A/N: Hi, everyone! This is Erin, one half of our writing duo. And this is, I suppose, our debut WIP, multi-chaptered fic. It's an AkuRoku AU and is sure to be full of lots of gay boys, a fair sprinkling of angst, some smut later on (much later on), and theatre! Drama, acting! In fact, the whole story revolves around prom and theatre and the inner-workings of drama students. So, enjoy dear reader. And, though this first chapter is short, you can be expecting much longer ones in the future. Remember, reviews make life happier for us twins!
WARNINGS: Slash or yaoi, whichever name you prefer. Coarse langauge, references to sex, sexual situations...hey, the usual in an AkuRoku fic. Other pairings include Demyx/Zexion and Sora/Riku. Some future pairings will appear, but there being kept under wraps at this moment.
DISCLAIMER: Nor my brother nor myself own Kingdom Hearts or the characters. We're simply shamelessly ripping them from there beautiful home and placing them into terrible situations.
Chapter One: The Inevitability of Prom and Classic, Over-watched Movies
"So...prom."
"Don't you dare say that dirty word. Ever again," Roxas snapped, collapsing onto the beanbag next to his gleeful redheaded friend. Dull afternoon light streamed in from the parted curtains, and the scent of leather and chocolate that Roxas had slowly gotten accustomed to permeated throughout the large gathering space, along with an underlying salty scent. The stairwell which he had slid through was covered only by the hanging, psychedelic beads Demyx had bought four years prior in an attempt to make the living space 'more colorful'. Unfortunately (in Roxas' opinion) the idea had caught on and by the time the small blonde boy had arrived at Castle Oblivion, the entire thirteenth floor was covered in all sorts of splashes of neon and rainbow.
Usually, Roxas was able to at least attempt to keep up with Axel's devilish smiles and loud exclamations. However, the cheerful mischievous green eyes observed a haggard form that sunk into the beanbag until the small boy almost disappeared and blue orbs that seemed faded even with the aid of the school uniform's stunning sky-colored tie.
Despite the boy's obvious fatigued state, the lankier, heavier, and taller boy draped himself unceremoniously on top of the blonde.
It attested to Roxas' exhaustion that he didn't even grunt out an 'oof' as he would have done any other day, along with pushing Axel away with a severe amount of force. He simply laid in the comfortable cushion, sapphire eyes focused distractedly on the ceiling.
Axel moved his hands so he could rest his chin on them, giving him a good look at the seemingly inattentive boy.
"What happened? With the thing I'm not allowed to say anymore," he elaborated. Roxas simply sighed in response. "Weren't you going to ask Olette to go with you?" Roxas groaned at his friend and closed his eyes, clearly irritated with being forced to remember.
"Didn't work out. Going with Pence," he said succinctly. Axel laughed, a sharp barking sound that made Roxas jolt a little under the boy's weight and level the green eyes with a glare. "She's going with Pence. It's...what I meant," he trailed off, snuggling into the warming beanbag. Axel nodded slightly.
"Of course, of course..." Axel waved off the boy's worries that the redhead would misinterpret his words, as he was apt to do. And he would have, if the blonde had immediately caught his slight slip up.
While silently cheering that Olette (a kind girl if a bit stuffy, in Axel's opinion) would not have the honor of attending prom with Roxas, Axel was not completely devoid of compassion for his friend. The blonde had been worried for weeks about who he was going to ask to prom, as a date. The school, the largest in The Town That Never Was (referred to as 'The City' for its ominous skyscrapers and violence), had plenty of females that were available. Roxas simply had the problem of not knowing many of those females. At least, many who were inclined to go along with him on a date.
After a few moments of silence disturbed only by the sweet melodies of guitars and basses from down the hall, Roxas shifted awkwardly against his friend, clearly attempting to get up.
"Gerroff me," he mumbled, trying to slip his hand from out of Axel's grasp. An evil grin stole over the redhead's face, and suddenly Roxas felt himself held in an even tighter hold. "Axel!"
