Favors
Warning: Inevitable Akuroku. Smoking and cigarettes is a recurrent theme so if you have a problem with that, you can just go...
xxx
Roxas looked as miserable as he felt.
He was currently waiting in line for the ferris wheel at the Destiny Islands fair. Beside him was his upbeat spiky haired cousin – Sora – and next to him, his equally energetic girlfriend Kairi. WHY Roxas had agreed to even go to such a place was beyond him.
The fair just sucked... it was ghetto, way too hot, and there wasn't much to see there that Roxas hadn't already seen in his sixteen years of life. He also didn't appreciate being a third wheel.
The two lovebirds, however, were all over each other and seemed like they were having the best time in their paopu intertwined lives.
"Man, this place is SO fun." Sora cheered loudly, flashing Roxas and Kairi a big smile.
"I know!" Kairi piped in happily, leaning her head against Sora's shoulder. "I'm having so much FUN right now!" She squee'd to further emphasize the amount of fun she was currently having.
Roxas, on the other hand, wanted to further emphasize the uncontrollable desire he was having to find something to stab repeatedly in hopes of somewhat relieving his deep seated anger at being coerced to the damn fair in the first place. If he heard the word 'fun' one more time…
"What about you?" Sora asked. "Having fun?"
Roxas twitched. A couple of snappy retorts formulated in Roxas's mind and he decided his best answer to keep the peace and not ultimately ruin the mood would be to remain quiet.
Sora was apparently not satisfied with the silent treatment and poked his cousin in the side.
Roxas nearly fell over at the offending poke. He gave Sora a look. "Don't ever... again." He hated being touched.
"Damn. Moody much?" Sora blinked a little shocked at Roxas's attitude problem. Then he shrugged . "Whelp, that's my cousin for ya!" Sora then announced, disturbingly unperturbed. He then gave Roxas a wink before continuing on. "Le number one supplier of the cutest death glares ever."
Roxas proceeded to do just that and caught himself a little late because the two were already laughing at him. Happily... like it was all their body was capable of doing.
I just wanna get out of here... Roxas thought in his mind. In all honesty, the fair wasn't even that bad. Roxas was just not a people person. He was introverted. Not exactly shy; he just preferred to be alone and not to talk to people...unless absolutely necessary. However, being cousins with the exuberant ball of friendly energy better known as Sora really left him little alone time. Sora always managed to convince Roxas one way or another to hang out with him. The brunette had his ways.
Roxas sighed and was a little glad when he saw they were finally up next to get on the ferris wheel.
He was just about to step onto the the ferris wheel gondola along with Sora and Kairi when the conductor stopped him.
"Why don't you give these love birds some privacy, eh?" It was an old man who looked cheerful and well delicately ancient... so Roxas couldn't even object.
"Oh! Sorry, Roxas... you don't have to ride anymore if you don't want -" Sora started looking a little sheepish.
"Ride with me." An unfamiliar voice drawled and Roxas turned around to where it came from.
It was a guy - as if the smooth husky voice wasn't hint enough.
Roxas blinked and eyed the guy suspiciously. He was tall, thin, and wearing all black - black saggy skinny jeans on long legs, a black v neck t-shirt that revealed angled collarbones, and some harcdcore looking combat boots. His skin was pale but with an obvious tan [it had been hot that day] . He had surprisingly bright red hair, jagged at the ends, and crooked bangs falling across his forehead.
Then their eyes met; Bright emerald orbs clashing with deep ocean blues.
Roxas blinked.
"...no."
The redhead apparently chose selective hearing at that moment because in the next second, he had grabbed Roxas by the arm and all but near manhandled him into the gondola. The ferris wheel started up before Roxas could even utter a word.
Roxas watched as all means of escape was slowly taken from him. Then he rounded on the decidingly troublesome stranger.
"Did you know - " Roxas started in a tight voice, sending one of his signature cute and fluffy death glares. "Usually when one says no, it means fuck off."
Amused laughter ensued.
"Wow, blondie. What's with the animosity? I was just doing you a favor." The red head said matter of factly as they slowly got higher into the air.
