As he walked through the city, Roxas looked around and tried to memorize the streets. He had to, if he and his family were going to live there. His family wasn't exactly rich. They lived on the more urban side of Traverse Town, and Roxas wasn't naïve, he had to protect his family. Especially his brother, Sora. Even though he was a little older, he was kind of… dense.
Now he wasn't saying that urban areas were poor. He was just saying that the property value is dragged down by all the graffiti, backed up sewage, violent residents, and other things that people don't want to live near. So that was how Roxas' dad was able to afford the apartment. Which he was grateful for. It wasn't the best, but it was definitely not the worst.
He made a note of all the things he passed, a ratty old drug store, a bank covered in graffiti, a homeless guy holding a cup out towards him, which Roxas sidestepped and chucked to himself. Poor old man, if he was trying to panhandle, this was the wrong place to do it. Surely no one here had money to spare. Roxas panhandled for a while after his father, Cloud lost his job. He learned lots of things that he wouldn't have known before, when he was a regular upper middle-class kid. He knew all the tricks. He was a jack of all trades. It was how he got by.
He continued on his way, taking note of how he had now passed into a better urban neighborhood. It had fancy stores, decent grocery stores, upscale boutiques and many, many tourists. A mischievous smile came to Roxas' lips. He knew tourists had lots of money and big warm hearts for wide eyed, pouting little boys such as him. Well, he wasn't exactly 'little' in age-wise, he was sixteen. But he retained the height of a fourteen year old, and he always used it to his advantage.
He then came to the subway station stairs and looked down with disgust. He hated underground places, especially those littered with trash. His face contorted even more when he realized he would have to be packed into a metal capsule filled with a bunch of other people. He heaved a sigh. He had no choice in the matter. School was always extremely important to him. He had to learn if he was ever going to make something of himself. He couldn't spend his life begging on the street, living from hand to mouth. He could no longer depend on his fathers' money to get into a decent collage, and even though he spent his summer in the library when he wasn't working, it was just never enough. So if that was the only way he would be able to get to school, then so be it.
He was forcefully snapped out of his thoughts by something hitting his head, he turned around, ready to destroy whoever did it, but stopped when he saw a cute black-haired girl close to tears. His face softened. "Don't cry I'm sure it was an accide- Ah!" He screamed as another girl with dirty blonde hair hit him over the head, "Hey don't yell at her! It was an accident! Geez!"
"Yeah!" yelled another girl with light orange hair. I scowled "That's what I was going to say! I wouldn't yell at her!" I gestured wildly at the black-haired girl. The two girls looked skeptical. They turned to the other girl, "Is this true, Xion?" Roxas raised an eyebrow at the name, but said nothing. Xion wiped some of the tears away, "Yeah, he was just telling me not to cry…. Besides it's my fault for being so clumsy."
"Yeah she's right. Maybe we shouldn't let her hold the merchandise anymore." Said the dirty blonde to the light orange haired girl, who nodded. "Yeah, if we broke one of them, then your mom would kill us!" Roxas ignored the girls as they had their conversation and picked up the strange statue. Honestly it looked like a piece of crap to Roxas, but to each their own. Right? He handed it to Xion and she smiled thankfully, "Thank you for not yelling at me! We own a pawn shop down the street over there. Stop by whenever. It has a big statue of a lion next to it, so you can't miss it. I'm Xion, this is Paine and that's Rikku." She said as she pointed to her friends. "Oh, well I'm Roxas! Nice meeting you, and I'll stop by your shop later this evening, is that okay?" "Yeah, sure. We close at 8:00 pm, so don't be late!"
The girls waved and Roxas watched them walk away. He felt pretty proud of himself for making friend with people who owned a pawn shop. Maybe they'd give him a deal. He did have some stuff to sell. But first he had to unpack.
Xion, Paine and Rikku were walking to the Pawn shop. They were just walking aound trying to find customers. They didn't know they actually would. "Hey that Roxas kid was pretty cute. Huh, Xion?" Paine said nudging said person. Xion blushed, "I-I guess." At that Rikku and Paine burst out laughing. They weaved through the crowd and made their way to the shop.
"Hey Yuffie! We're back!" called Rikku. A brown haired woman dressed in a ninja outfit walked over to them from some customers. "Stop yelling you'll scare away my costumers! And god knows we need them." Yuffie said. It was true, they did need them. The pawn shop wasn't doing so well recently, and they only had two or three people come in a day. "Honestly, I thought owning a pawn shop would be more fun than this." She grumbled. "Cheer up mom! We got a new customer, and he's coming tonight!" Xion said happily. "One customer? One costumer?! That's all you got?" Xion frowned, "Well yeah, sorry."
Yuffie sighed, "No it's okay. One is better than none." "Yeah and he's really cute too! Big blue eyes and blonde hair. He's kind of short, but he still has muscles!" Rikku squealed. Yuffie giggled "Oh really? Is he going to your school?" The girls thought about that. "Oh yeah school does start in a week. He looks like a highschooler, and I doubt he's going to Traverse Academy For the Elite," Paine spat the name with disgust, "so yeah, maybe."
