A/N: HAPPY AKUROKU DAY! WOOP!
"Are you really okay with this, Roxas?"
Thunking the carton of beer he was holding down onto the kitchen bench, Roxas turned to Xion with a wooden smile slapped on his face.
"Yeah, no, I'm okay with it!"
Xion raised an eyebrow, obviously not convinced despite Roxas' enthusiasm. "Seriously, it's not too late for me to un-invite him – I could –"
Roxas just waved his hands, trying his best to reassure her. "It's fine, Xi, honestly. Sure, Axel and I had our differences…and a soul-destroying break up, but we're cool now – don't worry about it."
"Oh-kayyyy…" Xion gave him one last, long look before focussing back on the giant, garden salad she was assembling.
Roxas ripped open the carton and began stacking the beer bottles inside the fridge. "I think enough time has passed anyway, don't you think? It's been – what? How long you reckon now?"
Xion breathed out a loud sigh. She glanced at Roxas, rolling her eyes. "Oh, don't pretend you don't know."
Roxas hunched his shoulders. "Yeah, okay, it's been…a year."
Xion shot him another look.
"…And two months since we broke up," Roxas reluctantly added. "…And about eight months since we last spoke."
"Hah! How could I forget," Xion snickered, the knife she was holding slicing straight through the tomato and bapping hard against the wooden chopping board. "I think we all remember how well that turned out."
Roxas awkwardly rubbed at the back of his neck. He knew exactly what she was referring to.
The last time Roxas had seen Axel was actually at another social event similar to the one they were planning on holding tonight. A small group consisting of them and their mutual friends had met up for lunch at a café downtown, where, after a rather heated 'discussion', Roxas had ended up throwing his frappuccino at Axel's face…followed closely by his plate-full of chips…and BLT.
Naturally, they hadn't spoken to each other since.
"He's just…infuriating," Roxas grumbled, snapping the fridge door closed, having finished stacking the beer. "I get mad just thinking about him; it's like a knee-jerk reaction." He started on the bags of ice piled by his feet.
"Like, one time, when we were –"
"– shagging, he turned on the tv – yes, you've told me," Xion finished for him, reaching for another tomato.
"– Or what about that time he answered the door without pants on, and gave that old lady a heart attack!?"
Xion shrugged. "That lady was like a hundred years old – she probably died happy anyway."
Roxas tore open one of the ice bags and emptied it into the nearby esky cooler. Really starting to reminisce now, he straightened and paused, smiling over at Xion's back.
"…Do you remember that night he came home drunk and tried to make jelly, but he was so messed up he just ended up throwing it all around the room?"
Xion couldn't help giggling. "Yeah, and because it was winter and freezing, it set everywhere, and we were finding globs of it all over the place for months afterwards."
"Yeah..." Roxas breathed out wistfully, a stupid grin on his face. For a second he just stared off into space, clutching the empty ice bag to his chest. It didn't take him long to snap back to reality, though, his expression quickly dropping into a frown as he flung the ice bag away from him and into the kitchen sink.
"There was jelly in all the grouting, and all the cupboard joinery! It was disgusting! There were ants all over the place, solely because of him! He just – didn't have an off switch – it was shit like that all the fricken time."
Xion finished chopping the last tomato and positioned the pieces on top of the lettuce leaves already in the salad bowl. "Whatever, Mister Sensitive; it wasn't me who just spent an hour in the bathroom doing my hair."
Roxas picked up the next bag of ice in the pile, and threw it back down to the ground just a little too forcibly. The ice cubes broke apart on impact, giving off a satisfying, crunching sound. He glowered at Xion.
"Hey, I'm allowed to look good, aren't I? There's no crime in that."
Xion sighed, but still smiled all the same. She rested the knife on the bench while she turned to face Roxas again.
"Sure, Roxas – just…if you feel yourself getting angry, just walk away, okay? It'll be easier…for everyone."
Roxas didn't need to think about it. "Okay. I'll keep my cool."
Xion scoffed and turned away. "That'll be a first..."
"What'd you say?" Roxas asked sharply.
Xion looked him dead in the eye. "I said 'carrot will be first'," gesturing at the salad ingredients left to prepare in front of her.