Roxas glared harder.
"Did I even fucking ask you for one?" Roxas hissed, not even caring in the slightest if he was being rude. He was having a horrible day and what better way to relieve some stress then by rounding on a complete and total stranger.
"Thats the thing about favors, you don't have to ask for them." The other continued on, "People just give them to you."
"Well, the only thing you're giving me right now is a headache." Roxas said coldly, tearing his eyes away from the bright emerald eyes that were boring into his. Eye contact made him uncomfortable. Eye contact with someone he knew for five seconds while trapped in a moving container thirty feet above the ground just made things even more so.
There was no reply to his comment and Roxas instead focused his attention on the current view of the fair below them. Bright colorful lights from the game booths, food stands, and rides made the place look lively and actually kind of nice to look at.
The sound of a lighter flickering caught Roxas's attention.
His red haired companion was apparently lighting a cigarette.
"Hey what - " Roxas gasped. "You can't do that here."
The other just flippantly waved a hand at Roxas before blowing some smoke upwards through the cool night air. Roxas was vaguely reminded of a dragon... Mushu or something.
"People do all kinds of things up here that they're not supposed to do..." the redhead trailed off and winked, then took another hit of his cigarette.
Roxas scrunched his nose, not just at the smoke but also at the comment.
This guy's unbelievable... Roxas thought. They weren't even allowed to smoke on fair grounds except in smoking areas much less on a ferris wheel! …But that wasn't the only thing bothering Roxas.
Roxas figured the other must have caught him staring at the cigarette cause the he suddenly grinned knowingly.
"Ah, I get it." he began then leaned forward and offered his cigarette. "Now let me do you a favor you can't refuse."
Dammit, Roxas thought. He was shamefully a smoker himself and having not had his bout of nicotine since sometime that morning when he had begged Sora to let him smoke on the way there, he was craving it badly. It probably explained his sour mood as well.
Swallowing all sense of pride and snootiness, Roxas didn't reply - instead reached out and took the stranger's offer.
He took a hit and inhaled. Breathing out, he instantly felt way more relaxed than the past six hours. He leaned back on his chair, cigarette still in his hand. It was so good, and just what he needed right now.
"Damn, look at you." The stranger chuckled. "Looking like a straight up addict." He paused and observed Roxas for a brief moment. "You don't even look like the smoker type… all innocent and shit."
Roxas took another hit. Now that he was in a more friendly, less hostile mood - he decided he can entertain the likes of this weirdo for the next five minutes or however long this damn ferris wheel was going to last.
"And how exactly do smoker types look like?" Roxas asked, the first time that day that he sounded like a decent human being.
The red head grinned and motioned to himself with a smug look on his face like he had just presented roxas with something extremely enticing and beyond irresistible.
"They look like -" he then cupped his chin with his fingers in a what he must have thought cool and smooth gesture. "Axel."
Roxas blinked. Then rolled his eyes.
"I guess that was what you thought of was a cool way to sneakily introduce yourself to somebody who doesn't care."
Axel didnt look phased and sat up leaning on his knees towards Roxas. "And it worked, didn't it?"
Roxas once again used the cigarette as a reason not to reply. He then leaned further back in his seat not wanting any more of his personal space invaded.
"Now why don't you do me a favor and tell me yours."
It wasn't even a question and said with such confidence that Roxas had to give Axel props. The guy was so sure of himself, it was almost attractive. Roxas backtracked and threw that thought out into the Thought Cremation Zone before burning it and all its wrongness with it.
…He had no such thought.
"Roxas." He finally answered and threw the cigarette over the edge of the seat.
"Wow… I like it." Axel commented not even caring that his cigarette was ninja move'd in front of him and never returned to his long slender fingers.
"You do." Roxas deadpanned not really liking that it seemed as if a weirdo was hitting on him.
"Before you start thinking I'm a weirdo hitting on you -" Axel then went on looking amused at the suspicious look on Roxas face. "I'm not. Names with x's are just one of the things I like in this world.."
Roxas eyed him warily before accepting the explanation. At least there was no more gayshit vibes going on...