"All right that's enough chit-chat for today, ladies! Paine you're on selling, Rikku you're buying and Xion- help the costumers. I'll be in the back taking inventory if you need me." And with that, business began.
As Roxas walked into the door, he was attacked by his brown haired, blue eyed puppy, a.k.a Sora. "Roxas! Where have you been? I've been unpacking all by myself!" He whined and Roxas rolled his eyes. "Relax Sor, it's not even that much." "Well, Roxas if you think it's not that much then why don't you do it yourself" came his dads' authoritative voice. Roxas groaned, "But dad~, I was just looking around making sure I knew where everything was! And I even found a pawn shop and made friends with the owners… well kind of." Cloud seemed to think this over. "Well that's good, maybe they can give you a deal," He handed Roxas a box of stuff "here, take your brother and try to sell these. Be back before dark." Then he walked away. Roxas checked the time, 3:50 pm, okay, he had roughly four hours before sunset.
"Yay, going to the pawn shop, going to the pawn shop!" Sora sang as they… went to the pawn shop. Roxas pointed out things he thought Sora should know, such as, where the subway and the grocery store was, and to stay away from dark alleys and guys dressed as clowns. When they finally reached the pawn shop, Roxas saw the gigantic lion statue and Sora took a picture. Roxas scowled, "We're not tourists Sor, we can see this everyday if we want." "Oh! Does that mean that you'll come every day?" questioned a woman dressed as a ninja. "Oh come on, Yuffie! And you say that we scare off the costumers!" said Rikku from one of the counters.
Said person pouted. "Hey Roxas!" Paine called walking over to them. "Brought a bunch of stuff to sell, huh?" Xion joined in. Roxas smiled, "Hey you guys! This is my brother, Sora." All four girls looked at them. "Are you guys twins?" Paine asked, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence. "No, but people always say that, I'm almost a year older than Rox. We come from different dads." Sora stated as if he had said it a million times before, because, well, he had.
"Awkward~!" Rikku said and Xion hit her. But Roxas just laughed as he put the box on the 'Sell' counter, "Yeah I bet it was. My dad divorced her and she left Sora with us. I think she's with Sora's real dad. But we're over that, right Sora?" Sora looked over from a bunch of kunai on the wall and gave a thumbs up, "Totally."
"So what high school are you guys going to?" Rikku asked as she looked through the box of stuff. Yuffie was back taking inventory, leaving the five teenagers talking among themselves. "Oh, we're going to Traverse High." Sora said indifferently. The two boys looked up, confused, when the three girls heaved sighs of relief. When they noticed their stares, Paine said, "We are just relieved you guys aren't going to Traverse High for The Elite." Roxas was still confused, "Well, yeah, there's no way we could afford that right now, and Sor and I are just average students." Sora huffed, "That's not true! Roxas would be able to go if he wasn't so stubborn!" Roxas glared at Sora, "I'm not leaving you. I have to protect you!" "I don't need your protection!"
"Whoa, whoa, come on you guys stop fighting. Besides, it's good that you didn't go Roxas. That place is horrible. I went there and it's filled with nothing but rich brats and people who think there better than everyone else." Paine said her voice filled with venom. "So you transferred just because you couldn't stand the other students?" Roxas said, not believing what he was hearing. Paine looked surprised, "How did you know I transferred?" "Eh, I just inferred." He said.
"Okay. I can give you a hundred for this watch, fifty for all this jewelry and five thousand for this rolex. Is that okay?" Rikkus' voice broke through the conversation. Roxas thought about it. "Hmm, you can't buy anything else?" "Nope, sorry." Roxas sighed, "Yeah that's fine, thanks." He took the money. "Your welcome! See you guys later, come by when you feel like it!" Rikku called as Roxas and Sora waved goodbye.
It had been one whole week, filled with visits to the pawn shop, getting school supplies and getting ready for school. Roxas and Sora were by the subway, waiting for the three girls to come so they could all go to school together. "Hey guys, sorry we're late!" called Xion "Rikku takes forever to get ready." "Hey! It takes a lot to look this good!" Throughout their week of 'bonding' with the three girls, Roxas and Sora found out that they all live together. Paine was an orphan that always ran around the streets of Traverse, until she met Xion and her mother. She agreed to work there if she could stay with them. Rikku was a close friend of Paines, so they agreed to let her stay too, if she worked. Roxas also found out that Rikku and Paine had a thing for each other, which he didn't really have a problem with.
As they boarded the train, Roxas' worst fears were realized. He stood squished between an old woman and an obese child that smelled terrible. He almost kissed the ground when he stepped out. "Okay! I'm a Junior so I'll see you guys later. Call me if you need me!" Paine said as she joined a group of people Roxas didn't know. "Bye Paine!" Rikku said, then turned to us, "Alright, since you guys are new here they'll give you a guide who has all your classes. Xion and I will show you to the office and then we'll see you at lunch. Meet us by the big tree over there." She said motioning over to said tree.
