Even a simple phone call can lead to complicated and unexpected situations. Axel x Roxas. (For Soraslilangel)
This is my attempt to extend the AkuRoku empire! Whoop whoop!!!
Dedicated to Jessie AKA Soraslilangel because she keeps me company and helps me up when I'm done and gives me a fuck load of ideas. Lols. Not that I'm complaining.
It started with a phone call, a phone call from his teacher to be exact, which was weird, because he hadn't expected his teacher to phone him at all.
Not once, not in a million years.
Sure, sometimes he'd phone his teacher to tell him that he was going to be late for class because the stupid bus driver was being a total noob and forgot to stop at his bus stop.
What normally was a five minute walk to class from the bus stop turned into a five minute run from the city center to university. Maybe eight minutes or so since it was also an up-hill run. Maybe ten minutes because he had to make a stop at his locker too.
Ah, the authoress digressed.
"Roxas, do you think you can come with me to a cocktailing party on Saturday?" a deep voice sounded from the other line.
"Uh…Yeah, sure." He raised his eyebrows in surprise and nodded as he spoke into the phone, "I can do that." He was at a loss for words.
"Excellent, I'll fill you in on the details tomorrow after theory class."
"Yes chef."
Eventually they hung up, and the blonds' lip twitched up into an awkward smile. A few people stared at him as they walked past. 'Party? Saturday? With the chef?' he barely noticed the bus stopping in front of him until someone from behind cleared their throat, making the blond come out of his thoughts.
He quickly whipped out his bus card from his wallet that he kept in his pocket and climbed in. It was the same 'noob' of a bus driver. But he was in a forgiving mood.
"Hello, three stages please." He smiled as he inserted the card into the ticketing machine.
Today was the big day. He had just waved goodbye to a friend of his who dropped him off at the address, 69 Twilight Avenue.
Prior to that, he had been at home, constantly ironing his white apron that the chef asked him to bring along, checking his white collar, long sleeve, dress shirt to make sure it's clean and kept, checking his tie to see that it's done up properly in a double Winsor knot and the tail bit at the back wasn't sticking out and touching and reshaping his hair continuously. He folded his pants up once, then twice, looked at it, frowned then unfolded it, then looked at it again and folded it up once and left it as it is. He cleaned his shoes, waxed it and polished it at least five times until it was so shiny, he could practically use his shoe as a mirror.
He unfolded his pants just before he left the house.
Hayner, who had been waiting in the car for Roxas, had let out a low whistle when he saw the blond come out of the house, making him blush in embarrassment.
Now standing on the pathway that connected to the driveway of the house, he let out a long, shaky breath.
His free hand dug into his pocket and produced a piece of paper with the address, day and time roughly scribbled on. His other hand held onto the neatly folded, ironed white apron.
He walked down the driveway towards the house, and as he approached it, he swallowed hard as he looked up at the large two storey house then stopped short. The black neck tie that he wore was suffocating him slightly. He wanted more than anything to just pull it off and throw it to the ground and maybe stomp on it in irritation.
'Gotta be professional today. Be professional.' He let out a low sigh as he continued walking down the driveway towards the house, stuffing the piece of paper back into his pocket where his phone and keys were.
He noticed a large white mini van down at the very end where the garage was and a few people carrying boxes into the house. He spotted his teacher coming out from the back door.
"Oh Roxas! Glad you made it on time." The older man with short black hair and short facial hair waved as he walked over to the van and picked up a white Styrofoam box from the back. "Give us a hand with these ok?" he disappeared back into the house.
The blond nodded as he walked a little faster and almost bumped into a girl with shoulder length black hair that suddenly came out of no where.
"Opps, sorry, didn't see you there." She smiled as she reached into the back for another box.
'I'm not that short...' Roxas thought to himself as he returned the smile, "It's ok."
"I'm Linda, former student of Michael's. And you are?" she tilted her head to the side as she stared at the boy.
"I'm Roxas, still studying under Michael." He smiled and picked up a chef tool box that probably belonged to the said person. It was three times heavier than the knife roll that he owned. Screw that, make that five times heavier than the one he owned.
"Cool, cool. What are you studying?" she asked as she walked into the house, not bothering to take off her shoes.
"I'm doing a diploma course in culinary arts."
"Nice, I majored in hospitality management. Is this your first year?" she disappeared behind the doorway into the kitchen.
"This is my first year, second semester." He spoke as he stopped short at the door, "Am I allowed to wear my shoes inside?" he asked anxiously, still carrying the heavy box in one hand and the clean ironed apron in the other.
"Of course, of course! Come on in." she laughed as she poked her head from the door then disappeared back in.
