Le Jeu de l'Amour
Disclaimer: Back to Squeenix, of course, and this idea spawned from another picture from Deviantart, check the bottom A/N after reading for the link x)
(Main) Pairing: Axel/Roxas
Chapter 1: The Lost and Newly Found
The clock was ticking repetitive keys in the quiet bedroom, marking the slow, steady pace of a wasted Sunday afternoon. The room was quiet, with doors and windows closed to seal off the faint chirp of birds outside. There was a faint hum from the heater, but the sound of metal hitting enamel rendered it mute.
Think, think, think, dammit.
Axel leaned back on his swivel chair, the niche of his boots acting as clamps on the edge of his writing desk, preventing his tilted seat from upsetting. His long fingers twitched the writing utensil continuously between his thumb and pointer finger, causing the metal cap of his pen to hit is teeth repeatedly and send out unknown Morse codes.
Click, click, click.
Think, what the hell would he say?
Click, click, click.
The college student sighed, clamping down his pen between his teeth to let his arms fold back and cup the back of his head. He pressed his back onto the backrest, letting his neck rest on the cushion. Green eyes stared aimlessly at the ceiling. Thoughts of how to make a letter sound sexy but on no grounds corny swam laps around in his head. Black pupils simply searched beyond the ceiling, hoping to find an inspiration to the writer's block. He was so entranced in his own thoughts, his vision completely ignored the moving black dot that was creeping across the dirty ceiling boards.
Fuck. Why the hell is it so hard to write goddamn letters nowadays? If the little brat didn't lose his damn grip on his cell phone or laptop, we'd be having some fucking great long-distance se—
"HOLY SHIT!" The tall male squealed, and his legs retaliated by kicking the desk. The man realized his false move as he tipped backwards on his chair, almost swallowing his pen while avoiding the fat spider that had descended from the ceiling.
Large hands groped blindly on the carpeted floor for something blunt—something blunt, heavy, and capable of smacking a damn arachnid to the far side of the room. His fingers settled for the thick French workbook, and Axel promptly decided to practice his tennis backhand.
The thin, sticky thread snapped on collision, and the black spider flew towards the door. The spider ricocheted off the whitewashed wall near the door and scrunched into a petrified ball on the carpet. Axel dropped his book, letting the spine hit the carpeted floor and fall open as he scooted backwards away from the curled up mess.
Il y a un Starbucks à côté de la bibliothèque qui s'est ouverte récemment. Est-ce que tu veux acheter le café avec moi?...
Why, oh why were such abominations created to litter his damned bedroom of all places. It was the fourth one this week.
I hate spiders. Why the hell do they come and harass me? It's not like there's room in here to live a comfortable life.
Axel took a panorama view of his room. The room resembled the aftermath of an impromptu tornado attack, and restoration committees have yet to come clean the mess. Axel couldn't blame his lack of will to clean up his room—he didn't really want to approach the small stack of dirty dishes and sticky mugs sitting atop his dresser.
Huh. Maybe I should clean up my room. Long fingers raked bouncy strands of fire red hair as emerald eyes peered at the idle lump near his door. His eyes flicked back to the open textbook, uneasy to pick up the contaminated paperback. Or not.
Quel type de café préférez-vous? Je vais aller au Starbucks avec Jacques, est-ce que vous voulais venir avec nous?
Coffee. Heh, coffee sounds good. After determining that yes, he would like some coffee, but no, he didn't want to go with Jacques, any thoughts of housekeeping that drifted through his head were immediately diminished by the shrill cry of his digital watch. It signaled four in the afternoon.
The crunch of crumpling paper filled the air as the attempted letter was balled up and chucked into the trash bin at the foot of the Teak desk. Axel reached his dresser after careful steps to avoid tripping on his textbooks, and after shuffling through the piles of folded shirt, pulled out a maroon jacket. He smacked the gaping mouth of the dresser shut and stalked towards the door to escape to his daily coffee shop. He hesitated, however, upon seeing the still spider rolled up on his floor. After haste decision, he reached back to grab a relatively stainless glass from the top of his dirty dish pile, sealing the bug on the carpet in the glass dome.