When they finally reached the school, both Roxas and Sora were disappointed. The school was a brick building, with only a bit of outdoor space, which was cut off by a row of thick trees on each side. They walked into the entrance, a large door whose paint was chipping off. Inside, the hallways were full of chattering students, some fighting, throwing things, and defacing property. A few students were even making out. To put it simply, the school was the most chaotic institution Roxas had ever been to. There were all sorts of kids there. And best of all they looked like they didn't care. Despite its unimpressive looks, he could tell he was going to like this place.
That, of course, didn't stop him from being protective of his brother. After all, he didn't know these kids and they could be terrible people for all he knew. They walked into an office and Rikku said a few words to the secretary, who gave her a few papers and told us to wait. "Here are your schedules. I have to go now, but I'll see you guys later!" she and Xion waved goodbye as they left.
Roxas turned to say something to Sora, but got distracted by another door on the other side of the office opening. "Thank you Ansem. I'm sure my students will become more motivated by your students. Either that or they'll despise them." Said a man with long silver hair and yellowish orange eyes. The other man laughed "I'm willing to bet the latter." Then there attention went to the brothers. "Ah! Hello there new students. My name is Xemnas and I will be your principle for your remaining… three years. Correct?" the silverette said flipping through their papers. "Two years for me, actually." Sora spoke up.
"Ah yes, that's right. Sorry, you two look like twins." He laughed, then turned to Ansem, "I will see you later on." Ansem smiled and said goodbye as he left. "If you don't mind me asking, Mr. Xemnas, what was all that about." Roxas asked, ever the curious one. "Something that you will find out later, Roxas, and please call me Xemnas," The principle said as he retreated back to his office "have a good day!"
"Okay dears, your guides will be here in a minute, a sophomore for you, Roxas, and a junior for you, Sora." The secretary said. Just then two familiar girls walked into the office. "Hey, Sora looks like you'll be stuck with me!" Paine said and Xion just waved at me. "Now y'all hurry up, first period starts in a minute!" The group thanked the secretary and went on their separate ways.
Xion and Roxas went to their first class, which was art. Roxas enjoyed that class, and was very good at it. Then he had Calculus Honors, which unfortunately Xion wasn't in, but Roxas made lots of friends anyway. Third period was Technical theatre, which was the class Roxas enjoyed the most. He got to build sets and work with the drama kids, who were always fun and interesting.
At lunch he sat by the tree with his brother, Paine, Rikku, and Xion. Yes, he did make many new friends, but he made it clear to them that he liked his alone time and only sat with really close friends. He did sit with his other friends, when he wanted to though. Third period was gym/health, a class Roxas despised with his very being. He couldn't do a push up to save his life, let alone a sit-up. He was a quick runner and was good at fighting, though that did little to stop the endless teasing from a fellow gym student, who he had grown oddly close to.
His name was Ventus, he looked similar to Roxas, yes, but you could see obvious differences. He always had to be strong and 'manly', it was like a complex. And to get him back for teasing him, Roxas began calling him usagi(1). Despite their differences Ventus and his twin Vanitas, were the only other students in the school, besides Xion, Paine and Rikku he approved of to be part of his group. Sure, he liked other people in the school, but the people in his group had to be special.
And lastly was AP Chemistry. He shared that class with Vanitas, who was creepy, but he was still cool. Besides, it helped to have a smart guy who everyone was afraid of on your side.
It was now the middle of fall, the air was crisp and the ground was orange, yellow and brown. It was lunch time and Roxas would have loved to be outside, but he was stuck waiting outside the principal's office. As people passed him he could hear 'Ooooh' and 'What did you do this time, Angel?' or 'Ha! Look, boss is at it again'. People called him a lot of things angel, because he had blonde hair and blue eyes, don or boss, because he ran the black market at the school. He really hated the nickname 'angel' because even though he could use it to his advantage, he never liked it when people said he looked girly and weak. Which he did, but Roxas would never admit that.
By now people were used to him getting in 'trouble'. It was just a fact of life, Roxas usually wouldn't care, because the principle knew he wasn't a bad kid, but he was getting really tired of all the rumors going around, and it wasn't even halfway past the school year. He played with the row of watches he had on his left arm. He hadn't even been able to sell one before he got sent to Xemnas' office. Which wasn't his fault, no one messes with his brother.
"Roxas! Xemnas will see you now." He heard the secretary say. He sighed and was about to walk inside the office when that Ansem guy and about six beautiful teenagers walked in. Roxas could tell by their uniforms that they didn't go to his school. Traverse High didn't have uniforms. They didn't even have a dress code. The six teenagers wore sleek black suits and skirts with silver accents. Both genders wore gold ties or bow ties, he couldn't really see a pattern, some girls wore ties and others wore bow ties, same for the boys. Some girls even wore suits.
