( Hello wonderful people, it's your gal, KHGoddess here!  Thank you for coming here and reading! I hope you guys like this chapter, but  anyways, thank you for tuning in, but now, I have to tune out. Bye, and happy reading!!^^)

“ At least we’re out of the rain now..” Eraqus said, twisting his hair to get the water out of his hair. Despite their best efforts, they got soaked from the rain. All of their clothes were soaked to the bone. 

“ Yeah, thank kingdom hearts I knew that short cut or else we would still be running back to the dorms,” Xehanort muttered, as he took off his shoes and grabbed a couple of towels from a rack in their shared dorm. 

“ Ugh! This is so unfair! It seemed so nice today! Why did it start pouring so much?!” Eraqus pouted, kinda upset the weather was now rainy instead of the usual sunshine.

“ It is unfortunate that it is raining now. We were supposed to head to that new cafe that opened up since you wanted to go there.” Xehanort sighed as he started drying his hair with his towel. 

“ I know! I was looking forward to that! Ugh!! This is so unfair!!” Eraqus said, frustrated as he shook his head to try and make his hair dry. It ended up splashing on Xehanort, as he tried to use his towel to try and shield himself from the water drops, but to no avail, he ended up getting wet from him.

Xehanort huffed a bit in annoyance as he walked over to Eraqus after he was done with shaking his hair out and put the dry towel on Eraqus head, as he told him, amused, “ You got me more wet.” he told the black-haired boy, smirking as he rustled with his hair and seeing Eraqus face turn red in embarrassment. 

He looked embarrassed and meek as he stuttered out, “ S-Sorry...hehe…” 

Xehanort chuckled a bit as he said, “ Heh, no problem.” he patted his head as he walked over to his bed and plopped down on it, as he did a quick stretch and sighed in relief as he felt his spine pop as he told Eraqus, “ At least we can relax today, and have the rest of the day off though.” he mused, a faint smile on his face, putting his hands behind his head looking at the ceiling. 

Eraqus looked at him in surprise as he started moving the towel around to dry his hair off, as Xehanort asked, seeing him stare at him as he raised an eyebrow,“ What?”

 “ I just thought you would be kinda bummed out that we don’t have any more school for the rest of the day, since you love learning so much.” 

“ Yeah, I’ve been studying hard and listening to the Master teach about the old Keyblade war, and I wanted to relax.” he told him, slightly shrugging his shoulders, “ I’m exhausted.” he sighed, closing his eyes.

Eraqus looked at him, seeing him look peaceful as he playfully smirked and told him in a singsong voice, sitting on the bed, being careful not to sit on him,“ Well~ maybe you wouldn’t be so exhausted if you didn’t read so late at night, hunched over at your desk. I also keep telling you, if you continue to hunch over your desk reading, and don’t get sleep, by the time you're in your thirties, you’ll be an old man, with major back problems.” he told him, flicking the silver-haired boy’s nose. 

Xehanort opened his eyes to see the black-haired boy above him looking a bit smug as he said, “ At least I’m studying. What about you Mr. Sunshine? I know you didn’t do so well on the quiz on the Keyblade War.” he said with a smirk.

Eraqus smug face turned red in embarrassment again as he tried to defend himself, “ H-Hey!! I-I study! I work just as hard as you!” he tried to defend himself as Xehanort laughed, sitting up, smirking as he asked, “ Oh really? How so?” he asked, pinching his cheek.

Eraqus blushed more as he swatted his hand away as he said, “ I-I take notes and read the history books that have Keyblade history!!” he told him, his cheeks full of air, as he was pouting.

“ You stutter when you're flustered.,” Xehanort smirked, poking his cheek, as he was in the mood to tease his best friend.

“ S-Shut it!!” he said, blushing even brighter, trying to hide his face with his sleeves.

Xehanort laughed more as he carefully moved Eraqus arms away from his face, “ Hey, I’m only teasing you..” he then noticed his face as he looked at him, looking amused as he asked, “ Wait, are you...blushing?”

Eraqus blushed even brighter as he shouted, “ N-No!! S-Shut up!!” he grabbed a spare pillow on Xehanort's bed and hit him with it, blushing more. 

Xehanort made an ‘oof’ sound and laid back down after he was hit with that pillow as he snickered and he started to laugh, “Pfft-Hahaha! You’re so cute when you blush Era!” he laughed, his cheeks dusted pink.

Eraqus blushed a really deep red as he tried to hide his face after he hit him again with a pillow, “ Shut up Stop talking!!!” he said. Xehanort laughed even more as he threw another pillow at him, “ Pretty boy~” he teased with a wink. 

He looked at him as he responded, “ E-Emo kid!” he threw another pillow as Xehanort got out of the way, looked amused as he said, “ Emo TEEN.” he chucked with a smirk, “ We’re teen’s, remember? How would you like it if I called you Sunshine kid?” he asked.

