~o~ Summary: Right from the beginning, Axel couldn't get Roxas out of his mind. Tattoo fic, drug use by side character, Akuroku and Cleon, porn stars, ongoing. Enjoy! ~o~
The first time he saw Roxas wasn't exactly magical. In fact, it was chaotic, and full of tears and screaming. Not from either of them, but from the person that Roxas had with him, who he had brought into Axel's tattoo shop for a cover up. Roxas's friend Sora had been out with a few friends the weekend before. Too many drinks and being friends with a bunch of rowdy men had resulted in a very bad tramp stamp for the poor victim. At first, Sora had refused to show it, and said that he didn't want anyone to see it. He only relented when Roxas shot him a very irritated look and a low threat underneath his breath that Axel didn't quite catch. Sora heard it, however, and agreed to show the tattoo and get it covered as long as it was only Axel who saw it.
Before he knew it, Sora was thrown onto his stomach in the private office space, the door to the room closed behind him. Roxas sat in a seat that was at the head of the chair, running his hands through Sora's hair and saying things like, "Come on, tattoos don't hurt that bad. Look at how many Cloud has, and he's never complained once, right?"
"How bad could this tattoo possibly be?" Axel had laughed, pulling his hair back into a high ponytail. He couldn't stop looking at Roxas, who was admittedly very beautiful. Not that Axel had noticed that. Not at all.
The tattoo was bad.
Sora had gotten "YOLO" tattooed onto his lower back. However, that wasn't where the issue was. The problem, which was so obvious that it hurt, was that the font that they used was made completely out of penises.
Axel had to pull the shirt back down. "Oh my fucking god."
Roxas gave him a momentary smile, and even his teeth were perfect. His eyes are a light blue, his eyelashes long and dark. He looks like he'd pass as a young high school student, though he flashed his ID at the door and was definitely much older than he appeared. He wore dark, tight jeans, a baseball tee with a logo Axel didn't recognize, and boots that went halfway up his calf, tied up at the top in a tight bow. His hair was a golden blonde, possibly bleached but probably not. It was pushed up in spikes, and was 'windswept' look to it. His hands were small and delicate, threading their way through Sora's hair to soothe him while he blubbered. Axel hadn't even started the tattoo yet and the kid was already crying.
Rolling his eyes, Axel set up the station, squirting the ink for the tattoo into one of the plastic holders. The kid was at least smart enough to bring in a design: a large, solid black Batman symbol, which would easily cover up the light colored lettering that would be underneath.
Wiping down the area, Sora tensed underneath Axel's hands. Axel forced himself to not sigh. "I'm going to start now. Take a deep breath."
Sora obliged, choking back a sob and reaching a hand up to grip tightly onto Roxas's wrist. Roxas only smiled gently and continued to rub his head with his free hand.
Sora was, to be frank, a little bitch through the whole thing. Granted, it was a large tattoo that took a long time, and it not only had to be given a thick outline but it also had to be filled in completely in black, but no one should be able to cry that much for that long. On top of that, Sora was a bleeder, and Axel found himself changing gloves twice.
Halfway through, Roxas had convinced Sora to calm down enough so that he would let his hand go, which Sora had been holding for almost two hours leaving it a sweaty and tear covered mess. He'd even gotten him to put on the headphones that they'd brought so that he could calm down just a bit more while he listened to the music. Roxas gave Axel an apologetic look before caressing the top of Sora's head. "I'm sorry. He really is a big baby."
Axel grunted and wiped off some blood from Sora's back. "I've had worse. I had this one girl in here once- she wanted a tramp stamp for her eighteenth birthday- she was crying so hard that she passed out. As long as this kid doesn't pass out on me, we're good."
Roxas laughed quietly, looking every bit as beautiful as a fucking rose, and Axel wanted to touch his face. If that wasn't weird, he didn't know what was.
Roxas, who had taken to his phone now that Axel was almost done with the tattoo, didn't talk for the rest of the visit. Axel wanted him to, yeah, but he chose it better to just let it be and finish his work. The tattoo was coming out nicely, and Sora was definitely a bleeder, but he was taking the tattoo a lot better than he had before. Though, he was still silently crying and twitching underneath the needle. Not that Axel could blame him; solid tattoos hurt like a bitch. Finally, after working late into the night to get the tattoo done in one sitting, Axel was finished. It was almost midnight, the shop was clearing out, and Reno was sending his last customer home when Axel started to wipe off the excess ink from the small of Sora's back. The black smeared against his skin, which was stinking bright red from the rigorous tattooing.
Axel set his tattoo gun down on the table and leaned back, satisfied. "I did a good job, if I do say so myself."
Sora got up slowly, pushing himself up with his arms. He wiped his face before he scurried over to a large mirror that was hanging on the wall by the door to the office, back facing it while he held up his shirt and looked over his shoulder. Roxas stood up to join him, inspecting the all black tattoo. He nodded in satisfaction. "It looks good, Sora. The line work is perfect." He glanced over to Axel with a smile before he turned back to the tattoo, and he completely missed the way Axel's face turned red at the compliment. "Do you like it?"
Sora went to jump, but stopped halfway with a wince. "Yeah, it's perfect! No one will ever know that I got that awful tattoo, thank god. As long as you don't tell them, Roxas." He threw Roxas a narrowed look.
Roxas put two fingers in the air and a hand over his heart. "Scout's honor."
