Zexion's mind was running at ten miles a minute on the walk back to the camper van.
On the one hand he missed his ex...
On the other hand he was getting the hots for his love rival for Axel...
/Riku.../
Why did this spark so much excitement in him?
He sighed without noticing and Riku looked over at him.
"Hey... You sure you're okay?"
Zexion got an idea.
"You know I don't know... One minute I think I'm fine and then I'm just feeling... Hopeless... Stupid... Ugly... Unlovable..."
The blue haired teen glanced over at Riku to see if he was reacting.
Riku felt himself become tense...
/He can't be serious... Does he really expect me to fall for this? But if I don't answer him... He'll know I know what he's up to... You're hesitating... Do something.../
Riku turned to face Zexion and put his hands on his shoulders and forced himself to look into his eyes.
"You're not stupid ugly or unlovable..."
He let his eyes hold Zexion's for a moment longer than he knew he should of then let go of his shoulders and started to walk back in the direction of the camper van.
Zexion let a breath go he wasn't aware he had been holding in.
/Damn... He's better than I gave him credit for.../
Riku smiled to himself knowing that he could play Zexion as well as Zexion could play him.
/Heh... If it's games he wants it's games he'll get.../
Sora was looking out the front window wondering what was taking Zexion and Riku so long...
/Why am I feeling like this...? I've never been a jealous person... And even when I thought Riku was after Kairi I never felt like THIS.../
He shifted in his seat feeling uneasy, his eyes scanned all the paths leading up into the forest.
Sighing he looked at his feet resting up on the dashboard.
/Okay so you're jealous... But really what are the odds of... I mean it's not like they'd.../
An image of Riku and Zexion passionately kissing against a tree in the rain suddenly flashed through his head and he nearly yelped with the intensity of it.
/What the hell... Okay but really they HATE each other... And what are the odds of that like... Plus they both like... Axel.../
He could feel more jealousy bubble up under his skin.
/Damn it.../
His eyes scanned the forest paths leading to the forest fervently but he couldn't see them anywhere...
Crossing his arms his feet kicked the dashboard in frustration and noticed to his horror that it was in fact starting to rain...
/Riku... Please come back soon!/
His eyes searched the paths even harder as the rain started to obstruct his vision.
"So I'm kinda like the new addition to your gang then?"
Axel grinned.
"Yeah I guess you could call it that... I'm sorry this all happened at such a bad time..."
Demyx smiled and shrugged.
"My mom used to always say 'life happens when you're busy doing something else' I guess in this case thats true huh?"
The redhead stopped and kissed the blonde gently on the cheek.
"Just because stuff happened before doesn't change what I have and want now."
The blonde giggled shyly.
"I know... It's just that... Well... I guess it bothers me a little that they probably hate my guts for swooping in and taking you from them..."
Axel laughed.
"I'm pretty sure Zexion started hating me when I hit him in the face..."
Demyx forced a laugh.
"Yeah... But seriously Axel... I'm just a little worried..."
Axel kissed his lips and silenced him.
"Baby... I'm all yours... And yours only..."
The blonde smiled up at the redhead.
"Okay... I believe you..."
Axel took his hand and looked up at the sky.
"We should probably get back it looks like it's gonna rain... A lot..."
Demyx smiled and nodded.
"Okay... Can you promise me one thing though?"
"Shoot..."
"Don't leave me alone with Marluxia... He kinda creeps me out..."
"Sure thing... But try not to be too freaked out... I think he just has a hard on for sitar players..."
Demyx slapped Axel's arm.
"Don't even joke like that! I won't be able to look him in the eye... Seriously!"
The redhead pulled a very serious face and looked at him.
"I'm not joking... Zexion used to play the sitar and it drove him wild! He would practically rape him everytime he played!"
The blonde looked horrified and wouldn't move from the spot until Axel started to laugh.
He loosened up slightly and said very calmly.
"You were lying weren't you?"
The red head nodded and Demyx breathed a sigh of relief, then very calmly walked up to Axel and grabbed his balls tightly enough to get his attention but not tightly enough to hurt him.
Axel was wild eyed and stopped laughing instantly.
"Wha...?"
"I could hurt you dreadfully right now..."
The redhead sucked in a breath and didn't move a muscle.
