Fire
Disclaimer: If I had a dollar for every time I had to say I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts… man I'd have enough money to actually buy it!
Thanks to all of the people who favorited, alerted, reviewed, or read my story! I feel so warm and fuzzy inside!
Chapter 5
I woke to my brother jumping on my bed… or should I say jumping on me because I did not appreciate his foot in my leg.
"Get up! GET UP ROX! We're going to work with Cloud and Leon! You need to get ready!" I felt Sora physically lift me from my bed and stand me up on the floor.
"Dude, let go of me please! I can move on my own, geez!" I yelled.
"Well, everyone is waiting on you!" Sora exclaimed.
"They are?"
"Yeah, come ON!"
I quickly ran to my suitcase, grabbed some clothing not really caring what they were, and ran to the bathroom. I had the quickest shower of my life and rushed as I put on my clothes. I then ran back to my room to get my toothbrush and as I was returning to the bathroom I heard Sora say something.
"What?" I asked.
"I said what are you wearing? Did you even look at the clothes while you where putting them on?"
I ran to the bathroom to look in the mirror and my eyes widened in shock as I looked at the shirt I was wearing.
When the fuck did I buy a freaking 'My Little Pony' t-shirt?
"Shit! I gotta change my shirt!" I said moving towards my room.
"There's no time dude! We gotta leave now! Here take my sweatshirt!" Sora threw said clothing item in my direction and I caught it as I moved down the stairs.
"About time guys! We were about to leave you." Cloud said.
Cloud walked up to me and handed me a helmet.
"Roxas, you get to ride on Fenrir with me." Cloud said.
"Hey! That's so not fair! Do I get to ride on a motorcycle, Leon?" Sora asked.
"No. We're taking the car."
"Awww! That stinks!" Sora was left moping again.
"You'll get your time Sora, don't worry." Cloud reassured.
"I hope so…"
Leon walked up to Cloud and gave him a small kiss on the lips and then one on the forehead. "Be safe, love."
"You too!" Cloud replied as Leon walked out the door with Sora.
I blushed a little as I saw the scene. That seemed like a very personal scene that I wasn't supposed to be observing. Leon and Cloud always seemed to just click; they always were in perfect sync. It was really admirable and I was a little envious but I stuffed that down quickly and looked up to see Cloud looking back at me.
"You ready to go?"
"Yeah…"
We walked through the garage door and I watched as Cloud removed the covering off of what I assumed to be Fenrir. It was an amazing looking bike.
"Pretty, right?" Cloud asked a little smug.
"Yeah, really pretty!" I started to get excited. I'm really gonna get to ride on this bike? SWEET!
"Put on that helmet, okay?"
"Got it."
After the helmet was secured I waited until Cloud was seated before I attempted to get on the bike. The bike was actually quite large and I inwardly wondered how Cloud mounted the thing.
"Ummm, Cloud? How should I go about getting on Fenrir?" I asked embarrassedly.
"Can you swing your leg over?" Cloud asked.
I walked up to the bike and tried to swing my leg over only for me to fall on my ass.
"Ow…" I hissed a little as I rubbed my backside.
"Okay I guess we're moving to plan B."
"What's plan B?" I asked.
Suddenly I feel myself being lifted into the air and literally placed on the bike.
"It's a good thing you're kind of little, it makes you easier to lift." Cloud said jokingly.
"I'm not little! You're just abnormally large!" I said without thinking. After I realized what I had said I blushed a little.
Cloud laughed, "Whatever helps you sleep at night, squirt."
"Don't call me th-AH!" I yelped surprised by the roar of the motorcycle.
"Let's get going, squirt!" Cloud said.
"I said don't call me th-WHOA!" I yelled as Cloud sped off.
***
Riding on a motorcycle with Cloud is like signing your death certificate… I think I might just stick to cars for the rest of my life. I quickly scrambled off the bike and winced as there was a sharp pain in my inner thigh.
"Yeah, sorry about that… but don't worry your legs will get used to the width of the bike eventually!" Cloud said sheepishly.
I looked up and saw a large red-bricked building. This building did look a lot like a garage because of the extremely large fire trucks that were parked inside.
"Well Roxas, welcome to the garage, otherwise know as Twilight town's Fire Department!" Cloud said with a little pride thrown in there.
"'Sup Cloud! Who's the kid?" a man asked.
I growled at the man who called me a kid. Come on people I'm SIXTEEN, geez. Just because there are lot's of people larger than me doesn't make me a frikkin' kid!
"This teenager is my son Roxas." Cloud said sensing my anger towards the stranger.
"Whoa Cloud! I thought you swung the other way! When did you get busy with the opposite sex?" The man asked.
"Vexen, this is my adopted son… one of two actually. He wanted to check out the work place today."
"But Cloud, he looks just like you!" the man, Vexen, said.
"It's cool right?" Cloud said.
"You talk as if I'm not here!" I butted in.
