It started with a wedding invitation.
It showed up one day, not quite out of the blue because the entire Strife family had seen this marriage coming from a mile away, a stark contrast to the numerous bills and advertisements that usually filled the mailbox. 'Aunt Quistis, Uncle Cid and family,' the envelope read, in fancy script that Roxas knew his cousin had nothing to do with. 'You are cordially invited to the marriage of Cloud and Tifa.'
Surprisingly, to most, there had never a question of whether or not Roxas would attend. He wasn't being forced, by any means (turning 18 will afford you that sort of luxury) but Cloud had long since earned his place as Roxas' least hated cousin. Which was entirely to blame on the now defunct Strife family reunions that he'd made somewhat tolerable, and the fact that he allowed his younger cousin first go on any new video games he'd received for Christmas the previous year. At the very last reunion, Roxas remembered clearly, it had been Mario 64.
And that was the simple reason why Roxas had decided to forgo his previous summer plans of laying around Hayner's new apartment, playing the shit out of his Playstation 3, and maybe getting into Olette's pants for once. Besides, a few days out of his life wasn't going to kill him. Not to mention, it was Key West, and as Hayner kindly reminded him, he'd have to be a complete dumbass to pass that up. So despite one tiny, potential hitch that Roxas chose to ignore in his otherwise pretty awesome plans, he felt pretty good about the start of this vacation.
Enter Sora, who has the uncanny ability to screw up even the best of situations, especially if they involve his twin brother in any way. And where Sora goes, Rikku is never too far to follow. Roxas should have been expecting it. After all, his siblings had been ruining his life for as long as he could remember. It's just that ever since graduating high school, he'd been under the impression that escaping them would be a whole lot easier. Clearly, he was wrong, because the moment Sora discovered the invitation and read the words 'wedding' and 'Key West', well, there was just no turning back.
That's where Roxas and Sora differed the most. Not in their appearances – even though Roxas's blonde hair and his brother's chestnut brown were about as opposite as could be – but in their outlooks on life. Roxas shied away from the world, and Sora embraced it. Sora loved being around people, while Roxas preferred being alone. Roxas made cross-state journeys to attend weddings because he was obligated to, and Sora made those very same journeys simply because they were fun. And Sora's idea of fun was some lame ass family road trip/vacation/bonding opportunity, which Rikku had been more than eager to take part in because she and Sora had always been closer than Roxas had been with either of them.
In the end, and despite every ounce of sense warning him against it, Roxas had no choice but to tag along because he was a broke, almost-college student who couldn't afford to pay his own way anywhere.
That's how he found himself stuck in the very backseat of a ratty, old Volkswagen Bus, heading for Key West. He'd been there, crammed between his chipper girlfriend, a cooler and a window that wouldn't budge for 5 long hours. Sora and Rikku had been annoyingly singing the entire soundtrack to Newsies since Miami, and if that wasn't torturous enough, his sister's absolute tool of a boyfriend was driving – if you could even call it that.
Roxas had been doing rather well so far, especially for someone who was on the verge of losing any sanity left, but about 3 miles across that dreaded 7 mile bridge and halfway through Rikku's 3rd straight rendition of Seize the Day, he felt himself starting to unravel. He'd been flicking his lighter on and off for the past 5 minutes, toying with the idea of trying to light another cigarette, because if he was going to survive the last few miles of this nightmare, he was going to need some nicotine in his system.
"Light that and you'll regret it," Gippal warned, glancing back at Roxas through the rear view mirror. He'd expected it the moment he raised the lighter to the cigarette hanging from his lips, but that didn't stop the rage from coursing through his veins. Of all people, he'd have never pegged Gippal to be such a stickler when it came to smoking. The bastard never seemed to give a rat's ass about anything else, including his sister.
Roxas scoffed and stared daggers at the back of Gippal's overly gelled hair before bothering to speak up. "Hey, it's not my fault that my brother is the only asshat to enter the rental car lot and immediately make a bee-line for the ugliest, most broken down piece of shit on the planet. If this window worked…" he trailed off, tapping the glass with his now useless cigarette. "And shouldn't you be paying more attention to your driving than what I'm doing. I mean, with that eye patch and all…"
"Roxas, please!" Rikku spun around in her seat, the beads in her long, blonde and half-way braided hair clacking together. Her eyes, which were beautiful swirls of green and blue, (thanks to being on the receiving end of the best genes either of their parents had to offer) were wide and pleading. And Roxas was just glad that Sora was stretched out on the seat in front of him, fast asleep, because the last thing he needed was the both of them spewing out their anti-smoking bullshit at the same time. "Smoking is such a disgusting habit."
