Exigence
o-o-o
I.
o-o-o
Giving piggy-back rides was not something that Roxas was fond of, especially when it was in the form of his best friend's girlfriend. His teeth clashed together, struggling to hold her up as she waved her hands around and whined. Although she wasn't that heavy, her moving made it really hard for him to walk straight.
"Geeze, Kai! Why do you always call me instead of your boyfriend when you drink? You've done permanent damage to my back, you know!"
"Ah, go faster, Roxy! Why do you always complain that I do this? I think you secretly like carrying me… maybe I should tell Sora!" Her arms wrapped around his neck, causing him to choke. Roxas tore her arm away and nearly lost his balance.
"Yeah, you should show him this horrible side of you! Gah, that's it!" Roxas peeled her off, dropped her into the grass and took a moment to catch his breath. Kairi rolled around and laughed it off.
"Why did you drop me, you dummy? Isn't the house just down the road?" she asked, followed by loud giggles that were probably waking the neighbors. Roxas glared down at her, his hands clasping his knees as he let out a few deep breaths. "I'm like one-hundred pounds, I don't know why you're so tired, Roxy!"
"You've gotta be more than that," he said, plopping onto the grass beside her and throwing his head back to look at the sky above. The stars dazzled before him, giving him a temporary sense of peace in his chaotic mind. Kairi attempted to sit up next to him. She shoved him with her wobbly hand and then laughed more.
"How are you ever going to get a girlfriend? You have like, no physical strength," Kairi added, covering her mouth in amusement. Roxas scoffed and looked away. "Sora is way stronger than you."
"So call him next time!"
"No, it would be too embarrassing and he would be mad at me!"
"Then maybe you shouldn't drink!"
Kairi leaned forward and hung her head low, taking a moment to collect herself. "To be honest, I'm really not that drunk. I just wanted to be carried, and Sora is at work."
"You're such a liar."
"I know I am!"
With that, Roxas stood and pulled her up by her arm, ignoring her complaints as he strung her down the sidewalk. She almost tripped over her own feet, but he was sure to keep her from planting face-first onto the concrete.
Why was he doing this, again?
They made it to the front step of the house they all shared. Roxas held onto her arm as he used his other to dig through his pocket for the keys, but when he found that they weren't there, his nerves skyrocketed.
"What's the matter?" Kairi asked, leaning on his shoulder and stroking his arm with her finger. Roxas' face heated as he tried to pull away and search his other pocket.
"My keys, they're not—" he stopped when he heard her laughing once again, and the sound of dangling keys. She held them up and smirked. "Okay, how the hell did you reach into my pocket and take those without me noticing?"
"Maybe you were just so mesmerized by me, Roxy, that you didn't notice."
"Yeah fucking right," Roxas said, snatching them from her with ease. "I wouldn't date you in a million years." He undid the lock and let her inside. "Alright, I brought you back, and now you're on your own," he said as he locked the door. Kairi immediately fell onto the couch and shut her eyes.
"Thank you, Roxy-poo!"
She may not have done this too often, but it was enough for Roxas to be used to it by now. The only times Kairi ever called him was to ask where Sora was, to avoid Sora because she didn't want him to see how drunk she got, or just to tell him something needed to be fixed. Roxas crossed his arms and arched his eyebrows, thinking about how pitiful she actually looked when she did this.
"Roxy, come here," she whined, flapping her arm in his direction. "Let's talk."
Roxas seated himself in the recliner and rested his chin on his hand. "About what, Kai?"
"About how freaking stupid I am."
"I could talk about that for hours. Where should we start? That time when you thought it would be a splendid idea to mail thirty postcards to your friends and family from Twilight Town, just to cover up the fact that all you did there was party and get drunk? Or that time that you purposely lit my hair on fire? Or, oh! What about the time in middle school when you started a rumor that I was in love with you? Yeah, that was a fun one to explain to Sora when I actually introduced him to you."
"But you are in love with me, and I thought it was funny when you had to shave your head."
Roxas grunted at the horrible memory, ignored her intoxicated comment and went on to the more serious matter. "But lighting my hair on fire? Come on, Kairi."
"Why aren't you more upset?" she pouted.
"Because that was over ten years ago, and if I still held a grudge, I would be the stupid one, not you. I just don't let you go near matches or anything dealing with fire."