After a brief introduction to everybody that Michael asked to come, they set to work on preparing the food for the party.
"So Roxas, what're you planning to study after this course hm?" another former student named Tim asked as he helped slice the sesame bread rolls in half but not all the way through.
"I'm planning on studying patisserie after this." He explained as he helped slice the lemons in half then again in half.
"Excellent, you should ask for Jiles Petit, he's a really good chef for patisserie." He smiled as he picked up another sesame bread roll and sliced it with a serrated knife, making sure the sesame rolls steered clear of the plain ones. The blond had no idea why, they both came in the same box anyways.
"Really?" he stopped cutting the lemons and looked up at the man with the short brunet hair. "I've never heard of him before."
"He's the tall one, almost balding." He laughed a little, "You'll see him in the patisserie kitchen all the time very early in the mornings."
"Ah!" he suddenly remembered, "I've seen him a few times when I was doing production kitchen." He concentrated on the lemons again.
"Yeah, that's probably Jiles. He's a really nice chef."
"Cool." He smiled and gave the sliced lemons to the bar hostess located in the dining room.
It was an hour before people started arriving. But before then, Roxas had been asked to do odd jobs like tearing up some fancy lettuce leaves into bite size pieces onto a few aluminum trays and then putting sliced cherry tomatoes on top of each. He needed to do 90 of them.
After those, he had to spread some mustard seeds on the sesame bread rolls and tomato chutney spread on the plain ones while Natasha, another kitchen staff hired by Michael, filled the sesame bread rolls with ham and the plain rolls with lamb. The mini burgers were then completed with the fancy lettuce and cherry tomatoes.
When a majority of the people had arrived, Michael asked Roxas to go around with the plates of savory finger foods while he and the Linda completed on other side dishes.
He had a plate of food to one hand and a handful of neatly piled serviettes to offer in the other.
It was fine at first, he was able to move around the crowd easily, smiling and offering food. And then, more people came and it started to get harder. He had to ask the guests to excuse him a few times to move out from the living room into the outdoor porch.
Eventually, he felt as though the smile on his face became permanent and it became a little fake. He wondered if it was transparent or not. Then the atmosphere started to suffocate him due to the presence of far too many people in a small confined space.
Sure, it was a big house, but that doesn't mean that you can cramp in eighty plus people into the living room, outdoor porch, dining room and kitchen area.
"Roxas, did you bring a wine knife with you?" Michael asked once the said returned to the kitchen with an empty plate.
"Yes chef." He placed the empty plate on the semi-clean counter top and produced the item from his other pocket then handed it to the older man.
"Ah, thank you." He took the item and handed it over to the bar hostess. "Make sure you get it back before you leave ok?"
"Yes chef." He smiled as he picked up another plate of finger food, and re-stocked on more serviettes.
When he stepped out of the kitchen area, he was greeted by a tall person with brilliant green eyes and spiky mass of red hair, he quickly looked away.
'Don't stare, don't stare. It's rude.' He thought to himself as he smiled and opened his mouth to offer the food.
"Hello Roxas." He smirked at the confused look on the blonds' face.
He quickly wiped it off, the red head probably heard the conversation in the kitchen. "Hello sir." He was aware that the taller boy was still blocking his way, he could always find an alternative to get back into the living room. His arm was starting to get tired, he'd have to switch hands later when he goes back into the kitchen.
"Don't call me sir." He cringed, "The name's Axel. Commit it to memory." He tapped his forehead as he spoke.
"I'll remember that." He smiled as he offered the plate of food to the red head, "Mini lamb burgers?"
"Yes please." The red head took one and watched as the blond turned and walked away, he only just realized that he had been blocking the path into the living room.
The blond moved into the outdoor porch and approached a group of people, offering food with a practiced smile. He hadn't expected the red head to follow him.
"So Roxas, what's a guy like you doing here?"
The blond raised his eyebrows slightly, 'Wasn't it already obvious? I'm working as a waiter. Hello…' but he decided not to say it out loud. "My chef asked me to come with him to a catering function." He approached a boy with, was that pink hair? "Hello, would you like a mini lamb burger?"
The boy exclaimed as he picked up the mentioned food and a serviette, "Oh, yes please!!" the blond tried not to laugh his head off.
"Ah, cool, cool." The red head swiped another burger from the plate.
Once the burgers were gone, he returned into the kitchen to re-stock on more serviettes and to pick up a plate of sliced smoked salmon on rye, spread with avocado.
The red head took one before he was offered the food, "This is good." The red head spoke with a mouth half full and took another, "Have you tried one?"
"I'm not supposed to eat while working." He smiled politely and moved away.
"Who cares? Just have one."
