Two Sides on Every Coin
"-That being said, I need you to go on a date with Axel dressed as me"
"… …Excuse me?"
Roxas stared blankly at his twin brother's overly serious face. This moment was only one of the very few times Sora would look like this so Roxas thought better than to make a smart retort and take this seriously.
"Look Sor, I don't think that's a good idea. Why didn't you just turn him down when he asked? It's not like he'll cry or anything"
"That's just it. I don't want to hurt Axel. We're not close but he's a really nice guy Rox. I'm just not used to breaking a heart"
"So you want me dressed as you to turn him down? Why can't I just relay a message or something?"
Sora wrinkled his nose in thought. "I'm really sorry, Rox. But please can you do this one thing? I promise to make it up to you big time, please?..." and that did it. Sora used the puppy dog eyes famous for making the cool and quiet bishie of the campus, Riku, melt to his toes.
Roxas sighed in defeat. He loved his twin, he really did, but one of these days he's gonna have to knock him over with a frying pan, Riku's wrath be damned. "You're buying the brown dye…"
~o~
"Sora!"
Axel waved from the corner of the street smiling widely when he saw "Sora" coming up. The faintly forced smile Roxas had to muster was straining. He didn't even know the guy all that well. Sora and Roxas were in different collages. Axel was only in a few classes with Sora who rarely ever talked to him so the possibility of meeting and being introduced was low. Sora barely knew much about Axel either. But here he was, dressed as his brother waiting for this god-dang date to end so he could 'gently turn down Axel'.
When he got close enough to actually look up from staring at the pavement, he was met with startlingly acid green eyes and a smile so bright, it was best put on a billboard for a toothpaste commercial. Oh… Before everything else here, Sora had given Roxas preliminary information as to what Axel might look like and what the guy might actually already know about Sora. "Looks decent" my ass… This guy's gorgeous! And… are those tattoos on his face?...
"Hey… uh sooo what are we doing today?"
Axel's smile got bigger… then he smirked. Smirked.
He reached back and pulled out his wallet before handing 'Sora' a piece of paper. 'Sora' took it, looked and gaped, head moving back and forth from the piece of paper to Axel and then to the paper again.
"How… how did you… HOW?!"
Axel laughed out loud, It was melodious by the way, and began to explain.
"I actually work there, I'll let you know. So it's pretty easy to get a pass but if you don't like that kind of thing we can head on to the beach and wind surf. My bro can give us a discount"
'Sora' shook his head and looked at Axel square in the eye.
"YOU are giving ME a pass to the best and most awesome club in Twilight Town, where every teenage body in campus sell their soul for a pass to and you seriously expect me to pass this up?! No way!"
Axel raised a delicate sexy brow at the unexpected outburst from the 'brunette' but let it slide and instead grinned and nodded his approval.
"Well we have a few hours before it opens anyway. So!" Suddenly, Axel leaned in close enough to make 'Sora' blush somewhat but far enough so it wouldn't look like he was aiming for a kiss.
"Let's go grab a bite to eat. C'mon, I wanna show you something" He turned and led the way.
Roxas snapped out of his daze and quickly caught up with Axel. Oh man… how am I supposed to turn him down like this…
~o~
"A sidewalk café?" 'Sora' asked as he sat down. He looked around the place. The café had a cosy atmosphere with wooden furniture, nice big shady umbrellas and lots of trees. The smell of coffee and baked bread from nearby bakeries smelled heavenly. He was mildly curious though as to why there were so many people. Roxas would've thought Axel for the typical romantic kind where the both of them would eat at a quiet restaurant with only a few people… well as far as Sora described him. It was way past lunch time though.
"What's with all the people?"
As Axel sat down across from him, he grinned cheekily and took the menu. "You'll see"
'Sora' pouted. Axel chuckled at that. "C'mon order something. Their strawberry mousse cake is one of the bestselling desserts. I know you'll love it."
Roxas grabbed a menu and skimmed. He wasn't all that hungry but when his eyes landed on said cake, he cringed a little. It looked waaay to sweet for his taste.
"Nah.. I think It's too sweet. I'll go for the…. lemon cheesecake instead…aaand maybe some ice tea"
Roxas didn't notice one raised red eyebrow. The waiter came and they made their orders. They talked a few more while waiting, getting to know a little bit more about each other until their orders came.
"… T-bone steak?"