Roxas smirked arrogantly, as his gaze flicked back to Gippal. "You'd know all about disgusting habits…"
It was no secret that Roxas hated Gippal, and not for some noble reason like the guy wasn't good enough for his sister or anything. He was just an annoying douchebag, who only seemed to find amusement in Roxas' distaste of him. Rikku had been dating him on and off since high school, and the only reason they weren't married by now was because Gippal had a wandering eye and was too much of a pussy to settle down. Roxas had even overheard the guy telling his friends one time that he liked to 'keep his options open'.
"That was mean, Roxas," Rikku replied as she sat back in her seat and pouted, even though she was five years older and, therefore, supposed to be the more mature one in the family. Roxas knew she hated how he and Gippal never got along, but he didn't really care. There was no force on earth, not even his sister's patented pout of doom, that could make him treat Gippal with any sort of respect. Her reaction was, however, enough to make him reconsider lighting the cigarette that was back to hanging from his lips. Almost.
In the end, it didn't matter how Roxas felt because Olette took it upon herself to reach over and pluck the cigarette out of his mouth, slapping him on the back of the head in the process. Olette was like that - bossy and a little overbearing. If asked, Roxas would say he only put up with her as much as he did because she was the literal girl next door. They'd grown up together and had basically been fated for marriage since before they could talk. Plus, she'd let him feel her up at that one out of control party of Hayner's back in the 11th grade, and as far as he was concerned, that was reason enough.
He'd never admit that he'd actually grown to care for the girl, despite her obvious flaws, or that sometimes, when she wasn't bugging him to, it was almost too easy to open up to her. Or that after the sudden void left in his life, being around her was the closest he'd felt to normal in a while.
"Stop being an asshole," she scolded, while still maintaining the pleasant tone in her voice that sometimes drove Roxas insane. Then she opened the window, the one that actually worked, and carelessly tossed Roxas's last cigarette outside. The only thing he could do was watch in disbelief as his one potential piece of solace in the hippie van from hell disappeared somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.
The last 4 miles across the bridge were not happy ones.
Eventually, but not soon enough, they officially arrived in Key West. Sora was awake by that time, and he and Rikku were freaking out over every palm tree they passed, despite having lived in Florida their whole lives where seeing palm trees was a common occurrence. Olette was busy tapping Roxas on the arm every five seconds and pointing out some random monument or building he couldn't have cared less about, and Gippal, the dumbass that he is, was having trouble following Mapquest and finding their hotel. They wound up having to stop off at a Circle K to ask for directions, and Roxas, thankful for Gippal's stupidity for once, welcomed the detour because it allowed him the chance to pick up a new pack of cigarettes.
It was 8:30 PM when they pulled up in front of the Hyatt and finally tumbled out of the vehicle for good, each person carrying one piece of luggage out of the assload they'd brought along and agreeing to retrieve the rest in the morning. Their room was already paid for, courtesy of their parents, and booked, thanks to Sora who always planned things out to perfection and in advance, like it was his job. Suite 113 was located on the second floor of the second building and was entirely too far from the parking lot - especially when Roxas was hauling his girlfriend's gigantic suitcase that weighed at least a metric shit-ton.
Once inside and just as the door clicked shut behind them, everyone except Roxas began to shamelessly strip right there in the doorway. And he didn't know whether to be amused or thoroughly disgusted, because the last thing he ever wanted to see was Gippal's naked ass.
"I know I'm going to regret asking…" Roxas winced as Rikku practically ripped her blouse off, only to reveal a shiny blue bikini top. Thank God. "But what the hell are you all doing?"
Sora dug into the pockets of his shorts and pulled out a pair of goggles before flinging the garment at his brother. "We're going swimming," he finally replied, like it was common knowledge – as if all four of them had gotten together and secretly planned it. And he wouldn't be surprised if they had. "Duh."