Roxas snorted, but said nothing about her blatant cover-up. He snatched up the battered bag of ice and added the cubes to the esky. "Did you really have to invite my brother, as well? I thought we were keeping this get-together small?"
Xion gave him a puzzled look. "What's wrong with inviting Ven?"
"It's not him, it's his dickwad of a boyfriend." Roxas made a face. "Ugh, I can't stand him."
"Hey, that's not very nice!" Xion scolded, shaking the knife in Roxas' direction. "Vanitas is a really nice guy once you get to know him."
"Maybe to creeps and psychos…" Roxas mumbled under his breath.
"What did you say?" Xion said, narrowing her eyes.
"I said where do you want this bowl of potatoes?" Roxas quipped, adopting his most innocent expression.
Xion just shook her head. "You're ridiculous."
Roxas poked his tongue out.
-0-
Everything was ready.
Roxas restlessly watched the clock in the living room as the minute hand moved past the twelve; the time now reading 7.01 pm. It'd been a while since Roxas and Xion had held a party like this, but now that summer was well on its way and the cold of winter had finally ended, there was more of a reason to enjoy a barbecue and a few drinks outside in the better weather.
Their friends would all be starting to arrive soon, including Roxas' lovely ex-boyfriend, Axel. Roxas couldn't blame Xion for being sceptical about inviting him to attend, because it never seemed to matter how much time passed, Roxas and Axel always had unfinished business. Roxas had actually lost count of the number of times they had ended it, only to get back together again a short while later, before predictably going through another horrendously, spectacular break-up.
The chemistry between them had always been explosive, but unfortunately, so had every other aspect of their relationship. Roxas wanted to repeatedly smash Axel in the face, while simultaneously trying to kiss the living daylights out of him. It was a frustrating situation, to say the least. Their last break-up, which had been their eighth (ninth?) such occasion of calling it quits, had most definitely been the worst, and surely destined to be the last. After the café fiasco, Roxas was more than certain, that he never wanted to try making it work, ever again. Axel would just have to face facts and move on, because Roxas was so done with the drama.
Well, that's what he told himself anyway.
Ning-nong!
The doorbell rang and Roxas stared over at the front door. He didn't move.
"Can you get it, Roxas? I've got cream all over my hands!" Xion called from the kitchen, provoking an exaggerated groan from Roxas. He didn't want to answer the door! It was probably going to be him.
Begrudgingly, Roxas got up and went to open the door.
It wasn't Axel.
"Hey, hey, Rox! I brought Kachaka!" Sora chortled, shaking a bottle-full of some sort of white spirit in Roxas' face.
"A what-chaka?" Roxas asked, trying to read the label.
"It's pronounced 'Ka-sha-sah, Sora, we've been through this," Riku murmured, encouraging Sora to step inside the house. "Hey, Roxas."
Roxas gave him a nod. "Riku."
Sora pouted, frowning down at the bottle in his hand. "Meh, I like the way I say it better."
Standing to the right of Sora was Kairi, who promptly held up a bag of limes. She smiled at Roxas. "We're going to make Caipirinha's!"
Roxas grinned. "Sounds great; Xion's in the kitchen."
The three made their way further inside, Riku all the while trying to wrestle the Cachaça off Sora, who was already attempting to swig it straight out of the bottle.
Roxas went to close the front door again, only to find Namine, Xion's girlfriend, hurrying up the porch steps. "Hey, Roxas, sorry I'm late! Is Xi upset with me?"
"Are you kidding? She's never upset with you," Roxas laughed. "We got everything done on time, so it's all good. Xi knew you had to work late."
Namine looked relieved. "That's great then, I was so worried she'd be stressed out."
"I'm useful sometimes," Roxas joked, and Namine giggled quietly.
She pat his shoulder as she hurried past. "That you are."
Another car pulled up, and Roxas resigned himself to standing by the door for some time now. He didn't necessarily have to greet everyone, but Xion had just bought a cat, and they weren't so sure about letting it out at night. Roxas knew he'd never hear the end of it if the furry demon managed to escape and dragged in a dead bandicoot or something.
