Therapy

Disclaimer: It is disclaimed biatches.

Warning: some very pervy behavior in this chapter, mild swearing, a lime (thanks again to for the definition), and slight Axel bashing. I love Axel though, so don't flame me for that.

Pairings: Who isn't together in this chapter? We have Axel x Roxas, Zexion x Demyx, Cloud x Sephiroth, mentioned Riku x Sora.

"Axel?" came a disbelieving cry. Almost immediately a lilac haired teen appeared at the top of the stairs.

Axel couldn't believe this; he thought he had successfully avoided his younger brother. Why the hell is he here? Oh right, he's dating Roxas's brother. Still, why is he at a family dinner? Then again why am I at a family dinner? Shit, say something you idiot or he's going to say something that could ruin this and then Roxas will never want to speak to you again. "What the hell are you doing here?" Crap, I just opened myself to attack, bad Axel!

"I could ask you the same thing." Zexion narrowed his eyes, surveying his brother like a hungry wolf, "I would have thought Roxas wouldn't be talking to you after what I told him last night, let alone bringing you to dinner. I am assuming that's why you're here."

"Zexion," Axel was down right confused and more than a little suspicious, "What did you tell Roxas."

"That you think he's hot of course."

"Oh Zexy," Demyx waved a hand in dismissal, "Roxas thinks Axel's hot too. He told Sora and Cloud all about it. Besides, look at that hickey on his neck, that wasn't there yesterday."

Zexion's eyes moved from his brother to Roxas and back again. Haha, his plan failed! I beat the emo bastard at something! "Axel's afraid of spiders."

"Now that's just childish. I mean really, what do you think that's going to accomplish?" Axel smirked at his younger brother.

The lilac haired teen glared at Axel, obviously at a loss and out of ideas on how to best attack his brother. "Come on Dem Dem, let's go back to your room." Zexion took Demyx's hand and led the blond away.

"Dem Dem?" Axel quirked an eyebrow at the nickname. Wow, I did not think Zexion the type to call someone that.

"Yeah, it's kind of odd the first time you hear him call Demyx that." Axel jumped at the sound of Roxas's voice, he had completely forgotten he was there, being far to concentrated on defeating his brother.

Before he could say anything there came another cry of, "ROXYYYY!" A blur of chocolate brown hair came streaking into the entrance hall and Roxas was once again knocked to the ground.

"This is getting really old Sora." The blond muttered.

"But I love you Roxy." Sora sat up on Roxas's chest and began to pout.

"If you love me so much then get off of me," Roxas gasped, "You're suffocating me!"

"Sorry Roxy." Sora clambered off of his twin. After helping the now severely disheveled blond up, Sora finally noticed that there was another person in the entrance hall. "Hey, I know you. You're that guy that Roxas thinks is hot. Why are you here?"

"I invited him." Roxas said.

"Why would you invi," Sora stopped midsentence and stared intently at Roxas's neck, "Oh, right, he nailed you into the mattress and now you want a relationship."

"Sora!" Roxas squeaked.

"I did not 'nail him into the mattress', thank you very much." Axel broke in, "And what we do in private is none of your business."

Roxas groaned and put a hand over his face. Axel looked at the blond in confusion. What's his problem? That should make it clear that we don't want people talking about it, it's not like I said something horribly embarrassing or anything. Turning back to Sora Axel saw why Roxas had groaned. The brunet had a look on his face that reminded Axel of a cat about to kill a small, annoying mouse. That was a trap, wasn't it? Oh crap, I just walked right into that one. "So," Sora clasped his hands behind his back, "You did give him a good pounding then." He doesn't have to look so pleased with himself. "Here I was thinking that all you two had done was fool around a bit. I mean, when I walked in on you guys that's what it looked like, but now the truth comes out."

"Sora," a voice called from the direction the brunet had come, "Remember what I said about teasing your brother." A tall man with long silver hair came through the doorway into the entrance hall. He was incredibly muscular and looked like he could beat the crap out of anyone who was dumb enough to mess with him.

"Not to do it without you." The brunet chirped, "Don't you think Roxas has a nice hickey Sephiroth?"

"Why yes I do," the silver haired man had obviously just noticed the hickey, "That is very nice. Now, how long have you two known each other?"

"Longer than you knew Cloud before you guys were locked in your bedroom for, what was it again?" Roxas looked thoughtful, "Oh right, three days."

The silver haired man, Sephiroth, pursed his lips together. Axel couldn't help himself, he tried to stop it from coming out, he really did, but completely unbidden the words went flying out of his mouth, "Three days! Man, one of you sure as hell couldn't walk after that."

Three pairs of eyes turned to the redhead, one pair of blue in absolute horror, one blue with obvious enjoyment, and a pair of aqua green with a slightly deadly glint. "That's right," Sephiroth's voice had the same edge as his eyes, "Cloud could barely walk after I got through with him. Though he was hardly complaining, the way he kept yelling for me to go harder."

"Just kill me now." Roxas muttered.

"And our dear little Roxas here still seems to be able to walk." Sephiroth strode over and put an arm around the mortified blonde's shoulders, "Since I know he's a bottom that can only mean one thing, you were not enough to really effect him." The grin on Sephiroth's face nearly made Axel whimper, instead he sputtered incoherently for a moment.

"What are you doing here Seph?" Roxas asked softly.

"Well," Sephiroth released the blond, "I was here last night, giving Cloud a real pounding, and I just never left."

"I gave Roxas a real pounding!" Axel protested. Immediately he clapped a hand over his mouth and looked at Roxas. The blond was glaring at him while Sephiroth and Sora were staring at the redhead with their mouths open. "I mean, um, I was a courteous lover who wou, I'm going to shut up now."

"Yeah, you do that." Roxas said.

Axel stared at his feet, trying to become invisible. He could tell that his attempts to discover some hidden super power were not working as the three other men in the entrance way were still staring at him. "Well," Sephiroth finally broke the tense silence, "We should probably get out of the entrance. Why don't we head into the living room?"

"Sure," Roxas's voice had a biting edge to it, "Why don't we?"