Roxas removed the pair of shorts from his head and scowled. "It's 9 o'clock at night, and the pool's probably closed," he reasoned, not even sure why he was bothering or even cared. He was too busy watching as Olette bent down to remove her shoes, which gave him a pretty nice view of her ass, to notice that his perfectly logical and sane observation had been met with nothing but an incredulous silence.
"You're coming, right?" Olette asked, raising back up and breaking the trance her backside had put him in.
"Uh…no."Roxas walked past the half-naked group, through the barely-there hallway and into the surprisingly large kitchen. Leaning against the counter, he made the mistake of turning back around and looking into three pairs of wide eyes that were currently judging the ever-loving shit out of him.
"And why not?" Rikku was the first to break the silence, the fact that she thought he was the crazy one of the bunch made clear by her tone. "And don't even think about giving me any of that pissed at the world, emo, 'I'm such a tortured soul' crap, either." She finished undressing, kicking her jean shorts off to the side and placing her hands on her hips. "I want a good reason."
Roxas opened up one of the cupboards next to his head, mostly because he wanted to pretend he wasn't as offended by her words as he actually was, and found it completely empty. "I'm not emo," he finally replied. "And fuck your good reason." Rikku's face fell at his words, making Roxas feel sort of bad. And he might have even considered apologizing…until the douchetard interrupted.
"Hey," Gippal snapped harshly, as he stepped forward, clad in nothing but a pair of black swim trunks. His gaze was hard and wannabe intimidating, but Roxas just rolled his eyes. Gippal was all bark and no bite. If he wasn't, they'd have ripped each other to shreds by now. "Watch your mouth."
Roxas found it all kinds of hilarious and yet, somehow, infuriating that Gippal of all people was stepping up to protect his sister's honor, but instead of opening his mouth and causing yet another argument, he decided to remain silent and let his middle finger do all the talking. Gippal narrowed his eyes, obviously mulling over the same consequences, before grabbing Rikku's arm and spinning on his heels.
"Let's go," he muttered, as he pulled her towards the exit.
To Roxas, it felt like a victory. Until the door slammed shut and the only thing left to do was avoid looking into his brother's sad eyes. Sora was standing there, pouting and looking on with pity that Roxas didn't want any part of, so he inspected the next cupboard over and waited until he heard retreating footsteps and the door shutting for a second time before looking back over to Olette. She walked over a second later, an almost comforting smile on her lips, and kissed him on the cheek. Then she left him alone without a word.
It was exactly what he needed, to be left alone. There were times when Roxas thought he felt for Olette what she clearly felt for him. Moments like these, when she seemed to know him better than even his own family, when she remained a soothing presence after everyone else had given up. It was a fleeting feeling, though, and as soon as he began to ponder it too deeply, things went back to normal.
Once finally alone, Roxas decided to take a look around the place that would serve as his 'home' for the next three weeks. It was nice – kinda fancy, even. And he was just glad that, even though they couldn't come along, his parents had insisted on paying for the place. Otherwise, they'd have probably ended up in some roach motel where they'd have to buy dinner from a vending machine and share the room's only bed. This place had cooking appliances and separate bedrooms, along with a huge living room and entertainment system. Maybe things wouldn't be as horrible as he'd thought, after all.
After opening the doors to both bedrooms and fawning over the giant flat screen TV, Roxas finally made his way out to the balcony. He expected the humid, muggy air to hit him like a ton of bricks –living in a city like Tampa will do that to you – but was pleasantly surprised by a warm, refreshing sea breeze, instead.
After momentarily studying a telescope standing off to the side, he walked over to the edge of the balcony, rummaging in his pockets for his lighter and pack of cigarettes. Finally taking a drag and letting the smoke fill his lungs left him feeling tranquil for the first time all day. And In nicotine's sweet embrace, he was able to sort of appreciate the sound of waves lapping at the shore of the ocean just across the highway and the voices echoing from the pool below.
He looked down at his brother, sister and girlfriend as they laughed and splashed around and appeared to be having the time of their lives, like he wasn't there, as if he was the farthest thing from their minds at that moment. And it wasn't jealousy that he felt in the pit of his stomach. Not at all. He only wished they would quiet down because he didn't feel like getting kicked out of such an awesome hotel. Besides, he didn't even want to go swimming.
