As he dropped the cup of steaming, frothy milk and espresso, a few variations of just one singular choice word was blaring through Axel's head.
"Motherfuck." He whispered, but even the slight whisper could be heard in the too silent room as his coworker, and the cross looking brunette who'd ordered the now dropped drink, watched in horror as the flimsy cup slipped from his grasp, and landed with an audible splash.
The hot milk splashed up across his dark grey canvas shoes- there was a rule about those, but rules were made to be broken, Axel always thought- and the bottom of his black pant legs and he felt it soak through and hit his skin, but the heat from the stupid 165 degree beverage didn't bother him as much as the dark haired woman's loud, irritated sigh did. Her eyes narrowed while she clicked her nails on the counter, asking the other barista if he was "more competent and could make her drink quickly, thanks".
Axel hissed through his teeth, though thankfully no one seemed to notice.
People actually did that awful clicking thing with their nails? And what the fuck did she mean "more competent"? Axel was a damn sight better on bar than Demyx was, but apparently you drop one thing one time...
The angry woman was now eyeing Demyx as he rushed to make the drink, though the poor kid wasn't great under pressure. He splashed extra syrup on the counter, he spilled milk as he poured it into a pitcher, and lastly he dropped a pile of sleeves as he tried to extract just a single one, his thin fingers, adorned in rings, shaking.
As the sleeves fell and Demyx stuttered, the fucking apparent shedevil made a point of sighing again, somehow even more loudly and rolling her eyes, and it made Axel's fingers twitch into a fist. Kneeling down to begin to clean up his mess, he began muttering under his breath about the woman.
What was this bitch's problem anyway? She'd been in the damn shop for a grand total of two minutes, and marched her way up to the counter angrily, demanding the hottest latte they could sell her with one extra shot and absolutely no foam, scaring the shit out of poor Demyx along the way as she'd impatiently waited for him to ring her up. And now, because Axel was a person and people have a tendency to occasionally fuck up, the bitch was somehow even more irritable because christ fucking forbid she had to wait an extra sixty seconds for her stupid foam free, caffeine laced drink.
Demyx stuttered once more, another apology to her obvious anger, and quickly finished off the new drink, foam free with that stupid extra shot of espresso, obviously, handing it off while Axel stood, dropping the towels into the trash, moving to clean up the new, but arguably smaller mess that Demyx had made of the counters.
"That bitch was crazy." Axel muttered, as finally the woman left, her heels clacking annoyingly on the tile. His head was pounding. It was only ten a.m, aka too goddamn early for this shit.
Demyx simply laughed nervously, an awkward trait Axel had grown to like about the weird boy.
"Shouldn't talk that way about customers, Ax." Was the easygoing reply, the musician's mood much improved by the woman's exit.
Axel shrugged. Just like Demyx to not want to say anything rude, but that was the difference between the two.
Demyx was kind and unfazed in most situations, once he got past the nervousness, whereas Axel just did not care about anything that went down inside this usually horrific place he called a job.
Not a joke, either. Literally, he just did not care about making coffee, or pastries, and he certainly didn't give a damn about the customers here. Now and then, they'd get a really cool person, but for the most part, the people that bought coffee here were usually one of two things: rude or whiny, and he wasn't the type of man to deal with that kind of bullshit.
Truthfully, he'd only taken a job here because habits must be paid for and while his parents gladly paid his college tuition and dorm fees and the like, he doubted they'd support the extracurricular activities he'd grown fond of.
Lucky for him, right when he'd began his job search, an old friend had almost dropped an opportunity into his lap.
See, one of the owners, Saix, was an old friend. Though not much older than Axel, (a whopping three year age gap separated them) Saix was much further in his chosen life career. He and his husband Xemnas had built The Organization from the ground up, and now with two locations, hiring on an entire staff of college students meant they could focus most of their precious time on their newly adopted son.
One would imagine that due to being friends with the owner, Axel might enjoy his job a bit more.