Aqua was next to walk up the driveway; Roxas promptly noticing Terra's absence.
"He's coming a bit later," Aqua told him. "He's been held up with footy practice."
Roxas wasn't fussed. They would all be drinking to the early hours of the morning anyhow, so Terra wouldn't miss out. As he watched, another car he immediately recognised pulled up at the front, a shock of blond hair just visible through the tinted windows.
"What's up, Rox!" Ventus called, stepping out of the passenger side of Vanitas' car. Roxas quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, nothin' much, bro." He'd never heard Ventus use 'what's up' as a greeting, ever.
"I told you it was weird, Ventus, you can't do cool," Vanitas smirked at Ventus, coming up beside him and grabbing him around the waist. Roxas' eyes narrowed.
"I so can do cool!" Ventus argued, pushing Vanitas away. "Can't I, Roxas? Your big bro's cool, right? Back me up here!"
"Err, yeah. You're totally cool," Roxas reluctantly agreed. What was with these two? They always had the weirdest arguments.
Vanitas and Ventus walked up the porch steps, Ventus now insisting he had 'street-cred'. Roxas and Vanitas were both ignoring him, now in favour of glaring at each other instead.
"Vanitas," Roxas spat.
"Roxas," Vanitas replied in kind, a lazy smirk pulling at his lips. He tugged Ventus against his side, knowing that it would annoy Roxas instantly.
Roxas just huffed and shooed them through the doorway. Ever since Ventus had told him about Vanitas suggesting a threesome with him, he'd been pretty weirded out. Yeah, he got the whole twins thing, but come on – talk about creepy. He didn't ever want to see his brother naked – or Vanitas, for that matter. Yuck.
People kept pouring in after that; Hayner, Olette and Pence arriving together, while Zack, Yuffie and Aerith came next, with Cloud and Leon rocking up a little after them. Xion had even invited some people from work: Larxene, Lexaeus, and Marluxia all carrying in bags full of JD cans, and cartons of cheap beer.
An hour later, the party was in full swing, and still, Axel was nowhere to be seen.
"Where the hell is he?" Roxas grouched to Xion in the kitchen, punching a nearby cob-loaf. "Of course he's late – he's never on time for anything!"
Xion carefully moved the smooshed cob-loaf away from Roxas and gently squeezed his arm. "He'll be here; stop worrying." She pressed a cold beer into one of his hands.
"Who's worried? I'm not worried!" Roxas demanded. "It's just – just rude, okay? – Says he's coming and then doesn't show up! Who does that, honestly?"
Xion flicked her eyes up towards the ceiling, as if praying for strength. "Relax, Roxas. Go outside for a bit."
Thinking Xion's suggestion was probably in his best interests, Roxas went to make his way outside and cool off. He had no business working himself up about it so much anyway. So what if Axel was late? Roxas couldn't have cared less if he'd tried!
"Hey! Sorry we're late!"
There came a sudden shout from the door, and Roxas froze mid-step. His head whipped around so fast he nearly gave himself whip-lash. Sure enough, standing in the doorway was none other than Axel. There were a few other people chilling inside who all called out greetings to him, but Axel wasn't looking at anybody except Roxas. Roxas said nothing as they both sized each other up from across the room.
Axel laughed nervously. "Can you believe this guy?" He blindly reached behind himself and roughly dragged Demyx forward through the doorway. "Always getting us lost; I don't know how he does it."
Demyx stumbled and righted himself beside Axel. He frowned. "Huh? I didn't get us –"
Axel elbowed him hard.
Demyx jumped. "Oh…Oh, yeah! – Yep, that's me. Always getting us lost alright – hence our current lateness."
Roxas glared.
It was a terrible lie, and everyone in the room knew it. Axel and Demyx weren't fooling anybody, least of all Roxas.
Pushing past the two, grinning idiots still standing by the door, Saix huffed and rolled his eyes. "I need a drink – or ten. Car-pooling was not the greatest of ideas." Without another word he walked passed everyone, obviously intent on raiding the coolers in the backyard.
Axel laughed again and studiously avoided Roxas' eyes. He quickly moved over to where Xion was standing talking with Aqua, and wrapped her up in a giant, bear-hug.