They had an air about them that said they were the elite. That they were going places. As they passed Roxas, some looked at him with slight interest, while others simply ignored him. They didn't walk, no, they were too graceful for that. They glided. When he got a closer look he noticed that all of them had weird hairstyles, some laughable. But the way they glid- er walked, the way they looked straight ahead, the way they did anything, demanded respect.
When they got inside the office, Roxas looked around and noticed he wasn't the only one staring. Everyone was whispering, muttering, some even dared to shout. Then Roxas realized who they were. The Traverse Academy For The Elite.
When Roxas went inside he was met with staring. He was pretty good at keeping his cool, but all those eyes on him made him feel.. nervous. So he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and tried not to run out of the office. He had to keep his reputation. What would people say if they found out he was intimidated by these preps? No one would do business with him then.
"Ah, yes Roxas! Come to visit me again, huh?" Xemnas' voice broke through my thoughts, "See Ansem, this is one of the kids I want to straighten out. He's a really good kid, it's just he can't stop getting out of trouble." Roxas suppressed a blush when he heard some of the elites giggle when Xemnas said 'straighten out'. Where they really that immature?
"Isn't that right Roxas?" Xemnas looked at him expectantly, Roxas sighed, "Whatever." That obviously wasn't the answer he was looking for because he frowned, glaring at the boy. Roxas was growing impatient, "Look, Xemmy. I always love talking to you, but I'm kind of in a rush so just slap me with whatever punishment you have so I can go." Xemnas sighed, "Roxas, I know your brother is dear to you, but fighting is never the answer. I'd suspend you, but I know you being on the streets for a week isn't going to help you," He turned to Ansem, "Is it okay if I add another student to the list?" Ansem nodded. "Okay, Roxas I want you to spend the week in the program Ansem has for kids like you."
At the last part Roxas snapped. He gave Xemnas a death glare. Xemnas quickly backtracked, "Now, now calm down Roxas, you know I didn't mean it like that. I will call your father, and if he objects then you don't have to go…." But Roxas, of course, was gone by the start of the sentence.
Xemnas sighed and rubbed his temple. "Sorry about that Ansem, he can be very spirited sometimes." Ansem shook his head, "It's okay Xemnas, but… that was Roxas, huh?" One of the elite girls with platinum blonde hair looked up at him, "Sir?" Ansem smiled and shook his head, it's nothing, Namine." Xemnas clapped his hands, "Okay, sorry for that interruption, now! Shall we begin?" "Yes. Xemnas, these are my top six students. Namine, Demyx, Zexion, Marluxia, Kairi and Axel."
"Wow, really?" Paine asked as they walked to the infirmary together. "Yeah, can you believe him! Now I have to be in some program." Roxas complained. "Yeah I heard about that, Van and Usagi have to go." Rikku laughed "Usagi? Really?" "Yeah, they say he's a troubled child." The girls laughed even harder at that, but all laughter ceased as they saw the murderous look on Roxas' face. They followed his gaze and saw Sora with all his bandages lying in one of the beds.
"Calm down Roxas! It doesn't even hurt that much." Sora said when he saw his brother. "That doesn't matter! I can't believe that bastard did this to you!" Roxas fumed. "Don't worry Angel. You're chickenwuss of a brother is going to be okay." Seifer said as him and his gang entered the room. Roxas gave a satisfied smile when he saw his black eye. "I'm surprised you'd even show you're face here after the beating I gave you." Seifer was about to say something when the late bell rang. "We'll settle this later chickenwuss." Then Seifer and his gang left the room.
"We should go too. Bye Sora! Get well soon!" the girls called as they left the room. Sora looked at Roxas expectantly, "Well shouldn't you go too?" "I'm already late, besides, the teacher said we weren't learning anything today." Sora gave Roxas a look, "Okay, Okay I'll go, damn." And with that Roxas went on his way. He traveled down the hallway and when he finally arrived at the door, he braced himself for Xigbar's speech about being late. He opened the door and was surprised at what he saw. There was a blonde guy with a mullet/mohawk hairstyle and a tall redhead with bright red hair and green eyes.
"Late again Mr. Strife." Xigbar said interrupting the blonde while he was speaking. This was followed by a few snickers, and Roxas didn't know why, but he blushed under the gaze of the elites. "Sorry sir, I was visiting the infirmary." he managed to say, as he walked quickly to his desk. " That is no excuse, I'm sure your brother will do fine without you. Why don't you two introduce yourselves again?" Xigbar said looking to the elites.
"Okay, well my name is Demyx-" The blonde began, but was interrupted by Roxas, "Oh really? Why don't you go tell that to his busted up face, and broken arm?" Xigbar scowled at Roxas, "I'm sure the nurses are taking good care of-" "Mr. Braig, If you don't mind, could we proceed with the lesson? You may have all the time in the world, but we don't." The redheads voice cut through the room like a heated knife. It was sharp and professional, a stark contrast to the blonde next to him.
