, on the last weekend before school. Like, uh, maybe going to one of those clubs you like, or…?"

"That's brilliant!" Axel smirks wickedly, and Demyx can see a plan turning the gears in Axel's head. "We can even ask the twins along; I can use it as an excuse to get to know that Roxas kid better." He seems really excited now. "You're a genius, Demy! I could kiss you for giving me this idea."

"I wish you would," Demyx hisses under his breath, feeling defeated; and by some freshman he hasn't even met yet!

"– You say something?" Axel asks. One of his cheeks is puckering out from an ice cube inside of it.

"No, nothing at all," Demyx fibs smoothly, which feels strange, because he never fibs; not even small white lies. He clicks his tongue in distaste, but shoves the minor fib away by inquiring, "Which club would we go to?"

Axel shrugs. "I was thinking Organization Ex-Triple-Eye. That place rocks hardcore, and has the best drinks in town."

"But isn't that place a little… I dunno, dark?" the blond says nervously, all ten of his fingers drumming a nameless tune on the tabletop.

The pyro shrugs for a second time and pops another ice cube into his mouth, biting down on it without a second thought. "Yeah, a little, but it's my favorite club. Plus, they serve minors and don't give a damn that they're breaking the law by doing so. It's, like, the perfect place for college students. Although they don't have any druggie rooms; they're clean when it comes to heavy shit like that. They're not stupid; they know better than to have substance abuse hangin' around."

"But –"

Axel chuckles lightly and slides around the curve of the booth to drop his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Silly Dem, didn't you just say not five minutes ago that you trust me?"

"Well, yes, but –"

Axel silences him with a finger to his lips, succeeding in making Demyx blush minutely once again. He doesn't seem to notice the heat on the blond's face. "And weren't you the one who suggested a club in the first place?"

Demyx attempts to brush off Axel's hand. "Yeah, but I didn't mean –"

"So," Axel concludes as if he doesn't hear his protests, "There's no reason to fret, right? Org XIII ain't gonna fuck you up eternally or some other bullshit like that. It's just a harmless nightclub. Come with me and the twins, and we'll meet up with some other pals, and have a good time. We'll dance, eat chicken wings – well, for you, some carrot sticks, I guess – and get drunk off our asses. You can even bring Zexion or whatever his name is. Alright?"

Axel can be extremely convincing, simply because you can't argue against him without royally pissing him off. "A-alright," Demyx stutters as he shakes himself loose from Axel's partial embrace. The redhead chuckles again, right in Demyx's ear.

"Glad to have you on my side, buddy," he says, and claps Demyx on the back. "Now let's get the invites out, eh?"

Helpless to protest, the hydromaniac nods and leaves with his friend, wishing idly to himself that he would have chosen to go swimming at the university's pool instead of searching for his foolish best friend.

[skip;]

Sora strongly dislikes living with Axel. He doesn't hate it, though; he can never 'hate' anything. It's Wednesday and already he's tempted to go down to the administration office and ask for a different room.

And it isn't that Axel is being bossy or cruel or a bully like Sora had initially thought; in place of that, Axel is being overly friendly and swears too much and is trying to convince him to bring his twin and come with Axel and a group of friends this weekend to a club.

Sora doesn't know how to deal with these sorts of situations, and while he doesn't run from a fight or something that needs him to take responsibility of, he will try to run away from things that involve breaking rules. Because – and Sora will never admit this aloud – the brunet is a goody-two-shoes and hates getting into trouble with authority. And getting caught by the police at age eighteen in a bizarre-titled nightclub is definitely something that he doesn't want to get caught up in.

Roxas, on the other hand, is more than willing to go.

"Come on, Sora!" the blond coaxes with a roll of his eyes. He's sitting on Axel's empty bed across from his brother, attempting to persuade him with the blond's personal favorite weapon: calling his brother a chicken. "Be a rebel! Fight the power! You have to do something daring before you die."

"But I did do something daring," Sora pipes up meekly. "I walked into the girls' locker room in middle school, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Roxas retorts. He shakes his head. "But no, I mean do something intentionally daring. Have some balls, Sora; go to a club with older college guys. Drink a little. Have fun. – I swear you won't regret it!"

The older twin shakes his head. "Face it, Roxas: I'm not cut out to be a badass. You go ahead; I'll wait here like a good little boy, and write to Mommy and Daddy about the wonders of Kingdom University." There's sarcasm in his voice, which is rare for Sora, but not entirely missing from his range of speaking tones.

Roxas frowns and folds his arms over his chest; his way of sulking, akin to Sora's pouting. "That's not going to cut it, Sora; you're coming with me whether you like it or not. Besides," he adds lightly, "I invited Riku and his cousin Repliku."

Sora's eyeballs nearly pop out of his head. "You did WHAT?! Roxas, you can't be serious!"

Roxas grins, amused by the slight whine in his brother's pitch. "I'm dead serious. And you know how much Riku will tease you when he finds out that you turned down yet another chance to reach a milestone in your teen years."

Sora flushes a deep red, because the first time Kairi tried to kiss him in his freshman year of high school, he ended up ducking out at the last second, which meant that he didn't reach the "first kiss" milestone. And then, when her younger cousin Naminé came out of her shy shell to try to do the same in his senior year, he accepted; but only because she was very pretty in her junior prom dress, and he kept hearing Riku's mocking voice in the back of his mind.

Thus, he skipped a few milestones: like getting his driver's license at sixteen (he just got it at the beginning of this year, on his eighteenth birthday), going to a high school party (he has never been to one that wasn't a birthday party or friends-only sleepover), and having sex (which he doesn't even want to attempt yet, because he is one of the few boys who believes in doing it with someone he truly loves).

Gathering himself up, Sora stands from his bed with a decisive expression on his face and set eyebrows. "Okay, fine; you win. I'll go with Axel and everyone to that club this weekend, and I'll even order a drink." He jabs a finger in the air. "I won't be laughed at by Riku; not again."

"There's the competitive Sora that I know," Roxas smirks, and pats his brother on the back. "I'm oddly proud of you."

Sora is shaking. "Yeah, well, you shouldn't be."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm going against my own morals. Because I'm doing something illegal. And because I'm about to fall over from the adrenaline rush of doing both of those things, paired with the weakness of one of my legs that fell asleep while I was sitting." Sora mutters out a tad breathily.

"What?" Roxas questions.

But before he can react, Sora falls forward and pins Roxas onto Axel's bed. The blond tenses, and unexplainable heat rises to his face.

"Uhg, Sora!" he complains as he shoves his twin off of him. "Are you kidding me?"

"Unfortunately, no," Sora winces, and he tries to breathe correctly. He hasn't stopped shaking, even as his hands rub along his calf and the back of his knee to bring feeling back into it. The older twin winces at the 'pins and needles' sensation. "Could you, ah, help me up?"

His face wiping clean of the miniscule flush, Roxas nods. "Oh." He pauses to bend over Sora. "Of 'course," he says, and he grabs Sora's hands, yanking him upwards. His brother stumbles, but evens out as he shakes his chocolate-mopped head and leans off of Roxas.

"Man, I don't know what came over me," he says, "It's just… I feel so weird about this. I mean: me, drinking? And dancing in a crowd of people? And not even getting a fake ID because the place I'm going to – according to Axel, anyway – doesn't even check for them because they're so free with serving whoever walks in? It all sounds pretty…" He searches for the proper term. "Ridiculous," he decides, because it all seems a bit crazy and somehow silly, in an ironic way.

"It's only ridiculous because you worry too much about basically everything," Roxas laughs. He runs a hand through his golden spikes. "You need to learn to loosen up, Sora. Life is going to pass you by otherwise."

"Gee, you're such a positive influence on my life."

"I mean it," Roxas counters the sarcasm.

Sora's demeanor changes in seconds. He sighs. "Yeah, I know. I get it. Still… it doesn't mean that I have to be comfortable with any of this."

The younger twin nods in understanding as he places a hand on his brother's forearm. "I told you: you won't regret it. I'll be there to make sure of that; I would hate it if something bad happened to you. Which is why I'm glad that flirty redhead invited both of us along: it gives me a chance to keep an eye out for you, and gives you a chance to live a little."

A half-smile softens Sora's face. "You have a point there, Rox."

Cocky because he already knows this, Roxas brings up one final point to reel in the bait and the Sora-like fish hooked onto it. "Besides, what else are you going to do this weekend? Hang out with Donny and the gang, yet again?"

Donald "Donny" McDuck (who's uncle, Scrooge McDuck, is coincidentally their history professor this year), along with the only other set of twins they know named Dale and Chip Munk, as well as Christopher "Goofy" Goof, and Mickey Mowsse (which is pronounced as 'mouse'). These individuals collectively make up the aforementioned 'Donny and the gang.' Aside from Riku and Kairi, these men are Sora's only friends; not dissimilar to Roxas's own circle of friends, consisting of a trio whose surnames Sora still doesn't know, but go by the names of Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

Sora sighs. Actually, he had planned on going to a (non-kegger) party with Mickey, Donny and Goofy, but it looks like those plans are going to have to be cancelled. "No, I'm not hanging out with them yet again…" he mumbles, and mimics Roxas's tone on the last two words.

"Exactly; because you're coming with me to that club instead. And we are going to get into as much trouble as possible! – Without getting arrested, that is," Roxas adds as an afterthought. He shrugs. "Still, it'll be a shitload of fun; you'll see. I'll make sure that you have a good time. And who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky."

The brunet's features couldn't be pinker. "L-lucky? Roxas, you can't mean…"

"Oh, but I do, big brother," he teases, using the term lightly; after all, Sora is only taller by an inch because his hair is gelled so high on top, and he's only older by six minutes and twenty-seven seconds, according to their birth certificates. "I mean that you might get two milestones passed for the price of one!"

"But Roxas, I don't want to hook up with some random girl and have…" he drifts off, his tongue tying in a knot behind his teeth. Sora has always been incapable of saying the s-e-x word. 'Making love' is never appropriate, either, because every time it has been mentioned by his brother, it has never about two people in love.

Roxas chuckles with mild amusement at the brunet's expense. "Okay, so maybe sex is out of the question for you," he says with a shake of his head, "But if you're drunk enough and some girl starts grind-dancing with you or starts making out with you, I'm sure you won't mind," he teases.

"But I don't want to get drunk! Whatsoever! Isn't that an option?" Sora whines, and he yanks on his brother's shirtsleeve like a pleading child.

Roxas's amused smirk doesn't fade. "I suppose it is, but I told you that I would make sure you have fun, didn't I?"

"Yes," Sora grinds out, "But you also promised to protect me from myself."

Roxas's golden-brown eyebrows lift. "Touché," he nods once in agreement. He pries Sora's fingers from his shirt and places a hand on his chin in thought. "In that case, let's compromise: you will have at least two drinks this weekend. And they don't have to be at once or mega-strong, which means you won't get drunk. Fair?"

Sora grins. "Yeah, that's fair."

[jump;]

Demyx couldn't be more excited.

He doesn't even think that he has been more excited for anything in his whole life. Because while Axel is indeed inviting "extras" whom are bringing even more "extras" to their night at the club Organization XIII, Demyx has succeeded in convincing his roommate to tag along, and has made the decision with Axel to ride there together.

Which is practically a date, right? Sure, some friends ride with one another to places, especially in high school when not everyone has a car and must carpool, but this is different: they both have cars, and could choose to go by themselves or bring other people, but the guitar player was able to sway his old drummer (they were in a band some time ago) to go with him to the club.

Alone.

With just the two of them in a car, driving for a good half hour down the interstate highway.

Henceforth: Demyx's excitement.

Giggling in an overly giddy manner, Demyx bounces around his dorm room as he steps out of the shower in the small bathroom. The blond sings to himself along with the music, and thinks distantly about the fact that he has two more days left until he can go with Axel to the club on Friday. Wednesdays are 'hump' days, and at first Demyx thought it was for perverted reasons, but now he finally understands that it is because, like the Wednesday of today, Wednesdays are the like the speed bumps in the middle of the week, a 'hump' of sorts.

Snapping out of his weekday musings, Demyx bounds over to his dresser and plucks a set of clothes from each of the drawers; underwear and socks from the top, a shirt from the middle, and his favored pair of worn jeans from the bottom.

As the guitar player hops into his clothing, Zexion unexpectedly walks in through the door.

Demyx freezes mid-hop in his jeans, feeling much like a deer caught in the headlights, although he is a deer with short-short boxer shorts and no shirt or socks on, bent over a set of denim pants, his hair still dripping water onto his back and chest.

The dark blond male hadn't even heard Zexion's keys in the lock due to the electro-pop music blasting from his stereo.

"Excuse me," Zexion whispers harshly, and turns out of the room as quickly as he had come in. He slams the front door behind himself and leans against his, his hand still on the knob as the other comes up to his mouth to still his breathing. The silvery-blue haired boy curses his pale complexion trice times over, as well as his observant eyes; in that fraction of a moment, barely over a minute, he had been able to learn by rote every detail of Demyx's body, for what of it was exposed. And because of this, an image is burned behind his eyelids as he closes them and presses the side of his head to the cool-feeling yellow door. A furious blush rises to his face as he tries to compose himself.

Zexion knows that this year is going to be hellish, living with someone as visually appealing and soulfully attractive as Demyx, but he hadn't anticipated on such extremes as walking in on the blond being fresh out of the shower and barely clothed.

He runs his hand from his mouth to his hair and combs it back from its dangling place over his right eye. Blinking a few times to swipe the image away, Zexion counts to ten prior to reopening the door.

The bookworm finds Demyx fully clothed and in the small bathroom, the whirr of the blow-dryer on high, cool heat rushing to meet Zexion's ears. He doesn't bother to pop his head into the open bathroom door to say anything.

But apparently Demyx feels the need to do so.

The blond shuts off the blow-dryer for a second and leans out the doorway of the bathroom. "Um, hi, Zexion… I didn't know you would be back so soon. How did everything go? You know, with your doctor's appointment or whatever."

"It was an eye exam," Zexion corrects mildly. He tries to act like he hadn't been embarrassed out of his mind five seconds ago. Demyx is obviously trying to act the same. "And as it turns out, my eyesight has gotten progressively worse since my last check-up some odd years ago."

"So… does that mean you're going to need glasses?" Demyx asks as he rubs his hands together to spread his hair gel over his fingers. He begins threading them through his semi-dry hair to style it like he usually does. He doesn't even need a mirror any more.

"Yes, unfortunately; the doctor said that glasses would be better for reading than contacts would be," Zexion sighs.

Demyx chuckles. "It must be from all that reading that your eyes got worse in the first place."

Zexion sighs for a second time, because he knows that it's true. He used to read in any sort of lighting possible, which included dim or low lighting, and those levels of light are detrimental while reading, because it strains your eyes. These are things that Zexion has known or has been told nearly all his life, but he never paid them any heed. And now he's paying for it; literally.

"Those damn glasses are going to cost me one thousand munny," Zexion complains, although his tenor remains flat. Munny is relatively small in worth, since it's so widely used; one thousand might be as much as one hundred fifty dollars in another place on the same continent, but the cost hardly matters. What matters is getting the item.

"Ouch," Demyx winces, as if he also feels Zexion's financial pain. "That's quite the chunk out of your wallet. At least it would be for me. I have a job, and it only pays seven hundred munny a week; about one hundred munny a day, depending on how hard I work or how long."

The blond's roommate nods in understanding. "That seems fair, considering the fact that the rent on this dorm is about one thousand, two hundred munny a month."

"It's more if you waste electricity," Demyx grumbles. "Like my friend Axel does. What an idiot!" A lovable idiot, but he isn't about to admit this.

Zexion shrugs minutely. "What's done is done; I ordered the glasses and will pay for them when I pick them up. I might have to go without a new book for a few weeks, but I'll suffer through it."

"Or use the library," Demyx suggests.

The shorter male shakes his head. "No, that wouldn't do; I like owning my books so that I may annotate them. It helps me process what I'm reading, and allows me to 'communicate' with the author," he explains.

Demyx looks confused. "I'm sorry, but: what does 'annotate' mean?"

If he were like anyone else, Zexion would smack his palm over his face. "Annotation is the act of jotting down notes, questions, comments, and summaries in the margins of books or print-outs. It's a study method, as well as a literary tool for writers. Did they teach you nothing in your literature classes in high school?"

The blond's head droops as he pretends to dust some lint from his jeans. "To be honest, I didn't pay much attention in lit class. I just kind of… doodled. A lot."

"Doodled?" Zexion asks in disbelief. How can someone find literature boring enough to draw meaningless cartoons during it? He personally finds literature fascinating, and doesn't understand how others can find it anything except.

Demyx washes the gel from his hands and wraps the cord around the blow-dryer's handle. "I dunno, it's just a little boring to me. I'm sure we learned that – it sounds familiar – but I don't recall doing any annotation for homework. I must've skipped those assignments because I didn't understand them. Plus, why violate a perfectly good book with messy handwriting? It doesn't make sense to me."

The steely-cobalt eyed boy nods once, not agreeing but at least able to see where the other is coming from. "Speaking of your job," Zexion starts, "Don't you have to leave for it soon?"

"Oh, shoot!" Demyx curses, "I do! I gotta stop dawdling; Leon is expecting me at three o' clock sharp."

"Leon…?" the other says with a small frown.

"My boss," the blond elaborates as he races around the room to find his shoes. He locates one under his bed and the other near the door. He slips them on and tugs the cheery rainbow laces tightly; they are his only pair of Converse high-tops, and he loves them dearly. The shoes happen to be the same striking sea foam greenish-blue as his eyes. Well, close enough to the color, anyhow. And the laces are a plus; they're the sole thing about his entire being that shows his sexual orientation openly, but subtly enough that not everyone notices (that, or simply don't care).

"When will you be back?" Zexion wonders aloud, and immediately regrets posing the question; it sounds too friendly for people who have only known one another for a week.

"Um, I think around eight o' clock-ish," Demyx answers as he does a bunny-ear bowtie on his shoes. His brows meet between his eyes. "Hmm. That means I might be eating alone again." He pouts. "Zexion, would you mind staying up and eating with me? I hate eating alone. It feels way too quiet, even with music on."

The other boy pushes the thought that Demyx is asking him out on a date to the back of his mind. "Sure. What harm could it do?" It's not like he's a busy person, anyhow. He can wait for Demyx tonight to sit with him, or even eat with him.

A solidly bright grin breaks apart the blond's lips. "Thank you so much, Zexy!" And he's tempted to hug the other, but thinks better of it at the last second. "I'll be sure to pick up some sushi from the grocery store on my way home."

"That would be nice, thank you. But, Demyx?"

The blond turns around from the slightly ajar door ahead of him. "Yeah?"

"Don't call me that again, please. 'Zexy' is rather demeaning. Promise me that, and I will even be generous enough to wait for you any night that you have to work late hours," the bookworm offers, and he's not quite sure why he does so; it might be his gentle heart, or Demyx's charm, but whatever the reason, he's said it and now he can't take it back. Even though he wants to, because waiting up for someone to eat with them is not dating, but it sure as hell feels like it. And Zexion is uncomfortable with that fact.

"Okay, I promise." He grins broadly again as he says, "You're the best, Zexion. I'm so glad that we're roommates." Before the other can reply, Demyx glances at his watch, shrieks that he's going to be late, and races out the door with his keychain jingling in his grasp.

The silver-periwinkle haired boy shakes his head and lets slip the tiniest of smiles. He repeats his initial thoughts about the blond: "What a spazz." And then moves onward to scoop up his laundry to take down to the Laundromat.

[skip;]

"Fancy meeting you here, Blondie," Axel grins wickedly as he appears behind a very stupefied Roxas. The younger blond seems to be headed for his twin brother's dorm. Axel's hands are resting on the door in front of him, which Roxas had been about to open. "I'm going in there, myself. Because, well, I live there."

"Are you going inside in order to get ready for tonight?" Roxas asks, because it is now Friday, the other half of the week having gone by rather quickly.

"That's the plan," Axel sing-songs, and really, he couldn't be happier to have Roxas within his grasp so early in the evening. He carefully brushes the blond aside and unlocks the door. "And if it's Sora you're looking for, I'm not sure if he's going to be –" But he's cut off as he swings open the door and finds the brunet lying on his bed. Asleep. At five o' clock in the evening.

Roxas instantly gets a wild smirk dissimilar to Axel's upon seeing this. Axel knows that look; it's the sort that siblings and cousins get when they have a devious prank cooking up in their heads. The redhead watches with keen interest as Roxas creeps over to his brother. "Shall we wake Sleeping Beauty, Axel?" he says mischievously, and so friendly that Axel would think that Roxas became someone else in the past two seconds. He raises an eyebrow with interest, and gives a thumbs-up.

The blond winks and, in the blink of an eye, charges the bed and wrestles his brother, whom jerks out of his nap with a loud snort and rolls with Roxas off of the bed.

Laughing, the pyromaniac steps over to the two shorter boys and picks them up by the scruff of their shirt collars and tosses them both onto Sora's bed. "Quit goofing around, you two; save your energy for some dirty dancing later on."

His crystalline green eyes flash with a hidden expression, and the twins don't seem to notice the gleam as they complain about Axel's brute strength. "God, Axel, what do you do, bench semi-trucks?"

Axel laughs. "No, just Volkswagen Beatles and cutesy twins," he jokes, and turns to gather clothes to change into after his shower. It's always best to go to a club with a clean body and fresh cologne; every bachelor knows that.

Sora rubs the sleep from his eyes and yawns. "Thanks for the wake-up call you two, but I was only trying to get some rest so that I can stay up late tonight. I'm not used to clubbing."

"That's because you've never done it before, you big prude," Roxas snorts, and acts like he isn't checking out Axel as he tosses dirty clothes in his hamper and walks into the bathroom in solely his boxers. The twins wear briefs, so it's a different sight to behold.

Shaking his hand to wave his brother's remark aside, Sora walks over to his pop-up closet where all his clothes were hung and packed away into when he moved. He signals for Roxas to follow, and as he draw open the fabric 'doors', he asks, "What do you think I should wear? What do you wear to a place like Org XIII?"

From the bathroom, Axel's voice answers over the roar of the shower, "Black is always a good choice. Black, or anything with a hood on it. Leather is good, too!"

Roxas rolls his eyes in the general direction of the bathroom. "Ignore him and wear what you want to wear," he suggests. The younger twin is choosing to wear checkered skinny jeans with a red top and black bracelets and bands on both of his writs. Two rings, blue like his Vans and red like his shirt, decorate his left hand.

"But I don't know what I want to wear, and that's the problem," the brunet sighs. "Help me?" he asks in a pleading tone.

Roxas smiles. "Alright. Maybe we can match, like mom used to make us do."

"You're joking, of 'course," Sora laughs. "You hated matching me."

"It's true. I hate all things twin-cliché."

His spirits lifted, Sora rummages through his closet for something colorful. He likes bright colors, and with black accents (if only to please Axel by taking his advice), he's sure to get at least a few heads turning.

So Sora selects a dark teal shirt with dark purple and black accents, paired with a green necklace with a crown charm on it. He has always been fond of "peacock colors," because they always go well with his hair and eyes. The pants to match are solid black and baggier than Roxas's jeans, but not too loose; just right. He changes while Axel is still occupying the bathroom, although he doesn't catch the stare his brother gives him as he does so.

They haven't changed in front of one another since seventh grade gym class, when they were both undeveloped sticks, their bodies more or less like ten-year-olds instead of thirteen-year-olds. So now that they're eighteen, Roxas can't help but have his eyes drawn to his brother's body, which is highly muscled because of his years of being on the track, swim, and tennis teams at middle and high school.

The blond swallows dryly and turns his head, a wash of guilt coming over him. He shouldn't be looking at his brother that way; it's not at all moral or customary. He doesn't even know why he was staring in the first place, but it's sick, because it's no different than how he was observing the curves in Axel's figure a few minutes prior.

"How do I look?" Sora asks suddenly, and Roxas turns towards him again to find him fully clothed. The brunet faces the full-length mirror on his side of the room, and gussies himself up like a girl might.

"I think that shirt makes you look fat," Roxas retorts sarcastically. Sora looks convinced for two seconds, and before he has the time to make a fool of himself, Roxas saves him by saying, "I'm kidding, stupid. I think you look okay."

"Only okay?" Axel says from the doorway of the bathroom, and both twins' heads turn to him. The redhead smirks characteristically and scratches at his wet hair, which looks much longer and so much flatter than either boy is accustomed to. "I think he looks hot. Wouldn't you agree, Roxy?"

"Don't call me that," the blond grinds out, and tries not to sound incestuous by replying 'yes,' even though he does agree. "And he's my brother, so I can't say that."

"That never stopped the Greeks in those legends. Everybody screwed their sisters and cousins in those weird stories," the older boy chuckles. He paces across the room to dig in his duffle bag for his hair gel, which he forgot to put in the bathroom since his other one ran out.

"You're gross, Axel," Sora says, but he's laughing, too. Roxas shifts uncomfortably by his brother's side, but neither of the other males take note of this.

"Yeah, well, that's me in a nutshell: inappropriate and fire-hungry." He pauses. "And cocky, too. I'm a 'confident little bastard,' as Demyx likes to remind me."

Sora's laughter grows, and Roxas smiles a bit. "I don't know him, but at least he and I have the same opinions."

Axel frowns. "That's just mean, Sora."

"You said it about yourself."

"But I'm allowed to make fun of myself."

