"Trick or treat!" A group of small children shouted when Sora opened his front door.
"Oh my! Your costumes are amazing." Sora smiled wide.
"I'm a pirate!" a boy with orange hair exclaimed.
"And I'm a princess!" A brunette girl smiled.
"You are a very pretty princess." Kairi smiled back as she helped Sora pass out candy.
"Bye!" Sora waved cheerfully.
"Each year they get more and more adorable." Kairi squealed after Sora shut the door to wait for the next batch of trick or treaters.
"Yeah, they really do." Sora agreed, restocking the candy bowl. "Roxas, aren't you going to help?" Sora asked with a genuine curiosity.
"Nah, I'd rather watch scary movies." Roxas shrugged from his lazy spot on the couch.
"I thought you were going over to Hayner's?" Kairi asked. She may have been best friends with Sora, but that meant knowing a lot about his twin, Roxas, as well.
"I was, but then he got grounded and since Olette wanted to go trick or treating, Pence went with her." Roxas sighed in annoyance.
"What'd Hayner do this time?" Sora asked, not too surprised that the adventurous teen ran into trouble.
"Oh you know, took his dad's car for a spin." Roxas rolled his eyes.
"Yep, that's Hayner." Kairi giggled.
"Well that's ok, you can help us pass out candy." Sora suggested with a wink.
"No thanks, I'd rather watch….whatever this is." Roxas said, having missed most of his movie due to the interruptions cause by the loud doorbell and Sora's and Kairi's combined fawning over costumed children.
"That's so boring." Sora rolled his eyes.
"No, it's part of Halloween tradition to watch scary movies." Roxas shrugged.
"Ghosts and ghouls and witches…"Kairi shivered. "Creepy."
"They don't exist." Roxas rolled his eyes.
"Do too!" Kairi pointed a stiff finger.
"Yeah Roxas, I'm usually not a believer but every Halloween I think a part of me does." Sora gulped.
"No Sora, that's just because I made you watch scary movies since junior high. We're in high school now. Grow up a little." Roxas stretched from his spot on the couch to grab a soda from the fridge.
"I like watching scary movies, but they always freak me out." Kairi admitted.
"Yeah and then I can't go to bed afterward." Sora gulped.
"Movies aren't even scary anymore." Roxas said with disappointment from the kitchen.
"Anyway, I just realized that we're out of chocolate." Kairi frowned to Sora.
"Oh no! Really?" The brunette gasped.
"Yeah." Kairi pouted.
"Hmmm, I bet the convenience store around the corner has a ton of candy."
"On Halloween night? Yeah right," Roxas plopped back down into the already sunken in cushions.
"It's worth a shot." Kairi shrugged with not many other options.
"Yeah, let's give it a try." Sora nodded in agreement.
"At least put the 'out of candy' sign up so no one bothers me." Roxas growled.
"Oh quit being lazy." Sora retorted.
"Sora I'm serious! I don't want to move." Roxas whined.
"Yeah yeah yeah," Sora yapped as he tapped the sign to his front door, asking trick or treaters to return later.
"Lazy bum." Kairi giggled.
"We'll be back Roxy!" Sora called out.
"Try not to get too scared all alone!" Kairi shouted just as she shut the door.
"Pfft, please." Roxas sighed as he turned up the volume to his horror movie. The first few minutes seemed to have flown by, until the super spooky scene started, causing Roxas to subconsciously grip his pillow extra tightly. "What the?" Roxas realized he was starting to become afraid. "As if any of this is even real." Roxas chuckled at himself when suddenly the main actress let out a shriek. Roxas gulped, his eyes glued to the TV as he watched in anticipation of whether or not the young girl would open the creaking door.
Roxas leaned forward on the couch, his mouth barely open as his breathes quieted themselves. He was just about to hold his breath when his doorbell rang.