"Nuh uh. I like this," the redhead murmured into Roxas' ironed button-up shirt, taking in the delicious scent of hibiscus and watermelon. Even a few hours apart from the blonde left Axel wanting more of the intoxicating scent that surrounded the boy, one he had smelled even before Roxas had been forced into the dorms at Castle Oblivion.
Roxas sniffed audibly and leaned up against Axel's grip, staring towards the large HD television with inquisitive eyes. Even though the new appliance had been bought less than a month earlier, it had already been broken in by Demyx, colorful plastic flowers and streamers decorating the sides alarmingly without blocking the screen. Roxas may not have agreed with Demyx's loud, obnoxious fashion sense, but the boy could do some amazing things with his crafts.
He sniffed again.
"I smell popcorn," he stated, unable to keep the obvious hunger and want from mixing with his voice. Axel nodded above him, slipping off the boy and settling next to him in the expansive purple beanbag, though there was a perfectly capable blue one right next to him.
"Yeah. Demyx and Zexion were here earlier, watching a movie," he supplied, wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulders. A noticeable grimace stole over Roxas' features before the boy decided to give up on an already lost battle and simply let the redhead have his way. "Though I don't think they watched much of the movie..." he trailed off, smirking at the blonde as he blushed slightly and promptly shoved Axel's arm off him. It had begun to feel a bit too hot in the well air-conditioned room.
Despite this, he let out a long laugh at how easily Demyx and Zexion got away with thoroughly making out in The Castle.
Castle Oblivion's official, on-paper policy was 'No Relationships', it had to be for any parent to allow their humble, theatre-inclined child to attend the after-school, around-the-clock program. In reality, the Councilors and Directors figured that if they didn't see it, it wasn't happening. But everyone knew that boys and girls hooked up with other boys and girls and sneaked about to have less-than-innocent rendezvous with whoever their latest conquest was. It was typical for everyone on a specific floor of The Castle to sleep together, just as something to do. No one ever said the real reason why so many of the young actors and actresses had so much sex, and as long as no one knew about the nighttime activities going on at Castle Oblivion, they never would.
Roxas, slightly oblivious to the activities at first, was pleased that he had remained out of the 13th floor's sex circle. And, though he'd been proposed many times, Axel politely declined. The closest either boy got to the sexual aspects was the consistent touching and near-groping that all the Drama Kids were inclined towards.
When he had first entered the group, Roxas had been shocked to see them all laying on top of each other (fully clothed) and talking as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Axel always took part in what was traditionally called 'Feeling Piles'. Roxas, even years later, still hadn't grown entirely accustomed to the affectionate tackles and almost molestations that everyone gave out.
As it was, Axel seemed the only one to so openly drape himself over the blonde. And, as it was, he happened to be the one Roxas least wanted draped over him. At least, at the beginning.
"Is there any popcorn left?" he asked, finally letting his messenger bag hit the floor. There was a sharp clang as it slapped down, making Axel's eyes drift to the bag, but Roxas leaned into his vision and distracted him effectively from pondering what could possibly be hiding in the torn-up black bag.
"No. Marluxia snagged it," Axel grumbled. A shadow crossed his face momentarily before he leapt up and flicked the television on. He tossed a smirk—a cover for his discomfort, Roxas knew—over his shoulder at the blonde. Without waiting for affirmation, he leaned down and turned on the DVD player, every inch of which was slathered in bubble stickers of cat boys and actual kittens.
Watching, half distracted by the circles his mind was running, Roxas realized that Axel really did have a nice ass and those pants just accentuated the fact with the way the fabric hugged the skin underneath. And, just as distracted, he sorely wished his own pants fit that well. Instead, they hung limply from his legs and hid anything that might have been even remotely attractive.
"Awesome," Axel breathed as the movie finally flickered onto the screen. A genuine smile crawled onto his face as he scrambled back to the blonde and flounced next to him. "'The Breakfast Club'."