He ignored the red head as he approached a group of teenagers, "Hello, would you like some smoked salmon on rye?"
The teenagers turned around to the voice and widened their eyes in hunger, "Oh hell yeah!" they cried out as the each took a serviette from the blonds' hand before digging into the pieces of finger food.
The plate was empty by the time he got to the second group of teenagers. He returned to the kitchen and the red head followed. He had absolutely no idea why.
He picked up a platter of beef cubes wrapped in bacon on sticks with a side sauce of hollandaise and parsley. The red head took two and dunked them into the sauce.
Roxas figured that the red head was only following him for the food.
'Pig…' the blond thought to himself as he walked around offering food to the guests of the host's house. He didn't even know who the host was himself, but he'll eventually find out later when it's time to leave.
Before he even made half a circle around the house, they were all gone and devoured by hungry guests. He returned into the kitchen to pick up a plate of mini ham burgers.
Natasha and Michael were busy preparing desserts.
The red head took one, "Seriously, you should try one." He encouraged the blond as he took a bite out of it.
"I'm not allowed to eat on the job sir." He smiled and addressed the other politely.
"I told you to call me Axel." He quirked up an eyebrow at the blond in slight irritation.
"I would, but…" he looked away momentarily, "I'm not sure if I'm allowed." He approached a boy with a hairstyle that looked like a cross between a mullet and a mohawk. "Hello sir, would you like a mini hamburger?"
"Oh this looks so good!!" the dirty haired blond boy exclaimed happily and took one, the other people of the group did the same. "Thank you." He smiled and returned to chatting animatedly to a boy with grayish hair with a hint of purple.
'Periwinkle…' Roxas thought suddenly as he walked away from the group and offered it to another.
When there was only one mini hamburger left, the red head quickly swiped it before the blond could offer it away. "Lucky last." He smirked as he took a bite out of it.
The blond tried not to roll his eyes at the red head.
The next plate Roxas picked up from the kitchen was asparagus wrapped in rye with a hollandaise sauce on the side. The red head scrutinized at it, not daring to pick it up. "I hate asparagus."
The blond laughed as he exited the kitchen into the outdoor porch, "Why?"
"Dunno," he shrugged, "I just do."
"You should try it," he offered the plate to the red head, "You might like it."
"I'll eat one if you eat one." He smirked.
The smile on the blonds' face faltered slightly, "Um…I'm not allowed-"
"Break your rule, just one." He picked up a roll, dunked it in the sauce and hovered it in front of the blond. "Besides," he shifted his eyes away momentarily, in the general direction of a certain person, "The chef ain't looking." He looked back at the blond and smirked.
"Maybe later." He insisted with a smile as he side stepped the red head and walked into the outdoor porch offering the food.
The red head shrugged and ate it, finding it surprisingly sweet for such a savory dish. He managed to swipe another before the blond entered the living room area.
The blond always returned to the kitchen for another patter of food at least once every two minutes. The red head continuously followed.
More than once, the blond was mistaken for a girl. The red head merely laughed while the blond tried not to scowl.
Eventually, it got time for the speech, the red head disappeared off somewhere while the hired staff waited outside until it was over.
"Woah, they have their own pool?!" Roxas tried to contain his excitement as he stood in the backyard. "And trampoline?!" he almost ripped his hair out.
Natasha and Linda laughed quietly at the blond while bringing their index finger up to their lips.
It was time to calm down and shut up. But the blond still had his blue eyes widened as he looked from left to right at the extravagant garden, the stone sculptures, the rose bushes, the clean, clear pool and the very tempting trampoline.
The house from the front looked huge, and the backyard looked as though it could fit another house of the exact same size comfortably.
Whoever the owner of the house was, they sure know how to live a life.
Talk about glamour.
The speech lasted for around fifteen minutes, with one person talking after another celebrating a special event. Roxas guessed that it was a birthday. And when it was over, it was time to serve desserts.
The red head returned to following the blond as he walked around with a platter full of lemon filled tartlets, mini éclairs and chocolate fudge squares. The red head ate at least one of each of them. They were all gone before the blond even left one area of the house.
When the blond went back into the kitchen to grab another platter, the red head swiped a lemon tartlet from another refilled plate before he even got to put down the empty plate.
'He sure eats a lot,' Roxas thought to himself as he placed the empty plate on the now dirty counter top. 'How can he still stay skinny?' he re-stocked on serviettes and picked up the dessert plate, but not before Michael placed another lemon tartlet in the empty space.
It was another half an hour or so before the guests started leaving the house, and it was then they already started cleaning up the dishes. The red head hovered around the kitchen area, watching as the blond made himself useful.