Chugging his beer, Roxas turned away and made to follow Saix outside. He felt annoyed, but not overly so – nothing he couldn't brush off and ignore. If he could just…stay away from Axel tonight, everything would work out okay. Plus, the beer would probably help as well.
Some hours later, most of the party had moved back into the living room; Zack and Tifa both intent on watching the football. Roxas weirdly enough found himself sandwiched between Vanitas and Sora, amongst a group also comprising of Riku, Ventus and Namine. The beer and Caipirinha's were certainly fuelling their random conversation, which was all well and good, until someone just had to mention threesomes.
Instantly within his element (and most likely jumping at the chance to enrage Roxas), Vanitas was quick to comment.
"I don't see anything wrong with it," Vanitas shrugged, winking at Roxas. "Two Ventus' – twice the fun."
Roxas couldn't have looked more disgusted if he tried. He grabbed Sora around his shoulders and shoved him in between himself and Vanitas. Vanitas just laughed.
Ventus chuckled awkwardly and rubbed at the back of his neck. "Umm, we'll…go get some more drinks." He reached for Vanitas' hand and promptly pulled him in the direction of the kitchen. Roxas watched them go, wondering if he should follow. There was no way in hell he was going to let them sneak off somewhere in his house and get up to something unsavoury. He suppressed a shudder.
"Huh," Sora said, drawing Roxas' attention. "Would you be into that, Riku?"
Riku looked quietly horrified, obviously realising where this was going. "…Into what?"
Sora pointed at himself. "Me and Vanitas – like two Sora's?"
Namine covered her mouth with a dainty hand and giggled.
Roxas wiped a hand down his face. "Oh, for the love of…"
Riku snorted. "You've got to be joking. I've already got my hands full with just one of you."
Roxas listened to Riku and Sora's exchange with half a mind as a sudden burst of red entered his field of vision. Axel, Demyx and Xion joined their group, Roxas' eyes instantly locking with Axel's.
Ah, yes – here was the dreaded, post break-up small-talk. Roxas wondered what his face looked like then because something in Axel's green eyes sparked. Roxas stood a little bit straighter, suddenly feeling a lot more awake.
"Hey, Roxas, 'been a while." Axel gave him a crooked grin and Roxas thrilled to see it.
"Yeah, it has… How've you been?"
Axel nodded, his fingers playing along the neck of his beer bottle. "Yeah, pretty good, pretty good. You're lookin' great by the way."
Roxas blinked, caught a little off guard. "Thanks. You're…not lookin' too bad yourself."
Everyone else present seemed to be watching their stilted exchange with bated breath. It wasn't exactly a secret about how their last 'conversation' had gone down, so there would definitely be a few of their friends here tonight taking bets on whether this was going to turn into 'round two'.
Roxas remembered Xion's advice and reminded himself to stay on his best behaviour. Sure, it was amicable now, but if there was one other person who knew how to press his buttons other than Vanitas, then Axel would be the prime candidate.
Axel smiled, his eyes wonderfully warm, and Roxas bit at the inside of his lip. With the passing of time dulling all of the reasons why they had broken up (again) in the first place, Roxas was finding it hard not to get swept up in the way Axel looked at him. There was that familiar, electric pull, and he wasn't so sure he could resist.
Breaking their eye-contact, Roxas brought his beer to his lips, trying to ignore Axel's gaze still fixated on him. He immediately felt ridiculously self-conscious – praying to all that was good and holy that his hair hadn't started drooping in the heat.
The conversation moved on then, luckily diverted by Namine asking Sora about his university classes. Roxas felt himself relax, only subtly sneaking glances at Axel every now and then.
Axel seemed…different somehow, and Roxas was intrigued. Maybe, he'd done some soul-searching since they'd last seen each other, and actually grown up a bit. It didn't help Roxas' cause that Axel really did look good tonight – more than good, in fact – he looked downright amazing. Perhaps later, if it was possible, he could get Axel alone somewhere – just to talk…and catch up on things… Yeah. 'Talk' was obviously the operative word here, since he certainly wasn't contemplating a heated make-out session with his ex in lieu of conversation – no sir.
