From Me to You
Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story they belong respectfully to Square Enix.
Music: You by Brown Eyed Girls
A/N: I've been really busy as of late due to a new semester, commuting, classes and homework that it's kind of crazy that I still managed to find any time to write! I've decided to switch gears and throw in more chapters so this isn't the end. It might just be the second to last but I don't know yet x_x
I'm still surprised by how well this story took off and have been getting positive responses from different readers on FF, Ao3 and tumblr that after some food for thought I have decided to add some bonus chapters after I complete this story just for you guys! (': but that will have to come into play a little later. If you have any suggestions, maybe a bit that was mentioned in the story but wasn't elaborated on that you want to see in the bonus chapters I'm planning, you're welcome to send me a PM (:
Oh! And for the guest reviewer from last chapter, thank you for your feedback (: I believe interaction between other characters besides the main are important and a great way to establish where they stand when it comes to socializing with different people. And no, she hasn't been revealed but I do remember being asked the same question when I sent a thank you message to another reviewer and they guessed correctly so the surprise is spoiled for them ^^;
Now please enjoy chapter 3!
5/22/13 – I've gone back and edited some grammatical mistakes to the best of my abilities and revised a few things for the sake of comprehension and necessity on my part.
-x-x-x-x-
After making amends that Monday morning, Roxas and Axel's cooperation with each other grew extensively throughout the week. The redhead's attitude towards his underling was still light hearted and perverted though—that part didn't change but the way his green eyes lingered on Roxas had an effect on the blond, causing him to sometimes stop and consider his superior's actions whenever he caught the older male staring at him for long periods of time. Still, it was obvious that things were changing between them and even Roxas himself was beginning to catch on as the days dragged on towards a new weekend.
Things were looking up, at least that's what Roxas thought until Thursday evening when Axel and him became too impatient while waiting for the elevator. Whatever was happening to stall their usual mode of transportation down to the ground floor made the pair restless just standing around tapping their toes against the tile flooring. Roxas was especially aching to be on his way home to check up on Lea and when Axel suggested taking the stairs together, the blond assistant accepted the offer with some reluctance only because he somehow managed to fall for the redhead's bet about being able to beat the elevator down.
Axel's long legs kept him at least two or three steps ahead of Roxas when they began descending the flight of stairs. It actually annoyed Roxas how his boss wasn't putting any effort into his long strides, noticing how easily the redhead could skip a step down while he struggled just trying to keep up with him. For a twenty-four year old, Roxas was rather short, a good five foot four and his height was one of the few things he was personally insecure about. That one simple insecurity of his was why he ended up slipping down the steps when he tried to pick up his pace and prove that he could move just as fast down the stairs as Axel.
Roxas didn't think that Axel would notice him when he began to tumble forward but he was caught off guard the next second when Axel actually did stop to turn around and catch him. Unfortunately the redhead didn't anticipate the collision to be strong enough to knock the wind right out of him and he ended up falling down the stairs a few steps down himself with Roxas held close against his chest as a result.
It was currently Friday and the event had taken place just the other day. Despite the long hours that passed since it happened, Roxas still felt extremely flustered. He remembered what had happened so clearly that it was no surprise how red his face got throughout the day at work as he went about his business just thinking about it.
o0o
"R-roxas, are you okay?" Axel groaned painfully. "Ow…"
The two men were sprawled out on the stairs, their legs tangled up as they started to move to try and readjust themselves.
"Nyah, sir?.." Roxas felt stunned. He was still traumatized since he had been so close to landing on his face but once he realized that he was unharmed he unconsciously laid his head back down against the redhead's body with a long sigh and clung to the front of his shirt.
Axel growled lightly and he struggled to sit up. In his attempts, he felt his back crack a few times but he ignored it in favor of lifting his assistance's face up by the chin to stare straight down at him in the eye.
"I thought I told you to call me Axel when we're alone." The redhead leaned down until the tips of their noses were almost touching as he mumbled each word. He stared into dazed ocean blue eyes—so deep and swirling with an unreadable emotion that he couldn't help but feel as if he could get lost in them forever just searching for some sort of understanding.
"A-Axel?" Roxas stared back, the name rolling off his tongue in a way that left the redhead's spine tingling.
"That's right." Axel smiled softly and he moved in closer.