Note to self: do NOT trip over that son of a bitch when you get back.
The temperature had crept into autumn weather, Axel noted. It was near the end of October, and promises of midterm exams would be starting soon. Exams and cold weather didn't exactly play very well with Axel, especially when he didn't have someone beside him to ease the pain a little. The thought flowed into a bitter growl in his throat, and he pulled up the zipper to his jacket even further, nearly catching his neck in the metal teeth.
No, this school year wasn't playing out for the redhead at all. Ever since his blonde companion left for some modeling agency somewhere, the college student was left to fend for himself in the mean, lonely little world. Setting his dramatics aside, Axel settled for just being sexually frustrated for the last three months, no Roxas to warm his bed.
He thought back to the time he had met the delicious blonde in person after four months or so of online chats. Needless to say, the redhead was not disappointed. To be put simply, Axel was rather...nomadic when it came to love, relationships, or just the act of sex. In fact, during his later high school years, anyone dating him was known to be "playing with fire". He was one of the biggest flirts around the school, and he relished in his extroversion—his reputation as a bad-ass heartbreaker was even known in rival high schools! However, it wasn't until a rather traumatic (or epiphanous) incident at his senior prom, which included about seven girls, and, as he remembers, two guys coming after him—the girls with their high heels tugged off and held in their hands as malicious weapons, and the guys with glasses of grape juice and plates of cream cake gripped in both hands—did he realize that he should toss away some of that player ego…just a bit of it anyway.
A sharp shiver shot up his spine. If he remembers correctly, it took him about three days to get the icing out of his hair.
Unfortunately, when the redhead entered college, he never really settled down in a relationship because he didn't find anyone that was worth chasing, and his preference for both men and women didn't really aid in his decision either. It was only after some time surfing the internet did his opportunities begin to brighten up. He had met four people after two weeks of joining an internet dating chat room called "Organization Hearts", and had met every one of them in person as well. Too bad that every one that Axel met, they turned out to be all 'bogus'. They were nothing like the persona they had shown off in the chat rooms, especially that one girl, Larxene, who had seduced him with girly wiles during several sessions of steamy conversations. Who knew that in real life, she was a sadistic, manipulative bitch?
Axel pulled out a packet of Marlboro cigarettes from his coat pocket and fished out a blue lighter from his other. He lit the pale stick, and casually took a drag, releasing the long puffs of white through his chapped lips.
There was one tiny exception to those little online mishaps, Axel supposed. This one guy with a Mohawk, going by the name of Demyx, had chatted him up and was, to Axel's surprise, in the same general area where he lived. Great fun to be with, the red hummed thoughtfully, taking another drag from his cigarette. Axel had spent about a week with the musician (who actually hadn't been lying on his profile), and he had, during a night out at a public park, almost crept into third base with him until he met the boy's boyfriend. His boyfriend. It was a horrific moment—one minute, the redhead had his tongue blissfully exploring the wet cavern of Demyx's mouth, and the next, out of no where, he found himself licking the barrel of a Browning pistol that was shoved between his spit-slicked lips. If that wasn't enough to scare the flustered college student, the eye patch and the patterns of snaking scars running across the holder's scowling face and arms just about made Axel shit bricks.
Axel nearly dropped his smoking white stick upon recalling that one incident. He remembered he didn't log back onto the chatroom until two months later, when he signed on for the sake of keeping his account alive. It was then when he noticed he had received, in the midst of the many apology messages sent by Demyx, two invitations to a private conversation with someone going by the username of "DestinyKey". After checking out the profile of this mysterious user, Axel had gathered that the person was male, three years younger than him, went by the nickname "Roxy", a college drop out, and a full time fashion model. He was instantly and completely seduced by the absolutely stunning profile photo this "DestinyKey" had uploaded. It didn't take very long for the tall male to become absolutely enticed with the sapphire blue orbs the boy displayed in his bedroom eyes, and those sunset yellow tresses that were whipped into a messy but stylish hairstyle.