Roxas and Xigbar stopped, but continued to glare at each other for a few moments. Roxas was usually polite to his teachers, but he and Xigbar had clashed since the first day of school. He disliked Xigbar with the passion of the burning sun, the feeling was mutual. "Yes you may continue, I apologize, Mr. Strife two weeks detention." Xigbar said, looking triumphantly at said individual. Roxas rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the two speakers.
"Okay, as I was saying..." Demyx rattled on about something Roxas probably should have been listening to, but found he couldn't. He was too distracted by the piercing green eyes staring straight at him. He sank in his seat and averted his eyes. When he looked back, he was startled to see that the redhead was glaring at him. Luckily, his eyes were pulled off Roxas when Demyx called his name. "What?" he asked, slightly annoyed. "Well, uh, you were kind of spacing out." Demyx wispered as he followed his gaze to Roxas and his mouth made a 'O' shape.
Everyones eyes went to Roxas, who tried to hide behind his 'bodyguard' Vanitas. Roxas wasn't a people person. He tried to be charming, but he just wasn't good with large crowds. That was Sora. Roxas prefered running things from behind the scenes, where no one could see him. So he was glad when Demyx turned the classes attention away from him with a dainty, 'Ahem'. The rest of the period was spent with the two elites teaching the class a biology lesson, which only caused the class to make snide remarks and crude gestures when they weren't looking.
This made Demyx uneasy, but Axel(Roxas found out that was the name of the redhead) handled the situation with ease and a kind of grace Roxas could only dream about. As the lesson went on Roxas continued to watch Axel. Everything about the redhead reminded Roxas of fire. The way he moved, the way he spoke, the way he looked and the way his eyes lit up with passion when he was talking about a subject he particularly enjoyed.
When class was over Roxas and Vanitas were the first ones out. They headed to the infirmary where Sora was getting up with the help of a silverette Roxas wasn't very fond of. "Riku?" the boy turned around, his arms never leaving Sora's waist. "Hello Roxas." The intimacy Riku held with Sora caused Roxas' eyes to narrow. He and Riku were at constant ends. The reason for this was because Riku was the head of the disciplinary team and Roxas was, well, Roxas.
He knew Sora had a crush on the silverette, which was why he kept the two away from each other. He didn't want his brother to get hurt. Sora blushed under the scrutiny of his little brother and stepped away from Riku. "Um, thanks Riku. I think I'll be fine now, see you tomorrow!" Sora said as he and his companions walked out the door. Riku nodded and went back to what he was doing.
As the trio left the building Vanitas asked, "Hey, you guys are going to hang out with us today, right?" Roxas shook his head holding up his phone, "No, dad texted me saying that had to be back right after school, so we'll see you tomorrow." Vanitas smirked, "Have fun explaining Sora's injuries to your dad," Sora pouted "Don't look at me like that! Maybe you should get better at defending yourself." "Shut up!" Sora shouted after the raven haired boy as he walked away.
As the Strife brothers boarded the subway, Roxas continued to stare at Sora. "What?" The brunette finally asked. "You know I have no problem with you being gay. Right?" Sora nodded. "Good. It's just that I don't like that Riku kid, so if your going to hang out with him, keep your hands off each other. Okay?" Roxas finished and Sora rolled his eyes. "I'm older than you! I can do what I want." "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."
When the boys got home, they were met by an excited looking Cloud, "Boys, guess what?" He didn't wait for their responses, "I got a job!" Roxas' and Sora's faces lit up, "Really? That's great!" Sora said happily. "Yup, that's why I wanted you guys to come home early. You have to get ready for our dinner with my new boss.
"Dad, you're really bringing him here?" Roxas asked, a blonde eyebrow raised. "Don't be ridiculous, son. Of course I'm not bringing him here. We're going to his house," Cloud said, rolling his eyes, "you boys will wear these suits I rented out, and you will be on your best behavior. Is that understood."
Roxas sighed as Sora did a mock salute and shouted, "Yes sir!" That was good enough for Cloud, "Okay, now put on your best clothes, we leave in an hour." The boys went up to their rooms. About twenty minutes later, Roxas walked into his father's room. "Hey dad, I'm ready." Cloud looked Roxas up and down. He wore a polo shirt and kind of tight slacks. Cloud nodded with approval, "Is Sora ready?" Roxas sighed. He hated to admit it, but Sora was the stereotypical gay guy. He took forever to get ready, watched all those chick flicks, and occasionally wore makeup. Roxas was just glad he didn't strut around the flat shouting things like 'fabulous~'.
"No he's still in his room. I'm gonna go take a nap." He said, walking to his room. "Don't wrinkle your clothes!" Cloud shouted after him. Roxas collapsed on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He couldn't stop thinking about what happened at school. He hadn't told his dad about the detentions he received, he decided he would tell him after the dinner or something. Cloud hadn't said anything to him about the 'program', so he figured Xemnas hadn't called yet.
