AN: Teehee. Well, uh, this is my first shot at Kingdom Hearts II fan fiction. I did attempt a RikuxSora one, but, uh… yeah, we're not going to talk about it. xD;; Well, I suppose I sound really lame right now. x3 But it doesn't matter. Hopefully, if you like my story, you wont care if I'm lame or not! xDD
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts… unfortunately. Or the mall.
Summary: Roxas is working at the mall when a slightly familiar face pounces on him in the middle of his shift, and things get all funky from there. Akuroku(Axel/Roxas)
NOW ON WITH THE WRITING!Note: Italics mean thoughts.
Sections of Italics that are separated mean flashbacks. :3
Chapter One: A-X-E-L
The mall. A lively place indeed, filled with stored of all sorts to satisfy women's needs to shop. But not all of these shoppers were women, right? Right. Teenage boys were running around, causing havoc or hitting on unwelcoming girls that were way out of their league. Smells from the food court wafted throughout the mall, the only thing over-powering the scent was perfume. Yes, perfume from phony French shops with names in curvy letters. Black outlined most of these shops.
One in particular had large, glass windows to allow vision of the whole store. Ladies picked up crystal bottles with dainty fingers and a gentle touch, carefully placing them back when the scent did not satisfy them. There were two, black counters at the back of the store, equipped with cashiers and computers, along with a small collection of necklaces and earrings in glass casing. There was, of course, someone staffing one of these counters. A very bored-looking young man with spiky blonde hair, sporting a dashing(not) black apron with the store's logo sewed on with white thread. He leaned over the counter, eying the women in the store, wishing them to just pick something and entertain him with talks of, "Do you prefer this one?" while lifting the bottle up to his nose. He did like his job, but the slow progress of it some days was almost unbearable. This was Roxas's day.
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It wasn't much fun being asked how many bottles of hair spray he used every ten steps he took. It was amusing the first couple of times, where he insisted at least ten, but after a while his answer simply became, "None." It was how his hair naturally flowed, what could he say? True, none had hair like him, or of such a vibrant red. Axel had practically made himself famous with his spiky red hair and the two diamond-like shapes on his cheeks under his eyes. Sure, he looked a bit… odd. But that was in style now, right? Besides, it wasn't like he could cut out part of his cheeks. That would be even more awkward. Not to mention painful.
Axel was currently in the mall as well, but heading for the exit. He had had enough satisfying for the day(it didn't have ANYTHING to do with the hair spray questions.). Taking long, graceful strides, he passed people swiftly and silently, hunching his shoulders slightly. With a black top and dark jeans, held up by a spiked belt, even the glare on his face couldn't make him look unattractive.
The distinct scent of perfumes shoved itself up Axel's nose, causing him to gag and fall onto a bench placed conveniently beside him.
"What the hell? There should be a law against having THAT many perfume bottles in one place!" he cried, waving a hand in front of his mouth, coughing. A woman passing by gave him an odd look, which he reflected back at her. Not quite in a cheery mood, eh, Axel? He stood, his eye twitching as he tried to take in as little of the scent as possible without not breathing. He glared at the store as he passed by, that is, until he spotted an extremely cute blonde leaning on the counted. Roxas! It's Roxas! Axel's face lit up and a smile twitched upon his lips. I wonder… if he still remembers me? Urbanely, Axel strode into the stare, eye twitching as the scents surrounded him, but he ignored it, all attention on the blonde that was now eyeing him suspiciously.
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As if my day couldn't get any more exciting… Roxas eyed the redhead coming into the store. Since when did men—Well, there's always the possibility that he's looking for something for a girl he likes. Roxas didn't like the look in this guy's eyes though, that sparkle that made him get slightly nervous as the man approached the counter, gleaming. He stood up straight, tugging his apron back down.
"C-can I help you?" Roxas asked timidly, suddenly wanting to look busy, eyes shifting to the women that were still looking at bottles. Did it really take that long to find a perfume? His eyes shifted back to the redheaded man, who had leaned onto the counter when he wasn't looking. He was much closer now, with that stupid grin still on his face. It was getting a little annoying. When the man didn't reply(he was too busy being mesmerized by the way Roxas's hair whooshed when he stood up) he asked again, more sternly, "Can I help you?"
Well, there are many ways I could ask you to "help" me, Roxas, but seeing as it doesn't look like you remember me all that well, maybe I should save that for later. Axel smiled as he thought of many ways to answer, the decided on a simple, "Yes," would suffice. Roxas blinked, expecting the redhead to explain, or go into some long speech about how he couldn't decide what type of perfume was more suited for shorter women.
"Um… Well… What can I help you with, sir?" he asked blankly, getting slightly confused by the redhead's way of communicating. It was… odd.
"I'll tell you how you can help me-"
"You can?" Axel blinked, caught off guard by Roxas's quick reply. Slowly raising a finger, Axel regained his composure and stood up straight, looking Roxas in the eye. He has such pretty eyes…
"Listen," Roxas nodded, urging Axel to go on, "I have a proposition." Axel paused here, thinking of what to say next. The blonde opened his mouth slightly, then closed it, looking away at the ladies. "I have a vehicle," Axel continued, making Roxas jump slightly and look back at the man in front of him, "in which—By the way, when do you get off? Your shift, I mean." Before making the move, best to know if said move was possible, yes?