Roxas didn't reply anymore and silence reigned.
Axel looked bored as well, and took to just outright staring at Roxas. His gaze was easy-going and chill but his eyes were intense. Roxas shifted and silently thanked the lord when the door was finally opened and they were allowed to leave the ride.
"Roxas over here!" Sora called already out, Kairi next to him waving madly like an early warning device.
For a second, Roxas thought about saying some sort of closure to Axel but then realized that would mean something... well he didn't know what it would mean but he knew it wouldn't mean nothing. Ok, now he was confusing himself and in said cracked out confused state, he decided to go with just running as fast as he could away from the ferris wheel. He could only hope he didn't look as much of a fleeing idiot as he felt.
Out of breath, he caught up to Sora and Kairi who had already began walking towards a cotton candy stand as though there was a magical gravitational pull that couldn't make them wait five more seconds for their friend to reach them.
"Took you long enough." Sora finally said as they noticed Roxas for the first time in the five minutes that he was standing there. They were way busy hand feeding each other cotton candy in a sickeningly sweet way. Pun intended.
"Yeah, we were beginning to think you weren't going to come back." Kairi commented.
"What?"
"Well, you seemed like you were actually enjoying the ferris wheel for one thing." Kairi went on then turned to Sora as if it was his cue to explain.
"Oh and when we looked over at you, we noticed there was no such thing as personal space between you and your new friend." Sora said as casually as one would when commenting the weather instead of insinuating some sort of homosexual prospect between Roxas and a complete total stranger.
Roxas wanted to react in haughty defense and anger but couldn't help feel they were kind of right. The ferris wheel was probably the most interesting part of the whole day at the fair, where Roxas had actually took a breather and even managed to enjoy the top view of the oh so lame fair. Of course it was because of his cigarette, nothing to do with the company of that Axel guy! No, he was weird.
Kairi and Sora were staring at him expectantly with matching amused smiles on their faces, which still had random clomps of melted cotton candy sticking to it. It only made them look more comically irritating...and a bit creepy.
"Yeah, I guess it wasn't that bad..." Roxas finally admitted. "But it doesn't mean I like the way you guys are saying it." he finished with a disapproving scowl.
Kairi and Sora practically squee'd in unison and high fived each other. "Success!"
"...what." Roxas felt confused. "Why success?"
Suddenly Sora and Kairi looked like the perfect example of deer caught in the headlights. Their eyes darted around the fair like some crazy people. It was starting to scare Roxas how much in unison the two seemed to be. Roxas never wanted to be in a relationship, if that's how insane he was going to look.
"Well... okay don't get mad." Sora began, fidgeting a bit. "Well... we kind of noticed how miserable you looked the whole day - even more miserable than usual - so we both formulated this little plan thing you know -
all intents and purpose of brightening up your day."
"What was the plan?" Roxas pressed flippantly, feeling impatient.
Kairi sighed. "We sort of bribed that redhead to ride with you. We didn't want you to be a third wheel anymore so this guy agreed to be your friend and I don't know – "
Roxas stared.
Then walked away without a single word – the wind blowing his hair dramatically.
"Wait, Roxas! Where are you going!" He heard the voices call but he just flipped them off and broke into a jog so he could disappear amongst the crowd.
"Idiots..." Roxas thought sourly.
He knew he was being a killjoy and a sour puss and whatever else word there was to describe someone that walked around with a black cloud over their head... but man. He was just annoyed. No wonder Axel was so friendly... he was paid to be.
It made him feel frustratingly upset that he was even effected this much. Was he that unlikeable that his own friends had to buy someone's friendship for him? It was really getting to him and instead of being pissed, Roxas was now slowly turning emo.
He needed to go find a nice corner to be emo in, he decided, finally stopping the random direction he was trailing off in.
He looked up and silently thanked the gods. It was the glorious smoking area, near the entrance of the park which was also an exit meaning that Sora and Kairi would have pass this way eventually. When they did catch up to him, Roxas figured he'd be in a much lighter mood after chain-smoking his lungs out. Not the most logical way to deal with things, but it was the only way he knew how.