Their conversations were fresh and fun, Axel recalled as he made a right turn into the adjacent street. Their conversations had been natural, with moments of intriguing hilarity, moments of either sexual or platonic teasing, and moments of crappy arguments. It was their small arguments and bursts of natural frustration with one another's stupidity that made this boy stand out from the rest. Everyone else Axel had talked to were so…so fake, so rehearsed. If Axel had stated that the world was indeed flat, the other users would have easily played up to his desires and agree with him. However, this young model in particular would have him going for an hour about how he was a stubborn fucktard and how he could have ever thought that there would be the possibility of this redhead to be smart enough for him.
And almost always after their arguments they trailed onto more interesting topics, and Axel grew completely captivated with this feisty kid. After a few more months of online chatting, they had agreed to meet up. Roxy was on vacation from his modeling career, and was more than willing to pay for the plane ride to see Axel. Axel, still a little shaky from his meeting with Demyx's boyfriend, waited nearby their chosen area for rendez-vous, and gave the young male a call from his cell phone. As he answered and responded to the blond on the other end, he peered around for any sign of a young, scrumptious boy answering his cell phone. And to his absolute bliss, he caught the sight of the breathtaking model across the street. Axel had noticed that he didn't dress like a snooty fashion model at all. He looked like an everyday kid, with a beige short-sleeved jacket, baggy grey pants and dark runners that looked about three times too big for him, making him look rather young. In fact, he looked a little too young; at most he looked like he was about to enter tenth grade. So as a precaution, Axel carded him. After determining that yes, "Roxas Tredeize" was indeed nineteen, Axel became well-acquainted with the blonde's fist.
They had spent the day walking around the sun-kissed town, sitting down for mochas and going out to the harbor for ice cream as they talked and talked about anything. Roxas seemed like an enigma to the college student; he'd narrate his stories of modeling and traveling to pinpoint precision, but refuse to go into detail of when he was in diapers or attending high school. Instead, he'd put on his disgruntled face and attempt to push him out into on-coming traffic. As another stroke to Axel's victory streak, he was happy to discover that Roxas was as just as irresistible and irritating as he had been on the internet.
He was refreshing, he was real, he was…he was Roxas.
Axel didn't think he could fall head over heels for the boy in such a small amount of time. He felt completely smitten with the blonde, and found himself constantly tugging him close when they walked. What came as a surprise but also as a slight disappointment was the tendency for the younger male to ignore his advances. Unlike the rest, he didn't immediately fall victim to Axel's coy suggestions, or let the two of them stray anywhere further than mild make out sessions. The boy would be prompt to punch the college student across the face if his hands trailed anywhere below his shoulders. He's such a little bitch for playing hard-to-get, Axel noted, and it was exactly what made him crave him even more.
After a week of staying at a hotel, the blonde finally went along with Axel's suggestion to stay at his apartment for the remainder of his three week vacation. Not surprising to Axel, Roxas had retaliated in complete repulsion to the mess in the redhead's apartment. After two hours of shoving, poking, and frustrated moans of irritation, the blonde had convinced Axel to clean up his entire apartment, toilets and all.
"I'm not staying in a pig sty", the blonde had firmly stated. And Axel made sure he stayed. The redhead scrubbed, washed, and swept up his suite to near perfection (with the unwavering sergeant stare of the blonde). He even took the time to throw out several uncouth profanities into the blonde's face in the process. By the end, the two had gotten what they wanted: Roxas was staying, and Roxas could live in a relatively clean apartment. And that was more than inviting enough for the two to strip all inhibition and engage in a heated battle between the (clean) sheets.
Emerald eyes spotted the destination halfway down the street. The Marlboro had withered down, and the redhead plucked it from his mouth and stomped it out before proceeding to his coffee shop.
Oh yes, the blonde was definitely good. He loved the way his own name would be cried out in a hungry moan that spilled from the blonde's pink lips as the petite male grinded in time with him, and how deliciously natural the way the name "Roxas" would roll off his own tongue with every expert nibble, lick, and suck the young model would press on his neck. What thoroughly won him over was the fight for dominance. The model didn't give in to being pinned on the mattress so easily. No, they constantly battled it out to show who was better on top, which made their actions grow in fervor. It didn't take the blonde long at all to find all of Axel's weak spots, the most sensitive one being his left ear. It drove him up the wall. Axel had never been one to fall submissive but after mind-blowing sex with the blonde, he realized that the grass is green, no matter which side of the fence he was on. After the first session, the two males found themselves tangled against each other almost every day or evening for the rest of his stay, legs knotted together, hands running up and down one another's muscles, and their bodies connected hotly at the mouths and pelvis. Turned on? Oh, yes, far more than Axel's ever been.
