Oh FML. Past Akuroku day… Nerr… I have been working hard to get most of my stories done. Though, it doesn't exactly show since I haven't been posting lately. I was hoping to write something different from the other stories posted for Akuroku day. What am I? About a month late? Deadlines are not my friends when it comes to my sucky internet... So, hopefully, this is a taste of something new. Enjoy…
Now, now kiddies. This story is for mature audiences for many-a-reasons that I'm too lazy to list. So if you're not in the 'mature audience' category, either read and be scarred for life or bugger off!
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of it's characters.
Another peaceful night of sleep ruined by the neighbors down below. Those damned neighbors. Don't they know that maybe some people have to go to work in the morning? Those inconsiderate assholes... My eyes fluttered open as the ear-blistering noise crept closer to my room. What were they doing this time? Marching throughout the halls again? An imagine of a crowd of people dancing down the tiny corridors of the hall popped into my mind at that, making me shake my head. Sitting up, my droopy self realized that I had passed out on the couch after I had gotten home from work that day. Oh, that was just great. At least I got some sleep for a long day of work tomorrow.
Groaning, I got up and looked at the clock on the wall. It read one o'clock, but I wouldn't take that for granted. The last time I've actually changed the batteries in the clock was the last time I dropped it down the window, hoping to hit one of my neighbors who were standing out on the balcony. Ah, good times. For all I knew, the sun gave out and it was actually ten in the morning.
Not like we got any sun in this godforsaken place! The last time I saw past the thick layer of polluted clouds was when… Well… Never actually.
I sighed, knowing that I was going to have to go downstairs and yell that the neighbors to keep it down. Come on, who throws parties everyday of the freaking week? Everyday, mind you. That wasn't an understatement and I wasn't trying to be cute about it either. Every-fucking-day. Why can't they just go out to bars, maybe even a strip club. Seriously, just get a few hookers and go get it on. Not that difficult. Or, on the other hand, I could just sit it out on the top of the building. Wait it out, and if they don't stop, wait it out on the ground.
Putting on my coat, I walked out my apartment, not caring to lock the door behind me. Actually, to be truthful, I was praying to be robbed sometime soon. Then with the insurance money, I could then pay the stack of bills on the table. Or I could pray for the robbers to steal my bills. Either way, it was something to look forward to. Since losing my job at the Shin-Ra electric company, I've been restocking at some drugstore. It doesn't pay well, and eventually they'll notice that most of the stock is missing.
I made my way down the hall, hands in pocket. Turning the corner, I was expected to see an empty hallway towards the elevator. Or the marching band that had played through the halls earlier. Either one. However, another fellow was walking out of their apartment probably because of the party going on downstairs. He's not someone who you would miss at just one glance. Oh no, his wild red hair stood out. Someone who I've seen before but have never talked to since he's probably twelve feet taller than I am. I can't help but be intimidated by taller people. I'm short, so what?
I guess my presence was noticeable as he turned around to face me. His feline eyes scanned over me, probably wondering if I was one of the partiers making the noise. He looked somewhat pissed, so I wouldn't want to be the one to cross him. Eventually, he shook his head and began to process of locking the crappy-ass doors that they put on the apartments. Another reason why I do not lock my damn door. You have to pull the door out, jiggle the handled, lock the door, and kick it twenty times before you are sure that it's technically locked.
As I walked into the elevator, I wondered why the hell I don't live on the street. It would be so much better for me. Faster place to get food, the box is much more comfortable than my pin-needle coated couch, and it's only a little walk to the bridge. You always need a backup plan.
"Hey, hold the elevator." The voice pulled me out of my thoughts as the doors began to close automatically. I placed a hand on the door keeping it open for the other. A burden, but it was for the greater good, I suppose. The same guy stepped inside, a signal to let go of the damn door. "Thanks man."
"No problem." I watched as the giant leaned against the opposite side of the elevator, his arms crossed in front of his chest. A cigarette hung limp on the edge of his lips. Oh, now that's just perfect. A party's going on downstairs while I suddenly jump the guy just to calm my addiction. Perfect, I say. What's even more perfect is that he muttered something out to me. "Eh, whaddaya say?"
"I said, what is… your name, kid."
"Not kid." I turned back to the elevator doors, trying to lead him on to thinking that I couldn't care less about this conversation. As long as I can make it out of here and down to some bar at this time of night, I'm gonna be okay folks. That reminded me. My gazes found its way to the other who continued to stare at me. Do you have a problem? "Do you have the time?"
A light chuckle escaped him. What the hell did he think was so funny? I was really hoping that I wasn't in an elevator with- another- maniac. Lighting his cigarette, he smugly muttered out, "To do what?"
Oh Jesus, please don't let it be another one of those cracks again. Why won't you people just leave me the hell alone and be on your merry ways? I guess there was no way to get out of this situation, was there? I walked head-on into this cheery trap. Sighing, I tried again. "I meant, do you know what time it is?"
"Yes."
Silence fell upon us both, him smoking his lovely cigarette and me acting as blond as ever. That didn't work out the way that I wanted it to. In fact, that wasn't sly at all, you idiot! You're just making an idiot of yourself in front of some guy you don't even know. It's just great being me. "Would you mind telling me?"
His vibrant eyes flashed away, "What?"
"The time."
"You mean then… or now?"
Nice. Humor. Not needed at a time such as this. My idle thoughts began to run wild at that. Seriously, another moment where I would be happy to slam my head into the wall. Or his. That would be even better. Then I slam my head into the wall so it would be considered murder suicide. I can just hear the people chatting about it now.
'Did you hear about the guy who murdered someone then killed himself in an elevator? The reports told that the man went insane and killed the other. They said that the other man just would not give him the time.'
'Oh how sad.'
'Truly tragic.'
While thinking of all the possibilities in my mind of how to kill him, I did not realize that the lights were out in the elevator. In addition, I was oblivious to even notice that the elevator had stopped working. Then there was the fact that I was trapped inside the elevator with some creeper who I didn't even know. It was another moment where I reminded myself to never overlook what my thoughts are telling me.