Realizing the gap between them was closing, Roxas slowly began to regain his senses and his eyes widened. The feel of the other's hot breath against his face made him blush instantly and within seconds he was screaming. His outburst virtually stopped Axel in his tracks and the next thing the redhead knew was that he'd been shoved roughly back down as Roxas scrambled to get up off of him.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry Mr. Trenton!" The blond cried as he stumbled a little on his feet and began running down the rest of the steps in a panic—leaving poor Axel behind to lie upside down on the staircase feeling confused and baffled by his assistant's reaction.
o0o
Remembering how pathetic and nervous he had been the other day just about killed Roxas' self-esteem even more. He couldn't stop thinking about it though! The way Axel looked at him; it was much different compared to the way he usually acted, like whenever he tried to get into his pants. Yesterday on the stairwell, the redhead was glowing with sincerity—he was being serious about his actions and Roxas liked it, he really liked it! He had been charmed! Then again, there was the possibility of Axel's façade being an act all together but Roxas wasn't so keen on believing his boss to be that cruel. But still, it was embarrassing and he wanted to forget about it but how could he when he was sitting at his desk not too far away from the redhead himself?
Throughout the entire day, Roxas' eyes wandered over to his superior's desk, the guy working away diligently at whatever he was doing. Not once did Axel bring up the topic about what had happened and for professional appearances it was better to just forget about it and act like it never happened. But it did happen and Roxas couldn't get it out of his head no matter what he tried to do to distract himself. How he managed to function all day without acting too bizarre around Axel was beyond him, that's for sure.
By the time work wrapped up and Roxas began tidying his desk space and packing his suitcase, he was surprised to find Axel looking down at him with an odd grin.
"Can I help you?" Roxas arched a brow, the look on his superior's face making him feel apprehensive the longer they stared at each other.
"You promised me last week on Thursday that you'd go out drinking with me and I've come to collect." Axel grinned wider.
"I-I did?" Roxas asked shakily.
"Yup, you told me you don't drink on weekdays and when I threatened to fire you, which was a joke mind you—you agreed to hang out with me after work at Seventh Heaven next Friday. It's Friday."
"Uhh—" Roxas was tongue tied.
"Come on, grab your suitcase and let's go!" Axel beamed, his green eyes sparkling unnaturally with a bout of enthusiasm.
Roxas stuttered, his mouth opening and closing but saying nothing to neither protest nor agree to the notion. Seeing him hesitate, Axel decided to swoop down and take his suitcase for him, thus sealing his assistant's fate as he swung the bag over his shoulder and walked merrily towards the doors.
"What! Hey! Give that back!" Roxas shouted once he realized that he'd been robbed and within seconds he was chasing after his boss.
o0o0o0o
About two hours after that little stunt, Roxas found himself sitting next to his boss at Seventh Heaven, the redhead already having consumed his forth beer while he still had yet to finish his first. Still spiteful towards his boss for having ruined his plans, Roxas finally called home to tell his brother about the mess that he was in. With a snort, Cloud's only reply was telling him to have fun for once in his life since the younger Strife needed to do something else besides obsessing over his parental responsibilities and being a workaholic. It made Roxas click his tongue in annoyance but he could see where his older brother was coming from nonetheless. With a heavy sigh, he took heed of Cloud's advice and after telling Lea a quick promise of being home as fast as possible to read him a story before bed, Roxas hung up.
"Telling your little boy good night?" Axel asked, his fingers curled tightly around the neck of his beer bottle.
Blinking, Roxas furrowed his brow slightly. "Something like that but I was just letting my brother and Lea know that I'll be coming home late since you forcibly dragged me out here…" Roxas grumbled.
"Oh? Upset are we?" Axel laughed.
"O-of course I am!"
"Hey, no need to shout. Come on, learn to have a little fun every once in a while." The redhead teased.
"What? Are you saying I don't know how to have fun?" Roxas shot him a dirty look.
"Maybe?" Axel took a long drink from his beer.
"I know how to have fun…" Roxas muttered and turned his eyes glaringly at the table.
"Spikey? No wait, Roxas!"
"Huh?" The blond looked up surprisingly to see a familiar face. Instantly he smiled at the tall brunet standing in front of him. "Tifa!"
"How've you been short stuff?"
The word short left him frowning, but Roxas let it slide. "Good actually, what about you? I haven't seen you in ages."
"Great, business is going well as usual if not steady. How is Cloud and Leon doing by the way? And what about Lea? He hasn't been misbehaving or causing any trouble has he?"
"Whoa, slow down Tif. Cloud and Leon are the same as always—if not boring from my perspective but I could be wrong." Roxas scratched the side of his head. "And Lea's good, but last weekend he got sick so he's been staying at home in order to get better."