The redhead had to pause before reaching the coffee shop to readjust his hips in his beige trousers and to cope with the slight heat that had pooled down there. He didn't try to hide she smirk he was sporting, because he knew, somewhere, right now, the blonde probably felt the same way. As he entered the same coffee shop he had brought the blond on their first date, vivid images of the blond hair and blue eyes filled his mind to the brim.
When the day the model had to go home arrived, Axel felt his heart drop to his stomach. Roxas had reassured him that he'd be back for during the winter, but it didn't help the redhead much. There was a four month gap between his day of leave and his day of return, and at that point, Axel no longer felt the thrill of sharing a bed with anyone else other than this beautiful kid. The two males kept in close touch through long conversations on the phone and e-mails, but after the first month and a half, the two devices were rendered useless. Roxas then began sending letters, informing Axel he had his cell phone and laptop stolen from the change room during a fitting in New York, and it'll be a while before his newer ones came.
It wasn't that Axel hated writing—on the contrary, the student was anticipating a degree in Literature—but he had never gotten used to writing letters to people, stamping them, and sending them off (and having to deal with the expenses). It felt different to him, and it wasn't as easy as pumping out a casual e-mail with emoticons embedded in the message. He was always so amazed that the model could present such linguistic magic to his letters, yet the English major himself couldn't press out messages worthy of a passing grade in his responses. Suffering constant writer's block, he always got his letters out rather late after receiving them, which was hectic as the blond would never stay in one hotel for more than a week. His current response had dragged out two weeks with no inspiration, which made him feel even worse, seeing as Roxas would have already shifted locations and could only tell him where he would be residing in the next letter. And to top the cake, he had lost the last two letters in his train wreck of an apartment (which had returned with a depressing vengeance after Roxas left), and so he no longer remembers where the blond was and would be strutting his stuff. Milan? London? Axel didn't know, and he wanted to throw himself off the bell tower for being so irresponsible.
The coffee shop was busy, as always, with a majority of the small tables taken up by everyday coffee-goers. There were two people in front of him, so he patiently waited for his turn. When it was his turn, he ordered Roxas's favorite drink, Sea-Salt Cream Macchiato, in a vente size in hopes to sooth his longing for the blonde, who wouldn't be returning to his side for another month. Oh yeah, the poor boy had it bad.
He was just about to leave the coffee shop and mellow over his loneliness when something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.
Sitting near the back of the coffee shop was a slender male sitting alone, looking over the novel clenched in his hand while blowing a large blue bubble from his pursed lips. He was dressed in an olive green and yellow array of form-fitting shirts, with a long pistachio striped scarf slung across his shoulders. What captured the redhead's focus was how the fabric clung to his body in all the right places, showing off a long, shapely torso. Hell, if he could see that from where he was standing, then he must look like a God up close.
Thoughts of gold hair and blue eyes escaped him as he made his way towards the breathtaking male. Change of heart? No, not exactly, more like succumbing to hormonal rush. The young boy was still looking over the page when Axel quietly walked up to him from behind. The boy didn't seem to hear, what with those pink and green headphones glued onto his ears.
Axel stopped short. The boy had lavender hair. Lavender. It was even whipped up into a hairstyle similar to the blond he'd been craving all summer. Green eyes scanned over the back of the male's body, from his lean shoulders to the loose belt sitting comfortably on his delicate hips. He bit down on his macchiato-sticky lips to prevent himself from licking his lips. The better part of his conscience was beating him with a wooden stick, telling him that he's in love with Roxas and he'd be a complete jackass if he'd moved in on this specimen, but the perverted side told him that the throbbing in his pants wants this male glued and grinding against him. This boy was exotic, Axel thought, and he was sure to get to know him better.
