A/N: Okay, so this is more than a month late. Started it on AkuRoku Day. Just a thing.
Warnings: Mild language. OMG THERE'S NO IMPLIED SEX!! The world is uh-endin'! Pretty sure that's it. If you don't know any of the bands mentioned you should check them out.
Disclaimer: It's a fan fiction site, people.
Dedication: As always to mah darling, dearest Shattered Mirror 01. And also to mah Mandy because she gave me the perdiest picture of Sora and Roxas today!
And now, I give you...
Aquarius
Bright light streamed through the massive window in the commons of the local high school…shining directly into the irate emerald eyes of a very obviously pissed off senior. Axel grunted and pulled the hood of his ratty, tattered Disturbed sweatshirt down over his eyes. It was too early in the fuckin' morning for this shit. He hadn't even had any caffeine! You don't understand. How could anyone expect him to function on only two and a half hours of sleep and no caffeine?! Now you may argue that this was therefore Axel's own damn fault for not sleeping, but he was having an existential crisis! He couldn't decide who was more influential in the 90s, Metallica or Nirvana. It was a very important fundamental question, dammit!
Axel lifted his head (with great effort, mind you) off the faux wood surface of the table he was sitting at and looked around. The four long tables that sat on the stage of the cafeteria were surprisingly full. A lot of people in first hour study hall this year. Axel wasn't used to this many people's chattering disrupting his sleep. He groaned and looked to the teacher-old, doddering Mrs. Morris was wearing the same moth-eaten sweater worn every day in the three years that Axe had known her. As it was usually chilly in the school at this time of year she was also wearing a matching gray hat completed by a red puffball on top.
Despite the early hour and lack of sleep, Axel couldn't help but smile fondly at her. She apparently sensed his gaze and glanced at him. Her squinty blue eyes lit up happily as she returned his smile and shuffled over to him.
"Hello, Axel! Here again I see."
"Yeah, well," Axel replied, "it's too early in the morning to actually go to class, and I need my beauty sleep."
Mrs. Morris chuckled. "Did you have a nice summer?"
"Alright. You?"
Mrs. Morris' smile lit up her rosy face. "Oh, it was just lovely! Thank you!"
The old woman looked at the rowing number of students and said, "Well, I'd best get to going over the rules with the new students. Enjoy your nap, Axel." And with that she shuffled off to welcome and instruct the new blood.
Axel put on his huge studio quality head phones and laid his head back down. Slipknot blasted in his ears, quickly lulling him into a state of semi-wakefulness. Half an hour quickly passed, but sleep seemed to elude Axel. He signed, giving up, and lifted his head to slouch in his broken green plastic chair.
He smiled inwardly as the one Within Temptation song he liked (the only good thing his last girlfriend ever gave him) came on. He mouthed the words and bobbed his head as he let his eyes wander about the nearly empty commons. His emerald orbs flicked to the end of the stage and his heart stopped. His chest constricted and he suddenly couldn't remember how to breathe. His wide eyes roamed the body of the most perfect individual he'd ever encountered.
He was young, an older freshman or a younger sophomore…and he was gorgeous from tip to toe. He had corn silk hair that stuck up in that way that said "I've just had sex in the janitor's closet and I don't care who knows about it" that just looked so soft. His porcelain skin seemed to glitter pearlescently in the harsh fluorescent light and Axel was incredibly pleased to see a small back stud in his right ear. His ice blue eyes and slightly pointed features were arranged in an attractive expression of vague boredom. His slender neck was layered with chains and ropes and cords that overlapped the neckline of his black Nine Inch Nails t-shirt which hugged his slim little body. Faint definition was visible under the shirt. His gray jeans hung low on his hips and were obviously well-worn with natural rips at the knee as opposed to the stupid manufactured holes common nowadays. His neon orange Converse were covered in writing and designs and the rubber was puling away from the canvas.
Axel blinked several times to make sure he wasn't seeing things as the beautiful boy handed a piece of paper to Mrs. Morris. He watched raptly as the two of them spoke quietly. The boy nodded to the teacher and Axel cursed as he sat down at the table behind the entranced senior. Axel decided to turn around and stare at the kid, but he'd already pulled out head phones almost as big as his and was intently reading a book, so Axel turned around and put his head back down, visions of hot () blondes dancing in his head. Ten minutes later, everyone around him was gathering their things and getting up, so and Axel surmised that the bell had rung. He grabbed his stuff and looked around, but his gorgeous blonde had already left. The young man sighed and trudged to his next class, preoccupied. He spent Trig and Sociology and Senior Lit asleep and drew inappropriate pictures of sexy blonde boys in Photoshop during Graphic Design II.