"The flu right? It is flu season after."
"Yup, that's the bugger alright."
"Aw, poor little guy. I hope he feels better soon."
"Hold up, you guys know each other?" Axel finally asked after getting tired of being ignored by his blond haired assistant.
"Oh, right. This is—"
"Tifa Lockhart and I are already well acquainted but as for you, I never knew you had any personal connections to her." Axel cut in and said pointedly.
Looking back and forth between his boss and family friend; Roxas' furrow deepened.
"He's a regular customer." Tifa commented and it served to relax Roxas a little but he couldn't help but still feel as though there was an underlining meaning behind the way Axel revealed his relations with Tifa to him.
Still feeling uneasy, Roxas pushed it aside for the moment and tried to smile. "I've known Tifa since I was a kid, she was my babysitter whenever my uncle and brother weren't around to look after me."
"Seriously?" Axel turned his gaze on Tifa. "You never mentioned that you knew Roxas either."
"Well you never brought him up so how was I supposed to tell you about him?"
"Touché."
"Anyways…" Roxas looked back and forth between his boss and Tifa. "She was my babysitter when I was a kid?"
"Oh? Guess I wasn't listening." The redhead commented. "What was he like Tif?
"He was a menace. I could never get him to listen to me unless I gave him a bar of sea salt ice cream!" Tifa began to giggle.
"Really now?" Axel grinned mischievously and rested his elbow against the table. "Please, do tell me more, I'd love to know what my little assistant was like as a kid."
"Hold on now! Don't tell him Tif! Or else he's going to use it against me at work!" Roxas protested but his words fell on deaf ears.
"Oh god, you wouldn't believe it Axel. Ever since Roxas learned how to talk back at people when he was seven, he always got into fights. Even though he was always the little guy, he never ceased to amaze us because he always, and I mean always came out as the winner. Personally, I think he got that fiery temper and monstrous strength from his brother because even Cloud had been a rough and tumble kind of guy himself when I was a kid."
Axel whistled. "Wow, and he still hasn't grown out of his temper to be honest."
"I figured he wouldn't." Tifa smiled.
"Shut up you two…"
"No way, please do continue on with your story." The redhead urged.
"Well, okay. Let me think…" Tifa swayed on the heels of her feet." I got it! When Roxas was nine years old, he tried to pick a fight with his brother's husband, Leon. This was way before Cloud and him became a couple but still, the two of them were always seen together once they became friends during our junior year of high school. Cloud and Roxas are a good eight years apart, so Cloud has always been the one to take care of him but when Leon entered the picture, you can only imagine how mad a nine year old kid would feel about having his best friend and hero taken away from him all of a sudden."
"What did our little Roxy do to this Leon guy?"
"God…" The brunet's body shook a little as she tried to contain her laughter. "He—he… Cloud and Leon had a project due for biology, and the night before Leon came over Roxas found out. He played sick the next day and since no one was home to look after him, he booby trapped the entire house and waited for his brother and Leon! I wasn't there but the day after it happened, Leon came to school with shorter hair. It was hilarious though because before, he had long shoulder length hair right? And seeing it chopped off and styled differently was a huge wakeup call for the female population. After that, Leon suddenly had this mass group of girls after him from out of nowhere during his last two years of high school and no matter what he did they wouldn't leave him alone!"
Being reminded of his childhood shenanigans, Roxas groaned. Even though Leon and him were on good terms now, he was positive that his brother's husband still held some level of resentment for what he had done to him that day and the pranks after that.
"You must have been the devil!" Axel crackled as he held his stomach.
"Believe me, he was!" Tifa added.
As the pair's laughter slowly died down, Axel glanced towards the blond who sat looking dejectedly in his seat with his arms crossed tightly against his chest. Seeing the obvious pout, Axel chuckled at the sight and moved a hand to ruffle his assistant's hair.
"What do you think you're doing?" Roxas hissed.
"Just comforting my beautiful yet hormonal assistant since he's practically burning holes into the table top."
"Oh Roxas come on, lighten up a little. Why are you always so serious?" Tifa questioned as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Yeah, Roxy." The redhead added.
The duo's attempt in trying to calm down his nerves served to increase Roxas' growing temper and the longer they stared him down the more he wanted to flip the table over. Their instant connection and buddy, buddy attitude towards each other was another thing that infuriated him and he was belittling himself at the same time for feeling territorial all of a sudden when he shouldn't be.