But that would require Axel to enjoy any kind of work, and that feeling had never seemed to come to him.
The bells over the door jingled, and from the corner of his eye he could see a pair make their way into the shop, a girl's voice saying, "No, trust me, this place has the best coffee, it's so much better than..."
Axel rolled his eyes, immediately tuning them out. Another hipster claiming they were better than the corporate chains, from what he could tell.
Now, usually, that was a load of bullshit.
The only difference between them and a corporation was the lack of quirky drink titles, and maybe a dollar or so difference here and there. All the coffee tasted the same, from what he could tell. It's not like their coffee was ground from some kind of special beans, or anything. In fact, if he had to bet on it, he'd place a decent amount on the claim that it all came from the same source- grounds, syrup, etc.
But never tell that to the indie kids. They like to feel special, and like they are helping out communities by supporting the small businesses instead of forking over their money to the corporations. And hey, if it kept Axel in a job and therefore money, who was he to correct their incredibly wrong way of thinking?
Raising an eyebrow at Demyx to ask a nonverbal question, to which the dirty blond boy sighed and nodded, Axel walked out from behind the counter to go do literally anything other than make drinks.
In fact, he thought as he situated himself at a chair where he couldn't be seen from the counter, taking a short break would even be great, as he felt was his right. As it was, he didn't feel too guilty anyway.
He knew Demyx could handle these hipsters. They'd probably order some sissy drinks anyway, or just straight espresso shots.
Gazing downwards to avoid eye contact, he saw the two pairs of feet out of the corner of his eye as he pretended to check his phone.
He'd hazard a guess that it was a boy and girl, judging by their shoes and pant legs alone.
Letting his gaze travel slightly upward, he realized that as he'd thought, these two were really something else, judging by their clothes that seemed just a tad too wannabe edgy to be serious.
Was the boy (or at least, he assumed the other was male) wearing checkered jeans? Those were a thing that people actually wore? Axel's brow furrowed and he had to end his quick glance, before he said something that would probably classify as rude. Standing up and twirling on his heel, he headed for the swinging door that led to the back. At least back there he could get away with pretending to work, or something that wouldn't irritate poor Demyx, who now had his pity for dealing with these wannabes.
"Welcome to the Organization, guys! I'm Demyx. What can I do for you today?" Came the all too chipper voice of his coworker.
Do a jig, Axel thought. Sing one of your songs.
That's why they came to a coffee shop. To see underpaid baristas do anything but make coffee.
"Hey man, thanks! I'll have your largest iced coffee please." Axel froze, midstep, his hand still on the swinging door at the sound of the male's voice. He knew that voice.
"Black as his heart." The girl joked, laughter in her voice.
His features twisted into a snarl involuntarily.
That was their joke.
Which meant that had to be Roxas.
Axel swiveled around and stalked back to the corner of the counter, staying out of eyeshot as he peeked at the pair ordering from Demyx.
It was Roxas.
He looked the same as Axel remembered- messy blond hair, big blue eyes, beautiful face that could only be the work of angels...
No.
No no no no no.
No fucking way.
Axel eyed the girl with Roxas from his hiding spot. She was a tiny little thing, barely reached the blond's shoulder. Her jet black hair was short and choppy, and her eyes were indigo, framed by long black lashes.
She had a cutesy, heart shaped face and a winning smile, one she was currently flashing. The blond boy was grinning back, and the redhead had to look away, his breath hitching in his throat.
His heart hurt. Was this who Roxas preferred to him now? Was this the pretty little thing Roxas had used to forget about Axel?
It couldn't be. What could that girl have that he didn't?
Oh, who knows...her shit straightened out, maybe?
Axel wanted to lay down on the hard tile floor and just die. The ground could open up and swallow him whole and he'd welcome that with open arms, as opposed to this hellhole he was in.
It had been months since he'd seen Roxas. Months of no communication whatsoever.
Roxas had up and left when he'd learned Axel wasn't going to change, and that had hurt every day.