At the end of the day he went home and decided to blow off his homework to watch zombie movies (he was a senior, why the hell should he do homework?). As he watched people get their faces eaten Axel couldn't help but wonder about the boy he'd seen that morning. Did he like zombie movies? What was he listening to? What was he reading? Where was he from? Did he swallow? The questions swirled around his mind intoxicatingly; stoking a fire in his heart he'd never known was there. It was decided. He had to have this boy.
The next morning found Axel driving like a madman along the back roads trying to get around traffic. His plan had been to get to school as early as possible and sweep the slim underclassman from the previous day off his feet, but he'd set his alarm clock wrong, thus woken up late, showered as quickly as possible, cut himself shaving, and then couldn't find his goddamned keys. The universe was against him!
Axel pulled into the school parking lot, kissed his rust truck Hester goodbye as was his custom and hurried into the school. As soon as he walked through the doors the tardy bell rang and he cringed, but he hooked a right and walked onto the stage and straight to Mrs. Morris' desk anyway.
"Late already, Axel? It's only the second day of school," she said, not looking up from her grade book.
Axel used all of his willpower not to look at the tables laden with students, lest the object of his recent desire distract him.
"I know. I'm sorry."
Mrs. Morris looked up, a mischievous twinkle in her blue eyes. "Well, as I've yet to take role…I suppose it's alright, but do try to have better attendance. Just because you're a senior doesn't mean that you can slack off. Now's the time to get your act together, Axel."
Axel released a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you Mrs. Morris! I promise I'll be better this year."
"I'll hold you to that." Axel heard her chuckling as he finally allowed himself to turn around, breath held in anticipation.
Axel's eyes immediately found the boy—although it wasn't too hard…he was after all sitting his cute butt in Axel's seat. Axel shook himself both mentally and physically and slowly released his held breath. And so, no strategy, no plan, Axel walked up behind the little blond, smug smirk falling naturally into place, and tapped him on the shoulder.
The beauty turned around and looked up at him with irritated, wary, (beautiful) blue eyes and knit brows.
"Can I help you?" His melodious and surprisingly deep voice was dripping with venomous sarcasm.
"Yeah. You're in my seat," the gangly upperclassman replied as nonchalantly as if his knees weren't shaking and his palms weren't sweating ().
The blonde rolled his eyes as if he'd heard this a million times.
"Is your name on it?" He obviously felt he was indulging Axel with this little back and forth.
The redhead's ever present smirk transformed into a () grin.
"As a matter of fact, it is."
The younger boy's eyebrows raised a skeptical fraction of an inch.
"Bullshit."
"Nope. Turn around," Axel said () and the blonde shifted in his seat to peer at the back of the chair.
In all caps written messily in thick black Sharpie was 'AXEL' and below that, 'ALL ELSE PROHIBITED'.
The kid stared disbelievingly, inviting pink mouth slightly agape.
"So unless you're gonna sit in my lap, scram," Axel said smugly.
The kid shook his head and looked back up at Axel, face set in a stubborn glare.
"Just because you write your name on something, that doesn't make it yours."
"Does that mean you aren't moving?" Axel's face was masterfully blank.
"Precisely," the younger replied, turning back around and picking up his novel.
With the swiftness of a flickering flame, Axel grabbed the blonde around the waist and under then knees, lifting him bridal style (and producing a flustered and rather feminine squeak), slid into the hard plastic chair under him and replaced the boy on his lap.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" the kid questioned as he tried to squirm out of Axel's arm in futility.
"I'm a creature of habit and I wanted my chair. Besides…I told you you could move or sit in my lap, and you didn't move," Axel replied as he tightened his hold on the desperately wriggling boy.
"Let me go!" The blonde redoubled his efforts. In retaliation, Axel pulled the (resplendent) boy tightly to his chest, holding him as close as he could and trying not to let the kid feel his trembling as he reveled in the close contact.
