Pedestrian

Akuroku AU

Warning: Strong language, sexual themes

Disclaimer: Surprise, I don't own Kingdom Hearts or anything in it.

Roxas let his head slump against the coolness of the steering wheel, momentarily savoring the pause from today's events. It wasn't like today had been extraordinarily grueling. In fact, that's the thing. There had been absolutely nothing extraordinary about it. Same old breakfast, same old school, same old friends, same old bored Roxas. Today was one of those days where he felt like his life was playing on fast forward—a blur of lackluster events that all ran together, like watery paint dripping down a canvas into a muddled gray mess. That's what his life was today. A muddled gray mess. But, no sooner had the sigh escaped his lips than a jarring honk pulled him from his temporary respite. He nodded, waving a hand of apology out the window, and pulled through the intersection. He honestly just wanted to get home and, hopefully avoiding his brother, flop on his bed and hibernate for a good few hours—or, you know, the rest of his life. As the steady flow of gray and weary thoughts permeated his mind, he couldn't stop the second sigh from escaping his lips.

He pulled up to a crosswalk, taking notice of the approaching pedestrian, and began to drum his fingers against the wheel, waiting for the man to pass. Much to his annoyance, the man stopped directly in front of Roxas's car. What was this guy doing? Of course, now Roxas could really get a good look at the guy. And, boy, was he an eyeful. Roxas's eyes immediately narrowed in confusion—and slight disbelief— at the man's red hair, protruding from his head at all sorts of angles, seemingly defying gravity. In the middle of examining the man's very unnatural hair—oh come on, it must be unnatural—Roxas found his eyes shifting downward. That's when he realized, meeting the man's piercing emerald green eyes, that he'd been staring pointedly back at Roxas. Roxas felt his cheeks heat up and, in his flustered state, he fumbled to tap the horn. If this man could just take three steps to the side, Roxas thought, he could be on his merry way. He rolled his window further down. "Um, could you maybe move out of the way?"

A grin was playing at the man's lips.

Roxas frowned, his patience wearing thin. "Or would you rather I run you over?"

The man's grin pulled into a well-defined smirk.

The man moved, shifting the bag he had slung across his shoulder, and leaned his elbows on the front of the car. As tall as he was, this maneuver had him basically draping himself over the front of Roxas's car. "Oh. Am I in your way?" He said, batting his eyelashes, his voice dripping with feigned innocence.

Roxas toed the gas pedal, causing the car to lurch forward slightly. The man promptly jumped backward, the alarmed look on his face lasting mere seconds before it was replaced by his previous smugness.

"Jeez, feisty, kid. You late for a hot date or something?"

"Something like that," he replied flatly.

The man's grin grew wider and he turned, beginning to walk again. For a moment Roxas thought he was going to get out of the way, finally letting Roxas off the hook. Unfortunately, the sound of the passenger door being opened told him otherwise. "What the hell? What are you doing? Get out."

"Hey, you're late to your date already. Might as well lend a helping hand to your pal here and give me a ride." He said, beaming.

Roxas groaned.

"Or, you know, I could drive" the man added, reaching across Roxas for the wheel and, in doing so, venturing dangerously far into Roxas's personal space. Oh hell no.

Roxas batted his hand away. "Where do you live," he grated out, evidently defeated.

"I can give directions. You just drive and look pretty," he replied, grinning victoriously, as he moved to kick his feet up on the dash.

The man leaned to the side as he reached into his back pocket, fumbling around a bit. Roxas's eyes widened, his hands gripping the steering wheel tighter with his sudden realization. What the hell was he thinking, letting a stranger into his car like this? Not to mention one with red hair and—face tattoos? Oh my god. He has fucking face tattoos. He probably got them from the prison he just broke out from. I'm dead. I'm so, so dead, Roxas thought. He could very well have a knife, or a gun, or a very meticulously thought out plan to kidnap Roxas. Maybe all of the above!

Noticing the wide-eyed look he was receiving, the guy snickered. "Relax, kid." He pulled his hand back out, waving a carton of cigarettes in front of Roxas's face. Roxas relaxed visibly.

"Oh, so you're not gonna stab me. You're just gonna give me lung cancer. Perfect."

The man laughed, placing the cigarette between his lips as he moved to retrieve his lighter. Roxas stared pointedly at the cigarette, following it as it met the man's lips. The man followed his gaze and cracked a cocky grin, the cigarette still between his teeth.

"Like what you see?" He asked, wiggling his shoulders for emphasis.

Roxas reddened again and glued his eyes to the road. He needed to look somewhere, anywhere, but at the red-haired stranger in his car. Even when the smell of cigarette smoke filled the car, Roxas remained impassive, hoping to avoid further conversation.

"So, what's her name?" Great. So much for avoiding further conversation.

"Whose name?" Roxas asked, not bothering to mask the irritation behind his voice.

"Your date."

"I don't have a date," he said, with grating finality.

The man grinned again. "Thought so."

After what felt like much longer than a supposedly ten minute drive, Roxas pulled up to a small one-story house.

"Alright, you can get out now," he spat, none-too-friendly.

"I can't believe you're trying to kick me out. Tsk, and we were getting along so well," he whined playfully.

"Yeah, well, believe it."

"You know, I'm starting to think you really could use a hot date. You're so uptight," he remarked.

Roxas reddened slightly. He definitely did not need dating advice from a red-haired hitchhiker with prison tattoos on his face.

The man laughed. "Alright, alright. So, thanks for the ride. What's your name, kid?"

"Roxas" he replied automatically, cursing himself almost immediately afterward. He did not need to be giving out any personal information to this guy.

"Roxas," he said thoughtfully, like he was testing the name out for himself. "Well, Roxas, the name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

Roxas merely stared at him, waiting for him to finally exit his vehicle after his very prolonged and unwelcome stay. Instead, Axel's green eyes remained fixed on Roxas. Suddenly his gaze…softened? Roxas blinked with confusion. And Roxas could swear he could hear the man—Axel—gently humming.

"Roxas," he breathed out, the name a soft hum on his lips. Lips that Roxas realized were nearing closer and closer until they were mere inches away from his own. Roxas's breath caught in his throat. His chest seized. Axel was going to kiss him. Axel was going to kiss him. Axel was going to—what was Roxas going to do? Panic flooded his insides. Do something. Do something. Please, do something. Not kiss him, but do something.

Axel's hand moved to stroke Roxas's hair and Roxas felt himself involuntarily take in a sharp breath. That's when Axel's mouth quirked into another grin.

"You've got something in your hair," he said softly, his hand retreating from Roxas's hair and placing the piece of paper he'd found into Roxas's hand as proof. He immediately felt both intensely relieved and extraordinarily embarrassed…and maybe a little disappointed, though he'd never admit it. Luckily for Roxas, whose face was again turning a reddened hue, Axel was already swiftly climbing out the door. "Catch ya later, Roxie!" he called behind him, turning to wink once with finality before strolling into the house with a grin.

Roxas let out a breath, feeling a little exhilarated and a lot confused. That's when his attention turned to the piece of paper in his hands. Unfurling the crumpled paper, he found a message scrawled in curly pink handwriting.

"458-0813. Call me (;

-Axel"