He flicked his lighter on, giving us just a small amount of light. It illuminated his angular features, showing that the guy had the looks. What the hell is a pretty boy like this living in a trashy apartment complex? He could be out being a model… Or a stripper. Which ever way floats him boat and sinks another's.
The lighter sat on the uneven edge on the wall of the elevator. Oh, for the love of god don't set everything on fire. That was all I needed at the moment.
That's when he was talking again. Honestly, when will there be a time where I'm paying attention enough to notice that another is speaking? If I'm not paying attention, then it must not be that important in the first place… Right? Maybe…? However, he continued and just brought up some random stuff about how the crappy place is going to collapse one day and kill us all. Oh, a happy camper he is. Very optimistic. Someone who I could agree with for the most part. I nodded along, giving off some short responses. It was interesting to listen to at least. His feeling on things matched mine almost perfectly. Though his jokes needed some work. I've never been the one to laugh at mockery, unless I was the one doing it.
We soon moved on from that. Other conversations moved to the guy who owns that place. That shithead. He really doesn't care and won't keep a handle on the place. The only thing he's good for is taking money from your wallets. Then he talked about the slum of a city we live in. I wouldn't want to die in a city like this, that's one of my fears. Most of the people who live here are scum anyway. In addition, when it rain- I swear to God- the rain is brown. Ew, everything here was disgusting. He made a few more comments that were as sly and annoying as the ones he made before about the time, but seemed to lay off the joke for now.
Then we chatted about the power outage. He sat on the floor transversely from me, smoking another cigarette. It was getting harder for me to concentrate on what topic we were on, my eyes always darting to the cancer stick between his index and middle fingers. However, I was thankful that the idiot landlord did not fix the top latch of the elevator, providing us with some ventilation so I wouldn't smother to death. I sat with one leg propped up so my elbow would rest on top. Wasn't all too comfortable but it was the best that I could due since we were sitting in a death trap.
"It must have been those assholes on the second floor." He looked over and hummed a reply. That made me even angrier with the 'neighbors.' Once I leave this elevator, I'm going to storm up to the partiers and kicking the living shit out of them. Impulse… I'm relying on impulse here… Reason was completely out the window, landing in a bloody heap on the sidewalk. And I told the guy just that! I couldn't believe what I was doing but I felt the need to let my anger out.
A smirk glided across his face, gracing me with it's presence. It has seemed that he felt that way about it too. "I know the idiot who lives in that apartment. I hate him with all my life. I just can't wait to get out of here and move into a nicer place, no?" He flicked some ashes off the end of his cigarette, making my eye twitch. "However, I wouldn't mind to kick his ass in a bit… How's 'bout we make a pact on it?"
So we began from there, mainly discussing about the idiots down below us. Other topics were how much we wanted to kill them and how we would kill them. That one got some very twisted smirks directed my way. Sickeningly wonderful, I would say. There was no real reason for really conversing with this guy, maybe it was the fact that he looked pissed when he was out in the hall. There was just something about him, and I felt like I could trust him. He seemed like a decent guy than others who lived here. The damn scum.
Plus he wanted to slaughter those idiot like I did. What could beat that?
Eventually we got on the topic of jobs in this sleazy town. He worked at a strip club -who knew?- but worked as the bartender. It wasn't his ideal job, or his first, but it paid well. Paid much better than mine. I told about mine and how I steal practically everything that I need to survive since I couldn't afford anything. I didn't care if I told him; it wasn't like I would see him again after this anyway. However, that's when thing began to get pretty screwed up…
"I'm not going to preach to you about stealing and all, kid, but it seems like you should get a better job if you're in debt." He let his cigarette go out before smothering it up against the wall. His emeralds turned back to capture my azure eyes. "What got you in debt anyway? You invest in the wrong stock or something'?"
I twitched, this time not by the intense smell of smoke. The memory reoccurred as I remembered why I was in debt. Why I couldn't feed myself. It all sucks, and it reminded me on how life is so unfair. It reminded me how much I felt like killing myself in the past year. Everything sucked. Though, I wouldn't tell him that. No, I just smiled along and told that I was just having some problems since Shin-Ra was going to the shits.
I watched as he nodded along to my answer. The look on his face told me that he knew that everything I said was utter bullshit but he complied to it anyway. He didn't need to know about it, no one knew about it. Until I knew him better, this stranger didn't deserve an answer to that. Strangers who knew a lot about one another already. It was so strange that we could converse like this when I hated practically anything that breathed, moved, and fucked. I wasn't going to complain, though. It felt good to get some of it out.
Well, we continued to chat until the light of the lighter gave out and almost scared the shit out of me. I totally did not see that coming. In the darkness, I started to shake. It wasn't that I was afraid of the dark or anything. No, that wasn't it at all. It was the fact that in the dark you feel so alone. Alone. It got me angry again. The fact that I was dirt broke, alone, and caving in on my addiction all came flooding back to me. The shaking increased and I didn't know how it would stop until--
Until I felt something touch my shoulder…
"Kid? You alright?"
My eyes widened a bit. The shaking decreased some, but I could still feel my heart trying to scrape its way out of my throat. It was the same feeling that you feel before you burst out into tears. Though, I wouldn't let myself cry in front of some stranger. Even if we were in the dark. It hurt and it made my voice a little incoherent, but I answered back with a simple, "Yeah."
There was a rustle of clothing and I felt him sitting shoulder to shoulder with me. He began lightly talking to me, making sure that I responded back every time. It was odd, but I felt better feeling the warm the other generated. Soon, the shaking stopped like it hadn't happened before. Even my heart ceased its escape plan and began pumping blood throughout my body once more. Though, my throat still felt as bloodied up as it ever had.
My eyes fluttered open when I heard the elevator beginning to start up again. I hadn't noticed that I had fallen asleep. The lights had already flickered back to life and the AC units could be heard in the distance. Damn, the whole apartment building is alive.