Realising that he was staring, Roxas mentally shook himself and tuned back into the conversation. Demyx was talking, bemoaning his new, pedantic flat-mate, Zexion.
"– And if I leave so much as one, single plate in the kitchen sink, he wants to 'sit down and have a hygiene talk' with me." Here, Demyx raised his hands and mimed quotation marks, his expression comically incredulous.
Axel laughed sardonically, his eyes flicking over to Roxas. "Man, Roxas is like that, too – I could never leave dishes till the morning. Heaven forbid they sit in the sink all night."
Roxas went still.
Ah.
There it was.
How easily he'd forgotten Axel's favourite, social pastime – airing their dirty laundry in front of all of their mutual friends.
Roxas grit his teeth, his eyes narrowing.
"At least I don't talk non-stop through movies; that's like a cardinal sin."
It was a cheap shot, but Roxas didn't give a damn. If Axel wanted a fight, then fine, because he was gonna bring it.
Axel rose to the challenge like it was second nature. He rolled his eyes, placing a hand on his hip.
"Well, maybe if the movies you pick weren't always so boring…"
"Psh, okay sure, my choice of movies was boring," Roxas shot back, still keeping his tone level. "We can't all be into war stories, Ax."
Axel was outraged. "Hey, they got history – substance! That stuff's important."
Roxas tossed his head, barking out a dry laugh. "Don't act like you care about any of that – you just like all the explosions."
To the left of him, Riku quietly cleared his throat, but Roxas could clearly see that he was trying to cover up a wide grin. Roxas smirked. Everyone present knew he was right.
Axel floundered for a moment, his mouth slightly agape, before he squared his shoulders and smirked back.
"Better than girly rom-coms," He drawled, looking down his nose at Roxas. "Guess you're kinda like a girl – spending four hours styling your hair every day."
Xion snorted into her Caipirinha and Roxas shot her a glare. He whipped back around to face Axel, his temper quickly rising.
"God, you just have to exaggerate everything, don't you? That's your problem – always making a mountain out of a mole hill." He stabbed a finger at Axel's chest, his feet shifting ever so slightly closer. He was one insult away from wrapping his hands around the arrogant bastard's neck. Axel just grinned wider, obviously enjoying Roxas' reaction.
"As if you don't? Who was it that didn't speak to me for three, whole days because I bought the wrong ice-cream home, Roxas?"
"Well, you'd think after dating someone for SIX YEARS they would remember which flavour was your favourite, Axel!"
Axel opened his mouth to retort, but Roxas was faster. "– And its sea-salt, in case you haven't 'got it memorised'." He raised his hands and did air quotes, throwing Axel's trademark catchphrase right in his face.
Axel wasn't smiling anymore. He looked away, irritated. "I know it's sea-salt for chrissakes, you practically nearly lived off the stuff – probably still do."
"He's not wrong," Sora pointed out, nodding his head.
Axel turned back to Roxas and flung a hand out, his voice rising. "I do remember a lot about you, alright? Don't make out I never gave a shit."
Roxas let out an overly dramatic sigh. He'd heard this all before. They didn't always have an audience like this, but Roxas didn't particularly care. It wasn't like this scenario was anything new for them.
"Oh? Like what?"
"Like, how your favourite type of food is Mexican, and…you always pick the pickles off your burgers."
"Who even does that…?" Demyx murmured, but Roxas ignored him. He made a face at Axel, prompting him to continue.
Axel took a deep breath and balled his fists. He looked oddly triumphant. "And…And how much you liked cuddling – and holding hands all the time!"
Roxas' eyes flew wide.
"YOU HATED THE CUDDLING!"
"WELL MAYBE I MISS THE CUDDLING, OKAY? AT LEAST YOU WEREN'T SCREAMING AT ME! BUT I GUESS I KINDA MISS THAT, TOO!"
The entire room was suddenly deathly silent; Roxas and Axel's chests both heaving. Riku subtly shifted backwards a few steps, the rest of the group quickly following his lead.
Roxas was so enraged he was shaking; he thought the bottle in his hand might shatter.