It hadn't been his fault, right? True love dictated they'd stay with you no matter what, right? Even if they disagree with some things? They'd love you in spite of these things, yeah? Wasn't that what that all meant, that if they truly loved you, they'd stick by you?
But beautiful, wonderful, mean as all fucking hell Roxas hadn't.
His mouth now in a tight line, and his heart hammering painfully in his chest, Axel had half a mind to go out and say something cutting. Or like, perhaps pretend he had no idea who the blond man was. Maybe he'd flirt with Demyx. Maybe he'd flirt with the little dark haired girl at his ex's side. Maybe, just maybe, the redhead would flirt with the whole goddamn store.
Now that gave him an idea. Flirting was one thing...but...
Actually, he'd do one better.
He pulled his phone from his pocket, pressing the button to light the screen up. Typing his pin in quickly to unlock it, he shot off a rapid fire text to his roommate, watched the little notification tell him it'd been read...and waited.
Luckily, his roommate and close friend was of the good variety, and replied instantly, with affirmation. Smiling, Axel locked his phone and dropped it back into his pocket.
And now, to play the waiting game.
He just hoped Larxene would hurry.
xXxXxXx
The blonde woman had made it to the coffee shop in a record time of five minutes. Axel had caught her as she was getting ready to head out anyway, and she, being a great friend, had decided her other plans could wait just a tiny little while until she fulfilled her best friend duties.
Glancing at her reflection in her rearview mirror, she finished the final touch with her lipstick and smiled. Satisfied with what she saw, she blew herself a kiss, lips a startlingly bright shade of red.
Blood red lipstick had always been her favorite shade.
Catching sight of her reflection once more as she grabbed her purse, she winked at herself before exiting her car.
Larxene was very into her own hype, you see. She knew she was hot, she knew her green/blue eyes sparkled, she knew her golden hair was flawless and the object of envy to others who only wished their tresses were so naturally perfect.
Larxene knew all too well her affect on people. And now, her darling best friend Axel wanted her to use those powers for evil?
It was all too...delicious.
Her eyes scanned the coffee shop as she let herself in, and she instantly saw the object of their retaliation sitting by a window, a cute dark haired girl across from him, cups in hand. The girl was chatting animatedly, the blond nodding every so often at a lull in her story to indicate he was in fact listening.
Eyes narrowed dangerously in the blonde woman's face as she took in the sight.
Now, it's important to note that Larxene and Roxas had never met, as she'd come into Axel's life post-fiasco, but she'd seen the years worth of photos of him and the redhead enough times to recognize him on sight.
The boy was gorgeous with his perfectly arrayed mess of blond spikes, that golden skin, and those big blue eyes, no doubt about it.
Yet he'd hurt Axel, and for that he had to pay. If one could command lightning bolts specifically to strike others down, she'd do it to the blond boy in an instant.
As it were, she herself was incapable of such things, and must make do with what she did have as a weapon.
Larxene sashayed her way up to the counter, asking Demyx to send Axel her way discreetly. It wouldn't do to have the couple by the window become alert before the show, after all.
Demyx just grinned that perpetually goofy grin at her before running to the back for Axel.
"Ax, your friend is here."
Axel grinned at Demyx, green eyes bright and mischievous. "Great. I'm taking a break, pal."
Ignoring Demyx's confused look to the fact they'd only been working for a grand total of two hours thus far in their day, the redhead removed his hat and apron and ran a thin hand through his hair. Glancing into the tiny mirror he had insisted they keep in the back, right at his eye level ("How will I know how utterly irresistible I am if I can't check up every now and then? do you know what a shame it would be to forget, even briefly, how devilishly handsome I am?" had been his reasoning to Saix, and the man had simply sighed but allowed it) he was satisfied with what he saw and went back through the revolving door and into the main part of the shop.
Larxene caught his eye and did the most natural thing she could think of.