After that, they paid and left. Axel was sure that he wouldn't see Roxas again, because Roxas didn't seem like the type to come back in for himself. Not that Axel was disappointed or anything. And he definitely didn't want Roxas's number before he left. Axel was straight. One hundred and eight percent straight. And Roxas- he didn't know Roxas. Not at all. It was all sex appeal, and that was it. He'd be over it in a week, and he'd never see Roxas again.
He was wrong.
The second time Roxas came into the shop was for himself. The shop had just opened up for the day, and Reno was working on a piercing in the back room while Axel watched the front of the shop. The other artists wouldn't be in work until later, because they worked the heavy hours when people wanted late day and night tattoos. Axel was in a bad mood that morning, and all he wanted to do was read about the Royal Baby and the celebrity drama. The bell rang, meaning that someone opened the front door, but Axel didn't look up from the magazine he was reading on the counter. He just grunted and said, "Welcome to Red Voodoo. What can I set you up with today?"
"I need a portrait done."
Axel looked up then, because he'd recognize that smooth voice anywhere. Roxas was alone that day, with no crying idiot being dragged behind him. He was rubbing his arms, trying to heat up from the cold weather outside, and for some reason he'd decided not to wear a jacket. He had brown Uggs on, tight jeans, and a Fatal shirt with an attractive and extremely sexual woman on it. Which probably meant that Roxas was straight.
Axel cleared his throat and held out his hand to see the picture that Roxas had brought in. Roxas placed it into his open palm gracefully, and Axel looked over the portrait for a long while, taking in all the lines and curves that went along with the woman in it. No doubt, she was related to Roxas. She had the same blue eyes, blonde hair and shady look on her face. After about thirty seconds, Axel nodded and handed the picture back before saying, "You're going to want Leon to do it. He does the best portraits out of the staff- hell, the best tattoos in general. He's pricey, though. If you don't mind that, I can make an appointment for you tonight."
Roxas smiled. "That's perfect. Can we go for six? I have a meeting this afternoon and it'll run late."
That caught Axel's attention. It never occurred to him that Roxas would have a job. If anything, he figured that Roxas was a college student. "Six is fine. What do you do? For a job, I mean."
The smile turned into more of a smirk. Roxas put his hands into the back pocket of his jeans, flexing his back and rolling his shoulders slightly. "My brother and I own a business together. I'll see you at six, Axel."
He knew his name.
Roxas knew his name.
Axel watched in a sort of awe as Roxas exited the shop, the bell dinging behind him as he walked away. For the rest of the day, Axel was still in awe, all because Roxas knew his name. He didn't think that he would care enough to remember it, but yet he had heard it, and god, was it amazing coming out of Roxas's mouth. His voice was perfect, and Axel wondered what other sounds he could make, but cut the thoughts off as soon as they occurred to him. He didn't need to be thinking like that.
When six came around, Axel was on the edge of his seat. He'd waited all day for Roxas to come back in, not that he'd ever admit that. Leon, who had the appointment with Roxas, was late. Coincidentally, so was Roxas, and the two arrived at the same exact time, meeting at the door. Like a gentleman, Leon held the door open for Roxas to walk in, and Roxas gave him a curt nod before walking to Axel who was still manning the front.
"Welcome back," Axel grinned at him, chest all fluttery and light. "I missed you."
"Well, aren't you sweet," Roxas patted his hand in a friendly manner, but the contact left fire on Axel's skin.
His face heated up and he quickly covered it up with a cough and a gesture towards Leon. "This, uh- this is Leon. He's our residential realism artist. Leon, this is your six o'clock."
Leon was a tall, gruff man with a large scar on his face, and a white v-neck underneath a black bomber's jacket. He shook Roxas's hand, strong and slender hand squeezing Roxas's much smaller one. His voice was a deep, "It's nice to meet you. Do you have a picture?"
Roxas pulled the picture out of his satchel, which he'd had tucked into a large book that looked a lot like a bible. He handed it to Leon, who looked the picture over with a blank face, and then handed it back with a grunt. "Placement?"
Roxas held out his left arm, showing the skin of his forearm and tracing a circle with his finger. "I figured right here, with some words underneath. You know, some rest in peace crap."
Leon nodded, taking Roxas's forearm and looking it over. Axel didn't like the fact that Leon was touching him, but he didn't say anything because Leon is actually a very scary person who would probably poison Axel's food if he pissed him off. After looking him over, Leon released Roxas's arm and nodded his head towards the drawing room. Roxas followed him to the back, and Leon closed the door to the drawing room, leaving Axel out to sulk.
Reno came in from his break ten minutes later, and Axel was till sulking behind the counter. Reno threw him an odd look before shrugging it off and throwing a Wendy's bag on the counter. "I got you some dinner, bro. What's up your ass?"
"Shut up." Axel snatched the bag, digging in to get a handful of fries. "Where's the vampire?"
Reno tutted. "Taking care of business. We had rent due today, you know. And bills. Speaking of which, where's our money maker? He have a customer?"
Axel jerked his chin in the direction of the drawing room, Leon and Roxas hidden inside. "Yeah. That guy who came in a few weeks ago with that crying tramp stamp kid is in for a portrait."
Reno laughed. "The one you want to fuck?"
Axel threw his handful of fries at him. "Shut up, Reno! That's not true. I'm not even gay."
Reno shrugged and walked away. "Shit happens, man."