"You're so wonderful to me. I should drink all day, e'ry day just so I can call you," she said, then flashed a huge grin at him. "You're my sober drunk buddy." Roxas rolled his eyes.
"I'm not going to save you again. Next time, Sora will have to get you."
Kairi kicked her legs into the couch several times. "But I like our tradition of you picking me up at random bars."
"You realize how wrong you sound right now?"
"Of course I don't. I'm drunk, silly."
Roxas couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, well—" he paused when he saw some lights flashing in the window. Kairi shot up and gasped, but was met with a horrible headache that she hadn't realized until now.
"Sora's home! Shit! Take me to my room, Roxas! I can't let him see me like—" Kairi stumbled off of the couch and onto the floor. Roxas hurried over to her and lifted her up, practically forcing her to walk down the hallway. They came to the last door on the left and Roxas hastily flung it open. Kairi was putting in some more effort now, actually moving her legs back and forth, but it was still pretty pointless.
Roxas always did all the work.
"Kairi, don't you dare ever drink again!" Roxas demanded, throwing her onto the bed.
"The covers! Quick! Give them!" Kairi demanded. Roxas folded the part of the blanket that she wasn't laying on over her and then hurried out of the room just as the front door opened.
Unbelievable!
Roxas stood in the hallway, baffled as to how in the world they just pulled that off, and why in the world he went along with it. Sora walked past the hallway and into the kitchen, not even noticing him there. Gulping, Roxas set his hands into his pockets and entered the kitchen. Sora's eyes were glued to his phone as he opened the fridge.
"Yo," Roxas greeted, taking a seat at the table and combing his disheveled hair back with his fingers.
"What's going on?" Sora asked, finally putting his phone away so he could actually see what was in the fridge. Unsatisfied with the results, he shut it, empty handed. "We need to go grocery shopping. Kairi didn't cook anything?"
"Uh, no. She's not feeling too well."
Sora glanced at him as he walked over to the counter and grabbed some potato chips.
"She drank again, didn't she?"
That threw him off guard, but there was no use in hiding it. He straightened up and nodded slightly. "Yeah. Don't worry, I brought her home safe and sound." Roxas' eyes followed him as he went by, and then lowered to the ground.
"I don't know why she does it," Sora called from the other room, as if he wanted Kairi to hear him from the bedroom. "It really bothers me that she lets herself get that wasted."
Roxas got up and joined him in the living room. Sora was texting away on the same couch that Kairi lay on just a few minutes before.
"Yeah, it's pretty dangerous. You would think that her friends would be more accommodating."
"Her friends probably ditched her for a bunch of middle-aged married men," Sora said, scoffing afterward. "I love Kairi, but her choices lately just drive me up the wall, and the worst part is, she knows that."
"Yeah, she's afraid of you getting upset."
"You don't have to defend her. She obviously knows what she's doing."
"Sorry."
Sora sighed and set his phone down. "It's not your fault. Anyway, thanks a lot for taking care of her. It really does put my mind at ease. I feel like I'm always counting on you. I work a lot, so I can't always be there for her when she needs me. Someone's gotta pay the bills, right?"
Roxas' lips curled into a half smile as he glanced over at him. "Hey, I help out too. And, it's not a problem. I know… she means a lot to you."
Sora turned his head and smiled as he stared out the window. "Yeah."
"If anything, it's probably just a phase. Most people go through that in college," Roxas reasoned.
"Yeah, but for it to be that excessive is just…"
"I know. Well, if it upsets you that much, why don't you just talk to her calmly about it?"
"I should, but I can never find the right words to say. I don't want to make her feel worse."
"You're too nice, Sora."
"I know," he said, chuckling. Roxas looked toward the hallway and sighed, hesitating for a few moments before he finally decided to get up.
"Well, I've gotta get to sleep. I have a test in the morning."
"Okay. Thanks again."
All Roxas could do was nod as he turned and headed back to his room. He hesitated as he placed his hand on the doorknob, looked back at the door behind him, and then in the direction of the living room. A dejected sigh escaped his lips, and he went inside.
If only he knew.
o-o-o
o-o-o
A/N: So, I know this may seem similar to things I've written, but I promise you, it won't be like that at all. It will be rated M for a reason, folks. I'm trying to get back into writing after a hard time, so bear with me. Please leave your thoughts so I know who actually wants me to continue this. I have about thirteen chapters max planned for this fic, and they'll probably be longer than this.
Thanks!