Seeing that her attention was needed elsewhere, Tifa waved at the pair. "Looks like my little break with you two is over. I'll probably be back but I can't give you guys a guarantee. See you around!" And just like that, the brunet was gone.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Roxas eyed his untouched bottle of Port Royal's famous rum. Slowly wrapping his fingers around the neck, he brought it up to his lips and drank.
"You looked like you really wanted her to leave."
Practically slamming his drink down onto the table after hearing that comment, Roxas glared. "Gee, and here I thought you wouldn't notice. Is it really that obvious?" The blond rolled his eyes and took another swig of his rum.
Now it was Axel's turn to frown. He'd never seen the blond react this way before and it quite literally baffled him. In the past he had been subjected to his assistant's wrath in the form of creative insults and a few flying objects here and there but being given a glare that was fouler than the blonde's usual stink eye unnerved the redhead. The longer he pondered as to why Roxas was being incredibly obnoxious though the more Axel began to realize that it was most likely his fault.
However, Axel still didn't like the way his assistant was giving him the cold shoulder and he shrugged in annoyance as he chugged the rest of his beer down. Wiping the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, he crossed his right leg over the other and signaled a waiter for a fifth beer. "Tck, if you were jealous of your old babysitter why didn't you just say so?" Axel muttered unconsciously.
For a second, Roxas sat in his chair completely frozen with shock. The redhead probably thought he wouldn't have heard it but damn it all he had pretty good hearing and he didn't miss a single word.
Gritting his teeth angrily, Roxas figured that enough was enough. Before Axel could comprehend his actions, Roxas grabbed his bag from off the ground. Digging around in the pockets, he pulled out his wallet; sifting through the content's, he quickly found a twenty dollar bill and slammed it down on the table. Without even bothering to finish the rest of his alcoholic drink, he then got up and started marching towards the front door of the bar.
Startled by his assistant's sudden aggression, Axel stood up on his feet and slammed his hands against the table. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Home." Roxas said flatly.
"Why? What are you so mad about all of a sudden!"
Just as he wrapped his hand around the doorknob, Roxas whipped around and glared at the redhead. "Don't try to play dumb with me! Now, I suggest that you sit there and think about what you've done to make me angry!" Without waiting for his bosses reply, Roxas practically ran out the door.
Even though his assistant was long gone, Axel couldn't help but yell after him in the hopes of getting the last word—even if the blond couldn't hear him. "How the fuck am I supposed to think about my actions when you won't even tell me what I did! I can't read your mind stupid!"
Clicking his tongue, Axel suddenly realized the silence around him and looked up to find the entire bar staring curiously at him. It made him feel uncomfortable but he growled anyways. "What are all of you looking at?"
The hostile tone in his voice sent various chills down many of the bystander's spines. Once they shifted nervously back to whatever they were previously doing, Axel sank down into his chair. Racking over the scene in his head he then pulled at his hair and snarled. "Damn it what did I do!"
Having witnessed the angry exchange between the two men, Tifa walked right back up to Axel's table and knocked three times on the wood surface. "Hey, what just happened?"
"The hell if I know!" He replied exasperatedly.
Another waiter came by seconds later, placing a freshly opened bottle of beer in front of the redhead.
"Finally!" Just as he was about to grab it though, Tifa seized the drink before he could wrap his fingers around it.
"I don't think so pal. Now, explain what happened between you and Roxas."
"Look, I don't know! One minute he was all quiet the next he was fuming like a tea kettle, now give me back my beer!"
"Yeah right, Roxas doesn't get mad without a reason. So spill it, what did you do to him?" Tifa glared.
Clicking his tongue, Axel growled before snatching his beer back from the waitress. "It wasn't just me, it was you too. He was probably jealous for all I know…" He said as he brought the bottle up to his lips and drank.
"Jealous? Wait, are you talking about earlier?" Tifa asked, her brow furrowing.
"Yeah? He must have heard me accuse him of being jealous and then he just stormed off…"
"You told him he was jealous?"
"It slipped my mind! I didn't think he would actually hear me so get off my back!"
Tifa watched as Axel downed his beer deeply. "Slipped your mind huh? Well I wonder why…"
Putting the bottle down, Axel narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to say I'm drunk?"
"It's quite possible that you already are considering that you're trying to deny it but also because you're being more of an ass than usual."
"Oh please, you love it."
"No I don't actually, and apparently neither does Roxas since you practically sent him running."