Shit happens. Yeah, that's true, but that doesn't really count for sexuality, right? It's not like Axel was suddenly gay because of this one kid. After all, that kind of stuff only happened in porn and fan fiction.
When Leon and Roxas moved from the drawing room to Leon's workspace, a freshly drawn sketch in Leon's hand, Axel was a bit anxious. He wasn't sure why, but he was. Leon led Roxas to his workspace, having him sit in the chair at Leon's office space, by the window. Luckily for Axel, the space was right across from the front desk.
Once the stencil was on Roxas's pale skin, Leon got to work. The buzzing from the tattoo machine was loud, keeping Axel's focus as if he'd never heard one before. He was fascinated by the way the dark ink sat on Roxas's skin, smearing when Leon wiped at it. He didn't bleed, which was a surprise to Axel because he'd just assumed that Roxas would be a bleeder. He also didn't wince, and used his free hand to text on his phone. He's calm and collected the whole time, and the tattoo takes a long time just to get through the outline.
Roxas was lucky enough to get his ink done by Leon. As far as Axel was concerned, Leon was the best artist in the shop, but according to his rival Seifer, that was debatable. Hands down, Leon had the best line art that Axel had ever seen. He trusted Leon completely not to fuck up Roxas's tattoo and ruin the look of his beautiful skin.
When the outlines done, Leon wipes away the stray ink and makes sure he's connected all the lines.
Roxas looked it over before Leon started shading it in.
"My brother's gonna be stoked," Roxas said absently, going back to his phone.
Leon raised an eyebrow, but didn't look up from his work. "Why would he be stoked?"
Roxas rolled his eyes, letting out a slightly irritated sigh. "He's been wanting me to get something to respect our mother. I wouldn't have gotten this if he hadn't kept bitching."
Leon dipped the tip of his needle into black ink. He turned back to Roxas and continued his work. "I'm guessing you and your mother didn't have a very good relationship."
Roxas laughed bitterly, setting his phone on the arm rest of the chair and crossing his legs. "Yeah. She didn't exactly agree with my lifestyle."
Axel perked up then. His lifestyle? That could mean many things. Maybe he had a job that she didn't like. Maybe he had a weird fetish. Maybe he killed a man and she didn't accept it. The only thing that it could possibly mean that would actually make sense was that Roxas was actually gay. A rush of relief hit Axel, and then immediately followed was panic because he shouldn't be relieved that Roxas was (possibly) gay.
In that moment, Axel was confused with his sexuality.
It took hours before Roxas's tattoo was finished, but the end result was beautiful. As expected of Leon, who was the shop 'money maker' as far as Reno was concerned. Roxas got up from the chair and was directed towards the full length mirror at the other side of the shop to check it out. Axel could see his face in the reflection of the mirror, eyes wide with awe. For the first time, he saw real emotion on Roxas's face. Excitement, approval, even surprise crossed his face as he looked over the new black ink that was now on his skin. The image of his mother looked exactly the same as it did in the photo, from every eyelash right down to every strand of her fine hair. Under it were the words Rest in Peace, written in a curving portrait as well as what Axel assumed the be the date of her death.
Leon was cleaning up his workspace and putting his tattoo machine back into it's case. He asked, "How does it look?"
"Amazing," Roxas breathed out. He turned back to Leon and proceeded to walk back over to him for a handshake. As he walked, he spoke, "Thank you. Thank you so much. This is way better than I thought it would be."
"Yeah. Let's get you wrapped up and on your way."
Saran wrapped up and after another round of thank you's, Roxas went to the register to pay. Axel used that time to get a better look at the tattoo, and it was Leon's best work yet. It was possible that it was only because the canvas he used (and by canvas, he means Roxas) was also the finest yet. Roxas smiled at him, drawing Axel's attention away from the new ink to admire his face. "Nice, huh?"
"Very," was all that Axel could think to say, brain suddenly dead and mouth very dry.
Roxas pulled his wallet out of his bag, one that doubles as a wallet as well as a case for a phone, and pulls out the payment in fifties. It occurred to Axel that Roxas had a job- and from what he saw from his short glance into the sparkly black wallet, a well paying one. When he handed Axel the money, Axel also got a look at the ring he wore that had the same logo engraved into the silver as the shirt he'd been wearing the last time he'd been in.
Roxas tucked his wallet back into his bag, and then went to leave before gracefully turning back to Axel. "I almost forgot. I need an appointment for two, for the twelfth. It's my brother's birthday, and I promised him we'd get matching zodiac signs." Roxas finished up with a roll of his eyes, but a small smile. "Is that doable?"
Axel looked over the schedule on the desk, next to the appointment sheet. "Yeah, yeah I'll write you two down for three with Leon and... Reno is working that day. That good?"
Roxas raised an eyebrow. "You aren't working that day?"
Did he want Axel to work on him? Axel didn't show his excitement. "Uh, well I am- I work every day but Sundays. I just do coverups, though. I'm mostly here to man the front desk and set up appointments."
Roxas frowned. "Oh." An awkward silence followed after that, only broken by the sound of Roxas tapping one finger on the counter and the sound of Leon talking to someone in one of the back rooms. Suddenly, Roxas slapped the counter twice and said, "Alright. Well. See you on the twelfth, Axel."
Axel failed to ask him for his number again.
August twelve didn't come fast enough. When it did finally come up on Axel's calender, which he'd had highlighted and marked as the day Roxas would come in, Axel was ecstatic. He woke up to open up the shop for the day, shaky and over excited. He blamed the coffee he'd chugged for that, and definitely not the fact that he's going to see Roxas again.
