A/N: Please excuse me while I flail and sputter incoherently at my reviews. God, guys, seriously, YOU ARE SO AWESOME. (Caps lock necessary.) Anyway, I was originally going to wait until I'd completed the third chapter to post this one, but let's be honest here: I can't write Xemnas (or action scenes) to save my goddamn life. And I'm so overwhelmed by all these reviews that I thought you guys deserved a reward. XD Don't expect chapter three out this fast! I'm really a very slow updater, thought I'd warn you guys.
Warnings: You read chapter one, right? It's all the same!
Disclaimer: Squaresoft. Disney. Not me.
Summary: AU. AkuRoku. He wanted an ending. He got Axel instead.
Chapter Two: Such a Softer Sin
Roxas found himself pacing erratically in his bedroom a week later, sending the occasional glare at his open window as he waited on number four's appearance. He wasn't angry about how late it was—nearing three in the morning, last he checked—though anyone who didn't know him would think he was furious. No, he was just nervous about what the rest of the night would bring. The coming arson, the future ahead of him, losing the only family he had…seeing Ares again. And if he was perfectly honest with himself, it was that last part that unnerved him the most. The man had gotten under his skin, there was no doubt about that. In the past week, he'd thought of his…future co-worker far more than he'd thought of any one person before. And, as he once again recalled the feel of soft lips on his skin, he knew that he was going to be hard-pressed not to simply throw himself at the tall man.
Hormones really, really had a lot to answer for. If it weren't for them he'd be dying tonight too. He wouldn't have to be worrying about the Organization, his feelings, or if he'd ever see his brother again. Hell, he'd probably be asleep, and nothing at all would have mattered at this moment. Unless Ares had run off with his munny. He wouldn't be surprised.
He came to a sudden halt in front of his large duffle bag, toeing it thoughtfully as he considered the possibility that this night wouldn't be solving anything. He had everything he thought he'd need in that bag—what munny he had left after the pouch he'd dropped on Ares' desk, a laptop, enough changes of clothes to last until he had a chance to get more. Everything else was already on his person, including the cheap checkered bracelet his brother had given him as a present when he'd gotten his first paycheck and a pair of swords around his waist. But both of them were hidden underneath his trenchcoat, where nobody would notice if they just glanced at him. He wasn't about to go anywhere without them.
He sent another impatient glare in the direction of his window—and nearly jumped out of his skin at the apparition that had appeared while he hadn't been paying attention. He peered at the scowling man that was slowly opening his window, lifeless blond hair blowing in the soft breeze outside. Roxas stepped forward quickly, frowning as something thudded loudly against the side of the house, and shoved the window open the rest of the way to help the man in.
"You're just a kid," the man muttered grumpily, and dropped his load in the middle of the floor. "Number eight better not be thinking with his libido again. I have enough dead bodies."
Roxas' eyebrows rose in abject disbelief of the man before him, and he found himself unable to doubt that this man was Ares' friend. But he figured it was better to be safe than sorry, and coldly interrupted. "Let me see your tattoo."
It was the new man's turn to raise his eyebrows, though he complied with a mutter of what sounded like "Asshole needs to stop blurting out information like that". He turned and lifted the back of his hair up—there, right where his hair ended, was the tattoo: the spiky Organization symbol in a light blue with IV across it in black. Satisfied, Roxas moved to help the man lift the human-shaped object he was carrying. He didn't want to think about what it was made of, or whose bones he was tying down to his own bed. He didn't know if he could keep going with the plan if he thought too hard about what went into getting him out.
"That ought to do it," the older man said with a certain amount of satisfaction, dusting his hands off. "I trust that you have everything ready? It's about time we go."
"Yeah, I've got what I need in my bag," Roxas replied, swinging said bag over his shoulder under the other's watchful gaze. "Ah…what should I call you?"