"You could..."
Demyx smiled evilly and caressed Axel gently before releasing him and walking back down the path towards the camper van.
The redhead exhaled a pained breath.
"Okay Demyx... Lesson learned... I will never screw with you again... Hey... Where are you going? That's not fair! Haven't I learned my lesson?"
The blonde turned back.
"Tell you what... If you can catch me before we get out of the forest..."
Demyx ran his tongue across his upper lip and started to run.
Axel grinned and started to sprint after him.
Marluxia walked silently beside Roxas and watched him thoughtfully.
"Theres more to this than you're letting on..."
Roxas rolled his eyes.
"Well I haven't told you anything yet..."
The pink haired man nodded.
"True..."
The blonde exhaled deeply.
"Okay if I tell you whats going on do you absolutely swear not to utter a word of it to anyone back there?"
Marluxia nodded.
"I promise you I will not tell another soul..."
Roxas looked into his eyes and nodded.
"Okay I'm trusting you... So I'm hoping I'm making the right decision in telling you... I slept with Kairi..."
Marluxia rolled his eyes.
"Well duh..."
Roxas looked exasperated.
"If you're gonna be like THAT then I am not gonna tell you!"
He laughed.
"Chill out... I was kidding just trying to dispel some of your stress is all..."
The blonde looked at his feet.
"Okay... I... I like Kairi..."
The pink haired man nodded.
"I see..."
"We slept together and I genuinely thought she was Namine... But then Namine made her go and take that morning after pill and I could see that Kairi didn't want to take it... But she did because she didn't wanna ruin mine and Namine's relationship... I know she's against abortion and everything and even though it's not really abortion I know she wouldn't have taken it under any other circumstances... Then Sora left and all and she just seems so broken..."
Marluxia nodded.
"Do you think it could be that you feel responsible for how and where she is now?"
The blonde shook his head.
"No... It would be so much easier if it was just that... I've seen a cruel side of Namine that I really don't like... And I see Kairi dealing with everything that's happened despite how much it's hurting her and I just... Admire her..."
Marluxia raised his hand to his chin thoughtfully.
"Are you sure you just admire her?"
The blonde sighed.
"No... I know it's more than that... I respect her... I even saw her sleeping on the floor earlier and tucked her up into bed... I had a dream about her last night... That we had a baby together and I kissed her and I just felt so..."
The pink haired man looked into his blue eyes.
"Calm... Loved and at peace?"
Roxas nodded sadly.
"I just don't love Namine anymore... I never saw that side of her... And I never want to see it again..."
"Would it really help though if you were guaranteed never to see that side of her again?"
The blonde shook his head slowly.
"No... The damage is already done now that I know what shes capable of..."
Marluxia stretched slowly.
"I guess you know what you have to do then..."
Roxas nodded slowly...
"I know what I have to do... I just don't want to hurt her..."
"Well is it right for either of you staying together when you know you're falling for someone else?"
"I... I guess not... No it isn't..."
"Then you know what you have to do Roxas."
The blonde nodded and sighed.
"I guess I should go and get this over with..."
The pink haired man shrugged.
"You could wait until the next stop off... That way it won't be so... Public..."
Roxas nodded.
"Yeah you're right... I don't want to humiliate or hurt her more than I have to... Thanks for listening man..."
"No problem... I've found myself with a lot of time on my hands since me and Zexion broke up... It's nice to talk to someone that I'm not being supervised with... If you know what I mean..."
The blonde nodded slowly in understanding.
"I can't pretend that I don't miss him though... I do... And it hurts to be apart... But I just can't trust him again..."
"I kinda know how you feel... You thought he was something he isn't."
"Yeah... I guess you could put it like that... What really hurts though is that I thought he loved me... And all along he was off... Well theres no point in thinking about that now..."
Marluxia sighed to himself.
"How about we head back? I think it's gonna rain anyway..."
Roxas looked at Marluxia but said nothing and followed along after him silently.
Namine looked at her phone.
/Where the hell is he?/
She looked out the window but saw no sign of him.
/I wonder if he has his phone with him...?/
Dialling his number she waited for the ringing tone...
But it never came...
/I guess his phones off.../
Namine sat back down on the sofa with her music magazine but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong...