"Which means that we can't make fun of you?" Roxas puts in to feel not quite as left out, but he ends up saying it at the same time that Sora says, 'Which means that I can't make fun of you?'

Axel's gaze pans over to them, and his eyes flicker between their two faces for a moment. "Wow, real-life twin telepathy. And here I thought that it was merely mythical."

Sora's face falls into a pouting expression. Roxas folds his arms over his chest. Once again in unison, the twins snap back, "Shut up, Axel."

The brunet clamps his hand over his mouth while Roxas mutters a, "Dammit, not again!" under his breath.

Axel couldn't be more amused. He fucking loves twins. But, deciding not to piss off the people he wants to hang with tonight, he obeys and keeps his mouth shut while he spikes his tomato-red hair back from his face like the prickly flames of a fire. When he's done, he grabs his keys and shoves them in his cargo pant pockets and says, "I'll meet you there, boys. See ya," and he salutes them with two fingers on his way out the door.

As soon as he's gone, Roxas motions to Sora for them to leave. The brunet answers with a chipper, "Okay," and they gather up their jackets (tonight is supposed to be chilly) and follow Axel's example to leave.

In the car, Roxas doesn't say a word. His mind is reeling from what Axel said about incest and whatnot. Now, Roxas always knew that he loved his brother, and admired and adored certain aspects about him, but where is the line drawn between a commonplace twin relationship and incestuous feelings?

Disgusted with himself for even considering it, Roxas simply knocks the situation down to nothing important. Because young children often commit acts that might be considered incestuous, without them ever knowing it. And in most close families, the siblings do at least one out-of-boundaries thing once they hit puberty, such as checking out their sisters or something. It's normal to do that, so what is he worrying about? Roxas knows that the situation is a tad more complex since he is technically an adult now, but he figures that it isn't something huge. So why care?

[jump;]

Fridays are best. It's common knowledge; there is even the age-old acronym, TGIF, 'thank God it's Friday.'

And Demyx couldn't agree more. While he loves Saturdays, Friday is now special as well, and all because of the approaching moment.

The glances constantly at his watch, the second dragging on like minutes and the minutes dragging on like hours. Zexion said that he would be getting to the club by having Lexaeus drive him, since Lexaeus is, coincidentally, the club's bouncer.

Axel's car appears in the parking lot beneath Demyx's dorm room window, instantly sending the blond up from his placement on his bed and through the door. He races to the staircase, being too impatient for the elevator, and flies to the main lobby in back. The hydromaniac calms his breath and tries to appear aloof, which happens to be a personality trait Demyx does not at all naturally possess.

The redhead struts in through the back entrance moment later, and grins as his gaze falls on his friend. "Looks like you're all ready to go." He remarks lightly.

Demyx nods and walks over to his friend's side.

Axel turns back towards the door, offers his forearm like a gentleman in a joking fashion, and says, "Shall we blow this popsicle stand?"

"Indeed we shall. To smithereens," Demyx teases in return, and takes the proffered limb with his own, linking the two together at the elbow like Dorothy and friends in the Wizard of Oz.

While 'We're off to See the Wizard' buzzes through Demyx's mind inescapably, Axel brings them to his car and goes as far as to open the passenger-side door for Demyx. The younger of the two tries to contain his excitement as he nods his thanks and gets inside. Axel slams the door, walks around the hood of his classic black Mustang (Axel came into some money, ever since his mother married his stepfather), and gets inside.

When the car starts up, Three Days Grace blasts from the radio with the final verse of one of their songs. Axel seems to know it by heart, whereas Demyx is at a bit of a loss because he doesn't know all of the band's music. Nonetheless, the bops his head in time with the beat and secretly looks Axel up and down out of the corner of his eye.

Axel has never been the best driver (it seemed a miracle the day he got a waver in driver's education), but Demyx feels safe as he rides beside him in the vehicle. The blond has not once doubted Axel, nor his abilities, and he knows that Axel feels strongly about keeping his friends at ease. Axel hates it when people don't trust him, because he's grown up with distrusting parents all his life. The only people who do trust Axel are his older brother Reno, and his friend Demyx. And the blond is happy to be one of the few people who trust Axel, because it means that he also gets the honor of being one of the few people whom Axel can put his trust in.]

A commercial comes onto the radio, and Axel punches the 'off' button to silence the noise. "So, Dem," he says to stir up a conversation, "Do you know who's all coming with us tonight? I lost track."

Demyx adjusts his seating and rests his arm on the rolled-down window. "You want a list?"

"That's why I asked," Axel replies with a grin.

Demyx clears his throat. "Well… there's you, me, Zexion, Roxas, Sora, some guys named Riku and Repliku… um, two girls named Kairi and Naminé, and there's my boss Leon who invited himself and his friends Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie along; and then I heard that Sora asked three of his other friends to come, a trio of guys named Donny, Mickey, and Goofy."

"Goofy? What a goofy name to have," Axel jokes, playing with the pun.

"It's actually a nickname. I think his real name is Christian or Christopher or something like that," Demyx shrugs. "Anyway, there's going to be a lot of people in our group, since everybody is kinda-sorta interrelated."

"You got that right," Axel snorts. "But hey, the more the merrier."

"Especially when alcohol is involved," Demyx adds.

"…We're in for one helluva night," the redhead concludes, almost sounding regretful about the decision, but in the same token, sounding all jazzed up.

"You can say that again," Demyx giggles.

"Alright, I will: we are in for one HELLUVA night!"

And the blond simply cannot stop laughing.

[jump;]

It doesn't surprise Zexion to see so many people already at the club, despite the fact that dinner hour only recently began.

The club doubles as a bar and grill, with the best drinks in town and some of the better burgers and fries. And while the vegetarian isn't interested in the burgers, he is curious about their meat-free section of the menu, like the mozzarella sticks and blooming onion.

Having not eaten a thing yet that day because he had been too busy reading, Zexion requests an order of each as he waits at the bar. It has the best view of the entire club, including the front doors and dance floor, which enables him to pick Demyx out of the crowd whenever he decides to present himself.

Nothing else in the club much compares to the dance floor. Zexion's eyes are drawn to it's mesmerizing flashes of different colored lights in tandem with the bass of whatever song is playing at the moment. There are a few bodies already on it's flat, patterned surface, with hair tossing about and clothing rubbing together. He looks away, forcing himself to concentrate on the glass of dark reddish-purple wine in his hands. He prefers wine to hard alcohol and cheap beer, and this place in fact has a decent selection of red and white wines.

Out of the corner of his eye while he takes a sip of his beverage, Zexion spots flaming red hair alongside dishwater blond as the front doors open to his right. He jerks his head in their direction and finds Demyx standing beside a red-haired man he hasn't met. But he immediately does not like this slightly older man, because he can tell that Demyx is close to him by the way the redhead is casually slinging his arm over the other's shoulder.

Demyx spots Zexion at the bar and leads his friend over to his roommate. "Hiya, Zexion!" he greets as he takes a stool and sits next to the writer.

The tallest of the three leans against the rim of the bar's countertop. "So you're the roommate I've heard so much about," the redhead states, and Zexion tires his best not to glare as he returns the man's gaze.

"I am," he responds dully, and suppresses the urge to question what Demyx has said about him. "And you are…?"

"Axel," the redhead says, and holds out his hand for Zexion to shake. When he doesn't take it, the pyro withdraws his hand and coughs awkwardly into it. "Riiiight… It's, er… nice to meet you."

Zexion doesn't miss the note of sarcasm in the word 'nice.'

"I'm going to see if I can find Roxas," Axel says suddenly, and just as the words leave his mouth, he's gone.

The hydromaniac grunts as he turns toward the bar and places his hands on the surface. "I swear, he's obsessed with that kid."

"And it bothers you?" Zexion questions to clarify some inner suspicions. Considering the fact that Axel is just about all Demyx will speak of, he's sure that his blond roommate is infatuated with the redhead, and therefore jealous of the redhead's attention being directed at someone else.

"Admittedly a little too much," Demyx sighs. He drops his head into his hands and scrubs his scalp in frustration before calling over one of the two bartenders present. A woman trots over to him and Zexion and awaits his order. Demyx nibbles his lip between his teeth. He never drinks, but… "I'll have an apple martini," he murmurs.

The woman winks. "Rough week, huh? I understand. I'll make it right away." She looks him up and down for a second, and another twinge of jealousy strikes Zexion. "My name is Yuna, by the way," she smiles.

Demyx offers a gentle smile in return. "Hi, Yuna. I'm Demyx."

"Hi," she answers in a small giggle. She once again seems to trot as she joins the other bartended, another woman, only this woman looks much rougher around the edges, dressed in men's clothing with extremely short hair. The only way to tell that she is not a man is her small breasts and defined hips on her slim body. "Paine!" the brunette bartender calls, and the silver-haired butch turns around.

"What?" she snaps as she pours a beer from tap, and despite her appearance, she even sounds like a girl. A cranky one, but a girl nonetheless.

"Where do we keep the apple-flavored syrup?"

Zexion watches with mild intrigue as Paine rolls her eyes at her colleague's stupidity and points to a row of dribble-bottles full of colorful liquids. One of them is plainly green. "Right there," she grumbles, and passes the beer in her hands to a gruff-looking gentleman down the bar also with silver hair, except his trails down his back like a lion's mane.

"Thanks!" Yuna says cheerfully, and finishes making the drink before handing it to Demyx with a small curl of apple peel on the edge and a circle of sugar around the rim. "Here you are, sweetie." She leans forward and rests her elbows on the bar with her chin in her hands. "So, tell me: what's eating you?"

"The same sort of shit since high school," Demyx sighs around a sip of the alcoholic beverage. He grins at the taste, oddly enjoying its sweet-tart flavor. "The person I love is falling for someone else."

Zexion's fists clench under the ledge of the bar in irritation. "So it is true."

Demyx and Yuna both look at the young man they had forgotten was sitting there with a half-drained glass of wine before him. "What's true?" Demyx asks.

"It's true that you like Axel."

"Axel?" Yuna puzzles. "That's a strange name for a girl."

'That is because it isn't a girl's name,' Zexion is about to say, but holds his tongue. Instead, he keeps this conversation solely between himself and Demyx. "Am I right? That's who you're talking about."

Demyx bites his lips again, this time on the inside and hard enough to draw blood. "What makes you think I mean Axel? I could mean anybody."

Anybody would be someone other than Zexion, which irks him. Because although he told himself not to, he grew attached to Demyx during the long hours they spent in their room together with nothing to do but interact with each other. And he grew attached enough to be more than a wee bit fond of the blond. Try: extremely fond of.

"But you don't mean just anybody," Zexion retorts sourly.

Yuna starts to get the picture, or at least enough of it to understand that Zexion is envious of someone because he wants Demyx for himself. And she doesn't do too well with gay men; her friend Rikku gets along with them perfectly, she's practically a fag-hag with the amount of rainbow and spunk she wears, but Yuna herself… not so much. She backs away slightly. "Um, I think that person is waiting for me to take their order. I'll let you two work this out." And she exits the scene to trade the boys for three other boys who recently walked in.

"Zexion, is something wrong? You're acting kinda weird," Demyx says quietly, and uses his drink to distract himself from the intense gaze of Zexion's bizarrely-colored eyes.

"'Wrong' does begin to cover it," the other replies curtly, and slams a gulp of wine, and it burns his nose while it runs hotly down his throat, but he doesn't care.

"I don't understand," the taller of the two answers. "Zexion, I don't get why my liking of Axel hurts you. But I feel bad that I was so obvious about it. I probably should have told you; I mean, I trust you enough already to tell you just about everything else…" He stops himself mid-ramble, hoping that he isn't annoying his friend.

"It doesn't hurt," the bookworm whispers. Zexion is lying, and Demyx can tell, even if he isn't the most perceptive when it comes to people.

"Zexion…" he begins, and scoots his stool closer. He lays his hand on Zexion's forearm, causing the shorter male to look up. He forces a tiny smile as he suddenly comprehends the reason for Zexion's emotional condition, despite the fact that the emotion is solely being made clear in Zexion's tone and not on his face. "Do you like me?"

The periwinkle-blue haired boy seems to flinch, and his cheeks flare a noticeable shade of pink. He's not looking at Demyx. "No."

"I think you do," Demyx says, but not unkindly. His tone is soft and welcoming. Being the sweet person that he is, Demyx lifts his hand from Zexion's forearm to his face, and brushes back the long bangs over his right eye. "It's okay if you do. I won't get mad or want to change rooms or anything, I promise."

Zexion wasn't looking at him before, but now what both of his eyes are exposed, he has no choice but to stare into Demyx's eyes, both as sincere and beautiful as clean ocean water. He swallows thickly and wipes his face of any expression, because he's sure that awe was on it a millisecond ago. He drops his gaze to the wood of the bar's surface. He runs his index finger down the stem of his wineglass, trying to think of a response. Then, the bookworm states slowly, "I am… quite doting of you, Demyx."

"Really?" the blond asks, feeling flattered. "How doting?"

"More than a friend should be allowed to be," he admits wryly.

Demyx has a true smile on his face, now. And he realizes something: he has so much in common with Zexion, and so little with Axel, that things would probably work out better in a romantic relationship with Zexion than with Axel. Plus, Demyx also realizes, Axel will never return his feelings. He likes that freshman, Roxas. So the blond decides something: he will settle. He will settle for less than he wants because Zexion is very handsome and kind, and can even be taught to reveal more emotion in his tone and on his face in due time.

"Do you want to dance?" the guitar player asks his roommate suddenly.

Zexion is shocked. He blinks once, twice, thrice… and then nods. "Yes, I do."

As he takes Demyx's hand and is led to the dance floor, the writer tries not to think about the reasons behind this, and merely enjoys being able to move his fragile-looking body alongside Demyx's toned one. Not toned the way Axel is, or muscular like Lexaeus's, but lean and firm like a swimmer's. He wonders idly is Demyx was on the swim team in high school; and considering his obsession with the school fountain, pool, and the fish tank above his bed, Zexion suspects as much.

[jump;]

Back at the bar, the three boys who walked in during Demyx's and Zexion's conversation are not being waited on by Yuna, whom is growing steadily confused by the large amounts of food being ordered.

The first, with bleached white hair spiked in back like a duck's tail, wants to order just about everything meaty. But his voice is raspy and unevenly-pitched, which is hard to understand.

The second, a brunet with shaggy hair with drooping forelocks like dog ears, wants just about everything fried. But his voice has a southern drawl and is also hard to understand.

The third, a black-haired mousy man with mirroring curls on either side of his pale face like round mouse ears, wants just about everything else on the menu that hasn't been named. But his voice is high and squeaky, once again being hard to understand.

Yuna shakes her head, the difficulty of a few men's orders giving her a headache.

But then her savior of the evening arrives, an adorable brunet boy a year or so younger than the trio before her. He swoops in, seems to understand the three's confusing orders, and clarifies it all for her. He laughs and smiles the sweetest smile Yuna has seen in her entire life, and he even has the decency to stare directly into her mismatched green and blue eyes with his vibrant cerulean ones.

"Thank you, hun," she winks, and tells the initial three that she will be right back with their orders.

"Garsh, Sora, you didn't need to do that," the tallest of them all says meekly. He scratches the side of his head, succeeding in ruffling his droopy locks.

"Trust me, he did need to," Roxas snorts as he hops onto one of the stools and swivels around in it for a moment of thought.

"Don't be so rude, Roxas! You know that we all have speech impediment problems!" snaps the white-haired male, the younger of his other two friends; he's Sora's and Roxas's age, a freshman. But a freshman with anger management problems.

The blond backs off with hands raised in surrender. He turns to his brother as he sits between Roxas and the black-haired boy. "So, Sora… are you going to order a drink now, or wait until later?"

"Sora's going to drink?!" the mousy boy squeaks. "That's not very honest," he scolds. "You're too young to drink."

"And you're not?" Roxas returns and he leans over the bar to peer over at the other.

Mickey sighs. "No, I am, but that's why I'm not ordering a drink. I'm just here as support. And a designated driver, if need be," he adds with a frown shadowing his already dark eyes. The orbs are so richly brown that they appear black, like sparkling buttons.

Sora lays a reassuring hand on Mickey's shoulder. "Don't worry, Micks; Roxas only wants me to try it a couple times, so that's what I'm going to do. And I don't even have to drink the whole thing, he said; just a taste will do, to see if I like anything. – Besides, Dons and Goofs will keep an eye out for me, won't you, guys?"

Donald and Christopher nod their heads sternly. "You betcha," they confirm in unison.

Sora gives the three of them two thumbs up. "Awesome."

Yuna comes back as he puts his hands down, and she slides a few trays of food in Mickey, Donny, and Goofy's direction. She then turns to Sora and his twin. "What'll you be having, boys?"

Roxas flashes a grin. "My brother will be having a halved Piña Colada with spiced instead of white rum, and I'll have a Starry-Passionfruit Mixer with tequila."

Yuna grins. "Such yummy choices! Those are some of my and Rikku's favorites."

"Riku?" Sora repeats, his head cocking to the side. "You know him?"

Yuna chuckles. "I think you have my friend confused with someone else. The Rikku I'm talking about is a girl with blond hair usually in California-style braids."

"Oh," the brunet replies dully. "Sorry. It's just… the Riku I know is supposed to be coming here tonight, and I haven't seen him in a while, so it might be a little awkward."

The bartender nods. "I know the feeling." She shrugs. "Anyhow, I'm going to go make your drinks. Be right back!" And she saunters down the bar to the blender beside the club's ice machine.

Sora smiles at Roxas. "She's nice. Who wouldda thought a dark place like Organization XIII would have such a nice bartender?" he asks rhetorically. He pauses as something occurs to him. "Hey, what did you order for me and yourself?"

"Piña Coladas are simple: they have ice, coconut milk, and pineapple in them with a shot or a half-shot of rum, depending on what you want. I got you the half-shot. As for myself, I got a whole shot of the devil's juice mixed ice, passionfruit juice, and shredded bits of paopu fruit."

"Paopu?" Sora asks, perplexed.

The blond nods. "They are these little star-shaped yellow fruits that taste like nothing you've ever had before, but they're really good. Some people call them the 'destiny' fruit, because they come from the Destined Islands off the coast of Hawaii," he elaborates.

"Oh, okay," Sora nods. He gets it now. "So these drinks are cold and sweet?"

"Exactly. Which means you should like it. I'll let you have a taste of mine, if you want."

"No thanks. I think I'll just order one for myself later as my second drink," Sora shrugs.

Roxas raises one of his golden eyebrows. "Oh, really?"

The brunet laughs. "Yes, really."

[jump;]

After gobbling down their food, Donny, Goofy, and Mickey convince Sora and Roxas – whom are both relaxed but not yet buzzed by their drinks – to join them and their friends on the dance floor.

Kairi and Naminé appear in the crowd as they shimmy their way past rolling bodies, and immediately Sora spots Riku and Repliku behind the girls.

"Sora!" Naminé exclaims in her soft voice, and bounds over to the twins. She hugs the brunet, her small, perky breasts pressing against him, causing him to blush.

"Hey, Sora," the ruby-haired girl also says, and grins broadly as she, too, gives him a blush-inducing hug.

"Long time no see, loser," Repliku states tonelessly, his voice a hair deeper than his cousin's, despite their similarity in appearances. He's wearing a slimming purple, red and black zebra-striped shirt with black skinny jeans covered in chains and three studded belts.

"Yeah, how long as it been? A millennia?" Riku teases with a light smirk. He himself is wearing a soft aqua blue sleeveless shirt, coordinating with his eyes, and decorated in thin threads of white and silver with blotches of yellow like splattered paint. He wore normal medium-shade blue jeans, and his usual vibrant Airwalk shoes.

"Not that long…" Sora sweats as he rubs the back of his head in embarrassment.

"I know; I was just joshing you, Sora," Riku chortles, and reaches out to ruffle the chocolate spikes. Sora hunches his shoulders as Riku supplies pressure on his head like that.

"We've missed you," Naminé states as she gestures to her cousin, Riku and Repliku, and herself.

Kairi nods. "Yeah, we really have." Her ruby eyebrows furrow. "And speaking of missing, have you seen my cousin Cloud? You know, Nami's brother? We can't seem to find him, and we heard that he was supposed to be here."

The twins shrug together. And then Sora shakes his head and says, "No, but we can help you find him."

Kairi giggles. "It shouldn't be all that hard; I mean, his hair defies gravity worse than yours does, Sora. It should stick out in a crowd like this!"

The brunet chuckles along with her. "Yeah, it's true; his hair does do that."

"Welp, maybe he's just not here yet," Mickey puts in his two cents as he dances by, swinging his booty around as if he had the weight of a tail on it.

"That could be true, but we already saw Yuffie, so we figured that he was around here, too," Naminé murmurs, and it's difficult to hear her over the music.

"Well then, let's start looking," Sora suggests, and he takes Kairi and Naminé by the hands. The two girls flush, glance at one another, and smile minutely.

As his twin bounds away with the girls, Roxas shoves his hands in his pockets and heads to the bar to get another drink. He doesn't like the unsettling feeling in his stomach, something akin to envy. The blond decides to wash it away with warm alcohol. As he leans up against the countertop of the bar, he mutters an order for a Long Island ice tea (it actually isn't tea, which he finds strange).

A silver-haired girl dressed like a punk nods her head. "Whatever floats your boat, kid," she grumbles. She leaves to create his request.

Out of the blue, a tall figure casts a shadow in the black-light lighting coming form above the bar. Roxas glances up, and his heart flips fuzzily at his gaze falls upon the Cheshire-grinning tan lips of a certain red-haired senior.

"How are you holdin' up, Roxerz?" Axel inquires as he leans his forearms against the bar, the edge of the counter digging into his spine, but he couldn't care less. He tilts his head back to peer into Roxas's face.

The blond huffs in disapproval. "I'm holding up, but just barely," he retorts. "It's a lot of stress before school starts, and I'm new to the whole college thing, unlike you."

Axel barks a laugh. "But that's the beauty of a time like tonight, Roxas; it's a chance to put the stress out of your mind and meet some new people to gain new experiences."

"That's kind of what I said to Sora to get him to come here," the blond agrees. "But I guess that I don't know how to take my own advice to convince myself."

"Convince yourself of what?" Axel pries.

Roxas shrugs for what feels like the umpteenth time this evening. "I dunno. That college can be fun, I guess? Or that it's all worth it?"

Paine hands him his drink, and he pays her for it before taking a slurp out of the straw inside of it. Axel shifts beside him to slide onto a bar stool. He signals Paine, and tells her to get him a Sex on the Beach and a whiskey on the rocks. She smirks for half a second before leaving them alone again.

"Two drinks at once, Axel?" Roxas says with a quirked brow. "Isn't that a little dangerous?"

The redheaded pyro snorts. "Not for me it isn't. Besides, I like the fire-burning sensation of whiskey and the sweetness of Sex on the Beach."

"I didn't know you were so kinky," Roxas jokes. "Wouldn't the sand get in your ass?"

"Haha, very funny," Axel retorts, but he's smiling. "But if you would like to try it sometime, we can 'melt the sugar' like that one song implies, and you'll see how sweet it is."

Roxas holds back a flush by running a hand through his bedhead-styled hair. "Shut up, you big pervert. I'm not easy."

"It was worth a try," Axel smiles to cover his mortification. Even he can't believe what he just said. He clears his throat into one hand. Then, something occurs to him. "You say you're not easy… but does that mean you'd be willing to sleep with me if we dated first?"

The younger blond can't hold back his blush this time. "I-I…" he sputters. "That's uncalled for!"

"But would you?" Axel questions hopefully.

Roxas swallows. "Um… maybe. Depends on if I end up liking you enough to want to."

A wolfish smirk takes over Axel's mouth. "Oh? Then how about we try it out? I'd love to start by going dancing with you tonight, and maybe guying you dinner one of these days."

"Seriously?" Roxas murmurs. He has never been asked out by a guy before, but he can't say that he hasn't wanted to be. And while a small part of him know that he would rather fool around with someone else, he decides that there is no harm in settling for someone who is clearly into him. "In that case… alright. After our drinks, we can dance."

Axel inwardly pumps his fist and shouts, 'Score one for Flameo!' in his mind. Flameo is an old nickname Demyx gave him when they first met, the matching one being Coolio for Demyx. Outwardly, he beams at Roxas. "Awesome."

[jump;]

Sora and the two girls locate Cloud, Tifa, and Leon over by the club's DJ, whom they say is a friend of theirs by the name of Reno. Sora blinks at the redhead in the DJ booth, surrounded in speakers and boxes with wires. The older man is in his mid-twenties with flaming red hair tied back in a ponytail and falling without a pattern over his forehead, dusting his eyes. He has two mirroring tattoos of long red moons like raw cuts under his eyes, and he's wearing a black cloak with the club's employee tee underneath.

Reno lifts his chin, nodding in Sora's direction. "Yo. What're you starin' at me for?"

"You… well, you look a lot like the guy I room with," Sora replies bluntly.

Reno grins. "If the guy you room with goes to Kingdom University and answers to the name 'Axel,' then I can understand why; he's my baby brother, after all."

"B-brother?!" Sora stutters. He jerks back in surprise. "No wonder! You two look exactly alike, except your eyes are more teal-ish than his; and your tattoos are different."

Reno rolls his eyes. "Yeah, well, he's just a big copy-cat who secretly sets me up on a pedestal."

The brunet appears confused.

