Chapter 1: Pool Party at the Strife's!

It was hot. And not the kind of hot that it usually was during the summer. This was a hair singeing, skin melting hot. Sitting in the pool with his older brother Sora, Roxas was trying to cool down after a morning jog, but found it impossible.

"Why is it so fucking hot!" he exclaimed, and Sora lazily shrugged his tan shoulders.

"I don't know," was the simple reply the blonde boy received. Roxas leaned back so that the tips of his spiky hair touched the water.

"When are Riku and Axel coming over?" Roxas asked his brother, and smiled; he was suddenly reminded of the day he had first met Axel a year ago…

Flashback:

"Sor, when's Riku coming over?" the young blond asked, curious to know when Sora's boyfriend would be arriving; he liked Riku, and knew that he was good for his brother to be around. Sora glanced at the watch beside his phone.

"Ten minutes." He muttered, and sighed. "And don't forget, he's bringing his cousin, Axel." Sora reminded him, rather annoyed that he and Riku wouldn't have the day to themselves.

"Right… how old is he?" Roxas asked, inquisitive about the strange boy.

"Curiosity killed the cat, brat." Sora grumbled. "He's 17, a year older than you and a year younger than me."

"Right," Roxas muttered, and smiled. Maybe he'd be worth getting to know…

"So-ra!" came the playful voice of Sora's silver-haired boyfriend. Sora leaped out of the pool and raced to take Riku in his arms.

"Awe, Sora you're all wet!" Riku exclaimed, feigning disgust. Sora laughed.

"Isn't that how you like me?" Sora joked, and wrapped his arms tighter around the older boy.

"Oh you know it," Riku smiled, and granted Sora a quick kiss on the lips.

"Get a room!" came a silky voice from inside the house. Roxas looked up and searched for the boy who owned said voice.

The first thing he saw was bright red hair. Spiky, flame-coloured hair. Then Roxas looked over the rest of him. He was tall; about 6'1 or 6'2, Roxas assumed. He wasn't skinny, but he wasn't fat; Roxas thought he could see the outline of a 6-pack under the tight white shirt Firehead was wearing. He could see shining, forest green eyes through the glinting sunlight. And was that – it looked like two tattoos under his eyes!

"Fuck this kid is sexy." Roxas thought, and pushed his hair out of his eyes. He saw Axel glance at him, and felt his cheeks heat up.

"Rox, Riku and I are going inside." Sora called, and the message was clear to Roxas: Don't go inside if he didn't want to be scarred. Axel apparently got the message too, and rolled his charming green eyes.

He watched his cousin and the brown haired cutie race inside, and turned his attention to the blonde haired hottie in the pool.

"You mind if I come in?" he called, fingering the hem of his shirt. He saw Blondie blush a little, and smirked. When he shrugged nonchalantly, Axel peeled his shirt off hurriedly. That pool looked damned inviting, and he was looking forward to an afternoon with Blondie.

Roxas looked up at Firehead and watched curiously, when he removed his shirt; he was right, there was a well-toned six-pack! Then he blushed; it was rude to watch. However, he could not keep his eyes off Firehead. He was damned sexy.

"Cannonball!" hollered Flames-for-Hair, and Roxas just had time to cover his eyes before he felt water splash him in the face.

"Hey!" he cried indignantly, and scowled at the older boy.

"Sorry, Blondie!" Axel called when he surfaced, and when Roxas looked at him, he forgot why he was mad. The beads of water dripping down that toned chest tantalized Roxas badly. He realised he was staring, and shook his head.

"It's all good, Flame boy," he replied, embarrassed.

"Flame boy?" Axel smirked, wading over to Roxas. "That's a new one. I like it!" Roxas grinned, and Axel was entranced by his charm.

"So, what's your name, Blondie?" Axel queried, and ran his hands through his hair.

"Roxas, and you are…Axel?" Blondie questioned, and Axel grinned.

"Got it memorised?" he winked, and leaned towards Roxas unconsciously. Roxas flushed, and smiled shyly when the older boy leaned towards him. Roxas turned around and let a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. He grabbed the edge and hauled his upper body out of the water so he was sitting on the edge of the pool.