He absently wondered if he would see Axel again, and started at the fact that he wanted to see him again. Roxas shook his head. He shouldn't care about those self-righteous preps. Those green eyes were the last thing he thought about before falling asleep.
"Roxas!" he woke up to Sora yelling his name. "Ugh, what is it!" Roxas grumbled, pulling the covers over his head. "We're going now." He said in a much quieter tone. "What time is it?" Roxas asked, looking around for his alarm clock. "Well it's been an hour and a half so we're late. Dads pissed." That made him shoot straight out of bed, he straightened out his clothes and attempted to fix his hair, "Why didn't you wake me up sooner? What if he looses the job?" Sora rolled his eyes don't worry we'll just be fashionably late." Roxas looked at him and walked down the stairs calling to his dad, "Hey I'm up, are we going?" He heard Cloud say something along the lines of 'Get in the car'. So he and Sora did just that.
As cloud sped down the highway, he briefed his children on 'proper etiquette' or at least what he knew of it. Cloud doubted the two boys were listening and prayed to any god out there that they wouldn't embarrass him. "Woah~" Sora let out as they drove into the estate, while Roxas just rolled his eyes. It wasn't that great, they had lived in a big house once upon a time. He had to admit, though, that he had never lived in a place like this. It was an estate after all. They hadn't even seen the guest house, the mansion(Roxas assumed), or he thought bitterly, the stables yet. All rich people had stables right? Roxas was too caught up in his envy to realize how petty he was being.
It only grew, however, when he had to endure Cloud and Sora's 'ooohs' and 'aaahs', when they did drive past all those things. Except the stable, but Roxas knew it was out there somewhere, watching his every move. No just kidding. But he did know it was out there. He was even willing to bet they had a golden toilet. When they parked by the mansion, it was dark. Roxas couldn't really make out what color it was, and all the trees were making it hard to make out how big it was, but the point is, it was big.
"Hello sirs." A woman said, successfully scaring the crap out of the three males. "H-hey, I mean hello. We are here for Mr. Sinclair." Cloud said trying to sound professional. "Yes, follow me." She said. They had a maid!? It was decided at that moment, that Roxas would do anything in his power to spite these people.
As the group entered the mansion, they saw how frivolous the residents really were. There was a huge foyer, with a shiny black and white tiled floor. In the middle of the room there were double stair cases, each leading up to the second floor. Each of the walls were painted in a different color, but they still matched. There were beautiful paintings everywhere. Items that were probably just for decoration were strewn out across the tables and walls. Overall the interior of the mansion was aesthetically pleasing.
"The Sinclair family is waiting in the Dining room." The maid said as she pointed the room to the right of us. She bowed and walked away. The trio walked into the room. It was a long room with a long table that would probably seat eighteen people. At the oppisite end of the room sat four people. Roxas recognized two of those people as part of the group that visited his school earlier that day. One he remembered as Axel, the one who stared at him for half the period, the other one he didn't know the name of, but he remembered seeing her and a blonde girl giggling at him in the office.
She was very pretty, but in Roxas' opinion not as breathtaking as her brother. She had reddish hair, that wasn't as obnoxiously bright as Axel's and their father's(he assumed), but she and her father did share the same bright blue eyes. The fourth person had shoulder length brown hair, sharp blue eyes and a scar that went from the left side of his forehead to his right cheek. "Hello Reno, Leon." the boys looked to their father as he spoke to the redhead at the head of the table and the brunette sitting to the left of him. Roxas noticed how tight Clouds voice was when he said Leon, but when he looked at his brother, who was shaking his head 'no', he figured he would either figure out at dinner or ask later on.
"Hello Cloud!" The redhead's voice filled with enthusiasm, while the brunette just nodded, avoiding eye contact. Odd. The Strife family took their seats, Roxas sitting opposite of Kairi, Cloud next to him, and Sora next to Kairi. "This really is a nice place, Reno." Cloud said. "Yeah it's great!" Sora followed, while Roxas rolled his eyes, "It's not that great." Cloud shot him a glare, but Reno didn't seem offended, he laughed, "You remind me of Cloud when we were younger." That got Roxas' attention, "You knew each other when you were younger?" 'Well yes, all three of us. You mean you don't remember?"
Roxas shook his head. "Well all of us would get together once a month and bring you kids along, it was when you were younger, though." "Why did you stop?" Roxas asked, curious. "Thats not important." Cloud answered for Reno. This made Roxas nod, "Oh, I see, is that why you acted so strange when you saw Leon? You didn't act like that when acknowledging Reno, so you and leon must have had a falling out," he paused looking between Cloud and Leon, and then muttered, "I wonder what..." he trailed off thinking.
"Smart kid." Reno said. "Too smart for his own good." Cloud said, glaring at Roxas. Why was he making this so hard? As there father, biological or not, it was his job to protect them. He shook his head, and looked up catching Leons eye. They both looked away quickly. Approximately ten minutes later"Ah yes, the food is here. Let's enjo- Kairi! No texting at the table." Everyone looked at Kairi, except for Axel, who continued staring at the blonde. "Sorry dad, just texting Namine." as she said the name she winked at Roxas, who looked around trying to find out who she was winking at, and scowled once he figured out it was him. He looked over at Axel, who looked amused at the entire situation.