The small boy stilled, eyes becoming less wild, breath slowing to a calm and steady rhythm like the beach pulling in the tide.
"Wh-who are you?" he murmured, eyes falling half-lidded. The redhead snorted.
"Did you not read the chair? I'm Axel: senior, drummer, and all around stud muffin."
The blonde kid blinked in surprise. "You're a drummer?"
Axel smiled and did al little internal happy dance at having captured the boy's interest. "Yep. And you are…?"
"A keyboard player—the sad consequence of years of forced piano lessons."
Axel's eyebrows rose. "That's great, kid, but what's your name?"
"Oh." He had the cutest blush. "Roxas."
Axel rolled the name around in his mind deciding quickly that it suited the boy.
"Well the, Roxas," Axel grinned at the sharpness of the name on his tongue, A"how would you like to hang out at my place after school?" he asked, eyebrows waggling like flaming caterpillars.
Roxas smirked and it took all of Axel's limited restraint not to shove his tongue down the boy's doubtlessly flawless throat.
"And just what makes you think I would want to do that?"
Axel grinned again and wrapped long-fingered hands around pointed hips, squeezing for emphasis. "'Cause you seem pretty comfy here on my lap."
Roxas gave him a look like 'yeah, right, you wish' and said, "Actually, your pointy knees are stabbing me."
Axel rolled his eyes. "Psh, fine." And he reluctantly released the boy.
To Axel's great joy, Roxas took the seat across form him, pulling his things across the table toward him.
"And what would we do that would be worth giving up my invaluable afternoon?"
Axel thought that he could come up with a few things to keep them entertained involving an abundance of chocolate syrup and some pool floaties, but he kept his mouth shut as he searched around for something less likely to get him kicked in the balls.
"Ummm…" A light bulb practically appeared over his head. "How do you feel about zombie movies?"
Roxas shrugged. "Meh. Vampires are better."
Axel smiled seductively. "Come over tonight, and I'll bet I can change your mind."
He couldn't be certain, but Axel thought he saw the slightest rose tinge on the younger boy's cheeks.
"You can try. I guess I'll meet you on the front steps after school?"
Axel chuckled—the kid was startin' to sound kinda nervous.
"Sure. Just make sure your folds know where you're gonna be. The last thing I need is to be accused of kidnapping. Hey, how old are you anyway?" Maybe the Romeo and Juliet clause would save him from statutory rape charges (yet).
"I'll be sixteen next week." Roxas was eyeing Axel warily as if he could tell precisely why the senior wanted to know.
Axel smiled smugly—safe.
Just then the bell rang and Axel's heart sank.
"Well, I guess I'll see you later," he said forlornly, scooping up his things.
Roxas snorted (it was very cute in Axel's opinion). "Yeah, if by 'later' you mean 'in six minutes'."
Axel was dumfounded. "Wha?"
"We're in the same Trig class."
Axel's first response was his best "WTF?!" face.
"I think we have Sociology together, too."
Axel shook his red-maned head violently.
"Wait, wait, wait. Back up. Aren't you like a sophomore or something?"
"Yeah."
"Then what the hell do you mean 'we're in the same Trig class'?"
"I'm a smart sophomore," Roxas said, grinning.
Axel just shook his head again.
"Why the fuck didn't you skip a grade?"
"My mom won't let me. She said I'd never learn to how to make new friends with kids my own age."
"That sucks. So, I gotta meet a friend at his locker, so I guess I'll see ya in class?"
Roxas smiled—not a smirk, not a grin, but a genuine smile—and Axel felt his heart leap into his throat, his stomach drop to his shoes, and his newly empty body cavity filled with butterflies.
"Yeah," the blonde said oblivious to Axel's awestruck expression. "I'll save you a seat in the back."
Roxas turned to go.
"Roxas, wait!"
The boy turned and raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"What's your sign?"
"Aquarius—why?"
"No reason. Bye!"
Roxas' brow wrinkled. "Okay."
And Roxas walked away—like it was a perfectly normal thing to do.
And Axel watched his ass as he did, deciding quickly that this was most definitely the best day of his life.
A/N: I'm not sure about how this ended. It can end here or I can add a prologue-y kind of thing. Let me know what you think. Reviews make the fics flow faster!