"What…What the hell do you mean by that!?"
Axel grit his teeth, standing his ground.
"It means that I'm still in love with you, you angry, little twat!"
"Yeah!?" Roxas challenged.
"Yeah!"
"Okay – good! Because so am I!" Roxas shouted, smacking his beer bottle into Sora's chest who fumbled to get a hold of it. He pointed at the ground between his feet, a determined gleam in his eyes. "And that's why we should have sex – right now."
Axel nodded sharply, jabbing his own bottle of beer into Demyx' face. "I agree – EVERYONE GET THE FUCK OUT – SHITS ABOUT TO GET CRAZY NASTY."
Terra, who happened to choose that exact moment to walk in, froze in the doorway frowning.
"What? But I just got here…"
Xion breathed out a world-weary sigh and massaged one of her temples. Without so much as a word she turned and started heading for the backyard.
Everyone else already forgotten, Axel wreathed Roxas towards him by the front of his shirt. Roxas was ready for him, grabbing a fistful of Axel's hair before smashing their lips together. He groaned as they connected, Axel shoving his tongue deep into his mouth. He was already sliding his hands down Roxas' body, fumbling with his belt.
"Holy shit, they're serious!" Roxas heard Sora shout, only half aware of everyone now filing out of the room. He closed his eyes, and tugged at Axel's bottom lip with his teeth, his anger turning into sheer, desperate need. Nothing else mattered more than this – he couldn't even remember why they'd broken up in the first place as he roughly shoved Axel's hands out of the way and launched himself up, wrapping his legs around Axel's waist.
Axel grunted from the added weight, but easily managed to support him. He veered sharply to the right and slammed Roxas hard into the nearby wall.
Roxas gasped on impact, only to breathe out a long moan, his hips arching into Axel's obvious erection.
"Fuck, Roxas…" Axel groaned into his mouth, already thrusting against him.
"Do you ever shut up?" Roxas growled, fisting a hand in Axel's button down to yank him forwards, sealing their lips together again.
It was all sensation then, Roxas meeting Axel's thrusts with an intensity that didn't really surprise him. Somehow, he could never get enough of Axel, no matter how many arguments or break-ups they had to endure.
Axel made a low sound borne of frustration, his fingers squeezing at Roxas' ass. Roxas knew Axel wanted to be closer; he was starting to get impatient, too.
"Hurry…" Roxas moaned, his fingers tangled in Axel's wild hair. He didn't think he could hold out for much longer.
Needing no further encouragement, Axel dropped Roxas' legs and pulled him away from the wall. The dining room table was the closest horizontal surface, and he shoved Roxas onto it, leaning into him heavily.
Feeling Axel against him, right where he needed it most was driving Roxas near wild; he didn't care how much noise he was making, he just wanted Axel to fuck him.
Facedown on the table, Roxas still managed to get the zipper of his jeans down just as Axel roughly tugged them out of the way. He gripped one of Roxas' hips tight as he plunged his fingers inside, Roxas whimpering and gasping at the sudden, extra stimulation.
"Whoa…" Axel murmured. "Wait, did you…?"
Axel rolled his wrist, and Roxas knew he was most likely surprised at how wet and loose he already was inside. He would never admit to it, but…he'd kind of already prepared for this – just in the oft chance that Axel might be interested in throwing him around a room again. Considering their track record, Roxas really hadn't had much of a doubt.
Roxas pushed backwards, his legs quivering as Axel's fingers sunk in deeper. His hands curled into fists on the table-top. "Damn it, just shut up and put it in me!"
Axel moaned. He thrust his fingers inside one last time before removing them all together. Roxas shuddered at the loss, his hips jerking slightly.
"God, you're the hottest guy alive, Rox, you know that?"
There was a clinking of a belt being unfastened and then something much larger and warmer was rubbing at Roxas' entrance.
Axel's fingers trembled as he lifted Roxas' hips and slowly pressed his way inside. Tightening his grip, he pulled Roxas backwards to meet him, ramming in deep.
"Nngh…ahh!"
Roxas clawed at the table, trying to find purchase. Axel didn't even give him time to adjust before sliding out and thrusting all the way back in. The table scraped loudly against the floor, Axel fucking Roxas with hard, forceful thrusts, which was exactly what they were both after.
