AN: Dedicated to Meyx, for being as enamoured of Axel/Kairi as I am. They belong to SquareEnix, I'll put them back when I'm done playing.
"Kairi?" he spluttered, his mouthful of lemonade spraying everywhere. "Kairi couldn't be feminine if you paid her to be."
"I could... I think."
"Ok, twenty munny says you can't be feminine for... two weeks."
"You're on."
And that was how it began. A bet with Axel, my partner in crime for the last three years, since he'd joined Twilight High. We'd got up to all sorts of pranks around the school, and although everybody knew it was us, no-one had ever been able to prove it, so we somehow managed to get away with everything. This one, though, was going to be a real challenge. Feminine just wasn't my style, much to my mother's despair. She'd tried everything, from putting me in pink dresses when I was a little girl, to buying me make-up, taking me shopping and on spa trips, down to outright threats. Nothing had worked. I was happiest in jeans and a T-shirt, on my motorbike, playing sports and getting up to mischief with the guys.
"If I win, Axel, you have to dress as a girl for the day. Make-up, high heels and everything. On a school day."
"I'm not going to lose this one, Kairi. You've spent your whole life avoiding everything pink and girly. There's no way you'll do it."
"Don't count on it, Ax. Don't count on it."
That night, I opened my wardrobe in an attempt to find some suitable clothes for the next day, only to recall that I'd thrown everything my mother had bought for me away, quite a while ago, in a fit of teenage rebellion. Everything hanging from the rail was something I'd chosen, and therefore completely unsuitable for this bet. Gritting my teeth, I headed downstairs to ask for help.
"Mom, I need to borrow a dress."
"Help yourself, darling." There was a moment's pause, and then what I'd said actually sank in. "A dress, Kairi? Whatever for?"
"Don't ask, you don't want to know. Can I borrow one?"
"Of course, take whatever you want. Do you need shoes, make-up, a bag?"
Oh, hell. I'd forgotten all the paraphernalia that went with dressing like a girl. Another reason why I never bothered – I didn't like taking that long to get ready in the mornings. I showered, brushed my teeth, got dressed and that was it. Sometimes, I didn't even bother to comb my hair. "Um... yes."
"Wonderful! Let's go and sort some things out for you."
It was like being swept up in a whirlwind. Mom had me in and out of ten different outfits, fourteen pairs of shoes (with matching handbags), and prodded my face with a collection of brushes for what felt like hours. On second thoughts, the whirlwind would have been preferable. Looking in the mirror, when Mom had finally finished, I didn't recognise myself. My short, spiky hair had been smoothed down and looked really glossy, a pair of wide blue eyes stared back at me from a face that looked nothing like mine (was that eyeshadow? Lipstick?), and I was wearing a short, pink dress that was far too tight for my liking. Axel was going to have hysterics when he saw me.
"That colour looks much better on you than it ever did on me, Kairi, sweetheart. Redheads always look good in pink."
"Um... thanks, Mom."
I had to set the alarm clock much earlier than I normally would, to allow enough time to get the war paint on, and walk to school in those silly shoes. They weren't particularly high, not for my mother, at least, but to me it felt like I was walking on stilts. After breakfast, the dress went on, Mom applied the make-up, pressing the lipstick into my hand when she'd finished.
"You'll need to reapply that during the day, so put it in your bag and take it with you." Reapply this stuff? I wanted to wipe it off already, though I had to admit the colour suited me. Raspberry crush, according to the label. Sliding my feet into the already-hated shoes, I picked up the ridiculously small handbag (more like a purse, if you asked me) and threw my backpack over my shoulder. Axel would just have to deal with the backpack – I couldn't find anything else in the house that was big enough to carry all my books.
The journey was agonisingly slow, and I made it through the school gates only five minutes before the bell rang. Walking into registration, I wanted to put a paper bag over my head, so that nobody would see me, but that wasn't really an option. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and tried to sneak into the room unobtrusively.
"That you, Kairi?" Damn him. Damn him and his stupid ideas, curse him for knowing I can't turn down a bet.
"Don't know who you're talking about. Kairi's not here." I sat down, giving him the evil eye. "This is all your fault, you know."
"Looking good today, babe." Oh, hell. As if this day wasn't bad enough already. Dealing with Marluxia wasn't on my to-do list, now or ever.
"Get lost, Marluxia."
It was a day filled with catcalls and wolf-whistles, every single one of which made me check the back of that stupid skirt to make sure it still covered my knickers. Axel didn't help matters, poking fun at every opportunity. But he did carry my backpack round school and then all the way home for me, claiming that no girl ever carried her own stuff – that was a job for some gullible guy. For once, I didn't mind being treated like any other girl. I had enough to concentrate on with simply trying to stay upright. My feet were covered with blisters – I really couldn't understand how women wore shoes like that every day. I was in absolute agony.
"Well, one day down, thirteen to go." Axel's grin said it all. He didn't think I could do it.
"Pale pink dress, Axel. High heels. Cosmetics. A beautiful, elaborate hairdo. You'll get what's coming to you, believe me."
"Thirteen more days, Kairi. You'll crack."