The group moved through the doorway that Sora and Sephiroth had entered through. Axel found himself in a pastel blue room with white couches. On the walls were paintings of landscapes, people, animals, and even one modern art thing that was just paint thrown at the canvas as far as Axel could tell. Sitting on a white couch beside Roxas, Axel looked around, pointedly avoiding making eye contact. The silence was deafening and more than the redhead could take. In order to avoid doing something stupid, Axel did the only thing he could think of, he began to talk. "So," he started, immediately regretting his decision to speak as three pairs of eyes focused on him, "These are nice paintings."

"Oh yeah!" Sora chirped, "Our sister Namine made them. She's such a great artist. She has a scholarship to some art institute in France next year."

"So she's going to college?"

"She and Demyx are going to be 18 in a month." Roxas said, obviously hoping to keep the topic away from his sex life, "They're going off to their perspective schools pretty soon."

"Demyx," Sephiroth drew the groups attention back to himself, "There's another uke in this family." Roxas flushed violently at the change in topic, "I have to wonder about you all. I mean, not a single straight man in the family, and not a single seme either. Though at least whenever Riku or Zexion give it to their boys they get an obvious response. None of this, I can walk without limping, crap."

Roxas dropped his head into his hands and began to mutter. The muttering was far too soft for the other men in the room to hear, but Axel definitely heard the words fucking asshole. "What is it with you and sex?" Axel asked, directing his gaze towards Sephiroth, "I mean, I've only known you for a few minutes and that is all you've talked about."

"Sephiroth's a pervert." A voice said from the entrance hall. Shortly after the voice sounded a petite blond girl entered the room. Axel recognized her as the girl from the picture in Roxas's apartment. What was her name again? Oh right, it's Namine, and she's Demyx's twin. "So," Namine started, "Who's this?"

"This would be the guy that I was telling you about." Sora said, a wide smile on his face.

"The pyro that Roxy thinks is hot?"

"Yep, that's the one."

"Can you please stop talking about me like I'm not here." Axel said. He once again regretted opening his mouth the instant the words left him. Four pairs of eyes focused in on him, three with a distinctly predatory glint. The reason Roxas had told him that 'Your funeral' suddenly became quite clear to Axel, Roxas's family may like each other, but that didn't mean that they were normal. No, they reminded the pyro of a pack of hyenas ready for the kill. "Roxas," Axel whispered, "Help me."

"Where's Cloud?" Roxas asked the room at large.

Sephiroth's eyes lit up at the question, "He would be in the kitchen cooking dinner. Maybe I should go help him."

"NO!" three voices rang out as the silver haired man stood to leave.

"The last time you 'helped' Cloud in the kitchen we had to bleach the counter." Namine stuck an accusing finger at Sephiroth, "Demyx still won't eat anything that touches that surface."

Suddenly a loud bang sounded from behind a closed door, followed shortly by some very colorful cursing. "See," Sephiroth's eyes were trained on the door, "Cloud needs some help. Do you really trust him in there by himself? I should really just,"

"No Sephiroth." Roxas said firmly, "You are not going in there."

Another string of cursing came from what could only be the kitchen. "We won't have sex on the counter again if that's what you're worried about."

"Or the table."

"Fine, or the table."

"Or the floor." Sora added.

"Or the kitchen in general." Namine folded her arms over her chest to emphasize her point.

"Fine," Sephiroth's eyes moved from one sibling to the next, "We won't have sex in the kitchen."

As yet another bang rang out, the silver haired man strode through the doorway. "Hey Seph. What are you doing in here?" a man's voice asked, "Wait! I need to make dinner! Where are you taking me?"

Sephiroth reemerged from the kitchen, a blond haired man thrown over his shoulder. "To the bedroom!" he declared. Not even paying attention to the group of people staring at him or to the struggling blond in his grip, Sephiroth strode through the living room and into the entrance way.

As soon as Sephiroth disappeared with his captive, a shocked silence washed over the group. It was Sora who finally broke it. "I thought we had him that time." He scratched his head in obvious amazement.

"I don't think anything can deter Sephiroth when he decides he wants sex." Roxas mused.

"Yeah, but you weren't here last night," Namine said, "They were going at it until seven in the morning. They were so loud that the neighbors called the cops."

"That's why I moved out," Roxas smiled at the blond girl, "I couldn't take them making noise any longer."

"Still," Sora said, "You'd think that after last night that they'd be out of steam."

Suddenly a loud bang sounded from upstairs and the group looked up at the ceiling. "Oh Seph!" a voice screamed. Shortly after there was the sound of a bed rocking and running footsteps. Seconds after the footsteps sounded, Zexion and Demyx came bursting into the living room.

"I can't believe it!" Zexion scowled.

"What's not to believe?" Demyx quirked his head to the side.

"Sephiroth and Cloud, they're like two extremely hormonal teenagers." the lilac haired teen threw up his hands in disgust.

"Oh come on Zexion." Roxas laughed, "You know Seph's a pervert. You really should have seen that coming."

"Wasn't Cloud cooking dinner?" Namine asked.

"Yeah he was." Sora nodded as if that would make it even more true.

"Crap. Alright Roxy," Namine turned to her brother, "You're the only other person in the family who can cook."

"So?" the blond raised an eyebrow at his sister.

"So that means that by default you get to finish cooking dinner."

"You have got to be kidding me." Roxas folded his arms across his chest, "I have cooked for you guys the past six weekends. I'm not doing it."

"Fine," Sora brightened suddenly, "I'll finish cooking."

"I'll cook." Roxas stood immediately and vanished into the kitchen.

Axel sat back as all eyes turned to him. This would be very, very bad. "I'm going to go help Roxas." Axel made to stand up but found himself impaired by a hand on his shoulder. Looking up at Demyx, Axel had a strange sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"What's the rush?" the sandy haired blond asked.

"Yeah," Namine continued, "We haven't had a chance to talk one on one." The teenage twins exchanged glances and Axel knew that things had gone from bad to worse. "So Axel, what are your intentions with our brother? Other than screw his little brain out that is."

"Well I… um."

"Why should we even allow you to date our brother?" Sora narrowed his eyes at the redhead.

"You shouldn't," Zexion smirked as he spoke, "He's a horrible person who should not be allowed into society. I think we should just throw him out now before he damages your brother."

"Your one to talk!" Axel pointed an accusing finger at Zexion, "How can I be a bigger danger than you, I don't cut people when they piss me off."