I blinked a few times until I looked over at the man sleeping beside me. Was I resting my head on his shoulder? Hell, he was comfortable… And warm…
I mentally kicked myself for thinking these things.
I looked over at the sleeping other. His thick eyelashes hid his rich eyes from sight. My neck crooked to the side, noticing that he's much calmer when he's not talking. Less annoying also…
Damn it, stop doing this to yourself.
Breathing out the air I was holding in, I gently shook his shoulder. I stood up then, watching as the other's eyes opened wearily. He probably didn't even notice that I was using his body as my own personal pillow. Well, I hope not. It took most of my strength to speak without whining. "Hey, we have plans… Don't we?"
He stood up, slowly but surely. I could hear some bones in his back and neck crack. Wow, old man. Pssh… He's probably just a few years older than I am. Maybe. He looked pretty young anyway. There were no wrinkles on his face and he looked like he was evenly toned, there was no way he was over twenty-five. Maybe twenty-four but no way twenty-five…
I stopped again.
He brushed the collective dust off in a few pats before smiling at me. It caused me to rub my head with the palm of my hand. I must have looked like such a child then. Why am I worrying about this? The redness on my cheeks may have given something away. Who knows, it may have been from the lack of heat in here. Or the assess of heat, thinking back to his warmth. I heard his voice, "Oh yeah… I almost forgot about that…"
We really didn't say much as the elevator started up again. It clanked and wobbled until finally working the way it did before. It stopped at our destination soon enough, looking over the huge death scare. As we got out, we reveal another smirk to one another before walking up into an open and noisy apartment and beating the shit out of the man living in B02.
A few months had passed since I was kicked out of my old apartment and was living in a motel every night. Well, I wasn't paying for it exactly. It was the slums; no one really had the money to stay in the motel. Before all this, I sold all my furniture so I could have money to buy food and wash my clothes for work. Practically everything that I had, I lost. It wasn't a happy goodbye either.
By the way, my old job finally found out that things were missing from the stock. A lot of things. After a while of snooping, they found out that I was the culprit and got sacked, again. No worries, though. Even if I can't get a decent job in this city doesn't mean that I'm not happy. Money isn't the key to happiness, right? Yeah. However, all the rest of the crap in my life has made me utterly depressed. Almost to the point where killing myself seemed a great option.
It seemed like I gambled away everything that I once had in my life. Everything small detail. Now it's all gone. I'm fading away into the darkness. The darkness, somewhere that sounded kind of nice compared to this.
That where I found myself walking down the streets of the slums. It was raining some, the rain dirty as ever. Still, I made my way through it. Some eyes were on me as I walked, causing me to fasten my pace. Great, all I needed was to be mugged in the middle of a place like this. To lessen that extremely high chance, I slipped into an open strip club to my left. That's all that was ever open in these streets, bars, whorehouses and strip clubs.
What a strip club it was too. It looked like I step into some pimp's mansion. Red velvet lined the seats, black lights everywhere, and half-naked girls danced on glittered neon poles. It was as if I stepped into an expensive part of heaven. It must be doing well in its business if it can afford its electric bill.
My eyes scanned over the space again then stopped at the bar. Scanning the room is when I saw him. My thinking process nearly stopped when he came into my line of view. Well, he said that he worked at a strip club, didn't he? As a bartender? What luck! In all the strip joints in this city, I ran into the one that he worked in. My eyes soaked in the sight again, just making sure that I was seeing the same guy as before. There's no doubt about it, it has to be him.
I made my way up to the bar, sitting down on one of its stools. Real leather? This place has to be doing good to get that. He hasn't seen me yet as he was mixing drinks for a couple of gentlemen off to the side. That gave me enough time to go through my wallet to find some money. There had to be some money left. I closed it slowly, finding that my last hundred was in there. Well, I had to use it wisely, I supposed.
"What'll it be- Hey, kid!" My gaze moved from my lap to his face. A lopsided smirk was what greeted my depressed exterior. It almost made me smile at the fact that he even remembered me. Surprised me too. However, I only glared at the part were he still called me kid. Great, how pleasant.
"What's happening, old timer." His smirk grew at my sarcasm, finally causing me to crack a grin as well. I folded my wallet up again, holding it tightly in my hands. No, I shouldn't splurge on splendors. I had to save it for food, supplies, or something important like that.
"Wait just a sec, I'm going on break." Seriously, I had no clue who the hell he was talking to at the moment. It was confusing since he was staring at me the whole time. Could he be asking me to wait? Why would he be asking me that?
He put a few more drinks on the table before someone else walked up to the bar dressed as a bartender. They smirked at one another and the red head walked out from behind the bar. He signaled for me to follow as he moved towards the back. There was the all too famous smirk on his face.
I paused before going to the back with him. There was a small little break room for the strippers however, he moved past that. We made our way to the back alley behind the joint, which surprisingly showed no signs of rain and was clean of any drunken bums. They were probably doing so well in this business that they can afford to clean up in the back. Man, I wish that the whole streets were like this.
"So, kid," he had taken out his pack of cigarettes and began to light one up. I was tempted to grab on from his hand any second. Then he settled the package back into his shirt pocket. Crap, I needed to help my craving. "I haven't seen you in awhile. Whatcha been up to?"
"Oh, you know. Same old same old." I said truthfully. Well, last time I was talking with him, I was going through a crises. So, I'm technically telling the truth here in an odd kind of way. Sorry, everything is total bullshit right now. I leaned myself up against the dumpster, a thought passing through my mind that made me straighten up once again. Man, I really hope that there weren't any dead hookers stuffed in there. That would just throw me off the handle.
He blew a puff of smoke in my direction carelessly. My eyes narrowed as the smell reached my nose. He noticed me flinching this time and put of the smoke rapidly, stomping it out on the ground. My eyes widened a bit as he was shaking his head at me. "Why didn't ya tell me that you were a past smoker? Christ, I would have put it out."