/I wonder why he's been gone so long with Marluxia anyways... They barely even know each other.../
She tried to calm herself and relax but she knew somewhere in her mind that something was definitely off...
Kairi shifted her weight to the side of the bed and let her socked feet dangle off the side...
/So what now? Do I go home? Or do I stick around and see what happens... See how I feel? I dont want to face anymore humiliation... I should really tell Namine that when we get to the next town I'm gonna get a bus home.../
She thought about leaving Sora behind and felt a sting in her heart she knew it was through between them but the thought of leaving him still broke her heart.
/Things can't be the way they were though.../
She felt hot tears trail down her face and wiped them away.
/I guess I should tell her soon.../
With that she took a deep breath and made her way into the living room where Namine sat alone on a sofa and Sora was sitting in the drivers seat trying to see through the rain soaked glass...
The rain was hammering down on the roof of the camper van now and Namine looked up from her magazine.
"Hey there sleeping beauty, how are you?"
Kairi took a deep breath and sat down beside Namine, she glanced over at Sora to make sure he either hadn't noticed her presence yet or was otherwise occupied.
"I'm not so good to be honest..."
The blonde girl put the magazine down.
"What's up?"
Kairi flashed with anger for a moment.
/What's wrong?!/
But she took a deep breath and calmed herself...
"Well apart from the obvious..."
After letting the sentence hang in the air for a moment or two she continued.
"I'm not feeling comfortable with being here anymore... I'm not having fun and I'd rather be at home around people who care about me."
She kept her eyes on Namine's and didn't break eye contact.
"Okay so you're not feeling comfortable, why? Because of Sora?"
Kairi nodded and checked to make sure her ex was still preoccupied.
"Yes because of Sora and because of the fact that I slept with your boyfriend and because of the fact..."
The blonde girl cocked her head in wonder.
"Because of the fact?"
Kairi caught her gaze with her own and held it.
"And because I took the morning after pill despite the fact that I didn't want to."
Namine straightened up.
"What?"
The brunette girl sat up straight.
"I only took it because you wanted me to, I would have never done that under any normal circumstances. It goes against everything I believe in."
"So are you telling me you would have been happy to carry my boyfriends baby despite the fact that he would still be with me?"
Kairi nodded.
"Yes, I don't believe in getting rid of a life just because something didn't work out exactly as planned..."
Namine folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes.
"Maybe it is best if you go home then."
Kairi stood up and nodded.
"Yeah... I think so and Namine, when I leave I don't want to hear from you again."
Riku was running back down the path under the trees in an effort to stay dry despite the rain coming down all around, Zexion wasn't far behind...
All Riku could hear was the rain hitting the leaves above his head...
His heartbeat...
His breath coming in short gasps as he ran down the tree sheltered path...
And Zexion's footsteps moving behind him...
"Hey wait up... I can't keep up!"
The silver haired teen kept running but looked back to see where Zexion was...
His foot hit an exposed root while he was looking back and before he knew what was what he was off the path and had fallen several feet from the path into the trees and undergrowth.
"Shit!"
Zexion looked wide eyed as Riku fell and ran to the spot he'd fallen from.
"Riku!"
He ran down the slope that Riku had fallen down avoiding trees and was at his side in no time at all.
"Riku are you okay?"
The silver haired teen sat up wiping mud from his t shirt and nodded.
"Yeah I just got a fright... And a few scratches..."
Zexion pulled a random leaf out of his silver hair and sighed.
"I didn't know what had happened to you that time..."
The blue haired teen held out his hand to Riku which he took, Zexion pulled him up from the ground in one swift motion...
Riku looked down into dark blue eyes that returned his gaze with uncertainty...
Riku's hand reached up to Zexion's cheek...
His cold damp fingers touched Zexion's trembling lips...
Zexion could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage again...
Aquamarine eyes searched his face for any sign of hesitation...
And finding none Riku's fingers gently tilted Zexion's chin upwards before slowly moving in...
He watched as those dark blue eyes closed in anticipation...
As Zexion's lips moved towards his to close the distance...
Then his eyes too were closed in anticipation of the lips he thought he would never want to kiss.
Their lips met in a soft sweet kiss...
Under the trees, wet leaves and the raindrops...