"Roxy gave him a psych check." Namine waved away Axel's argument.

"Besides," Demyx said, "Not like you can really mess me up, I mean all you can do is inspire me."

At Axel's confused look Namine elaborated, "He's a musician. But, back to the topic at hand."

"Yeah, why shouldn't we just throw you out right now?" Sora was practically glaring at Axel, "We know you're a danger to society, even the court system says so."

"I am not,"

"Yes, you are. And by default that makes you a danger to Roxy. I don't like people hurting my brother, and I can't see you doing anything other than that." Sora stood and began to stalk towards Axel.

Oh SHIT! He's going to kill me! Think fast Axel, how can you get yourself out of this? Before Axel could come up with a solution there came a call of, "I could really use some help in here." from the kitchen. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

"Well," Axel managed to get out of Demyx's death grip and stand, "You heard him. I should really go help him out." Not even waiting for a response, Axel practically sprinted to the kitchen door. Ducking past the door the redhead let out a relieved sigh which was immediately sucked back in a gasp as he took in the sight of the kitchen. There was flour everywhere, Axel couldn't find a surface that wasn't coated. The stove had several pots on it and showed evidence that they had been boiling over recently. Some dough lay in a lump on the island counter, along with a bowl filled with who knew what. In the middle of it all stood Roxas, looking very pristine in comparison to his surroundings. "What happened in here?" Axel couldn't stop himself from staring.

"Cloud." Roxas simply said.

"What was he even trying to make?"

"As far as I can tell, ravioli." The blond leaned over one of the pots and grimaced, "This is all burnt, I don't think I can save it."

"I don't think anyone can save anything in here." Axel walked over to Roxas and turned on the spot, trying desperately to find a single clean surface in the room.

Suddenly the thumping upstairs became significantly louder. Eyeing the ceiling Roxas turned to Axel. "I think dinner is not going to happen."

"Oh thank god!" Axel exclaimed, slumping over slightly in relief, "No offense Roxas, but your family scares me."

"They gave you the 'why should we let you date Roxas' speech huh?" the blond shook his head, "They always do that, I keep telling them to stop but I don't think it matters what I tell them."

"So, what are we going to do?"

"I'm going to go out there and tell them that dinner is a lost cause. We'll just have to see what happens after that."

Roxas started to the living room door but Axel halted him. "Why does everyone else get to call you Roxy?"

"What?" Roxas looked back at Axel, "Why is that important?"

"Well," Axel slid up to the blonde's side, "I was just thinking, why can't I call you Roxy?"

"You can." Roxas laughed slightly, "I didn't know it was that big a deal."

"Every boyfriend should be allowed to call their boyfriend a pet name." Axel leaned down so his face was a little closer to Roxas's.

"Well," Roxas smiled up at Axel, "I guess that's true. Still, I would have thought that you would want to call me something that my family doesn't."

"Hm," Axel straightened back up and tapped his chin with a finger, "That is a good point. I think I'll just have to come up with something better, but in the meantime I'll just call you Roxy like everyone else."

"Alright." Roxas shrugged his shoulders, the smile still on his lips. With that matter dealt with the pair exited the kitchen, returning to the torture chamber as Axel was now calling it in his head. "So," Roxas started, "Dinner is, well there is no hope of me saving what Cloud was making. It's too late to start something new, so I'm out of here and you all can figure something out on your own."

"No." Sora whined. In an instant the brunet had launched himself across the room and attached to his twin's arm. "You can't leave Roxy, it's no fun without you."

"We'll just go out to eat." Namine smiled at her brother as he desperately tried to remove Sora, "You and Axel can come that way, we were just getting to know him after all."

"Besides," Demyx looked up at the ceiling at a particularly loud thump, "It's not like we can eat with those two going at it."

"I vote Chinese!" Sora cried from his death grip on Roxas.

"Oo, I second that!" Demyx piped in.

"I'm fine with that." Zexion wrapped an arm around Demyx who laid his head on the latter's shoulder.

"Okay," Namine stood with a very authoritative air, "Chinese it is. Come on Roxy, lets get going. I'll ride with you guys and Sora can drive Demy and Zexion." Without waiting for a response she grabbed Roxas's free arm.

Sora sprang away from his twin as soon as his little sister had a good grip on him. "I'm going to call Riku, he loves Chinese." And he disappeared, off to call his boyfriend.

"Lets go Roxy, time's a wasting." Namine began to drag her brother off, pausing to get a good hold on Axel so she could manhandle him as well.

As Axel was literally pulled out of the house by a deceptively strong little girl, he couldn't help but cast a pleading gaze over at Roxas. I should never have asked to come. I should have just invited Roxas over to my house for dinner. Maybe that would have worked, maybe he would have come. After growing up with these people it's not like he'd think my family was mean. Hell, in comparison to his siblings my parents are kind and warm homemakers. Axel was really starting to lose hope of having a nice evening, hell, he was starting to lose hope that Roxas's family would ever let them see each other again. Then Roxas spoke up, "Damn it Namine, let go of me. It's not like I'm going to make a break for it, you're faster than me and I'd get caught. Besides, Axel and I can walk on our own." After a moment of eyeing him suspiciously, Namine released the pair. Walking slightly behind his sister, Roxas grabbed Axel's arm and pulled him close. "I'm going to drive to the restaurant." He whispered to the redhead, "Let Namine get out of the car first, we're going to take off as soon as she's closed the door."

"Got it." Axel whispered back.

Silently the pair followed the petite blond in front of them. Seeing that she was going to take the front seat, Axel hurried forward and slipped into the car as soon as Roxas unlocked it. Ignoring the scowl he was receiving, Axel turned to Roxas as soon as he was in the driver's seat. "Which restaurant are we going to?" he asked.

"There's this really good Chinese place just across from the highway entrance ramp on Lark. We always go to that one, so I'm assuming that's where Sora will be meeting us." Roxas turned on the ignition and started to back out of the driveway.

The car ride to the restaurant was unbearably quiet, yet Axel dared not break this silence, if he did that Namine would probably start attacking him again. Finally they made it to the restaurant and, doing his best innocent act, Axel sat forward in his seat. As soon as they came to a stop he spoke up, "I think I've been here before, they have the best war bar in town."

"I know!" Namine said excitedly, "It's my favorite."