"While we're on a mission, we go by numbers," the man murmured, one leg already hanging out the window. "You may refer to me as Four. If you live through the night…perhaps I'll tell you my name." Then he dropped quite suddenly out of sight, falling to the ground with a nearly inaudible thud. Roxas hesitated the slightest bit before he followed, landing silently on the ground by his side. Four raised his eyebrows, looking vaguely impressed, and lifted a wrist to his mouth.
"I've got him. Are you in position, Nine?"
"Ready and waiting, old man!" a cheerful voice responded, coming through surprisingly clear. Roxas took a stop closer to hear better, startled by how naïve this other person sounded. "I've been tying my shoe for five minutes now."
"I'm glad you've finally taken the time to teach yourself how to tie a bow," Four responded dryly, and Nine laughed.
"How's my buddy?" a new voice sounded suddenly, causing Four to scowl as Roxas sucked in a startled breath. "Not having second thoughts, is he?"
"He's quiet," Four responded shortly, glaring at nothing. "Are you ready, Eight?"
"Oh yeah," the voice chuckled, and there was the exaggerated sound of him kissing something. "Let's light this place up. On three?"
"Be prepared to run a few blocks," Four informed Roxas, pulling something from a pocket and inspecting it. "Your count, Nine."
"One!" the cheerful voice came back immediately. The taller blond man pulled a lighter out of another pocket. "Two!" There was a soft click and a small flame appeared, lighting the end of a string. Roxas held his breath. "Three!" Four's arm swung back and forward, a dark object hurtling from his hand and smashing through the bedroom window they'd just come out of, and then he'd grabbed Roxas' arm and bolted. The explosion was surprisingly quiet, but there was a burning heat on his back and Roxas struggled to regain his footing. Someone was screaming in surprise, the noise coming both from the sidewalk and from Four's wrist, and then he was running enthusiastically into his future, heart pumping. Another figure joined them soon, Roxas immediately recognizing Ares' thin form despite the hood he'd pulled over his hair, and the seconds flew by so quickly it seemed as if they'd teleported to the side of a nondescript car and Four was shoving him into the backseat. Roxas found himself pressed up against the side of the redhead that had gotten him into this, swords settled awkwardly around him and gasping for breath.
"Yes!" Ares cried, pushing his hood back and leaning over Roxas to stare at the fire in the distance. "Man, I've got to give Reno something extra for those babies. I was wondering why he was practically creaming himself over them—but those were fucking perfect." Brilliant green eyes turned to Roxas, bright over a wide and excited grin. "How you holding up, kid?"
"…Fine," Roxas stated uncertainly, turning from Ares to stare in the direction of his house. "Why are we just sitting here?"
"We're waiting for Nine," Four replied. His eyes were on Roxas as well, though they were narrowed in thought. "Nobody's going to pay us any mind, and by the time he's saved your brother and gotten back to us, anybody who would will be at your house to watch the show."
"Besides, Six won't leave without him," Ares laughed. "Nine would probably make him sleep alone if he tried to."
"Not all of us revolve our lives around sex, Eight," a deep voice said emotionlessly from the front seat, but Roxas didn't turn to look at this new person. His eyes were trained on the smoke and fire in the distance, wondering how his brother was doing.
"You sure you're alright?" Ares asked softly, his arm wrapping comfortingly around Roxas' shoulders and tugging at him. "Your brother will be fine. Nine may sound like a ditz—hell, he may be a ditz—but he'll get his job done. If I had any doubts about that, I wouldn't have let him help. Just try to relax a little, hm?" Roxas didn't respond in any way except to scowl, staring determinedly at anything but the man behind him. There was a soft sigh and then Ares had leaned forward, leaning on Roxas' back and wrapping his arms around him gently. Roxas tried to relax, to dispel his irrational fears. These people were professionals, in a way, this was probably just a routine arson to them. But still….
The minutes ticked by slowly, each one making the blond boy just a little more nervous. Nobody said anything, making the mood in the car tense and nearly unbearable. Four bounced a leg nervously while Ares' tapped a soundless tune on his stomach, and Roxas was on the brink of jumping out of the car to find out what was going on when a tall form finally ran up to the passenger's side of the car and practically dove headfirst inside.