Eraqus paused for a moment as he looked up at Xehanort like he just won the jackpot, as he asked with the most shit-eating grin he had ever seen, “....did you just admit you were an emo?” he asked him, an evil look in his eyes

Xehanort realized he did say that as he huffed and flipped Eraqus hoodie over his head, so he didn’t have to see the slowly appearing blush on his cheeks as he said, “ In your dreams, lover boy.” he laughed, shaking his head a bit.

“ You did! You called yourself emo! I know you did! I swear on my life I heard you say that! Oh, I wish I could have recorded that now!” Eraqus laughed, his cheeks a now light pink

“ Your imagining things again weirdo.” he grinned as he smacked his bottom as Eraqus yelped, blushing brightly, “ D-Dude! Don’t do that!” he said, embarrassed. 

Xehanort laughed as he said, “ I just wanted to see that embarrassed face of yours. It’s so adorable~” he teased, laughing as Eraqus blushed, looking away feeling shy and a bit embarrassed. 

‘....he’s probably just kidding and doesn’t mean that...he just thinks of me like a best friend after all.’ Eraqus thought to himself, as he felt his stomach growl making him snap out of his thoughts in embarrassment 

“ Well, someone’s hungry.” Xehanort laughed a bit, as he said, “ How about I make some of my so-called ‘famous’ pizza.” he said, getting off the bed, “ I can make it for all of us, what do you say? Afterward, we can play chess. Score’s are 107 to 98 wins, 31-62 losses, and 7 draws.”

Eraqus laughed a bit, “ Sure, and afterward, I can make some of my family’s famous eclair cake for all of us.”  he offered.

“ Sounds good. I’ll let you know when dinner’s done, and maybe you should take this time to study~” Xehanort teased standing at the door with a smirk, laughing as Eraqus threw another pillow, glaring at him. 

“ Alright, I’ll stop for now. See you in a while Era.” he waved, closing the door behind him.

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He sighed as he flopped down on his bed, hugging a soft fox plushie, closing his eyes to take a nap when he heard banging on the window as he yelped, jumping ten feet in the air as he turned his head and saw three familiar people at the window, looking at him, wanting him to open it as Eraqus gulped, muttering, " Oh boy...I'm in danger."

He sighed as he opened it, " I know, it was a bust. I'm sorry-"

" I'm so proud of you Eraqus!!!" Vor ran up to him, and gave him a hug, which confused him, " I-I'm sorry, I'm confused. Why are you proud of me? Did I do something?" 

" You didn't chicken out this time, so good job." Urd mused, smiling a bit

" Wait, you guys were there?!" He asked, blushing in embarrassment

" Yeah, and Xehanort said he was available! That's great news, we just need to keep thinking of ideas and-"

" Nah….I think maybe we should stop." Eraqus had a wistful smile on his face as Vor let go, " Huh? What do you mean by that?" 

" Maybe...I should stop asking Xehanort out. He said himself that he isn't interested in being in a relationship...and he views me as a friend...kinda sucks, you know? The guy I like, the one I've been crushing on since he first got here, and I thought maybe he was into me as well….just views me as a friend...kinda stings, you know?" He sighed, a bit down in the dumps

"....so what, you're going to give up?" Hermod asked, frowning as he crossed his arms. 

".... I'll have to-"

Urd smacked him, surprising all of them, as Eraqus held his cheek, " Ow! What the hell was that for?!" He asked, his cheek stinging from the pain, as Urd stared at him coldly. 

" You are not giving up! You have never given up before!! You didn't give up on getting those chocolate cookies that Vor had made, did you?" She asked in a serious voice

" N-No, but what does that have to do with-?"

" You didn't back down when those jerks in the class above us were bullying  Xehanort, from being off-world, and that new girl Nova for having a southern accent, did you?"

" No…"

" And you did not chicken out from speaking your mind to your parents about how you are bisexual and into guys more then girls, when they wanted you to marry a girl they had found, did you?!"

" No! I told my parents to back off because I wasn't going to marry a girl I don't even know to continue some stupid legacy!" Eraqus said, slowly getting out of the dumps, a fire burning in his eyes

" This is no different! You have to stand your ground! You have to show Xehanort you love him, and convince him that instead of just being a friend, you're more than that! Are you with us?!" She asked grabbing his shoulders

" Yeah!" He nodded, determination burning ablaze in his eyes.

" Then let's get to work. Now, let's cover what went wrong. " Hermod said as they then heard footsteps as they heard Xehanort's voice call out, " Hey Era, I know you wanted my pizza, but I just realized that we don't have the ingredients. We may have to just make or get something else." He called out as the four of them panicked as he looked around to try and hide them as he saw his closet door and shoved them in there, " Ow!" Vor whined as Eraqus hissed out, " Shh!!!" He shut the door as the dorm door opened to show Xehanort on his phone not looking up.

" So instead of pizza, I was thinking I could call in some chinese food for me, and that japanese restaurant you like. Sound goo- why are you standing by the closet like you killed a cat?" He looked up and saw Eraqus standing at the door, looking at him like he had did something wrong

" A-Ah...I um...just realized….that I'm out of body wash…?" he said, a nervous smile on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck, panicking as Xehanort looked at him, raising an eyebrow. 