"I- It doesn't bother me that much." Wow, how useless was that? Acting skills totally sucked and it wasn't my fault that I wasn't properly trained. He just sighed and looked me over again. "What are you thinking?"
"I heard that you got kicked out a few months back." Observant. Slightly creepy that he was paying so much attention, but observant nevertheless. He folded his arms across his torso, staring at me from the other side of the alleyway. "So, where're you living at now, kid?"
"Roxas. I'm not a kid and it's getting really annoying hearing you call me that."
"Fine then, Roxas. I'm Axel. So, where're you staying now-a-days?"
I paused, trying to think of a credible lie that wouldn't be too suspicious. However, none came to my mind. My mind wasn't so sharp when it came to lying. Actually, it wasn't too sharp for anything else either. Finally, I decided to tell him the unwelcoming truth. I just hoped that I could actually get through it all. "I'm not really staying anywhere. I've been trying to find a job and that hasn't been working out so I've been staying in motels."
"You okay?"
"Fine."
"You sure?"
Was I sure? That was a very weird question for him to be asking. Once I say something, I would hope that others would believe it. Even if I totally looked like crap on the outside.
I scratched the bridge of my nose, feeling a small sprinkle of rain splash the tip of it. Great, that's all I really needed. I thought it would be done raining by now, why did it half to start up again? He noticed my gaze and looked up as well before motioning to go back inside the break room. Once inside, a few of the girls giggled as they saw us walk in together and waved at their bartender. I only scoffed as the man smirked and acknowledged their greeting.
"I think I better go. It was nice meeting you again, but I have a job interview to get to." Crap, I have to go before he starts asking me about my job. He looked over as I was motioning back into the back alley. Before I could move, he placed a hand on the handle to block me. My eyes watched the hand frustratingly, seeing as it wasn't going to move. I frowned, but didn't look up. "What?"
"If you need anything, kid. You can come and find me here, ya know." His voice was serious, almost scary considering I've only heard him with a mocking tone before. His grip on the door released and his hand fell limply at his side. Still not looking up, I walked out to see it sprinkling light, not too bad to run back to the motel room. I stopped suddenly as I heard him call out behind me. "Hey, kid."
"Not kid." I turned with a quirked eyebrow. "What?"
"Be careful out there."
"Christ…" My eyes fluttered open as I slowly came to. Through narrow eyes, I could see that the world was upside-down. Literally upside-down. I whined at the intense pain in my neck as I tried to move. Tried was the keyword. My legs were flipped over my head as I was pushed up against a dumpster like a broken rag doll. Blood was dripping from my lip and probably some other places that I couldn't notice at the moment, and since gravity was not on my side, the blood was running up my face instead of down. Not fucking good.
Hissing in a deep breath, I fell over on my side to relieve the pressure on my neck and back. My hands and knees found their way into a puddle of muddy water as I turned on all fours. My feet came up from under me and pulled me upright carefully. Bones popped back into their places, making me shiver from the feeling that it brought. I was hurting and ended up swiveling to the side to keep my balance. Damn, I felt as if I was run over by a fucking bus.
A dirty hand came up to wipe the blood away. Wow, I couldn't see even a few feet in front of me. The sky was dark, the music from a bar could be heard in the distance, and my empty wallet rested on the floor by my feet. Slowly, I leaned in and picked it up. The money was gone, no surprise, but they left the rest in place, big surprise. My bones where cursing me out, telling me not to move. No surprise at all…
Limping out of the random alleyway, I looked around to see where I was at. It was still the slums, but deeper into the city. Where all the scum lived. An involuntary shiver ran through my body as I realized that it was night. I really didn't want to be here during this time.
I started stumbling across the street, trying to find my way to a motel or something. A few people stopped to watch as I attempted my getaway with an eyebrow raised. I continued my drunken sprint until I ran into someone head-on, knocking me over instantly. "Shit…"
"What the hell is your problem?" The guy asked, the collision not fazing him at all. When I didn't say anything, he reached down to grip the front of my shirt, pulling me off my feet to look at me face to face. What do you know? He's drunk. I turned away, knowing what was coming next. Fist in face, me falling back into the ground, and him stomping off into the great beyond. You know what happens, don't you? Exactly that.
It took less time to recover from that and now figured to take my journey a little slower. Considering that my nose was halfway in my face, you could see why. My joints popped as I reached a run down motel. After finding a room that didn't have another trespasser preoccupying it, I broke in and locked the door behind me.
Old habits never die.
Sighing, I gradually made my way towards the bathroom and turned on the shower. The bath didn't look clean, but I would live. All that counted was that the water looked clear. Without stripping down, I collapsed into the tub, letting the frozen droplets beat against my clothed body. In there, I thought about what I was doing previously before he had that unusual meeting in the alleyway. It was another damn job interview and I was late again. I took a short cut and ended up being cornered. They ran off with the rest of the little money I had.
Blinking, I decided that it would be better if I washed my clothes and get cleaned up. It took around an hour before I left the bathroom, looking better than how I came in. I had to strip off all my clothes and wash them as I cleaned the cuts and examine the bruising. My clothes were damp, but I could care less. I sighed before crashing onto the ugly looking bed.
"I hate my life…" I sat up to stare at the locked door, hoping that some idiot would come in and put me out of my misery. It didn't happen, of course. Oh no, nothing that good would happen to someone like me. Sighing, I knew that I wasn't going to sleep tonight. No, I wasn't going to sleep tomorrow either. I was going to take an eternal nap or whatever they call it nowadays.
I jumped to my feet, finding some long lost energy buried deep inside me. Just enough to walk me to my grave, I suppose. Slamming the stupid door behind me, I began to take off away from the city this time. The stupid pitiful slums. What a place to live in, wouldn't you think. It builds you some character. I've been to places where you've never been. Soon you realize that life is useless when you have it that bad. I should have been the one to die. Not him.
