pairings: AxelxRoxas
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot
Well, here it is!! Its the after story for "A Guitarist Story"!! First chapter!! w00t. Don't continue on if you haven't finished "A Guitarist Story" or you probably won't get anything that's going on. None the less enjoy!! I'm planning the short story to be around, 3 to 5 chapters so I can settle everything properly.
.:October 6th:.
Roxas sat quietly. It had been almost a month since his arrival to Midgar. He had adjusted pretty well to his new life. But, there was always a sadness to him. To everything he said or did. He made friends quiet easily but, he still felt lonely. But it didn't mean that he was truly in tune with everything. He didn't really know the kinds of things that went on at school. Sure he did his homework and everything, but when ever news went around, he was usually the last to know.
"Are you alright?" the person across from him asked.
The blonde looked up and gave a weak smile "Yeah, just thinking"
"About what?" the man had raven colored hair and orangeish eyes that made anyone stare. His name was Vincent. Roxas had met the man through Cloud.
"My birthday's in two" he whispered sipping at the tea he had ordered. They were sitting in a cafe, the man was treating him for a favor Roxas had done.
"Your turning 17 aren't you?" he whispered quietly.
"Yeah" Roxas replied.
"There's something more" Vincent said tilting his head slightly.
"Axel he-" Roxas trailed off.
"Ah yes... Axel" he whispered bringing his cup of tea to his lips.
"He gave me a letter back in Twilight Town. He told me to open it on my birthday" Roxas whispered.
"You should be happy then" Vincent noted as he stirred the tea with a slender spoon.
"I know... I just can't stop thinking about the fact... I'll never see him again"
"How do you know?" Vincent asked.
Roxas looked over at him "What do you mean?"
"Things don't always turn out how you think" he whispered in a matter of fact tone.
The blonde scowled "Your just full of wisdom aren't you?"
The man gave a breath laugh "No, common sense"
"Are you saying I don't have common sense?" Roxas asked laughing.
Vincent stared at him for a moment from behind his dark bangs then spoke "You'll meet him again Roxas. I'm sure of it"
Roxas hesitated at the reply, his eyes saddening a little and he looked down at his tea. "I wish I could be as sure as you are"
"None the less, just set your heart on it, wish upon a star. Do a sacrifice if need be"
The blonde laughed at the mans humor "Maybe I will. Not the sacrifce, but wish on a star" he smiled.
Vincent smiled and nodded "Good"
.:Home:.
There it was, hanging from his bulletin board. Almost mocking him in a way. The envelope Axel had put into his hands before leaving. It was hanging from a pin, his name on the paper. More then once he had thought of opening it. But he didn't want to ruin the surprise. Whatever it may be, he hoped it wasn't a joke or something. Like when he opened the thing, all there was inside was a piece of paper.
"Roxas!" a voice called. The boy jumped in his seat and got up. He recognized the voice as his cousins girlfriend. walking out of his room and down the hallway to the living room.
The house Cloud owned was just a one floor but it suited them. Aerith lived with him and now Roxas was part of the family. He walked into the kitchen to see Aerith standing in front of the stove.
"Dinners ready" she smiled at him. He nodded. "Go ahead and grab a plate. Cloud will be working late tonight"
"Ok" Roxas walked over to a cupboard and pulled two plates down.
"Oh, only one plate dear. I have to get back to the shop" she said.
"No problem" he said and he watched as she pulled her apron off, turned the stove off and hung it back up on a rack near the fridge.
"Sorry you'll be home alone for awhile" she said.
"It's alright" Roxas whispered and she smiled sadly.
"Well, I have to go. Call me if you need anything" she said hurriedly and walked out of the kitchen.
Roxas didn't move for awhile. He figured he should call his mom sometime soon. The last time they had talked was a couple days ago. It had been awhile since he had called Hayner, Pence and Olette too. Shaking his head he piled some of the contents onto his plate and sat down to eat. Aerith had made him a pasta. He really liked the woman's cooking, he wouldn't say it was better then his moms. But it was close.
It was around 5:00 did Roxas happen to recieve company. He was sitting on the couch watching TV when a knock alerted him of someone at the door. He raised and eyebrow and got up. He was glad the door wasn't too far.
"Whose there?" he asked.
"Vincent and company" came the reply. He undid the latch at the top, unlocked the dead bolt and opened the door.
The man walked in and was followed by someone else. He closed the door and turned around, he felt like his heart could've stopped if he hadn't none who it was. A tall red head was with Vincent. But he knew better, it was Reno. He too was a friend of Clouds. But that didn't stop the pang of sadness in his heart when he looked into the mans green eyes.
"Did you need something?" Roxas asked.
"Yeah, Cloud told me I could come and pick up some papers" Reno informed putting his hands in his pockets. "Mr. Quiet decided he wanted to stop by"
Vincent rolled his eyes "You think I'd let Roxas be here alone with you?" he asked condescendingly.
Roxas laughed. He was right, the red head had taken a liking to him. More then once Reno had winked or flicked his tongue out at the blonde. Of course Roxas couldn't hepl but blush. But, his heart already belonged to another red head.
"The papers are in Clouds study I think" his cousin had mention them ealier but whether they were there or not he wasn't sure.
"Thanks, I'll go look" Reno said winking at the blonde before turning to head down the hallway across the room.
Vincent sighed "He knows fully well he can't be with you" he said.
Roxas laughed and rubbed a hand through his hair "Yeah, as flattering as it is-"
"You have Axel"
"Yeah"
"Found them!" Reno announced walking over.
"That's good"
"Well, we'll see you later" Vincent smiled.