Tilting his head back, Roxas let out a tired sigh and took another drag of the cigarette. Only for his peaceful reverie to come crashing down in the most horrible, yet not entirely unexpected, of ways.
"Smoking kills, ya know?" The voice startled him in more ways than one, and it was hard to ignore the chills it sent down his spine or the sick feeling in his gut, but he managed somehow. He had to. After the immediate shock wore off, Roxas considered not answering at all, which is what he'd been telling himself he'd do if the chance ever arose, but the logical part of his brain lost out in the end.
"So do a lot of things." He shrugged and tapped his cigarette against the railing, watching the ashes fall down to the ground below in an attempt forget this was actually happening. He hated the way his voice sounded too soft and not nearly furious enough.
Roxas couldn't help but peer over at the balcony to his left. The only defining trait of the tall, shadowy figure standing across the way were the odd spikes of hair hanging down the back of his neck. But that was all Roxas had to see. "Why do you even care?" His voice remained steady, but it just wasn't enough. If he wasn't going to stick to his plans of ignoring, then he should have just let it all out.
"Ro-" the reply that Roxas was sure he didn't want to hear was interrupted by the sound of a door slamming open and a sudden rush of noise.
"Axel, are you coming…or not?" The familiar voice asked, clearly out of breath.
Roxas dared himself to look back over at the neighboring balcony, only to catch a glint of light reflecting off of long, silver hair and immediately turned back around. This was worse than he imagined, and he had to retreat from the balcony without being noticed. Unfortunately, Roxas was nothing if not obvious, so sneaking back into the suite unnoticed was going to be quite difficult, but it was still the better alternative to staying out there.
"Larxene said she'd castrate to you if you didn't hurry," the guy at the door said, causing Roxas to cringe as he inched backwards, pushing himself away from the railing. Of course, she'd be there, too. They'd probably brought the whole stupid gang along. "And, knowing that crazy bitch, I wouldn't put it past her." Silence, and Roxas' heart nearly beat right out of his chest at the thought of being caught. He cursed himself for ever agreeing to make this trip, and was about to put a silent hex on Cloud's wedding. "Well…?"
Axel finally turned to face the doorway. "I'll be there in a second, Ri…" And that was the last thing Roxas heard before finally making it back inside and shutting the door behind him. He stood there in the middle of the living room floor for a minute, just breathing and stupidly trying to convince himself that nothing that had just happened was as big of a deal as he made it out to be, before bolting out the front door.
After running down two flights of stairs, a cobbled pathway and a patch of sand, Roxas finally made it to the pool, where his family was still making a racket befitting a party of hundreds. He chanced one last glance over his shoulder at the balcony above. It was empty, and he wanted to believe that relieved him. Luckily, there wasn't much time to feel or think at all because as soon as he walked through the gate, Sora was grabbing a hold of his arms and bouncing in place.
"You came!" he shouted, and Roxas knew it was only a matter of time before they were forced to stay at the motel 6. "What made you change your mind?" Roxas schooled his expression into one of indifference, but Sora wasn't fooled. "What happened?" he asked almost instantly.
"Nothing." Roxas shrugged him off and took a seat on one of the chairs as Olette finally made it out of the pool and sat next to him, soaking his perfectly dry and comfortable clothes when she wrapped an arm around his shoulder and giggled annoyingly in his ear. It took everything he had –which honestly wasn't much by that point – not to shove her off. Where was this anger when he actually needed it?
"Are you sure," Sora asked, skeptically. "Because you look like you just saw a ghost."
Rikku and Gippal walked over at that moment, and Roxas was starting to regret his decision of going out there in the first place. He would have been much safer and comfortable back inside the hotel, watching the I Love Lucy marathon, which he totally didn't know was on the Hallmark Channel right now.
"I said I'm fine, Sora," he spat out rather unconvincingly, but Roxas was too tired and worn out for anything more than that, so he relented and gave his brother what he'd wanted – a smile. It was small and entirely fake because Roxas couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled for real. Well, he could, but he didn't like to think about it too much. "I just saw Gippal's face. That's all."
"Well, we were just about to head upstairs and hit the hay, anyhow," Rikku said cheerily, stopping the retort she knew was on the tip of her boyfriend's tongue then flipping her hair around and smacking Roxas directly in the face. His first instinct was to get angry, but when she started giggling and running for the exit, all was forgotten. "Last one to the room gets to sleep on the couch!" She shouted over her shoulder, and all 5 of them took off, like one big stampede of absolute insanity.