She shouted, "Axel, darling!" loudly, ran forward to meet him halfway, and kissed him on the mouth.
Axel wrapped his arms around her, returning the surprise kiss with enthusiasm. He had to hand it to Larxene, she could definitely act.
Neither of them saw the blond man turn sharply when he heard the familiar name, or the look that crossed his face after.
They did hear him get up and leave, dragging the shorter dark haired girl with him, the latter with a loud protest of "Hey!", however.
Axel broke away from Larxene, his brow furrowed. He'd wanted Roxas to blow up, or stick around long enough for him to say something cutting.
Larxene stared at him, green eyes flashing. "Go get him!" She hissed, immediately stepping out of reach and gesturing, with one perfectly manicured hand, to the door.
Axel blinked and nodded, running out the door and down the street after the first two.
Turning to Demyx, Larxene flashed a shiny grin full of very white teeth.
"So, cutie, what's a girl gotta do to get some coffee around here?"
Demyx stuttered.
xXxXxXx
How had he managed to lose them? He'd been out the door right after the duo had, and they were just gone.
Axel spun on the spot, hair flying about wildly as he moved. There was no way those two pipsqueaks could have moved that quickly on their short little legs. The street deadended just a few feet to the east, so he'd run down the opposite way, but there was no sign of either blond or black hair.
Chances stood that they'd just had a car parked nearby, but Roxas didn't like to drive.
Though maybe his new girlfriend did...
"FUCK." Axel yelled, coming to a halt. Fuck his fucking life, man.
Dejectedly, he headed back for the shop.
Maybe he should've gone about it differently. Perhaps there would have been a better way.
But no. This was Roxas, and Roxas deserved to feel bad. Roxas deserved to fall under the assumption that Axel didn't need him, because Axel didn't need anybody. Fuck Roxas.
He deserved to run far away, to want to avoid Axel, to avoid the fact he fucking sucked.
Right?
One shaking hand reached up to push through the mess of red hair on his head, and he took a deep breath, his eyes staring down.
Maybe this was for the best. Now, if Roxas knew what was best, then he would never come by the shop again, and Axel would never have to feel that heart wrenching pang of sadness all over again.
Yeah, that was it. This was a blessing, really. A big fat blessing.
His left hand, the one not in his hair, fidgeted with the lighter in his pocket. This was one of many nervous habits, one that he really needed to learn how to break, as he couldn't particularly afford to set another pair of pants on fire.
Sighing, Axel lifted his gaze from the sidewalk, back to the building in which he worked.
As he looked up, so did the blond leaning against the wall, and blue eyes met green.
Roxas didn't hesitate before he pushed himself off the wall, walking slowly over to close the gap between them, and looked up into Axel's face.
It felt like the world was slowing down. Axel couldn't even think of an angry thing to say. Blankly, he wondered where the girl had gone, but asking about that might seem strange, so he didn't.
All the ways he'd imagined them meeting up again, all the things he'd imagined he'd do, none of them had involved Roxas coming to his work, or any other way the last forty minutes had gone.
He had nothing, no plan, no witty or snarky remarks to make.
So he said nothing.
The two stood like that for a moment, completely silent, and as Axel began to open his mouth, Roxas cut him off.
"Look, Axel, we need to talk."
A/N: Okay! This was gonna be a simple oneshot, but in order to actually expand upon my idea without driving myself crazy, I decided it'll become a two or three shot instead. (is a three shot a thing? idk man)
Basically, I love reading longer chapters, but writing them? Nah. I'm too fucking lazy for that.
Also, I've never written akuroku centered anything, but lately I've just really wanted to write axel, and i only ship him with roxas or, sometimes, demyx... so...roxas seemed the obvious choice for most of the ideas I've had because zemyx forever, so~
this is one of three akuroku one/two shots I'm working on on top of two other, non akuroku fics because clearly I hate myself and belong in the kh dumpster
part 2/? will hopefully be up soon if this monster cold stops trying to murder me!