"God – damn." Axel gasped, burying himself inside Roxas, his rhythm relentless.
Roxas said nothing, could only breathe and focus on how amazing it felt to have Axel pounding into him. He clumsily slid a hand along the table-top and down by his side, his fingers quickly wrapping around himself.
Perfectly in time with Axel, it wasn't long before Roxas was seeing stars. His back arched ever so slightly as he braced an elbow against the table and stroked out his release. Gasping and panting, Roxas' skin tingled as warmth raced through his body. He groaned and slumped forwards again, just as Axel's hips jerked and went still, pressing in again as deep as he could go.
Roxas closed his eyes and breathed out a contented sigh; Axel's gasps of pleasure were like music to his ears.
-0-
Roxas had one hand resting behind his head as he lazily stared up at the ceiling, lightly nibbling on his bottom lip. He was comfortably situated in the middle of his bed, the sheets flung haphazardly over his bare chest. The window to his left had been thrown wide open, but the cool, night air wasn't bothering him in the slightest; Roxas otherwise preoccupied with his own thoughts.
Outside the quiet of his room, Roxas could hear the party continuing on without him; his friends having returned to the house with minimal fuss after he and Axel had finished getting 'reacquainted', so to speak. He wasn't sure of where they'd all gone to, but he did know that Kairi's place was just around the corner, so they'd most likely ventured down there while they waited for the all clear. Roxas knew he should have felt more apologetic for his rather lacking, social skills tonight, but really, after so many times of this happening, all of their mutual friends were pretty used to it by now.
He'd managed to wrestle Axel off of him long enough to send Xion a short text, but he was still yet to actually speak to her face to face. He'd barely tapped the send button on his phone before stumbling into his bedroom for another round, Axel grinning the whole time like the god-damn, Cheshire Cat.
Feeling slightly annoyed, Roxas sighed heavily and rolled over onto his side. There really was no point in denying it, though – when it came to dealing with Axel, his self-control was just non-existent.
His eyes slipping closed, Roxas quietly yawned. He wanted nothing more than to curl up and fall asleep.
That is, until another waft of cigarette smoke had him grimacing in disgust.
"Put that shit out, it stinks."
Axel, who was standing by the open window with a lit cigarette in hand just huffed, breathing out an even larger plume of smoke.
"Just…shoosh for a bit will ya?" Axel muttered in Roxas' direction, flicking ash out into the garden.
Roxas actually chose to listen for once. He watched Axel lift the cigarette to his lips. Axel was looking at him, too, and Roxas wondered if they were both thinking about the same thing…
"How many times does this make it now?" Roxas finally asked.
Axel raised an eyebrow. "That we've…had an embarrassingly, public fight in front of all of our friends?"
Roxas refrained from rolling his eyes. Barely.
"No, that we've gotten back together."
Axel was silent for a few moments.
"I honestly can't remember."
Roxas couldn't help but laugh, and Axel was quick to join in. He flicked his cigarette butt out of the window and leaned beside it, still smiling.
"Do you wanna clean up and go back out there? Sounds like we're missing out."
Roxas shook his head. "Nah. Get over here."
His voice was muffled by his pillow, but Axel still heard him. Pushing away from the wall and walking over, Axel pulled back the covers, and settled in beside Roxas, nudging him a little to shuffle over. Axel made himself comfortable as Roxas wriggled closer, throwing an arm around his waist. Axel rolled over to face Roxas, wrapping him up in his arms.
"I didn't always hate the cuddling, you know?" Axel murmured into Roxas' hair. "It's just, when you fall asleep with your arms around me, you always end up choking me."
"I wonder why that is," Roxas answered sweetly.
"Ha, ha," Axel dead-panned.
Roxas stifled another laugh; he grinned into Axel's chest. Somehow, he knew Axel would be smiling, too.
They were silent then, Roxas slowly drifting off to sleep with his fingers splayed over Axel's warm skin.
"I missed you, Rox."
Roxas cuddled in closer, squeezing Axel tight.
"I missed you, too, Ax…"