Without waiting for the two men to get out, Namine unbuckled herself and darted out of the car. As soon as the door slammed shut, Roxas slammed on the accelerator and speeded out of the parking lot. Dimly Axel heard Namine's curses following them, but he was too busy cheering in his head to pay attention. Twisting in his seat Axel looked back at the rapidly shrinking restaurant, he could just make out Namine's figure when he turned back to face forward. "That was kind of mean." Axel didn't really care, even as he pointed it out.

"Not as mean as what they would have done to us." Roxas responded.

"Good point." Axel sat back in his chair and let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

"So," Axel looked up as Roxas started to speak, "What do you want to do for dinner? I'd bring you back to my apartment, but they'll look for us there."

"I kind of feel like Italian actually. I think Chinese has been forever ruined by tonight."

"I completely agree. Do you know any good Italian places?"

"Yeah, there's one on Nightshade Lane that's pretty good, it's a little expensive though."

"Don't worry about that," Roxas smiled at Axel, a great beaming smile that warmed every inch of his face, "Dinner's on me."

"I can't let you do that," Axel protested, "I kind of feel like I'm forcing my presence on you."

"No you're not." Roxas laughed it away, "Besides, I owe you for not killing my family. I don't think anyone's lasted so long with Sora without either hurting him or crying. Well, other than Riku that is, but he's dating the hyper little freak so it doesn't really count."

"Still," Axel looked down to avoid those blue pools, "I feel like I should pull my own weight and pay my portion, it is an expensive place."

"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you pay for your own food on our first date?"

Axel's head snapped up at that. It had been such a simple little comment, thrown out seemingly without a second thought, but it sent thrills through the redhead's body. This is a date. He really does want to be around me, I mean, he's willing to feed me. If he was just saying we could be a couple to alleviate some sort of guilt over sleeping with me so fast he would never do that. "Sure," Axel conceded, "You can pay for this date, but I get the next one."

Roxas smiled even wider at that. "Great." His reply was surprisingly quiet. Axel barely stopped himself from squealing with joy when Roxas reached over and took his hand. Entwining his long fingers with Roxas's, Axel smiled and gazed out the windshield. Everything bad that had happened that day was washed away as soon as Roxas took his hand, leaving him with the same content feeling that he had had before Sora walked in on them. Axel wasn't even aware of how they got to the restaurant, and frankly he didn't really care. Roxas held his hand the entire way, the warmth of his palm burning into Axel, the feel of Roxas's skin against his own making him dizzy. The first time he even took in his surroundings was when the contact was broken and Roxas got out of the car.

Looking around, Axel had enough sense to exit the vehicle himself and move towards Roxas. Coming around the car, Axel took Roxas's hand back into his own and, taking care not to get lost in the contact again, walked into the restaurant. The pair walked up to the hostess booth and stood waiting for her to come back. A woman with blond hair that was slicked back except for a pair of strands that always reminded Axel of antenna walked up and smiled at them. "Hey Axel," she said, "What can I do for you?"

"Hey Larxene, can we get a table?" Axel smiled back at his friend.

"Sure thing." Larxene turned to look over her shoulder, "Marly, get your ass over here, we have customers!"

Axel winced at the volume of her voice but said nothing. A tall man with layered and styled pink hair appeared from around the corner. "Stop yelling Larxene," he glowered at the blond, "You'll scare people away. Oh, hey Axel." The pink haired man held up a hand in greeting.

"Hey Marluxia."

"And who would this little cutie be?" Marluxia grabbed two menus and headed into the table area.

"This is Roxas, Roxas this is Marluxia, I went to high school with him and Larxene, the hostess." Axel smiled at Roxas. Eyeing Marluxia, Roxas returned the smile, if a bit shakily.

"So here we are!" Marluxia announced, setting the menus down on a table with a flourish, "Is there anything I can get you guys to drink?"

"Water's good with me." Axel broke his hold on Roxas and sat down.

"Do you have lemonade?" Roxas sat opposite Axel and looked up at the pinkette.

"Why yes we do. Would you like normal yellow lemonade, pink lemonade, strawberry lemonade, or my personal favorite, raspberry lemonade cocktail?" Marluxia beamed down at Roxas.

"Um, pink lemonade is fine."

"Coming right up." And with that, Marluxia was gone.

"He's… interesting." Roxas said softly.

"That's one way of putting it." Axel laughed at the description, "You should see him when he's not at work, he doesn't hold back."

"That was holding back?" Roxas raised his eyebrows at Axel's comment.

"Yep, sometimes he walks around in a pink skirt and I've never actually seen him wearing a man's shirt. He says it's just more comfortable to wear women's blouses." Axel shrugged it off.

"Oh." Roxas said simply, effectively ending that train of conversation.

The dinner itself seemed to fly by to Axel, it was all just one big blur. Later he would vaguely remember what he had to eat and what was said, but in truth, that's not what mattered to him. What he truly remembered, what was really important, was how Roxas would laugh at the stupid little jokes that he made, how the blond played with his silverware, or how his eyes lit up whenever Axel would touch him. He wouldn't have a chance of remembering how they ended up back at Axel's house, he definitely didn't remember getting back into Roxas's car. The one thing he could never forget though, was how they stood outside Axel's house for what seemed like hours, locked in a kiss that stole their breath. It was only when Zexion opened the door and told them that they were traumatizing the neighbors that they stopped.

When he was back inside, Zexion's attempts to bring him down a notch didn't even faze Axel. The night's tendency to be a blur continued and soon he was curled up in his bed, staring at the ceiling and replaying every little detail that was Roxas in his head. Falling into the darkness of sleep, Axel felt a smile playing across his face.

"Axel?" the voice cried in disbelief. Zexion appeared at the top of the stairs, Demyx at his shoulder.

For a moment, all Axel did was stare at his brother with his jaw slack and slightly opened. Roxas looked between the siblings, waiting for someone to say something. Finally Axel seemed to get a hold of the situation. "What the hell are you doing here?" the redhead grimaced as soon as the words left his mouth.

"I could ask you the same thing." The look on Zexion's face made it clear to Roxas what kind of relationship the brothers had, he was surveying Axel like some kind of hungry predator. "I would have thought Roxas wouldn't be talking to you after what I told him last night," The lilac haired teen's eyes flicked to the silent blond, "Let alone bringing you to dinner. I am assuming that's why you're here."