"Whoa!" Roxas jumped up to his feet, his mind running a thousand miles a minute before he calmed his rapidly beating heart. "Get a hold of yourself." Roxas shook his head at himself before he sat back down. "Stupid kids, can't they read the sign?" Roxas asked himself just before the doorbell rang again. "We're out of candy!" Roxas shouted, too lazy to get up. Just then, the girl threw open the door within the film and was attacked by a ghoulish monster. "Whooooa," Roxas' eyes went wide as he could take them off of the screen. The blonde was once again deeply consumed with the film when the monster disappeared into the night sky, leaving Roxas to have that paranoid feeling of being watched. Roxas followed the young actress in her journey to discover the monster's whereabouts as she slowly took timid steps forward, her breathing heavy yet masked by the windy night.
"Turn around," Roxas whispered, as if the actress could listen to his advice.
"Good idea." A voice spoke behind him, sending Roxas up and to his feet while turning at the same time, resulting in the blonde tripping over his coffee table and falling flat on his ass.
"WHOA!" Roxas screamed with a mild heart attack just before laughter filled the living room.
"Oh man, that was awesome." A tall redhead wiped a tear from his eye from having laughed too much.
"Axel?! You asshole!" Roxas grabbed the cushion pillow that he had fallen down clutching and threw it at the redhead, who blocked it lazily.
"Oh please, you totally set that up." Axel put his hands on his hips.
"How'd you get inside?" Roxas slowly stood to his feet.
"Door was unlocked. That's bad luck on Halloween." Axel tsked.
"Please, you know I don't believe in luck." Roxas rolled his eyes.
"I know. For years I've been trying to tell you; this shit, its real."
"It is not," Roxas shook his head as if he had been arguing so the entire night long.
"Sometimes, I wonder," Axel started, his voice nostalgic as if he were thinking deeply.
"Wonder what?" Roxas asked, sitting back on the couch, patting the free cushion next to him to invite Axel at his side.
"Wondering what it'd take for you to believe." Axel said quietly, taking a seat by his best friend.
"Since there's no proof, there's no point." Roxas said casually.
"You're wrong." Axel said, his voice almost sad.
"Axe, we've been friends for three years now. Every Halloween you try to tell me ghosts and witches and demons are real, but every year you fail. Let's just agree to disagree and skip to the candy eating part or something." Roxas grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels, trying to find a new scary movie to start watching since he last one was continuously interrupted.
"Rox, look, we, we need to talk." Axel rubbed the back of his head.
"About? Why do you look so serious?" Roxas became bothered by the idea of a deep conversation on Halloween night, when he could be stealing Sora's candy instead.
"About," Axel started before he sighed. "I need to pee first."
"Okaaay," Roxas was a bit confused.
"I'll be right back," Axel jumped to his feet and went down the hall.
"Halloween really does mess some superstitious minds up." Roxas mumbled aloud.
"We're back!" Sora announced as he and Kairi burst through the door.
"Whatever," Roxas hardly noticed as he turned up the volume to his movie to drown out the sound of giggles and jokes to come.
"Did a lot of kids come while we were gone?" Kairi asked Roxas.
"Nope." The blonde answered just as the sound of a flushing toilet went off.
"Who's that?" Sora asked with frightened wide eyes.
"Oh, well I guess you could say one kid stopped by." Roxas smirked as the tall redhead walked back into the room.
"Oh, hi Axel!" Sora waved with a friendly smile.
"Hey Sora." Axel said politely.
"Hello Axe." Kairi greeted.
"Hey." Axel returned the formality. "So, Roxas, you said you wanted to go up to your room?" Axel asked with a hint in his eye. Roxas looked at his friend suspiciously before he picked up on the suggestion and nodded.
"Yeah, right, um, let's go upstairs." Roxas stood up from the couch and followed his friend.
Once they made it inside the blonde's room, Axel shut the door.
"So, what's on your mind?" Roxas threw his body on his bed, hoping to avoid all topics concerning Axel's superstitious beliefs.