There were only a few people in the smoking area, some sitting on the bench and the others on the grass of the nearby hill.
Roxas opted for the spot right next to the huge looming tree that would most likely shield him from view. Plus, it was the perfect corner his emo mood was craving for.
Roxas sighed, taking out his Marlboro lights and lighting a cigarette, feeling its effects within ten seconds. He blew out a line of smoke and followed it with his eyes watching it disappear into nothing-ness. He wondered where the fuck it went... he always wondered that when he smoked. He could easily just Google it but if he did that, he would have nothing else to wonder about.
"Is this tree taken?"
A familiar voice inquired from right next to Roxas. The blonde boy jumped a bit caught off guard. Of course, it was no other than Axel.
Roxas quickly forced himself to regain composure and took a hit. Then he said the first snarky comment he could think of. "Didn't know you're into trees but I asked earlier and I think its single as fuck right now so go for it."
"..."
Then Axel burst out laughing.
"What?" Roxas snapped, irritated. He thought he had said something quite clever and insulting but apparently not.
"Dude… you are so weird." Axel managed to gasp out between laughs.
"..." Roxas finished his cigarette and threw on the ground before violently crushing it with his foot. He felt his cheeks heat up a bit - he felt kind of embarrassed now, the way Axel was making fun of him.
"I like it." Axel suddenly said, standing with his hands behind his head and looking up at the night sky. He was cool and aloof again as if he wasn't just laughing his ass off like a zooted hyena one second ago.
"You like everything." Roxas muttered.
"No." Axel bit his lip in thought then directed his gaze at Roxas.. "But I'm starting to like everything about you."
Roxas blanched. His cheeks burned and he felt awkward. Who says that to people they just met? Oh yeah, Roxas remembered the deal.
"Of course you do. You were paid to." Roxas announced bitterly as if he had just revealed the secret meaning of life and hated it.
Axel frowned. "Oh... they told you. About that -" he stopped. "I just need the money."
Roxas assumed Axel must have thought that would explain everything and make him feel loads better. Roxas sent a look that it didn't and Axel got the message, hurriedly fishing around his head for a better reason.
"I mean... when I did meet you, you were pretty cool. And I'm here now on my own actions." Axel said. "No deals. No money. Just genuinely wanting to be in your company."
"That doesn't make me feel better and I really don't care whether you want to talk to me or not. I mean, I really don't fucking care. You can actually just go leave me alone now." Roxas said feeling bitchy all over again.
Axel looked pensive for a moment before taking a step toward Roxas nearly making him backed up against the single as fuck tree. Then he held out a cigarette.
"Light this for me?"
Roxas raised an eyebrow noticing how Axel totally ignored what he said. Selective hearing again, he thought offhandedly.
"You have your own lighter. Why don't you do it yourself?" Roxas pointed out… not that he was greedy with his one dollar lighter or anything. Lighting someone's cigarette was like a sign of friendship or something in the smoking world. And this Axel guy ? Nope, nowhere on his friend list.
"I don't like to do it myself." Axel replied, and there was a strange suggestive glint in his eye that made Roxas stomach do a weird flip flop.
Wanting to get this whole encounter with the redhead over with, Roxas begrudgingly took out his lighter and did as he was told.
Axel looked positively delighted - and not just from the cigarette. He grinned at Roxas. His teeth were a bit pointy and Roxas was starting to think he looked less like Mushu and more like the big bad wolf.
"See? Doesn't it feel good to do people favors?" Axel said conversationally, his hair blowing past his face as the night was growing later and the winds cooler.
"No." Roxas said bluntly feeling the itch again to smoke.
Silence once again ensued as Axel continued smoking and Roxas continued well, standing there watching Axel smoke. Roxas's eyes followed the gray white smoke escaping the perfect 'o' shape of Axel's lips. The exhaled smoke came out in little circles and Roxas had to admit - he was pretty impressed. It was his long time dream to be able to do that.
