Accidental Infatuation

Accidental Infatuation
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Chapter Twenty Seven

Authors Notes: So, I know I promised that I would have this chapter out by the end of last year, but I was only a two weeks late, right? On the bright side, we have officially reached this stories third birthday! How exciting! And for an extra special birthday present for this story, check out the boys partying it up in this photo on mine and Pahoyhoy’s deviantart

http: / /crymsonpahoyhoy. deviantart.com/ art/ Happy-Birthday-A-I-191905601

Just remember as always to take out the spaces. Enjoy!
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Something feels weird. That’s the only thought that I can focus on at the moment. I can’t quite place my finger on it, but I’m sure it will come to me soon enough. My mind is still somewhat fuzzy as the sleep begins to clear from my head. When I hear the sound of Riku’s soft snores next to my ear, it wakes me up instantly with a smile. I don’t know what it is about waking up next to him that always makes me smile, no matter if it was all night, or just a short power nap.

A slight breeze causes my eyes to shoot wide open. Now I know what it is that feels so weird. There is the small situation of my pants still being undone and everything hanging out, and a quick glance downwards tells me that my boyfriend has made no move to tuck himself back into his own pants either. I feel my entire face warm up when I notice the whiteness that is splattered between both of us as well. Oh my god. It wasn’t a dream. We really did all of that. For some reason, I thought I might have felt different afterwards, but all I can do is sigh with contentment and grin like a fool. Feeling slightly awkward, I reach down and tuck everything back inside my shorts. Unsure of what I should do about Riku, I just reach down to grab the quilt that is still beneath our knees.

I have no idea how my boyfriend manages to stay sleeping as I make several grunts and move him accidentally several times as I attempt to get my quilt out from under us. I do have to admit though that it doesn’t take me nearly as long as it would have only a month ago. Thankfully, Riku continues to sleep through everything. Finally I am able to release the quilt and spread it as best as I can over him, still praying that I don’t disturb him.

After making sure that Riku is all covered with the blanket, I start the complex task of getting out of bed without any assistance. Things aren’t made any better by the fact that I am still trying to be silent and cautious as to not wake Riku up. Although he actually has been sleeping better lately and his depression has been getting a little better, I know that Riku still needs as much rest as possible. He may not act like he needs it, but I don’t think he realizes just how much Sephiroth leaving has affected him, and if him getting extra rest helps, I will let him get it whenever he needs it.

Eventually I get myself out of the bed and into my chair. Man that was a lot harder than I ever expected it to be. After all, my bar is on the side of the bed that Riku is sleeping on, which before now was the only way I knew of to help me get out of bed alone. A quick glance over tells me that Riku is still sound asleep in my bed, his arm moving gently across the sheets in search of me. I can’t help but start grinning like a fool when I see that. He noticed my disappearance almost instantly. Reaching up, I grab my pillow and put it within his reach, trying not to laugh when he grabs it right away and pulls it up to his chest to cuddle with. What is it about people when they are asleep that makes them so cute?

As I make my way over to the door, I’m suddenly reminded of what is dried on my shirt quite visibly. Although there is no one here to witness it, I blush deeply as I look down only to see several large spots of white dried on my bright red shirt. Knowing that there is no way I could face anyone ever with that there, I quickly peal my shirt off and throw it into our laundry basket. I roll myself over to the dresser, pulling out a plain t-shirt, unsure if it is mine or Roxy’s, but does it really matter anyway? After pulling it back on over my head, I give myself a quick once over in the bathroom mirror to make sure that there are no other obvious signs of mine and Riku’s prior activities. When I figure myself to be deemed normal to the naked eye, I once again wheel myself over to the door, risking only one last glance back at Riku who remains fast asleep. I offer one last smile before opening the door and leaving the room without a sound.

The moment the door is closed behind me, I notice something a chair is leaned up against the wall next to my door, and for some reason, my twin is sitting in it, catching a few moments of rest of his own. “Roxy?” I question somewhat confused. Why on earth is he here?

Obviously he isn’t that deeply asleep because he stirs at just that single word and as soon as he sees me next to him he smiles before yawning. “Did you and Riku have an enjoyable afternoon?”