"I know you don't want to hear it, but I can't take it anymore." Axel put a hand over his heart as he sat by Roxas' feet.
"What are you talking about?" Roxas sat up.
"About, about Halloween." Axel tried to soften the blow with a mild tone.
"You mean about ghosts?" Roxas translated.
"Roxas,"
"No, Axel, seriously man, we've been best friends for a long time and I don't want to argue or start a fight about your superstitious beliefs that always make you get laughed at when," Roxas shook his head.
"Roxas how did we meet?" Axel jumped straight to the point.
"What?"
"How did we meet? Do you remember?" Axel persisted.
"Yeah, uh, after our first day of high school, Seifer was teasing me and you fought him." Roxas never liked recalling how weak he once was, but after Axel saved him, he worked hard to improve his strength.
"And we never met before that, right?" Axel was asking obvious questions that confused Roxas.
"Not that I remember," Roxas was curious to see where Axel was going.
"And it was just coincidence that I happened to be where you were when you needed my help?"
"I didn't need your help!" Roxas took offense.
"Rox, don't you remember? Seifer and his gang had you pinned. They were more of them than just one of you, and they were older."
"Why are you bringing this up?" Roxas was more lost than ever.
Axel sighed. "I'm trying to think of a way to tell you, but maybe, maybe I should just show you." Axel contemplated.
"Show me what?"
"Here, stand up." Axel rose to his feet and Roxas shook his head as he did the same, just to humor his best friend.
"Ok, now what have we accomplished?" Roxas wondered.
"Will you just listen?" Axel put a hand on his hip.
"Alright, alright," Roxas put his hands up to giving up.
"Ok, stand right here, and face the door." Axel planted Roxas' feet several meters behind his bedroom door.
"Whatever you say." Roxas shrugged.
"Don't move. Don't take your eyes off the door." Axel instructed just as he stepped through the door and shut it behind him.
"What the hell am I doing?" Roxas wondered to himself as he stood alone in his room. Only for Axel would Roxas put up with such randomness.
"Axel? Hello?" Roxas tried to estimate how much longer he was supposed to stand facing his door.
"This is ridiculous." Roxas shook his head.
"Is it?"
"What the fuck?!" Roxas jumped up in the air and magically fell onto the floor as he turned to see that Axel was standing behind where he previously stood.
"I knew that showing you would be easier." Axel shook his head with a small smile.
"Wha-how-how did you get in here?" Roxas stayed on the ground, too shaken up to stand as he glanced behind him to check that the door was still closed.
"I warped in." Axel shrugged as if it were so simple a concept.
"Wa-warped?" Roxas gulped.
"Rox, I, I believe in ghosts, ghouls, and demons, cause I am one."
"You-you're a ghost?" Roxas' eyes spread to a new definition of 'wide'.
"Well, more like I used to be. And the closest word I can think of really, is demon." Axel scratched his head.
"You, you're claiming to be a demon?" Roxas put a hand to his head, wondering how hard he fell when Axel first entered his house.
"I just warped into your room, or do you want more proof?" Axel rubbed the back of his neck.
"Do you, do you have any idea, how crazy you sound right now?" Roxas couldn't shake off the disbelief that consumed him.
"Roxas, I know everything there is to know about you." Axel knelt by Roxas, ready to prove himself true.
"What do you mean?" Roxas grew intimidated by how close the green eyes were to his blue.
"You were born thirteen days before your due date. You were never satisfied with being the first born twin cause you always force this sense of responsibility on yourself for looking out for Sora."
"I mean, that's, that's nothing that's a secret." Roxas avoided all thoughts that led to supernatural explanations.
"Ok, try this: You met Hayner and Pence and Olette when you were really little and consider them to be your closest friends, except for me," Axel smirked, "But you still haven't come out to them." Axel finished with a serious face.
"Come out?" Roxas whispered.