"Shut your mouth." He snarled.
"You know it's true!" Tifa countered. Glaring at him, the brunet looked over her shoulder and whistled for one of the waitresses at the bar. "Hey, I need to run an errand really quick so hold up the fort for me!"
After receiving an approved shout back, Tifa then turned back to the tipsy redhead. "Whether you like it or not, you're coming with me to apologize to Roxas."
"S'cuse me?" He blinked.
"You heard me, now get off your sorry ass Axel."
"No. If you think for one second I'm going to crawl and beg for forgiven from that half pint you've got another thing coming Tifa Lockhart."
Seeing how stubborn he was being, the brunet took that as a challenge and narrowed her eyes dangerously at him. "Are you threatening me Axel Trenton?"
"Yeah, got a problem with that doll?" Axel asked drunkenly as he tried to wave her off with his hand.
o0o
"I'm back."
"You're home early, weren't you supposed to be out at the bar with your boss? Normally coworkers come home late if they go out together after work. Why are you here?"
Roxas paused at the doorway, his lips turned up in a frown as his left eye began to twitch with annoyance. "Thanks for the welcome home, I love you too Cloud."
"You're welcome." The older Strife snorted. "So, how did your short lived hours of relaxation go?"
"Horrible."
"Are you serious?"
"Does it look like I'm joking to you?" Roxas literally yanked his shoes right off. Looking up at his older brother, he gave the other blond a dirty scowl.
Cloud shrugged, he should have known that something bad was going to happen since the younger male had been forced to go out regardless of whether he had wanted to or not. Still it didn't hurt to try and hope that he had at least tried to push his brother in the right direction. And yet, seeing Roxas' hardened expression was rather off putting and being the older brother it was natural for Cloud to want to ask him what had happened to make him so mad.
"I'm guessing you lost your temper which is why it went horrible, right?"
"State the obvious why don't you." Roxas grumbled. Marching straight to their kitchen, he went in search of a clean cup from the dish washer and then proceeded to place it under the faucet and then lift the handle to turn on the water.
"What happened?" Cloud yawned.
"My boss and Tifa happened."
"Tifa? Tifa Lockhart?"
"Yeah, what other Tifa would I be talking about?"
"What does she have anything to do with you being mad?" The older blond asked.
"I—I don't know… just for butting into my conversation with my boss…" Roxas mumbled and took a sip of the tap water from his cup. Remembering whatever conversation it was he had been having with Axel—the blond realized how bad of an excuse it was to justify the sour mood he was in. No, there had hardly been any discussion going on even before the brunet entered the picture but he wasn't about to tell Cloud that.
"Oh? Why does it sound like you were jealous of her for stealing your man?" Cloud crossed his arms and smirked knowingly. "Come on, admit it—Tifa's body is to die for, who wouldn't stop to appreciate her assets and talk to her?"
Roxas spat out his drink and coughed raggedly. Slamming the cup down onto the counter, he glared daggers at the older Strife and gritted his teeth. Seeing the animalistic intent, Cloud immediately brought his hands up in defense.
"Cloud…"
"Whoa, down tiger."
"This discussion is now over." Roxas hissed warningly. "And my boss isn't my man!"
Knowing that if he were to try and work around the subject, Cloud was sure that his younger brother wouldn't hesitate to attack him, literally. Sighing, he rolled his eyes and gave the other blond an apathetic look. "Whatever, but I rest my case."
Silence was shared between the two brothers but it didn't take long for it to be replaced by a much lighter atmosphere.
"Daddy!" Lea cried, his small feet running across the floor as he rushed to hug Roxas around the legs.
"Hey! How are you feeling today?" Roxas smiled instantly. Kneeling down, he scooped the little redhead up into his arms to hug him close.
"Much better! And Uncle Leon gave me a bath so now I'm all clean!"
"That's great! I'm so glad." Picking him up, Roxas took Lea back to their bedroom, leaving his brother alone in the kitchen. "I was worried about you at work."
"Daddy, you're always worrying." Lea said.
Entering their room, Roxas settled his son down on the mattress and then moved to place his suitcase against the side of his desk.
"I can't help it, after all you're my handsome little prince." Roxas cooed at him before grabbing the young boy and smothering him in a tight bear hug. Laughing, he swayed them from side to side and nuzzled his cheek against the boy's face.
"Daddy!" Lea giggled as he tried to get away but with no success. "Stop it!"
"Aw, fine." Roxas pouted jokingly.