Roxas then noticed something else. Axel had a pretty feminine jaw line... not that Roxas went around noticing if peoples' jaw lines were feminine or not. It wasn't too angular or squarish, it was a bit pointy but in a delicate soft way. Soft… like the red hair that was brushing against Axel's slender pale neck and past his Adam's apple…
Roxas then realized he was staring and coughed.
"Um so." Roxas started awkwardly. It had been unusually silent and he almost thought he was enjoying the other's company. Luckily, he didn't have to continue the small talk as he saw Sora and Kairi come into view, having apparently spotted him after ten years in the smoking area.
Roxas was glad for a second before he realized they weren't alone.
"Hey it's your friends." Axel pointed out rather late.
"You mean your business partners." Roxas said bitterly.
"HEY ROXAS! THERE YOU ARE! WE WERE LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR YOU!"
Sora and kauri had reached him at the smoking area and behind them was two familiar faces. One was good looking beyond all rhyme or reason with his silver hair and turquoise eyes, Sora's bestfriend in the world - Riku. Next to him was a shy blonde girl - Namine.
"Well, obviously not everywhere since you didn't find me sooner." was all Roxas could come up with feeling a tad guilty for throwing a tantrum earlier.
Sora and Kairi suddenly noticed Axel standing besides Roxas.
"Oh hi. So we meet again." Sora said awkwardly.
"Sup?" Axel greeted but he was looking at Riku.
Roxas followed the movement and saw Riku make a nod of acknowledgement. Was he missing something or did the two know each other somehow...?
"What are you guys doing here?" Roxas decided to ask, turning to Riku and Namine.
They weren't exactly close. Riku was way too arrogant and trying hard to be cool for Roxas's liking. They got along though, for Sora's sake.
"Been here all day. Surprised we hadn't bumped into you guys earlier." Riku said oh so coolly.
"Date?" Roxas asked, eyebrow raised looking between Riku and Namine. Namine shook her head and blushed profusely.
"No, we were going to meet the rest of the gang here but they... couldn't come." Namine frowned.
Roxas rolled his eyes. She was probably referring to Hayner, Olette, and Pence. "Scammers."
"Yeah so um Roxas! You see ... we kind of have a problem." Sora said scratching his head as if it would help him think of a good way to break whatever the problem was to Roxas.
"What is it this time." Roxas groaned just wanting to go home and hibernate. He was exhausted.
"Namine and Riku need a ride. You know it's kind of on the other side of town but Riku's my best friend." Sora explained.
"Why do you abuse your friendship?" Roxas muttered giving Riku a look.
"He offered." Riku said putting his hands up in defense.
"Since we won't all fit in the car, I'll just come back here and pick you up after I drop them off. is that alright?" Sora asked looking a bit worried.
Roxas stared. "You want to leave me here...?" he didn't like the idea. At all. More waiting? So fuck.
"I can give him a ride." Axel suddenly cut in, finally seeming to have finish his cigarette and taking a step closer to the little circle they had somehow formed.
Everyone looked at him with mixed reactions. Kairi and Sora seemed a bit relieved, Riku looked suspicious and Namine just looked well ... shy and quiet as usual.
"Do you even know this guy?" Riku asked then.
"Yeah -" Roxas answered. Then turned to Axel. "Is this another favor of yours? I can only take so much in one night, you know."
A heavy silence followed.
Then Roxas realized what he said may have sounded slightly suggestive and he groaned at the same time trying to ignore the snickers from Riku.
"Well, I find it safe to assume that you both are pretty well acquainted enough to be considered friends." Riku drawled teasingly. "C'mon then guys." He began walking towards the exit as if his word determined all…which it kind of did because soon, the others had started following.
"Hey wait! You guys didn't even ask if it was okay with me! I don't even know this - gah." Roxas saw it was absolutely useless as Sora sent one last apologetic smile and then did a weird thumbs up sign at the same time as Kairi. Once again, another creepy couple gesture.
Roxas groaned then looked at the red head that was uncharacteristically quiet beside him.
"I'll drop on your gas money." Roxas told him. "Its...the least I can do. I live kind of far. Twilight town."
"No problem. That's my place of residence as well." He smirked, then began walking.
