Disclaimer: Don't own Kingdom Hearts.
Author's Note: So, er, this was a completely random one-shot that came to mind earlier today. I was wearing a dress and it was kinda windy outside, so I had to hold it close to my legs as to avoid flashing any unsuspecting bystanders. Luckily I escaped without mentally scarring anyone. As I was walking to my car the gears in my head started churning and my expression went from :[ to :3 in mere seconds. Yes, I magically create AkuRoku goodness throughout my daily life. Don't be hatin'. ;)
I scowled as I heard another group of girls walk by and giggle. Why oh why did I submit myself to this kind of torture? It was supposed to be a harmless bet, no risk of being publicly humiliated involved. Had I foreseen an outcome like this I'd have never agreed to take part in the stupid bet in the first place.
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It had been just another day at The Usual Spot, a coffee shop downtown that my friends and I tended to frequent. Olette, Hayner, Pence, and I were just talking and laughing about nothing in particular. We rarely made plans to meet up there; The Usual Spot was just kind of one of those places where you went when you were bored. It was almost impossible to show up at the cozy little shop without running into someone you knew. The four of us went there enough that it wasn't so unusual for all of us to be there at the same time.
I was still chuckling over something that Olette had said, bent over my hot café mocha, when Pence started jumping up and down excitedly in his seat.
"Roxas! Roxas look! It's your cousin and his boyfriend!" he whispered excitedly.
I looked up and sure enough, there was Sora and his friend Riku, ordering at the counter. I rolled my eyes at Pence. "Riku is not Sora's boyfriend, Pence; they're just friends. They've been best friends since like, kindergarten."
He just stared at me with a look that said 'you are so oblivious' before remarking, "Well that just makes it all the more believable that the two of them are totally in love with each other." Olette and Hayner both started laughing, I just scowled.
"C'mon, he's my cousin for crying out loud, I think I would know if he were dating someone, let alone someone male. Sora's never said anything about being gay to me, and I'm pretty sure he's had a crush on Kairi forever," I replied. There was no way Sora wouldn't tell me if he were gay, or that he had a crush on his best male friend. We were as tight as glue; we told each other practically everything.
Olette turned her head to face me, eyebrow raised. "How much do you wanna bet on that, Roxas?" she asked, mouth turned upward into a predatory grin.
I snorted. "Oh please, there's no way I'm wrong about this. Sora is most definitely straight and is not dating Riku," I stated confidently. Perhaps I was going out on a limb here. I mean, I assumed that Sora would come to me with something as groundbreaking as a reconsideration of his sexuality, let alone an interest in his closest friend.
Olette set her drink down on the table and clasped her hands together. "Alright, then let's raise the stakes here. If I'm wrong–,"
"You have to do my math homework for a month," I responded quickly. Olette was slightly taken aback by my large request, but seemed to quickly shove it aside. I had to admit, she had a pretty good poker face; or maybe she knew a little more than I did about my cousin and his love interests. That thought made me slightly worried.
Olette nodded. "Okay, I'll accept that. And if I'm right, you have to…"
"Walk around town all day in a dress!" Hayner interjected ecstatically. Almost immediately he burst into laughter as I abruptly stood up and pointed at him menacingly.
"What the hell, Hayner? I am not gonna walk around town all day in a dress!" I nearly shouted, causing some of the other patrons to turn their heads towards the commotion. Some of them seemed slightly offended by the outburst; others merely chuckled and turned back around to their own tables.
Hayner was still laughing uncontrollably, obviously entertained by his own stupid idea. Olette and Pence laughed too, but not nearly as stupidly. What really worried me was that nobody else was shooting down the ridiculous terms like I had. After a second or two Olette spoke up, "Okay fine, not a dress; a skirt."
"With lots of lace and frilly pink bows!" Hayner gasped, still in a fit of laughter. Olette playfully smacked him.