I wanted to be sure he was wrong, but I had a sneaking suspicion I wouldn't be able to make it through two weeks. Today was hell on earth. How could tomorrow be any better?
Day Two.
Out of bed stupidly early again, for the second day in a row. This time, the dress chosen for me was black and white, which was an improvement. Then again, it had a floral pattern on it, which I wasn't sure about. What also bothered me was the fact that, for the first time in years, my mother was choosing my outfits. That hadn't happened since I was about ten, and I was now seventeen. Putting the dress on was more awkward than it first appeared. The skirt came down almost to my knees, and swirled around my legs as I moved, but the top half was a tight-fitting, corset style that needed lacing up the back.
"Mom, how does this stupid thing do up?"
"Turn around, darling, let me." She tied the ribbons with a flourish, then pushed me so that I was standing in front of the mirror. The skirt part was better than yesterday, but the neckline was very low-cut, and the style of the dress pushed my breasts upwards, creating (and flaunting) a cleavage I never knew I had.
"What's brought on this sudden change of style, Kairi?" As she was poking and prodding my face with those infernal brushes of hers, I couldn't get away this time. Not wanting to mislead her, I figured I might as well tell her the truth.
"Axel and I have a bet. I have to dress like this for two weeks."
She sighed. "I might have known it would be something like that. What are the stakes?"
"Twenty munny, and if I win, he goes to school dressed as a girl."
Despite herself, Mom giggled. "I hope you win, Kairi, because that would be worth seeing." A few more moments, and she was done.
The shoes today resembled white ballet pumps, and sitting on top of them was a pack of blister plasters and a note. "Having seen the state of your feet yesterday, I thought you might need these. Love, Mom."
I appreciated the gesture, really, I did. It made walking to school so much easier.
"Where did those come from, Kai?"
"What the hell are you on about, Axel?"
He gestured vaguely in the general direction of my chest. "You've got... well... those are..."
I glanced down, only then realising what he meant. "Um, yeah." The big disadvantage to being a redhead is that you blush easily. Both of us were bright red by this point.
He was awkward around me for the rest of the day, avoiding my glance and not meeting my eyes once. Even walking home together, he wasn't quite right. Usually talkative, he answered in monosyllables, and wouldn't tell me what was wrong.
"I'm fine," was all he would say on the matter.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Day Fourteen
This morning came as a massive relief. This was the last day – against all the odds, I'd done it, I'd won. Axel was going to be so disappointed. Actually, speaking of Axel, he was still acting really strange. Even putting the make-up on wasn't a chore this time, knowing it would be the last time I'd have to do it. Tomorrow, maybe I'd be putting it on Axel's face instead of my own.
"Good morning, Axel." The overly bright voice was an attempt to rouse him from his weird mood; he hated people who acted perky in the mornings.
"Hi, Kairi." Head on the desk, today he wasn't even looking at me. Well, enough was enough, I had to do something. I couldn't watch my best friend like this any longer. Grabbing him by the arm, I yanked him out of his chair and dragged him outside.
"Talk to me, Axel. I don't know what's wrong, and I can't help if I don't know. I don't want to see you like this, damn it."
"You want to know what's wrong, Kairi?" Green eyes glared, filled with anger that had never been directed at me before. "You're my best friend, the one who gets into trouble with me, the one that would be sitting there, even in a jail cell, saying 'that was fun, can we do it again?' I shouldn't be thinking of you like this, damn it, it'll ruin everything. It was you in that bloody dress, Kairi, so fucking sexy and I'd never seen you like that before, never even thought of you in that way, and now I can't get my mind off it, can't help imagining things, what you look like underneath that, what you'd sound like if I touched you, what it'd feel like if we... Fuck, Kairi, I can't help it and there's nothing I can do about it, I know it's wrong and I know you'd never..."
His voice trailed off, and he looked away, embarrassed. I didn't know how to respond, I'd had no idea about any of it.
"Kairi, I'm sorry, and I'll understand if you never want to see me again."
"Axel... Axel, look at me."
"I can't."
Not really knowing what I was doing, I used one hand to turn his face back towards me, then stood on tiptoe and kissed him. If I'd thought about it, I would never have had the courage to do it. He stood there, not reacting, not doing anything. As I turned to leave, he caught my wrist, pulling me back to him. My free hand ended up pressed against his chest as our eyes met, blue and green, framed by fiery red hair. This time, he kissed me, and it was as though fireworks had been lit. I'd never had a boyfriend, never been kissed, never really felt that attracted to anybody before. When we parted, both breathless, flushed and wanting more, I smiled at him. My lipstick had stained his lips a dark pink, and I touched the smudges of colour with the tip of my finger, wiping them away.
"Maybe I should wear that dress more often. What do you think, Axel?"
"I certainly wouldn't mind seeing it again."
AN: There is more to come from this one. After all, we haven't yet seen Axel in a dress, and Kairi would be so disappointed if he backed out on their deal...
You know what my favourite part of this is? Axel's speech, where he tells Kairi how he feels. And yes, this part ("what it'd feel like if we... Fuck, Kairi, I can't help it") is very deliberate. That's exactly how I meant it to sound.