As usual, Leon was in early, carrying a tray of Starbucks with him. By then, he knew what Axel and Reno wanted, handing Axel his caramel frap and bringing Reno's latte to his office. Seifer came in late, which is something that Axel had long since gotten used to. Larxene was even later, which again, he'd expected. At least they were all in the shop at once, because within the last few months it had become a rarity to have all five of the artists working at the same time. Mostly because they'd lost a lot of business to the new tattoo shop around the corner, but also because Larxene and Seifer both worked off of appointment only.
The shop was alive with the buzzing of machines all day, as Larxene worked on a set of twins who wanted matching rib tattoos and Seifer worked on a full back portrait. Leon spent most of the day cleaning while Reno slept in the back. Axel was too giddy to do anything but sit at the front desk and tap his fingers rhythmically against the counter. The coffee that Leon had brought didn't help.
Roxas came in with his brother ten minutes before the scheduled appointment. They could be heard down the block, where they'd parked, because as they walked they were engaged in a very heated argument. Roxas was the first to come in, holding the door open for his brother while he said some obscenities to him. Axel perked up at the sight of his schoolboy crush.
His brother came in moments later, wearing sunglasses and a scowl as he said some curses to his brother under his breath, which Axel didn't quite catch save for the word "cumface". Roxas's brother glared around the shop from behind the shades, Roxas following after him as they strolled through the lobby, the door falling closed behind him.
"Hey, stranger." Roxas leaned on the counter, looking tired and irritated but nonetheless smiling at Axel. "We're here for our appointment."
Axel bit down his excitement. The last thing he wanted to do was lead on that he was questioning his sexuality for this guy. Calm and aloof, he told himself. Don't be too desperate, Axel. Don't let him know that you're thinking about his cute butt. He checked off Roxas's name on the appointment sheet, then directed him towards the waiting area. "They'll be with you in a second."
Roxas winked before turning to his brother, who was already sitting down in one of the cushioned seats that were pushed up against the wall. He picked up one of the albums that they had out on a nightstand, full of pictures of the work done by the artists in the shop. Roxas sat next to him and crossed his arms, leaning down in his seat and crossing one of his legs. He shook his foot uneasily. His brother leaned in and muttered something to him before pointing to a picture in the photo album. Then Roxas laughed and his brother closed the book, crudely tossing it back onto the table.
Leon and Reno joined them in the front room a few minutes later, and Roxas stood to greet them. His brother took a hint and stood after him, looking out of place and very disgruntled. While Roxas shook the artists' hands, his brother checked his phone. No fucks were given by him that day.
Then Roxas introduced him to the artists, waving a hand to present his brother. "This is my older brother, Cloud. Cloud, this is Reno and Leon. Leon's the one who did my portrait."
Cloud smiled then, finally showing interest as he shoved his phone back into his back pocket with his left hand and used his right to reach forward and shake Leon's hand. His grip was a lot stronger than Leon had expected, giving him a firm handshake. Cloud said, "Hey, it's nice to meet you. My brother's tattoo came out dope as hell."
He didn't shake Reno's hand.
Roxas dug into his satchel to pull out two folded pieces of printer paper, handing one to each artist. Printed off onto the papers were two zodiac signs, one Leo which Reno held, and one Aquarius that Leon was looking over. Roxas explained, "We just want to get our Zodiac signs on our right wrists. Exactly the way they are in the pictures."
The print offs were simply the signs, the lines thick and black. Axel had never seen the use of Zodiac signs, but he totally loved that Roxas was into them.
The brother's were split up among the two artists, Roxas with an appointment with Leon, and Reno with Cloud. Cloud wasn't having it.
"I want Leon to do mine," he voiced, causing the others to look at him. There was a long silence that followed, while Reno looked genuinely insulted and Leon quite impressed, but Roxas just sighed with a look that suggested that there was no point in even arguing. He just rolled his eyes and nodded.
Cloud was satisfied with that, and followed Leon to the drawing room. Before he followed Reno, Roxas looked back and gave Axel a look of exasperation and said, "He always get's his way. I don't even argue anymore."
The drawing didn't take long, and a bit later the brothers came back out for their ink.
Cloud already had several visible tattoos. On the curve of his right thumb and index finger, he had the tattoo of a small, red rose. Even though it was small, it was incredibly detailed with the lines of each peddle varying in size. The flower was filled in with a deep red, and the stem that curled onto the side of his thumb was green with shadowed in thorns. Then, on the side of the same hand along the side of his palm and piny was the simple phrase born to die in black cursive, no uppercase letters. On his left hand, he had Fuck you inked along the side of his middle finger, which seemed to be done with a lot less skill than the others.When he shrugged of his jacket, throwing it to Roxas to put up, Axel could see that he had a sleeve of tattoos on his right arm in a beautiful collage of red, green and blue. The sleeve had the theme of death, from what Axel could see, but the images were somehow pleasant. He could already tell that it said a lot about Cloud's character when his tattoos of dying girls and boys alike were accented with bright colors and big eyes, in a new school type of style. They were so amazingly done that Axel was almost jealous, and wondered briefly where he'd gotten them done but decided against asking. The tattoo that caught his eye the most was the portrait on his left forearm, mirroring the one Roxas had gotten a few weeks before, of the same woman but a different pose and the word Mom above the portrait in cursive, and underneath in the same font the date of her birth and the date of her death. It was only about a year before.