They made their way to the parking lot in silence and Roxas was a bit surprised when he saw Axel motioning to a black motorcycle instead of a car.
"...nice." He said at last though not really knowing how he felt that he had to ride on the back of Axel for the next twenty minutes or so.
"It is, isn't it? It's my baby." Axel said with an admiring tone in his voice. He swung a leg over his 'baby' and tossed Roxas a spare helmet.
"Wear this. Don't want you to fall off, crack your skull, and lose all your happy memories with me." he snickered.
"…that was specific." Roxas said with a roll of his eyes. He climbed on behind Axel and tried to leave as much room as he possibly could between him and the other boy.
"You're going to do exactly what I just said not to if you sit that far away." Axel commented as he turned on the engine.
Roxas begrudgingly scooted one centimeter closer.
Axel laughed. "You're worst than a girl."
Roxas spluttered at that. "What!"
Then he manned up and moved forward so that his butt was actually sitting on the motorcycle seat now instead of dangerously hanging off it. He felt his inner thigh graze against Axel's and he stiffened, trying to steady his legs from making contact ever again.
"Much better." Axel approved and off they went.
In the next twenty minutes it took to Twilight Town, Roxas had come to the conclusion Axel was a maniacal driver that was out to kill him. He was speeding, he was smoking, he was driving on the fucking sidewalks, and he was pathetically attempting to make sharp turns look like drifting.
Roxas had embarrassedly had to latch his arms around Axel's waist at several parts of the ride clinging for dear life. There went any stoic coolness he was trying to possess. Now he really did feel he was worse than a girl.
"It's the last house down that street." Roxas pointed out as they reached his neighborhood.
"What is?" Axel said back, not hearing that much with the wind blowing loudly past their ears.
Roxas inched forward so he could speak directly into Axel's ear. Strands of windblown red hair tickled at his lips and he paused uncomfortably before repeating himself. "My house... it's over there."
"No way? I live like 2 blocks away from here." Axel said sounding amazed. He then turned his head unexpectedly bringing his face mere inches away from Roxas's. Roxas heart skipped a beat at the close proximity and he placed both his hands on Axel's head turning it forward again.
"Please keep your eyes on the road." Roxas voice almost a squeak. He coughed. "I'd like to live to see tomorrow, you know."
"Why don't we just hang out at my place first? There's kind of something going on there right now." Axel suggested stepping on the breaks without warning sending Roxas's face smashing right against Axel's shoulder. The bone hit his teeth - damn he was so bony! - and Roxas groaned.
"My bad, are you okay - did you just bite me?" Axel asked looking back at Roxas again.
"Yeah I mean no – err, I just want to go home actually..." Roxas said upfront not wanting to beat around the bush. Besides, he had enough of this Axel guy for one night. Things were happening so fast and so much that Roxas's brain could barely process anything.
"Aw, come on." Axel urged.
"No thanks." Roxas rejected.
"It's my birthday though."
"No, it's not."
"But it is…" Axel then whipped out his ID in a split second and Roxas saw that indeed he was telling the truth.
"Oh... um okay I guess." Roxas was a good person, antisocial moody sarcastic and sour, but he was a good person. He couldn't say no to someone on their birthday. "But only five minutes." He added as an afterthought. He didn't want to seem all eager and shit.
Axel smiled… a genuine smile, Roxas noted, not the toothy grins he had been sending all night.
"Game?" Axel called from over his shoulder as he started the motorcycle back up.
Roxas uncharacteristically plopped his forehead against Axel's back, feeling too exhausted beyond belief to even care. These weren't the kind of things Roxas would usually do. Hop on a motorcycle with a total stranger and go to said strangers house late at night? Fuck, what am I getting myself into...? Roxas thought.
"Game."
Roxas felt that now he definitely had something else to wonder about besides the ever disappearing smoke of his cigarette.
xxx
To be continued…
a/n: Roxas is bitchy and antisocial here. That's the vibe I got from him in KH2 way back when anyways :] and of course axel is a shameless flirt. FLIRT THAT IS HOT SO ITS OKAY, BB. O_O sorry for the super dragged out scenes. err.
Review? ^_^