Putting his son down, he began loosening his tie and would have yanked it completely off if it hadn't been for the knock on the door.
"I'll get it!" Cloud hollered from the adjoined kitchen and living room.
"Daddy?" Lea looked up at his father. "It's really late, why would someone be knocking at our door?"
"I don't know, but I really don't like it."
"Is it a monster like in the movies?" The little redhead quivered.
"Monster?" It took a minute for Roxas to understand but once he remembered Leon's habit of watching horror movies despite Lea's presence in the house, he growled. "Leon… You were watching those scary movies with him again weren't you?"
"Maybe?"
Roxas sighed. "Lea, there is no such thing as monsters now just stay here while I go check up on your uncle Cloud, okay?"
"Fine…"
Releasing another sigh, Roxas exited his bedroom, leaving the door ajar as he ventured out towards the apartment entrance where Cloud stood stiffly.
"Is Roxas here?" A deep yet familiar voice asked grudgingly, causing the blond to stop in his tracks and wonder skeptically who was asking for him at this late hour.
Feeling cautious, Roxas continued on and squeezed himself next to his older brother to meet their mysterious late night visitor. Upon seeing the person though, the blond gasped, his eyes bugging out as he stood there frozen in place to see that it was his boss of all people that was at his doorstep. Taking in his appearance, the redhead looked disheveled if not worse for wear. After blinking and rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things, Roxas could have sworn the purpling blemish on Axel's cheek was a bruise of some sorts and it made him wonder where in the world his superior had obtained the injury during the short amount of time that they'd been apart.
No matter how badly Axel's current state looked though, it didn't deter Roxas from giving the older man a warning glare. It made the redhead flinch back some, and the taller blond next to his assistant seemed just as menacing now that he'd seen the way Roxas was reacting to him.
"H-hey, Roxas…"
"What are you doing here sir?" Roxas asked sharply.
"I came here to apologize for earlier." Axel made the mistake of grumbling out his reply and instantly Roxas' temper began to boil.
"Apologize? Yeah right, if you were really here to apologize you wouldn't be acting like you don't care about the situation or my feelings."
"Hey! I'm trying to be nice here!" The redhead growled.
"Oh please, the moment I heard your voice at my door you were far from nice or sincere about your actions. I don't want your fake apology, sir. Either say you're sorry for real or leave." Roxas challenged, his blue eyes glaring coldly up at his boss as Axel stood back and stuttered.
"Wha? Damn it! Fine, you got me! I came here against my will because Tif beat the shit out of me and demanded that I come here to apologize! She even went the extra mile and dumped me here at your apartment herself!"
"So you did come here under false pretense!" Roxas yelled accusingly.
"Roxas, I'm the boss here! And I have the power to fire you, so just take my fucking apology already so that I can go home!"
"No! I refuse to accept your bullshit of an apology!" Roxas screamed. Stepping forward, he balled up his fist as his body began to shake in anger. "How dare you come here with an attitude like that, expecting me to just accept your words of regret for disregarding me earlier and for everything else that has happened? Especially yesterday!"
"Why must you talk so damn much!" Axel groaned loudly before grabbing Roxas by the shoulders. Shaking the shorter male, his fingers dug painfully into the blonde's shoulder blades—making him wince out sharply. "Just shut up, you overreacting—ACK!"
Axel crossed the line the moment he touched Roxas. Having stood back in silence and watched the scene unfold between chief and subordinate the entire time, Cloud lost it once the redheaded male made the move to harm the younger blond. In a blind flash of rage, Cloud had bounded less than three steps towards the pair and seconds after Axel started shaking Roxas, the older Strife's fist connected with the vice president's cheek.
Roxas stood virtually frozen in shock by what his brother had done. During his spat with Axel, he had completely forgotten that Cloud was there to begin with and now seeing his boss on the ground unmoving just seconds after being physically assaulted by him left the shorter blond speechless.
The two brothers were silent for a long time. Looking back and forth between each other and then down at the unconscious body of Axel Trenton. To put it lightly, they were in deep shit.
"Hey, what's going on here? I heard yelling." Leon appeared from behind the Strife brothers with a heavy yawn, unaware of the bout of violence his husband had committed.
Not too long after Leon entered the scene, Lea bounded towards the three conscious males and hugged the brunet around the legs. "Whoa! It's a dead guy!" He pointed.
"What?" Leon blinked, finally realizing just what he was seeing in front of his apartment. "What did the two of you do?"