Realizing what I was thinking, I slowed my pace and began to break down. Fantastic. My feet were dragging, but I continued. Needed to find a suitable building before sunrise. I'd been walking for a while, and had made it into a nicer devolvement. It was still the slums, but it wasn't that bad. Some old papers crumpled as I walked on top, counting the stories on each building I past.
That when I bumped into another goddamned person. This time, I didn't fall back but was held upright. My eyes looked from the coat to his face, and then frowned when I saw someone all too familiar. "Something tells me that there is no way to avoid you, is there?"
"Kid, Jesus Christ." It's been at least two or three weeks since I've seen him last. He must have been looking at my bloody lip, which was the most noticeable injury on my face besides the blackened eye. "What the hell happened to ya?"
I laughed humorlessly. "Tax collectors."
He shook his head, "What the hell are you doing out here at this - wait. You were avoiding me?"
I paused, taking in what I had said earlier. Well, I made it a point to not go into that strip club anymore. Plus, I wouldn't even go walking around in that street when I knew that their doors were open. Was I really avoiding him? "No." To the point. Can't complain with that. "Why are you all the way over here? The strip club's a long ways away."
"I know. I live a long ways away. Got a new apartment out here. Fairly decent and doesn't have an idiot who throws parties like the other." He finally let go of my arm that was holding me up, which I hadn't realized was still clasped onto my sleeve. Surprisingly, I didn't fall. Staggered a bit, but didn't fall down. I noticed that he watched with silent fascination. Then, his brow furrowed. "Seriously, kid. You look like shit, no offense." None taken. "You need to get those cuts bandaged and your eye iced down."
"Pssh. Where at? Doesn't look like their any place that's caring enough to take care of someone for free. " Huh, I was laughing again. My mouth was agape as I stared up at the red head in disbelief. Does he not understand the cruelty of people? Why the hell is he so naïve to that fact that the world and its people hate each other!? He was looking down at me, frowning as I was mocking him boldly. "I would be better off dead. Dead. I believe that anyone else living in the slums would agree with that." Wow. Maybe I'm being too bold. "If you have any special place that would take care of some loser like me then you should tell me."
"Are you drunk?"
I shook my head. I didn't think I had anything to drink before all this. If I did, then I wouldn't know now. "No. Just blood loss."
Joke, meant to be a freaking joke. However, he did not take it in the same sick humor that I did. Before I knew it, I was practically being dragged by the guy to some apartment building. Actually, it was a nicer looking apartment building than most. However, the look on his face wasn't too inviting, kind of frightened me to some point. Once we got inside, he pulled me up two flights of stairs by the wrists forcefully and stopped at a door. Once he let go, I had a chance to run away as he was unlocking the door, but I didn't. I had no strength for it and I wouldn't care it something were to happen to me now. All I wanted to do was kill myself. What could be worse?
He opened the door and pulled me inside, locking it behind us. It was a good-sized place as I scanned over the surroundings. I waited until he was done silently, then he guided me over to his living room more gently than earlier and gestured for me to sit down. As I sat, ever bone in my body was screaming in pure agony. I winced and he ran off to some unknown destination beyond my sight. When he returned, he had a first aid kit and a washrag in his hand. "Are you going to tell me the truth?"
I hummed as the cool rag rubbed against my cheek. "About what?" My eyes watched every move he made. Obviously, my brain did not trust the guy at all and had put my body on full alert. It didn't on those other people? Why? I tensed as he hit the bruise around my left eye and he backed away and tried again carefully. The once clean washrag was covered in blood and gore, making me cringe.
"About anything. You like piling lie after lie on people, don't you?"
My hand reached up and pulled his hand away from my face slowly. His eyes met mine with concern. Mine had lost all since of sarcasm; all playfulness was gone as I was holding onto his wrist securely. "I have never lied to you. Lies are useless and makes life more complicated for those who don't need it. I simply give you just enough information to keep you from asking too many questions. Understand?"
"Ki-"
"Roxas."
Blinking, he pulled back from my iron grip to continue what he was doing before. "Will you tell me then? The whole truth this time?"
"About what?"
"About what caused you to dig yourself your own grave?"
A tremor ran through my body before I shook my head. Noticing the involuntary shake earlier, he titled his head to the side in confusion. The look of distraught on my face told him that I was in no mood to discuss this with anyone.
The rest of the time was silent as he helped wrap the wounds that I would let him- the neck, back, chest, that was pretty much it- and he left me alone to go into what I thought was the kitchen. As I ran a hand over my now bandaged chest, I felt something cold behind me. "Woah, what the hell?!"
Laughing. He was laughing! So not cool. That was fucking cold. I looked to see what he had brushed against me and saw that it was an icepack. No, it was freaking freezing. My brows furrowed as he calmed himself down enough to hand over the icepack that he had brought me along with a bottle of water. Bottle. Of. Water.
"Water?"
He nodded, probably knowing where I was going with this. "Water is good for a growing boy so I don't want to hear any complaints 'bout it."
Grumbling, I took the damn bottle and almost chugged it in one setting. It was pretty nice to have something that didn't burn your throat when you drank it. It was actually rather soothing. Setting down the halfway empty bottle, I looked over at him. "What are you staring at?"
"Are you this fucking pissed all the time?" That took me by surprise. Slowly, I shook my head and he just sighed, sinking further into the chair he was sitting in. "Kid, I'll get you some blankets from the closet. You crash on my couch for awhile so those wounds have time to heal."
"N-no. That's not necessary."
"Not a question, it's a command. You're in no state to be walking around like that." He walked off to leave me there puzzled. When he came back, he laid the blankets on the coffee table out in front of me. I watched as he sat down in the sat again with a heartfelt smile on his features. "Kid?"
Humming a reply, I laid down on the couch but continued to stare at him.
"You can stay here as long as you want and I'll help you find a decent job, alright?" I stayed silent as he got up and stretched. As he began walking away, I sat up suddenly, quickly regretting it.
"Axel?"
"Hm?"
"T-thank you."
"Welcome Roxas."
