It's been over a year since I've uploaded ANYTHING!
CYDNEY! THIS IS FOR YOU!
I'm a month late for her birthday but damn it I finished this and that's a big thing and I did it for you!
Excuse me while I crawl back under my rock.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CYDNEY!
Disclaimer: I own some awesome merch and a copy of 358/2 Days signed by Quinton Flynn. Other than that I don't own jack. Square Enix owns all.
"Axel? Hey, earth to Axel!" Roxas snapped his fingers in front of his best friend's face and said redhead had to blink a few times before he realised that he'd been daydreaming… while Roxas was talking to him… Shit. He would not hear the end of this.
"Man what is with you? You've been spacing out like crazy lately" the spikey blond complained, his calculating blue eyes cast down at his textbook to continue with his work while he muttered about Axel's ignorance.
Axel could answer his best friend's question. He could answer it easily. But the fact remains that Roxas had been drunk last week, fawned over Axel and their rock solid friendship, hugged the taller boy like his life depended on it, then kissed Axel's cheek (there also might have been an 'I love you man,' in there somewhere, but Axel might have just fantasized that part).
Now, Axel wasn't the type to think too much about his emotions it was far too much hassle, he liked who he liked when he liked them. Male or female (though recently it had mostly been the former) it didn't really matter to him, but Roxas? Roxas was a whole new kettle of fish. Sure Axel was partial to the blond (after all he was his type) but the redhead had forbidden himself from thinking about his best friend like that. Roxas was Roxas. Roxas had meaning in Axel's life. Roxas was and probably always would be the redhead's idea of perfect in every way but… Damn it he was getting side tracked thinking about the blond again and said boy was waving his hand in front of Axel's face for the second time in 5 minutes.
"Seriously. What is wrong with you?" Roxas demanded with a heavy glare of annoyance. Axel sat up straight, rubbed his eyes and sighed.
"I'm just tired, sorry Roxy," he lied through his teeth and he'd be a monkey's uncle if Roxas was convinced.
He pointed his 2B pencil at Axel threateningly with a deadly glare "don't bullshit me Axel Sinclair."
Shit got real when Roxas used Axel's full name but the redhead just didn't have the patience for it "I'm tired man, what do you want from me?" This time he looked genuinely exhausted and just a touch irritated. His brain was tired for sure, his concentration levels were all over the place and having Roxas here as the biggest distraction in the known universe was not helping him one little bit.
"The truth would be a good place to start," Roxas complained, his temper (shorter than Axel's) was not forgiving when the redhead lied to him and Axel could see the blood rising to Roxas' cheeks the more angry he got.
"I'm telling you the truth doofus," he bit back and picked up his bag abruptly, there was no way he was putting up with this bullshit.
"The hell you are," Roxas shot back as he followed Axel through the library. "You stare straight through me for like 15 minutes and expect me to believe that you're just tired?"
Axel spun to face the blond who bumped straight into him, giving Axel a moment to compose himself and turn into his suave, normal self. "Well what if I was staring at you and not through you?" He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows as Roxas glared at him. His flirtatious comments never worked on Roxas, which might be what made him so damn addictive.
Instead of waiting for a response Axel turned on his heels again and jogged out of the room, shouting a "see you tomorrow Roxas!" (Which he was shushed for) on his way out the building.
Roxas couldn't be more pissed.
The next day Axel missed his morning class which minimised his contact with Roxas and pushed it back until lunch time. Axel knew Demyx was speaking to him, could hear the sound of his voice, but the sandy blond could be talking about having sex with Axel's mother and the redhead would be none the wiser. Instead Axel had turned his attention to their regular table. Roxas was already sitting down while his friends waited in the lunch line, and the smallest glimpse of the blond sent Axel's mind spiralling into a Roxas filled abyss where he visualised being in an actual relationship with the blond.
The idea seemed nice enough to Axel now but the execution could be a bit tricky. Roxas had been scolding Axel nonstop for the past few days, making any sort of move on him completely off the books – plus the blond wasn't impressed by Axel's lengthy reputation, it would take a lot of convincing before Axel could even plant the seed of a thought in Roxas' mind. "I wish I was good at inception," the redhead muttered to himself and the sudden declaration finally made him focus and suddenly Roxas wasn't at the table, he was standing in front of Axel, glaring daggers at him.
'Shit.'
"If you have some sort of problem you better tell me what it is Ax," Roxas said and instead of answering the blond Axel gently knocked him on the chin with his knuckles, the touch was light and playful and Axel grinned at the blond.