The DJ grins again, amused by the younger boy's expression. It's so cute; Axel is lucky to have a roommate like him, he thinks to himself. Total eye-candy. "It means that he respects me, and looks up to me since I'm his older brother."

"Really? I didn't think that someone like Axel was capable of those kinds of feelings towards someone," Sora muses as he leans against the side of the DJ booth. "The way I see it, the guy's just a big jerk who only butters up to people if he wants something from them."

Reno chuckles. "Is that so? And how would you know, did he act that way towards you in the week that you've known him?"

Sora clicks his tongue. "Yes, actually. He's using me to get to my twin brother. And to be honest, I couldn't even tell until my brother told me so."

"Well, that does sound like something Axel would do," Reno agrees as he plays a new song while the other fades.

Sora peers over at Reno's DJ-ing system, which is actually an iPod hooked up to a system of speakers. "You must have a ton of music on that thing."

"I have to; my partner Rude and I have our own time slot on one of the local radio stations during the day, and have to play all the good music the popular asks for."

"Whoa, are you serious? That's so cool! – Say, how many songs are even on that thing?" the younger boy wants to know.

Reno winks. "Exactly twelve thousand songs. But some of them are really short; like sound effects, or audio clips from movies and TV shows. And then others are just there for Rude, since he likes different music than I do."

"Wow. That's über impressive," Sora whistles, his mind blown. "I only have about two thousand songs on my iPod, but over a thousand of it is Roxas's music."

Axel's older brother shrugs. "That's alright. I mean, a majority of what I have on this iPod is thanks to my baby bro's BFF, Demyx; that kid knows music like the back of his hand, y'know? It's crime, how much music he has on his own MP3 player; some of it isn't even real music, though. It's like thunderstorms and ocean waves, and then some of it is ancient, like classical music from before my grandparents were born! He's a little weird, but hey, that kid is the one who got Rude and me our radio host position, so I'm thankful."

"He did that for you? He sure is nice," Sora remarks faintly. He glances around. "It's been cool talkin' to you, Reno, but I think I just found my twin. Be seeing you."

"Same to you, kid," Reno says, and he does the same two-fingered salute as his younger brother. The resemblance is uncanny.

"Roxas!" Sora hollers, and he pushes past bodies to gain ground. The reaches the blond and turns his around, but finds Roxas's face flushed, his eyes half-lidded, and his entire body wobbling.

"Oh…" the blond slurs, and by the way he's sweating up a storm and dancing a wee bit too close to Axel, Sora can tell that he's been drinking; and it had been enough to get him intoxicated to the point where it is past the usual buzz he gets. He's drunk, although not utterly wasted and cashed out like he could be. "Hi."

"Hi? – Roxas, you're smashed!" Sora squeaks, and he's about ready to snap. Wasn't Roxas supposed to be the one to keep an eye on him? How can he do that is he's drunk himself?

"Psh, am not," the blond deflects. He brushes his twin's arm from his shoulder and returns to dancing with Axel, whom clearly doesn't appreciate the cut-in. "N'go dance with Nami or Kai… er something. They'll be happy to do anything you ask 'em to."

"Roxas, what has gotten into you?" Sora mutters, and the hurt expression on his face is missed by Roxas as the blond closes his eyes and back up into Axel, damn near grinning into him. The redhead smirks.

"Just a few drinks," Axel answers for his date. "So bugger off, shrimp. Rox and I got some catching up to do. Ain't that right, Rox?"

"Mhm, sure," the blond sighs, unaware of what he is agreeing to.

Gritting his teeth, Sora scowls and stalks off, not used to being the brother who has to be reminded of responsibility. Under normal circumstances, Roxas would bring him back down to Earth from a stupid stunt, but it seems that on this night, the roles are reversed.

Now Sora understands why Roxas gets so pissed off at him at times.

[skip;]

They hadn't meant to, but it hardly matters now. What's being done is being done and it can't be stopped.

The time is after midnight, and the place is practically unknown, and for once, neither of them give a shit.

Demyx runs his hands along Zexion's sides messily, as if strumming his guitar while drunk, which isn't too far from the truth.

To relax their nerves, they has indulged in a couple drinks. Okay, so it was more than a couple; and okay, so Zexion had a total of one to Demyx's total five, but he couldn't stop! It isn't his fault that the strawberry-lime mixer he had tasted so yummy! He just had to have another. And another. And another, for good measure, because the juicy red and sliver of green from the fresh strawberry and curled lime peel on the rim of his glass each time made him think of Axel, whom Demyx saw grinding with Roxas while he tried to preoccupy himself with his roommate.

But come on, everybody knows that it still hurts to see something like that: the person you're in love with dancing freaky-dirty with someone else, despite how tipsy they both clearly are. Getting drunk (and horny) is no excuse to betray, but it hurts. And fucking bad, it hurts real bad, like a jagged and torn knife wound in the center of his chest, piercing his heart after it shattered his sternum.

So here Demyx is, stumbling in through his dorm room's entranceway with his roommate's arms locked around his neck. And his own arms scanning Zexion's frame, pretending it's Axel's, with the exception of the difference in height. And hips; no guy has hips like Axel, hips that jut out and curve in all the right ways, like a woman's, except sleeker and more angled.

But whatever. Like details are at all important, right?

Thus, Demyx tosses aside his morals and blames his alcohol consumption as he swirls his tongue around a matching slick muscle in Zexion's mouth. He makes his way with short pants and sucking noises to one of the beds – he doesn't know which, he can't tell left from right at the moment – and tries not to harm the smaller body beneath him as he forces them both to topple over and collapse onto the forgiving mattress.

Zexion releases a breathy moan that hardly suits him, and Demyx feels himself harden at the sound. He straddles the bookworm's slim waist and lays his tongue on the lump in the middle of Zexion's throat, feeling his vocal cords vibrate with another soft moan and his blood pump faster from the sensation. Demyx has never done this in the past; and maybe it's the fact that he's drunk, and maybe it's his own innermost desire to be dominant, or maybe it's a combination of both plus something larger, but the blond can't help but be enjoying this.

Demyx inches lower, his lips placing plump kisses along Zexion's collar bone. Annoyed with the fabric of the shirt blocking his path, Demyx pries open his roommate's buttons and spreads the fabric away to reveal a noticeably too-pale chest and stomach, as if the bookworm has never once left his reading for a day out in the sun.

Zexion flushes discreetly as Demyx examines him, but he can't say anything because, within seconds, his lightly labored breathing grows harsher in his ears as the taller boy latches his lips onto a rosy-peach bud. Zexion gasps, and arches into the heat of Demyx's hovering frame; he never knew that one's nipples could be abused in such a manner, but he sure as hell isn't complaining. After all, this is Demyx actively ravishing him; Demyx, the somewhat annoying but all too handsome and kind to ignore roommate of his who he couldn't help but slowly become obsessed with in the short amount of time that he's known the blond. And what's worse, this is the same male who he didn't want to live with in the first place because he knew that the boy is the ideal wet-dream star, which he has been for Zexion personally for the past three consecutive nights.

"D-Demyx," he half-gasps, half-moans, as the blond travels increasingly lower with his mouth. The one of his talented hands toys with the neglected nipple while the other spreads Zexion's legs by carefully shoving aside one of his thighs. Demyx's tongue dips into Zexion's belly button for a millisecond before migrating onward to the sensitive, quivering skin of Zexion's lower abdomen, above the button of his jeans. The writer bites the inside of his cheek to stop himself from whimpering at the warm, wet contact turning cold as the drying saliva meets the air and Demyx pulls away.

Not sure how far he wants to go but not caring, Demyx slips his nimble fingers casually down Zexion's pants, undoing them in the process as is his goal. He finds the shorter male entirely hard, the evidence of his arousal apparent as soon as the blond's knuckles brush Zexion's underwear and the member within leaps in reaction.

An unusual smile forms on Demyx's lips. He's a virgin one-hundred percent, so he's never seen or felt anyone besides himself. Oddly, he's excited outside of sexual excitement; it's like being in another country, where everything is new and different and needs to be savored.

So he slows his pace by taking the time to strip himself of his own shirt and undo his own jeans, as well as toss to the floor Zexion's undone clothing.

Ever the patient one, Zexion says nothing, although he can't hold back the miniscule urge to fidget that grips him as Demyx slinks forward, rubbing their bare chests and underwear-cloaked erections together. Demyx connects their mouths sloppily, and sinks into Zexion's warmth. The bookworm himself relaxes and wraps his legs around Demyx's hips while his hands seek refuge in the tussled blond locks. The guitar players groans into his lips, and the loll of his pelvis which follows sends a spike of burning arousal so fast up Zexion's core that his head begins to spin.

Demyx senses this and uses it to his advantage as he rolls Zexion on top of him and proceeds to slide the smaller male's briefs down his thighs. Zexion shakes with a shiver as the autumn night air breezes over his exposed length.

He nibbles on his lip and has the sudden raise of paranoia as he wonders if his hyper roommate remembered to lock the door behind them. He prays to whatever high power exists (because Zexion isn't sure if he believes in one or not) that no one walks in on them.

"It's okay, Zexy," Demyx whispers sweetly, his voice slurring. He combs Zexion's hair – blackish-silver in the moonlight from the window – from his eye and tacks it behind his ear. He gazes up at those dark eyes and stops picturing Axel, because Zexion is different is such a lovely way that Demyx can't begin to explain it. "No one'll burst in on us er anythin'. I made sure t'close the door."

Zexion nods silently and moves to sit on Demyx's legs, leans forward to plant a small kiss on the blond's chin. Their lengths bump, a naked head against suddenly-too-rough undies, and an inaudible cry chokes in the bookworm's throat. He has never experienced anything like that before…

Out of nowhere, Demyx pulls Zexion down completely and grips his rump as he instinctively thrusts upwards. Zexion's lip is bitten once again, and Demyx lets out a musical whine as he thrusts again, and again, his boxer shorts somehow crawling down his legs and his erection somehow getting pressed raw against his small roommate's.

"No, no…" Zexion breathes, and he shakes his head. He pushes against Demyx's shoulders to slow his movements as he grinds out, "You have to do it right."

"But –" the blond protests weakly, and Zexion lays a finger on those delectable lips to shush him.

"Let me show you," he says softly, and it is here that Demyx finally notices all the emotion Zexion has been leaking through his vocal mask since they first stepped foot into the sanctuary of their shared room. Expressionlessly, Zexion balances above Demyx with one hand on the bed and his knees on either side of the blond's torso. He suckles on two of his fingers, and suddenly, the drunken haze in the hydro's mind lifts as he comprehends the situation. "Distract me," Zexion instructs.

Demyx nods in understanding and take this opportunity to line the underside of his roommate's jaw with a series of smooches, prior to lifting his head to delving into the wet cavern of Zexion's mouth.

Meanwhile, one saliva-lubricated finger teases and penetrates as Zexion prepares himself. He's done this once or twice, alone, in the bathroom during a shower, both times out of curiosity of how it would feel to have someone inside of him. Afterwards, he had felt self-loathing for thinking anyone would want him.

Currently, he is happily mistaken.

The second finger joins the first, and Zexion is on the brink of releasing a grunt of pain if it were not for Demyx's tongue smoothing over the roof of his mouth. He breathes heavily through his nose and allows a tear to fall from the corners of both his eyes from the self-made intrusion. It will feel better soon enough, he reminds himself. Demyx will make sure of it.

Zexion breaks the kiss and scoots upwards slightly, his back arching. He relaxes his muscles and removes his fingers just as he lowers himself onto Demyx's stiff member.

The taller male cries out from the swarm of pressured pleasure, and at the same time, Zexion's head rushes with blood and flushes his face as he chokes down a cry of his own. He stuffs his fist between his teeth, and concentrates on Demyx's quick breaths, the rise and fall of his chest.

Through the shock of pleasure, Demyx creaks open his eyes and finds Zexion's face wrenched in momentary pain, and he thinks distantly: that isn't right.

So he reaches up and pulls Zexion's limp hand from his teeth and laces his fingers through the writer's. Then, he gives a shaky smile, and says clearly into the night, "Move, Zexy."

And the rider nods to the one being rode, because he's got a point; if you move, the pain will dull and the feel-good sensation will kick in if you locate and strike that hidden sweet spot, where the rectum hits against the prostrate behind it, like Zexion learned while reading medical books.

Pulling Demyx into sitting position so that he may shift and rest against the wall, Zexion starts to move as he becomes accustomed to the shaft buried inside of him. He gets up on his knees and slides upwards, the friction making him shiver pleasantly. Then, steadily gaining speed, Zexion creates a rhythm and listens to the moans of ecstasy being uttered by his was-friend, now-lover.

Demyx tightly grasps Zexion's upper thighs as his whole body seems to tingle and burn like bubbles in boiling water grazing his innards. "Zex…ion…" he pants, and feels himself being worked into a frenzy; his sweaty, blond-mopped head rolls to one shoulder, his long neck facing the thinner, paler man on him. His hips act on their own accord, and begin to thrust in time with the beat of Zexion's lap-dance. And he sees it now: together, they're making music. He never understood the expression before – "make sweet music together" – but, all at once, he does. Demyx understands that, with the accumulated beat of their pumping hearts, timed breaths, and slap of sticky skin on skin, they are building up the makings of a melody of two bodies.

And he loves it. It is every bit as addicting as playing the guitar, and anybody who looks twice will know to what extent Demyx adores making tunes out of strings on an instrument.

"I c… I can't… I can't take m-much more, Zexy," Demyx hisses in a high-pitched voice. Stars are blossoming behind his eyelids, an entire galaxy is forming, and he can sense that his climax is at hand. His breath catches, and in one jerking movement he embraces Zexion, with his face burrowed into the bookworm's chest and his hands clasped in a vice grip at the base of Zexion's spine.

He shudders and whimpers as he comes. White seed shoots up into Zexion's rear, causing the smaller man to sigh brokenly. "Ah-h…"

As Demyx's relaxes, Zexion brings himself off and tumbles backward onto the bed, which he realizes vaguely is how own bed with his own sheets and pillows. Demyx glances down at his new lover as his eyes clear and open up from the aftermath of his ejection. "What about you?" he slurs mildly, and it's evident that the alcohol has not left his system just yet.

Zexion waves a lethargic hand to shove it aside. He brings his knees together to hide his painfully weeping erection. "It's alright, so long as you're satisfied."

"Nuh-uh," Demyx contradicts unintelligently. "That's hardly fair. Here, let me do it," he whispers, and leans forward to glide his hand down the inside of Zexion's thigh, kissing the soft skin at the first instant he can. Zexion closes his eyes, the soreness already building in his entrance, but he forces himself to focus instead on Demyx's lips, petal-soft on his skin.

The blond doesn't think twice about it; he simply turns his nose to graze the side of Zexion's length, presses his lips to a soft vein, and flicks out his tongue.

Zexion is incapable of processing any thought as he watches with keen interest from under lids at half-mast as Demyx licks up his shaft and encloses the head at the top with his mouth. He cries out softly and shuts his eyes, feeling nothing but the overwhelming heat and wetness and the occasional scrape of teeth going up and down his member as Demyx makes sure to bring release to his aching need.

The whiteness blanks his intellectual mind as he comes a moment later. Demyx doesn't even complain as he's hit square in the throat with the load, nor does he wince at the salty, bittersweet flavor. He actually licks his lips.

"All better?" he asks childishly of his roommate, and Zexion can't even nod as he grows sleepy. Demyx chuckles quietly to himself and climbs up beside his new lover to cuddle him in the bluish moonlight. He doesn't bother to draw the sheets over them; they're soiled, and it's too hot for them.

So Demyx simply snuggles into Zexion's side and pushes all thoughts of consequence to the back of his mind as he, too, drifts off into sleep.

It's true, what they say: sex is exhausting.

[skip;]

Axel covers himself with more blankets at a chilly breeze swoops in from the accidentally left open window. He shivers, groggily feels the goose bumps that arise on his flesh, and seeks more warmth underneath his blankets.

But as the redhead does so, he comes across a bundle of mussed hair that tickles his nose. He blinks his eyes open, and pretends that it isn't half as bright as the morning truly is, as well as pretends that he doesn't have the makings of a hangover headache.

He turns onto his side and props himself up. As Axel stares down at the body cuddled beside him, memories of last night come rushing back into the foreground of his mind so fast it makes his headache bloom into a migraine.

Now, the memories are fuzzy, but they're clear enough for Axel to know three things: one, that Roxas got sick and vomited in the bathroom of the club, and Axel offered to take him back to campus; Sora left with a fair-haired and ruby-haired set of girls; and he didn't get laid, although he did lay beside the unconscious blond while he cleaned him up with tender care.

The pyro sighs and runs his hand through his hair, the dislike of his brand of hangover-morning-breath visible on his face. He peers down at the sweet boy beside him and smiles, however; because he has the blond all to himself. Sora isn't around, and neither is anybody else. He can do whatever he wants with the boy; or, at least, anything the boy will allow him to do.

Suddenly, Roxas mumbles something in his sleep, rolls onto his side, and dusts the crust out of his eye lashes. Then, slowly, he blinks into full awareness and takes in the situation as his head pounds with a dull, hazy pain. "Wh-what?" he yawns, and shakes himself awake as he sits up in the bed and stares, dumbfounded, at Axel. "Axel? Why am I …?"

"You got sick at the club last night," Axel explains as he tosses off the covers and hops out of bed. "So I helped you out. It's as simple as that."

Roxas looks over himself, and realizes that Axel is telling the truth; after all, if he had been taken advantage of at all, his clothing would be missing and the sheets would be sticky, and more than likely his butt would be sore. So he nods, comprehending, even through the semi-drunkenness screwing with his thought process.

"I'm gonna go jump in the shower," Axel announces as he reaches into the mini-fridge and wolfs down a banana to balance out the remaining alcohol in his system. Plus, he needs to have some kind of breakfast, no matter what kind of morning it is. Teasingly, Axel adds after he swallows the last bite, "You're welcome to join me."

Roxas frowns at Axel's perverted statement, but there is an upside to showering with Axel: he won't stumble, slip, and fall if someone is there to catch and stabilize him. When he was drunk one other time in the past (last year, after prom), Sora stuck by him when he was vomiting, sleeping, and even when he was on his unsteady feet in the shower.

But where is Sora now? He wasn't with Roxas last night when the blond was vomiting. He wasn't here when Roxas was sleeping. And he certainly isn't here in the morning to watch over him in the shower. But Axel was there, and he is here.

His logic seeming sound in this instant, Roxas shrugs and gets to his feet. He wobbles, but doesn't fall. "Yeah, sure. Why not?"

The drummer freezes. A single brow rises, and he cocks his head in Roxas's direction. "Are you pulling my leg, Blondie?"

Roxas shakes his head. "Nah. I figure, you know… I might as well. I don't want to hurt myself while showering alone, and it's not like I'm shy like my brother. I don't care if I shower with someone. I mean, it's just a bath while standing, right? No big deal. Cleaning is cleaning."

Axel smirks, supposing that the younger boy doesn't realize the naivety in his words. "Alright, if you say so. Follow me."

And so Roxas trails behind the taller male and doesn't second guess himself as the bathroom door closes in their wake. He doesn't flinch as he undresses himself, and Axel watches his movements with hungry eyes. And he doesn't take notice of the way Axel licks his lips as he tosses off his own final piece of clothing, nor does he notice the gleam in the redhead's acrid green orbs.

Roxas switches on the water, waits for it to heat up, and then draws the curtain as he steps inside and eases himself into the warm rain. Axel follows close behind, and lets Roxas wet his hair first before they wordlessly trade places to let Axel wet his own hair. They rinse out the gel from their hair, and go as far as to wash the opposite person's brightly colored locks.

But then Axel offers, "Want me to scrub your back for you?" and Roxas agrees to it, and he even reciprocates the action. But then, as Axel turns back around and reaches behind Roxas's head for the soap, he smiles fondly and leans in to kiss Roxas's dripping lips as the water streams down his charming facial features.

The blond's eyes flutter closed, and he accepts the kiss, although the thought of Sora's lips on his own flashes through his mind for a millisecond. Yet as soon as it comes it leaves again, and Roxas ignores that it ever occurred.

Axel runs his tongue over Roxas's lips, and the steam and heat in the shower stall seems to escalate to a new high.

The redhead deepens the kiss with every last ounce of kissing experience that he has obtained, and in the meantime, he grabs the soap he was initially reaching for and begins to run the lukewarm bar over Roxas's supple flesh. The blond arches into the touch, and Axel continues his small circular rotations down Roxas's back and along his perfectly round cheeks off the base of his spine. And he moves across to the boy's hips, and kisses down the boys neck as he reaches to clean the boy's legs. Roxas gasps, his eyes still closed from the kiss, and a moan leaks out of his mouth. When he and Sora showered that one time, this never happened…

Axel is now eye-level with Roxas's private area, and he can't help but smile as he finds the freshman partially erected. He takes this opportunity to lick the round flesh hanging just below, and proceed upwards to the now half-erect shaft.

Roxas makes a peculiar noise, like a blend of a mewl, a sharp inhale, and an outcry. Axel instantly loves this sound, and causes the boy to produce it again by dropping the soap to run his hand up from the boy's knee to the base of his thigh as he latches his lips on Roxas's significantly smaller head.

"A-Axel, don't –"

"But isn't this fun, Rox?" Axel replies playfully as a devilish grin consumes his face. He stands back to full height. "Besides, I really like you. Can't you tell?" And he grips the freshman's wrist as he leans in, pressing his length to the other's.

Roxas feels himself flush as a much harder, much larger member rubs his own. And it feels just so damn good, so damn delicious, that he rubs back, his body acting on its own. Axel finds this amusing.

"So you must like me, too," the redhead murmurs, whisper-close to Roxas's ear. He kisses the blond again, and turns him swiftly around to pin him to the back of the long shower-and-bath-combo stall. Water beats down on Axel's back, burning pink streaks, but he doesn't mind. He keeps one hand around Roxas's wrist as he runs his fingers down a hiked-up leg tanner than his own. "But how much do you like me, I wonder? Do you like me enough to let me inside?"

The question could ne innocent is the redhead meant 'inside your emotional barriers' or 'inside you soul' or even 'inside your head.' But he didn't mean any of these things. Axel means that he wants to violate Roxas. Violate, but with permission first.

The blonde nibbles his lip. Everything is still so… dream-like, because the hangover he has is like being buzzed all over again. So he doesn't know what to do; should he have sex with Axel?

Axel is awfully alluring, and the redhead clearly does not see this as a one-time fuck; he obviously wants to date Roxas, and maybe even be with him for a long time, like years and years. Still, could he handle love-making now, at this age and moment? Could he tolerate having some guy he has hardly gotten to know moving inside of his body?

And all of a sudden, Roxas comes to a conclusion: yes, he could. Deep down, it's to prove to himself that he isn't lusting after (and possibly already in love with?) his twin brother. But at the same time, deep down, it's to spite his brother. More shallowly, it's to say that he is no longer a virgin. And somewhere in the middle of deep and shallow, Roxas knows that he could do this because, if nothing else, it will provide temporary bliss.

"I'll let you inside," the blond says firmly, and he lifts his other leg to latch both onto Axel's defined hips.

The redhead feels his heart leap into his throat, the joy momentarily overriding the stabs of arousal rocking his system.

The problem with Axel is, he doesn't believe in preparing his partner. In his opinion, the pain only adds to the pleasure; and sharp angles and a lack of preparing help achieve this best.

So he releases Roxas's wrist and grips both of his thin thighs, and tells the boy in a soft voice, "Relax."

"The hot water already did that," Roxas replies, and just as the words process in Axel's mind, Roxas feels the taller male's pelvis buck forward and penetrate him.

Roxas lets out a howl, and Axel grinds his teeth and clenches his eyes closed as he leans forward, his forehead resting on Roxas's collar bone. Axel rubs calming circles with his thumbs on Roxas's legs, and reminds him to relax. The freshman whimpers and clings tighter to Axel's broad shoulders. Then, achingly slow, Axel burrows into Roxas's entrance as the blond rocks back against the shower wall.

Finally sheathed inside, Axel counts to five with the Mississippi-seconds method. Then, he uses Roxas's legs and the balancing force of the cool, clean, tiled wall to slide out. Roxas moans, because it strikes his nerves in precisely the correct manner when Axel pulls out. And this next time, as Axel shoves back in, Roxas's vision blurs with white behind his lids. And this is when he realizes why gay sex is supposed to feel good, too.

Axel picks up his pace into a steady beating, the squeal of the water streaming from the showerhead and the heat between them and the sexy image of dripping water, perked nipples, and slick pleasure building up all around them.

Upon reaching his first orgasm not created on his own with a shameful hand, Roxas peeks open one eye.

And for an instant, there is no redhead in front of him, pounding him into the wall; there is no hint of triangular tattoos, nor green eyes dark with lust; instead, as the wonderfully crushing pleasure shoots throughout his entire body from the way he is being struck from the inside just so, he sees someone else. He sees, in Axel's place, his twin brother.

In that short second, he sees brown hair and mirroring blue eyes and blushing cheeks, and he hears Sora's strained pants laced with a moan in Sora's voice, and all too soon, Roxas's small, wet, warm world comes crashing down around him.

The spasm which sends his entire body into beautiful tremors is sparked by this brief image, and Roxas calls out to nobody in particular as Axel initiates one final thrust into him and the blond comes.

Roxas has never wasted so much bodily fluid in his life, and he blacks out for an unearthly minute as Axel releases inside of him, a shuddering breath being emitted from Axel's mouth.