My mouth dropped. "Guys, c'mon, that is ridiculous. You can't be serious," I said, almost pleadingly. Unfortunately I was only met with three equally smug expressions.
"You're the one who's so confident about Sora's sexuality, I don't see why you're getting so worked up Roxas," Pence taunted. I shot him a dirty look before staring into my drink and seriously mulling everything over in my mind.
Okay, so if I lost, I'd have to submit myself to one of the cruelest forms of public humiliation imaginable for a teenage boy; but if I won, Olette the math nerd would be doing my math homework for a month. That's one sick deal.
I sighed before reluctantly lifting my head to meet Olette's eyes across the table. "Okay fine, you're on," I agreed through gritted teeth. She smiled devilishly before getting up from her seat and walking casually over to the table where Sora and Riku were seated.
I panicked. What was she doing? Was she seriously just gonna walk right up to them and ask if they had something going on? I couldn't peel my eyes away from the event taking place right in front of me as I saw Sora and Riku turn to greet Olette as she approached their table. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but that didn't stop me from watching every second of their conversation. Things had been pretty casual at first; they were smiling and talking, probably just asking how everyone was doing and so forth. Then I saw Olette point her thumb in my direction and both Riku and Sora turned their heads to look at me at the same time. I quickly looked away, boring my eyes into my nearly empty drink as I gripped it firmly between my shaking hands. I didn't like where this was going, not one bit.
After a few seconds of leering into the murky contents of my styrofoam cup, I cautiously returned my gaze to the table on the other side of the restaurant where Olette was still standing. Sora's expression was now slightly confused; his forehead was wrinkled as Olette seemed to be explaining something to him. I felt a slight sense of hope. Maybe I was right! Maybe Olette had just made a complete fool of herself by asking if the two of them were an item. I shifted my gaze to study Riku's expression instead. He was watching Sora intently, paying close attention to whatever he was saying to Olette. The two of them looked up at her again, I assumed she was saying something, but I couldn't tell as her back was turned. Suddenly Sora laughed and I saw the corners of Riku's mouth turn upwards into a smile.
Shit, maybe this wasn't gonna turn out so hot for me after all. I noticed that I had been drumming my fingertips on the table quite loudly and quickly stopped. Hayner and Pence both snickered, entertained by the whole situation. I shot each of them a glare, temporarily wishing that looks could indeed kill.
"Roxas!" I heard Olette call out from the other side of the café. As if I were trapped in slow-motion, I turned my head back towards her at an almost sluggish pace. I had a bad feeling about that smirk that played across her lips. I frantically turned to stare at Sora, who was looking at me with an almost apologetic expression, before he leaned forward and pulled Riku into a most definitely non-platonic kiss.
I stared wide-eyed at the scene that was being played out in front of me, and then I allowed my head to crash into the table below, not wanting to get up ever again. I had tuned out the laughter that seemed to be coming from every side of me; I was too busy trying to drown myself in a pit of self-loathing. I felt gentle hands on my shoulders as the traitorous voice of my cousin (could I make that ex-cousin?) pull me out of my stupor.
"Roxas? Hey man, I'm really sorry I didn't tell you about me and Riku. I don't know, I just sort of didn't know how you'd take it I guess," Sora said, absent-mindedly scratching the back of his head, eyes looking everywhere but at me.
I got up from my seat quickly, causing Sora to take a few cautious steps backwards. "Didn't know how I'd take it? Sora I thought we were close! I thought we told each other nearly everything!" I almost shouted. I didn't mean to be angry at my cousin; I was just embarrassed and slightly hurt that everyone else seemed to know about this except for me.
I was abruptly brought out of my tirade by the pitiful look in Sora's eyes. I sighed and opened my arms. "C'mere," I said. He stepped forward and buried his face in my chest, sobbing. I patted his back awkwardly. Jesus, I didn't mean to make him cry. "Shh, it's okay Sora, I'm not mad. I didn't mean to blow up like that, I'm sorry." Could this day get any worse?