My blush has instantly increased tenfold as it suddenly hits me. Roxy knows. All of the things for him to realize, I can’t believe that this had to be one of them. Especially because I thought he was far too involved in his own ‘activities’ with Axel to notice what Riku and I were up to.

“I…I…I d-d-don’t know wh-wh-what you’re t-t-talking ab-b-bout,” I stutter, feeling my face grow hotter and hotter by the second. I don’t need to see the look of obvious disbelief on my brother’s face to know that Roxy doesn’t buy for a second my blatant lie. Unable to face him for the moment, I just bury my face in my hands, hoping that my embarrassment doesn’t last that long.

I feel Roxy’s good hand squeeze my shoulder as the support I feel flowing from him fills me up. Slowly I spread my fingers and peer almost timidly through them at my twin who just continues to grin madly at me. “You know, Sor, I’m really happy for you. You seem to have not only found an incredible boyfriend; he seems to feel just as strongly about you as you do about him.”

Finally I allow my hands to fall from my face as I send a curious look over at my brother. “You think so?” I don’t know why there is a shake to my voice, but I hope that he doesn’t notice, or at least doesn’t pick on me for it.

Roxas just nods, trying to stifle a yawn. “Of course. You’re both just so perfect for once another that it is almost nauseating,” he assures me with a smile.

I return the smile, my brain suddenly taking the fast track to lala land as I am assaulted with the happy memories of what had just happened between Riku and I. So if Roxy know what I was doing…”Why were you sleeping out here anyway and not down in Axel’s room, uh, finishing what you were doing?”

My twin just offers me a perverted smirk. “We were just about finished when you walked by before. Besides, I wanted to make sure that you weren’t interrupted for once so I was standing guard. Well, sitting guard anyway,” he laughs.

At the explanation, I join in my brother’s laughter, blown away by both the hilarity of the entire situation along with mine and Riku’s obvious need for a lookout during our private time. This leads me to wonder… “So, did you need to stop anyone?” I inquire, unsure if I really want to know the answer.

“Well, Dem came by whining about the fact that you ditched him in the hallway and Dr. Vexen came to let us know that Aerith and Cloud are going to be here for a visit this afternoon.” Crap. Riku and I really don’t have any luck. Thankfully I have Roxy to watch out for me. Which makes me scared to wonder what he wants in return for this. Wait, did he just say…”Aeri and Cloud are coming up?”

Nodding as he yawns widely once again, Roxy stretches his good arm above his head. “Yup. They should be here in a little while. I figured I’d let you sleep for a bit then wake you up, but then I fell asleep myself.”

I laugh a little, not feeling quite so embarrassed suddenly as we begin to head towards the lobby. “Oh, did Demy say anything else to you when you stopped him from busting into our room?” I don’t know what it is about the knowledge of finally knowing who Naminé’s admire is that is just making me want to tell everyone. I know that it has only been a little over a month since she began getting those letters, poems and flowers, but it really has become an obsession for most of us to figure out just who it might be. Well, everyone except for me. I have been trying just as obsessively to find out who the mysterious voice who called Sephiroth ‘Lover’ belongs to.

“Just that Kairi wasn’t done and that he was wondering if you wanted to abandon Riku no matter what your plans were and go and find Zexion now,” Roxy shrugs as he walks along beside me.

I let out a single chuckle. “Like I want to be in a room alone with Dem and Zexion for any length of time. I don’t have a three man rule with them.”

“True,” Roxy laughs.

“Anyway,” I continue on, “Dem and I found out who Naminé’s secret admirer is! And best of all, it seems like she likes him back enough to give him a chance.” I look over in order to see Roxy’s reaction, but a strange look passes over his features as he poignantly refuses to meet my gaze. Shit. I know what that look means. “You knew? You knew and you never told me!” I exclaim, stopping dead in my tracks, Roxy following suit as I stare at him in shock, surprise and disbelief.

At least he has the graciousness to blush. “Yeah, sorry Sor. I’ve known for about two weeks. She said I was the only one she could confide in and swore me to secrecy. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I even helped her write the letter to Lexaeus letting him know that she knew.”

I am completely blown away by this news. I still can’t believe that Roxy knew about Nami and Lexaeus and never told me, I really can’t. I don’t feel betrayed or anything, after all I know that I have secrets of my own that I never told Roxy about, but never anything like this. “I can’t believe this…” I trail off.