When both of them return to their senses, they are in an intertwined pile on the floor of the shower as the water pelts down on them, washing away the evidence of their sin. A pinkish tint is added to the white swirling down the drain, but Roxas hardly cares that it is from his own orifice, because right now he feels all-around too amazing to be bothered by it.

Once they are out of the shower and drying off, adding lotion to one another, Roxas forgets that he saw his twin before he came, and Axel tells him that they are officially dating, no matter what the blond says. Roxas laughs, complying to the statement, before yawning again.

"I know I just woke up about an hour ago, but I really want to lay down for a while. Maybe nap," Roxas states.

Axel chuckles. "I'd expect so. You go ahead; I'm going to go do some laundry that needs to be done. Stay here as long as you like, and I'll be back soon. And if Sora shows up… do me a favor and ask him where the hell he disappeared to."

The name sparks something in the blond, but he can't remember what. He shrugs, and goes to the bed in one of Axel's nightshirts while the senior puts on some clothes, gathers up a bunch and stuffs them into a garbage bag before heading out the door.

Left alone, curled up on Sora's bed (since Axel's feels all too intimate), Roxas's hangover starts to fade as his mind spirals down into a grey-black dream world.

[jump;]

Sora can't believe that he permitted those two whacky girls to carry him off the way they did, dragging him here and there until, finally, they stopped at Kairi's house to call it a night, although by that time it was two in the morning.

He slept over at his grade school friend's abode, and watched with warm peace as the two girls fell asleep facing one another, their hands together under their chins, their noses an inch apart. Kairi and Naminé have always been closer than merely cousins; they are best friends and are practically sisters with how deeply their blood-related roots grow.

The brunet smiled at them, and pretty soon was asleep as well.

But now it is the morning, with the sun high in the sky, and the digital clock near Sora's head nagging at him to wake up, because it's eleven o' clock in the a.m., which is far too close to noon. So the eighteen-year-old stretches and forces himself to rise.

He finds the two girls still sleeping, and he takes this opportunity to shower and get dressed in last nights clothes, since they are the only pair he has with him. Sora even makes himself some toast with peanut butter for breakfast, and downs a glass of milk. He leaves a note for Kairi, telling her that he is going back to his dorm, and he places a friendly kiss on their foreheads before slipping on his sneakers and making his exit.

When he left the note, he noticed that they had driven his car back home, and he hopes that the girls have a way to get their own car out of the club's parking lot as he starts his vehicle and backs out of the driveway. He still feels groggy from the late night full of shopping and rave-hopping with the two girls. He vaguely recalls one of them trying to make-out with him, but he can't remember which girl it had been. Sora can only assume it was Kairi, because Naminé doesn't seem bold enough. She's far too sweet for her own good sometimes, but oh, the petite blonde is so adorable.

The lobby of the dorm is packed full of busy college students getting ready for school on Monday, and the elevator lift takes a while, but finally, Sora makes it back to his room.

Yet as he steps inside and closes the door behind him, he spots a lump under his covers. Perplexed, he paces over to the lump and withdraws the sheets enough to reveal the face of the body preoccupying his bed.

Lo and behold, as soon as the blankets are removes, the golden-framed face of a sleeping Roxas meets Sora's eyes. He smiles faintly, as it has always been a secret pastime of the brunet's to watch his twin sleep. Because when Roxas sleeps, he is less stony-faced and sarcastic, because in his sleep, his features are relaxed into innocence and the only words that fall from his lips are murmured clips and phrases in gentle tones.

On impulse, Sora reaches out to brush his knuckles down his brother's face, a face similar to his own and yet different, with a slightly downturned nose and thinner lips. "Roxas, what are you doing here?" he asks the slumbering eighteen-year-old, as if the blond will answer him.

Suddenly, Roxas's breathing pauses its pattern and his eyes squint. Then, they flutter open, and Sora jerks backward in surprise.

"Sora?" the blond yawns loudly. He sits up in the bed and winces, although in his haze of sleep he doesn't quite know why he is hurting.

"Hey," the brunet says softly. "What are you doing in mine and Axel's dorm?"

And then, all too fast, memories from the club all the way up until the present come roaring back into Roxas's mind with such raw ferocity that his head droops forward. Every last detail is finally clear and registering normally in his no longer drunken or hung over mind.

Ashamed with himself for more reasons than one, Roxas clamps his hand over his mouth and shakes his head repeatedly. "It's, uh, a long story," he explains in a low voice. A blush creeps onto his face as two details in particular make him shift uncomfortably: one, that he lost his virginity, and two, who he pictured during his climax. Shuddering, Roxas climbs out of the bed past where Sora is sitting and rushes to the bathroom to gag into the toilet.

"Roxas! Are you all right?" the brunet cries as he hurries behind his twin. He kneels next to him and places a hand on the blond's upper spine, gently messaging Roxas's neck with his thumb. "Did you drink too much last night? Is that why you're here?"

That actually is the reason why he's here, in this dorm, but not exactly why he feels like vomiting in this moment. He yanks himself to the left, out of Sora's range. "Don't touch me!" he snaps, and immediately regrets it when he takes a quick look at Sora's face.

The brunet removes his comforting hands from the blond's shoulder and looks at him with a wounded expression. "I'm sorry," he says in a hushed tone, and scoots backward on the floor, his hands falling to his lap.

Sora can take snapped remarks from adults. He can take it from miscellaneous peers. But Sora cannot stand to have his close friends – especially his brother – use cruel tones with him. When Riku gets a jeering tone in his words, or when Kairi refuses to speak to him, or when Roxas does things like this… it hurts. It cuts Sora deeply, and makes him feel guilty for simply being around to inflict such annoyance on the individuals precious to him.

All he wants to do is help, but sometimes he gets shoved out of the way. And he hates that.

Just as Roxas is about to apologize and say that he didn't mean it, he has to turn his head as disgusting bile washes up from his lurching stomach. His head spins. The faint thoughts someone gets before they puke enters and leaves his mind as quickly as a drop of dew evaporating in the morning sunshine.

Sora wants to lean forward again and place his hand on Roxas's back or hold back his messy hair, but he has been told not to touch, so he restrains himself. The brunet worries his inner cheek as Roxas's face comes back into view from inside the toilet seat. The blond is pale, with glistening lips and watery eyes. Sora's heart clenches.

Without a sound, Roxas heaves himself up and stumbles to the sink where he rinses out his taste buds and teeth with minty mouthwash. Then, slowly, he turns back to his brother, whom is still seated on the floor. "Sora," he rasps, "I didn't mean to push you away. I was just…" Protecting you from my incestuous mind, he finishes mentally, but knows that he cannot say this. He shakes his head. "Never mind." He pauses. "Come here," Roxas demands in a thin voice, and he opens his arms.

The older twin doesn't hesitate to pick himself up off of the floor and embrace his opposing half. "I don't like it when you do that, Roxas," Sora mumbles into his brother's shoulder. His grip tightens, and it is all Roxas can do not to lean into the touch by pressing himself closer. Having sex with Axel this morning hadn't been a good idea; now Roxas keeps picturing nasty, interesting things. Even in a sweet moment such as this.

"I know, and I'm sorry." The blond reaches up to smooth Sora's hair in back, which is easy to do since all of his gel is absent from the soft locks.

"It hurts, Roxas," Sora continues as if Roxas hadn't spoken, "Because out of everybody I know, you mean the most to me. And I wait for every chance I can have to help you out in some way."

All of his perverted thoughts from five seconds ago leave his mind completely. He softens and wraps his arms further around Sora's lean, toned form. "I had no idea, Sora…" Roxas breathes. "I won't do it again, if it hurts you that much. I swear."

"Thanks," Sora mumbles, and pulls out of the hug to show his brother his appreciation of the promise by smiling.

Roxas offers a humble smile of his own, not nearly as bright, but similarly soft. "Don't thank me. It was my fault in the first place."

Sora tilts his head sideways. "Will you be okay now, Rox?"

The blond manages a short chuckle. "Yeah, I'll be fine." Fine until I screw up one of these days and reveal my feelings for you, a small voice in Roxas's head says. He shudders, because he knows that it's true.

Sora's smile grows. "I'm glad." He reaches down to take Roxas's hand and give it a squeeze, like he used to when they both got in trouble in their early years. "Come on, let's get changed – you can wear some of my clothes so that Axel can have that nightshirt back – and go out for ice cream. It helps hangovers, no lie; the sugar and coldness are better than any other medicine, or so I've heard."

"Heard from whom?" Roxas questions as they head out of the bathroom together.

"Riku," Sora explains with a shrug. "And he would know, the rebel-bastard."

"Don't curse, Sora," Roxas teases, "It's not becoming."

The brunet rolls his eyes as he tugs off his shirt. "Hey, I might follow the rules a lot and I might be a little immature for eighteen, but I'm no child, okay? I can curse if I want to."

Roxas purposely faces the opposite direction while his brother changes, so not to stir up the dog shit. "Uh-huh. Sure. Whatever you say."

Behind his back, Sora sticks his tongue out at his twin for good measure. Expecting this (maybe with the assistance of twin-telepathy), Roxas raises a fist and shoves his middle finger in the air at his brother.

"Jerk," Sora pouts. "Telling me to fuck off after I only stick my tongue out at you is hardly fair!"

"Life isn't fair, Sora."

"I'm getting really tired of that comeback."

"Aren't we all?" Roxas laughs. But his grin vanishes when he realizes something: after what he recently figured out, he can't be dating Axel. It wouldn't do, leading the poor redhead on when all Roxas truly wants his is own twin. So he'll have to break it off with the pyromaniac… later. Right now, he has some Sea-Salt ice cream to order and consume with his brother.

[jump;]

Demyx wakes in the morning with a pleasant feeling all around him. He yawns and stretches, and finds a head lying on his chest. Memories of the night before leak into his brain like a broken tap water faucet. A strange grin leaps onto his lips with the final memory of losing his virginity with the man sleeping on him.

"G'afternoon, Zexion," he murmurs as he notes the way the bookworm is breathing; shallowly, meaning that he isn't asleep. "How long have you been up?" It is about twelve thirty on Saturday morning, which happens to be the latest Demyx has ever slept.

"Since ten forty-seven," Zexion replies automatically. He lifts his head to peer up at the guitarist's face. "But I didn't want to wake you, and I was enjoying the sound of your heartbeat."

If Demyx doesn't know any better, he would say that Zexion is taking this lay a little too seriously. He sounds as if… as if he is in love.

"You're sweet," Demyx giggles roughly, to ease the tension. It's followed by a cough. "But let's get up now. I'm thirsty, and a little hungry, too."

Zexion nods and removes himself form Demyx's side. And the funny thing is, he doesn't bat an eyelash as he departs from the sheets in his birthday suit, with traces of dry seed on the lower half of his body. "Shall I shower first, or would you like to?" he questions.

The blond flushes and looks away. "Uh… You can, if you want. I really need a water bottle." And so he gets up as well and opens the miniature refrigerator in their dorm in search of water. He finds one – the last bottle of Ice Mountain! – and cracks open the lid. He chugs half of the contents in a minute flat. "Ahh, that's better," he sighs as he catches his breath afterwards. He hears the shower faucet squeal into action, followed by the familiar sound of a running shower.

Demyx scans the room to see the damage. One bed – his own – is still unmade from the day before, and there are clothes scattered on the floor from their haste last night. Turning around, he can see the evidence of their actions in Zexion's bed, directly on the coversheet of the mattress. He winces, but finds no regret in his heart over what they did; it had been the best moment of Demyx's life. And while he would have rather shared that moment with Axel, the one he truly loves, it was bliss with Zexion. Utter bliss.

Not too long after Demyx's bottle is drained, and he stands in a robe in the center of the dorm, Zexion emerges from the bathroom. "It's free," he states matter-of-factly. He is still naked, although he has a towel around his narrow waist now.

"R-right," Demyx stutters as heat rises to his face. How is it that he is bashful when he had sex with this person not twelve hours ago? – Sometimes, Demyx can't even understand his own reactions to things.

When Demyx disappears into the bathroom, Zexion collapses on the floor near his bed. His legs feel weak and his anal canal is throbbing with a dull ache. But he feels so happy, so disturbingly happy, and all because he finally feels wanted. After all of the years he has been alive, he feels like he belongs. He and Demyx have a lt of outward differences, but inside, they couldn't be more similar, and it is such a comfort to Zexion that he wants to cry. He doesn't cry, however, for fear of worrying Demyx over nothing of great importance.

Unless, of 'course, you consider the fact that Zexion's love for Demyx to be 'important.'

Which, consequently, can bode unwell if Zexion chooses to confess. But he would never proclaim such sentiments towards someone; he admits it to himself, but that is as far as he will go. He learned from his mistake, and will not allow it to happen again.

Sighing to himself, Zexion unfolds his body from the carpet. He paces over to his dresser and takes out a few clothing items, hoping that they match. Although he doesn't care if they don't; clothes are clothes, right? So long as he's comfortable, it doesn't matter what he wears.

The items in his hands are grey, black, and sky blue; they coordinate well with his hair and eyes, although he can't tell the difference. He's homosexual, but he's not a color-and-pattern-coordinating, womanly homosexual.

When Demyx emerges, he's dressed, despite the fact that Zexion doesn't recall the blond bringing clothes into the bathroom with him. "Hey, do you mind if I go out for a little while?"

"No, of 'course not. Why are you asking permission?" Zexion replies mildly.

Demyx shrugs. "I dunno; I guess it seemed like the right thing to do." He pauses to ruffle his wet hair and pick up his wallet from the back pocket of his fallen pair of jeans. "I should be back in about an hour or so. Bye, Zex."

"Mhm," Zexion murmurs as he sticks his nose in a book. He really should wash his soiled sheets, but at the moment, he wants nothing more than to rest on his bed. Maybe even take some pain medication for his ass.

"Oh! Don't sit on your bed, it's all dirty! Here, go lay on mine, and I'll take your blankets to the Laundromat to wash. I might as well," the hydro beams.

Zexion stares at Demyx incredulously. "…Thank you, Demyx," he mutters softly.

The blond flushes slightly. "It's no problem. I might be out for two hours instead of one, though."

"It doesn't matter to me. I'll be in the same place when you return."

"Okay." He yanks the sheets and comforter off of the mattress and tosses them into an empty laundry basket. Then, with the basket balanced on his hip while being held by one hand, Demyx hobbles over to the side of his bed where Zexion is sitting against the wall.

"Yes?" the shorter male questions as he peers upwards over the spine of his book.

Demyx bends down to kiss Zexion momentarily and tenderly on the lips. "Bye," Demyx repeats. He beams at the small blush on Zexion's cheeks.

"Bye," the other replies, and doesn't watch Demyx leave with the basket, although he is definitely tempted to do so.

[jump;]

"Uhg, I fucking hate doing laundry!" Axel bellows throughout the university's laundry room. People give him odd stares and questioning looks, but he ignores them. Screw those assholes, he isn't cut out to do housework! They should know this from all of the other times he's been in here on Saturdays throughout his college years. And if they don't know, then they should be able to tell by his appearance, because Axel most certainly does not look like the homey type.

"I don't think it's so bad," a voice says behind Axel. The redhead whirls around to find his best friend entering through the front doors of the college community's personal Laundromat with a pile of sheets in a basket hanging off of his hip.

"Demyx!" Axel grins, and he couldn't be happier, because if he can, he will abuse his relationship with Demyx to get the younger teen to do his laundry for him; after all, Demyx loves doing laundry. He says that it's the one chore he doesn't mind doing. "Hey, Dem-Dem, would you like to give me a hand? I still don't know what I'm doing." He puts on his best persuasive expression. It always seems to work on the dishwater blond guitarist.

Demyx rolls his green-blue eyes, but ends up nodding. "Yeah, okay; but you owe me for this, bud," he retorts.

"You have a scout's word," Axel swears with a hand over his left pectoral.

"…Axel, you were never a boy scout. Which means you have no scout honor to give your word with," Demyx snorts.

"It's the thought that counts," Axel responds lamely.

"That only counts with gifts."

"Whatever," the redhead sighs, giving up. He plops himself down in a chair while Demyx loads the laundry into two different machines, one for the sheets and one for Axel's clothes. The pyro frowns. "Yo, Dem; what's with those sheets? Those aren't your normal blue ones. Where'd you get 'em?"

Demyx seems to freeze in place. "Uh… they're Zexion's," he says truthfully.

Axel's frown deepens. "What, did he get you to do his laundry, too? That bastard! Look, Dem, if your roommate is hassling you or being too manipulative –"

"He's not!" Demyx says quickly. "Zexion is wonderful. See, I just offered to do his laundry since his sheets were… in need of cleaning. That's all."

"In need of cleaning? He just moved in! Unless he didn't put new sheets on his bed when he first arrived, those should be good for another wee–k…" And, suddenly, Axel breaks off his sentence midway as comprehension grips him. He smirks broadly. "Okay, either you caught him masturbating, or my little Dem-Dem finally lost his virginity! – So which is it, huh? C'mon, Dem, tell me! I'm your BFF! And if this guy is your new BBB, then I should know."

"What's a BBB?" Demyx asks to divert the topic at hand.

"It's a best butt buddy. That's beside the point, though; what I want to know is if you two did it or not!" The last portion of the accusation is whispered to keep from prying ears around the Laundromat, but Demyx heard it squarely, and begins to blush because of it. His ears burn like the wood Axel lights now and then in the metal trash can in his room.

Demyx gulps. "Uh… look, if I tell you what happened, do you swear not to shout it to the world? I mean, can you keep it between only us? I don't want anyone to know, not even your roommate or new friends or anybody. Understand?"

"Consider it committed to my memory bank, Demyx," Axel promises wholeheartedly. "Now out with it, man!"

The blond gulps for a second time. "Okay… Well, er, um… see, I was a little drunk last night, and while Zexion was driving me back to our dorm, I said some things I shouldn't have, and the next thing I know, we're making out in the hallway on the way to our room, and we're stumbling into his bed, and then… then…"

"He screwed you?" Axel barks a laugh.

"No, I screwed him, thankyouverymuch! But still… yeah. We 'did it,' as you so bluntly put it."

"It's called a euphemism, Demy; it makes blunt things sound less harsh. I could've just said, you know, you two had full-blown anal sex."

"…You said it just now."

"And doesn't it sound all the more blunt? Which makes me right the first time?"

Demyx growls in frustration – a new sound from him that Axel has never heard before – and pinches between his eyes the way Zexion does when he's irritated. It seems the bookworm has been rubbing off on his roommate, no pun intended.

Demyx releases his hand form his face and says, "I don't want to debate about the specifics, Ax; this is big for me, okay? So can't you, y'know… be happy for me? Or supportive? Or something?"

Axel smiles in a warmer manner and places his hand on his friend's shoulder as he stands to meet him. "Sure I can, Demyx; I didn't mean to offend you or anything. This is great news; I mean, now I can share all kinds of stuff with you without feeling guilty about ruining your innocence!"

Demyx chuckles. "This is all one big joke to you, isn't it?"

"A little bit."

Demyx runs his hand through his hair and sits down beside where Axel had been sitting. The redhead returns to his seat just as Demyx requests, "What is it you want to share with me, anyway?"

"Only that I got laid, too," he flashes a grin. "This morning. That hot blond who's my bratty roommate's twin, y'know, Roxas? Yeah. I took him back with me last night because he was drunker than shit, and I wanted to help the poor kid, but this morning… well, let's just say things got R-rated. It was fucking amazing." And he sighs, not at all realizing that each word is making Demyx pale further and further. And then the next set of words nearly throws Demyx off the edge. "I think I love him, Demyx. I just have… such a strong feeling, ya know?"

The hydromaniac is crushed. His heart splinters inside, and his fists clench the side of the seat with an iron grip so that he doesn't fall apart. "Wow, Axel… that's… great," he manages to choke out. He knows that he slept with Zexion, but some part of him had hoped that Axel only had a waning fling with this Roxas guy, and hopefully, would come to realize that he would get more if he went with Demyx.

But it seems that that is all it has become: hopes, not possible realities. Because now… well, now, they each have someone for themselves and will never form a romantic relationship between them.

To say that Demyx is disappointed would be an understatement.

Still, he sucks it up, and forces a smile. "Who knows? Maybe we can double date some time."

Axel likes the sound of that. "Hellz yeah," he agrees.

There is a pause in which the lone sounds in the laundry room are churning washer machines, humming dryers, and the faint chatter of loose change in someone's pocket.

Then, slowly, Axel cleans his throat and states firmly, "You know, I can see through you most of the time, Demyx. You probably don't see how I could, but I do. And I can tell that you're a little wigged out about something. What is it?"

"It's nothing," Demyx lies with a flat tone. He leans back in his chair and stares at the spinning washer in front of him, showing through its clear door the soap and colors of the clothing going around and around.

Axel sighs through his nose. "Don't lie to me, Dem," he grinds out, and turns in his chair to lay a hand on Demyx's hand, which is clenched over the side of the chair between them. "It's written all over your face. I usually ignore it, because it's none of my business, but things are different now."

"How are they different?"

"Well, for one, you've gotten drunk. And had sex," he reminds the blond. "All in one night, too, might I add."

"So?"

"So!" Axel stresses as he squeezes Demyx's hands, "So it's important! And it only proves more how much you're hiding! People say that you have an open face, Demyx, but it is the openness that allows you to keep secrets. You're just like him sometimes; Zexion, I mean. You both have masks. But I can see through yours, got it? And I know that something is hurting you." He releases his friend's hand to rub a temple. "I've been wanting to have this conversation with you for a long time, and believe me, the last place I wanted to have it was at a fucking Laundromat of all places, but no one is listening and it's as good a place as any. So speak up, Demyx, or else I'll have to start guessing."

"Guess away, because I don't want to tell you," the blond sulks as he crosses his arms over his chest.

"Fine, I will," the redhead huffs. He turns sharply forward and lists the possibilities on his fingers, his eyes closed in thought. "One, it could be that you didn't want to lose your virginity, and so you feel dirty or used. Two, you don't love Zexion, but feel he might love you, and you don't want to hurt his feelings by saying that it was a drunken mistake. Three, you're in love with someone else, and actually wanted to screw them this whole time. Or four, it's a combination of any of those, and you're too scared to admit it." Axel opens his emerald eyes to gaze at Demyx's profile. "So which is it, Demyx?"

"Four."

"Which combination is it?"

"You have to guess, because like I said, I'm not telling," Demyx retorts.

Axel sighs through his nose again, all in annoyance. "Okay, fine. Then I'm going to go with a guess that my gut has been warning me about for a year now: it's a combination of you not loving Zexion but not wanting to hurt his feelings because you're actually in love with me."

The blond's heart skips a beat. Axel… knows? He knows, and has known for about a year now, and he never said or did anything?

Demyx begins to panic inwardly, although he maintains his current pose outwardly. "What makes you think that I love you, of all people?"

"Oh, come on Demyx, it's not that hard to figure out!" the redhead grumbles. "You blush around me a lot. You stare at my body whenever we go swimming together. You subconsciously flirt with me when we tease each other. And –my favorite – you mumble or whisper my name in your sleep when we have sleepovers."

Demyx's throat runs dry. He can't seem to work up enough saliva to speak. He tries to generate spit by biting his tongue. It works, but how he can taste traces of blood, and he despises blood. And born from this is the response, "So I suppose this is the end of our friendship."

Axel blinks in surprise. "What? No! Never!" the pyro exclaims. He grabs Demyx's face with one hand to force the blond to look into his strikingly green orbs. "Listen, Demyx: if I had wanted to stop being your friend because I knew you liked me, I would have done it a long time ago. But the truth is, you're one of the only people I have, and I don't want to lose that. I might be falling for Roxas, but you have to remember that I've known you longer, so in a weird way, I love you, too. Not in the same context, but hell, close enough! So please, Dem; don't fret over this. Really. I got your back, and I always will." He pauses as he lets go of the shorter male's face and opens his arms. "Bro grabs?"

Demyx laughs, both out of relief and out of amusement from Axel's facial expression. "Yeah, bro grabs," he complies. He leans forward over their chairs' armrest and does their secret handshake before yanking Axel into a hug and patting him on the back, hard. But he doesn't let go after the pat. "Can you promise me something, Axel?"

"I can try," the other smiles into the embrace. "What's on your mind?"

"If things fall through with Roxas and Zexion for some reason… can we get together?" he asks almost inaudibly.

Axel tenses. "God, Demyx, I don't know…" he replies as gently as he can as he pulls out of the hug. He rubs the back of his neck. "Maybe, I guess. If things fall through with them both."

"Okay. That's all I wanted to know," Demyx says softly. He isn't looking at Axel. "Thank you."

Axel snorts. "Don't be thanking me just yet." He stands. "Look, I'm going to go. Thanks for taking care of my laundry; you can drop it off at my dorm later, when it's dried; I'll fold it. Right now, though, I have some stuff to take care of."

"Sure thing," Demyx nods, back to his cheery self. "See you later!"

"Yeah… later," the redhead agrees a tad despondently as he waves a sluggish hand and exits the laundry room.

[skip;]

Roxas hates college. He hates it, he hates it, he hates it. With a deep, burning, uncontrollable passion. College sucks ass; it sucks big, hairy, colorful, baboon ass.