Roxas sat in the chair at Reno's station, which was next to Leon's by the window. Cloud sat at Leon's. Then Cloud winked at him and they both set their arms out on the arm rests, ready for their stencils to be placed on.
There was the collective snap of rubber on skin while Reno and Leon both pulled on their black rubber gloves. Then came out the machines, and the two spent time on adjusting the tattoo guns and setting out the black ink. Then they put the stencils on the pale skin of the boys' pale wrists.
And then the tattooing started. It was a simple job, starting with an outline, which took a short amount of time. Neither of them flinched, and neither of them seemed affected at all by the fact that they were both getting stabbed repeatedly with a small needle. Cloud periodically pulled his phone out to reply to texts, while Roxas read a book with his free hand. After an hour, Cloud got bored. Leon was then filling the outline of the Leo sign, and he took a moment to wipe away some of the stray ink.
"So," Cloud said, leaning his head onto his free hand. "Leon. Short for anything? Leonard, maybe?"
"No."
"That's your whole first name?"
"No."
Cloud laughed then, and Roxas gave him a warning look before returning his eyes to his book. Cloud asked, "Then what is it?"
Leon paused, stopping the tattoo gun so that the only other sound was the buzzing of Reno's machine. Cloud watched him with a look of interest, waiting for his answer.
Leon started the tattoo again. "Squall."
"What was that?" Cloud leaned in a bit, more or less to see Leon's reaction.
Leon sighed. "My first name is Squall. My last name is Leonhart. As you can imagine, I didn't want to go through my life with the name Squall."
Cloud's smile grew wider, and he sat back again. "Squall. I like that."
And just like that, Leon was smiling back.
They were done a short time later. Roxas's skin stung a bright red, while Cloud's was turning pink around the ink. The two artists wiped the rest of the excess ink off before they let the two brothers up to look at their new tattoos. Cloud automatically walked over to Roxas, who was putting his book into his bag. "Did it hurt?"
Roxas shrugged, holding up his wrist to examine. "No. The other one hurt like a bitch, but this one was fine. Thank you, Reno."
Reno was cleaning up his station and gave a grunt. Leon had already finished cleaning, and went to wrap up the boys' new ink. Axel didn't miss the way his hands lingered on Cloud's wrists, and the way the two made eye contact before he stepped away and wrapped up Roxas's. There were no lingering touches with him, which Axel was grateful for.
Of course, he was still straight. There was just something special about Roxas.
Axel spent the next three months waiting for Roxas to come in again. Actually, he craved it, and every day when he closed up shop without a sign of the blond was a disappointment and like a punch in the face to him. He asked himself why the hell he wanted to see him so badly. At this point, he couldn't even deny that he may actually like Roxas, despite the fact that he had a penis underneath his criminally fitted jeans. It had to just be infatuation, because Axel had only loved one person his whole life, and she was undoubtedly female. He was straight. So fucking straight, yet here he was with a major school boy crush on a client who he knew nothing about.
But what is sexuality, anyway?
It was the fourth time when Roxas came into the shop that Axel realized he was in love.
It was a dead day, the first day in months that they weren't booked solid. Part of the reason was because of the blizzard going on outside, having caused many people who commute to their shop from surrounding cities to have to cancel their appointments. Axel had taken to eating a copious amount of chocolate, which was set out in a decorative bowl for customers, but as far as he could see there were no customers coming in when the streets were covered in six inches of snow and ice. Leon was sitting in one of the waiting chairs, reading a book on the evolution of Veganism. Larxene laid across the other two chairs, legs propped up with her shoeless feet on the wall and her head in Leon's lap while she played a game on her phone. In the back, Seifer was finishing a tattoo that he'd started on his own leg a month before, but had never had time to finish. God knows where Reno was, but by the way he'd dressed when coming to work that morning, Axel was willing to bet that he'd blown off work for a lunch date with his secret girlfriend.
Axel was falling asleep at the front desk, leaning his face into his hand with his elbow on the table, when the front door rang and Roxas walked in. His faux fur boots had snow clumped in them, and he kicked most of it off at the welcome mat. He pulled off a black scarf with a matching beanie and hung them up on the coat rack. Next, he pulled off his big, poofy snow coat and set it over the knits. He stuffed his gloves into his satchel, now only wearing a tight long sleeve shirt. The black material hugged his body and Axel had to look away.
Roxas let out a sigh. "Oh man, it's so warm in here. Hey, guys."
There was a monotone sound of greeting from the two in the corner, but Axel didn't say anything out of fear of his voice cracking. Roxas stretched over the counter next to Axel, letting out another sign as he cracked his back. His face was flushed and ears red from the cold outside. Standing up straight again, he tapped his fingers against the counter top and Axel tried to look at anything but his amazing fingers and the way they looked like they'd give the most delicate hand jobs. Axel shoved that thought out of his head immediately.
"Wow, you guys sure are lively today," Roxas humored, taking a mini Hershey's bar out of the bowl and slowly pulling the wrapper off. Axel was focusing on his fingers again, and he watched as Roxas took half a bite of the chocolate, leaning over the counter sideways with a hand on his hip. He licked his teeth. "I need a coverup, Axel. Are you free?"
Axel swallowed down a lump that had lodged itself into his throat. "Yeah, Roxas. I always have time for you."