Naturally, Sora lost. The kid was smart as a whip and, having been a baseball player in high school, was athletic, as well. His downfall was that he was rather naïve and trusting of everyone, and that put him at a disadvantage. Especially, when Roxas noticed that Olette was lagging behind- because there was no way in hell he was going to share a bed with his brother and lose a golden opportunity like that. So he pulled a little bitch move by pretending to trip and fall, which caused Sora, with his heart of gold, to stop and make sure he was alright. That's when Roxas grabbed a hold of Olette's hand and ran, laughing his ass off and never looking back. He wasn't particularly proud but, hey, it had to be done.
"You cheated, Roxas." Sora was panting when he finally made it through the front door.
"I did no such thing." Roxas slipped out of his wet t-shirt and threw it into the pile of clothes in the hall. "You lost, fair and square." He smirked and took Olette's hand in his again, dragging her towards the door he knew led to the master bedroom. "Have fun sleeping on the couch tonight." He offered a small salute and was just about to reach the door handle when he heard a voice that made his blood curdle.
"Where do you think you're going?" Gippal asked, stepping between Roxas and the Promised Land.
"Olette and I are just going to our room, so step aside, assface."
"I don't think so." Roxas hated everything about being short, especially those cheesy ass insults in elementary school, like 'shorty-by-nature', but what he hated most of all was being stared down at by arrogant and domineering bastards named Gippal. "This is my room, kid. I got here first, so you and your girlfriend can go find somewhere else to play."
"Excuse me?" Roxas inched forward and noticed Rikku take a few steps closer, like her skinny ass could stop him from blackening her boyfriend's only good eye. "Whose parents are paying for this place?"
"Your argument sucks balls because your sister, who unfortunately shares parents with you, in case you didn't know, is my girlfriend." Gippal laughed, and Rikku didn't do anything to stop him except for a pitiful slap on the chest. "So her parents are paying for the place, and that means we're taking the room, shorty."
"He's right," Rikku spoke up, and Roxas wasn't surprised that she was taking Gippal's side. He would never understand how she was so blind when it came to him. "We're the oldest here, Roxas. It's only fair."
"Fair, my ass." He shot his sister a heated glare and unsuccessfully ignored Gippal's smug grin, then stomped across the room like a petulant child because he had been wronged, damnnit! Olette followed, and just as they entered the small hallway that led to their new room, Sora burst through the front door. For the record, Roxas did not squeal like a girl or nearly jump out of his skin.
"What the hell are you doing?" he totally did not squeak out. "I thought you were already inside."
"I went down to the car to get this!" Sora raised up his hands to reveal an air mattress and pump. "I'm not sleeping on the couch tonight," he boasted proudly, sticking his chest out and marching past Roxas and Olette and into the living room. Only he didn't stop there.
"What the hell are you doing, kid?" Gippal asked, still standing protectively in front of his bedroom door, and Roxas had to bite back a scathing retort because the battle was over. He just had a hard time letting things go.
"Sleeping on the porch," Sora answered casually, like it was the most normal thing in the world to do, and scurried out the door with a smile on his face that made Roxas want to punch a hole in the wall.
"You're not going to let him do that, right?" he asked anyone that was listening. "I mean, he can't sleep on the porch…"
"We don't let him do anything," Rikku said, yawning and stretching her arms above her head. Gippal took that moment to noticeably ogle her breasts and Roxas wanted to gouge his eyes out. "He's an adult, he can do what he wants." She leaned into her boyfriend as he opened the door. "Why don't you try and stop him?" Just before the bedroom door closed, Roxas clearly heard the hideous sound of a hand slapping one of his sister's buttcheeks, and he wanted to die.
"I swear to God," Roxas shouted, as Olette laid a hand on his shoulder. "I am not going to listen you guys hump like gorillas all night long! Do you hear me?" Silence, except for the sound of Sora filling his mattress up with air out on the porch. "I said, do you hear me?"
"Then go sleep outside with your brother," Gippal called out that time, followed by an obnoxious giggle from Rikku. And Roxas swore he would never, no matter what, even if Cloud named his first child after him, take a vacation like this again.