And it's not because half of his professors are strange and talk funny and call on him when he doesn't raise his hand like his old high school teachers did; although that is certainly part of it. No, Roxas hates college because his stupid brother decided to stupidly pick almost every single stupid class that Roxas has, which is stupid, because now that means that Roxas has to be around Sora all the time, every day, and while he is used to that from living with the brunet for, oh, all his life, that doesn't help Roxas's situation in the present.

Because when you're in love with someone that you shouldn't be, the last thing you need is temptation.

Therefore, Roxas hates college.

He also hates it because college calls for more serious relationships with people than the relationships of high schoolers; and this makes breaking things off with Axel all the more difficult. But it's for the redhead's own good, isn't it? If Roxas doesn't cut the ties, he will only succeed in wounding the poor senior worse in the future.

But it has been a week, and he hasn't done anything. He merely went out with Axel a few times after class hours and ate lunch with him each day of the school week. Roxas did a majority of this in silence, permitting Axel to talk as much as he wished. And with it being Saturday once again, Roxas is torn as to what to do, if he should do anything whatsoever.

"Roxerz, are you okay?" the older male poses with none-too-mild concern. He touches Roxas's face, but the blond turns out of the touch.

"I'm okay," he replies. "I'm thinking."

"What about?" Axel wants to know. He had intended to say, 'don't push yourself too hard,' as a joke, but it seems too immature.

"About…" Roxas begins, and then cuts himself off. He opens his mouth again, shuts it, and then tries a third time to articulate his ideas. "It's just that… um, how can I put this?" He pauses, and his boyfriend waits patiently for him to say something. Roxas casts his richly blue gaze on Axel and asks, "Have you ever had to hurt someone in order to save them from something worse later on?"

The pyro is taken aback by this question. It is definitely the most bizarre and intimate question he has ever been asked. He runs a hand through his red spikes and scratches his cheek near one of his black triangular tattoos. On his left hand from the wrist to his knuckles, a tattoo of the Roman numeral for eight bursting with flames is shown. "Er… that is a really good question," he starts lamely. "And to answer it: yes, I have had to do that before."

"Why did you do it? And how?"

Axel inhales sharply. "Well, Roxy…" he says at length, "There was this girl. Larxene. She was really into me. I mean, she was infatuated with me. Like, she refused to let me go. So I had to hurt her by dumping her before she got any crazy ideas about marriage and got sucked in too deep, only to have me say no. So there you have it. But I have had to do other things, too; like lie to my brother to save him from something our stepdad said about him, and once I had to knock one of my friends unconscious to give him an alibi for not being somewhere and doing something he shouldn't have been."

"Whoa," Roxas breathes. He hesitates, not sure what else to say, although one truth stands out: "That helps a lot. Thanks."

Axel grins. "It's nothing, Shorty," he chuckles, and brings his arm around Roxas's shoulders to kiss the top of his head. "Why did you ask, anyway?"

"Because I have a similar problem to one of the three you mentioned," he murmurs ashamedly, but he keeps his face strong-willed in appearance and holds himself together with the arms folded tightly across his chest. "And I wish I didn't have to do it, but I think that person will understand."

Axel raises an eyebrow, tempted to ask who the blond has to hurt in order to protect. But he holds his tongue, knowing that it isn't his place. Instead, he ruffles the freshman's golden locks and states, "I'm going to go grab a soda from the vending machines. I'll be back in a jiff."

"I'll be waiting," Roxas retorts second-naturedly. He sighs as soon as the redhead is out of earshot. "And I'm sorry, too, Axel. I'm sorry because, in this relationship, you're kind of like Larxene. And I have to dump you so that, later on, you aren't even more wounded when you find out that I'm in love with someone else."

You can't have your cake and eat it too; it is impossible to be in love and still have someone to fool around with. It only complicates things, and complication has never settled well with Roxas.

Feeling suddenly antsy, Roxas goes back on his word to wait and gets up from his spot on the park bench near the giant heart-shaped fountain pool. He paces around in a circle, and decides to leave. Technically, Axel ditched him first, right? – Oh well, even if he didn't, Roxas is going to take it that way in his defense.

The blond stuffs his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. He kicks at a rock, and then a beer bottle cap. Then, slowly, he makes his way around the campus until he reaches the main front steps, with the giant, 'KINGDOM UNIVERSITY' letters posted above his head. He whistles, ever impressed with the flamboyancy this school holds. It is very proud of itself, but it has ever right to be; they have some of the best professors in the country, and the most radiant garden.

During his aimless walk, Roxas waves hello to Professor Tron, head of the computer courses, whom all of the tech-nerds call Alan One. It's a joke, one that Roxas doesn't understand, but then again, he doesn't need to. He's not a tech-nerd.

He also comes across Miss Ariel, the swim coach, as well as Professor Skellington, who – ironically enough – teaches human biology with an actual human skeleton hanging in his lab.

Roxas has never seen so many teachers off-duty. It unnerves him a little, but he forgets that these professors often have Saturday classes with the adult groups, those who return to college after many years without a degree, or those who return to get a second degree.

"I hate this place," he mutters bitterly.

Roxas wants out. He doesn't want to be here with Axel and Sora any longer. He wishes that it would simply disappear, every last scrap of it.

[jump;]

Sora feels sick to his stomach. He can't seem to get his brother out of his head; the sweetness of his sleeping face, the soft warmth of his skin, and the dependability in his embrace… This is all Sora can think about, and it unnerves him. He shouldn't be having these thoughts about Roxas. It isn't normal.

He had been pondering over these things for the entirety of Sunday, while the cloudy sky loomed overhead.

As night falls in the present, Sora walks down a few flights of stairs to the lobby. He runs out into the drizzling rain, across the parking lot to the opposite dormitory building for single-person rooms. Roxas had been lucky enough to get assigned one of them, and Sora couldn't wait to get there; he is pretty sure that he will be able to sort out his odd thoughts if he can spend some times with his twin.

Plus, Sora is afraid of thunderstorms. Ever since he was a child, he became incapable of handling a thunderstorm by himself. He needs somebody with him, preferably Roxas or Riku. Someone strong and close to him who can hold back all of the unwanted memories of bloody soil and crashing thunder paired with painfully icy rain…

The moment prior to his exit from his dorm, Axel had their small television on Comedy Central when a severe thunderstorm warning rolled across the bottom of the screen in a red strip. Which is the reason why Sora is running out in the rain without an umbrella to his brother's dorm: he needs the comfort. Riku lives too far away from the college to be on time, and besides, the silver-haired boy hates driving in the rain. So Sora didn't bother to contact him. Instead, he bolted for the door.

Axel had asked where he was going, but Sora hadn't responded, and Axel didn't push. The brunet supposed that his roommate didn't give a shit where he went. "It's all for the better, I suppose," Sora says to himself with chattering teeth as his clothing gets soaked. He ducks into the back entrance of the dormitory and shakes himself off like a dog. "Now, which room was his again? Thirteen-oh dash one?" he questions his memory. The affirmation is jolted out of his brain as the first flash of lightning streaks in through the windows. He yelps, more afraid of the resounding boom to come than the light itself. "It's a good thing that Roxas lives on the bottom floor," he says speedily. He breaks into a jog down the length of the entrance until he reaches the hallways leading to the rooms. He selects one he knows will lead him the fastest to his twin's dorm.

In seconds, he is right in front of Roxas's door. He pants heavily from the jog that became a run, and he counts to himself. How far away is the thunder? It has been about five Mississippi-times seconds since the lightning, so the storm is a good five or more miles away, right?

Just as he thinks this, the thunder claps ear-ringing loud at that sounds like right outside of the building. Either Sora miscounted, or the counting method is nothing more than an old wives' tale.

Tears prick his eyes. He bites his lip as he knocks hastily on Roxas's door in their secret knock, done more out of habit than to tell Roxas who he is.

The blond opens the door a moment later, and doesn't need an explanation as to why Sora is dripping wet, on the verge of crying, and paler than a ghost. "Come on, let's get you a hot bath and some dry clothes," Roxas offers kindly.

Sora nods numbly in response as he takes baby steps into the room. In the three weeks that Sora has been here, he still has not yet seen his brother's dorm, and frankly, he hadn't given it much thought. But the room looks exactly like Roxas's bedroom at home, if not cleaner and more organized due to the lessened number of personal items he brought with him to college, and without the navy blue walls.

The red and black and white comforter is on the full-sized bed; the Speed Racer alarm clock from their joined twelfth birthday is on the end table; the Sticky Tack glow-in-the-dark stars are on the ceiling; the Good Charlotte, Green Day, My Chemical Romance, and other miscellaneous rock and punk band posters are above the bed; and the casual navy blue sitting chair is in the corner by a small bookcase with a reading lamp. And then, stuffed onto the end table beside the clock, is Roxas's laptop, which he always sits on his bed with do play his computer games and do his homework.

Even through the shaken feeling of repressed memories threatening to pop up, a faint smile touches Sora's lips. Some things never change, including the way somebody likes to decorate their room.

Roxas sets down a clean pair of his own pajamas in the closed toilet seat as he runs the faucet for a hot bath. Sora always preferred baths over showers, even into his teen years; Roxas knows this, and only hopes that his tub is "clean" (or what passes for clean to a college-aged boy).

"Here you go," he says as he stands and turns off the water. He leans out of the door to find Sora staring at his dorm room. Lightning flashes, and Sora shudders as the thunder comes quicker this time, equally booming as the last. "I'll leave you to it, then. Feel free to use any of the stuff I have in the bathroom."

Sora trembles, wanting so badly to reach out and hug his brother. But he would only make him cold and wet. "Thanks," he says instead. He doesn't push for a request to have Roxas stay in the bathroom with him, like he wants his brother to do.

Roxas shrugs and returns to his bed, continuing his actions on his laptop. "Don't forget to turn on the fan to drown out the sound of the storm," he reminds his barely-older twin.

Sora nods stiffly. Steadying himself, the brunet makes his way into the bathroom and shuts the door. He sheds his clothes, glances at his pathetically wet and clearly cold body in the mirror above the sink, and then banishes all thoughts as he steps into the tub.

The water scorches him for a second, but as he eases himself into the steaming water, Sora relaxes. He feels better like this, cleaner and purer and safer. Nothing can reach him as long as he has this blanket of warmth around him, liquid or not.

He soaks himself until he is heated to the bone, and then washes and rinses his hair. He lets the tub drain while he dresses, feeling slightly embarrassed to be wearing his brother's clothes. He then blow-dries his hair to add to the warmth, and once this is done, he feels complete. And with the fan on the whole time, he hadn't heard the storm one bit.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Sora shuffles across the carpeting to Roxas's bed, perpendicular to the window, whose curtains were drawn, thankfully. He climbs onto his brother's bed and sits Indian-style on one side. "Roxas," he murmurs, "Is it retarded that I feel like a child again during thunderstorms?"

The blond freezes mid-type and looks up from his laptop screen. "No, Sora; not at all. Everybody – college students or parents or elders – feels childish at some point or another. It's perfectly acceptable; in fact, it's common human nature to give in to fears and use child-like mannerisms against those fears. My psyche teacher taught me that last year right before prom."

Sora nods, but cringes as soon as the thunder crashes again in the background. He scoots closer to his twin. "And… it's okay to fear something like a thunderstorm, right? Even if it's only part of the weather?" He needs to hear this. He needs to hear reassurance, even if he has already asked the same question to Riku in the past.

"Of 'course!" Roxas assures firmly. "You had such a traumatic experience during a thunderstorm that it would shock me if you didn't fear them."

Sora nods for a second time. "Okay. Thank you, Roxas."

Roxas shuts his laptop lid and sets the computer on the floor. He won't be needing it for the remainder of the night. With sad eyes, Roxas gazes into his brother's face and see the memory being played on loop in his twin's mind, like some twisted mantra of sights and sounds, warped by the plopping of raindrops, strobe lighting of lightning, and rolls of thunder.

The memory, Roxas knows, is of a time when he was not present, but Sora had been. It was a time when Sora went out with their mother to visit a friend of hers. The brunet twin had been blond like Roxas and quite cheery, eager to go with his mother to just about any place. He also had been about nine years old, exactly half a lifetime ago for both eighteen-year-olds.

During the drive, it had been raining. And as Sora and their mother got closer to the destination, the rain turned into hail, and thunder began rolling in.

A tree was struck by lighting and sent creaking and burnt onto the ground. The black stains on the bark stood out like charred claw marks. Sora had screamed for his mother to watch out, but her tires slipped on the wet pavement, which sent them spiraling.

The car stopped when it fell into a ditch and hit a streetlamp. The driver's side of the car had collided with the post, and on the passenger's side in the backseat, Sora was safe and sound. But the twins' mother… she was bleeding profusely from the head where she was bent over the steering wheel, her hair covering her face.

She died as the paramedics carried her limp body from the car to the ambulance, the red and blue and white lights flickering in the sheets of rain.

The sound of the crash itself had been as startling and angry as thunder itself. And it's ironic, because they would have never crashed if it hadn't been storming; or better yet, if they had stayed home that day in the first place.

Coming out of the retold version of Sora's memory, Roxas blinked his eyes and panned them over to his brother, whom was starting to curl into fetal position where he sat. "Why…?" the brunet whispers, "Why did it have to be then? And why her?"

They loved their mother; adored her with all their hearts. And then she had to abruptly depart form this Earth. And in Sora's mind, that could never be justified, heaven or no heaven. She didn't deserve it. And, selfishly, Sora thought that he didn't deserve to witness such a horrific event.

"We aren't supposed to know why," Roxas answers gently. He sits up fully and slides over to his twin. "But it's all gone now. What's done is done; you can't keep flashing back to the past, Sora. Hakuna matata, remember? Like those guys – Timon, Pumba, and Simba – taught us in middle school? You have to be strong. You have to keep moving. When it storms, you can't think of Mom. You have to think of yourself, and your future, and know that she was glad that it was here and not you or me, her baby boys. She still loves us, and watches over us; I believe that, and you should, too."

"It's not easy, healing mental scars," Sora mumbles practically inaudibly. "But I think I can do it. It's been nine years now, and I've had you by my side the whole time. You've been my sanctuary, Roxas; you've kept me tied down on storming nights, and you're always here to love me." The tears he held back in the beginning start to flow out of his eyes. "I… I'll always need you. I'm not strong enough on my own. You complete me, Roxas, and not just because you're my twin. I don't know how to put it, but that's how I feel. I-I really l-love you," he hiccups, and falls into Roxas's arms. He clings to the younger twin, and in a hazy part of his mind, Sora rationalizes what his thoughts meant all along. But he doesn't share them; for now, they must be kept a secret.

Roxas is unable to speak. He doesn't know what to say. How do you reply to something like that?

If it were anyone else, Roxas would call them lame and cliché and full of shit, but he knows better than to say any of these things about Sora. Sora has always been the kinder twin, and in general, Sora is a very mushy, touchy-feely guy. So the blond is unfazed by the content of Sora's words and actions, but he is telling in shock from the meaning of it all.

His mind racing, the blond wraps his arms around his brother and rocks him back and forth, shushing him like their mother used to do. And then, cautiously, he says, "I love you, too, Sora; more than you know."

Sora sniffles in reply.

Roxas rocks him a bit longer, and pretty soon, they are both inching under the covers for protection from the thunderstorm raging outside. Roxas shuts off the lamp – the sole light that is on – and snuggles up to his brother's back, the scar on his left shoulder blade from the car crash easily felt through the thin fabric of the t-shirt that Sora is borrowing.

Without warning, Sora rolls over to face Roxas. They gaze upon one another in the darkness.

No thought is involved as Roxas leans forward to clutch Sora's shoulder in comfort, and they both lean in for a kiss.

Sora hasn't kissed his twin on the mouth since they were four years old and didn't know any better. As expected, this is far different from the simple times of early childhood; this is chaste like then, yes, but this kiss is leaving tingles on Sora's lips after it is done, and it somehow is leaving him craving another.

"Roxas," the brunet whispers, "This is wrong."

"What is?"

"This," Sora hisses, and he demonstrates by kissing Roxas a second time. Except with this kiss, he presses a little rougher, a little needier.

The blond stiffens at the contact, but welcomes it. He has wanted this so badly for a while now, and can hardly believe that Sora is giving it to him.

"…So what?" Roxas challenges. Be brings his body closer to Sora's, relishing in the heat. Outside, thunder booms. The brunet shivers, and Roxas takes this opportunity to remind him, "It makes for a good distraction from all of the negativity. If you let me, Sora, I can make you forget for a while. I can help you by turning thunderstorms into a joyful memory instead of a harmful one."

"How?" Sora whispers desperately.

Roxas lays a tender kiss on the brunet's neck, off-center from his Adam's apple. "By showing you how much I truly love you, brother."

Sora gasps as Roxas touches down his spine through the shirt he's wearing. Then, slowly, Roxas kisses him again and again, across his neck to his jaw, and then up to his ear. The brunet feels himself flush with shame, but in the same token, he feels himself leaning into the touches and relaxing, since he trusts his twin to the fullest. "A-alright," he consents with a half-sigh. "I'll let you help me to forget."

Smirking to himself, Roxas presses forward until he is left leaning over Sora's left side. He continues his attack on Sora's right ear, mindful of any sudden reactions, like if he locates a ticklish spot.

He makes his way back to Sora's throat, which is vibrating with blood in the brunet's veins, boiling and racing under Roxas's touch. The idea alone sends sparks of arousal down to his crotch, which thankfully is positioned away from Sora's lithe body.

Roxas raises Sora's shirt to uncover his belly, which begins to quiver as soon as Roxas coats it with butterfly kisses. The brunet arcs off the bed slightly, a strangled cry escaping his throat. "Don't do that!" he commands. "It tickles!"

Roxas chuckles as he allows his fingertips to wander over the smooth skin instead. Sora's breath hitches as Roxas stops just above the waistline of the borrowed pajama pants. Serious-faced once more, the blond glances upwards for permission.

Sora wriggles in discomfort. "There isn't anything there you haven't already seen," he mumbles. "So go ahead." He sucks in air. "To be honest… that's the best distraction I could have right now."

"But is it what you want?" the blond stresses tensely. "I don't…" He struggles for the proper words. "I don't want you to think poorly of me."

The brunet nearly rolls his eyes or laughs. He does neither, but his tone says all. "Roxas," he says sternly as he looks straight up into perfectly matching eyes and touches his twin's face, "I know what incest is. I know that everybody thinks poorly of it. But right now, it's just you and me, and nobody has to know. And since I'm part of it, I can't think poorly of you without thinking poorly of myself, right? So do it before I do it myself."

There is a smile in his final words, and Roxas can't help but smile in return. "Okay," he states like this is the simplest thing in the world. "Here we go, then."

And he tugs down Sora's pants, pleased to discover that his twin is as hard as he is underneath. Roxas shrugs the pants down to Sora's knees, and as he hovers over the brunet, Roxas strips of his own shirt. Experimenting, the blond brushes up Sora's thighs with his bare chest, and proceeds to slink upwards until he meets Sora face-to-face. But in the process of the skin-on-skin contact, Roxas's chilly nipples tease the brunet's erection, causing him to gasp and moan and bring his arms up to dig his nails into Roxas's sides.

Sora's hands fall to Roxas's pants, and he doesn't say a word as he pulls them down as far as he can reach, which happens to be halfway down Roxas's thighs. "I want to feel you, too," he tells his brother in a hushed tone. Lust chars Roxas's insides from the mere mention of these words.

It does not take much time before Sora is grinding up against Roxas, desiring the forbidden fruit of release given by his own mirroring half. Roxas closes his eyes and plays along, because the pre-orgasm-fluid slicked friction is really all he needs. It is a small taste of freedom, the freedom to love and be loved by the person who understands and cares for him most.

"Sora…" Roxas moans, and shifts position to lay on his side next to the brunet. "We can't… It's too much…"

The other nods weakly and rolls onto his side, scooting backward until his is plastered along his spine to Roxas's front. "I know, but… Please…"

And he doesn't need to say more, because a twin always knows what the other wants. So Roxas brings his hand up Sora's leg deliberately slow, and toys with the tender, sensitive flesh below the brunet's length prior to gripping the throbbing appendage in his hand.

Sora's breathing becomes harsh and he jerks into the vice of Roxas's fingers. He can feel Roxas's own neglected member pressing into the curves of his buttocks, but Sora doesn't mind it; it feels like it belongs there.

A steady pumping motion starts to motivate Roxas's hand, and Sora finds himself becoming more and more lost by the minute. He loves Roxas, oh, how he loves his twin… And he should be mad at him for sleeping with Axel (he was told this week by his red-haired roommate, whom seemed all too proud of the act), and disgusted with him for being incestuous, and he should try to escape, but how can he? How can he be any of those things when this feels so damn blissful? How can Sora dare be anything but loving towards his beautiful twin brother?

The slightly older twin can feel the other's fingers swirling around the tip of his shaft, trailing down and back up again to tease. "No, tighter," Sora demands in a growling tone, and Roxas is encouraged by the sliver of dominance in his brother. So he humors the brunet by tightening his hold and jerking his hand up and down quickly.

Sora leans backward into Roxas and strangles the bed sheets in one hand while the other reaches behind to fist Roxas's sweat-damp hair. Sora's mouth opens in a silent cry. He is on the brink, now; it's only a matter of trigger.

And the trigger for Sora happens to be a stray lick followed by a nip on his trapezoid, the junction between neck and shoulder.

He explodes in Roxas's hand. Sora feels as though he is melting into a glob of pudding; he never thought that he could feel this way. It was never like this when he did it himself. This is much more enjoyable.

Panting as Roxas pulls his hand away, Sora rolls away to lie on his back. Next to him, Roxas delicately licks the white residue on his fingers. Sora tastes like Sea-Salt ice cream, in a weird sort of way. "Is it my turn now?" the blond jokes.

The older twin blinks rapidly a few times to clear the post-orgasm haze. "Roxas… I can't hear the storm anymore."

Roxas pauses to listen, and he finds that Sora is correct. The thunder has passed, as well as the lightning, and all that remains is the steady rain. He smirks. "I told you that I could help."

Sora looks over at his brother and studies him in the dim light. It is almost a dream, the way Roxas lies there on his side, gazing down at Sora like he is some prize won out of sheer fantasy. The brunet tenderly runs his hand down Roxas's arm. "You're right on both accounts; because you shooed the thunder away, and now, it is your turn," Sora murmurs softly with a smile tugging at his lips.

The blond raises a brow muscle. "And what are you going to do to me?" he asks demurely.

"You'll find out in a minute," Sora answers. "Lay on your back."

Without questioning his brother, Roxas obeys and pulls Sora on top of him. He plays with the chocolate locks and kisses Sora's lips greedily. "Thank you for this, Sora," he utters in a small voice. If Sora hadn't been so close, he would not have heard the blond.

"For what, finishing you off? It's not like I'm the kind of guy who doesn't reciprocate," Sora replies.

But Roxas is shaking his head. "That's not what I'm talking about," he says lowly. He glances away for a second while his hand drifts down Sora's spine. "I mean…" He inhales sharply. "Thank you for… allowing this. It's not… I know that you're aware of how wrong it is, but you're still willing to, er, do this with me anyway. I can't tell you how much this means to me."

"I already told you: it's just you and me, so it doesn't matter. I want this. I didn't know that I would, at first, and to be honest, I was afraid any time a stray thought would cross my mind about seeing you naked or touching you, but now I don't care. I know now that you were thinking the same thing, so it's okay," Sora relays in all truthfulness. He proves his point gripping Roxas's hair and plunging his tongue into the blond's mouth.

Roxas moans throatily, and scratches red lines down Sora's sides as the brunet dares to seductively bring two fingers and a thumb up his twin's stiff length.

Sora proceeds to kiss sporadically down Roxas's chest until he reaches a perked bud. He tweaks it, as well as the other, with his hands and rubs them in small circles until Roxas is writhing beneath him. He smirks to himself, suddenly comprehending why people have so much fun while making love in any way, shape, or form: it's not so much the sensations felt as it is the reactions made. At least, this is what Sora thinks.

The brunet licks delicately down Roxas's navel, using only the tip of his tongue until it runs dry. By this time, he is nestled between the blond's legs. He turns his head to lift Roxas's leg and peck teasingly wet kisses along his inner thigh. "S-Sora, stop that!" Roxas hisses as his face grows red.

"Tickles, doesn't it?" Sora replies with a small chuckle. "Now you know how I felt."

"Yeah, and now I regret it, because it gives you the right to do the same to me," Roxas smiles. He locks his ankles around Sora's torso. "But you forget that I'm stronger than you."

"The hell you are!" Sora retorts as he slips out of Roxas's grip and pins his legs to the bed. "See? I'm stronger than you. I have been since you became addicted to video games in middle school."

"I did not become addicted to video games! Just because Pence and I liked to play them a lot doesn't make us addicted," Roxas corrects as his erection twitches almost painfully. "Now then, weren't you doing to do something?"

"Oh, you mean… do this?" Sora answers softly as he bends down between Roxas's legs and laps at the slit on little pink head dripping with pearly liquid.

Roxas's eyes wrench shut as he arches upward. "Yessss, like that," Roxas pants.

The brunet doesn't respond verbally. Instead, he fondles the blond while his tongue makes slow work of lubricating Roxas's member with saliva. Roxas can't contain himself; he sweats as he squirms to fill Sora's mouth, while his own mouth simultaneously lets out incoherent noises. His hands fist the bed sheets as Sora unexpectedly takes the entire erection into his mouth. The older twin begins to bob his head, forward and back, as he holds down the blond's thrusting hips. He releases his brother and stares up at him. "Don't be too eager, Rox," he murmurs as one hand moves off of a hip to pump the blond. "Or you don't get what you want."