Sora sniffed and looked up at me through teary blue eyes. "I- I just, I wanted to tell you Roxas, but I was so s-scared that you'd be upset or disgusted with me or something," he choked out.
I just rolled my eyes and smiled at him. "Silly. I don't think I could ever truly be upset with you," I told him.
Sora's face broke into a wide grin as he crushed me in one of his infamous hugs. "Aww, you're the best, Roxas. How did I end up with a wonderful cousin like you?" he asked rhetorically, crushing my ribs.
"Sora… I can't breathe," I gasped out. He quickly let go, embarrassed.
"Sorry Rox, don't know my own strength sometimes I guess," he muttered. I shrugged, not wanting him to throw a fit again due to my sour mood.
"Sooooo, I guess this means you lose the bet Roxas," I heard Hayner say slyly from the table. I turned to give him one of the most poisonous glares I could muster, inwardly amused when he flinched away from my cold stare.
I sighed in defeat. "Fine." Olette squealed and jumped up and down while Hayner and Pence laughed hysterically, pounding on the table. I merely hung my head in shame, barely registering the reassuring pat my cousin was giving me as I sunk into my internal pit of despair.
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And that's how I found myself in my current predicament; blushing furiously as Olette and I walked down the street past some little stores in the shopping district of the downtown area. My face hadn't been anything but a bright shade of pink all day as I spent most of my time staring at my feet. I glared daggers at any and all bystanders whenever I decided to lift my head. I was inwardly thankful that Hayner and Pence had left after tormenting me for the first hour of my day in the city.
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Hayner, Pence, and Olette had all showed up at my front door at nine o'clock this morning. Both Pence and Hayner were grinning a little too widely, and Olette held an extremely suspicious bag in her hands.
"Morning sunshine," Hayner greeted as I opened the door in a baggy white t-shirt and gray boxers.
I rubbed my left eye with the back of my fist as I scowled at them. "Too early," I muttered, though it seemed to have gone unheard as the three of them rushed into my apartment. Hayner and Pence immediately made themselves at home at my small kitchen table. This was a normal occurrence, but today it was really pissing me off. They acted as if they owned the place.
"Okay Roxas, let's get you changed," Olette said, reaching her hand inside the bag as she pulled out the epitome of my shame.
If my jaw could have hit the floor, it would have. Dangling from Olette's thin fingers was one of the frilliest, girliest things I had ever seen in my entire life. The skirt was black with white lace adorning the bottom, as well as forming patterns across the fabric. It reminded me of the bottom half of a French maid outfit. I felt like I was gonna be sick.
"I picked it out," Hayner gloated, obviously proud of his decision. I turned to him and glared at his stupid smiling face. I wondered if anyone would notice if I decided to kill him in his sleep. I shook my head. No, I set myself up for this. Hayner's just being his usual asshole-ish self.
"Show him what else we got, Olette," Hayner added, craning his neck to see the brunette who was still standing behind me.
I turned on her with an accusatory leer. She wouldn't meet my eyes. "There was no other part to the deal, Olette," I said bitterly. Olette seemed to be slightly remorseful, still not looking up to meet my gaze.
"C'mon Roxas, you can't expect us to let you wear boxers under a skirt, that's just unheard of!" Hayner said happily from the table, obviously trying not to laugh. I turned on him again, once again considering my original plan of murdering the jerk.
"What. Did. You. Do?" I replied coldly, trying not to let my voice rise. It was quite a feat that I had yet to rip anyone's head off. Had I not been so furious I might've been impressed with myself.
Hayner had a hand pressed over his mouth, physically trying to keep himself from laughing. He pointed back towards Olette, and I was almost afraid to turn around.
This time it was Pence who had no reservations about containing himself, as he had begun cackling openly. My eyes grew wide as I saw just what Olette was holding in her hands.
Black. Panties.