Awhile had past since the day where Axel invited - forced- me to stay with him. In that time, I got my act back together and got a job to try to pay my share of the rent. Actually, he did get me the job and I owned a lot to him for it. It took awhile, but now I could buy some new clothes and had enough money to spare. I was saving up to pay Axel back, though. The stress that I felt before wasn't there and I could see the light from the end of the tunnel. I'm not there, but I can see it.
Axel, he was an interesting character to hang around with. We both had the weekends off and usually stayed at the apartment during that time. He was quirky and was happy as long as he heard himself talk. Annoying slightly, but he meant well. I owned him a lot of digging me out of that hole.
I unlock the door to the red head's apartment, tired from a long day of work. Walking in, the smell of pizza reached my nose, making me make a double take before locking the door behind me. I looked around, wondering where the smell was coming from. As I walked into the kitchen, I saw Axel leaning over, getting some beer out of the fridge. When he turned to set the bottles on the table, he noticed me staring with a confused look plastered across my face. "Well, well, well. Look who it is."
"I thought you were working tonight?" Well, I didn't think he was working, I knew that he was working. It was Friday, Axel never missed a Friday. Slowly, I began to shrug off my coat and set it in the closet before marveling at what was right in front of me. Axel had the DVD player on and there was a movie starting up as box of pizza was set out on the coffee table in front of the TV and he was just getting the refreshments before I walked in. "You gotta date?"
"Technically."
There was a ping of jealously that I felt, but it was small. Small is better than a lot, right? I followed him into the living room, slightly confused by all of this. The smell of the pizza was making my mouth water. It was my favorite kind too, which made me ask another question, "With who?"
"You, sit down already."
I blinked, coming around to sit beside him on the couch. He passed me a beer as the movie began to start up. I was too stunned to even get a word in. It was a black and white horror/comedy that I used to watch when I was younger. I never grew out of it, I guess. Axel had said that he never watched this movie before, but he remembered that I enjoyed it. This was overly bizarre. "Did I miss the announcement?"
"C'mon, kid." Kid. I scoffed. "It's been a month since I brought you in, brushed you off, and put you back on your feet." He took a long drink of his beer that made me watch with interest. "I save you're life, sensitively. And now I'm asking so little of you, stupidly." I couldn't help but laugh as he said this. Taking a swing of my own beer, I watched as his famous smirk returned. "So, come on, have a little fun tonight."
I bobbed my head along, mentally kicking myself for the thoughts that were coming through my mind. A little fun tonight. He's actually giving me alcohol for once, he popped in my favorite movie, and he bought my favorite food. It was the most anyone has even done for me. "Alright, but don't try to fall asleep on me, okay?"
"As if, kid."
The movie went by smoothly and Axel really seemed to enjoy it. By the end, all the pizza was almost gone, there were four or five bottles of beer sitting on the coffee table, and we had moved until we were leaning on one another. It was getting hard to breathe as I could feel his chest rising and falling. I didn't think he noticed it, or even cared for that matter.
I look up, staring up at his lips in the dark. They were glistening as the light of the television reflected off the shininess, as if he had just ran his tongue across. His eyes were closed, he probably passed out right as the credits began to roll. His hand found its way around my shoulders, pulling me close. It took a lot to gently shrug off the arm and move away to clean up the mess in front of us.
Staggering over to the kitchen, I cleaned up the bottles and pizza box. I leaned up against the counter, not feeling well all of a sudden.
I've been feeling this way a lot lately. There was no way to help it either. Usually I would push it aside to go on with my life, but… Tonight…
"You okay?"
I jumped out of my skin at his groggy voice. I stayed put, not looking up, finding the counter to be the most marvelous thing I've ever seen in my life. He was standing in the doorway, leaning against it, most likely observing my odd behavior and noting it in his mental booklet. "Course." I looked up and walked towards him slowly. There was anticipation building up inside my chest as his gaze sleepily titled down at me. His head was crooked to the side, watching me curiously. My mouth opened as I was standing directly in front of him, "I had fun tonight."
"Me too."
Awkward moment of silence. Our gazes were locked and I felt like moving just inches closer. I wanted to press our lips together. I didn't. I couldn't. I knew that he would freak out and probably kick me out without another word. I wasn't brave enough to do it.
"I think it's time for you to go to bed, you're about to pass out," I said chuckling. The red head ran a hand through his hair before smiling down to me. "What are you staring at?"
"Kid," I feel him ruffle my hair before laughing. I shove him away, lightly so I didn't hurt him. I was laughing too as he pulled me back. He gave me an awkward one handed hug, "Happy one month anniversary."
"So cheesy."
"My specialty," he replied, pulling away, rubbing his eyes, and yawning again.
I shook my head and directed him out into the living area again, my hands become all too comfortable against the muscles on his chest. "Go to bed, you're making me tired."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He was chuckling lightly as he began to stagger off tiredly to the end of the hall near his bedroom. I watched as he entered the darkness at the end of the hall, "Night kid."
"Night…"
For once, I felt utterly cheerful. Can you believe it? Un-fucking-believable. I practically ran home that day, wanted to get home and celebrate with Axel. Swinging open the door, I looked around for the red head. I called out to him and hear someone in the back grunt a reply. His bedroom? Uncharted territory? Slowly, I made my way towards the end of the hall, peering inside the red head's slightly cracked door. Without thinking about it, I pushed it open a little more. I could see a lone figure sprawled out across the four-poster bed, the black sheets tangled around his long legs. My eyes soaked in the sight before stepping back out into the hall, pulling the door almost closed, and knocking on the frame. "Axel? You awake?"
I heard him stir, probably pushing the sheets out of his way and getting to his feet. After a few moments, he pulled open the door and rubbed his eyes. His shirt was missing and his hair was more wild than usual. Then he noticed the smile on my face and woke up a bit more. "Why so happy, kid?"
"Why so grouchy?" I retorted, practically skipping back into the living room. He followed, trying to figure out the answer to this little guessing game. I didn't reply, but got out a beer to start my own celebration. He peacefully sat down on the counter, his legs swing back and forth out of boredom. Then I noticed something, "Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like that. It's the same look you give when some flips out their wallet and wants to show you their kids. The same 'I have better things to be doing' stare."