"You're… always… so… stubborn," Roxas pants weakly as his dazed blue eyes somewhat lock on his twin's face.

Sora winks in the darkness and bends down to recapture the warm flesh in his mouth. Roxas lets out a cry as Sora's tongue does complicated actions even a lollipop has never known. And then, in a sudden burst of white behind his eyelids, Roxas trembles all over, and his knees lock together behind Sora's head as he comes in the older twin's mouth.

The brunet swallows every last drop that he can, and wipes his lips with the back of his hand as soon as Roxas is done. He follows the blond's slim figure up and up until they are once again face to face. Sora turns the tired blond onto his side and wraps his arms around him. He places one leg between Roxas's, and the other on top, succeeding in weaving their limbs together.

Roxas returns the embrace by wrapping his arms around Sora's shoulders and leaning into the hands on the small of his back. He gives his twin a kiss on the corner of his mouth before bringing Sora's head to his chest and holding him. "Time to sleep."

"Amen to that," Sora yawns as he snuggles into his brother's chest. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Sora." Roxas mumbles. He then drifts into sleep with their clothing lost somewhere at the edge of his bed beneath the covers and spots of sticky seed to be cleaned up later on. But it is a small price to pay for the delight in knowing that all this can be possible again some time in the future.

[skip;]

"I can't believe him!" Axel screams bloody murder as he dumps gasoline onto a raging fire in a bonfire pit. He tosses in more wood and stands dangerously close to the flames as he feeds his anger and pain with more destruction. "Now I get why he asked me that stupid question; he was going to dump me. All along, that fucking ice-cold bastard didn't love me. He loved someone else. I don't even know who, but I don't give a shit who it is! I just hope that he is happy as fuck right now, because I don't want to see his face ever again." He tosses in a whole box of matches and dumps more gasoline to restart the fire in the pit through the high winds outside of the campus's boundaries.

The redhead yells in outrage a few more times as he throws in random items that remind him of his boyfriend-for-a-week. But even though he wasn't with Roxas long, he fell hard and fast for the blond. He doesn't want anybody else; Roxas is everything Axel could – and will – ever want in life. But he's taken.

"And he told me that he slept with that person. What a fucking prick! What a fucking manwhore! I shouldda known better; I shouldda known that it was too good to be true. I thought that when he asked me that question about hurting someone in order to save them, he asked me because he trusted me and wanted a truthful answer; but no, he asked me because he was going to hurt me in specific. That bastard!" Axel rants as he stuffs a shirt of his that Roxas slept in into the fire. It still smells like the blond, and Axel still remembers the way it hung on him; too big, because Axel is so much taller. "I hate you, Roxas!"

The last phrase is whispered hoarsely as acidic tears start to flow down Axel's face, right in line with his tattoos.

He sniffles and wipes his raw eyes harshly as he falls to his knees in the dirt in front of the flaming pit. "God damn it all…" he curses in a choked sob. "I hate that blond bugger so fucking much."

It's a lie. He only says this to comfort himself, and make the pain feel duller, as though this isn't a big ordeal and he didn't fall in love. But he did, and he does, and it will never go away; not for a long, long time.

Axel straightens himself and watches for a good hour as the flames die down and the last of the wood and fabric is reduced to hot coals and dark cinders. He takes a ragged breath and stands up. He withdraws his cell phone and holds down the speed dial until a robotic woman's voice says, "Please enjoy the music while your party is reached."

Random rock music fills his ears, drowning out the negative thoughts clouding up his mind. Soon, a familiar voice is answering the phone, a voice that Axel finds more comforting than either of his parents. "Yo, lil' bro; how's it goin'?"

The pyromaniac sighs at the sound of the other redhead's voice. "Reno. Can I have some brotherly advice?"

"Sure, but hang on a sec; I need to get some place where I can hear you better." There is a pause as the music of some daytime bar or club that Reno is DJ-ing for echoes throughout the two cell phones. Then, finally, the music is gone on Axel's end, and most likely a mere thrum of a bass on Reno's. "So, what's on your mind, Ax?"

Axel rakes his hands through his hair with harmful force. "I got my heart broken, Reno. Really fuckin' badly. And I want to know what the hell I should do, 'cause revenge is sounding sweet right about now, but I know that it's petty bullshit to take it out on someone, so I want your opinion."

"Oh, shit, Axel. I'm sorry," Reno says with true sympathy in his tone. "But you're right, revenge isn't the way, man; you might end up doing something stupid and violent, like rape. So chill out, okay? And think for a minute. What do you like to do when you're upset?"

"I burn things."

"Did you do that already?" the older sibling wants to know.

Axel grits his teeth. "Yes, and it isn't helping one bit. So what else can I do?"

"Have you tried talking to a psychologist?"

"…I'm being serious here, Reno," Axel grumbles as he rolls his eyes.

"Um, it's a little unorthodox, but you could, y'know, screw your problems away."

"As in…?"

"As in," Reno clarifies, "Have sex with someone else to make yourself feel better. Pity sex is best – at least for me – in these sorts of situations. But if you don't like that idea, you could always come over here and have a few drinks with me when I take my break and let Rude DJ for a while."

Axel exhales long and slow while he thinks this over. "You know, I think I might do both."

The older redhead chuckles. "Hey, whatever floats your boat, bro. Why don't you drive on over to that new rave, Keybladez; it's where I'm working right now. I'll hook you up with a beer and a brothel."

"I'll skip out on the beer and brothel, Reno," Axel grins mildly, "But I will take a few shots of rum. I'll find my own easy lay."

"Whatever, you big alcoholic. But I would go with whiskey if I were you; if you order a rum from the bartender here, I swear to God that you'll regret it," Reno warns with amusement in his tone.

"Oh? And why's that?" Axel inquires with not much interest as he kicks at the charred pieces of wood in the bonfire pit.

"Because the guy looks like a pirate and might talk booty with you," Reno jokes. "His name is Xigbar. In all seriousness, the guy ain't half bad, but rum is his favorite drink, so, y'know, watch out."

"Fine, whiskey it is," Axel mutters as he walks to his car. "I'll see you soon, Reno."

"Yeah. See ya, lil' bro." Click.

As Axel claps his phone shut and climbs into his car, be can't help but feel some regret over his plan, but at the moment, he simply cannot deal with the heartache, so he supposes that whatever the outcome ends up being, it shouldn't completely destroy his life.

[jump;]

"Yo, Demyx, could you take him for me?" Reno grunts as he struggles to support his brother's weight. Axel and Reno are the same height, which makes holding up his drunken brother a lot harder than Reno thought it would be.

"What happened to him?" the guitarist asks with heavy concern. He takes his best friend from Reno and balances Axel while the redhead hiccups now and again.

Reno sighs. He twirls his ponytail between three fingers in frustration. "My stupid brother went and got his heart broken, and decided it was best to get drunk off his arse. It was my suggestion to drink, I'll admit, but I didn't mean for him to get this wasted! – So I figured, you know, I'd leave him with you while I get back to work; I have to make my money somehow, right?"

"But… why with me?" Demyx questions softly, hoping that in his drunken state Axel didn't mention that he knows how Demyx feels about him.

"Because he trusts you, of 'course," Reno shrugs as he tosses his ponytail over his shoulder. "Anyway, I gotta run. Take care of my idiot baby bro, will ya?"

"S-sure thing, Reno," Demyx sputters as Axel unexpectedly leans onto Demyx's right side. His mouth breathes air, hot and moist, on Demyx's neck. The blond tries not to show any sign of lust as Reno walks down the dormitory corridor. Once he's out of sight, Demyx drags Axel into his dorm room and shuts the door with a kick of his heel.

Zexion is conveniently out at the moment, off doing some personal errand or another. This permits Demyx to lay Axel in Zexion's reading chair while he gets him the trashcan in case he hurls. But as soon as he turns back around to hand Axel the trashcan, he finds the redhead laughing. But the laugh doesn't sound very drunken, like the giggly laughter Demyx makes when he's drunk; Axel's laugh sounds relatively sober, and in the improved lighting, he looks less drunk than he had a minute ago.

"What's wrong, Demy?" Axel chuckles, "You look confused."

"Your… Your speech isn't slurred," Demyx puzzles as he sets the trashcan back in its place. "You're not drunk?"

"No, but I am buzzed," Axel admits as he stands from the chair. "I played it up a whole lot by getting the bartender on my side. I wanted my brother not to worry about me, so I figured that if I looked drunker than hell, he'd hand me over to you and assume that my heartache would be eradicated."

The blond still doesn't understand, but he shrugs, deciding that it's best not to question Axel's inane logic. He sits down on his own bed. "So… you want me to take your pain away? I'm good at that; I could always calm you down when you got angry, or cheer you up when you got depressed."

"That's true. And that is why, Demyx, I murmured your name in my false-drunken state in order to get my brother to take me here," Axel informs his friend with a devious gleam in his eye. But he is far from grinning. "And I have an idea 'bout how you can make me feel better."

Teasingly, Demyx rolls his eyes and replies, "Oh, I shudder to think of the possibilities."

"You should; because I want you to sleep with me."

If Demyx had been drinking coffee, it would have been sprayed all over the carpet right about now.

The blond feels his face grow uncomfortably warm and his ears burn his hairline as he considers what Axel is saying. He knows that Axel does not – and will never – mean the term 'sleep with me' in the innocence sense. They aren't toddlers; they won't curl up together in a blanket and drift off into sleep. They are nineteen and twenty-one, and Axel has a perverted tongue, despite the fact that half of the things he says are jokes.

"B-but Axel," Demyx stutters more out of shock than embarrassment, "You know that I'm dating Zexion; I can't cheat on him just because you want to relieve your pain with pleasure –"

"He doesn't have to know a thing," the redhead coaxes as he steps forward and silences his best friend with a fingertip to his lips. "It'll be fast, before he gets back. I just want some comfort, Demy; I just want to know that it isn't the end of the world, that there is still somebody out there who cares about me."

Demyx swallows hard, because he feels more torn now than he ever has in his delightfully simple life. All Demyx has ever known is blissful ignorance in relationships, and to be suddenly clued-in and in the center of the drama, it overwhelms him. He takes a deep breath and considers the facts he knows immediately: one, that he has never gone back on his word; two, that he promised Axel that they would get together if things fell through; three, that things have not yet fell through with Zexion; four, that he loves Axel; five, that he cares deeply for Zexion; and six, that he wants to both keep Axel and Zexion with him always, not once hurting either of them; and then, seven…

But the seventh thing scares him, because Demyx knows it to be the truth: he can't have it both ways. He can't cheat on Zexion and not harm him, nor deny Axel and not harm him; and by doing either of those things with the subsequent events in consequence, he will end up hurting himself.

So Demyx is stranded. He has no clue as to what to do. Should he have sex with Axel and essentially betray Zexion? Should he shove Axel out the door and stay true? – Either way, he loses someone he loves, whether it is temporarily or permanently.

Before the hydromaniac can formulate a reasonable response, Axel bends down and steals a rough kiss.

Demyx can taste Axel's hunger to mend his broken heart. It's there, in the urgent way Axel's lips are molding onto Demyx's, and in the desperate way his tongue is tickling the seam of Demyx's lips. And as much as the blond has craved this from the redhead for multiple years, there is a wrongness in it that makes it less enjoyable than it would normally be.

"Axel," he says, his words garbled by moving lips, "Don't, please…"

"Come on, Demy," Axel begs, and he never begs. "Just once. I need this."

Demyx nibbles his inner lip at Axel's pleading tone; how is he supposed to escape? His mind races as he tries to come up with an evasive method, but it keeps being counteracted by Axel. The redhead is slowly cajoling Demyx into sex with lingering touches that tingle, paired with greedy kisses. The edgy, grabbing force Axel applies is more than enough to cause Demyx to submit.

They fall against the wall beside Demyx's bed. Somehow, Axel manages to entangle their fingers and raise them above Demyx's head. The blond releases a protesting squeak, but it's muffled by Axel's insisting mouth. Demyx closes his eyes tightly as Axel lifts Demyx's shift with one hand as the other binds both of the guitarist's. The redhead kisses at Demyx's navel before undoing his jeans.

The hydro turns his head towards one arm to hide his face. He knows what the pyro wants, and he feels so guilty for going behind Zexion's back, but at the same time, he couldn't be happier; at last, he has Axel to himself.

Axel releases Demyx's hands to undo his own pants and remove his shirt. For good measure, he takes off Demyx's shirt as well. He presses the blond's front against the wall after a quick turn-around. Then, carefully, he leans up behind his old band-mate to let him feel rather than see how hard this is making him.

"See, Demyx? You're fixing my heart already. Because, apparently, I like you a lot more than I originally thought." Axel whispers harshly into his friend's ear, his breath stirring the wisps of loose hair fallen out of the Mohawk-mullet combo atop the blond's head.

Demyx clenches his teeth together as he feels a humid stiffness against the curve of his butt. He feels his own member rise a little higher.

Suddenly, warm hands seize his frame from the abdominals and upwards, scanning his skin. Demyx shivers and uses his forearms on the cool surface of the wall for support. "Ax…" he gasps.

"You feel just like him," the redhead rasps brokenly. His fingers shake as he stops his hands on Demyx's nearly nonexistent hips. "Except… you're taller."

Demyx feels like crying. Even when Axel is attempting to forget which blond hurt him and which can heal him, the hurtful blond is the one in the foreground of his mind. "Try not to think about it," Demyx answers in a small voice. "This is us, Axel. Not you and Roxas. Just us."

"I know," the redhead murmurs as he nubs his nose into the nape of Demyx's neck, his arms locking around the younger man's waist. "But it's difficult. You two are so similar sometimes."

"But we're so different, too!" Demyx reminds him, but he can't turn around or say a word more, because in that moment, Axel is kissing his shoulder blades and pushing apart his legs.

The hydromaniac shudders as Axel's length worms itself painfully slow into his virgin hole, no preparation involved. He wants to bite something to ease the pain. Miraculously, Axel reads his mind and offers his fist to Demyx's mouth. The redhead doesn't wince when Demyx's teeth sink into his flesh; on the contrary, the dull pain keeps him sane as he starts to lose control in the tight heat of Demyx's insides.

Axel breathes shakily as he begins pounding into Demyx from behind. The dishwater blond's jaw releases his friend's hand as soon as the pain recedes and his prostrate is struck. A low moan falls from his drying lips, and he can't even lick them moist again before another moan escapes as Axel hits that spot over and over, at a pace much faster than the one set during Demyx's first sexual experience.

Sweat collects between the friction of their skin. Axel feels his worries and cares slip out the back door and drop out of sight. Demyx no longer thinks of Zexion, and instead, thinks of true first love conquering obstacles in order to become this delicious ecstasy.

Demyx suddenly can't contain himself when Axel grips his erection from behind. "No fair!" he cries out as Axel pauses his movements if only to restrain the pre-climax flow dripping from Demyx's length. The blond's head thrashes side to side as his forehead presses to the wall. "You have to let me come, Axel!"

"No I don't," the redhead smirks as he starts to move within the blond once more.

It's beginning to hurt, all of it; the blockage at his tip, the stretching of his entrance… Demyx isn't sure that he can handle it. He whines in complaint and attempts to buck his own pelvis in hopes of assisting his situation. It soothes the ache and returns the pleasure in his rear, but as for his throbbing member…

"Axel, Axel please!" Demyx implores with tears in the corners of his squeezed-shut eyes. "Please!"

The redhead complies and lets go of Demyx's erection with a sharp tug. The blond's satisfies hiss turns into a shaky moan as he releases his seed over himself and the wall in front of him. His knees feel as though they are about to give out, but luckily for him, Axel is holding him up from the position behind him.

All too quickly, the sound of a door opening and a stunned and furious gasp fills Axel's ears. He immediately pulls out of Demyx, and the blond collapses sideways onto his own bed.

The redhead is left staring directly into the dark, slate-blue eyes of Demyx's roommate.

Zexion turns red. With embarrassment, anger, or pain, Axel cannot tell; for all he knows, it could be a mixture of the three.

The bookworm turns sharply on his heel and heads for the door, whatever items he had in shopping bags left in a messy pile near the door. "Zexion, wait!" Axel calls out to the short male.

With his hand on the doorknob, Zexion shakes from his core to his skin. "Why should I? It's clear to me what's going on here: Demyx used me to get you jealous, didn't he?" He whips around, and Axel noticed with a stab of guilt that the writer is beginning to cry. "Well? Didn't he?"

"No," Axel murmurs as kindly as he can around his appearance, which happens to be naked and erect. "I was using him to get over a really bad break-up. But I should've known better than to come between you two." He sighs as he struggles to think of a way to fix this problem. A brilliant thought emerges in his mind like Pop-Tarts from a toaster. Axel grins. "Why don't you join us, Zexy?"

Ignoring the offensive nickname, Zexion reels back with evident astonishment in his eyes on his otherwise blank features. "Wh-what?!"

Axel offers one hand outstretched. "It's called a threesome, Zexion. It's when three people who either truly care for one another or want a lot of fun get together for a night. And I'm letting you in, because I know that Demyx loves you and almost didn't do anything with me because he wanted to be faithful to you."

The bookworm blinks a few times as he takes this into account. Demyx… didn't want to cheat? So this is a mistake? A mistake which, apparently, he is invited to join in with?

Secretly, in the depths of his curious desires, Zexion wondered since he was sixteen what it would be like to be included in a threesome. Most homosexual men wonder this at least once, and some fantasize. Personally, Zexion has only ever allowed the thought to enter his mind, but because he had no idea who he might partake in such an activity with, the thought never stayed long. But now, with Demyx, and even Axel…

Zexion bites his cuticles anxiously as he takes a tentative step towards the extremely erotic-looking man in front of him. A man he has hardly gotten to know, a man who is his boyfriend's best friend, a man with red hair and electric green eyes by the name of Axel.

"There we go," Axel says casually as Zexion takes his hand. He yanks the short male on top of him as he sits on Demyx's bed. "While Demy recovers, how 'bout you and I get to know each other a little better?" And just like that, he kisses Zexion full on the mouth. Just like that.

Zexion's eyes grow wide for a minute. But as Axel starts to get serious, his lids fall shut; Axel is quite the talented kisser. The bookworm brings his hands up behind Axel's head as he fixes his sitting to a straddle above Axel's lap.

Meanwhile, Demyx is pulling himself out of his post-orgasm stupor and relaxing in order to readjust the ring of muscles in his entrance. He calms his breathing in time to gather enough strength to peer over at the couple sitting not too far from where he lies. This consumes a good ten minutes of time, but on a day like today, time is irrelevant.

The blond inhales stiffly as he watches Zexion's buttoned shirt slink down his shoulders and onto the floor. While kissing Axel. The image is so wrong and bizarre, but the way Zexion is making small noises and the way Axel's lithe and nude body is responding, Demyx can't help but feel himself grow hard once more.

Once Zexion's pants and underwear join his shirt on the floor, Demyx climbs up onto his knees and crawls across the bed to Axel's back. He sees what's going on here: Axel has convinced Zexion to do a threesome. Demyx blushes and smiles, because this is perfect; now he doesn't have to worry about hurting either of them, because they can be one big, happy group! No one will be left out or betrayed! In Demyx's humble opinion, this is truly wonderful.

Zexion reaches past Axel to stroke Demyx's face. "I'm doing this for you," he tells the blond.

The guitarist kisses Axel's earlobe. Then, looking directly at Zexion, he murmurs, "Thanks, both of you."

Between them, Axel swells from the inside-out; this is great! He is so clever for thinking of this. Because now they can be content to disregard the world and have some time for themselves, the three of them: a newly-formed, modern version of the Three Musketeers, only gayer.

Quick work is made to get Demyx flat on his back on the bed with two fondly smiling faces lingering above him. He hadn't even noticed the transition between when Zexion was in Axel's lap and when the two flipped him over; but he doesn't mind. He touches one hand to each of their faces and leans up to kiss them both. "I'm sorry," he whispers, "If I've confused or hurt either of you, but I kinda fell for you both at different times and both times the feeling didn't g away for the opposite person. You aren't mad at me, are you, Zexion?"

"No, but at first, I was mad at Axel for taking you like that," Zexion mutters beneath a sigh. He bends down over Demyx to murmur against his chest with buzzing lips, "Now, however… it doesn't bother me, so long as we can share you."

"I was never one much for sharing," Axel adds as his fingers dance across the planes of Demyx's thighs, "But I'll make an exception in this case."

Holding his breath, the medium-heighted male watches with curious teal eyes as Zexion begins by toying with his nipples. Axel begins by kissing the junction of his thigh. Zexion moves on from the buds towards Demyx's rosy length, and Axel does the same. Pretty soon, both of them are pleasuring him; one – Demyx doesn't know which, but he suspects the redhead – is cleaning his used hole with a playful tongue, and the other is kissing and suckling along his member, which can only stand higher and higher at this point.

The hydromaniac can't control himself; the sensation of breaking apart from the inside and outward – crumbling, not exploding – overtakes him as breathless noises are emitted from his mouth.

Demyx slides from the bed and onto the floor, landing on his hands and knees. Axel slides up from under him to kiss his parched lips while Zexion shimmies up behind him to gently twist a digit into his entrance. The blond trembles, and Axel distracts him by getting up onto his knees in front of Demyx, placing his erection within reach of Demyx's lips. The blond accepts the distraction and takes Axel into his mouth. The redhead moans gruffly. Simultaneously, Zexion emits a small grunt as he stretches the blond.

The next part, in theory, is simple: Zexion goes in.

In reaction to the intrusion, Demyx sputters incoherently in both delight and agony. Axel soothes Demyx by stroking his mullethawk-styled hair.

The bookworm starts moving, and all common sense is lost to the guitarist as his entire body rocks in one fluid motion. To and fro his head bobs and his hips rock as he is thrust into again and again. Suddenly he understands why Zexion wanted to be the receiver the first time around: when done properly, it feels wonderful. It's even more wonderful than the intense passion of being taken against the wall.

Axel comes in Demyx's mouth a second later, and while he never liked the taste, he can't decipher it above the white-hot pleasure shooting throughout his body.

The redhead pulls away and wipes Demyx's chin tenderly. "I'm going to go check on Zexy," he whispers with a miniscule smile on his lips. He kisses Demyx's cheek before departing.

Axel crawls across the floor to where Zexion kneels. Zexion's typically sharp focus is lost in a sea of lust. "I… never knew… it could be… this good," Zexion murmurs idly.

"I could've told you," the old drummer says through an answering chuckle.

Zexion more feels than sees Axel lean in to place his hand on his jaw. The redhead pulls back Zexion's hair from his face in one swoop. He also feels Axel's hand follow his cheek to his neck, and then down his spine. It is when Axel's hand stops on the small of his back to extend a long digit between Zexion's cheeks into his entrance that Zexion loses it. He sees stars as Axel's finger penetrates him and he concurrently reaches his climax.

Demyx sighs heartily as he feels Zexion unload inside of him, the warmth of the liquid filling him sending goosebumps along his flesh. Zexion pulls out and falls onto his stomach beside Demyx. Axel's finger not once loses its place.

Axel teases the ring of muscles around Zexion's entrance until he strikes the bundle of nerves in back. Zexion digs his nails into the carpet and lifts his head from the floor as soon as Axel does this. A quivering moan escapes his pale lips. "Again," his monotone voice demands.

The pyro consents eagerly by positioning himself between Zexion's legs. He thrusts his finger up into Zexion, and the usually reclusive college sophomore squeaks and bucks into the thrust.

Delighted with this reaction, Axel sees it as high time to enter. It seems his arousal isn't going to fade for some time, orgasm or not; with all of the heated action going on around him, how can he get the chance to waste his excitement? Limpness is obviously not an option.

Therefore, Axel leans upwards and shoves himself inside.

The blond of the three has been watching in silence the entire time as he wound down from being entered and exited. He rolls over to his roommate as soon as Axel is buried to the hilt inside of the shortest male. Tears threaten to leak out of Zexion's closed eyes, and Demyx can empathize with this since he knows all too well, now, how it feels. The hydro covers Zexion's subsequent outcry with a passionate kiss. His hand is currently resting on the side of Zexion's face, the tips of his fingers in Zexion's hairline. To keep his boyfriend's tears at bay, Demyx targets an earlobe and lets loose every technique he knows how to do with his tongue, despite the dizzying aftereffect still running through his athletic swimmer's body. Immediately moans are heard, a sexy harmony of Zexion's and Axel's voices. This is like music to Demyx, the best he has heard since he can't remember when.

A soft slapping noise is made as Axel leans over Zexion, their stomachs nearly touching. He plunges in over and over and over again. The poor bookworm is overwhelmed by the sensations flowing through his person, like Demyx's tender lips on his neck and collar bone, and Demyx's hand rubbing warm the perked nubs on his chest, and Axel above and inside of him. He never thought that he'd let that red-haired fucker touch him, let alone do this; but he can't say that he has a grudge against Axel, because any grudges melted as soon as he joined the threesome.

Demyx notices through the sticky slapping rhythm that he is humming along with its beat. But what's more, a hand is drifting up to find his erection. The blond peeks open an eye to find Zexion's nearly feminine-looking hand groping for him. And when he finds what he's looking for, Demyx's eyes fall shut. He moans into Zexion's jaw as the bookworm starts pumping him.

