Roxas sees him for the first time in a club on his eighteenth birthday. His college roommate took him out to celebrate, telling him that since he was actually old enough, he should make use of being allowed into clubs. Roxas saw him through the throng of people crowding the dance floor. He was leaning against the DJ booth, arms crossed over his chest, head tilted towards the ceiling, smirk firmly in place.
Roxas wasn't quite sure why, but he couldn't take his eyes off the man. He seemed so comfortable, yet so out of place. Otherworldly. Roxas wanted to go over to him and... Well, he wasn't quite sure what he wanted to do, but action was definitely required of him.
Roxas didn't know how long he sat at the bar, staring, when his very drunk roommate threw his arm around his shoulder, almost knocking Roxas off the stool. Roxas has to catch himself on the countertop and when he looks up, the man is gone.
He sees him again, only a week later, this time in the campus bookstore. He's standing in the bible section, reading from a book in his hands. Probably a bible, it would only make sense, but Roxas couldn't be sure. In the harsh fluorescent lighting, his hair stood out a lot more than in the club. a vibrant red, spiked in all directions. The only thing that stops him from going over there is the cashier calling for the next person in line which just happens to be him.
When he's finished paying, the man is gone again.
Roxas thinks maybe the guy is a student. He looks to be about the same age as him, maybe a few years older, which might explain why they're not in any of the same classes. It is a large campus. He's itching to find out more about him, which is why he starts asking around. It doesn't help at all though, because no one knows who he's talking about.
The next time Roxas sees him, the guy is actually staring right at him. They're on opposite sides of the hallway of the political science building. For precious moments, Roxas is frozen in place, grass green eyes paralyzing every muscle in his body. Roxas stares and the guy stares right back with amusement creeping into his expression.
The guy turns, suddenly, without any warning and beings walking away. He's opening the door to the stairwell when Roxas realizes what's happening.
"Wait!" Roxas calls, but the guy doesn't stop, so Roxas runs after him. "No, seriously, come on!" By the time Roxas bursts into the stairwell, the guy is already an entire floor above him. "Oh, my god! At least tell me your fucking name!" Roxas intended on saying that quietly, but it echoes in the stairwell and the guy stops. He leans over the railing with a grin.
"It's Axel." He winks, then continues climbing. Roxas stands there, heart beating wildly. A class lets out and then the stairwell is full of people and the guy- Axel, is gone once more.
After four more similar encounters, Roxas begins to think that Axel is messing with him. He doesn't know why, but something about the man just screams danger, danger, this obsession is not going to end well. But the thing is, Roxas really doesn't give a shit. Part of him is warning him to stay away, but another, more encompassing part of him is throwing himself at Axel without reservation. Roxas still doesn't know anything but Axel's name, but that doesn't change anything.
Roxas has started hanging around the more public parts of campus hoping to get a glimpse of that red mane. He's failed in that endeavor more times than he has succeeded, but the times he's succeeded were well worth the failure.
He starts dreaming. Vague at first, drowning in green, anchored by strong, warm hands, choking on red. Then everything starts taking shape. Axel on top of him, pressing him into the ground, hands cupping his face, just... staring and staring. Then he starts laughing, sending chills down Roxas's spine. He'll wake up, choking back disappointment when all he sees is his roommate staring at their coffee maker.
On days when he doesn't see Axel, meaning six out of every week at least, he starts looking forward to sleeping more and more. Most days the only thing keeping him from staying in bed all day is the tiny chance of seeing Axel in person.
The dreams are getting more specific. Axel starts talking. First in whispers, Roxas catching only a few words here and there. Things like "God... beautiful... take... forever..." Nothing that makes any sense, yet fills Roxas with content, making him want to agree with every word that comes out of Axel's mouth, without knowing what he's agreeing to.
Roxas falls asleep in class and doesn't dream. He's in a horrid mood for the rest of the day until he sees Axel in the dining hall for a brief seconds until he disappears again. He's not actually sure whether or not it was a hallucination.
Eventually, in his dreams, Axel just starts talking, no longer bothering to hide his thoughts from Roxas. "You're mine, understand? No one else can even look at you. I'm gonna take you away, I promise. Soon, okay? We'll be together forever."
"Yes, yes." The words don't really register, but Roxas is agreeing anyway because it's Axel and that's all that really matters.
Roxas actually does stop going to class. He just lies in bed for days and days. Sometimes he sleeps and he sees Axel. Sometimes he doesn't, but Axel comes anyway, letting himself into Roxas's room and his bed and they just lay together, doing the same thing they do when Roxas is asleep.
Roxas thinks he might be going crazy.
"Dude, what happened to your roommate?" One of his roommate's friends is here. Roxas really doesn't want to deal with it. He just wants to sleep. Then he actually processes what was said.
"What? I'm literally right here." Roxas says incredulously.
"I have no idea man. I haven't seen him in like a week." His roommate says. "He just disappeared and left all his shit here. I'm going to talk to the RA later to see what's up."
Roxas gets off the bed and pokes his roommate. There's no reaction. "What the fuck? I'm right here! Is this some sort of stupid joke?" Roxas yells frantically. Out of nowhere, arms wrap around his waist and someone leans their head on his shoulder.
"They can't see you." Axel says into his ear. "You're not part of this world anymore."
"What?" Roxas asks, spinning around to face him. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't worry about it." Axel leans down and kisses the corner of Roxas's mouth. "We're going to be together forever." It doesn't make sense, nothing makes sense right now, but all Roxas wants to do is kiss Axel properly, so he does the one thing he always does when it comes to Axel.
"Okay." He agrees.
The next time he wakes up, he's not in his dorm. He's in a huge, wooden bed in a huge room. He's alone until a door opens and Axel walks in. Roxas has to bite back a gasp at his change in appearance. His hair is longer, some of it braided with beads and feathers. His eyes seem greener and deeper somehow. He has marking on his cheekbones which are higher than before. His arms are covered in tattoos, running from the center of his bare chest all the way to his fingertips.
Axel grins at him. "Welcome home!" He says, arms flung wide. Roxas still doesn't have any idea what's happening, but that's okay. Roxas returns his grin with an even wider one.
Everything is okay because it's Axel.
A/N: okay, so I really don't know what this was, I just know that I needed to write and this is what happened. Might revisit this universe. Not sure. Posting this at 4 a.m. not beta-ed. Any and all mistakes are mine. I'll probably fix it up when I wake up.