Roxy lets out a sigh, and then places his hand on my shoulder. “I would have told you, but Naminé’s exact words were that I couldn’t tell anyone, especially not even you. Fuck, I still don’t know if Kairi even knows yet.”

I just chuckle, “Well, if she didn’t know before, she’s going to know now. Demyx and I were having rotten luck earlier. After overhearing you and Axel going at it, we walked into the cafeteria and Naminé and Lexaeus were being all mooshy over a dessert that he made.”

My comment causes my brother to burst into loud laughter. “Fuck, you and Demyx are the last two people that she wanted to find out too.”

“Why?” I ask, tilting my head to one side.

“Because you, dear brother, will want to know everything you possibly can about them. And as you know, Demyx has the biggest mouth in the world and wants to tell everyone, something that you share as well,” he says and I blush at the truth of his statement. “Apparently even Zexion hasn’t told Demyx because of that. He’s known for even longer than I have because I guess he and Lexaeus are really close friends. He’s been the one actually delivering the gifts so that Lexaeus wouldn’t get caught. “

“Wait,” I say, completely interrupting my twin, “How old is Lexaeus? And Zexion for that matter? Because Nami is only 16, and if Demyx is only 19 and they’ve been together for four years…I’m confused,” I laugh.

“Doesn’t take much, does it?” Roxy smirks as I take the mature route and just stick my tongue out at him. “What’s so confusing?”

“I’m just wondering if it will be even legal if Lexaeus and Nami get together,” I clarify. “Because Dem said that he and Zexion met when Zexion started here, I’m wondering how old Zexion was when he did start.”

Roxy just shrugs as I finally notice that we have made it all the way to the lobby already. I didn’t even realize that we had started moving again. “Zexion is some sort of genius or something, so he started in his medical education at 17 and started interning here the same year. So that makes Zexion 21, only two years older than Demy. Lexaeus is only 19, same age as Axel, so it’s not really that big of a deal.”

“No wonder Axel is always so horny,” I snort, causing Roxy to laugh.

“Part of the reason anyway,” he smirks and I groan. “Anyway, Demyx told me that he and Lexaeus were in the same class at high school. Lexaeus apparently graduated a year early and came to work here then. So yeah, everything is legal.”

“Man, where was I when you were learning all of this?” I ask, wondering how I could have lived here for so long and never knew any of this.

“Probably spaced out in a corner somewhere,” a monotone voice breaks into our conversation, causing both Roxy and I to whip our heads to the front door where we see Cloud, Tifa and Aerith all walking in. Obviously Roxy inherited his sarcastic wit from Cloud as our older brother just smirks at his own comment.

“Oh Cloud,” Tifa smiles as she shakes her head at him, “can’t you at least say hello to your brothers before you start picking on them?”

Cloud just shrugs before nodding at both me and Roxy, as much of a hello as we ever get from him.

“Hi, guys,” I grin, rolling up to Tifa and she leans down to give me a tight hug as Roxy goes to greet Aerith.

“How’s my little fish doing?” Tifa asks, squeezing me almost too tightly. I often forget that for someone of her stature, she is a master of several different martial arts.

I catch myself blushing slightly at the question, easily remembering my activities of only a few hours ago and the guy that is probably still fast asleep in my bed. “I’m doing well, Tifa. Really good actually.” I hear Roxy snigger at my answer, but thankfully no one else seems to notice. Crap, can’t he at least stop teasing me for a little while, at least while everyone is here visiting us?

“That’s so great to hear, Sora,” Aerith smiles gently as Roxy and I switch girls to hug. The first thing that I notice is that Aerith’s stomach is definitely bigger than the last time she was here to visit us only three weeks ago.

“Did Leon come with you guys too?” I question as I get a hug from my sister.

“No,” she says after giving me a kiss on the cheek. “He had to work today, but sends his regards.”

This time Roxy is the one who snorts. “He doesn’t say enough to send his regards.”

The comment causes me, Tifa and Roxy to laugh while Cloud just smirks his amusement. Aerith rolls her eyes a little, but there is a smile playing on her lips as well. There is no way that she can deny something so obviously true about her husband. “You’re looking so awesome by the way, Aeri,” Roxy and I say in unison, causing our sister’s full smile to shine through as she places a single hand on the upper part of her stomach, just above the baby bump that is more pronounced than last time.