Such stunning sensations, and such magical music being made; it is like a wet dream and wildest dream come true, rolled into one perfect scene: the two people the blond loves and thinks about most surrounding him and each other. It's beautiful.

With this thought in his fuzzy brain, Demyx erupts in Zexion's hand at the same time Axel erupts in Zexion. The bookworm himself follows a second later, and for a brief moment, all three of them are sharing the tremors of lasting pleasure throughout their bodies.

They break apart and lie in a daze on the floor, side by side. They catch their breaths and steady their heart rates. And then, calmly, they turn to gaze at one another; Zexion in the middle, Demyx to his left, and Axel to his right. They smile, and without realizing it, think together: 'we need to try this again some time.'

The trio clasp hands in a silent promise: this is not the first and final time that they will be together in such a manner.

[skip;]

Sora turns onto his side and cuddles a pillow to his chest. He sighs and opens his drowsy eyes to find the bed across from him empty… again. That's three days now that Axel has ditched his classes and not come back to his dorm. Is something wrong? The brunet knows that his twin ended it with the redhead, but could the pyro be taking things badly enough that he possibly left the campus?

Shaking his head and stretching, Sora tosses these thoughts from his mind. Who needs them? What he needs is some breakfast. And a shower; a shower would be nice, too. He can smell his own body odor, and that is not pleasant whatsoever.

Thus, following a quick bathing session, Sora heads out the door in a clean shirt and a pair of jeans from yesterday toward the cafeteria.

When he arrives, he doesn't see much of anyone he knows in the mess hall, but he does see a rainbow-sprinkled doughnut and carton of chocolate milk with his name on it.

Grinning to himself like he normally does, Sora grabs a plate and the sweet confections before finding a random place to sit and eat. But scarcely a nibble is taken out of the doughnut before a body is tackling him from behind. The poor brunet is nearly thrown out of his chair from the impact.

"H-hey, what's the b-big idea?!" he coughs as a sprinkle travels the wrong pipe. He hacks a few more times. Then, after setting aside his doughnut, Sora faces the attacker.

He finds Roxas standing behind him, scratching the side of his head. "God, Sora, if I knew that you were going to choke out of surprise, I wouldn't have glomped you."

The older twin harrumphs. "Yeah, well, now you know better: don't glomp Sora when he's eating. Or barely awake."

"Gotcha," the blond chuckles as he maneuvers around the chair to take one opposite his brother. "So, um, how did Axel take it? He kinda bolted when I finished talking, so I don't know if he's mad or not. Did he say anything to you the past couple days?"

"Actually," Sora says around a mouthful of doughnut, "He hasn't been in the dorm. Like, at all; not even while I was out. I'm getting worried, Rox; what if he's really torn up? – Or worse, what if he knows about…" He lowers his voice so not to be heard, "Us?"

"He doesn't know," Roxas reassures with all confidence. "But now I'm worried, too; I hope I didn't make him do something stupid." He glances downward at his shoes. "I still care about him, Sora. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to him, which is why I had to dump him; I couldn't let him get too involved and end up even more hurt."

"So you love him, but…"

"But I love you more," Roxas admits softly. His gaze returns to Sora's face. "I don't know how, but I ended up falling for both of you, except my feelings for you are stronger."

The brunet nods in complete understanding. "So what do you want to do, Roxas?"

The younger twin takes a deep breath as he rakes his fingers through his spiked locks, still crisply gelled from his shower this morning. "I want to find a way to fix things. You know, so that Axel and I are on good terms. If he hasn't been around, that's not a good sign; I need to make it up to him for hurting him like that. Maybe he and I can still be friends."

"That'd be nice," Sora agrees with a shining smile. "Because, honestly, I've missed my psychotic roommate. I want him back, but I don't want him to look at me and see you and get all upset. I have a feeling that that's why he hasn't been around; I look too much like you, and vice versa; anyone with heartache from one of us probably wouldn't be able to look the other in the eye."

"That's a valid point," Roxas ponders in all seriousness. "Except… if that's the case, then I doubt he'll let me speak to him in person. Do you think I should call him? I still have his cell phone number programmed into my phone."

"I think you should," Sora says quietly. He touches his brother's knee as he leans in to be heard. "Right now, even; that way, I'm here for you if you need me."

"Alright," Roxas complies. He withdraws his cell from one of the pockets of his cargo jeans. He opens up his contacts folder and finds the redhead's name at the top, Axel, with the A's. "Here goes everything." The blond practically holds his breath as he presses 'talk' and the phone begins ringing in his ear.

On the fifth ring, the ring before voicemail, Axel picks up. "What are you doing, calling me like this?"

Beside him, Sora grabs his hand and gives it a squeeze. Roxas closes his eyes and speaks as composedly as he is able. "Axel… I… I want to say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry if I upset you, and I'm worried; where are you? Sora says that you haven't been at your dorm for a few days. And… and that scares me, because it makes it seem like you don't want to face me or someone who looks like me."

There is a long pause on the other end of the line, and with each second that passes, Roxas becomes increasingly nervous. His resorts to nibbling on his lower lip. Finally, Axel says in a low, indescribable voice, "You were really worried about me?"

"Yes! God, Axel, yes. I was so scared when I told you… er, told you what I did. I was afraid of hurting you, and afraid you might lash out, and afraid you might do something stupid afterwards." Roxas sighs. "Listen, Axel: I don't want you to hold a grudge against me, or tae it out on Sora or somebody else. If it's possible… can we, maybe, be friends? – It's an overused line and kinda painful, I know, but… I do still care about you, Axel. A lot," he relays to the redhead in a thinning voice.

"Care about me enough to end a relationship with me before things got too serious, and I was wounded further," Axel clarifies, his tone on the brink of being dead.

Tears prickle the flipside Roxas's eyes. "Yeah," he says with a constricting throat.

Axel exhales loudly on the other end of the phone, creating static. "Roxas… you do realize that, even as friends, I'll be in love with you?" he states flatly.

"Yes, I know."

"And you must realize, too, that things won't be the same."

Roxas sucks in air. "…I know."

"And knowing that, you're willing to be around me?" Axel murmurs, his voice softer than before.

"Yes," the blond replies confidently.

"In that case…" Axel clears his throat, "I can safely say that that's all I could ask for."

It isn't possible for Roxas to be any more relieved than he is in this moment. "Really?"

"Yep," Axel says. There is a pause in which Sora flashes a smile in his twin's direction. The redhead's voice cuts through Roxas's concentration. "Can I see you soon?" Axel requests.

"Definitely!" Roxas replies excitedly. The fact that Axel is willing to forgive him is enough to make Roxas drop everything at Axel's beck and call, if only for this one particular occasion. "Just come home, okay? To yours and Sora's dorm. We'll both be there."

"Alright," Axel agrees. "It's a promise. See you soon, Blondie."

"I'm counting on it, Red." And as he hangs up, Roxas feels like a million bucks.

[jump;]

Roxas paces back and forth madly while he waits. Sora remains on his bed, watching. "He'll be here," he reassures his pacing twin. "He promised."

"Not everybody keeps their promises as well as you do, Sora," Roxas snorts to hide his anxiety.

"He'll be here," the brunet insists. "You'll see."

Sora isn't wrong. Not ten minutes later, Axel is produced from the door like an angel from clouds. – Or, considering Axel's personality, like a demon from smoke.

"Heya, Twinsies," the redhead greets with a mild wave. He looks tired, and not as enthusiastic as Roxas had hoped. But the blond is glad to see him nonetheless.

"Axel!" Roxas exclaims. And before he can stop himself, the blond rushes forward to embrace the college senior.

"Missed me?" the redhead teases as he wraps his arms around his ex, enjoying the feeling of having Roxas in his arms again. "'Cause I sure as hell missed you. You pissed me off to no end, and drove me to drink, but fuck, I can't hate you; no matter how hard I try," he grins sincerely.

"And I didn't like not having you round to mess with," the blond replies with a small smile. In truth, Roxas had missed Axel's smoky, spicy smell, and his too-warm body, and his emerald eyes, and his sense of dry humor. He wishes he didn't, but Roxas is a little smitten with the reckless pyromaniac. He told Sora earlier the truth, that he loves Sora more, but there isn't much of a difference in amount, only in time. Roxas loves Sora and Axel essentially the same amount, except he has loved Sora longer.

Axel releases the blond, trying to pay no mind to the shorter boy's drumming heartbeat as he casts his gaze to Sora. "Hi, small-fry," he smirks as he rhymes, "Didja miss your sexy roomie?"

"Not much," Sora retorts with false tenacity. A smile shatters his charade a moment afterwards. He stands form his bed and gives the redhead a short hug. "Okay, so, maybe I missed you a little bit."

The older male chuckles. "Yeah, well, I missed you only a little bit, too."

"So... we're all good now?" Roxas wants to know. He doesn't reveal his despair over the negative possible outcome to this question.

Axel pretends to think for a moment. "Well… I would be better with you two if I could get a couple kiss-and-make-up smooches from the both of you," he answers jokingly.

The twins don't catch the joking tone, however. A faint blush touches both of their cheeks. "Seriously?!" they say in unison.

No, not seriously, but Axel decides to take advantage of the misunderstanding. "Yup, I'm dead serious," he tells them, fibbing easily.

The two brothers glance at one another prior to returning their stares to a smirking Axel's face. Then, with a sort of half-shrug, half-nod, they comply. "Fine," they state together.

Secretly ecstatic, Axel bends down to their height. He receives a kiss on both cheeks from the twins. Thereafter a quick peck is laid on his awaiting lips from each of them, Roxas's lasting a hair longer than Sora's. "There, all better," he says casually, as if he had put a band-aid on a child's scraped knee.

The twins flush, but Axel's subtle drift is caught: as of now, things are back to the way they were before Axel and Roxas started dating. – For the most part, anyhow.

Except things are about to change; and it will be an improvement from the tangled mess the five men (including Zexion, Demyx, Axel, Roxas, and Sora) have gotten themselves into.

[skip;]

Roxas enters Sora's and Axel's dormitory room about two weeks following their 're-connection,' as Sora calls it. He feels wiped; he simply wants to lie down beside Sora and fall asleep while chatting about his wearisome day full of lectures.

But as soon as he walks in through the door, he finds Axel in front of the bathroom door, one eye peering in through the crack of the slightly ajar entrance. He turns at the sound of the front door and motions for Roxas to be quiet by placing two fingers in front of his mouth, which is formed into a 'shh' shape.

The blond frowns in confusion as he pads across the carpet to where Axel is standing. Axel smirks wickedly and points to the crack. He steps aside to let Roxas peer inside and see for himself what has got Axel grinning his signature Cheshire cat grin.

Roxas winks one eye and lowers the open one in front of the crack. There, in the center of the bathroom, sits his twin brother Sora, doing something highly autoerotic.

Sora is seated on the closed lid of the toilet, and his pants are yanked down to his ankles. Every so often his feet with emit a teeny kick. Roxas gasps as his eyes pan upwards and he finds Sora's hand languidly sliding along his clearly aching shaft with his right hand. His arm muscles flex with each ministration. It takes all of Roxas's self control to remain steady as he allows his eyes to wander to Sora's face. The brunet has his head back, cocked to the left, with his lips glistening and parted, and his eyes are closed.

"He's been like that for a while now," Axel whispers almost inaudibly in Roxas's ear. He, too, is peeping on Sora from a place along the gap in the door. "And here is something interesting: he's said your name about three times now."

The bond reels back from the door to stare wide-eyed at Axel. He hasn't told the redhead yet whom, exactly, he left him for. Because saying the truth would be outrageous. But now Roxas thinks perhaps he should have told Axel, if only to spare him the humiliation of this moment. The redhead must have figured out their secret from this, if Roxas's affections towards his brother haven't already accidentally tipped him off.…

Axel steps away from the door and signals Roxas over to sit down on his bed. They look upon one another, trying to read the other's expression. Axel speaks first, and makes sure to keep the octaves of his voice to a minimum so not to be heard by his brunet roommate. "I bet you're thinking that I'm disgusted with him, and suspicious of you two. But I want you to know that I'm not very judgmental, and especially not with incest; I mean, it was okay a few hundred years ago, wasn't it? And all human beings are related in some way, because we're all from the same roots, aren't we? Adam and Eve and Noah's family and all that. So I don't mind it if you and Sora love each other as more than brothers; because, to be entirely truthful, I used to feel the same about my own brother when I was a kid. I worshiped Reno, and saw him and only him. It wasn't until sixth grade that I grew out of it and found other people to like."

Roxas's expressions shift from fearful to comforted. He sighs through his nose and smiles. "Thank you, Axel."

The redhead pats his shoulder. "Hey, don't mention it. I figured that you would need at least one person who gets it." He winks. "But you know… we shouldn't leave him alone in there; especially not if he wants you and, looky-looky, you're magically here."

The blond likes where Axel's hinting is going. "And you want in?"

"Of 'course I do," the redhead says simply, his voice always a whisper to keep Sora oblivious of their presence. "It's every guy's dream to do it with twins! – Mind you, most guys picture a set of non-incestuous females, but I think it's even sexier with incestuous males."

"You're just saying that to get me to play along," Roxas retorts.

Axel smothers a laugh. "Yes, actually. So are you in or not?" Secretly, the pyro has been craving another threesome ever since his experience with Demyx and Zexion, one of which he has yet to tell either twin about. And while it was fun with the other two, Axel desperately wants to touch Roxas like he used to. And he wouldn't mind touching Sora as well; it would be entertaining to play a game of, 'what differences are there between the twins?'

In Roxas's mind, he wonders how he can say no. He loves Axel and Sora both so much… Unbeknownst to him, he loves two people the same way that Demyx loves two people. And while Demyx had been hesitant at first due to obligation to one person, Roxas knows in his heart that Sora wouldn't mind because brothers are always there for each other, so anything that happens with Axel doesn't count against their relationship.

"I'm in," the blond nods.

"Then let's go get my roomie and your boy," Axel says softly. He creeps towards the bathroom with Roxas in tow.

Together, they slowly open the door and approach Sora, whom is about to reach his breaking point. Axel takes Sora's left side and removes his balancing hand from the toilet cover's rim. Roxas takes Sora's right side, and eases his jerky hand from his erection.

"Huh? What…?" Sora pants as he comes back to reality. "Roxas?" he gasps, and then yelps as soon as he sees the redhead on his other side. "Axel?!"

"Mind if we cut in?" Axel says seductively, his voice like hot cocoa on a cold winter's day, sweet and warm from the inside-out. "Roxy and I think you shouldn't be alone when being pleasured."

Sora flushes a deep red; he's about to both cover his private parts and sputter the expected question of is Axel knows about the twins' true relationship. Axel stops him from speaking, and Roxas keeps his arm in place.

"Don't worry, Sorie," Axel purrs as he places a finger over Sora's mouth. "I know about you two, and I already explained to Roxas how I see nothing wrong with it, at least by my personal moral standards. And don't worry, too, about being embarrassed; when I'm through with you, you'll be able to walk around the dorm naked in front of me without feeling at all ashamed."

Roxas has been slightly hard ever since he laid eyes on his brother sexing himself up, but now Roxas is having a difficult time hiding his growing erection from the other two. Axel's words are so laced with promise, and Sora's unclothed lower half is so beautiful in the light (he hasn't gotten a decent look at it, because each time he's done anything with Sora, it has been nighttime and dark), that Roxas can barely contain himself. He fidgets where he stands.

Axel catches this movement. "Uh-oh, Sora," he says in his roommate's ear, "I do believe that your brother needs assistance."

Catching on, Sora smiles crookedly. "You're right," he says. And he doesn't pause as he frees his hands to pull Roxas's jeans down. The blond lets out a small cry as his boxers are exposed, and the tip of his arousal with them. His head is poking out of the unbuttoned hole in his boxers where one usually whips out and pees from in a hurry.

"I missed seeing that little guy," Axel teases as he lifts Sora to his feet to stand in front of Roxas. The redhead reaches out to tap the tip, causing Roxas to squirm. "Sora, you're so lucky; you get to see it any time you want, don't you?"

"Well, I, uh…" the brunet stutters.

The redhead waves it aside. "It doesn't matter. Point is, we're all here and horny, and deserve some time with one another."

"Right," Roxas mutters as he sheds his underwear and shirt. "Which means you two better finish undressing, because I ain't gonna be the only one."

Axel's eyes treat themselves to scanning up and down Roxas's body, re-memorizing it. He turns his gaze to Sora, whom is being helped out of the remainder of his own clothing. Side by side, the twins are flawless; Roxas does have one or two faint scars, and Sora has a few more (he must've been a clumsy child), but they are easily overlooked around the smooth and toned planes of their torsos, the bumps of their biceps, and the curves of their slim legs. The redhead licks his lips wolfishly as his eyes finally land on their lengths, mirror images of the same circumcised body part. Not one is longer or thicker than the other; they are identical. The senior finds this adorable.

"Stop gawking and get undressed, Axel," Roxas says with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, it's not polite," Sora adds as he glances down at himself self-consciously.

"If you want my clothes off, why don't you do it yourselves?" Axel dares. He spreads his arms wide as if he were being measured for a tux.

"We will, thanks," Roxas retorts defiantly. Sora gives his brother a look, but Roxas ignored it. He kicks his and Sora's clothes out of his path as he steps over to Axel. He starts unzipping the older male's fly. "Get his shirt, Sora."

"Um, alright," Sora murmurs as he comes up alongside his brother to strip his roommate of the piece of clothing. In no time, Axel is as bare as they are, and looking gorgeous. Axel has plenty more scars, as he is much more reckless by nature. And he has a tattoo on his wrist, the one Roxas spotted before, and it clearly reads the Roman numeral for eight, gone up in flames. There is also an eight ball, as small as a nickel, on Axel's pelvic line just above his crotch. And below that… the shaft of his member, much larger than either of the twins', and looking proud.

The two younger boys flush but don't lark about; they get to work by standing on their tip-toes in order to reach Axel's collar bones. They each take a collar bone in their mouths as they press their arousals to Axel's. The redhead trails his fingers down the twins' backs, his knuckles brushing the soft skin of their rears. Carefully, the older male rubs their holes, making them moan against his skin as each twins move on to one of the pyro's nipples.

Axel's breathing speeds up. He takes delight in the fact that the twins are also breathing quicker as he dips a digit into each of them to stretch them; he's learned that it's better to prepare instead of dive right in for two reasons: first, to not hurt his partner (or partners), and second, to rev up his partner(s) even more.

The three slink to the floor as Sora and Roxas make their way down Axel's navel, and Axel himself delves a tad deeper and deeper into their entrances. Suddenly, a breath hit Axel's erection, and his own breath hitches. The redhead looks down to find Sora hovering above his weeping head, and Roxas just above his brother with his face inches from Axel's.

Their mouths attack him at precisely the matching moment. Roxas kisses Axel's lips and allows his tongue to dance with the redhead's as soon as he opens his mouth. Sora starts deep-throating him, his cheeks hollowing as he sucks.

The senior doesn't have time to think. He has never been premature, but within seconds the over-stimuli causes him to orgasm. Sora's mouth is filled with someone else's seed the same moment that Roxas's mouth is filled with hints of someone else's blood as Axel bites his own tongue.

Gasping for breath, the three take a short break to huddle in the taller man's arms. Then, in a burst of energy, Axel hauls them to their feet. He slings Roxas over the cold edge of the sink's countertop, and positions himself behind him. Sora takes his place under the sink at Roxas's groin. He immediately attaches his mouth to the familiar taste and texture of his twin's erection while he pumps himself, completing that he started in this room nearly half an hour ago.

Meanwhile, Axel stations his length between Roxas's legs, tickling the blond with fuzzy sparks of arousal as the redhead rolls his still-erected head around the surface of Roxas's entrance. The freshman moans loudly and pleads for Axel to enter him, as well as for Sora to stop licking and swallow him whole. But no words emerge; only grunts and whines. He bucks into Sora's mouth and back into Axel's erection in hopes of solving his problem.

It works. Sora plays dirty tricks with his tongue and lips while Axel starts thrusting into the blond he missed so much.

All at once, Roxas's prostrate is struck and Sora arches into his own hand and Axel's head drops onto Roxas's back. They come in unison, absorbing themselves in their heated climaxes.

The trio falls backwards, onto the tile floor. Axel tries to catch his breath, and Sora tries to do the same. But Roxas is still reeling, his breath calm but his heart sending waves of blood throughout his veins.

"That was… that was…" Sora attempts to say, but he can't seem to get the words out.

"Addicting," Axel says, not at all using the phrase Sora was going to, but uttering the truth anyhow. "How 'bout… another round? I'm still not… not…"

He hardly needs to say a word more, because both of the twins understand. And just as they are about to get into another position, the dorm room bell for the front door rings. "Shit!" Roxas exclaims.

"I'll go see who it is," Sora says hoarsely. "I'll peek through the one-way peephole."

He scrambles to his feet, his legs the least like jelly out of the three. He pads quietly to the door and sees Demyx and Zexion on the other side of the door. Sora quickly throws on a robe he finds lying on the ground – Axel's, he notes faintly – and opens the door a smidge. "Hey, guys," he says, hoping that he doesn't look too sweaty and flushed, "What's up?"

"Is Axel here?" Demyx asks sweetly. "We want to, uh, do something with him."

"Yeah, hold on a second," Sora murmurs quickly. He races back to the bathroom and tosses the robe to Axel. "Hurry, put this on! Your friends wanna talk to you, and it's better than my lying to them."

Groaning, Axel slips on the fuzzy robe and heads to the door. He yanks it wide open. Seeing Demyx and Zexion, he notices that they look restless, with their hands shoves in their pockets. "Axel," Demyx says lowly, "We need your help. You see, uh… er, well…" he struggles to say.

"We want to get off, but we like having you with us to do it," Zexion states bluntly.

Axel raises an eyebrow. Now this is interesting: right as he's having a threesome with two other boys, two more seek him to have the same thing. And it gives Axel an idea. "Well then, come right in!" he says, and doesn't hide the tent in his robe as he gestures inside. Demyx and Zexion step in and freeze when they spot Sora and Roxas, clearly nude, peering out from the corner leading into the bathroom.

"What's… going on here?" Demyx says in a high voice.

"A fivesome. At least, there's going to be one in here pretty soon," Axel replies in an extremely excited tone.

Zexion's brows meet. "Isn't that a hair over-the-top, even for you?" he says skeptically.

"Come on, you guys, see it from my point of view: we all know each other. And we all are attracted to one another in some way, shape, or form; and on top of all of that, we all have raging hard-ons! So it's perfect, right? We can have one massive orgy tonight and remember it for the rest of our lives."

"You're some kind of crazy sex-fiend, Axel," Zexion snorts, but despite his outward defiance, his own arousal is twitching curiously at the idea.

"Maybe so, but I have a valid point, don't I?" the redhead interjects.

Zexion is about to say, 'no, not at all,' when Demyx starts nodding. "Yeah… yeah, actually, you do! Think about it for a minute: we're all intertwined. Axel is my best friend, and I love him, but I also love Zexion. Axel, you love me, but you also love Roxas. And Roxas… you love Axel, but by the look of it, you love your brother Sora, too. And because of our multiple loves for one another, we've all been brought together to spread it to each other in the form of physical pleasure."

The five of them remain silent for a moment, thinking over the guitarist's unusually romantic words (unusual because Demyx is normally such a happy-go-lucky, carefree guy). In the silence, they discover that what he says is true.

"Yeah… yeah! It's like all of our hearts are connected by invisible strings," Sora agrees as he steps out of the bathroom to join the other three men. Roxas tags along behind him. "So why shouldn't we go for it? It'll feel nice, and it will let us never be alone again. Plus, if one of us is in need of a fix…"

"Exactly," Axel nods to the eighteen and nineteen year olds. "Now you understand."

"We do," Zexion admits. "And I believe that you're turning into the main source of solving our relationship problems, Axel."

"Well, y'know, I try to make up for the crummy home-life I had in any way I can," he replies half-jokingly, half-seriously.

"But if we're going to do this," Roxas pipes up, "You two will have to strip. And Axel… you might want to lock the front door. And close the blinds. And, maybe, turn on some music so that we don't scare the neighbors."

Axel laughs. "Smart thinking as always, Roxerz."

The freshman twins step over to the sophomores and begin removing their clothing playfully while Axel handles the precautions Roxas warned him about. This doesn't take long, thankfully.

As soon as the five are exposed, they figure out where to begin. They sit in the center of the floor between the two beds, which luckily aren't as cluttered with dirty clothes and empty pizza boxes like the stereotypical college boy's room.

"For starters," Axel says sexily as he tussles his fiery red locks, "I was thinking of switching up from some of our typical partners. Like… in the middle, the twins can make-out while I screw Sora and Demyx, you can screw Roxas. You two blonds are due for some acquaintance, and personally, I've been wanting to feel Sora up for a week now."

The brunet of the five flushes a rich crimson, because he hadn't expected to hear such a thing be spoken from his roommate's inner thoughts.

On the other hand, Zexion is pouting. Somewhat. "And what about me? Do I sit this one out and watch from the sidelines, getting hot and bothered while the rest of you enjoy yourselves?" he grumbles monotonously.

"Of 'course not!" Axel responds with a wink. "I was thinking that you could jerk the twins off wile they do the same for you. Besides, you'll have plenty more chances to get involved. This will take time, you know."

Satisfied with this answer, Zexion nods. "Alright," he says, "Let's begin, then, shall we?"