"You only told Sora you were gay, and that was after he and Riku started dating a couple months ago."
"Sora, Sora promised not to tell anyone." Roxas' eyes looked downward in despair.
"He didn't tell anyone." Axel assured the blonde who sat half dead on his bedroom carpet.
"So then, how do you,"
"I told you Rox, I'm not like you. I know things, about people. About you."
"Why me?" Roxas couldn't help but ask.
"Cause I, I like you Roxas." Axel smiled innocently.
"You like me?" Roxas asked with confusion.
"I, I was sent here, to Twilight Town, to watch over people. But then, then I found you." Axel's smile grew.
"What do you mean 'sent here'?"
"I mean, my boss, he….he wanted me to observe the people in this town. So I went to work but found it really dull actually. But then one day, as I was just walking around, I spotted you. I thought you were so beautiful, so I wanted to see where you would go. I was so entertained by you that I continued to observe you. Then one day, I saw some people hurting you. I couldn't just stand there, so I interacted. Sad to say, I got 'fired' for doing so."
"Ok, hang on hang on!" Roxas put a hand up to signal that there was enough going on in his brain. "Let's just say that for one second, I were to believe this nonsense that you are some sort of ….demon….how does one get fired?"
"A demon has to be emotionally detached from the people he's chosen to work after. For someone to break the rule by becoming emotionally attached to a human means that he is no longer capable of working as a demon."
"Working as a demon? What does that even mean?"
"It's a bit hard to explain. Basically, I don't remember life before. But there's really not much to being a demon anyway." Axel shrugged as he got cozy on the floor, one leg stretched out, one tucked close to his chest.
"Wait, if you got fired, how are you still….I, I don't get it?"
"I got fired, so I can't return to Hell."
"Is that a bad thing?" Roxas tilted his head.
"Well, I'm mortal now, so kind of." Axel shrugged.
"Hold on, if you are mortal, how can you warp?" Roxas put a hand to his aching head.
"Look, there are a lot of rules that don't fit into this limited world, but basically, I still have magic. I can warp and can know things that aren't said, but I can bleed and eventually I will die." Axel said quietly, as if the thought of such a thing were still new to him.
"Where, where will you go when you die?" Roxas didn't want to think about it, but he couldn't stop himself from asking.
"I don't know. I don't think I can go back to hell since I've been banished, but the idea of a former demon in heaven just doesn't make sense. I guess, I guess a body like mine will just stop existing." Axel's words faded as if to represent his future.
"Are you mad at me?" Roxas asked timidly.
"What?" Axel didn't understand why Roxas would ask such a thing.
"Are you mad at me, for getting you fired?" Roxas bit his lip, nervous to hear the answer.
"Rox, you didn't get me fired. You didn't even know I had been watching you. Ok well now I sound like a creeper, but honestly, I made my own choice to let my feelings for you develop. I had a choice, to be relocated to another world, or to lose my position. Right then, when I saw what Seifer was doing, the choice was easy." Axel smiled.
"You lost your job, your old life, for me?"
"Yeah. I told you Roxy, I like you." Axel shrugged with a nervous smile.
"I, I like you too." Roxas smiled back, hugging Axel as they remained on his floor.
"Roxas? Roxas!" Sora hollered from downstairs.
"Coming!" Roxas shouted back before he sighed. "Sora always has the worst timing."
"It's ok. We should go downstairs anyway. I love Halloween. Seeing how wrong people's costumes are of us demons always gives me a good laugh." Axel stood up with a smile.
"What do you usually wear?" Roxas asked.
"Long black coat, black pants, black boots….a lot of black." Axel said as if he had just noticed.
"Haha, sounds boring." Roxas said as he joined Axel down the stairs.
"Yeah, it is."
"Oh, hey guys," Roxas said as he looked at Riku, who was sitting on the couch with Sora and Kairi.
"Hey Roxas, hi Axe." Riku waved.
"Yo," Axel saluted with two fingers.