Too desperate, he scolded himself, but if Roxas noticed he didn't lead on. He just smiled those straight, bright teeth and knocked on the counter.
"Great. I'd like to do it in that back room you took Sora in- it's kind of personal, and I have to take my shirt off for you to do it," he explains, and Axel isn't sure if he's happy or upset over this development. Happy because fuck yes he gets to see Roxas without his shirt on. Upset because fuck no he gets to see Roxas without his shirt on. In a back room. Alone. At least hiding the boner he's definitely going to get won't be too hard if they're alone.
Axel nodded, showing his understanding before saying, "Alright, follow me."
"Get that ass, boy," Larxene muttered from the corner, making Leon snort above her. Axel barely spared them a glare as he passed.
He led Roxas to the back room, the same back room that they sat in the first time they a few months before. The room was warm, despite the windows being frosted over. Roxas had his back to him as he pulled out the design he'd chosen from his back. It was a butterfly, shaded in around the large wings with colored pencils. The wings went from purple at the tips to black at the base of the body. Without warning, he pulled off his shirt, revealing his smooth white back to Axel. He almost looked away, but this was all business.
Roxas had one tattoo on his back, on his left shoulder blade. It was a name, in a blue-green cursive of the standard tattoo color. It was well done, and it seemed to have been important at some point. Why else would Roxas get a name tattooed on himself? Axel almost hoped that it was an accident, and that he'd gotten it under the same circumstances as Sora had gotten his, but the chances of that were slim.
Roxas didn't look back at him, speaking as he folded his shirt neatly. "I need my ex's name covered. Can you do that?"
He turned and handed Axel the sketch before he turned back around to show him the tattoo. His fair skin would have been completely unmarked if it wasn't for this one tattoo. The dark ink in contrast to the paleness of his back, which was due to the lack of sun they get in this part of the planet, made his skin look that much better.
Roxas went on, "I don't know how dark you'd have to make it, or as big, but I'm willing to go with anything as long as you cover it up."
Axel took a deep breath, calming himself. He held the drawing up to the tattoo on Roxas's back for a size comparison. As he thought, he'd have to make the wing span bigger. He used his fingers to measure it out, and that was the first time he touched Roxas. His stomach dropped, but in a almost pleasant way. He covered up his stutter with a cough, "Uh, yeah we're gonna have to make it bigger."
Roxas nodded. "Alright."
"I'll-," he paused, remembered that he should mark how big he needed it. Axel reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen, holding the paper up again to mark how big the tattoo already was. It was roughly three inches across and half an inch up. He cleared his through. "I'll draw this up. Wait here, and I'll be right back."
Roxas nodded and sat on the flat tattoo bench to wait. Axel left then, walking out of the room with his heart racing. Luckily, the drawing room was right next to the private room, so he didn't have to pass Leon and Larxene to get there. They'd never let him live down the look on his face in that moment.
He drew the design as delicately as possible. He couldn't mes up on Roxas's tattoo. This was the most important tattoo of his career, as far as he was concerned. He marked where Roxas wanted the colors, and added detail to the wings. He added lines in certain places and shading up to the middle of the wings to cover up the ink that would be underneath. Carefully, he drew the antennas into a curl, just like in the picture. When he was done, he looked it over again to make sure that everything was perfect, and dubbing it to be exactly how he wanted it, he left the room to go back to the one he'd left Roxas in.
Roxas was filing his nails when Axel returned, sitting on the bench. His shirt was still off, and he was sitting Indian style while he checked out his nails. He looked back up at Axel when he walked in, and smiled. "Welcome back."
"Sorry for the wait," Axel said, closing the door behind him. "It had to be perfect."
Roxas laughed lightly, placing the nail file into his back. "You're sweet on me."
He stood up so that Axel could place the stencil on his back, rubbing the side of his hand so that all of the outline was all on there. He handed Roxas a hand mirror, and directed him towards the full body mirror on the wall so that he could check it out. Roxas inspected it for a long moment, and Axel was nervous while he waited for his approval. After almost a whole minute, Roxas smiled again and turned back to Axel. "It's perfect. Let's do this."
Axel was ecstatic, but he didn't show it. He had Roxas lay down on his stomach on the the bench, giving him full access to the tattoo area. He placed out his gun, the ink, and pulled back his hair before snapping on some gloves. Then he was dipping the needle into the black ink he was using for the outline and asked, "Are you ready?"
Roxas had a tight grip on the head of the bench. He didn't answer verbally, but he nodded. When he heard the tattoo gun start, he braced himself, body tensed up in anticipation. Axel hoped that he could hide how aroused he was from having Roxas under his machine like this, body so close and so perfect. He hoped that Roxas didn't notice the way his breathing had gotten faster. He took a deep breath, focusing on anything but the warmth of Roxas's back that his hands were currently touching. He wanted to just put down the machine, pull off his gloves and run his hands all up Roxas's back, but that was a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Focus, Axel.
He started the line work, the ink dark black to blend with the purple. He faded it in to where he'd add the purple, and then shaded along the body, filling it in with black. He made wing lines to make the butterfly look more realistic, but he'd never been the best realism artist so he kept it basic. For the first time, Axel actually saw Roxas in pain from a tattoo. He gripped the seat tighter, knuckles whiter than usual. By the way his jaw was set, Axel could tell that he was gritting his teeth. He could also feel the way Roxas seemed to tighten his back under the needle, a very common reaction for people when they go under the needle. As common as it is, however, it seemed strange on Roxas, who Axel had only seen grunt to the pain.