"Overrated," Roxas mumbled into his shoulder, earning him a switch punch in the shoulder from the red head.
"Shut up. It's a classic," he retorted. Roxas fidgeted, an obvious sign he was getting ready to bolt to his room and hide for the rest of the day. "I'll make you popcorn if you'll watch it," he tried, desperate to spend at least a few more moments before the blonde's homework would take over. Roxas stilled, his eyes still far, far away from the redhead, and nodded after a second.
"Sweet," Axel cried triumphantly. In a smooth movement he had lunged from the couch into the shared kitchen on the other side of the stairwell. The rustles and clangs that greeted Roxas' ears after a short pause let him know Axel was throwing himself completely into the popcorn-microwaving, going out of his way to make noise and thus show his enthusiasm. Roxas grinned, his lips barely turning up, and couldn't help but be enamored with how intent his friend was on keeping them close.
Still, Roxas considered running to his room and ignoring the redhead.
Not just to be spiteful, but because he didn't have time for a movie. Much less one he had seen twenty times. Even though he'd gotten sick of the classic (and he did give it that much) from the repeated viewings courtesy of Demyx and The Castle's Directors, who all seemed obsessed with the movie, what was more pressing was his skyrocketing mountain of homework.
And prom.
Olette's words still hung on his mind, twisting his gut and making his face light up in a hot flush of shame. He wasn't...there was no way Olette had meant it like that anyway, she just...
A new wave of heat hit his face and he jerked back, not noticing that Axel had crept up beside him and shoved the popcorn bag perilously close to his face. The redhead smirked that same thin, plastic-y smirk he always did when his mind was preoccupied.
Or he was thinking/talking/yelling/griping/bitching about Marluxia. Which was another reason Roxas had wanted to bail.
Marluxia was, lightly put, a pain in the ass. He was cocky, loud, fashionable, and, above everything else, talented. Castle Oblivion had seen plenty of quiet talented people, soft-spoken talented people that were selfless enough to give up their life for a backstabbing friend. Just as often it had been home to those that viewed themselves above reproach and criticism and seemed under the impression the world belonged to them, but were truly unable to spit out even the simplest line. And while there were plenty of loud and fashionable talents residing in the dorms, Castle Oblivion had never been lucky enough to have a cocky, loud, fashionable, talented bastard hiding under its false blanket of security.
Until Marluxia came.
In actuality, it was home to two talented bastards. Therein lied the problem. Because, as Castle Oblivion's staff had never had two such self-confident, narcissitic, egoistic, self-absorbed talents as to the extreme of both Marluxia and Axel, it had situated both on the 13th floor.
And so began one of the worst feuds in (un)recorded history.
Roxas almost asked what Marluxia had done this time, but he wisely kept his mouth shut and simply turned to the movie. Marluxia was probably irritating Axel by merely existing, and Roxas honestly couldn't help his best friend in that area.
"So how was school?" Axel asked conversationally, his hand shuffling through the popcorn bag and tossing some into his mouth. Roxas shrugged, but the firm look Axel gave him made him fidget and sit straighter in the beanbag, eyes no longer focused on the television screen.
"Um," he started helplessly. Even though he had been living with Axel for a year, he wasn't any better at making small talk, especially concerning his schooling. But it helped Axel feel connected to him, and, even more than that, he knew that it helped Axel cope with the fact that he wasn't going to school.
"You had calculus today, right?" Axel supplied, and not for a moment Roxas considered that Axel knew his schedule better than himself.
"Yes, first class of the day…"
The older boy's green eyes flickered to the screen and his usual mischievous persona came flooding back into him.
"Ever been to detention, Roxy?"
"Don't call me that!" Roxas huffed, before turning resolutely to the TV. Axel snickered. "And, no, I haven't. Besides, detention wouldn't be anything like in The Breakfast Club, dude. This movie was made so long ago…"
Axel just laughed louder and wrapped an arm around him, and they watched a movie they had both seen more times than ever necessary.