"Yeah. I haven't eaten yet, was too excited. My stomach was doing flips"
Oh… shit… "No wonder you look like a flagpole"
Axel laughed. "Hey I already told you I was Anorexic besides…" Axel patted "Sora's" brown dyed head. He wouldn't…
"At least I can help you get the books you can't reach if ever we go back to the library, sweety" Axel smiled innocently. Oh no he didn't.
"You did not just call me short"
"Noooooo. Your fun sized darling" Oh IT IS ON.
"That's it, bony, you just unleashed the comeback monster that is I"
The two bantered and laughed and Roxas couldn't believe it but he never had such a good time arguing when on a date before. When Axel hit a nail, he threw whipped cream on Axel's nose with a spoon. The red head was startled for a second until he gave the 'brunet' a wicked smile and two was thrown into a small battle of Who-could-smear-food-on-the-other's-face-more. They were laughing and smiling keeping it minimal so as to not disturb the other customers and it was… fun. Which was why Roxas suddenly panicked and stopped and politely excused himself to clean up at the men's room with a "Hey let's stop. I'm getting sticky. I'll be right back"
After he cleaned up and looked at himself in the mirror, the internal battle was on. I can't believe I forgot… I have to turn him down later. I can't be having too much fun with him I'm Sora right now for pete's sake. Get it together man.
When he went back to their table, Axel excused himself so he could also clean up. Axel's plate was finished leaving Roxas with half of his Lemon cheesecake still on his plate. The other half now down the drain.
He sat down and after a few moments of eating, the people were turning their heads and a small crowd was now appearing. Now he could hear it, in the distance, the familiar banging of drums and lyres getting closer. A parade. A parade was coming.
The crowd was smiling and watching, Roxas included. The parade had acrobats, walking on their hands, doing flips and the like. There were baton girls and fire dancers which contrasted perfectly to the setting sun on the horizon and the dimming sky of twilight. There were people in different brightly coloured costumes. The parade paused right in the middle of the empty bazaar just in front of their restaurant and did a spectacular performance. A few fireworks were launched and Roxas couldn't take his eyes off the scene until he heard Axel getting back to his seat. The redhead was smiling gently at him.
"Is this what you were talking about?"
"Yeah. The people around here put up a parade every Friday night at around 5pm just before the sun sets. I thought it would be a great place to eat. Do you like it?"
Roxas felt his stomach do a small flip but pushed it down immediately. Noooo. Nope. NO. Don't even THINK about it. Oh god why.
"Yeah… It's…. beautiful" he turned to glance at the parade as they started moving again down the street and disappeared.
Axel grinned and it was becoming to be an addictive picture on Roxas.
"You're done eating right? C'mon lets go. The club awaits!"
Axel insisted on paying for everything which made 'Sora' pout so Axel did something that lead to Roxas' inevitable demise.
He kissed his forehead.
~o~
"You didn't turn him down?!"
"I was! I was gonna but .. um I kinda.. forgot?"
"How?"
Roxas was at a loss for words. Axel treated him to a great café, had fun with him, went to the club with him, danced like there was no tomorrow with him, tried out different cocktails, got back at the dorm nearly midnight cause they lost track of time when they joined a limbo contest- which Roxas won by the way and brought home a plastic crown with the words "limbo king" at the front. Why did he forget again?... oh yeah. He had a blast with Axel.
"Look, I promise by the next date, I'll tell him we can just be good friends and keep hanging out. Then you'll have no problem. It's no big deal. I-"
"Wait… NEXT DATE? You do know you're going out with him dressed as me right?...RIGHT?"
"YES! I know! It's just … we're going to Mystical Park on Sunday and… um.."
Sora looked at him sternly but not quite wanting to be mad at his brother. He was giving him a hard time already, making him dress up as his own twin and go on a date with another guy.
"Okay… Alright… He won't be able to see me until classes start next month at least… j-just be sure you got this okay?... Roxas?"
"Y-yeah… I got this… no worries. He hadn't notice anything unusual today anyway"
Roxas walked past his brother heading to their dresser to grab his pyjamas and head to their bathroom to brush his teeth whilst trying think about a plan to not hurt the funnest, sweetest guy he ever met.
"Oh and nice limbo crown by the way" Sora laughed and ducked to the safety of his blanket when his brother chucked the crown at him, blushing bright red.
Back in a small apartment down town, someone had his laptop open, looking at a particular facebook profile.