"We shall," Axel replies with a grin. "After all, I'm getting pretty uncomfortable over here. I hate being cramped for so long."

[jump;]

On their knees, Sora and Roxas lace their fingers together on one side as they reach below on the other to grip the long shaft of their journal-writing acquaintance. The twins' mouth clash as they distract one another from the penetrating digits, stretching and dunking, into their practiced holes.

As the twins begin pumping Zexion in time with his own rubbing movements on their lengths, Axel and Demyx maneuver themselves to in front of the younger boys' asses. Demyx grabs Roxas by the hips and slowly eases himself inside, enjoying the thrill of the other blond's answering moan into his brother's mouth. Axel, on the other side, grips Sora roughly by the inner thighs and pushes in with one giant movement. Sora's muscles tighten and he quivers into Roxas, a cry building in the back of the brunet's throat.

Zexion soothes them both by applying pressure to their slits, tapping and teasing, which sends a flurry of sharp-winged butterflies up the twins' nerves and into the pits of their stomachs. In response, their conjoined hands clench tighter and their working arms slide faster along Zexion's member.

It doesn't take much time for Axel, and even the gentle Demyx, to lose control over the pace of their thrusts. They beat into the twins, causing them to bump and press together now and then. Sora moans loudly, temporarily breaking off his kiss with Roxas. Roxas, too, moans under his breath, the harmony of their different volumes and tones merging with the music the five of them are making beneath the sound-cover of Axel's stereo. The band-played music itself is hardly heard by the group. Although, despite his inability to hear it, Axel knows that he put on the talents of Mindless Self-Indulgence.

Roxas and Sora feel Zexion explode in their hands. Once he's done, they remove their hands and use them to cling to the opposite brother's shoulders as they vibrate with their own orgasms. They wail in unison as Demyx and Axel strike their prostrates repeatedly and hesitate inside of them. Demyx and Axel press forward, their bellies trembling against their respective partners' spines, as they unload one after the other into the twins.

Axel finishes his coming first, and for a couple minutes, watches the scene in front of him unfold.

Demyx pulls out partway through his orgasm and shoots glistening, creamy white across Roxas's back, his mouth open in an inviting cry. Below Demyx, Roxas pants as he braces his forehead on Sora's chest, his hands holding himself up with Sora's shoulders. And there, off to the side, is Zexion, quietly observing and growing sexually hungrier by the second.

Softly, Axel smirks to himself as he removes himself from Sora's opening and witnesses the domino effect. Sora collapses onto Roxas, who flails backwards onto Demyx, whom catches them both and holds them securely to his narrow chest. Zexion crawls over and kisses all three of them. Te bookworm utters the words that Axel is thinking:

"You're all so lovely," Zexion whispers to the three lying beneath where he sits.

Okay, so Axel was thinking along the lines of, 'you're all so Goddamn delectable,' but lovely works just as well.

"Who wants some water?" Axel offers. Out of them, he oddly feels the most energized. He wobbles on his feet, but somehow makes it to the mini-refrigerator and withdraws five cold water bottles. He returns to his friends/lovers and hands them each one as they rise, still gasping, for the offered beverage.

"I've never felt so good in my life," Sora says as soon as a third of his water is guzzled from the plastic. "I really like this. It's tiring, but… it makes me feel loved."

"Because you are," Demyx smiles. His entire bottle is gone already, surprise-surprise. The boy does love his agua. "We're all part of a whole, now. All five of us."

"I feel that way, too," Roxas adds as he draws himself up into Axel's and Demyx's arms. It feels like home, between their bodies, almost as much as it feels like home with Sora by his side. "I mean, at first, I wasn't sure I wanted anybody inside of me except for my brother and Axel, but…" he glances over his shoulder to touch the other blond's face. "You're wonderful, Demyx. It didn't hurt at all. And you kept muttering things under your breath. Song lyrics, I think. It's cute."

The guitarist flushes. "I just love music," he replies bashfully. "And… listening to the sounds we've all been making, I came up with a song."

"Share it?" Zexion asks. He loves hearing Demyx play his guitar after school hours, and finds it endearing how the boy will spend half the night writing up notes or lyrics for things.

Demyx shakes his head. "No, it's not done yet. But someday I will. I'll play the song for all of you, my own private audience."

"I would like that," Axel grins from behind a tuft of Roxas's hair. The smaller of the two blonds is perched half on his lap, half on Demyx's, with his hands on their knees. Axel had one arm in front of him, brushing Roxas's naked body, and the other on the small of Demyx's back. Demyx is in a similar position. Across from them, Sora dares to get to know Zexion by bringing the short sophomore to sit in between the brunet's legs.

"I like your hair color, Zexion," Sora compliments the writer sweetly. "It looks good on you, and it's so unique; what would you call it? Blue? Purple? Silver? It looks like all three, rolled into one and in different shades." For good measure, Sora combs back some of the hair that covers Zexion's right eye. "It's silky, too."

Zexion feels himself flush at the unexpected flattering remark. "Th-thank you," he murmurs in reply.

"You're welcome," the brunet beams. He leans forward to give the back of Zexion's neck a quick peck. "Hey, Axel, what should we do next?"

"You're ready for more so soon?" the redhead says with an amused cock of his eyebrow. Sora nods. Axel looks at the others. "What about you guys?"

"Let's keep going!" Demyx says enthusiastically. "I love this. It's not awkward whatsoever; it's actually comforting to me."

"Me, too," Roxas agrees. "But I want to top someone this time."

"Why not top poor Zexy? He feels left out," Axel winks.

"I told you not to call me that," the bookworm sighs.

Roxas looks directly into the steely-blue eyes across from him. "I like Axel's idea, though. Would you let me do that, Zexion?"

The other meets Roxas's gaze. He smiles in a virtually unnoticeable manner. "Yes, Roxas, I would allow that. It was nice of you to ask first."

The freshman blond shrugs. "I thought some politeness would be good to have in a situation like this."

Beside him, Axel laughs, and across from him, his brother does the same. It's Sora who comments on it. "You sure are a strange one, Roxas; first you're all cold and emo when we start off college, and now you're being polite?"

"A lot has changed since then," Roxas says in his defense. "Besides, you know better than anyone here how I can act when I want to."

"True," the brunet agrees.

"Enough chit-chat!" Axel says with a clap and rub of his hands. He situates himself apart from the two blonds next to him. "Let's keep going!"

"You're incorrigible," Zexion says with a shake of his head. But he can't blame Axel for being persistent; simply form being around one another's naked bodies has left them fully erect, as if their orgasms from moments ago did nothing to weaken them.

"I have to be if I want to be satisfied," the pyro purrs as he slinks around the blonds to face Demyx. "And speaking of which, I always top everybody, and I want my turn at being bottom to know what it feels like. Would you care to do the honors, Demy-dearest?"

"Would I!" is the guitarist's partially-teasing response. Axel lies on his back in the center of the floor. Demyx takes his place between his legs. Behind Demyx, Zexion drops into place on his knees near his roommate's buttocks. Roxas, like he promised, gets into position behind Zexion. And Sora, with not many choices, decides to get on all fours above Axel's head.

Axel prefers to prepare himself. Demyx watches with greedy eyes as Axel lubricates two of his own lengthy fingers with saliva prior to reaching past his arousal to his virgin hole. He forced both in at once with a low, stretched-out grunt. His blond best friend bites his lip and moves to touch himself, already picturing what it will be like to move within the redhead.

Zexion catches Demyx' hands, and pants out, "D-don't, Dem… not yet… wait for it."

But waiting for release is a grueling task when, as he turns around to look Zexion in the eye, he finds Roxas concentrating on thrusting and scissoring his fingers inside of Zexion to prepare him. Demyx bites his lip with more force and feels pre-come dribble down his length. He turns back around and focuses instead of the pink in Axel's face as the sweat on his brow and the shadow cast by Sora's inviting rump.

When Axel and Zexion are ready (since they are the lone two who needed preparation since they haven't been entered yet today), Sora at the front of the line starts a countdown.

"Three… two… one –" and his voice turns into a moan as Axel takes him in his mouth. This is following shortly by Demyx sliding into Axel, by Zexion worming his way into Demyx, and finally, by Roxas entering Zexion. The cries of pleasure and pain merge into one ringing wail from open jaws.

Roxas, being in back, sets a pace for the three in front of him. They bump back to front, giving Axel a rhythm to bob his head to as Sora lowers and lifts his hips into and away from the warmth of Axel's mouth.

Demyx, in the exact middle of the five, wishes suddenly to have a chain latched onto his ankle, because he is about to float away. Thrusting and being thrust into at the same time… it's heaven in the clouds. There is double the pleasure, from the scorching and tight heat of another swarming his member paired with the white-hot fluid heat of being dove into by the firm member of someone else.

Zexion, too, feels this combination of over-sensory as he bucks his pelvis in the direction of the heat in front of him, which ultimately causes Roxas to dig deeper on the backswing. His intelligent mind goes as blank as a sheet of untouched paper. His mouth opens in a soundless scream, his eyes wrenched shut as he feels himself already reaching climax. It's all so good; almost too good, as if he were dying from happiness. And happiness is a thing Zexion has never known, but found in the oddest of places: his college peers.

Roxas finds that he enjoys being pitcher more than he does being receiver. He makes a vague mental note to deem his twin his permanent future uke for when they are alone. Because being seme is much more fun for the blond; he likes his sweet spot hit as much as the next guy, but he could do without the butt-ache afterwards. With a wave of adrenaline that makes his heart rattle in his ribcage, Roxas pounds harder into Zexion until his grip on the paler boy's sides become pink with half-moon imprints from his nails.

At the front, Sora moans over and over again, never realizing how talented his roommate is with his tongue. The things Axel can do–! Well, let's simply state that it should be outlawed.

The writer is the first to reach his peak. "D-Demyx," his whispers. His erection bursts within Demyx, and the sudden broken-dam effect causes him to lean against Demyx's spine for support. His chest heaves as he catches his breath, sticky with perspiration of his and the other sophomore's skin.

Sora follows his example by moaning softly, back arched downward, as he comes in Axel's mouth. "Ah…!"

So not to suffocate the poor redhead, Sora rotates on one knee and braces himself against the side of his roommate's bed. He breathes heavily and opens his eyes to watch with keen interest as Demyx and the other twin orgasm at the exact same time, the taller blond within Axel and the smaller blond after pulling sharply out of Zexion.

Seed spills onto Roxas's abdomen and parts of his chest while more seed leaks from between Axel's butt cheeks and glistens on his lips. Sora briefly glances away as the other four separate to rest; seeing what he just did… it is making him hard all over again, despite the fact that he had actually softened after his orgasm this time. But not any more.

Roxas uses some of his remaining strength to crawl over to his brother and lay in the brunet's arms. Sora kisses him, trailing sloppily form his neck to his chest. The older twin flicks out his tongue and licks off the warm, white fluid from his twin's torso. "Nhg, Sora…" the blond slur dreamily. He loves it when his other half cleans him; it's arousing in all the correct ways.

Axel is having the hardest time of the five when it comes to recovering during this round. He has never been bottom before, and while it felt fucking fantastic to be struck and from the inside, it has left him feeling more tired than he is accustomed to.

"Axel?" Roxas questions once he is clean. Sora hangs on him as he leans forward to peer into his ex's face. "Axel…?"

"Nhh… Roxy, I feel funny, heh heh…" the redhead snorts with weak laughter. "Never felt like this before…"

"Is that a good thing for a bad thing?" the blond muses as he leans down to wipe Axel's mouth of Sora's seed. With his tongue.

Axel sighs heartily when he feels Roxas's wet tongue clearing out the traces of white left on him. "It's…" he says around a normal kiss, "A great thing."

"Awesome," the freshman grins as he combs back Axel's fiery red hair.

"I have an idea for what we can do next," Zexion pipes up. "Sora's previous position inspired it."

"Do share," Axel encourages as Roxas helps him sit up. "Although I'm think that I can only handle two more rounds."

"I think that's all we can handle anyhow," Zexion agrees. "But I would like to try my idea before we collapse."

"Then let's do it," Demyx grins. "Tell us, tell us!"

A strangely mischievous expression leaps into Zexion's eyes. "I think I would rather show you…"

[jump;]

They line up in a crooked circle, one after the other like perfectly fitting puzzle pieces. Intermittently, one will lie on his back, and the other will hover above is nearly sixty-nine pose, except the end of one body links to the start of another body.

The circle begins with Zexion, the main idea's man. He is lying on his back, with Sora between his legs and Roxas above his head. Lying beneath Roxas is Axel, and over the redhead's head hovers Demyx. And under Demyx, coming full circle, is Sora.

With each male initiating his own pace, tongues flicker out and lick and tease and suck at the length in front of them. It is like one string of pearls on a mermaid's necklace, salty like the sea and similarly smooth and wet. It's maddening.

Sora lies on his back like Zexion, different than the pattern around him due to the odd number of people. He has his head lying on the bookworm's tummy, his brown spiky hair tickling the slightly older male. He tilts is head to the side and kisses along Zexion's length. He moans against the shaft as his own erection is taken fully into Demyx's mouth. The buzzing of Sora's lips sends a shiver down Zexion's spine.

Meanwhile, Demyx is struggling to keep his mouth moving; it is no easy task when he is being overloaded with molten pleasure of the grazing teeth and light nips coming from Axel's aggressive mouth. The redhead's assault is so tasteful that Demyx can't help but pant through his nose and arch into Axel's mouth. But he keeps bobbing his head downward to please Sora, if only to keep himself sane.

Axel, on the other hand, is doing just fine. The little blond between his legs is cozy where he is, and the way Roxas pleases him wouldn't be more tantalizing. The blond of the twins likes to take things slow when he performs oral sex, by starting off with small licks and kisses at the head and then working his way down to the base. He will come back up and start all over again, until, finally, he starts to take Axel between his lips and slide down slowly, slowly, until almost all of Axel's arousal is in his mouth. And when he slides back up to release, he makes sure to use one hand to lift the lower half of the redhead's body with him. Without even having to guess, Roxas knows that the slowness drives Axel crazy, but not enough to make him speed up.

Roxas loves the way Zexion's mouth touches him. The quiet writer doesn't talk nearly as much as the rest of them, but he sure knows how to control his lips, tongue, and teeth in such a method that causes Roxas to teeter on the brink of losing his mind. He hasn't done much with Zexion has of yet, but thus far, this would be his favorite. Zexion is so very good at this, and Roxas doesn't even understand how because it feels like there is more than one mouth on him, it's so magical.

The bookworm himself feels proud of thinking of this circle, because this is within his preferences when it comes to sex. He doesn't know what it is, but the feeling of somebody's mouth on him… in his humble opinion, it is far superior to anal sex. Because with this, there is no pain, and while the flavor is strange, it isn't unwelcome.

The circle starts to break apart as each of the boys fill each other's mouths with seeds coincidentally in the order of youngest to oldest. Gasping for air, they wind up on their backs in a line, facing different angles from one another.

"You're a genius, Zexion," Axel murmurs as he wipes his lips with the back of his hand. He slings one forearms over his eyes. "But I'm sure you already knew that, heh heh."

"I did," the grayish-blue eyed boy responds with fake cockiness. Zexion smiles softly as somebody takes his hand and gives it a squeeze. He can't tell whom the hand belongs to; his eyes refuse to open at the moment.

"There's one last thing we need to try," Roxas murmurs. He cuddles up behind his brother and snuggles into Sora's shoulder blades with his nose. "Can you guess what it is, Sora?"

"We may be twins, but I don't have that strong of twin-telepathy," the brunet jokes as he rolls over to face his brother. "So what's on your mind?"

"A simple finale," the younger twin replies. He casts his gaze past his brother to look at Axel, whom is now sitting up. "What do you think of a train-chain, Ax?"

"I think you have something there," the other grins. "But let's rest for a good fifteen minutes or so."

"Of 'course," Roxas nods.

And they do. They lie and sit in different, comfortable poses for about twenty minutes. The music continues to play and they chat with one another, but minor and major things, like classes and past loves and awkward first kisses.

"I used to be in love with Repliku," Zexion admits with a touch of humiliation tinting his tone of voice.

"Riku's cousin? Really?" Sora says with keen interest.

Zexion nods. "Yes. He and I were friends, once upon a time. We told each other everything. But, apparently, confessing my feelings to him was going past my boundaries." A sigh escapes his lips. "Ever since then, I haven't wanted to get close to anyone. But now I'm close to each of you."

"And you don't regret it?" Axel asks uncharacteristically tender.

Zexion stares at him a moment before saying confidently, "No, I don't regret it in the least."

Demyx lays his head in his roommate's lap. "It's amazing that one group of people can change each other this much. I mean, even I'm not as shy about my feelings as I used to be. And Roxas, you're not as closed-in as before, keeping your smiles only to your brother. And Axel, believe it or not, you've gotten more caring about someone other than yourself."

"It's true, all of it," the redhead agrees. "And it's all thanks to you four gentlemen."

"I'll never forget this," Sora beams widely. He stretches and laces his hands behind his head. "And I'll never go back to the same old routine in my life again. It's almost like… new doors have been opened for me or something."

"I hear you," Axel nods in agreement. He taps one temple with a finger. "I've been thinkin' the exact same thing."

"So are we… like…" Roxas starts, although he struggles to find the correct words. "Together? All of us? Or…"

"We're all friends, first and foremost," Zexion clarifies. "In a manner of speaking, we're friends with benefits, but some of us are a couple as well."

"Like me and you!" Demyx states in a chipper voice.

"Yes, like you and I," Zexion agrees. "And, not too long ago, Axel and Roxas."

"Which, by the way, I've decided can still be, seeing as how Sora will always be here for me, and Axel says that he doesn't mind, since, in his opinion, incest is like internet dating: it doesn't count as cheating." The blond freshman states this very matter-of-factly, as if there is no argument.

"He's right, I did imply that," Axel chuckles as he brings Roxas's head into a headlock. He gives the blond a soft noogie. "And I gotta say, I'm glad you caught on, Roxy. Because my mind has been forever altered on the 'all to myself' account; I now say, love should be spread around, not contained. Hell, if the world would simply do that, there would be a helluva lot less war and murder."

"But there would also be more sexually transmitted diseases," Zexion jokes, and he never jokes, so the other four know that what Demyx said about change must be truer than they thought.

The redhead laughs. "Hey, man, dying is a small price to pay for peace. Besides, wouldn't it be a happily contracted STD?"

"Touché," the bookworm smiles. Actually smiles, and it looks so cute on him that Demyx leans up and kisses his nose. Zexion flushes.

"I want one more go," Roxas bursts suddenly. Not ruining the sweet moment, but adding to it. "Is everybody ready now?"

"Yes, Rox, I think we are," Axel replies. "Right, guys?"

The others nod.

"Cool. Then let's get the finale started," the pyro grins wolfishly.

Roxas helps his brother to his feet and in turn, Sora yanks Demyx to his. Zexion stands on his own, as does Axel.

"Now how do you propose we go about this?" Zexion wishes to know.

"Stand close together, single-file," Roxas answers. He shimmies up behind Sora, and rubs him to make him aroused once more. "And when we're dying to have it, we'll enter each other at the same time."

"I like this plan," Axel smirks as he appears behind Roxas. He inhales the familiar scent of the blond's hair as he wraps his hand around the younger boy's member to coax it back to life. It jumps in his fingers. "I like it a lot."

Demyx tags Axel, noticing that the redhead is already becoming erect from the proximity of their five bodies. Zexion takes up residence behind Demyx at the end of the line. The journal-writer licks his fingers and swirls them along Demyx's shaft to return his hardness. Demyx sighs, blushing and entirely content with the final setup: because this way, he is sandwiched between the people he loves most, and Roxas is sandwiched between the people he loves most. It's a win/win situation.

Their conjoined breathing hitches and runs up and down the vocal spectrum as they jerk one another into attention. Sora and Demyx are the first to bow their backs into their partner's chests, requesting entry.

"Not yet," Roxas whispers with harsh breath in his twin's ear. "We have to wait for the perfect moment."

The brunet whines in complaint, but does as he's told. He waits.

Soon, Axel and Roxas are ready to be entered, and Zexion commences the first thrust.

There is a domino effect as Zexion pushes into Demyx, and Demyx grinds into Axel, and Axel slides into Roxas, and Roxas shoves into his Sora.

There is a mingling of a range of vocals as they collectively gasp and call out each other's names.

"Ah~! Demyx…"

"Zex– oh…"

"Nhhg… mm… ah~!"

"A-Axel…"

"Mn, brother…"

Nothing compares to this, they realize in unison. Because, standing here, pressed together with grating force and oily sweat, they understand rather than feel why the pleasure is this intense: it's because they were meant for one another. Destined by some unimaginable deity that might not even exist, but for their sake, it might exist.

Zexion shivers uncontrollably from the sensual friction and swarming heat. The graceful sliding of thigh against thigh and spine to abdomen is enough to drive him insane, if the tight warmth circulating inside and around his member isn't already making him mad. Zexion picks up his pace and rests his head on the taller blond's back as he grips the hydromaniac's hips and delves as deep as he is able without falling apart.

Demyx releases a low and throat moan as Zexion repeatedly targets his prostrate. The blond shakes his head side to side a few times, muttering, "It's too good, it's too good…" He moans again as he bucks into Axel with shaky movements from sheer bliss. Demyx's grasp on Axel's thighs begins to slip as he loses himself in the pressure.

Axel can't seem to find his brain. Inside his head there is nothing but orange fire and charcoal-grey ashes, scorching him delicately and scrumptiously. The redhead wraps his forearms tightly around Roxas's narrow torso as he thrusts upwards violently into the blue-eyed blond. Roxas squirms and cries out, and Axel relishes in the sounds of ecstasy being emitted from his boyfriend. And he likes the thought of that: Roxas is his boyfriend again, as if the heartbreak had never happened. But if it hadn't, then how did they get here in this fivesome? Axel isn't sure, but then again, he doesn't care, either.

Roxas is enjoying himself far more than he should be. Being inside of Sora is like his wildest dreams come true, because Sora is moaning solely Roxas's name, and is swooning and grinding and feeling behind him for Roxas and Roxas alone. And the blond can't get enough of it. But it feels even better because Axel is with him, giving each thrust everything he's got. And Roxas realizes that while it is best being attacker than it is being defender, he likes being the defender to Axel, because Axel is somewhat rough, and Roxas likes it rough. Plus, the redhead is assisting him in a small way: his vigorous thrusts make Roxas's weaker ones into Sora have more momentum.

"I can't take it… I can't…" Sora whispers, and he lurches forward as he trembles with his last orgasm.

Roxas cradles him in his arms as he continues beating into his brother. "But I… haven't yet…" he pants.

"You will… soon enough," Axel growls in his ears, and he licks languidly up the back of Roxas's neck, tasting salt. The blond arches into the redhead and cries out softly as he erupts, white-hot blankness and all.

Behind Axel, Demyx follows Roxas in climax. He sees stars and calls out a garbled version of Axel's and Zexion's names while he comes.

Now, in the half-spent line, Axel and Zexion are the last to reach oblivion. Zexion falls first by biting into Demyx's shoulder and filling his boyfriend with seed. Demyx sighs with a quivering voice, and the alluring tone of his voice causes Axel to crumble against Roxas as he finally succumbs to ejaculation.

The five drop sideways from their standing positions. They land on Axel's bed in a heap running horizontally on the vertical twin-sized mattress. Eyes closed, the five pant heavily and swim in the daze of their lasting pleasure.

"I'm so tired," Sora mumbles as he rolls over to snuggle between his roommate and his brother. Axel bunkers down between Sora and Demyx, with Zexion curled into the guitarist's side. Roxas does the same on Sora's other end.

"I feel like I could sleep for days," Demyx groans as he wipes is brow of sweat. "D'ya want to hibernate with me, Zexion?"

But the periwinkle/silver-haired boy can't respond, as he is already on the shores of sleep.

Demyx smiles softly when he peeks open one eye and notices his roommate's sleeping state. "Aw. He's adorable."

"You are, too, Demyx," Roxas states from across the expanse of Axel's finely-built chest and Sora's lean one.

"We're all cute," Sora adds.

"Not me!" Axel says cockily, "I'm not cute, I'm sexy. Drop-dead sexy."

"Sure. Whatever you say, Red," Roxas and Sora retort simultaneously.

Axel pouts. "You guys are no fun."

"If we weren't any fun, then how come you're unable to move right now?" Roxas grins as he yawns against Sora's skin.

"Um… good point," Axel chuckles breathily. He sighs as he brings his arms around Demyx's side, and past Sora's in order to muss Roxas's hair. "And I guess we should be saying goodnight, now?"

"It's only six o'clock in the evening," Demyx mutters. "But yeah, I think so. I'm sleepy."

"Goodnight, then," Axel smiles.

"Goodnight," is the slur of voices in response. And then they, too, drift off into sleep like Zexion.

Axel is left to his own thoughts for a short amount of time. He looks over the four sleeping bodies, two on either side of him. He thinks, for a fleeting second, about how the world doesn't revolve around any lone person, but in his case, his personal world does.

"I love you guys," the redhead utters gently as he begins to fall asleep. "So… much…"

And then he's gone, but he feels more at home and comfortable than he ever has, because in his heart, Axel knows that this is merely the beginning of a beautiful, lasting multi-relationship.

[end;]

.Z.e.x.i.o.n./.D.e.m.y.x./.A.x.e.l./.R.o.x.a.s./.S.o.r.a.

.:Living In Consequence:.