"I…" Roxas blinked, wondering if this man had any more than a five-minute attention span. Probably not. "In about," pausing to check the time on the computer screen, "twenty minutes, I reckon. Why?" Piercing blue eyes narrowed, starring up into green ones. Axel smiled, leaning back onto the counter.
"Because, my friend--"
"I'm not your friend." Axel blinked again then shook his head.
"Roxas, Roxas. No need to be so hard on me. You're killing me, here, babe," Axel muttered, putting a hand to his forehead. The boy in question blinked at the red spikes, reaching up to scratch his cheek. Did he just call me babe? Wait…
"Are you hitting on me?" The question brought up the attention of Axel, deciding on thinking about it before actually answering. Was he? What did Roxas want to hear? If he said yes, would the blonde slap him, tell him to leave, and never come to the store ever again? What if he said no, would that insult him and set him on a rampage? Either way looked glum for poor Axel. Roxas looked down at the black counter for a moment, thinking, then looked back at Axel who seemed deep in thought. "What's your name?" he asked simply, tapping one finger on the counter. He was, in some way, enjoying the conversation. After all, he hadn't a thing to do for the past hour or so. Axel didn't seem to be replying, perhaps he hadn't heard? "What's your name?" Roxas repeated, sternly this time. It had worked, and Axel looked up.
"Y… You don't remember my name?" Axel whispered, looking hurt. Roxas took a step back, eye twitching. How was he supposed to know the guy's name? "It's Axel. A-x-e-l. Commit it to memory," the redhead continued, pointing to invisible letters as he spelled out his name. Roxas nodded, deciding to stay that one step back, after all, this guy was a little creepy.
"Axel, right. Ax--" Roxas froze, eyes widening. Why did that name sound familiar? Axel blinked, waving a hand in front of the other's face.
"So your mind's made up?" Roxas stopped and stared at the ground, fists clenched.
"Why did the keyblade choose me? I have to know." he asked softly, though the open area made his voice louder. Axel sighed, looking around for a moment, then back at Roxas.
"You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!" number eight cried out, voice echoing through the dark streets. Roxas turned his head to look over his shoulder at his friend, an apathetic expression on his face.
"No one would miss me," he replied, and then continued walking away from the glowing buildings behind them. Axel's face saddened as he watched the blonde go, longing to chase after him and tell him everything he knew.
"That's not true!" he called after the blonde, but he didn't stop. Axel's head dropped, starring at the ground. "I would…" he whispered, daring a glance up, but the blonde was gone.
"Hey-o! Roxas!" Axel was nearly shouting in the boy's face, but was getting no reaction. "What? Was it something I said?" Roxas blinked, coming back to reality. His mouth hung open slightly, an oblivious expression on his face. Axel blinked back then poked Roxas's nose, only to get smacked away.
"Don't touch me," Roxas hissed, eyes narrowing, but this only made Axel grin and stand up straight again(he had been leaning over previously, to be eye-to-eye with Roxas in his little scene). The blonde raised an eyebrow, looking at Axel suspiciously. Did he know this guy? Why don't I remember him, then? "Um… Hey, Axel," Roxas muttered, looking down at his finger, drumming them on the black counter, "How…" The boy's face scrunched up in thought, wondering how to phrase his words. Axel looked expectantly at the shorter boy, glancing down at the drumming fingers before back at those beautiful blue eyes. He looks a lot like Sora, but they act so different… Axel thought, tracing Roxas's jaw line with his eyes. Same small build, yet so powerful… "Axel," Roxas said sharply, taking notice to how the redhead had been looking at him. Even if they were "friends," why was he looking at him like he was looking at someone else?
Bright green eyes jumped back to blue ones, a questioning look on Axel's face, as if to silently say, "What?" Roxas shook his head, turning to the computer, trying to look busy.
"I have… things to do," he complained, glancing back at Axel before gluing his eyes to the screen. "If you want to start an engaging conversation, you can wait fifteen minutes, can't you?" Axel sighed, leaning once more onto the counter with one arm, turning to the side as he did so.
"I suppose so--"
"Then go be busy and leave me alone. Can't you see I have customers to attend to?" Axel looked over at the two ladies in the shop who really didn't look like they were going to buy anything. Roxas looked up too, then covered his face with his hands, rubbing his temples. "Well," he lowered his hands, "maybe not… But you should still leave me alone." Axel stifled his laughter as he looked back at the blonde.
"Only for you, Roxas. Only for you," Axel said smoothly, putting a hand over his heart as he said it. Roxas looked up at him, an odd expression on his face, but Axel only smiled then quietly made his way for the exit. "See you in ten!" he called back over his shoulder, giving a small wave. Roxas smacked his own forehead, groaning softly. This Axel guy isn't going to leave me alone, is he?
An/ Well, that's it for now. xD Seemed like a good ending to me. Tell me if you like! Suggestions are always great; you never know when I might actually use them. Well anyway, please review and stuff! I should start the next chapter soon, though school is going to make updates slow. D: I'll definitely update on the weekends though! Hope you enjoyed it.