"I've never heard of that stare in my life, but I'm sorry and I'm tired," Axel said honestly.
I took a swing of my beer and leaned forward on the counter to stare at the bottle before pressing further. So what if it looked like I was sticking my ass out of another reason? I was fucking happy as hell. "Why are you so tired? Out late last night?"
He pushed himself off the counter and made his way towards the fridge. Probably taking a liking to the beer in my hand. Beer right after he had woken up too, tells something about the guy, doesn't it? Once he got one of his own, he answered my question. "Since when were you so interested in what I've been doing?"
Oh, oh shit. My face dropped and my beer was set down on the counter. No answer came.
"I… Didn't mean it like that."
"Whatever." I pushed up and off the counter, all enthusiasm gone. I strode off towards the hall leading to the front door. As I was getting my jacket out of the closet, I turned back to glance at him. He had just put his beer on the table and was staring me down. His mouth was hanging open like he was going to say something, but I interrupted. "Go back to bed, I'll tell you later."
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Out."
I was opening the door when I felt someone pull me back. His bare chest was pressed against my back, almost making me have a heart attack. One hand held me in my place as the other closed the door. I was frozen until he backed away and carefully turned me around to face him. "What was your big news?"
"No, Axel." His eyes were soft and apologetic from his earlier outburst. I shook my head, though. "It's not important."
"Roxas" I couldn't help but smile as he said my name instead of kid. It was rare to hear that happen. He was pulling at my wrists now, forcing me to look him straight in the eye. His head titled downwards and a weak smile tugged a corner of his lips upwards. "I'm sorry. Please go back to what you were saying."
"It's fine."
"You're being stubborn."
"I'm trying not to be."
He laughed, his hair falling into his eyes. It was odd to see him without any hair gel in the red spikes. "Such a kid."
Trying to pull back from the iron grip he had on my wrists, I was muttering things under my breath. Muttering all kinds of things and most of them he either did not fully hear or even understand. Finally, I just blurted my news out to him. "I… I got a promotion."
The smirk appeared again, "That's great, kid."
Obviously, he didn't understand where I was going with this. Clearing my throat, I continued on, "And… I… Well… I want to pay you back… I'm not going to live on your couch forever, you know?"
His face dropped, something that I wasn't expecting. His hand wrapped around mine and began to walk off towards the living room, dragging me behind him. I had no clue what had gotten into him, I thought that I was getting in his way. "I want to show you something." Passing up the living room, he walking into the hall leading towards the bedroom, but opened the door on the opposite wall and pulled me inside.
I gasped at the sight. Something that I hadn't thought would happen in a million years. There was a small bed with a dresser and a desk filling up the enclosed room. I watched as he tugged me along behind him, motioning to sit on the bed along with him. There was silence as I looked over the furniture, seeing all of them were brand new.
"I bought these a week or so ago, it took damn near all night to build the things. Plus sneaking them in without you noticing them." He was laughing as I gawked. That was why he was so tired? Because he was creating a permanent room for me? Why would he do this for me? The sound of his voice pulled me from my thoughts automatically. "So, whaddya think?"
"This is…" I babbled on about something that I was sure hadn't made sense to him. However, he probably got the idea that I was shocked and was strangely joyful. Letting out a breath of hot air that I had been holding for a little while, I rubbed the back of my neck. "Wow." It was freaking unexpected. I seriously thought that the guy would be happy to hear that I would be moving out soon. "What does this mean… To you, Axel?"
"It means… I want you to stay with me." I frowned; he was staring down at the ground as he said this. Man, this was starting to get messy. "Will ya?"
Why was he sending me mixed signals all the time? Slowly, I nodded my head.
Happily, he ruffled my hair playfully. I laughed and nudged him away as I always had done. I wanted to kiss him so badly; he was being so goddamn sexy at the moment. It seems that when he's freaking tired, he's much calmer. Weird when considering he's a firecracker about to explode the whole day. That's one thing I loved about him, he was so unpredictable and you never knew what was going to happen next. Like today, making it terribly hard to keep myself down on the ground.
All I wanted to do was kiss him and love him for the rest of my life. No more gambling away my luck in situations like this. I wanted to have him with me and now I found that he felt the same… As friends though…
"I'm sorry."
Axel quirked an eyebrow, "For what?"
"For creating all this havoc for you."
He stretched, most of his body weight leaning on me now. I was laughing as he leaned further downwards, pinning me to the bed under his deadweight. "Axel!" To that, he only yawned and shifted himself to get more comfortable. Trying to push him up wasn't working as I would have hoped for. It felt fine, but I kept pushing him away uselessly.
"This is pay back for waking me up."
All I could do was laugh and pity myself silently.
Its been so long, and I couldn't be happier. Everyday I would wake in the room that Axel had made up for me, getting out of bed and meeting him as I walked out of my door in the mornings. Well, most of the time anyway. It's hard enough to wake him up after a full night of resting, think about what happens when he has to go to work on time. Yikes. It wasn't that bad, though. I would go into his room and drag him out of bed to get a move on. It was fun. Finally he ended up waking up on time but just laying there waiting for me to try to get him out of bed. Sometimes he would ambush me and tackle me down to his bed. It was an odd relationship between us and it certainly was not helping my state of mind. Or my control.
I walked out of my room. It was the weekend and I would probably just stay home all day. Once I stepped out into the open air, I could smell something burning from inside the kitchen. Rushing in, I saw Axel at the stove. Well, he was staring at the shove wondering what the hell he was supposed to do. "Axel?" I rubbed my eyes in disbelief as he continued to frown upon the cooking utensil. There was a chuckle that was trying to escape from my throat. "You're… Cooking?"
He turned, most likely giving up on the shove and smiled in my direction. Gradually, he made his way over to me and leaned against the fridge. "Happy one year anniversary."