"Sora, you called?" Roxas asked, hands in pockets, still a bit shaken up from his interesting conversation with Axel.
"Yes. Riku and I,"
"Are going to have sex," Axel cut in with a smirk, causing Kairi to giggle, Sora to blush, Riku to glare, and Roxas to fake throwing up.
"Ewwww," Roxas shivered.
"Very mature." Sora rolled his eyes. "Anyway! What I meant to say, is that we are going trick or treating."
"How old are you again?" Roxas wondered.
"Hey, if he wants to go, I'll take him." Riku put an arm around Sora's hip.
"I see. And what about you?" Roxas looked to Kairi.
"I think it'd be fun." Kairi pouted.
"Ok, well, why did you need to tell me this stuff?" Roxas continued to ask questions.
"Cause I didn't want you to get scared if you came down and saw us all gone." Sora shrugged in his thoughtfulness.
"Yeah right, he doesn't believe in ghosts." Kairi playfully slapped the blonde's arm.
"Well," Roxas gulped, looking to Axel.
"Well what?" Riku asked.
"I'm not saying it's impossible." Roxas shrugged.
"Whatever you say Roxy. Do you think you can pass out candy if anyone comes by? Most of the young children are already heading home." Sora informed his twin.
"Ugh, Sora," Roxas whined.
"Sure, we can do it." Axel smiled.
"Thanks Axel." Sora nodded gratefully.
"You always liked Halloween a lot, huh? Ever since we met when you moved here a couple years ago, you used to mention it a lot." Riku noted.
"Hey, you get to dress up, and you get free candy. What's not to like?" Axel grinned.
"Good point." Kairi giggled.
"Ok, well we better hurry before all the good candy's gone!" Sora tugged on Riku's arm.
"Alright, alright, come on babe, Kairi." Riku prepared as the trio left the house.
"So, we have the night to ourselves." Axel threw himself on the couch.
"Yeah, what should we do?" Roxas joined the redhead.
"We could watch scary movies." Axel grabbed the remote.
"Axel, I have a question?" Roxas still had so much on his mind.
"Shoot."
"How, how did you know I was gay?" Roxas asked, referring back to when Axel confessed.
"Well, I uh, you see." Axel scratched his head. "A demon's job is to watch over people and assign karma. For example, if someone tells a small white lie, I make the traffic lights turn red on their way to work. If someone hurts another person's feelings, I bring someone else into their day to do the same. We judge how serious a sin is, and we assign appropriate punishment. If someone is good, we can do small damage, but nothing too serious. Well, I was getting bored, and then, then I saw you, walking, alone. I followed you, curious to see if you'd mess up. But for a whole week, you were perfect. I continued to follow you when you lied to Sora about going to bed early to get out of going with him and Kairi to the movies when in reality, you went home to watch porn." Axel coughed. "So, when I saw what you were doing, I got jealous of whatever girl I assumed you had. Then when I realized you were watching gay porn, my hopes picked up again." Axel shrugged, his eyes at the carpet. "It was only a matter of time before your lifestyle made it obvious that you were single too."
"So you spied on me?" Roxas asked, his voice timid.
"It's my job to wait for humans to mess up to punish them. But, but usually we aren't supposed to follow a human for as long as I followed you. I couldn't help it. I couldn't let you out of my sight. You were too beautiful." Axel looked at Roxas, who blushed.
"Did you get yelled at, when you were fired over me?" Roxas couldn't help but ask.
"No. As I was watching a cute innocent boy be punished when he didn't deserve it, for the first time in my entire existence, I was pained. As a demon, I see a lot of people getting punished, and it never bothered me. But when I saw you getting hurt, I became angry. I knew that the second I allowed my heart to be consumed by such a human emotion, I'd be surrendering my immortality to the life of a human. So, I made the decision, and the next thing I knew, I became visible in the human world and could touch people. That's why I beat up Seifer. I didn't realize how strong I'd be in human form, so I let him have it." Axel shrugged.