The brunet was no stranger to the true extent of the Strife brother's fury. From his own experience and from that of others, Cloud and Roxas were a force to be reckoned with not only because of their cold exterior but because they were the type of people to act on their emotions. Some people actually found it unbelievable that Cloud and Roxas even had such short tempers since they usually appeared quiet and collective but Leon knew that it was merely a front. Once individuals were able to establish a connection with the two men, it never took long for those said individuals to find a way to dance on the brothers nerves—and when that happened, the consequences were terrifying.
"M—my boss came here to apologize… we started arguing, he grabbed me and Cloud punched him… Oh my god, oh my god!" Roxas suddenly exclaimed, his hands instantly going up to grab at his blond hair. "Cloud punched my boss! I'm so fired now and my reputation is screwed!"
Glaring pointedly at Cloud, Leon sighed heavily and began rubbing his temple to ease the growing frustration. "Cloud…"
"You would have done the same thing too, Leon." Cloud crossed his arms. The blank look on the taller blonde's face said it all and it was obvious that he held no ounce of regret for his violent deed. "Just because Roxas is an adult now doesn't mean it'll stop me from ever protecting him."
"No comment."
"Guys! What do we do?" Roxas hyperventilated.
"Put him in the garbage?" Lea remarked innocently.
"Lea! That's a horrible idea!" His father cried.
"It was just a suggestion daddy…"
"I—I, oh… I'm sorry for yelling Lea." Roxas looked down guiltily.
Deciding to take action himself, Cloud rolled his eyes and walked over to Axel's right side. Kneeling down, he hooked his elbows under the unconscious redhead's arms and lifted him up easily. Grasping him by the wrist, he maneuvered the lanky body up until he had Axel hanging over his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Leon asked.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm taking him inside, so make room."
Stepping back, Leon pressed himself and Lea against the wall of the foyer, allowing Cloud to proceed inside the apartment with Axel in toll. Roxas and Lea quickly followed after the two and after closing and locking the door, Leon joined the rest of his family in the living room. Cloud placed Axel down on the couch none too gently. After pulling away, he wrinkled his nose in disgust from the scent of booze and smoke that was emanating off the unconscious redhead—the odor much too strong for him to tolerate.
"There, problem solved." Cloud said as he tried to wave the stench in the air away from his personal bubble.
"No! No it's not!" Roxas turned glaringly at his brother. "Once he wakes up I'm as good as dead!"
"And how is that my problem? Weren't the two you already in deep from earlier?"
"Y-yeah but you made it worse!" Roxas pointed accusingly at him and in return received an obnoxious snot.
Biting his quivering lip, Lea tugged on his father's pants leg. "Daddy please don't yell anymore, I don't like it when you get mad."
Seeing the sad look on the little boy's face, Roxas instantly became ashamed of himself. There had only been a few occasions where Lea had laid witness to his temper and each time he regretted it. Smiling dejectedly at his son, Roxas kneeled down to hug him close.
"I'm sorry little guy, I won't yell anymore today, okay?"
Scratching the back of his head, Leon coughed lightly to make his existence in the room known. "It's getting late, the guy is knocked out cold no thanks to Cloud and we shouldn't continue arguing over the matter anymore. Just throw a blanket over him and call it a night already, we'll have all the time in the morning to deal with the problem so for now we just need to wait it out."
"Great suggestion, oh wise one." Cloud noted with a smirk.
Shrugging, Leon waved a hand and with that said left the living room in favor of crawling under the sheets of his bed. It didn't take long for Cloud to follow his husband out either and that left Roxas and Lea alone with Axel in the living room.
Peeking over Roxas' shoulder, Lea made a short hum. "Hey daddy, that guy has really bright red hair just like me!"
Glancing back, Roxas stared at the long spikes of hair that protruded from his bosses scalp then back down at his son. He'd made the connection of Lea's similar appearance to Axel the moment the vice president had hired him last year but he never divulged into the matter. Now seeing his little boy next to the older man, he couldn't help but feel something tugging at his chest. It was a small droning, almost a warning sign of some sorts as it served to fuel a growing curiosity in him along with a shred of fear.
"Yeah, you do have similar hair color."
"Mmhmm! Do you think I'll grow up to look as tall as him?" Lea's chubby fingers pointed.
"M-maybe someday, but hey little guy it's getting late, I still need to read you your bedtime story and then we have to go to sleep, okay?"
"Yes sir."
"Good." Lifting Lea up into his arms, Roxas stood and began walking towards their bedroom.