"Hey there, you new around town?" Axel swiftly brushed his long fingers across the boy's left shoulder as he made his way around, propping himself beside the empty chair that sat across from the purple-mane beauty.
"Huh?" The smaller male tilted his head up from his page, dropping the cover and letting the pages meld together as his fingers twitched and his lime green eyes went wide. Axel nearly creamed his pants when he stared down at his acquaintance. The boy was adorable. He looked like he was seventeen, making Axel quite possibly more than five years older and a full out cradle-robber, but it wasn't enough to fend off Axel's sudden infatuation with him. The one sitting down pulled off his headphones and let a tiny gasp of surprise slip pass his mouth as he attempted to say something, but Axel cut him off.
"You new around here? I haven't seen you at this shop before." Axel extended a free hand. He noticed the smaller boy frown at his hand before hesitantly slipping a hand to grip a greeting.
"vous…vous ne m'avez avant jamais vu?" The boy questioned very quietly and slowly as the taller student let himself drop into the empty seat across from him.
Axel's mind went blank.
Oh fuck. He speaks French. Why the hell didn't I listen to Riku and pay attention in class.
He cleared his throat. "Uh, sorry? Could you…uh…repeat that? Je ne parle pas Français…?"
The male with lavender hair blinked in mild confusion, then suddenly burst out laughing. "Oh, je m'excuse. I said 'you 'ave not seen me before?'"
"I…don't think so?" Axel took a long swig from his hot drink, not taking his eyes off the gorgeous being before him. It then shocked him how much he resembled Roxas. His lilac hair was styled into a messy do that looked almost similar to the blonde's, except it looked a little longer. This mystery boy had a well sculpt jawline, but looked a little more slender. Propped on his nose was a deep magenta half-framed glasses. Behind them were the absolutely glorious lime green eyes that stared back with a message that Axel couldn't read. He was too busy checking out the rest of this familiar beauty to interpret those messages.
What the Hell? He looks so much like him. Axel started feeling uncomfortable, with images of his blue eyed companion flooding back with thrice fold strength.
"Roxas? Is…that you?" Axel growled cautiously, his hand settling his large drink down on the table. He stared intently into the pair of green orbs before him, trying to pry into his identity.
"Qui?" The boy responded in a low chuckle, folding his arms on the table as he tilted his head in question.
Axel bit his cheeks. Smooth move on that part.
"Oh, I…uh, sorry, you look like someone I know. What's your name?" Axel stumbled over his words, taking another large drink of his coffee to disguise his embarrassing introduction.
The boy didn't respond immediately, but gave a crooked grin. He turned away and looked in the general area of the shop's coffee counter, looking thoughtful. "You are bold, monsieur. You touch my shoulder, you interrupt my reading, you sit down without my permission, you demand me of my name, you keep looking at me with that…that strange look, and…"
The tall student felt his throat go dry. Was he going to flash the homophobic red card? He didn't exactly take that into account when walking over. Actually, he didn't really take anything into account when approaching this boy. What was it that made this lilac haired beauty so irresistible that made him believe he could meet him without any preparation?
"And 'oo eez this 'Roxas' you said? I don't tell my name to just anyone, mon beau étranger. What makes you so unique?"
Did he just call me beautiful?
Damn. He certainly knew how to play hard-to-get. Axel never thought this boy would toy with him like this, and it made the hair on his neck stand up on end. He had such a sexy French accent, and his boyish voice caused more than dirty thoughts plowing through the redhead's mind, one of which included an image of the fair skinned male dressed up in a black and white maid outfit, topped with a frilly white headpiece and dark stockings. The boy's simple grin had enticed Axel's leg to imitate a sewing machine, and his exposed jaw line as he turned away made the redhead want pull the boy over by the scarf and attach his mouth to his neck. The taller of the two nonetheless kept his face straight, putting on a coy, teasing smirk.
"How about you tell me your name," Axel leaned over to the table, catching the attention of the young boy, "and I'll tell you more about myself while showing you around town and a walk down the harbor?" Axel lowered his eyes to a half-mast, fixing the stranger with a suggestive look. In response, the boy's lips upturned and he tilted his head more to examine this redhead.