"Zexion, what did you tell Roxas."

"That you think he's hot of course."

"Oh Zexy," Demyx waved the comment away, "Roxas thinks Axel's hot too. He told Sora and Cloud all about it." Damn them, I don't have any privacy. "Besides, look at that hickey on his neck, that wasn't there yesterday."

Zexion's eyes moved between his brother and Roxas, who felt his cheeks reddening, betraying the truth to the lilac haired boy. Finally he spoke, "Axel's afraid of spiders."

So? What does that have to do with anything? "Now that's just childish." Axel scoffed, "I mean really, what do you think that's going to accomplish?"

The glare that Zexion sent Axel seemed like it should have turned the pyro to ice, he however had a smug smirk on his face. "Come on Dem Dem, let's go back to your room." With that Zexion took Demyx's hand and led the sandy haired blond away.

"Dem Dem?" Axel's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Yeah," Axel jumped several inches off the ground at the sound of Roxas's voice. Choosing to ignore the obvious fact that the redhead had forgotten about him, Roxas continued on, "It's kind of odd the first time you hear him call Demyx that."

Axel turned to Roxas and opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a shrill cry. "ROXYYYY!" a little ball of energy shot out of the living room door and tackled Roxas.

"This is getting really old Sora." Roxas informed his twin. Why is it that I always get tackled whenever I come home? Sure, Demyx tackles everyone, but Sora doesn't knock Riku over when he shows up.

"But I love you Roxy." Sora sat up on Roxas's chest, his signature pout on his face.

"If you love me so much then get off of me, you're suffocating me!" Roxas felt like his twin weighed a ton, and all of it was pressing down on his lungs.

"Sorry Roxy." Sora clambered off of Roxas without even an ounce of grace. Reaching down, Sora helped Roxas to his feet. Ignoring the death glare that Roxas was sending him, Sora turned to Axel. "Hey, I know you." His eyes widened slightly as he took in the redhead, "You're that guy that Roxas thinks is hot. Why are you here?"

"I invited him." Roxas intensified his glare, silently warning his twin to drop it.

Unfortunately, Sora wasn't the type to understand nonverbal messages; he wasn't the type to understand most verbal messages. "Why would you invi," Sora stopped mid question, realization dawning on his face as he stared intently at the hickey on Roxas's neck, "Oh, right, he nailed you into the mattress and now you want a relationship."

"Sora!" Roxas couldn't stop his voice from coming out as a squeak.

"I did not 'nail him into the mattress', thank you very much." Axel scowled at the short brunet, "And what we do in private is none of your business."

Groaning, Roxas buried his face in one of his hands. Well there goes another relationship. I hope Sora lets him live, murder will be hard to explain. Plus I'd probably be the one who had to clean up the mess. "So," Sora's voice cut through Roxas's thoughts, making the blond peer out between his fingers. "You did give him a good pounding then." Maybe if I glare at him Sora will stop, "Here I was thinking that all you two had done was fool around a bit." Liar! "I mean, when I walked in on you guys that's what it looked like, but now the truth comes out."

"Sora," Roxas cringed at the sound of the voice that floated out of the living room, "Remember what I said about teasing your brother." A tall silver haired man strode into the entrance hall. Roxas began giving Sephiroth his best death glare even though he knew it would barely faze the man, Sephiroth could be much scarier than Roxas ever could be.

"Not to do it without you." Sora turned back to Roxas, an evil grin on his face, "Don't you think Roxas has a nice hickey Sephiroth?"

The silver haired man turned to Roxas, his aqua eyes mirroring the evil on Sora's face. "Why yes I do, that is very nice. Now," he leered at the blond, "How long have you two known each other?"

"Longer than you knew Cloud before you guys were locked in your bedroom for, what was it again?" Roxas paused, forcing false look of thoughtfulness onto his face, "Oh right, three days."

Sephiroth pursed his lips together and shot Roxas a look of pure poison. Roxas could actually see the insult that Sephiroth was about to throw at him, however it was postponed by a sudden outburst from Axel. "Three days!" the redhead looked like he had been hit over the head, "Man, one of you sure as hell couldn't walk after that."

Roxas stared at Axel, horror coursing through his veins. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sora and Sephiroth staring at the redhead as well, though he highly doubted that either of them were feeling the same horror that he was. If he knew his brother, Sora was probably highly amused by the whole situation, and Sephiroth was probably getting ready for the kill. As if on cue, Sephiroth began to attack, "That's right, Cloud could barely walk after I got through with him. Though he was hardly complaining, the way he kept yelling for me to go harder."

"Just kill me now." Roxas muttered. Why can't I have a normal family? No, I have to have a brother who loves some perverted freak.

"And our dear little Roxas here still seems to be able to walk." Sephiroth put his arm around Roxas's shoulder. I hope you die a slow painful death and that I'm there to point and laugh. "Since I know he's a bottom," SLOW AND PAINFUL! "That can only mean one thing, you were not enough to really effect him."

Don't kill him, don't kill him, don't kill him. "What are you doing here Seph?" Roxas asked in an attempt to suppress his homicidal urge.

"Well," Sephiroth finally released the blond, "I was here last night, giving Cloud a real pounding, and I just never left."

"I gave Roxas a real pounding!" Axel clapped his hand over his mouth as soon as the words left his mouth. Desperately Roxas attempted to kill Axel with his eyes alone, that way the police couldn't possibly press murder charges. "I mean, um," Axel began to back track, "I was a courteous lover who wou, I'm going to shut up now."

"Yeah," Roxas sent him his strongest death glare, "You do that."

Axel stared at his feet, distinctly avoiding Roxas's gaze. Everyone in the entrance hall stared at Axel, waiting for the redhead to continue his insanely embarrassing ramble. When no new words of absolute horror came from Axel, Sephiroth decided to break the increasingly awkward silence, "Well, we should probably get out of the entrance. Why don't we head into the living room?"

"Sure," Roxas couldn't stop the edge from cutting into his voice, "Why don't we?"