"You're cute when you're angry," he said and turned away to daydream again. Roxas and Demyx exchanged confused looks, Demyx shrugged and with a roll of his eyes Roxas returned to the table.
Axel spent most of lunch deep in thought.
"Party at my house tonight guys I better see you there!" Sora called to Axel and Roxas as they walked out of the school building and the redhead waved.
"We'll be there Sora," he called back and the brunet sent them a bright smile before running out of the school premises.
"I refuse to drink tonight, I had the worst hangover after last week," Roxas complained "it must have been a good party though if I don't remember anything," Axel snorted with laughter at this, even as a pang of sadness shot through his chest, but he'd ignore that feeling for now.
"Don't forget I took the brunt of that hangover, you made me walk to the store for your ice-cream."
"That's what friends are for," the blond beamed and Axel rolled his eyes. 'Friends don't kiss each other,' was what he wanted to say but instead he flicked the blonde's forehead and ran away while Roxas swore at him.
Axel could have bet money that Roxas was lying when he said he wouldn't be drinking, and he would have won that bet. The redhead had to work after school which delayed his arrival to the party by about an hour which gave Roxas plenty of time to get drunk without his fiery friend, time which he took full advantage of.
"Axel!" Sora called over the noise of the party, a drink in hand and a bounce in his step, the smile on his face told Axel that the brunet was already very drunk and with a roll of his eyes Axel let himself be pulled into a one armed hug by Sora. "I'm so glad you're here," he slurred making Axel laugh.
"You know it's not a party without me Sora," he grinned and took the drink from Sora's hand as his own while he manoeuvred out of the brunet's arms and wandered around the party, Sora hadn't even noticed his drink was gone and returned to socialising when Axel left as if they'd never even shared an encounter.
The redhead scanned the area for Roxas but couldn't find him in the hallway so he moved to the living room where he found Demyx moping on the love seat. "You ok man?" Axel asked while he drank from the plastic cup in his hand, whatever Sora was drinking, it tasted disgusting so he set it on the nearest table and stared down at a pouting Demyx.
"Zexion's mad at me," he mumbled and Axel gave the blond a fond smile. Ah yes, Zexion, the object of Demyx's affections. The sandy blond had been Axel's partner in crime once upon a time, until Zexion entered the picture, it was like a scene from a teen movie and Axel had to watch it all unfold in front of him. He hadn't liked Zexion at first, after all, the slate haired boy was stealing his wingman, but really Zexion was a nice guy even if he was still oblivious to Demyx's feelings. He'd never known anyone so blind in his life, honestly Demyx couldn't have made it more obvious, but such was their love story.
"You can't kiss and make up?" Axel asked with an amused grin on his face and suddenly Demyx blushed up to his ears which shocked Axel a great deal.
"T-that's actually why he's mad at me," Demyx explained, embarrassment lacing his voice and Axel barked with laughter, embracing Demyx happily.
"You kissed him? Man, I am so proud of you Dem," Axel praised the blond who smiled bashfully.
"Axel," said redhead turned to look at the owner of the new voice with a jump as Zexion stood in front of him, arms folded in front of his chest and stern expression on his face. "May I borrow your friend?" He asked in a serious tone, a hint of annoyance in his voice and Axel nodded, standing from his seat next to Demyx and backing away while he watched the scene unfold. Demyx looked exceptionally nervous and went to open his mouth and explain to Zexion but the slate haired boy captured his lips before any sound could leave his mouth and the shocked look on Demyx's face was priceless.
Axel stood by the fireplace and chuckled at the pair, then turned his attention to the rest of the room, his smile disappearing to a more neutral look while he scanned the party goers. There were a lot more people here than usual and while he pondered the faces he didn't recognise Sora appeared again, snaking a hand around Axel's shoulder. "My cousin's over there you know," he said in a sing song tone and pointed (with a hand clasping a new bottle of alcohol) to the kitchen. Axel's gaze shot in the direction Sora was pointing and he spotted the blond looking beautiful, slightly drunk and having a conversation with Kairi.
"There are a lot more people here than normal," Axel muttered when his vision became impaired by a body blocking his view.
"Yeah, well Cloud brought some of his college friends with him tonight," Sora commented and Axel's gaze finally shifted from Roxas to give Sora his full attention.
"Is that really a good idea?" Axel asked making Sora frown and rightly so. The redhead would usually jump at the idea of a challenge for a new notch in his belt but Axel had realised since his feelings for Roxas had sprouted that he'd become a lot more sensible and a lot less interested in anyone else.