"Qu'est-ce que c'est ton nom, monsieur?" The French speaking beauty caught Axel by utmost surprise when he leaned over as well, minimizing the distance between their faces as he questioned him in a slow, breathy sentence. The sweet scent of his fruity bubble gum, mixed with a familiar coffee aroma filled the college student's nostrils. Axel swallowed the saliva that was pooling in his mouth from eagerness as he lost himself in the predatory look the boy was giving him.
"Dis-moi ton nom."
Shit, shitshtshitshit don't lean forward any more, Axel—you are so getting your fucking ass kicked later.
"I'm Axel," the redhead answered. He swallowed a bubbly groan before finishing his introduction, "got it memorized?" His hands were slicked up and clammy from pressing his palms to the table to prevent reaching up and touching the boy's face. "So how about returning the favor?" To relieve himself of the surging heat pumping through his veins, he tried to distance himself a bit from the good-looking male.
But this stranger wouldn't have it.
The teenager pressed his stomach onto the edge of the table, letting his weight balance on his left arm that was folded on the table while his free hand reached out and tugged gently at Axel's collar with thin fingers.
"And," the boy stretched further across the table so his mouth was a breath away from Axel's left ear, "what eef I told you that you'd 'ave to buy me ice cream to win my name, Axel?"
"Win your name, is it?" Wow. This kid is good. Is he the apprentice of Don Juan or what? The redhead thought he was going to faint from the breakneck speed his heart was pumping. All sound from the café itself was lost into a low muffle in the back of his mind. The only thing audible was the breathy voice of this forward male and the loud pounding ringing in his hears. He gave an undignified squeak when he felt soft lips brush the contours of his ear as the young male continued with his slow seduction
"La vie est un jeu, n'est pas?"
Soft fingers teased their way up the red collar to graze over the quivering Adam's apple, making the redhead's breathing hitch.
Oh yeah, Axel, barely five minutes and you're turning into a helpless pile of goo in a coffee shop. Just imagine how Roxas would react if he came walking through that fucking door right now and saw you moaning into the shoulder of a complete stranger, quite possibly an underage one at that. In quick panic, the redhead's eyes scanned the coffee shop for a recognizable face. To his surprise, no one was staring at them; they were all absorbed in their own activities. Axel's conscience was constantly slicing the side of his damp brow with a sharpened halo. On the other side of his head, he could feel the searing hot teeth of a miniature pitch fork jab at his convulsing jaw. You started this, big boy, Axel heard the voice sneer, so you better play it right.
"Y-yeah, I know this great ice cream parlor that sells delicious popsicles—and ice cream. You like popsicles, don't you?"
"Bien sûr, especially the kind avec la crème filling…" he cooed sensually, "I like to nibble the tip of the popsicle and lick away the melting cream…" and then he caught the lobe of Axel's left ear playfully between his teeth.
And the redhead saw flashes of white explode across his eyes as his head took off in a totally different world.
Okay, Axel knew that his charming smile and sexy personality can easily win over anyone, boy or girl, but now, he felt he was on the wrong end of the leash. This flirty epitome of temptation had easily thrown out any discipline the redhead may have had out the window to die under the wheels of passing cars. Worst yet, his hidden heat was viciously mocking him, pressing against the fabric of his boxers, trapped within the boundaries of his trousers. It overwhelmed him, and he forced himself to gently push the yummy man candy away from him.
"Holy shit, are all French people this…friendly?" He asked, positioning himself just a bit farther from the grinning face before him. The taller male was sure his face had flushed red. He had heated up so much, he was positive he could fry an egg on his cheek. The other boy, however, looked as relax and mischievous as ever.
"You shake 'ands 'ere when you say 'ow are you, correct? We kiss in France, Axel." The boy casually licked his lips, and Axel nearly fell off his chair from the violent jump that occurred between his legs.
"Wait, what? In France, you kiss when you greet people? Like French kiss? Is that where it comes from?" Axel's own emerald eyes blinked in mild confusion. He hadn't traveled much to know about this kind of custom. It sounded strange, but at the same time rather hot.
The melodic ring of the boy's laugh pulled the taller male's lips into a goofy grin.