I backed away from her. "No. No way in hell am I wearing those!" I could now hear both Pence and Hayner laughing hysterically behind me. There was a crash and I turned around to see that Hayner had fallen off of his chair and was now lying on the floor, clutching his stomach as he continued to laugh at my misery.
Olette looked at my sympathetically. "C'mon Roxas, it'll just look wrong if you have boxers on underneath. It's just once; promise it'll never happen again. Please?"
I glared at her, feeling slightly betrayed. I could not for the life of me understand how this was in any way justified. I stepped forward, angrily yanking the panties from her hands and grabbing the skirt off of the table. I stormed out into the hallway, heading for the bathroom. I wished that I could somehow burn the accursed objects with the amount of fury I was feeling.
After a few long minutes of awkwardly stumbling around the bathroom and banging my head repeatedly against the mirror in self-pity, I stepped out of the bathroom with my arms crossed firmly over my chest. I wasn't surprised to be my three (former) friends waiting for me just outside the door. Hayner's eyes immediately lit up as he threw his head back in laughter again. Pence was biting his lower lip, trying his best not to do the same. Olette simply smiled and walked towards me.
"Wow Roxas, you pulled it off way better than I thought you would! You have really nice legs!" she said happily, clasping her hands together. Was she seriously telling me that I looked good in this thing? I scowled at her.
"Let's just get this over with," I said, walking towards the front door.
Olette ran after me. "Wait, are you sure that's the shirt you want to wear with that Roxas?" she asked.
"Yes," I replied before slipping my feet into my sandals and reaching for the doorknob. There was no way in hell that I was gonna make this any more embarrassing than it already was. Heaven forbid they make me wear a matching top. No, my nasty old baggy white t-shirt was perfect for this miserable day.
The first hour had been the worst. Hayner and Pence could not stop laughing as we walked from my apartment towards downtown. The two of them had been leaning on each other the whole way, tears leaking from the corners of their eyes. "I- I swear I am going to get a six-pack from laughing so hard," Hayner had choked out. I simply flipped him the bird and kept walking, well more like stomping forward.
I had gotten a lot of weird looks now that we were officially in the downtown area. My apartment was about three blocks from the central city area. Groups of giggling girls would glance at me and chatter excitedly among their friends. Small children would point at me and ask their parent, "Mommy, why is that boy wearing a dress?" to which their mother would simply shrug and hurriedly walk their child away from me. I was pretty sure that my face would be a permanent shade of red for the rest of my life.
After about an hour of shopping and being stared at, Hayner and Pence had lost interest. I was relieved that the two of them had left, but unfortunately Olette was still in shopping mode. She dragged me to store after store, forcing me to give my opinion on various clothing items that she tried on. A lot of the sales clerks gave me strange looks when we first walked in, but then would simply ignore me as they tended to Olette. Once woman actually had the nerve to ask if I wanted to try on any of their wares. It was a woman's lingerie store. I had shot her one of the nastiest glares I could muster, causing her to quickly find another customer to tend to.
After another hour or so of shopping, Olette decided that it was time for lunch. The two of us walked out of the shop we (we meaning she) had been browsing and headed for one of the many cafés that adorned either side of the street. We had decided on one of our favorite spots, Sweet Memory, which was farther down the street we were walking down and off the main road a little bit. The two of us had been walking along, talking about nothing. I had almost forgotten about the fact that I was still traipsing around in a freaking skirt. Suddenly a breeze came up from nowhere and blew right past us. Immediately I felt the skirt begin to rise and I frantically pulled the fabric down over my knees to avoid embarrassing myself even more. Unfortunately it was a moment too late that I realized I hadn't grabbed the back. I felt it lift, exposing my entire backside momentarily for the world to see. I immediately let one hand go from the front of the accursed thing and grabbed for the back, pulling it down hurriedly. It had only been a second; hopefully nobody had been standing close enough behind us to notice anything.
I heard a whistle from behind me and I wanted to die right there.