"My party, my rules," Sora grinned. "Besides, everyone seems to be getting along well and I'll tell you a secret," Sora beckoned Axel forward with a wave of his finger and the redhead leaned in to hear him while the brunet's arm pulled him by his shoulders. "There's a guy who has his eye on Roxas, so you better act fast if you want to get him first," he whispered and Axel pulled back with a confused and somewhat panicked look on his face. The next thing Axel knew Sora had taken his face into his hands, smiled and nodded before walking away.
After getting over the initial shock of his encounter with Sora Axel's eyes shot back up to gaze into the kitchen but he couldn't see Roxas from where he was. He began pushing through the crowd of people and finally came to the frame of the kitchen. Looking over the room he spotted the blond with a tall, unknown pink haired boy. Roxas was laughing at something the stranger had said and in response the boy put his hand on Roxas' upper arm. The action sent waves of rage through Axel who glared daggers at the pair. It took all of his strength to take a deep breath and compose himself, he couldn't cause a scene at Sora's party, but he wasn't about to let this random guy take his Roxas from him either. So he smoothed himself over and sauntered to the drinks beside the pair, walking straight in between them both to reach for a bottle of bear.
"Excuse you," the stranger bit out and Axel gave the boy his attention as if he'd been oblivious to his presence.
"Huh? Oh, did I interrupt something?" he asked, feigning ignorance and finally turning to Roxas. "Oh Roxy, hey, I didn't see you there" he smiled, turning full body to Roxas so his back was to the pink haired boy.
"I wondered how long it would take you to get here," Roxas commented, looking slightly annoyed as he spoke to Axel, a frown marring his face unlike the amused smile he'd held for the other boy.
"Anything to see you babe," he replied and took a small step closer so that he was practically chest to face with the blond.
"Hey man, do you mind, we were trying to have a conversation," the pink haired male commented, taking Axel's attention by taking his shoulder and the redhead shrugged him off with a glare.
"Touch me again and I'll break your hand," he seethed, and then turned back to Roxas with a smile. "I'll be right over there, when you're ready," his voice was low and he pointed to the seat where Demyx and Zexion had previously been, giving him a perfect view of the kitchen and Roxas.
With that Axel walked away, beer in hand and sat down on the vacant seat, a smirk in place as he stared at Roxas and the blond glared momentarily before turning his attention back to his companion.
Axel watched intently as Roxas' lips moved and recalled last week's happenings. He remembered how soft Roxas' lips had been, how bashful his smile had been after he kissed him and how high Axel's heart had skyrocketed at the contact. Sure he'd imagined kissing Roxas before (a couple of times while kissing other people) but he never imagined he'd want it this much.
It had been 10 minutes since Axel had caused his little scene and Roxas was still talking to the pink haired douche bag Axel had dubbed 'bubblegum' for all intents and purposes (since he didn't like him so much, he was sticking to Roxas like gum to a shoe and Axel imagined that if you got him angry enough he'd inflate until he exploded. The idea made him grin.)
Roxas had sent frequent glances Axel's way since he sat down and every time he did a glint would enter Axel's emerald eyes and he'd smile suggestively at Roxas until the blond looked away. But at some point Axel's brain had taken over and he began to daydream again, this time with a fond look on his face which was quickly wiped away when Roxas snapped his fingers in front of Axel's nose making the redhead jump. He hadn't even noticed the blond approach him.
"What?" Axel snapped a little harshly but Roxas was already glaring at him so he could pass it off as being defensive because of Roxas' expression if he had to.
"Will you stop staring at me?" Roxas snapped back. Axel frowned back momentarily (he was getting real tired of Roxas looking like him with that expression) but smoothed out his expression and shrugged nonchalantly.
"Since you're here why don't you sit down with me?" Axel offered, ignoring his question because it was an impossible request.
"Axel, I'm trying to talk to Marluxia and you're distracting me."
Annoyance flared in Axel and he shrugged, now half glaring at Roxas. "Don't let me stop you, I'll be a quiet distraction I promise," he added sarcastically and the blond stormed away leaving Axel feeling irritated.
A few minutes later Axel was imagining ways to sabotage Marluxia and his flirting, but his train of thought was interrupted once again by Sora placing his arms over Axel's shoulders from the back of the seat and linking his hands at Axel's chest. "Why so mad Ax?" The brunet asked. Axel noted that Sora was being more touchy than usual but ignored his closeness in favour of huffing. He didn't really want to answer Sora's question.