That reminded him of his mission. He couldn't be malicious on an empty stomach, though. So he stared stuffing his face. Literally. The adults got into an intense discussion about the company, which Roxas tried to listen to, but got distracted by laughter. Roxas looked up from his plate and saw Axel and Kairi laughing at him. He glared and went back to eating. He was hungry, okay?
Once he was done, he started listening to the conversation everyone was participating in, except him, of course. "...beautiful piece by an up and coming artist. We went to his show a couple of months ago." there were murmurs of awe and Reno soaked it up like a sponge, Roxas, still on his mission had to ruin it, "Well, it's nice, yes, but only from a distance and if you don't have very good eyesight. It seems the artist is a realistic one, yes?" Reno narrowed his eyes, "That's correct." Roxas continued even though he could feel the glare Cloud was giving him, "Well maybe he should switch to abstract because the eye is not in the right place according to the nose, huskies do not have five toes, and the ears are a few centimeters off."
Axel laughed, "I told you dad," Reno sighed as Roxas looked confused "and it's three. The ears are three centimeters off." he finished looking at Roxas. "Yes, Axel told me not to buy it, but I didn't listen." Reno said dejectedly. Sora smiled, "Don't worry Mr. Sinclair! I think it looks great!" Reno smiled, "Thanks, little guy. Oh and you boys can call me Reno." As Sora and Reno continued there conversation Roxas was sizing Axel up. He was impressed that he had known the picture was off, well he was obviously smart if he was a top student at T.A.F.T.E. Roxas observed the way Reno was talking to Sora, which was in a playful an friendly manner, then the way Kairi who winked everytime he made eye contact with her, Leon, who didn't say much, and Axel who would smirk everytime Roxas looked his way.
He sighed, maybe he shouldn't spite them, he had failed so far and besides, they weren't all bad. At least that's what it looked like. He didn't really know them that well. "...yeah I do. Roxas is just grumpy from the nap he took before we came here. Besides, he is really hard to impress." Sora said, making everyone look his way, which led him to blush. "I guess I kind of am," Roxas said scratching the back of his neck, "but you don't have to throw it away or anything. After all, everyone sees reality differently."
Reno beamed, "Thank you Roxas. That makes me feel much better, now, if everyone is finished eating us adults will go and talk in the study, and you kids can go...do things teenagers enjoy," He looked at Axel, "remember what I told you." Axel rolled his eyes and nodded.
The three men walked for what seemed like ages, to Cloud at least, before they reached Reno's study. It was red, of course. Filled to the brim with books about different topics, and at the end of the room was a computer on top of a desk, that faced a window. The window over looked a huge garden. Which made Cloud think about his own life. Maybe if he took this job, then he and his sons could live like this.
"Welcome to my study, Cloud." Reno's voice broke through Clouds thoughts. "Now, I would like to discuss your job. As you know Leon is my advisor, and if you do decide to take the position, then you and him will have to be able to cooperate," Cloud and Leon looked at each other "can I trust that your past will not become an issue?" "It won't, we'll keep it all business." Cloud said looking at Leon who nodded.
Reno smiled hopefully, "Does this mean you'll take the job?" Cloud sighed, "I don't really have much of a choice." Reno squealed, making Cloud supress a laugh, while Leon rolled his eyes, used to Reno's strange behaviors. "Good, you'll start on Monday."
Meanwhile(In the Batcave):
Roxas was starting to become uncomfortable. Both Kairi and Axel were staring at the brothers like they were a couple of antelopes who wandered into a lions den. "So..." Sora bravely started, both Axel's and Kairi's eyes snapped to him. "Um, you guys go to T.A.F.T.E, right?" Axel nodded, "That's correct. Kairi and I are both top students there, along with the others you probably saw at your school." Kairi wrinkled her nose, "If you could even call it that."
Roxas frowned, sure their school wasn't as nice as their rivals', but he doubted any school was. He turned to Kairi, about to say something, but when she saw him and winked, he forgot about what she said entirely. "Why do you keep doing that?" he demanded, Sora followed suit, "Yeah, why do you keep doing that, if you like him, your barking up the wrong tree, he's totally gay."
That made Axel smile sadly and say, "As much as I wish that were true," Roxas blushed, "It's not, at least not all the way." Sora narrowed his eyes, "Oh really? How do you know?" Kair rolled her eyes, "We obviously know that your the gay one, Sora. Axel texted me during dinner and told me so I wouldn't try anything with you, he can tell when people are lying and he's a good reader of body language, even though he hasn't even studied it yet."