I turned around in a flash, furiously seeking to destroy whoever had dared to whistle at me. Standing a few feet behind Olette and me were three guys, all considerably taller than both of us. One had his hair done up in a crazy sort of cross between a Mohawk and a mullet, while another had one half of his face entirely covered by a sheet of dark colored hair. The one that had caught my attention though had been the one standing directly in the middle. His hair was a mess of bright red spikes, all seeming to grow from his head in different places. His bright green eyes were staring down at me daringly, and his mouth was upturned into a wide smile. He winked at me and I completely lost it.
I leapt forward and attacked the redhead, pushing him down onto the sidewalk. I didn't even register that Olette had called my name; I was too busy preparing to beat this guy into a bloody pulp. I pulled my fist back; ready punch him in his stupid dumb face when I stopped. He looked up at me from his position underneath me, expression a mix of surprise and fear. I lowered my arm and sighed, slowly getting off of the lanky man I had pinned to the ground. "Sorry," I muttered as I dusted myself off and walked back over to Olette. She looked at me sympathetically before linking her arm in mine as we continued our walk down the street.
We had only been walking for a few seconds after that when I head a set of footsteps running behind us. "Hey kid!" I heard someone shout. I didn't turn around. I'd had enough of dealing with people today.
A hand clasped my shoulder and firmly turned around. I found myself facing the red-haired jerk who'd winked at me before. He seemed to have run to catch up with us, leaving his two friends standing where they'd been before. I crossed my arms and looked at him sourly. "What?" I spat out.
The other man seemed unfazed by my poisonous response. He simply scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he replied, "Listen, sorry. I just… sorry. That was really fucking rude of me. I just wanted to apologize I guess…"
I looked at him quizzically. What a weirdo. "Whatever," I muttered before turning back around to continue walking. To my dismay, that didn't seem to be the end of the conversation.
"I mean, it wasn't my place to do that. Maybe you have some sort of freaky obsession with women's clothing that I don't know about," the obnoxious redhead continued as he jogged to keep up with me.
I turned to face him again. "I do not have an obsession with women's clothing," I stated calmly but firmly. Seriously, I just wanted this guy to leave me alone. I turned around again and kept walking. Unfortunately, he was now walking beside me.
"Oh really? Well, what's with the skirt then?" he asked, genuinely curious.
"Lost a bet," I responded curtly. Maybe if I played along he'd leave me alone. Obviously ignoring him wasn't gonna work.
The redhead made a sound of understanding, nodding his head. Then he turned his head to face me with a wicked grin. "And the panties?"
I turned to glare at him. "An addition that I was not aware of," I added coldly. I heard a quiet giggle escape Olette's lips as she walked on the other side of me.
"Ah," the redhead sighed, as if that explained everything. "Well I must say, it was a nice addition," he added with a smile. I deadpanned. What the fuck was this guy's problem?
"Are you gonna leave me alone anytime soon?" I asked coldly.
"Not until I get your name, cutie. Mine's Axel by the way, commit it to memory," he said as he poked me in the temple. I swatted his hand away.
"If I tell you, will you go away?" I asked angrily.
Axel considered it for a moment before responding, "Hmm, maybe," with a cunning smile.
I sighed heavily, just wishing that today could be over. "Roxas," I said quickly.
"What?" he asked, leaning closer in an attempt to hear me better.
"Roxas. My name," I said. "Now will you leave us alone?"
If I thought that Axel's smile before had been big, then the one that'd spread over his face after I'd given him my name was gargantuan. He grabbed my hand and shook it enthusiastically. "Nice to meet you Roxas, now where are you two lovebirds going?" he asked happily before turning around, motioning for his two friends to follow.
"Lunch," Olette responded for me. "And we're not lovers, just friends." I gave her a pleading look, trying to send her my thoughts. They were something along the lines of 'was it really necessary for you to tell him that?'