I hung my head in defeat. "Oh, not that again!" An outstretched hand was nudging my shoulder to make me look at his face again. Yeah, that sweet smile was still there and I couldn't look at it with smiling back. He has that kind of effect on me.
"C'mon! We survived one whole year together. That deserves something!"
"Yeah… I guess it does." I said quietly, instantly missing the warmth as he slid the hand off my shoulder. Sighing, I brushed some of my hair out of my face tiredly. My eyes fell down to the floor as I remembered all the saved money that I had to pay him back. Even at this time, I still did not have enough that could do the trick. "I never really can pay you back, can I?"
"You don't have to…"
"No, I feel… Like I should. I own you everything."
He titled him chin up, his face serious for a second. I was scared, wondering where this was going. Then he said it. "Tell me."
My throat was burning, telling me that I shouldn't be telling him this. I didn't care, though. He has taken care of me throughout this whole year. Throughout this whole year, I found myself falling in love with him. He had some right to know what had gone wrong. To know why I couldn't sit in the darkness without breaking down completely. Why I felt so alone in this world. Why I hated the slums with all my heart. "It was my brother."
He's concerned, letting us leave the kitchen and walking out into the living room. We're sitting on the couch, our bodies are turned so I can tell the story. Well, there wasn't much to really tell. Axel crooked his head to the side, "A brother?"
"Twin." I swallow and it hurts. My body starts shaking again, having one of its spells when I would think about this. It was stress and was trying so hard to not loose my shit in from of him. I found his hand running through my hair and trying to sooth me comforting. Sighing, I continued the story. "He's dead."
"Oh…"
"There's not a lot to say about it." Truth, and I didn't think I could manage through it. He'll just have to live through the watered down version. The hand that was running through my hair had left and he pulled me closer so I could rest my head on his shoulder. Somehow, my shaking had ceased. I buried the side of my face into his shoulder, taking a liking to the warmth. "I just didn't want my parents to pay for the funeral. I spent most of what I had to send him off. He… Was the most important person in my life…"
His arms wrapped around me and pulled me closer. It wasn't a hug that he had given me before. Oh no. This was totally different. All the others were either one handed or were rather quick before going to do something else. This was amazing. He held onto me with a hand rubbing my back to calm me down. My own hands had snaked around his back and held onto him like life-support. Whispering quietly in my ear, he cooed, "Roxas, I'm so sorry."
I back away a bit, looking at his expression. He's slightly confused now that I'm smiling weakly, but I can feel that he's relieved. His thumb comes from out of nowhere to wipe away a lone tear. Wow, he was right, I'm such a kid.
I push into the hand, encouraging it to caress my cheek. It was warm and I was blushing like mad. Axel was so close now. I moved a little forward, feeling a bit braver. All the nervousness was swelling in the pit of my stomach now; it was the moment that could change everything. My hearts pounding and I would be surprised if he couldn't hear it. We're breathing the same air now, his hot breath warming my lips. Our nose brush against one another and my eyes slid close as I pressed forward; we're kissing. It felt so perfect and all the butterflies that had been in my stomach had disappeared as I felt him pull me closer. It's so goddamn amazing.
… And the stove was completely forgotten…
Officially, we've been a couple for nine months. In that time, I've been blown away. At first, yeah, it was more than a little weird, considering the fact that I never really had a boyfriend before. Too many things were going on at that time, totally not my fault. We really did not know how to act around each other, but at night we would make love like there wasn't going to be a tomorrow. He was always on top but I didn't mind it. When we went out on dates, he had to make everyone classify the differences between open and close. He got jealous, a lot. I thought it was funny. All this was fucking amazing.
We moved away from the slums all together, using the money that I was saving up- which was quite a lot. It was blue skies from now on. Axel quit his job at the strip joint and is working as a bartender at a small bar called 'Seventh Heaven.' He enjoys it and says that it pays so much better than that old cruddy place. I transferred over to this town and work at the same place but in an office this time. Things were changing… For the better.
My arms were getting weak from unpacking for the past few hours. The whole apartment was filled with brown square boxes and lots of bubble wrap. A ton of bubble wrap. Someone didn't get the memo that we did not need some much bubbles. Axel was unpacking things in the kitchen as I was in the new living room. It didn't seem to be getting anywhere and I wanted to explore the rest of the house.
"This…." I ran some fingers along the white painted walls, making my way into the empty bedroom. The bed was there with a dresser, but that was all we moved thus far. The windows let in a lot of light, light that I hadn't seen in forever. It made me smile as I could peer out onto the lively streets below. The sun kissing my face and warming me up at once. "Is so different from the slums."
Axel had come in a little bit after, carrying in some boxes for this room. I hear him set it down on the floor with a small thud, coming up behind me to look out the window as well. His arms wrapped around me gently. I could feel his hot breath tickle the shell of my ear. "No regrets?"
"None."
I felt him laugh, rubbing up against my back. Quirking an eyebrow, I moved my head off to the side so I could look behind my shoulder up at him. He was smiling down at me, "I guess we have that idiot to thank."
I loosened his grip so I could hook my arms around his neck, nuzzling into his neck. I smiled onto the crook of his neck as I thought back to the first day that we met. Of course, the idiot who knocked the power out. Well, he didn't but we still blamed him for it. "I think we did enough for him."
"Roxas…?"
I sighed in delight, hearing him say my name. "Hm…"
"I love you."
"I love you too."
That's when I felt that everything was right. I began my new life with my loving boyfriend in apartment 813.
-End of Oneshot- Long oneshot. I had to start this two months earlier because I knew that it wouldn't be done on time. AND I STILL DIDN'T GET IT POSTED ON TIME! FML! Seriously, I had it finished a month ago and I couldn't get on because my internet sucked. So yeah, it's a dark story until the end! Trying not to be so cliché here… Psshh… Yeah... Now to go finish some other stories.
Happy Akuroku day. Peace.
Review if you wish, tell me what you think, tell me what's going through your mind.
YourConscience813