The group made their way into the living room and sat down. Axel was avoiding Roxas's gaze, which was probably a good thing considering the evil look that was being sent his way. The redhead was looking at all Namine's paintings that hung on the walls. Finally taking his eyes off the redhead, Roxas began to take in his sister's latest work. The little blond girl really was a good artist. "So," Axel suddenly broke the silence, drawing the group's focus back to himself, "These are nice paintings."

"Oh yeah!" Sora was so easily distracted, "Our sister Namine made them. She's such a great artist. She has a scholarship to some art institute in France next year."

"So she's going to college?" Axel seemed to be grasping at the safe topic of art.

"She and Demyx are going to be 18 in a month." Who was Roxas to deny Axel the opportunity to not talk about their newly found sex life? "They're going off to their perspective schools pretty soon."

"Demyx," Sephiroth said thoughtfully, "There's another uke in this family." Oh god, there's no getting away from this is there? Why does Cloud like this guy? Why couldn't he like some normal guy that minds his own business? "I have to wonder about you all. I mean, not a single straight man in the family, and not a single seme either. Though at least whenever Riku or Zexion give it to their boys they get an obvious response. None of this, I can walk without limping, crap."

Dropping his head into his hands, Roxas couldn't stop himself from muttering. "Fucking asshole, why the hell do I have to put up with him? Cloud doesn't make him be nice to me."

"What is it with you and sex?" Axel seemed genuinely interested, "I mean, I've only known you for a few minutes and that is all you've talked about."

"Sephiroth's a pervert." Oh great, another executioner. How can this night get any worse? The owner of the voice quickly appeared. The petite blond girl eyed Axel with slight curiosity. "So, who's this?"

"This would be the guy that I was telling you about." Sora chirped. You would be telling everyone about it, wouldn't you? I wonder if there is anyone that you haven't told.

"The pyro that Roxy thinks is hot?"

"Yep, that's the one."

"Can you please stop talking about me like I'm not here." Axel scowled at the group of people in front of him. When the gaze of everyone in the room turned to him, Axel visibly paled. He began to fidget under the intense scrutiny and finally leaned to the side. "Roxas," he whispered, "Help me."

"Where's Cloud?" Roxas decided to throw the redhead a bone.

"He would be in the kitchen cooking dinner." Sephiroth took the bait, "Maybe I should go help him."

NO!" Sora, Namine, and Roxas all yelled as the silver haired man stood to leave.

"The last time you 'helped' Cloud in the kitchen we had to bleach the counter." Namine pointed a finger at Sephiroth and narrowed her eyes accusingly, "Demyx still won't eat anything that touches that surface."

Sephiroth paused, obviously groping at a reason to invade the kitchen, and Cloud. A loud band punctuated the split second of silence that Sephiroth had allowed the group. "See," Sephiroth stared at the kitchen door as a string of very colorful cursing followed the crash, "Cloud needs some help. Do you really trust him in there by himself? I should really just,"

"No Sephiroth." Roxas was really starting to regret introducing this particular distraction. "You are not going in there."

More cursing came flying out of the kitchen and Sephiroth shifted where he stood. "We won't have sex on the counter again if that's what you're worried about."

"Or the table." Roxas narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Fine," Sephiroth pursed his lips, "Or the table."

"Or the floor." Sora added in.

"Or the kitchen in general." Namine folded her arms and glowered at the silver haired man.

"Fine," Sephiroth glared at each of the siblings, "We won't have sex in the kitchen." And with that he strode off through the kitchen doorway.

"Hey Seph. What are you doing in here?" Cloud's voice rang out, "Wait! I need to make dinner! Where are you taking me?"

The silver haired man reappeared, Cloud slung over his shoulder. "To the bedroom!" he pointed to the entrance hall to emphasize his point. Without even a glance at the group of people gawking at him, Sephiroth strode out of the living room into the entrance hall. All Roxas could do was stare at the man as he disappeared with a struggling blond held captive.

The shocked silence that washed over the group was broken by none other than Sora. "I thought we had him that time." He shook his head slightly.

"I don't think anything can deter Sephiroth when he decides he wants sex." Roxas ran a hand through his hair as he spoke.

"Yeah," Namine continued to stare at the door, "But you weren't here last night, they were going at it until seven in the morning. They were so loud that the neighbors called the cops."

"That's why I moved out," Roxas couldn't stop the smug grin from spreading over his face as he spoke to his sister, "I couldn't take them making noise any longer."

"Still," Sora frowned at the door as if that would make the two men reappear, "You'd think that after last night that they'd be out of steam."

The group's musings were cut off by a loud bang from upstairs followed by a cry of, "Oh Seph!" When the sound of the bed creaking and further cries started to drift through the house, Roxas distinctly heard the pounding of footsteps. The footsteps were soon followed by the appearance of Demyx and Zexion.

"I can't believe it!" Zexion never seemed to react well to anyone but himself having sex.

"What's not to believe?" Demyx quirked his head at his boyfriend.

"Sephiroth and Cloud," the lilac haired teen scowled and threw up his hands, "They're like two extremely hormonal teenagers."

"Oh come on Zexion." Roxas laughed at the flustered teen, "You know Seph's a pervert. You really should have seen that coming."

"Wasn't Cloud cooking dinner?" Namine frowned, cutting off the lilac haired teen's retort.

"Yeah he was." Sora nodded at his sister.

"Crap. Alright Roxy, you're the only other person in the family who can cook."

"So?" Roxas raised an eyebrow suspiciously. If this is going where I think it is, they're all getting rat poison in their dinner.

"So that means that by default you get to finish cooking dinner."

Oh hell no! "You have got to be kidding me. I have cooked for you guys the past six weekends. I'm not doing it."

"Fine," Sora sat up, his face shining, "I'll finish cooking."

"I'll cook." Roxas stood and hurried into the kitchen. The last thing he needed was to have to eat another one of Sora's 'experiments', the last time the brunet cooked the entire family had ended up in the hospital with food poisoning. Roxas stopped dead when he entered the kitchen, feeling his jaw drop at the sight that awaited him. There was flour everywhere. On the counter, on the cabinets, hell, it was even on the ceiling.

Distantly Roxas heard Axel say, "I'm going to go help Roxas."

Followed shortly by, "What's the rush?"