"No, silly, not French kiss. Eet eez called la bise." He shuffled slightly in his seat, pulling his body closer to the table. "When you faire la bise, you give someone two to four air kisses on each cheek. In the Provence, Parisiennes generally kiss two to three times."
"So how do you know who gets to start first so you don't knock heads or something?" Axel snickered, listening in earnest.
"Eet depends. Some parts of la Provence 'as people following a pattern of left, right, left, right, while other parts go right, left, right, left. Any one can start la bise when you're with la famille ou les amis. For your coworkers or les aquaintences, you let the older one start la bise. For example, eef you are meeting your boss, you let 'im start la bise. If you start it, that eez a sure ticket to be fired." A hand came up to push the pink glasses frame up further on his nose.
"Oh, that's interesting," the student commented, absorbing the information in a quiet hum. "Acquaintences? That includes total strangers? That's…kinda weird, don't you think?"
The purple haired beauty fiddled with his scarf as he giggled childishly at the redhead's comment.
"Non, tu ne fait jamais la bise when greeting strangers," green eyes flicked up to burrow into Axel's darker ones, "but we are not strangers."
Axel felt his heart skip a beat as he stammered, "what do you mean?"
Damn, what happened to the composure he thought he had?
The devilish glint returned to the boy's eyes as he leaned forward on the table, slowly extending both arms to softly take hold on the redhead's collar again. Axel caved in easily, and allowed his upper body to be drawn across the table.
"You said I looked like someone you know, non?" Warm fingers were stroking at his neck again. "And that's good enough for me."
Axel's breaths came in short puffs now as his cloudy eyes moved perpetually from the boy's attractive eyes to his pink lips that were left parted as he spoke.
"You are probably older than me, Axel. That means you get to initiate la bise," the boy suggested with an irresistible allure, "and since you are…'ow you Americans say…'newbie' at it, I'll let you 'ave some practice."
When Axel heard the French male's attempt to incorporate a foreign jargon into his speech, he wanted to snicker. But the boy didn't let him. Instead, his laughter was swallowed when he felt his collar being tugged.
"I'll let you 'ave some practice," the mystery boy repeated, "so you'll 'ave one target, mon beauté aux yeux verts."
"But you're supposed to kiss both cheeks…" Axel stated absentmindedly, all his attention drawn to the tempting lips in front of him.
"Ah, because it might be un peu difficile for an inexperienced Parisienne as yourself, I'll let your target be…" the grip on the red fabric tightened, and the boy drew their faces closer together, angling his head without breaking the intense contact between their hooded eyes, "…my lips."
Axel's eyes went wide when he felt the hot, velvet breath of the other wash over his parted mouth. He soon felt the soft skin of the boy's lips brush ever so lightly against his own, but whether or not it was he himself who had leaned forward to initiate this…"bise", he didn't know. His eyes fell shut. He didn't try to fight the low moan that crawled up his throat. The feeling was so intense, even though their lips were barely grazing one another's. One of his hands finally parted from the table top and rose up to touch the kid's jaw.
Fuck.
The red head leaned in, and sealed off their lips in a full kiss. He tasted sweet and felt so familiar, Axel noted as the boy's mouth moved painfully slow against his own. Feeling his self-control leave him, the taller male unknowingly parted his mouth to let his warm tongue lightly feel the other's bottom lip. He savored the brief flavors that he collected.
Chocolate, coffee beans, vanilla cream, the fruity bursts from the remnants of his gum, and something with a hint of salt…like sea-salt. Sea-salt tasted good. Roxas tasted good too.
His thoughts suddenly burst in through the doors and his hands ascended to push the purple-haired male back a little less than gently, breaking their contact with a soft smacking sound. Like magic, the surrounding noises of chatting patrons, clicking mugs and steaming milk came back at full volume.
"Your name!" Axel said in a wavering pitch, "you didn't tell me your name yet! That means we're still strangers! That means we can't do this kiss—I mean this bise!"
Slender shoulders shuddered underneath Axel's grip as the boy laughed again. "Je m'excuse, I completely forgot." He leaned back on his chair as his chuckle faded. He looked relaxed, and appeared to act as if the kiss never happened.