Axel smiled at me with renewed interest. He patted his ridiculously flat stomach with one hand. "Great, I'm starving! Mind if we join you?" he asked, although I had a feeling that he and his friends would be joining us no matter what the answer to that question was.
"Sure!" Olette piped up. I shot her a death glare, but she seemed to ignore it. I slumped my shoulders dejectedly. Perhaps I had used up all of my evil eye vibes throughout the course of the day.
I felt a long arm drape across my shoulders. I looked up to see who had dared touch me in the state that I was in and saw Axel's face grinning down on me. "Aww, don't be sad Roxy. Promise we'll be good," he cooed.
I stared at him blankly. "Roxy?" I asked incredulously. Olette laughed.
Axel nodded happily. "Yeah, Roxy! It's cute, no? It suits you," he said before poking my nose.
I blushed furiously and immediately pushed his arm off of me. Who did this guy think he was? And why was I blushing? "Whatever," I muttered, stomping off towards our destination.
Surprisingly, lunch hadn't turned out so bad after all. The five of us had slid into a booth together. Somehow I had ended up trapped between Olette and Axel. Olette and I were introduced to Axel's friends; Demyx (the one with the crazy mullet/mohawk) and Zexion (the one with the emo hair). The three of them were actually pretty fun to be around. Demyx had the outward appearance of someone in their early twenties, but he was really a first grader at heart. Zexion, who didn't say much really, kept Demyx in check pretty well, allowing the crazy blonde to cling to him whenever his feelings had been hurt. Axel was obviously the life of the party, making everyone laugh. After I had gotten over the initial hatred of the man for embarrassing me in public and then hitting on me with absolutely no shame whatsoever, I found myself warming up to the guy. He obviously noticed this and continued to make comment after perverted comment.
"So Roxy, when am I gonna see you dolled up like this again?" he asked, poking me in the side.
"Pfft. In your dreams," I responded with a laugh.
"Hmm, most definitely," Axel replied, licking his lips. "But I was hoping I'd get to see the real thing again."
I felt my face heat up and I shoved the redhead none too gently. He fell sideways into the booth and Demyx burst out laughing from across the table.
"Gonna have to try harder than that, Ax," he laughed.
Said redhead simply shrugged as he got back up and sat properly in the seat. He rested one elbow on the table and turned to face me. "Oh, I don't give up that easily," he added with a wink.
I turned my head quickly, not wanting him to see me blush again. "I have to go to the bathroom," I remarked offhandedly.
Axel slid out of the booth, permitting me to exit. "Need any help taking off those panties?" he nearly shouted once I was a considerable distance from the table. I gave him the finger as I stomped off towards the men's room.
After we had all finished eating and talking, the five of us slid out of the booth and headed back out onto the street. Once we were outside, it was apparent that our two groups would be heading in different directions. Everyone was saying their goodbyes, which mostly consisted of friendly words. Demyx, however, felt compelled to crush both Olette and me in a hug that was almost Sora-worthy. After being able to breath normally again, I looked up at the redhead who was standing in front of me.
"Well, be seeing you Roxas," Axel said with a small smile. He held his hand out in front of him.
I allowed myself a small smile and reached forward and met his hand with my own, firmly shaking it. "We'll see, Axel," I said, before waving to the other two and walking down the street with Olette.
"I'll call you!" Axel shouted. I looked at him over my shoulder to see him excitedly pointing at his phone.
I laughed and shook my head. "Whatever, Axel!" I shouted back. Turning around again, Olette and I began our journey back to my apartment. I was glad that this horrendous outing was finally coming to an end.
"I think he's actually serious about calling you," Olette said once we were a considerable distance from the other three.
I chuckled to myself. "No way, I didn't give him my number," I stated matter-of-factly.
Olette let out a soft laugh and I turned to look at her questioningly. "No," she stated. "But I did."
"What?!"
Hmm. Anyone else seem to notice my fetish for Axel catching Roxy in incredibly embarrassing situations? XD
~NS