"Another summer of cooking for these rich brats," Axel says, dropping his cigarette onto the ground and stomping it out. "Fun, fun, fun."
Riku stands across from him, leaning against the back wall of the Sea Salt Shack. He leans down and picks up his cigarette butt when Riku glares at him. He really isn't in the mood to hear him complain.
"At least you're in the kitchen," Riku says, "I have to be face to face with them."
"Good point." Axel runs a hand through his hair and adjusts his chef jacket. "Say, after our shift let's take a dip in the community pool.
Riku rolls his eyes. "If Leon catches us mingling with the guests we'll be sent packing."
"Then he won't catch us," Axel says, smirking at him. Leon, their tyrant of a boss, was always on his case. But he didn't give a damn. The employees are the ones who keep this place running. They should be allowed to reap the benefits. For Axel, those benefits included taking a dip in the pool and warming up in the hot tubs of unoccupied condos. He'd been working at the resort every summer since he was fifteen and he'd never once been caught.
The back door opens and Namine's head pokes out. "You have a table, Riku."
Riku sighs and goes back inside. Axel follows and makes his way to the kitchen.
"Ay! My man!" Demyx pats Axel on the shoulder. "How was your break?"
Axel ignores him, because as soon as he settles into his station, the orders start rolling in. He puts out dozens of orders of cheese fries and mozzarella sticks. He makes sandwich after sandwich. Grease pops on his skin and the heat from the ovens makes him sweat. But soon, his relief shows up and he's free to take his lunch break.
"Boy am I glad to see you," he says as Larxene takes her place at his station.
She blows a bubble with her gum and gives him the finger.
"Charming as always," he says, turning away and heading toward the corridor that would lead into the dining area. He wasn't really supposed to be out there in his work uniform, but he wanted the feeling of the air conditioner.
As soon as he steps into the corridor, a blond head crashes into his chest, causing him to take a few steps back. He gains his bearings and looks at the person who almost knocked him over. He's a blond boy maybe a little younger than him, but about a foot shorter. He glares at Axel.
"Whoa there, short stuff." He presses a hand against the boy's chest when he tries to shove past. "Where you headed?"
"Don't call me that," the boy snaps. Axel raises an eyebrow at him and his cheeks turn red. "I need to use the bathroom."
"I think you made a wrong turn," Axel says. "Back down the corridor and to your left.
The boy turns and scurries away without so much as a thank you. At least there's good eye candy this year, Axel thinks as he sits at a small table made for two people. He pulls out his phone and scrolls through the "destinyislandresort" hashtag on Instagram. If he can get in good with some of the guests, maybe he can get into some good parties. It isn't long before he sees a familiar face.
The picture was posted only ten minutes earlier from inside the restaurant. The blond haired boy must've taken the picture as he is the closest to the camera. Behind him, a brown haired boy who looks a lot like him smiles with his arm around a red haired girl. A few other faces are partially cut out of the frame.
He reads the caption. "Day 1: If Sora eats anymore cheese fries he's gonna explode."
The name of the account is Roxas358. He follows it before heading outside to have another cigarette.
Later that day, just before sunset and just after their shifts are over, he and Riku head to the resort pool. They settle in near the deep end and Axel is ready to jump in, but when he turns to face Riku, he sees that his friend has pulled out a book.
"Aw, come on," he sighs. "Why even come to the pool if you're just gonna sit there?"
"I didn't wanna come, remember?" Riku doesn't look up from his books when he says it.
Axel rolls his eyes. Fine, he'll swim alone. He pulls his shirt off and tosses it onto Riku's head, ignoring his protests, and jumps into the pool. The chill of the water shocks his muscles and makes energy surge through his body. When he breaches the surface of the water again and gasps for hair, he turns to see a familiar face glaring at him.
"Hey, short stuff!" he says, laughing. "Aren't you a little small to be in the deep end?"
"You splashed me," he says. "Be careful where you're jumping."
"Sorry. I guess I got a little over excited."
Instead of responding, the boy seems to look past Axel. Axel turns to see what he's looking at. The brown haired boy from the instagram picture is kneeling next to Riku. He's pointing at something in Riku's book and they're talking, but Axel can't hear what they're saying. He turns back to the blond.
"That your brother?"
The boy nods, still watching the two of them.
"Why's he chatting up my best friend?"
"He's not chatting him up," the boy says, annoyed. "He likes books, that's all."
"Well, I guess it's good that Riku has someone he can talk to about that shit," Axel says, floating on his back. "Because I sure as hell don't like reading."
"Whatever." The boy swims past Axel and toward the ladder. Axel watches him hoist himself up and step onto the side of the pool. He doesn't know what causes him to call out to the boy, but it feels right in the moment.
"Hey!" Axel says. And though he already knows the answer from the instagram page he found, he asks anyway. "What's your name?"
The boy turns, water dripping from his body. "I'm Roxas. You?"
"Axel."
The boy, Roxas, offers him a curt nod before walking over to his brother and Riku. His brother looks up and nods before standing up. He turns and waves to Riku, and they trot off to their own towels at the other end of the pool.
Axel doesn't understand why, after a few minutes, he's still watching them.