"Ok Roxas. Roll up your sleeves and help Linda do the dishes." Michael took off the stripy apron that he was wearing. "You can have my trusty apron." He put the apron over the blonds' head as he unbuttoned his cuffs.
Michael then went back to transferring the left over food onto another container for the host of the party to keep.
It was another half an hour after that before they were close to being done with cleaning up. The red head had left the blond to chat to some of his other friends.
"I'm gonna go say goodnight to the host." Linda spoke as she took off her apron and folded it neatly while Tim continued to pack away the plates and equipment they used into the Styrofoam boxes that they brought over while Natasha and Michael came in and out of the kitchen to put the packed boxes back into the white mini van parked outside near the garage.
"Oh, I'll come with you." Roxas quickly took off the stripy apron that belonged to the chef, folded it up, placed it on top of the chef's tool box and followed Linda into the living room which was no longer as crowded as it was over an hour ago.
As he took his white apron off from his waist, she tapped the red head's shoulder. Roxas thought she was going to ask him who and where the host of the party was. But instead she said, "Thank you for tonight." Which made the blond widen his eyes in shock.
The red head stopped his conversation with the boy that had a mullet and a mohawk for a hairstyle, turned around and quickly stood up from his seat and extended a hand to her, "Oh no, no! Thank you." He shook her hand as he grinned, "Thanks for all your help. I'm sure Michael will negotiate your pay later on." He smiled and waved as Linda said her farewells one more time before walking out of the front door.
The boy with the mullet and mohawk ignored the red head as he turned to chat with the boy that had periwinkle colored hair.
He suddenly remembered his manners when the red head turned to him, "Thank you for tonight." He smiled as he extended his hand towards the other.
Axel smirked as he shook the blonds' hand, "Surprised huh?"
"Pleasantly so." He continued to smile then finally released the hand. "Goodnight." He was about to leave through the front door when the red head called him back.
"Does this belong to you?" he waved a red item around the air casually.
The blond turned around and saw the item he had lent to the chef earlier that night. "Ah yes, that'll be mine." He took the item and pocketed it.
"There's no need to be polite anymore you know." He smirked as he tilted his head to the side and regarded the blond.
Roxas was about to say something in return when a voice called out from the kitchen area. "Axel! I'll be off now!" they heard the chef call from the back.
"Thanks again Michael!" he shouted back and assumed that the said person left through the back door then turned back to the blond. "Ok, now that he's gone, maybe you'll loosen up a bit." He smirked as he rested his whole weight onto one foot.
"Ah well, my friend is going to pick me up soon." He reasoned without sounding too rude.
"But now that you're here, can I keep you?" he couldn't hide his cheeky grin.
He couldn't suppress his smirk any longer, "Sorry Axel." He finally regarded the red head by his name. "But I'm not something that you can keep." He walked out the front door and waved behind him, "See you next time." He called back as he walked up the drive way.
"Bye Roxy!" the red head called out and the said person merely rolled his eyes as he threw a wave back.
Once he was out by the pathway, he un-tucked his shirt, loosened up his tie and ran his fingers through his hair.
He then took out his mobile from his pocket, dialed in a number and waited a while before it was picked up.
"Hey Pence, you reckon you can gimme a ride?" he asked as he swung his no longer white apron over his shoulder. "Cool, it's at 69 Twilight Avenue." His eyes followed a passing car then snapped back to the front, "Fifteen minutes? Sure I can wait." He closed his eyes and allowed them to rest for a while, "Ok, see ya." He hung up and let out a tired sigh, turning his neck to one side and quickly snapping it to the other, his neck letting out three cracks and relieving some built-up tension.
He jumped a little when an arm rested itself on his shoulder. "So Roxas." He knew who that voice belonged to but he didn't turn his head to acknowledge the red head. "Are you seriously going to wait fifteen minutes out here in the streets and in the cold?"
"Yes. Yes, I am." He gave a slight nod and a side glance to the arm that rested on his shoulder, raising an eyebrow as he did so.
"Why don't you come inside instead? We can have the leftovers that Michael gave us." He offered, still not removing his arm from the blonds' shoulder.
"No, thank you." He politely refused.
"I'm sure you must be starving."
"I ate before I came here." He reasoned as he pocketed the phone that he was holding.
"That was well over four hours ago."
"I can last a while without food."
"Just come inside ok?" he insisted, "It'll make me look the bad host if I let somebody as cute as you wait outside for your friend to come pick up."
"I'm not gay, just so you know." He looked away and rolled his eyes.
"Well, neither am I." the red head smirked at the blond.
Roxas laughed.
He called Pence again to cancel his ride.
Phew, there you have it, another AkuRoku one shot. Whoop de doo!
Hope you enjoyed reading this!!