After settling his little bundle of joy down on the bed, Roxas turned back towards the closet in the hallway. , After promising Lea that he'd be back in a minute, Roxas quickly left the room. He retrieved one of the spare blankets from the hallway closet, holding the thick material against his chest as he went back to living room. Axel was still in the same sleeping position that he had left him in and after sighing dismally; Roxas unfolded the blanket and draped it over his superior's body. Spreading it thoroughly on top of Axel's body, he double checked to make sure that the blanket covered every inch of the redhead's lanky body.
Once he was satisfied, Roxas took a moment to stare at Axel's sleeping face. It was still a shock to him, how today had played out like this and even more so that his boss of all people was laid out in front of him on his couch. Never in his life did he ever imagine something like this happening to him—but the impossible was made possible and no matter how hard he was trying to visualize the situation in a logical scenario it didn't quite fit. The more Roxas thought about it, the more he realized just where he really was at this stage in his life. He never imagined finding Lea in that trashcan four years ago, he never imagined adopting Lea while still being a college student and becoming a father to him either so he shouldn't be surprised that Axel was out cold on his couch. And yet he still was. But Lea—the boy was a completely different story. He had absolutely no regrets for the decisions that he had made for the four year old thus far and he wasn't about to let what Cloud did to Axel get under his skin any more than it already did. If he was going to be fired in the morning, he was going to take it with pride and move on with his life because when one door closes, another is bound to open.
Feeling more accepting of his resolution now, Roxas suddenly realized that it was the first time that he had ever seen the redhead look so vulnerable—peaceful looking to be more exact. Sure he'd witness Axel give an earnest smile, even a laugh or two but this was different and unconsciously the emotions swirling in Roxas' chest urged him to reach out towards his boss. With his fingers just inches from touching Axel's cheek, the blonde's hand froze—just moments away from making contact with the soft skin of the redhead's face. Retracting his hand, he pressed it against his chest and took a step back.
"What am I doing?"
Still standing there looking down at his boss, Roxas finally shook his head and with mild hesitation he turned his back and went to turn off the living room lights before going back to his room to read Lea his bedtime story.
Roxas ended up reading the story of Hercules to Lea and as always the little four year old fell asleep half way through. At the beginning he had been excited, acting much like the energetic hero in the story himself but once Roxas got to the part about Hercules and Meg running off together the redhead was floating on cloud nine with a thin line of drool crawling down from the corner of his mouth.
Putting the book down on the side table, Roxas got up and stripped out of his work clothes in exchange for some proper sleeping attire. Once he pulled on an old college t-shirt over his head, Roxas laid down next to Lea and dragged their blanket over their bodies. He couldn't deny that he was tired, but it wasn't in the same sense where he could fall asleep in an instant. His mind was still awake and to have a body that ached with fatigue but with a mind that was still aware and alert of its surroundings was the worst kind of feeling for him.
Tossing and turning carefully on the bed, Roxas gave out a breathless sigh. Rubbing his tired blue eyes with the heels of his palms, he shifted onto his side until he was met by the sight of Lea's sleeping face. The four year old was dead asleep, there was no denying it and the way he batted his hand a little and jabbed at Roxas' with his feet made the blond smile. As he continued to stare at the soft contours of Lea's peaceful looking face under the faint glow of the night light shining from the corner of the room, Roxas felt as though he was seeing something familiar—like déjà vu.
Furrowing his brow, Roxas contemplated only a moment longer before shutting his eyes completely to try and block out the confusion he was beginning to feel. Time was ticking, it was getting late and he really didn't want to lie in bed all night thinking about whatever it was that was bothering him that he didn't quite understand. It was an intuitive feeling, one that had a fifty percent chance of being bad or being good but it was still a feeling nonetheless. Still, whatever it was—Roxas didn't want to deal with it anymore, at least until tomorrow.
With another half released sigh, Roxas let his mind go blank and he finally forced himself to sleep.
A/N: It's not the end! It's not the end I promise you! This chapter was much longer than I expected and it'll probably continue to get longer in the next chapter. No idea when I'll have that one ready to go but I'm working on the scenario as best I can.
Again, bonus chapters are being planned after this story is completed! If you missed my author's notes above, you're allowed to PM me suggestions of what to write including bits that were mentioned in the story but wasn't elaborated on that you want to see happen. I already have one bonus chapter in mind but I want to give you guys at least three to read (:
Anyways, ta, ta for now and please leave me some goodies behind :3