He paused, wiping away at the ink. He'd just finished the line work and looked over to the set up of the colored ink. The purple was prominent in its small container, next to the white and black ink that was also set out. He looked back to Roxas, who was staring at a spot on the wall with his arms crossed underneath his chin.
Axel asked, "You good?"
Roxas let out a short, dry chuckle. "I feel like I'm sixteen again. In some guy's garage, getting my first tattoo."
"Oh." Axel pulled on the ends of his gloves and snapped the rubber against his wrists again before picking the machine back up. "First tattoo story?"
He started the tattoo again, dipping he needle into the purple for the fill. Roxas braced again, but was a lot more relaxed this time. Wincing, he adjusted his position when Axel went for more ink. "Yeah. I got a pelvic tattoo when I was a junior in high school. Worst decision of my life. I had to hide it from my folks- they found it, of course. Flipped shit. By then, Cloud had already gotten a 'Fuck You' tattoo and waved it at our parents, so when they found out about the brass knuckles I got on myself, they were livid."
Axel laughed, taking the needle away for more ink. "Brass knuckles? Really?"
Roxas shrugged, smiling lightly. "I went through a hardcore phase my junior year. It was badly done, too. I had it removed when I moved out here, it was bad for my first job."
"So, you came out here for a job," Axel observed. It was the perfect opportunity to find out things about Roxas. At the moment, Axel knew nothing about him. "What job requires you to get a crotch tattoo removed?"
Roxas hesitated. "I did acting."
"Anything I would know?"
"They were low budget films, so I doubt it. What about you? Did you move here, or did you grow up in this lovely little city?"
"Oh, I'm Hallow Bastion born and raised," Axel said. "Me and Reno grew up in the ghetto by the edge of the city. Right where it meets Twilight town."
"That's a pretty bad side of town."
"That's why I'm so tough!"
Roxas smiled again. "I don't know, Axel. You look pretty soft to me."
Axel blushed then, but if Roxas saw it he didn't lead on. Axel cleared his throat, coughing awkwardly before saying, "You're hardly one to call me soft. You look like a cute little middle school student."
Roxas looked at him then, settling the side of his face into his arms. That smile was back, only this time it looked cunning and even more brilliant. When he spoke, his voice was low and edged with the hint of seduction. "Cute, huh? You better watch out, Axel. You may have to buy me a drink."
It was then that Axel's heart skipped a beat. His heart actually skipped a beat, something that up until a few seconds before he'd thought was only a myth that lonely woman wrote into their romance novels and fan fiction. Yet, here he was, recovering from a unexpected skip in his heart beat, which caught him off guard enough that he stopped tattooing without thinking. Roxas was looking away again, and Axel covered up the sudden stop by dipping the needle in ink again. His face was heated up and wouldn't cool down, even with the deep breaths he was taking. He told himself that Roxas didn't mean anything by it. It was a simple joke. He didn't actually want Axel to buy him a drink, that would be insane. Besides that, it's not like Axel wanted to by him a drink anyway. Sure, he maybe had a little crush on the guy, but that would pass soon. It was just infatuation, he'd fallen into it before. It's not like he wanted to start a relationship with Roxas or anything.
That would just be... ridiculous.
Axel mentally reprimanded himself for not coming up with a better explanation as to why he wouldn't buy Roxas a drink. He was just ranting to himself, like a stubborn old man trying to deny his new found sexuality.
He looked for any sort of distraction. He found one when he turned his attention back onto the tattoo that he was supposed to be focusing on in the first place. His voice came out just the slightest bit strained, and he hoped that Roxas didn't catch on to it. "So, this tattoo I'm covering up."
"Yup," Roxas returned.
"Anyone special?" He realized how nosy he sounded then, and panicked. "I mean, if you don't mind me asking. I'm not trying to get into your business or anything, I just-!"
Roxas laughed and shook his head, burring his face into his arms with his forehead on his wrist. "It's fine. He's my ex boyfriend."
Axel took a breath then. So, he was gay. "He must have been a real dick if you want to get his name covered up."
"He was. He was the worst." Roxas paused for a moment. "He wasn't at first, though. He was actually really nice. That's why we started dating."
Axel wondered briefly what Roxas's standard were. If he was into dating nice guys, then Axel definitely was his type. "Was he an old ex? Or is this new damage?"
"We broke up two years ago, I just never got the tattoo covered or removed. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I woke up yesterday, though, and I took a shower like I do every morning, and when I got out I caught a glimpse of the tattoo in the mirror, and I just... I didn't want it anymore. I couldn't have it. So, I came in today. I had Cloud draw up that butterfly for me before I came in. he designs all of our tattoos, except for the portraits we got for our mom. Anyway, it felt like time to get it removed."
A long silence followed. Axel knew exactly what it was like to not be able to bring himself to get a name covered up. It took him over a year to work himself up to cover up her name, and he felt horrible after it for a long time. That's just the aftermath of being in love and having your heart ripped out because of it.
Axel was the one to break the silence. "You must have really loved him."
There was a choked off sob as Roxas nodded, face still hidden in his arms. "I did. I loved him so much."