“Thank you,” she beams, “The little one kicked for the first time I could really feel the other day.”

“Really?” I ask, genuinely excited for her. As happy as I am for Aerith and Leon to be parents, because I know that they will be absolutely amazing parents, I can’t help but have a selfish reason to be happy for Aerith’s pregnancy. I’m looking so forward to being an uncle to this little one, and I know to be the best uncle that I can be, I need to recover. As much as I want to delay my recovery so that I can spend as much time as possible with Riku, I know that my recovery is important. This baby is just another motivation for that.

“Awesome!” Roxy says as his good hand automatically shoots out to lay on Aerith on her soft pink sweater, mine following simultaneously. She just laughs at our actions, laying her hands one each over mine and Roxy’s.

In the background, we can almost hear Cloud rolling his eyes and the almost expected flash of a camera as Tifa snaps a picture of us like that. At the light, both Roxy and I whip our heads around to glare at Tifa.

“What? It’s for your mother,” she smiles, tucking the camera back into her pocket.

At the word ‘mother’, Roxy and I look at each other, sharing the same concerned expression. Although we continue to talk to mom every night on the phone and she comes up to visit us at least once a week, it still is nothing to let us know how she is coping with our absence. Obviously when she is talking to us, or she is up visiting, she is going to seem so much better and almost normal to us. That is why we have come to rely on our older siblings to give us the truth I think if we were unable to get these reports on our mother’s behaviour, our recoveries would halt and that would just make the whole situation worse.

“Let’s go into the lounge and sit down,” Aerith tells us with a small smile. For a moment, I can feel the shared panic that races through both mine and my twin’s minds as we automatically assume the worse. Seeing Aerith’s serene smile though makes us realize that it can’t be that bad or else someone would have told us something long ago. With a small nod, the five of us make our way into the visiting lounge that is just off to the side of the registration desk. Normally we would all go out for a walk through the gardens, but with the cold weather and looming threat of rain, we all silently figure that this would be much better, warmer and more comfortable.

“I’m just going to run out to the car and grab my sweater. I’ll be right back,” Tifa says, hurrying outside. I have to agree though. I kind of wish I was wearing more than a t-shirt and shorts. Dr. Vexen tends to keep it fairly cook in the clinic. Demyx swears that his father is half ice man, and I guess Dr. Vexen figures that every else likes the cold as much as he does or can just go put on a sweater. As soon as we are all sitting, Roxy next to Aerith on one couch and my chair next to Cloud beside the other couch, Roxy and I share another look. Reaching up, I begin to poke Cloud’s upper arm relentlessly until he turns to look at me with a glare. I respond to the glare with a wide grin. His glares have never had any effect on me.

A single blond eyebrow is raised as my older brother silently asks me ‘What?’ as I continue to poke him.

“So, have you asked Tifa yet?” I ask with a shit eating grin.

I’m not at all surprised to receive another roll of his eyes. “What are you talking about?” he says in an almost bored tone. Well, that attitude is going to be changing pretty fast after this.

“We know,” Roxy and I tell him, our grins never leaving our faces.

“You know what?” Cloud sighs, and I wonder how specific we are going to need to be.

Aerith can barely contain herself and her laughter as she just watches us. She has told me before that it is one of her favourite past times, watching Roxy and I bugging Cloud. Apparently we are the only two in the world who will never give up and she finds both our tactics and Cloud’s reactions highly amusing. Then again, who can blame her?

“You bought a ring for Tifa.” At our words, Aerith’s laughing dies abruptly as she stares wide eyed over at Cloud. Our brother’s eyes are just as wide as he can’t decide to stare at me or Roxy, choosing to just look rapidly between us, his mouth hanging open.

“How…” he trails off, renewing mine and Roxy’s laughter when he inadvertently confirms our accusations.

“Cloud! When did you do that?” Aerith asks with a wide smile on her face as well as Cloud still is struggling to recover. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Uh, it was only a couple of days ago. I haven’t told anyone else other than Squall. How on earth did you guys know?” there is still a slightly dazed expression on Cloud’s face, which is actually very funny to see. It’s not very often that he is this blindsided.