"So, tell me about yourself," Roxas smiled, and leaned forward, interested in Flame Boy's answer.

"Me?" Axel asked playfully, and looked around jokingly.

"Uh, no, the guy over there in the blue speedo!" Roxas joked sarcastically, smiling. "Yes you!"

Axel laughed, and leaned against the wall of the pool.

"Well, I just moved here from Twilight Town. I like fire. I want to be a welder, 'cause I'd get to deal with fire. I play guitar… uh… what else do you wanna know? Oh yeah, I'm single!" He added, looking at Roxas with a mischievous wink. Roxas blushed slightly, looking at his feet in the water.

"Plays guitar? Damn! And he's a pyro…" the blonde thought to himself, studying the taller boy. When Axel asked him to talk about himself, Roxas had to think for a minute.

"Hm.. well, I've lived here in Traverse Town since I was little. I'm into music. I want to be a musician, and I'm damn close at getting there, if I get accepted to Julliard in the fall. I play piano pretty well, and I'm learning guitar…" he trailed off, thinking. "Oh yeah, and I'm single, too!" he exclaimed playfully, looking at the redhead who was studying him carefully.

Axel took the information in carefully. He liked Roxas, and he liked him a lot. He seemed like a hell of a lot of fun.

"Hey, maybe we can jam sometime!" he laughed. He looked fondly at the boy, and grinned. He saw Roxas grinning shyly and edged over to him slowly.

"Yeah, sure!" he smiled, and pushed his wet blonde hair out of his face. He looked silently at Axel, and took in what he saw. He liked the way that Axel held himself confidently; how he seemed to radiate certain sassiness.

End Flashback.

"In a few; they should be here soon!" Sora replied, anxious to see his boyfriend. As he looked at his watch, he heard the unmistakable sound of his Riku coming in the pool gate, followed by Axel.

Sora jumped out of the pool and embraced his boyfriend. He shot Roxas a look, which Roxas nodded. When they had gone in, Axel discarded his clothes and leapt into the pool.

"So are you going camping with everyone this weekend?" Roxas queried curiously after greeting his friend with a hug.

"Hell yeah! I love a good campfire. However, I made Riku promise me that I could handle the fire. Obviously." Axel joked, winking at Roxas. "And I'm allowed to bring one of my buddies.," he said cautiously, glancing at Roxas.

"Oh yeah? Who?" Roxas inquired nervously, hoping it wasn't that Xigbar guy; he REALLY didn't like him, because he flirted with Axel all the time.

"Demyx," Axel said casually, watching the blond's reaction. He laughed when he saw Roxas's look of relief. He knew Demyx, and liked him.

Axel smirked, and asked who was coming with Roxas and his family.

"Well, it'll be me, Sora, my dad, my mom, and Zexion." He rhymed off, counting on his fingers. Axel laughed and clapped Roxas on the back, then dove under water.

When Axel resurfaced, he shook his head to clear his eyes and ears. Roxas bit his lip and resisted the urge to run his fingers down the boy's muscular chest.

"So when do we leave?'' Axel asked, turning away from Blondie.

"Tomorrow night. We're all carpooling in my parent's bus." Roxas rolled his eyes, and noticed Axel's confused expression.

"Bus?" he asked slowly, not sure if he'd heard correctly.

"Hm? Oh, you'll see…" Roxas trailed off, then got out of the pool, and dried off.

"Hey Ax, ready to go? Called Riku, and Axel grinned ruefully.

"Yeah, Kuu, Just let me dry off!" he replied, and leaped out of the water. As he wrapped the towel around his waist and headed for his discarded clothes, he stopped a few inches beside Roxas.

"Yeah, well… I think this will be a VERY fun trip, if you're coming." He whispered in Roxas' ear, and felt him shiver. He smiled, and, before Roxas could react, pressed a kiss against his lips.

"See you tomorrow, Blondie." Axel smirked, looking at the other boy's dumbfounded expression.

When Axel was gone, Roxas finally snapped out of his daze.

"What…" he stammered, and pressed his fingers to his lips. He could still feel how warm Fireboys' lips were.

"Roxas, come on in for dinner!" came the sweet voice of his mother, and he shook his head, still frazzled, but excited to go camping.