Axel set the gun down next to the ink and pulled off one of his gloves. Sympathetically, he rubbed Roxas's back, which shook with every sob. Roxas didn't make much noise, save for the small gasps and the occasional whine. Axel tried his best to comfort, but he'd never been the best at that sort of thing. He kept his voice low, muttering to Roxas that he'd be okay, and that he could cry all he wanted. When Roxas was done a short time later, he sat up on his elbows and wiped his face before settling on his forearms. Axel handed him tissue from the box next to his tattoo machine, and Roxas nodded gratefully and took it to wipe his face and nose. Red eyed, he kept a grip on the tissue. Then, surprisingly, he smiled at Axel.
And that was it. His heart skipped again, his face heated up, and his mouth parted so that he could take a breath.
Axel was in love.
"Sorry," Roxas said sheepishly, tossing the wad of tissue at the nearest trashcan. The tissue made it in flawlessly. "I get really emotional sometimes. Thanks."
Axel pulled his glove back on, looking at Anything but Roxas. "No problem. Crying is good. Alright, let's finish this bad boy up."
It took awhile for him to finish filling it. The purple looked nice on Roxas's skin, and covered up the ink underneath perfectly. He highlighted places with white, darkening certain spots to keep it from hinting at the hidden ink, refined the lines inside the wings. He added the small designs on the wings, working gently and slowly as to not mess up. When he finished, wiping away the last of the stray ink, Axel sat back to admire his work.
"Yup. This is one of my best works yet."
Roxas looked up. "Is it done?"
Axel reached over to pick up a hand mirror. "Yeah. Here, go check it out."
Roxas hesitantly took the mirror and hopped down from the tattoo bed. He walked to the tall mirror on the wall and turned so that his back was facing it. Using the mirror to look at the fresh tattoo. His skin stung, red around the dark ink. He took a deep breath when he saw the new butterfly, eyes brimming with tears again. He wiped at his cheek quickly when a stray tear fell, and laughed awkwardly. "Sorry, I'm not trying to cry again. It looks great."
He handed the mirror back to Axel who set it back down by the gun and pulled off his gloves. "You like it. That's good." He looked away from Roxas's bare chest. "I'm glad you like it."
Axel wrapped it up so that Roxas could pull on his shirt. He smoothed out the black fabric, stretching his back and then wincing from the pain of his new ink. Roxas laughed, stretching a different way. "This is going to take a long time to heal, isn't it?" He grabbed his bag, throwing it over his good shoulder. "The first one did."
Axel nodded. "It'll take a quick minute."
On their way out of the room and to the front desk, Axel tried to ignore the kissing noises that Larxene was making at him from the same stop he'd left her in. Leon had made significant progress in his book by then, and he didn't look up at them. Larxene hopped up when Axel passed by without acknowledging her, nearly knocking Leon's tea out of his hand. "Hey, Romeo!"
Axel muttered, "Fuck off, Larxene." He really wasn't in the mood for her shit in that moment.
She followed him behind the counter, taking a handful of chocolate from the bowl. She watched closely when Roxas payed Axel, again in fifties. Roxas watched her back, slowly putting his wallet back into his bag. He looked back to Axel when he was handed his receipt. "Thanks, Axel. I'll see you around?"
Axel nodded, untying his hair and shaking it out into it's normal style. "Yeah. See you, Roxas."
Roxas grabbed his jacket and winter accessory from the rack before walking out, choosing to put them on outside. The snow had stopped, but the sidewalk was covered in it now. Axel worried about him for a second, and wondered if he should escort him home, he decided against it, because he'd never hear the end of it from Larxene.
Larxene, who was now giving him a sly look.
He sighed, irritated with her already. "What, Larxene?"
"You look like you just found the answer to the universe," she observed, ripping up a piece of chocolate wrapper.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" he asked defensively, taking a chocolate from her pile.
She wagged here eyebrows at him. "You like that kid, don't you?"
"He's not a kid," Axel snapped at her. "He's probably like, twenty."
She laughed loudly, throwing a wrapper at him. "Axel Turk! You don't even know his age?! Jesus, you are the worst. Get out of here."
He frowned, on the edge. "This is my workspace, Larxene. Go back to your boyfriend over there."
She snorted, giving Leon a look from across the room. He glared back. "Please. He's gayer than your brother. Speaking of gay, Axel, when are you going to come out? We've all been waiting for it since that kid first came in."
He sighed. This was getting tiresome. "I'm straight, Larxene."
She smiled sweetly at him before turning away. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Axel."
Axel sighed, watching her walk back to the break room. Probably to stuff her fat face, he thought bitterly. Larxene wasn't that bad usually, but when she got bored like she was that day, she was down right nasty. She found a sort of sick joy with making people feel angry, embarrassed, or sad. Axel was usually good at ignoring it, since her usual victim was Seifer, but since he was no where to be found she had all her focus on him.
At least she hadn't caught on to the fact that Axel was clearly coming down from a love high. He'd have to keep this a secret for as long as he could, if he wanted to keep them from using it as a weapon against him. They'd find out inevitably, but for now, he'd lie his ass off and keep them of the trail for as long as he could.
He'd keep this stupid love thing on a leash.
And he'd definitely never let himself be alone with Roxas again.
Of course, that's a lot easier said then done.
~o~
A/N
yeahhh I should probably focus more on finishing brotherly bonding but I couldn't stop myself from writing this fic! It's my baby, and I hope you guys like it
I have a link to the general visual of Sora's bad tattoo on my profile page, and as the story goes i'll collect more visual links on there for other tattoos.
Review so that I can get inspiration to write more and update sooner~! See you soon!