"Mission accomplished!" the mulleted blond said cheerfully, leaning over the center console and placing a chaste kiss on the driver's cheek before turning around to face them. "Your brother's a-okay. A bit panicky, but I'm sure he'll be fine. I think I left him with some friends of his anyway." He leaned over and grabbed Roxas' hand, shaking it firmly. Roxas stared bemusedly at him, taken aback by the older teen's friendliness. "I'm De—"
"Turn around and put your seatbelt on, Nine," Six said coldly. The talkative blond winked at Roxas before spinning around and flipping on the radio.
"C'mere, kid," Ares murmured, and Roxas turned awkwardly in his seat to face him. A gloved hand gently cupped his chin as the taller man stared down at him, frowning slightly. "Everything's fine. I've taken care of it, and I'll keep taking care of it. Just like I promised."
"Thanks," Roxas said softly, allowing himself the barest of smiles. The redhead's frown immediately vanished, replaced by a large grin, and the slight blond was nearly pulled into his lap. He ran a hand gently down Roxas' back, and Roxas relaxed as much as he could into the warm embrace, forehead against a firm chest. He was sorely tempted to turn his head to the side and relax completely, to let Ares lull him into a sense of security with his body heat and the sound of his heart beating, but he wasn't sure what type of reaction he would get from the others in the car—if it would be accepted or scorned for a weakness.
"Clearly, I was mistaken in having any sort of hope that Eight is capable of thinking with the proper organ," Four mused loudly, and the warmth disappeared for a moment to make way for the sound of a leather-clad fist hitting an equally leather-clad shoulder, and then it was back and Roxas hid his amused smile in Ares' chest. What he'd seen of the feared Organization so far reminded him mostly of the friendly rivalry of brothers. They were obviously some sort of highly dysfunctional family.
"You're just jealous because you don't have some hot young thing hanging off of you," Ares said loftily, gently petting Roxas' back. "We'll have to fix that. I bet getting laid would do you wonders."
"I can assure you that having your so-called hot young things hanging off me holds no particular interest for me," Four assured him just as loftily. "I have no interest in pederasty, and I am highly insulted that you would think so."
"I am highly insulted that we are talking about either of your sex lives while we are on a mission," Six stated coldly.
"Yeah, me too!" Nine added in. You could practically hear the leer in his voice. "Let's talk about mine instead!"
"As yours involves me, I would rather appreciate it if we didn't," Six snarled.
"Are you guys always like this?" Roxas asked, teetering on the edge between amused and horrified. "I mean, I've heard things about you. And, well, I couldn't imagine a more unlikely group of cold-blooded gang members."
"This is all a cunning ploy to lull you into a false sense of security so that we may more easily kill you in your sleep," Six deadpanned. "It's far more exciting that way."
"Of course, we have to let Ax—Eight have his way with you first!" Nine put in cheerily, snickering as he did so. "He gets quite grumpy when his perverted schemes have been derailed, you know. Last time we had to get a new hideout after he burnt it down."
"I thought we agreed never to speak of that incident again," the red-haired man said lightly. Roxas couldn't help the sudden laughter that bubbled up in his throat, so he muffled it into the man's chest. It was something bordering on hysterical, due to the stress of the day and his lack of a proper sleep, and he wondered for a brief moment as a pair of arms clung to him whether his new friends were concerned at his rather erratic behavior.
Ares rubbed his back soothingly and pulled him closer, and he stopped resisting the urge to listen for the heart and pushed himself into his savior's embrace, calming only when he heard the steady thumping and Ares' relieved voice informing everyone that Roxas was alright, probably just tired or stressed or both or possibly just insane.
And maybe it was a little twisted, but he'd never before felt more at home than he did then when he was surrounded by gangsters and in the arms of his would-be killer.
A/N: Wow, so the first chapter was so much better. Don't worry, it gets worse! ;)
On a totally different note, I'm naming all of the chapter using song lyrics. E-hugs to anyone that can guess the songs! XD