Roxy and I just continue to grin, winking at each other, “Secret.”

Aerith seems to notice Cloud’s still dumbfounded face and begins to laugh. “If it makes you feel any better, Cloud, they knew I was pregnant before I even considered telling them.

Rolling his eyes as he finally recovers from his shock, Cloud just crosses his arms over his chest. “I always said that Mom should have stopped after only two kids.”

The mention of our Mom again sobers Roxy and me instantly as I look apprehensively over at Cloud while my twin stares at Aerith with the same look.

“Mom is doing a lot better lately,” Aerith smiles and Roxy and I let out a joint sigh of relief. “Squall and I are still staying there but we figure that we will probably move back to our place in a month or so. Her depression has been getting steadily better lately.”

“Thank heavens,” Roxy breathes a sigh of relief for both of us.

Before we can say anything else, Tifa enters back into the lounge, her arms crossed over her chest, a slightly cross look on her face. She doesn’t say anything as she just goes over and sits down on the couch next to Cloud.

“Is everything okay, Tif?” Roxy asks the question that is going through everyone’s mind.

Tifa lets out a small huff that causes Cloud to look over at her slightly oddly. I think more than anything, he is just glad that the talk about the ring is done and hopefully Tifa didn’t overhear us. If she did, that would completely ruin the surprise, and would probably piss her off for ruining it, and that would absolutely suck.

“Who is the guy with the eye patch? He looks like he might work here,” Tifa questions, looking at myself and Roxy for answers.

“Eye patch? Oh, that’s Xigbar,” I laugh. “Sorry, I guess we should have warned you about him. He’s the new therapist here. He took over after Riku’s older brother went away on leave. He’s a great therapist, but he’s an asshole, and a prick and a pervert. But essentially, he’s harmless.”

“Sora!” Aerith gasps, probably at my language. Honestly, I don’t think that she has ever heard me talk like this, because I never would have spoken like that before coming to the clinic.

Roxy just laughs at our sister’s expression, “Blame Axel. He’s been an all-around bad influence.” At my twin’s words, our sister still looks appalled, but at the same time shakes her head in what I hope is acceptance.

“So what about Xigbar?” I question, wondering why Tifa has brought him up so suddenly.

Tifa still looks uncomfortable as she says, “He was at the reception desk when I came back in and said ‘Hey, Sugar Tits, here to visit me?’ Then he told me that he would make it worth my while.” Roxy and I both burst out laughing at the typical Xigbar comment, while Aerith looks absolutely scandalized. Cloud’s expression is the absolute best though. His eyes are afire with a burning jealousy, a sight that makes Roxy and I laugh even harder than before. I get the feeling that the next time that I see my brother and his girlfriend, Cloud won’t have the ring anymore because it will be on Tifa’s finger for the world to see. All I can say is that it’s about damn time.

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Whoot! Here is the birthday chapter of Accidental Infatuation! Thanks so much to everyone who has supported me so much over the past three years. It seems so amazing that this story has been around so long. And to think that I was being optimistic when I first posted and thought that this story would only be about 15 chapters long. Yeah, didn’t happen. There is a light at the end of the tunnel though. I have a feeling that the end will be around chapter 35, I know sad face. But who knows if that will hold once I get through the next couple of chapters, lol.

2010 was one of the most amazing years for me, first for writing. I pretty much doubled my archived word count on here in the past year, with all the oneshots, chapters, short stories and so on that I posted. Hopefully 2011 is just as productive. 2010 was also the year that I became obsessed with Xigbar and Tifa as a pairing, and Xigbar in general, lol. I blame Pahoyhoy for that. I love you! And even more exciting, after a long and difficult road, Pahoyhoy is finally pregnant with her first child! Words cannot even begin to express how excited both she and I are! Your visit up here was one of my favourite things that happened to me last year, and I know that when I’m down to visit you this year it will be a highlight for me again, as it always is!

Once again, thank you all so much for sticking with this story for so long, and my resolution for this year is to make real progress towards the end of this story, and if I’m lucky, maybe even finishing it. Resolutions are made to be broken though, so I’m not crossing my fingers, lol. Until the next time! Happy new year and happy birthday Accident!