Not concerning himself with whatever was happening back in the living room, Roxas made his way further into the disaster zone that Cloud had created. No wonder he was cursing up a storm, look at this place! Though really, Cloud just curses for the most part, so I really shouldn't judge anything by that. But come on! Cloud's a judo instructor, you'd think he would be able to keep from spilling flour everywhere. Looking over at the stove, Roxas couldn't stop the grimace that washed over his features. Suddenly it occurred to the blond exactly what he had heard Axel say and the fact that said redhead had not entered the kitchen. Damn it, they're probably torturing the poor guy. "I could really use some help in here." Roxas called back to the living room.

Moments later the redhead hurried through the door, only to stop in his tracks when he saw the room. Axel just stood there, jaw slightly slack and eyes wide. Emerald green eyes swept over the disaster area, finally coming to rest on the waiting Roxas. "What happened in here?"

"Cloud." Roxas couldn't think of any better explanation.

"What was he even trying to make?"

"As far as I can tell, ravioli." Roxas leaned over one of the pots on the stove, grimacing at the scent that invaded his nostrils, "This is all burnt, I don't think I can save it."

"I don't think anyone can save anything in here." The redhead walked over to Roxas's side and turned in a circle, eyeing the room with reproach.

As the thumping upstairs became significantly louder, Roxas eyed the ceiling as he turned towards Axel, "I think dinner is not going to happen."

"Oh thank god!" Axel slumped over with a heavy sigh. Roxas couldn't stop the smile from crossing his face at the obvious relief in Axel's form. "No offense Roxas, but your family scares me."

"They gave you the 'why should we let you date Roxas' speech huh?" Roxas shook his head and sent a slight glare at the door, "They always do that, I keep telling them to stop but I don't think it matters what I tell them."

"So," Axel looked over at Roxas, "What are we going to do?"

"I'm going to go out there and tell them that dinner is a lost cause. We'll just have to see what happens after that." Though I doubt it will go well.

Roxas started towards the living room door, but was halted when Axel spoke again. "Why does everyone else get to call you Roxy?"

"What? Why is that important?" Roxas looked back at Axel and knitted his eyebrows together at the question.

"Well," Axel slid up to Roxas's side, a slight grin on his face, "I was just thinking, why can't I call you Roxy?"

"You can," Roxas laughed at the redhead's inquiry, "I didn't know it was that big a deal."

"Every boyfriend should be allowed to call their boyfriend a pet name." Axel leaned down so that his nose was only inches away from Roxas's.

Roxas smiled up at Axel. He called me his boyfriend. I'm such a girl, getting all excited over something that Axel probably just said without even thinking. "Well, I guess that's true. Still, I would have thought that you would want to call me something that my family doesn't."

"Hm," Axel pulled away, much to Roxas's disappointment, and tapped his chin with a finger, "That is a good point. I think I'll just have to come up with something better, but in the meantime I'll just call you Roxy like everyone else."

"Alright." Roxas shrugged slightly, he could still feel a silly grin on his face. He was suddenly overcome with the urge to take a hold of Axel's hand, but resisted when he remembered what his family would do if they saw them come out of the kitchen like that. Exiting the disaster zone, Roxas looked at his family with a slight sinking feeling in his gut. "So," Roxas took a breath before continuing, "Dinner is, well there is no hope of me saving what Cloud was making. It's too late to start something new, so I'm out of here and you all can figure something out on your own."

"No." Sora whined. Roxas barely even registered that his twin had moved before he was securely attached to the blonde's arm. "You can't leave Roxy, it's no fun without you." Liar, you can entertain yourself with a ball of string, I've seen you do it before.

"We'll just go out to eat." Namine smirked as Roxas attempted to dislodge his hyperactive brother. "You and Axel can come that way, we were just getting to know him after all." You mean destroy any chance at happiness I could ever have.

"Besides," Demyx eyed the ceiling which seemed to actually move with a particularly loud thump, "It's not like we can eat with those two going at it."

"I vote Chinese!" Sora cried as he tightened his grip painfully on Roxas's arm.

"Oo, I second that!" Demyx waved his hand at the suggestion.

"I'm fine with that." Zexion wrapped an arm around Demyx who snuggled into the lilac haired teens shoulder.

"Okay," Namine smirked at her brother, "Chinese it is. Come on Roxy, lets get going. I'll ride with you guys and Sora can drive Demy and Zexion." Without warning she grabbed onto Roxas's free arm, effectively capturing the struggling blond. I hate my family.

As soon as he was sure that Namine had a good hold on Roxas, Sora bonded away from his brother. "I'm going to call Riku, he loves Chinese." And he was gone in a second.

"Lets go Roxy, time's a wasting." Namine dragged Roxas out of the room, pausing only a second to get a good hold on Axel.

Roxas had to think fast, if he didn't he was going to have to sit through dinner with his family. Alright, only Namine is in my car, I only have to ditch her. We'll be going to the same place as always, all I have to do is get her excited about something and she'll turn into Demyx. If she forgets about Axel and I then I can just drive off without her no problem. "Damn it Namine," Roxas pulled on his arm insistently, "Let go of me. It's not like I'm going to make a break for it, you're faster than me and I'd get caught. Besides, Axel and I can walk on our own." Namine eyed him suspiciously before releasing the pair. Walking a step behind his sister, Roxas grabbed Axel by the arm and pulled him in close. "I'm going to drive to the restaurant." Roxas kept his voice low as he told the redhead his plan, "Let Namine get out of the car first, we're going to take off as soon as she's closed the door."

"Got it." Axel whispered before straightening up and sending Namine a calculating look.

The pair followed Namine out of the house, Roxas going over his plan in his head. The blond couldn't help but smile when he saw Axel practically jump in front of Namine to get the front seat in the car. Serves her right, Axel should get the front seat after what she put him through. Settling into the driver's seat, Roxas turned to Axel when he started to speak. "Which restaurant are we going to?" the redhead asked.

"There's this really good Chinese place just across from the highway entrance ramp on Lark. We always go to that one, so I'm assuming that's where Sora will be meeting us." Roxas started up the car and headed out.

The car ride was excruciatingly quiet, but Roxas dared not break it. He knew what would happen the instant it was announced that talking was okay. Namine would pounce, just like she had when Demyx had first started dating Zexion. Sure, it had been funny then; but that was when Roxas had been on the other side of the attack. When they finally arrived at the restaurant Axel leaned forward in his seat. In a perfectly innocent voice Axel finally broke the silence, "I think I've been here before, they have the best war bar in town."