' F@#& what kind of lie is that?! I just bought some new body wash two weeks ago!! Oh I'm so screwed!!!'

" Your….out of body wash?" He asked, putting a hand on his hip as Eraqus blushed a bit

' Dammit!! Why does he have to be so hot, even when he thinks I'm lying and when he's annoyed?!'

" Y-Yeah! H-Here I'll show you!" He walked to the bathroom and grabbed his mostly full body wash as he muttered, "  I'm sorry…" 

He squeezed it all out into the toilet and caused a crack to make it look like it had cracked open and caused it to leak.

He brought it out, " S-See? Like I said...hehe…" 

Xehanort took it, and was surprised, " Huh, it really is empty….well, looks like you're going to have to get a new bottle...until then, you can use my body wash if you want." He told him

Eraqus' mind went blank for a moment, his face turning crimson red '..... using...what now?'

" U-Um...N-No thanks…" he blushed, looking away as Xehanort asked, confused, " What, is my body wash not good or something?"

" I-It's not that! W-Well… I-It just would feel wrong to use your body wash...also you kinda use body wash that smells so strong and too….musky and smells kinda bad to me..." he told him, avoiding Xehanort's look

Xehanort scoffed, crossing his arms, " Really? Here I am offering to let you use my body soap since yours is all gone, and you're complaining? Sorry my body wash doesn't smell like roses or cherry blossoms. " He said, slightly annoyed and amused as he pulled on his cheeks

" Ow, Xewant!" He whined as he swatted his hands away. " It's a personal reference. You like smelling all dark and musky, and I like using body wash that smells...well….kinda nice and not so musky."  

" Mhmm. Anyways, we got off topic. Is it okay if I get Chinese for me and you get that….Pizza Gyoza you like so much?"

" Oh, that's perfectly fine! Want me to pay you in advance?" He asked, going to get his wallet as he noticed he only had twenty bucks, making him sigh. 

" Nah, I'll pay for it this time. I'll be back in like….10-20 minutes? Depends on how long I'll have to wait. " The silverhead laughed a bit. 

" Alright then. You're the best!" He said, hugging him with a bright smile.

Xehanort blushed a bit, surprised by Eraqus hugging him, like he was his favorite person in the world. " I-It's no big deal. Anyways, I'll be back…" 

He quickly left, pulling his hood up as he closed the door. 

The closet door opened suddenly as Vor took gulps of air, " That closet is so suffocating!! We barely got any air!" She complained as Hermod was sweating so much, his hair wet as he took gulps of air as Urd was the same, her hair slightly frazzled.

" S-Sorry guys…" he nervously laughed. 

" Let's just go over what happened tomorrow...deal?" Hermod sighed, tired and wanting to take a shower. 

" Yeah...thanks guys.." Eraqus smiled, chuckling a bit

Later…

" I'm back!" Xehanort called out, holding two bags with food as Eraqus turned his head, smiling brightly as he had finished setting up the chess board, now wearing comfy clothes, aka, his pajamas. " Great! We can play while eating, what do you think?" 

" Sure, I don't care." He said, handing him the bag with the smelly gyoza as Eraqus smiled brightly, " Thank you!!" 

They started to play as Xehanort was watching Eraqus move his pawn, as he moved one of how own pawns as he took a bite from a egg roll, " So, whats going on in your world?" 

" H-Hmh?" Eraqus had just taken a bite from one of the dumplings he had as he quickly chewed and told him as he moved another pawn, " Hmm...same old same old. My mind has thousands of ideas and then I forget it, and always panicking. You?" 

" Mostly the same.I've been thinking about what I'll do when we're all Keyblade Masters, and which world's I'll find interesting. " He told him, as he moved  his pawn and captured Eraqus' pawn. 

" Ah….still the same idea? Go to point A and never find point B?" He asked, dipping his pizza dumpling into pizza sauce.

" Pretty much...oh right, I wanted to ask, what were you doing on that side of the school earlier? Also, pay attention, I just took your second pawn." He told him still paying attention to the board after finishing his second egg roll, stealing the second pawn Eraqus had sent out

" Oh come on!" He sighed as he said, " I told you, I just went on a walk. And hah! Gotcha pawn!" Eraqus laughed as he snagged Xehanort's pawn, but on the inside he was panicking a bit.

" Bull, it takes 40 minutes to get to that side of the school. And you were all dressed up holding those cosmo flowers and drinking. That's not just a ' walk'. Also I've taken your knight." The silverhead smirked as he started to eat his noodles. 

" Dude!" He pouted a bit, his cheeks full of air as he looked around the board, trying to come up with a strategy, " Also, why are you so focused on what happened earlier?" He asked curious

Xehanort blushed a bit as he told him, " I just am. You never dress up unless it's a really important thing. So I'm curious. Come on, tell me, please Era?" He moved a knight, to get ready to steal a pawn Eraqus had, looking at him with a soft smile, making his voice soft and welcoming. 

Eraqus blushed brightly, "....okay fine….well...um…" he saw Xehanort looking at his food for moment, grabbing some of his noodles and about to eat some

" I...I was there...to ask you...if you would go out with me."