Disclaimer: Don't own KH. I do own some awesome merch, though. Toracon FTW.
It had been a long day, followed by a longer night, and Roxas was ready for it all to be over with. He'd been ragged on at work by his boss all day, a bitter lady who would never make it farther than being the day manager of the local Starbucks; he'd lost the last page of his final paper for his Philosophy and Star Trek class due to a computer error, and when he just wanted to go back to his apartment and sleep, his two roommates had decided it was a good time to drag him out to the local bars for the pre-Dead Week alcohol binge. After an unfortunate alcohol poisoning incident in his freshman year, Roxas wasn't much of a drinker; thus he usually had two beers at most and always ended up being designated driver and caretaker to his bunch of drunken idiot friends.
Usually he didn't mind so much, honestly. He'd rather be driving and knowing they'd all get home alive, but that particular day had just been so exhausting the idea of going out at all had him almost in tears. Still, he'd trudged along and had a beer out of obligation, listening to his friends chat and laugh and make stupid bets about who could drink who under the table, thought there was absolutely no doubt in Roxas' mind none of them would remember it the next day. It was nice to be with his friends, but it could also get pretty dull being the only sober person around. When things got too crazy for his sobriety to appreciate, he turned instead to study the cute bartender. No reason he couldn't have some eye candy.
He looked college age, maybe a year or two older than Roxas. Admittedly, the first thing that had caught the blonde's attention was his height. Roxas had a weakness for tall guys, and this guy was definitely up there, probably 6'5" or so. His hair was a bright out-of-the-box red and his bright green eyes were accentuated by a pair of small tattoos under them. He had a bunch of piercings in his ears, including some cartilage ones that Roxas had always found undeniably sexy. If the flash of silver he saw whenever the redhead licked his lips, which seemed to be a subconscious habit, was any indication, he also had his tongue pierced. That was enough to make Slutty!Roxas rise up in the back of his mind, but rational, sober Roxas beat that primal instinct back with a stick. So instead of being a mondo-slut, he just appreciated the way the guy's tight black t-shirt stretched over his chest and tapered down his slim waist.
Before long, his roommates had finished their drinking binge in the form of the bartender cutting them off, so Roxas helped them out of the bar and into his car. They were giggling and ridiculous all the ride back to the apartment, but by the time he'd gotten them upstairs and into their respective rooms, Hayner was half asleep and Sora was actually unconscious. He was delighted to see his own bed, and began fishing in his pockets for his wallet so it wouldn't go through the wash. A feeling of dread passed through his chest when he realized that it wasn't there. The last time he could remember seeing it was when he'd paid for his second beer, a little over two hours ago. Either someone had snatched it from his pocket, or he'd left it at the bar. Cussing in annoyance, he went back out to his car and headed back to the bar. It appeared last call had already happened, as the front lights were off. He could see a light on inside, though, and hoped that someone was still there and had found his wallet. He tried the door and was pleased to find that it was still unlocked. He slipped inside, seeing the cute bartender from earlier stacking chairs up on the tables on the far side of the room. He looked up when he heard the door thump closed.
"Sorry, man, we're closed," he called, waving a hand at the half packed up room. His voice was higher pitched than Roxas would have thought it might be, but all the same it gave him tingles up the spine.
"Yeah, I know," Roxas responded. "I just…I think I might have left my wallet here earlier. You haven't found one, have you?"
"I did, actually. I'm willing to bet it's yours. However…as I can't just be handing it over without some…verification…"
"My name is Roxas Strife, I'm twenty-two…there's a joker card in the billfold signed by Max Bemis from when I ran into him in a gas station in the middle of fucking nowhere and bought a pack of cards so I'd have something for him to sign."
"Shit, are you serious?" The bartender opened Roxas' wallet and pulled out the card, his eyes wide. Roxas considered protesting about the man letting himself into Roxas' wallet, but then realized that there was no way he confirm what Roxas was saying otherwise. "That's totally awesome, man. I officially envy you. I saw them once at Warped and that was possibly the greatest moment of my life, because I managed to get right up next to the stage…but to actually get to talk to him?"
"Yeah, it was kind of amazing," Roxas admitted. "Alive with the Glory of Love has been my favorite song ever since I first heard it. I mean, come on, a love song about the Holocaust. What's cooler than that?"
Before he even knew what was happening, they'd gotten lost in conversation about the band, and then moved on to cover every topic from best and worst movies to politics. He found out the bartender's name was Axel and that he had graduated the year before but was having a hard time finding a job for his degree. He was extremely funny and witty, and he knew a lot about a vast range of topics. He didn't really look it, but it only took about twenty minutes of talking to him for Roxas to realize that he was very intelligent. But he was laid back and kind of geeky too, sharing Roxas' love for James Patterson novels and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
"Okay, since we're on the subject of Buffy, the vital question has to be asked," Roxas said seriously, "Angel or Spike?"
"Spike. Definitely Spike. He's got that whole bad boy with a good heart thing going for him, plus he's totally hot. My sister bought me a poster of him for my birthday one year as a joke, but that thing is still hanging on my wall."
Axel's easy admittance of the hotness of another guy was almost enough to get Roxas to grin with triumph. He managed to hold it back, though, and instead nodded to show that he agreed. Now that he knew he had a chance, it was okay to start making the flirting a little more obvious. However, just as he was about to start turning on the charm, Axel checked his watch and cursed.
"Oh hell, it's five am. We've been sitting here for two hours. My boss is gonna punch me in the face when he finds out…"
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Roxas said, suddenly horrified. Getting Axel in trouble with his boss was not a good way to go about charming him. "I'll just get my wallet and go…"
"Well hold on, now," Axel said, his lips curling up into a grin. "I think I should get a reward for finding this, don't you? I mean, really…" The blonde shifted nervously, itching to reach out and grab his wallet, but also curious as to what Axel would request as a reward.
"You'll only get this back on one condition," Axel said, holding the wallet teasingly just out of reach. He reached his other hand under the bar and flipped a switch or something, and soft country music filled the bar. "Dance with me."
It was such a sweet, simple request; Roxas couldn't have denied it, even if he had wanted to. He smiled and nodded, causing Axel to leap over the bar with a practiced movement. Their dance wasn't anything fancy, just their bodies pressed close together, swaying in circles to the soft music, but it was very nice.
His day had been awful, but everything changed under the dimmed lights in an empty bar, soft country music filtering through tinny speakers, a man he'd hardly just met pressed against him. And as Axel leaned down to gently press his warm lips against Roxas', he felt a deep satisfaction and had the realization that in that span of a single moment, everything was absolutely perfect.