"I know!" Namine was so easily distracted, "It's my favorite."

Namine hopped out of the car without waiting for the two men to make a move. The instant the door slammed shut, Roxas slammed on the accelerator and shot out of the parking lot. Namine's curses followed the car, reminding Roxas of their older brother, they were both very creative with their foul language. "That was kind of mean." Axel said. His point was completely undermined by the fact that he was kind of laughing as he spoke.

"Not as mean as what they would have done to us." Roxas pointed out. He knew it was true, they had been ruthless to Zexion when he first showed up and he hadn't slept with Demyx after knowing him for less than a week. They hadn't been quite so mean to Sephiroth, but that was mainly because Sephiroth scared the crap out of everyone. Plus they had heard exactly what he had done to Cloud, and he liked Cloud.

"Good point." Axel sighed as he sat back.

"So," Roxas had to summon all his courage to continue, "What do you want to do for dinner? I'd bring you back to my apartment, but they'll look for us there."

"I kind of feel like Italian actually. I think Chinese has been forever ruined by tonight."

"I completely agree. Do you know any good Italian places?"

"Yeah, there's one on Nightshade Lane that's pretty good, it's a little expensive though."

"Don't worry about that," Roxas couldn't help but to smile as he formulated a new plan, "Dinner's on me."

"I can't let you do that, I kind of feel like I'm forcing my presence on you."

"No you're not." Roxas waved a hand in dismissal, "Besides, I owe you for not killing my family. I don't think anyone's lasted so long with Sora without either hurting him or crying. Well," Roxas reconsidered his statement, "Other than Riku that is, but he's dating the hyper little freak so it doesn't really count."

Axel looked down at his feet, "Still, I feel like I should pull my own weight and pay my portion, it is an expensive place."

"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you pay for your own food on our first date?"

Axel's head snapped up and he stared at Roxas with misty eyes. Oh great, now I'm making him cry. I suck at being a boyfriend. Finally Axel seemed to get a grip of himself. "Sure, you can pay for this date, but I get the next one."

"Great." Roxas felt himself beaming like an idiot. Axel wants more than one date, he wants to see me again. I haven't messed this up. Taken by a sudden urge, Roxas reached out and took Axel's hand in his own. His heart skipped a beat when the lanky redhead entwined their fingers, effectively locking them together. The calm silence that had fallen over the pair was very comfortable; Roxas didn't want to break it. Roxas barely knew how he managed to drive to the restaurant; he was so engrossed in the feeling of Axel's palm against his own. When he finally came to a stop, Roxas hesitated to let go of Axel's hand. Knowing that there was no point in just sitting in the car, Roxas finally took his hand away.

The pair exited the vehicle and met again in the front of the car, locking hands once again. Roxas let Axel lead him into the restaurant. He was completely aware that he was smiling like an idiot and being led around like a small child, but he didn't care less. All he cared about was the possessive way that Axel pulled him in closer, the way he held onto his hand a little harder whenever anyone looked their way. He didn't particularly care that they had actually entered the restaurant; quite frankly he wasn't completely aware of the fact until the hostess spoke. "Hey Axel, what can I do for you?" Roxas eyed the woman with slight reproach. She had blond hair that was slicked back except for her bangs, which reminded Roxas of antenna or lightning bolts.

"Hey Larxene," Axel smiled at the woman, "Can we get a table?"

"Sure thing." Larxene turned from the pair and screeched into the back, "Marly, get your ass over here, we have customers!"

Roxas flinched at the volume of her voice. That can't be good for normal business. A tall man with cherry pink hair appeared from around the corner. "Stop yelling Larxene," he narrowed his eyes at the blond woman (I couldn't find any reference to what eye color he has, tell me and win a prize) "You'll scare people away. Oh, hey Axel."

"Hey Marluxia."

The pink haired man grabbed two menus and started back in the direction he had come. "And who would this little cutie be?" he asked over his shoulder. Roxas felt a slight blush on his cheeks.

"This is Roxas, Roxas this is Marluxia, I went to high school with him and Larxene, the hostess." The tall redhead smiled at Roxas. Reluctantly, Roxas smiled back at Axel, eyeing the pinkette warily.

"So here we are!" Marluxia sat the menus down on a table and twirled a little in order to face Axel and Roxas, "Is there anything I can get you guys to drink?"

"Water's good with me." Axel retracted his hand from Roxas as he sat sown.

Sitting opposite Axel, Roxas peered up at the pink haired man, "Do you have lemonade?"

"Why yes we do." Marluxia beamed down at Roxas, "Would you like normal yellow lemonade, pink lemonade, strawberry lemonade, or my personal favorite, raspberry lemonade cocktail?"

"Um," Alcohol would be nice, but I'd better not get drunk. "Pink lemonade is fine."

"Coming right up." And with that Marluxia skipped away.

"He's…" What's a word that won't offend Axel; I mean Marluxia is Axel's friend. "Interesting."

"That's one way of putting it." Axel actually laughed at Roxas's description, "You should see him when he's not at work, he doesn't hold back."

"That was holding back?"

"Yep, sometimes he walks around in a pink skirt and I've never actually seen him wearing a man's shirt. He says it's just more comfortable to wear women's blouses."

"Oh."

The rest of the evening was just a blur to Roxas. He wasn't really aware of what he and Axel talked about, or what the food was like, or even just how gay Marluxia was acting. What he was aware of was how Axel could make him laugh, how the redhead would gesture with his silverware when he talked, how every time his hand brushed against Axel's it felt like little bolts of electricity seemed to shoot through his body. How hey managed to get back to Axel's house without getting in a car accident was beyond Roxas. But it was worth it for the goodbye kiss that he got. The kiss was something that cheesy romance writers could only imagine. It seared into Roxas, burned his heart and left him gasping for air. If it hadn't been for Zexion showing up and informing the pair that they were causing a scene, Roxas was fairly certain that the pair would have ended up having sex on Axel's front steps.

When he finally made it back to his car, Roxas was still breathing hard. No one affected him like Axel did. He had never felt this way before; nothing had ever instilled this kind of passion in the blond. Yet it was somehow familiar, like he was always meant to feel this, like he was always meant to be with the fiery redhead.