"Je m'appelle Xaros."
"Zeh-roh? Like the word 'zero' in French?" Axel asked quietly, still trying to fan himself off from the brief contact he had with this kid's lips a moment ago.
Xaros smiled kindly, "exactement."
"So, how exactly do you spell that?" Axel asked in curiosity. In his head, only Z, E, R, and O came to mind.
"X-A-R-O-S, Xaros." The boy replied, the same smile still tugging at his cute mouth.
The redhead took a moment to digest what he had heard. Was it just him, or did he just enter some sort of Twilight-zone? Okay, maybe bad analogy seeing as he did live in Twilight Town. He cleared his throat again, tugging slightly at the collar of his T-shirt underneath, "so, Xaros, est-ce que tu veux acheter la crème glacée avec moi?"
The lilac haired beauty gave another giggle before tucking his novel into the cardinal red book bag hanging from the back of his chair. "Bien sûr, of course. Ice cream for my name, non?"
A quivering grin played on the corners of Axel's lips as he stood from his chair, making sure his long jacket was pulled down. Was it nervousness? He watched as the boy removed the headphones sitting around his neck and tucked the music device into his large bag. Xaros adjusted his scarf and tugged down on his shirt, making the array of metal chains hanging from his brown studded belt click together. Axel's wandering green eyes scanned the male's frame, down from the lean chest, inching down the faint designs on his olive shirt and down the two pairs of legs that were concealed within loose fitting jeans, letting his eyes linger a while longer on the slender hips. He clenched his teeth together.
Axel took a couple of steps to match Xaros side by side as they strolled casually away from their table, leaving the half-finished Sea-Salt Cream Macchiato to sit on the table in its forgotten state.
Axel pushed the brown door open, allowing the green-eyed wonder to slip passed his arms. Axel's eyes followed the teenager's movements, noticing that he's around the same height as Roxas. Then a thought struck him.
"Hey, Xaros?" The college student pressed a hand on the smaller male's back, steering him in the direction of the nearest ice-cream parlor.
"Hmm?"
"How old are you?"
"Moi? J'ai dix-sept ans." Two rows of pearly white teeth were uncovered as the teenager grinned wildly, his smile almost reaching his ears. Axel coughed out a nervous laugh.
Oh Hell. The kid was seventeen.
Axel, just what have you gotten yourself into?
A/N
nijuuni . deviantart . com / art / Just - fooling - around - with - Roxy - 71363531
Alright! Chapter 1 up and running 8D I've been tinkering around this idea for a while, and it'd be great for some feed back! It's my first multi-chapter, and I really wanna know what you guys think of it so far. The reminiscing bit was a killer to write, in all honesty xx I hope it didn't hinder the reader or the flow of the story. I'm always looking for ways to improve, so please, both comments and critiques are welcomed! How this all started? Like the Disclaimer said, from the above link. There was just something about lavender hair and green eyes that made something just...click in my head, ha ha.
Comment Replies: (If there's another way to reply to messages here on FF, please tell me--I'm still a newbie at this ; )
iluvtoady:Thank you very much, honey ) I'm very happy that Red Cycles could stand out to you!
Tekko: Nice! I'm glad you liked it, as well as those "desperation leaks" ;P
DarkChibiBenemoth: Thank you!
RainingDiamonds: Thank you so much, dear! Your comment was very pleasing to read! And I really appreciate the critique--reading it over again, I suppose that it was rather long winded. It never seems like it when you're writing the story XD;
Yaoifan2386: Hee, glad RC could keep you intrigued :)
StarlightBlue: Ahahaha, I wouldn't call it perfection, but it's pleasing to hear that anyhow )!! Thanks! 3
XIggyX: Thank you!
MoonlightFire: Haha, thanks! It's usually how I picture the "perfect" Axel/Roxas relationship--it runs on teasing and playing hard-to-get :P And I'm glad I could make you smile with it ) Thanks for reading!
LiisuT: Thanks honey! Thanks for reading and taking the time to let the fuzzy tingles sink in x)!
Arkaham: Thank you very much )
Guzophela: Haha, thank you for those simple words x)