"Yeah, nice seein you" Roxas smiled and opened the door for the two.
Vincent walked out but Reno lingered. "See you around blondie" he winked and ruffled the boys hair before being tugged out by the dark haired man.
Roxas blushed slightly but it all reminded him of Axel. Locking the door he walked back over to the couch and sat down. He just wanted his birthday to happen already. He wanted so badly to see what was in the envelope. But, of all the times of the year. His birthday had to land on a Monday. But hey, he was going to be 17.
.:Sunday Morning:.
Roxas woke to the feeling of someone nudging him. He groaned and opened an eye "What?"
"Get up, your helping Aerith at the shop today" it was Cloud.
The blonde grumbled and sat up. "Fine, fine"
"Hurry up, Aerith's already at the shop. I'm going to drop you off"
"Kay" Roxas got up and with a gently hurrying from Cloud he was in the shower.
With Roxas out of the shower and dressed for the day they left the house. Cloud closed and locked the door. Together they walked to the drive way, Cloud's long black bike was sitting waiting. Roxas smiled, he liked riding the bike with Cloud, it was fun. The taller blonde climbed on first and handed Roxas his goggles. The younger blonde pulled them on and slid on behind Cloud. He wrapped his arms around his cusion's waist and Cloud started the bike. It roared to life and settled into a lulling purr underneath them. Cloud easily maneuvered out of the drive way and they were off into the streets of Midgar.
.:Aerith's Flower Shop:.
Roxas stood next to Aerith at the front desk. She was in the middle of sorting some white flowers and Roxas had been given a bundle of roses to snip the bottom of the stems of to keep them fresh. Roxas carefully grabbed a rose and snipped the bottom off with some rather sharp scissors. The front door jingled and both looked up to see someone walk in. A very tall man with brown hair and a stern face walked over.
"Why good morning Lexaeus!" Aerith smiled.
The man nodded in aknowledment. "Morning. I called earlier."
"Of course" she smiled and left her flowers to lie and escape to the back room.
Roxas continued to cut stems. He had seen the man before, he was actually a regular. He liked to take flowers to his mother. Aerith came back with a bouquet of pink and orange flowers.
"Here you go" she smiled. The man dug into his pocket and deposited the money onto the counter before taking the bouquet and turned to leave. The man had bought the same bouquet for quiet awhile and new the exact total.
"So Roxas"Aerith started and he snipped a flower. "Your birthday's tomorrow. Anything you want in particular?"she asked.
The blonde set the rose he had snipped in a pile of the ones that were done. "Ummm, I haven't really thought of it" he admitted.
Aerith smiled "Well, then maybe we'll just have to give you money" she laughed.
Roxas smiled, her laughter and smiles seemed infectious. "There's only one thing I really want" he whispered sadly.
She looked over and gave a sad smile "I know dear. If I could I'd grant it but I can't" she whispered.
"No, it's alright. I know what I got myself into. I just want to open my letter soon, that's what I really want at the moment"
The woman smiled and leaned over to give him a light hug. Roxas smiled, he liked talking to her, it was relaxing.
She let go when the door opened again and a man with almost translucent hair came in. He recognised the man immediately. He had a crazy scientist air about him. His name was Vexan and he usually came in to buy the new shipment of exotic flowers. He once explained to them that he liked to cross pollinate the flowers in his free time.
"Good morning Vexan" Aerith smiled.
"Yes, its is quiet a good morning. Rather chilly though" he noted. It was true though. During October the days became colder in Midgar.
"It is isn't?" she noted pleasently. "Would you like to see the new shipment?" she asked.
The man nodded "I would like that" Aerith nodded and set her flowers down again to disappear into the back.
"You should learn well from her boy. She certainly makes a living in this dreary city" Vexan said looking down at Roxas. The younger blonde didn't respon and only shrugged.
Aerith came back, three vases held three different flowers. She set them down and Vexan took to examine them. He reached out and gently fingered a rather bright orange and yellow flower. It had long spindly petals that reached almost to the counter that was a good foot below it. He moved to the next one. It was a deep rich blue and purple in colored flower. The petals were largely rounded and layered closely over each other. Three long yellow small stems came from the middle of it. It didn't seem to draw his attention and he moved to the last one. It was yellow and pink in color but it only seemed to have three petals while the middle was a mess of small stems and pollen.
"I'll take this one" Vexan said coming back to the first on he had looked at.
"Alright, could you take the others back for me Roxas?" she asked. The blonde nodded and grabbed the other two by the vase. Gingerly lifting them he walked away. He went down a small hallway and opened a door with his elbow. Cool air blew into his face and shivered. Flipping the light on with his other elbow he walked in.
His breath appeared and he found the place where Aerith had removed them. It was one of the topmost shelves. Of course. He sighed and set on of the vases down and stood on his tip toes to reach it. He wished the red head was there. He wouldn't even have to reach, just lift his arm and BOOM! Both of the flowers on the shelf and he could get out of the cold room. Or, rather Axel would probably linger to kiss him. Saying something along the lines of;
"Why don't I warm you?"
He admitted it to himself though. He wouldn't mind kissing in the cooler, its one of those things you just don't do, but would like to try. The red head was pretty god at making him blush. Warming him up in the cold room would be no problem. Roxas slid the three petalled flower on to the shelf and nodded. He opened the door and turned the light off. Everything made him think of the red head it seemed.
It maybe be short but it's only the first chapter!! I had to set everything up so you guys could get a feel for where Roxas was at the moment!! You'll soon find out just what Axel put in the envelope!! I love Vincent!! He rocks!! lol