A/N: I don't own any of this. I am a slave to Disney, a slave to Square Enix, and a slave to my body's estrogen-producing glands.
Drunk on You
Razor
For his eighteenth birthday Axel received nothing from his parents. His mother had baked him a small cheesecake and his father had promptly assisted him in voting registration. Then, as always, his parents had left to go to work and then afterwards an after-work meeting or event or weekend getaway. It was as if they were purposely trying to distance themselves from their son, now more than ever.
Reno hadn't sent him a present, or even a card. Axel had kept his cell phone tucked away snugly in his back pocket, turned on the loudest volume, and had even skipped school in case his brother decided to drop by his house for a visit.
It didn't help that the teenager had a cold. He woke up at nine 'o clock, checked his phone, and cast a brave glance in the mirror. His eyes had bags under them and his black hair was long and unruly, the red roots already beginning to show. His face was pale, the tattoos he finally had inked on his cheeks a year before standing out like black bugs that had decided to make Axel's face their resting place for the day.
At around twelve 'o clock, after a productive morning of watching Looney Toons on television, Axel finally reached into his back pocket for his phone and opened up a blank text message screen.
U in math?
The reply came back within a minute – Roxas had one of those new phones with the keypad, after all. Axel had asked for a new phone for his birthday, but alas, his cruel old parents had neglected him once again. The teenager considered himself a regular Little Orphan Annie, really, hard knock life and all.
Yeah. Happy bday, btw.
Axel fought back a smile. The kid had remembered. But of course he would, just like the past two birthdays. For his sixteenth the blond had drawn him a crude picture of a muscular man on a motorcycle, black hair pulled under a red bandana. A skull had been scribbled on his bared chest and a wall-eyed girl in a bikini was perched on the rear tire. That hadn't come near the present Axel had received for his seventeenth birthday, however. That year Roxas had been grounded for lying about grades to is older brother and had no allowance to spend and no desire to come up with crude drawings like childish ten-year-olds. So instead Axel had taken them both out to dinner at a small seafood shack, where Roxas had volunteered to stand up on a table, his little legs shaking, and sing an off-key version of "Happy Birthday" to a half-amused, half-touched Axel.
Thnx. U skippin?
Although Axel usually discouraged his younger friend from missing school, today would be different. He was itching with anticipation as to what Roxas had in store for him for his birthday this year, and had even set aside a few dollars in case a trip to the seafood shack was necessary.
If u pick me up.
Axel was already groping for his car keys as he texted back.
Be at the gym ent.
The middle school was a short drive and within minutes Axel's Honda Civic was parked discreetly between two SUVs in the teacher's parking. Classes had luckily just gotten out, and it was easy for Roxas to sneak his way outside, at first headed for the picnic tables where the other seventh graders had congregated for lunch before turning around once he was far enough away from the school to not be caught by the video cameras, his eyes set on Axel's car.
The boy slid into the passenger seat and buckled his seatbelt, turning to grin at his much older friend.
"Happy birthday, you old man."
"Thanks," Axel said with a roll of his eyes, pulling the car out of the middle school parking lot. Roxas spoke softly about school and seventh grade drama as they approached the neighborhood, telling little secrets about his quiet girlfriend and how she had kissed him last week, or the physical education teacher with one eye. Axel listened quietly but intently, occasionally muttering a few pieces of advice or reacting to the strange things that seemed to happen at the kid's school. Axel was nearly done with his senior year himself and could hardly remember seventh grade, except that it was when he had been introduced to pot – a habit he had kicked since his junior year – and had grown six inches, rotating through a variety of jean sizes to his mother's frustration.
"Hang on. Can we stop by my house real quick? I need to get something," Roxas asked as they entered the neighborhood. Feeling curious and slightly excited, Axel pulled the car to a stop in front of the blond's house, which he disappeared inside of for only a moment or two before running back out, clutching a large paper bag in one hand. He carefully placed the bag in the backseat and climbed back into the car, looking satisfied with himself.
"Is that my present?" Axel asked with a sly quirk of his eyebrow.
"Yep!" Roxas answered, without any hesitation. He kicked his legs in the seat, smiling to himself.
Axel didn't question him further and instead pulled up to his own modest house at the end of street. Roxas grabbed his bag and tumbled out of the car, jogging towards Axel's front door excitedly. The redhead locked his car and followed the blond inside, hands in his pocket, his gait casual and slow. The last thing the eighteen-year-old wanted to do was betray his excitement.
"Best birthday present ever," Axel panted, his head lolling backwards. His eyes slipped closed and the bottle of whiskey slipped from his hand, crashing on the floor. He licked his lips, glancing over at Roxas.
"You sure you wanna do this though, kid?"
"Positive." Roxas threw a leg over Axel and settled pleasantly on his lap, little legs dangling over the floor. Axel was seated in an armless, uncomfortable kitchen chair, and Roxas had to shift around a bit before becoming comfortable. He made sure the device in his hand was plugged in before turning to the drunk redhead under him.
"Hurry up," Axel muttered, giving Roxas an annoyed look. The twelve-year-old stuck out his tongue and turned the electric razor on, leaning in for the kill - the kill being Axel's head of thick, dyed black hair.