"Wait, you were going to try something with me?" Sora asked bewildered. "Yeah I think you're cute, Roxas too, but I couldn't do that to- nevermind." Kairi said. "So, you wouldn't mind 'trying something' with me, even though I'm not... you know." Sora said, surprised. "No, of course not. A hot guy is a hot guy, right?" Kairi said winking, while Axel rolled his eyes, "Trust me, she's smarter than she sounds... and looks." Kairi huffed.
"Wow, that's impressive." Roxas said. "What do you mean, Roxas?" Sora asked, confused. "Well, I mean it's unusual for a guy to have that kind of intuition and observation. It's usually a girl thing, if a guy has it their special." He clarified. Axel smiled, "Well I am special." "Well, Paine made you guys sound like a bunch of jerks." Sora said, talking about the earlier discussion. "Oh, we are, some more than others... wait! Paine? I remember her!" Kairi said "Oh there's a reason why she hates us, but that's another story."
Roxas' curiosity was eating him up, but he decided that he would get Paine's side first. "Hmm, what shall we do...," Kairi said, strocking her chin "Ah, I know! Let's play go fish!" Axel raised an eyebrow, "Go fish? Really?" Sora took offense to that, "Hey! Go fish is totally awesome!" Roxas chuckled as he watched the three teenagers debate about Go Fish. He really didn't care for go fish, but he didn't hate it. "Well, If you two are so set on playing go fish, then you can start and Roxas and I will go and get snacks."
He then proceeded to drag the blonde out of the room before anyone could say anything. When they got to the kitchen, Roxas was suprised at how small it actually was, he expected lots of chefs too. Axel seemed to read his mind and said, "This is just what my dad likes to call his 'show kitchen'. It's the one we take our guests to. The real one is down the hall," Roxas frowned "I know it's wierd, but that's just how he is."
Axel went around looking for snacks, but came back with nothing, "Looks like Ash forgot to go grocery shopping. Honestly, why does he hire people who can't do there job?" he mumbled the last part. Roxas' eyes widened as Axel took a step closer, a lot closer. "I should go find her, I'll take you on a tour," he was wispering now "You can see my r-" "Axel!" Roxas jumped, turning around to see Kairi standing at the door with an angry look on her face, while Axel just looked up with an annoyed scowl, "What?"
Kairi pushed past Roxas and grabbed Axel, pulling him out of the room. He walked out hesitantly, but stopped when he heard, "...you can't do that! What about-" Roxas swore mentally when Kairi saw him, "Oh, hey Roxas! Um, sorry about that. Come on, let's go play go fish." When the trio walked into the living room, Sora shot up, "Is everything okay? I heard yelling." Kairi waved her hand dismissavly and they began playing.
As the game progressed Roxas was pretty sure someone was kicking him under the table. Except it wasn't the regular kicking he would feel whenever Sora or one of his friends would kick him under a table. The person sitting across from him was Axel, the only person who would be able to reach that side of his leg. When he looked up, however Axel was talking to Sora normally.
He gave up and decided to ignore it, until it decided to wander a little to close to his crotch. "Eep!" he wished he could've let out a manlier scream, but oh well. "What's wrong Roxas?" Kairi, who was next to him asked, with a worried look on her face. "Yeah Roxas what's the matter?" Axel echoed, with an innocent look on his face, though Roxas could see the smirk that was hiding under the surface.
"Um y-yeah I'm fine. I just need a drink of water." he managed to stutter out. Sora looked skeptical, "Are you sure? You're face is all red." "Yeah I'm-" Just then the three adults came in cutting him off. "Come on boys, we're going now. Don't worry, you'll probably get to spend a lot more time with Kairi and Axel." Sora cheered as Roxas sighed.
When the Strife family got to their car finally, Cloud swore, "Damn, I forgot my cell phone, can one of you boys get it?" he asked getting in the car. Sora and Roxas looked at each other. "Rock." "Paper." "Scissors." "Shoot!"
Roxas walked up the path, he'd never really been good at that wretched game. He found the door open and walked in, "Hello?" "Well, hello Roxas," Axel sat on one of the chairs in the foyer "my dad said that your dad would forget this." Roxas took the cellular device and started walking back out of the mansion. "Wait, Roxas!" Roxas turned and saw Axel rush up to him, "You forgot something else." Roxas felt up his pockets, "What?" His question was answered as the redheads lips crashed against his.
Axel backed Roxas up against the wall and deepened the kiss, he bit Roxas' bottom lip lightly, asking for entrance, and bit down harder when he refused, drawing blood. Roxas gasped and Axel took that chance to shove his tongue into the smaller boy's mouth. It was a deep and passionate kiss, one Roxas had never felt before. He moaned, arching up to lessen the distance between them.
Just when he was getting into it, Axel pulled away, speaking in a low possessive voice, "Now, now Roxy, if you do that we'll be here all night." And pushed him out the door.
Hey guys. I know I probably shouldn't be starting a new story, but I was hit with inspiration, so here it is. It's pretty long too, I'm proud of myself. Anyway Thanks for reading! Please Review!
(1) Means rabbit in japanese