"Roxas is such a jerk," he responded to which Sora frowned.
"Aw man, when I saw you guys talking I thought he'd finally plucked up the courage to apologise for last week but I guess he didn't bother," Sora muttered which made the redhead frown heavily.
"Apologise? For what?" The redhead asked, turning his head to look at the brunet who shrugged.
"Kissing you or something, he hasn't shut up about it since Monday it's really been stressing him out."
Axel stared in utter annoyance at Sora who took a step back from the redhead. "Are you serious?" he asked and the brunet nodded.
"Yeah man, he thought he'd upset you, he said you've barely spoken to him since it happened."
"He fucking remembers?" Axel asked, his irritation continuing to rise and Sora suddenly raised his hands in defence.
"Well yeah," he answered honestly and the redhead stood abruptly from his seat and stormed over to Roxas and Marluxia, cutting the pair short in their conversation as they turned to look at the redhead.
Axel bowed theatrically just to piss the pink haired boy off a little more, "excuse me Marluxia, I need to borrow Roxas," he clipped in annoyance but the blond just scoffed at him.
"Get Sora to keep you entertained, I'm busy." There was venom behind Roxas' words; venom Axel had only ever heard when the blond was jealous or envious of something. But that didn't matter right now. Axel was on a mission and nothing was going to stop him getting some answers.
Instead of replying to the blond Axel just took his arm and pulled him towards the other room. His protests falling on deaf ears Roxas only managed to tug his arm out of Axel's grasp when they were in the room Axel had headed for. "What the fuck are you doing?"
"What the fuck am I doing?" Axel repeated angrily, "I came here to enjoy the party with my best friend and you spend the whole night with some college douchebag!" The redhead's anger flared and for the first time in a while Roxas backed down from the argument looking slightly guilty but it did nothing to curb Axel's rage. "Do you just want me to leave? Because I sure as hell feel like I should."
Silence fell over the pair while Axel glared daggers at Roxas' lowered head until the blond finally shook his head 'no'. "No, I don't want you to leave," he admitted.
"Unless you're going to stop spending all of your time with that pink haired freak I'm leaving."
Roxas looked at Axel seriously then glanced back at Marluxia who was waiting by the vacated table and then back at Axel again. "Fine, I'll stop talking to him on one condition."
Axel looked sceptical but waited and a smirk played at Roxas' lips. "Tell me why have you been so deep in thought for the past week?" he asked and Axel could hear that playful tone in Roxas' voice that he'd missed so much this past week.
There'd been so much pent up tension and unspoken words between the pair that Axel had forgot what it was like to laugh with Roxas. That sweet face smiling at him, it's all he ever needed and he couldn't risk losing that to Marluxia. So without words Axel took Roxas' face in his hands and pressed his lips gently to the blonde's in a beautifully satisfying kiss. They broke apart, their noses almost touching while they both searched each other's eyes, and when Roxas' arms snaked around Axel's neck the redhead took Roxas' bottom lip between his. Sliding his arms from the blonde's face to his waist Axel let his tongue out to play at Roxas' lips, asking for the blonde's permission which he granted, sliding his tongue out to join Axel's in a meeting of passion and need.
"Why didn't you tell me you remembered last week you jerk," Axel whispered with a smile when the pair broke apart for air, both breathing heavier than normal.
"I didn't just want to be another notch in your belt and I was scared that if you weren't mad at me then that's what I'd be," Roxas answered honestly, sliding his hands through Axel's hair with their bodies pressed flush together.
"I would never do that to you Roxas," and no truer words had been spoken by Axel. Not in a long time. "The belt comes off for you," he said, kissing the side of the blonde's mouth while the other boy smiled mischievously.
"I might have to take you up on that sometime," he said playfully and Axel's eyes shone with excitement.
A glance over Roxas' shoulder took Axel's attention to a grimacing Marluxia and the redhead smirked. "Think I pissed him off?" he asked and Roxas craned his neck without letting go of Axel to look at the other boy. He felt a little embarrassed that he'd led Marluxia on a little, but he couldn't feel too bad about it, not when Axel was holding him the way he was.
Suddenly the redhead kissed Roxas' neck while he was distracted and the blond gasped, turning back to find Axel looking roguish and he detached himself from the blond to take Roxas' hand.
"Let's get out of here," the redhead grinned and pulled Roxas away from the party.
A/N: By the way, I rated it M for some badly written butt-fuckery in chapter 2 because I don't write that stuff anymore but I tried my best. There's also swearing from characters and this author right here.
First drafts for the win!