"So, before, you were invisible?"
"I had my same body and looks, but only other demons could see me." Axel explained.
"Oh. Man, that's, that's a lot to take in." Roxas put his head in his hands.
"I know it sounds crazy. But you have to believe me Rox."
"I do. I mean, after you …warped…into my room, I don't have a reason to not believe." Roxas shook his head.
"Well good, I'm glad you believe me."
"I just, I can't believe you'd give up your immortality for me." Roxas scratched his head.
"Life as a demon is boring really. But most of us are too selfish to give up our immortality for anything. But when I saw you, I knew you'd inspire change in me. I'd rather have a short mortal life with you than to life forever only being able to watch you. To be able to talk to you, hold you, see the way you look at me…it's all I've ever wanted." Axel smiled.
"We've been friends for three years, so why are you waiting until just now to tell me?" Roxas wondered.
Axel shrugged. "I wanted to tell you when we first met, but you made it apparent that you didn't believe in anything you couldn't see or touch. I didn't want to lose your friendship, considering I lost everything I ever had for it anyway. But every Halloween, when you say that you don't believe in ghosts or demons or anything, I don't know why but I, I take it personally. I mean, I know there's no way you could have known, but it just felt like you were distancing us, and given how strongly I feel for you, it hurt." Axel frowned. "I guess today was about as much as I could take."
"Axel," Roxas whispered, curious as to what words could possibly be said in such a situation. "I, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you." Roxas couldn't help the guilt that flowed inside him.
"It's not your fault. It's not like you knew." Axel tried to smile it all away.
"Well, now that I know, I wont make that mistake again." Roxas smiled.
"Good. I must admit, it, it feels really nice to have been able to tell you. I feel like a huge secret, a huge burden, has disappeared. I feel like I can truly get to know you, and you me." The redhead put a hand on the blonde's cheek.
"I'd like that." Roxas placed his hand over Axel's.
"I love you Roxas. I always have. From the second I saw you." Axel confessed.
"I love you too. Knowing that you watched over me, and were willing to make sacrifices to protect me, it's kind of like you're my guardian angel." Roxas chuckled at the irony.
"Haha, the odds! I've never been called an angel before. Didn't think it'd be possible for a demon to get such a compliment." Axel blushed.
"My guardian demon." Roxas laughed some more.
"You have such a beautiful laugh." Axel couldn't fight the gravitational pull as it slowly brought his body closer to Roxas', their eyes locked as their lips leaned forward.
"Axel," Roxas let the name trickle off his tongue as his eyes began to close on their own, a sign of their true desire.
The two were as close as two bodies could be without touching when their lips felt the heated breath of the other's nervousness. Just when supple pink was about to meet trembling bliss, the electricity went out.
"Shit!" Roxas shook in a surprised fear.
"Haha, it's ok. I thought you weren't afraid of anything?" Axel asked, using the power outage as an excuse to embrace the blonde.
"I, I don't like the dark." Roxas gulped.
"I see. And that wouldn't happen to be an effect of all the scary movies you keep watching, would it?" Axel rubbed Roxas' back as the blonde held Axel in return.
"N-n-no." Roxas gulped.
"It's ok, I'll turn the lights back on." Axel cupped Roxas' face in the dark and the second he pressed his lips against Roxas', the lights returned.
"You, you did that?" Roxas asked after the small kiss ended, looking around the lighted room.
"Still have my magic." Axel shrugged modestly.
"And I still have my guardian demon." Roxas took the redhead's hand.
Author's Note: So this story is way shorter than what I'm used to writing, and WAY cleaner than anything I've ever written lol, but its nice to have some change. Sorry that its late since its technically no longer Halloween but I've been SUPER busy and where I'm from we technically don't celebrate Halloween, but the 2 days after . Feliz dia de los muertos!
Living Legacy, Sarabellum