Riku found his arms moving to hold Zexion close without even thinking about it and Zexion too found his body returning his embrace without a thought.
Riku exhaled a breath softly against Zexion's lips that he had been unaware he was holding in...
Zexion closed the distance again and felt Riku's lips part slowly giving him access...
Their tongues met softly in the midst of their joined mouths as Riku's forearms settled around Zexion's shoulder blades...
And Zexion's arms looped around Riku's neck...
He swore he could feel Riku's heart beating in his chest...
Beating as hard as his own...
How was it possible to get this much out of kissing someone?
Once again, their lips parted...
And it seemed that they were both left with the same sense of dumbstruck astonishment...
But neither of them pulled their arms or body away from the other...
And for what seemed like an eternity they simply stared into each others eyes in absolute wonder...
/Could it be you're what I've been trying to find all along?/
Dark blue and aquamarine slowly looked away from each other...
Like they had awoken from some kind of dream...
Slowly, reluctantly they disentangled themselves from the other and as they did so a sort of sadness, an emptiness and confusion replaced their sense of wonderous euphoria...
But as soon as they had separated and gotten back onto the path...
Their hands were interlocked...
As if one couldn't be without the other now that they'd found them.
It wasn't even a question...
They had found something in the other that they had found in no one else...
Soaking wet and smiling shyly at each other they made their way down the path towards the camper van...
Zexion sighed...
"So what do we do when we get back?"
Riku shrugged sadness overtaking his features...
"We could just go back like this..."
He looked down at their interlocked hands and gave Zexion's hand a little squeeze.
"But what about Sora...?"
Riku sighed.
"I don't want to hurt him... But I dont think he understands what he wants yet... And I think I know what I want..."
Zexion smiled.
"I think I know what I want too..."
He stopped walking suddenly and caught Riku's gaze.
"But how do we explain what happened here...?"
The silver haired teen smiled.
"How about we just enjoy the walk back and figure it out later?"
Zexion smiled and nodded.
"Agreed."
Axel grabbed Demyx's hand at the edge of the forest...
Demyx had made it out but Axel still stood under the trees...
Axel was panting, Demyx was a fast runner, quite a bit faster than he had anticipated...
The blonde teen was panting too...
His clothes were stuck to him with rain and sweat.
Axel smiled.
"So I'm in and you're out... Where does that leave us in regards to our wager?"
Demyx smiled.
"Where would you like it to leave us?"
Axel thought about this momentarily then grinned and kissed Demyx lightly on the lips.
"How about we leave it at I make you a hot chocolate and you promise to cuddle me and not leave my side for the night?"
Demyx smiled.
"Sounds fair... Okay I can agree to that, on one condition!"
Axel put his arm around Demyx's shoulders.
"And whats that?"
"I get marshmallows in my hot chocolate..."
Axel kissed the blonde teen on the lips tenderly and nodded.
"Deal... Let's head back... We don't want you catching cold now do we?"
Demyx grinned and let Axel lead him back to the camper van.
Roxas and Marluxia were the first to arrive back to the camper van...
Followed shortly after by Demyx and Axel who were holding hands and smiling...
Sora looked out through the windscreen at the clearing rain...
/Everyone's back... Except them.../
"So do we just go back holding hands or would you rather explain it to Sora first?"
Riku sighed.
"He's gonna have to find out sooner or later... But going back and holding hands might be rubbing it in his face a little bit..."
"How about we just go back and see what happens..."
Riku nodded in agreement and reluctantly letting go of Zexion's hand walked out from the forest into the car park and towards the camper van...
As Sora saw them walking together across the car park he immediately felt his gut tighten...
It was like it knew something he didn't and it wasn't telling either...
He could see how they were looking at each other even from this far away...
This was what his gut had been trying to warn him about earlier...
Pity he didn't catch the warning quick enough...
As they approached he could see their shy smiles and their hands in their pockets like they didn't know what else they could be doing with them.
Their eyes smiling with untold secrets of things they'd shared that no one else could know or understand...
Riku had looked at him in a similar way only a matter of days ago...
What had changed?
He wasn't sure...
But as they walked in through the door he left the front seat empty, and walked into the bedroom shutting the door behind him, for the first time for as long as he could remember, he wanted to be left alone.
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