"Sorry, squirt! Let me introduce you to my team first and we'll move from there."
I grumbled at the nickname.
We walked into the building and I was amazed at the enormousness of everything. There were big buckets, big hoses, big trucks, big faucets, everything was large!
"Hey Cloud!" I heard a voice say from above. I looked up and saw a dark haired man jump down from the loft, doing a flip on the way down. I stared in amazement at the stunt. That was so COOL!
"Roxas, I want you to meet my best friend Zack! He's the second in command on my team. Second only to me of course!" Cloud boasted.
I laughed as Zack bopped Cloud in the back of the head. "Wow Cloud, when you said you were adopting a kid, I didn't think you would actually find one of your long lost children!"
"I know he looks a lot like me… but I actually have two sons Zack. Roxas has an older brother named Sora." Cloud explained.
"Wow two teens in the house Cloud!? I admire your strength!" Zack joked.
"I'm right here people…" I grumbled under my breath.
Cloud then introduced me to Marluxia, Saïx, and Lexaus. Evidently, there were two teams. Each team had five people. Most of the time only one team is needed, but when there is a big fire both teams are sent out to put it out. There was also the Chief of the department, and his name is Cid. I was also introduced to the other team members. They were part of Axel's team. Their names were Vexen, Axel's brother Reno, Xigbar, and Xaldin. I found all of them a little scary so I tried to stay closer to Cloud and his team.
"ALRIGHT EVERYONE! AXEL HAS ARRIVED! BUT DON'T CHEER TO LOUD PEOPLE YOU'LL HURT MY BEAUTIFUL EARS!" Axel yelled as he entered the garage.
Most of the firemen ignored him but Vexen and some of his team went to greet him. I'm surprised to feel my heart quicken as he moved further into the room. Why am I acting this way? Why am I so nervous!? I shouldn't have feelings for him just because he saved me from the fire… but why?
"Hey Roxas, could you please hand me that bucket over there?" Cloud asked.
"Sure." I walked to the corner of the garage and picked up a large bucket with some sponges and soap inside. I brought it over to Cloud and asked him If I could go up on the loft.
"Sure thing, squirt! The stairs are over there." He pointed to the stairway in the left hand corner of the garage.
I quickly ran up the stairs and sat close to the edge so I could look down on the activities happening below. Cloud had explained that the days are actually pretty slow because there usually aren't fires in the town. Most of the time Cloud and his team get to goof off and do a lot of menial tasks at the garage.
One menial task is cleaning the fire trucks. I blushed as many of the men shed their shirts as they filled the buckets with water and soap. My face turned redder as I noticed that Axel was one of those people that removed their shirt.
I had to admit to myself that he was very attractive. In fact, a lot of the firemen were pleasing to the eye. But I couldn't help but stare at Axel as his brother Reno sprayed him with the hose. Why must people look hotter when they're wet?!
I started to get really hot and bothered up there on that loft. I tried to distract myself but my eyes kept wandering back to a glistening, beautiful, muscled, sexy looking redhead that was currently leaning over to clean the tires of the truck.
Shit! If this wasn't the worst place to get a boner… it's a good thing Sora lent me his sweatshirt because its large and I can pull it over my knees when I pull my legs in.
"Hey Squirt! Why don't you come down here and help us out!" Cloud yelled.
"Well, I don't have the clothes for it though…" I tried.
"It's fine, you can take them off!" Cloud yelled back.
"Oi Cloud! How do you know that kid? I helped him out of a fire not too long ago!" Axel said.
"Oh that's my son Roxas. I adopted him and his brother two days ago." Cloud explained.
"Yo Roxas! Come on down here and help us out, kid!" Axel urged.
"I really don't think its necessary…" I tried again.
"Hey Cloud?"
"Yes, Axel?"
"Can I have your permission to bring him down here to help?"
"Yeah go ahead." Cloud said.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, OHHH SHIT! I gotta think of something gross, quickly! Ummm… old ladies! Uhhhh… Ms. Daisy in a bikini! Phew! Okay that worked!
"C'mon kiddo! Its time to clean!" I turned to see Axel coming up the stairs.
"No! It's okay! I'll just stay up here…" He was getting closer!
I yelped as I was picked up for the third time today. I tried really hard not to touch Axels well-toned body as he threw me over his shoulder.
"Please put me down, NOW!" I yelled. I could feel my heart pounding wildly.
"Alright, alright! Don't get your boxers in a bunch!" Axel laughed.
He has a beautiful laugh.
I snapped out of my reverie when a sponge was thrown in my direction.
"Take off your sweatshirt and stuff and start cleaning!" Cloud smiled.
I sighed as I took off my sweatshirt.
"DUDE! What the fuck is on your shirt?!" I heard someone yell.
Oh shit.
"So your kid likes My Little Pony, I guess?" Axel smirked as he looked to Cloud.
"Cloud, I'm promise this is NOT my shirt! I accidentally packed it when I was clearing out the drawers at the orphanage!" I tried to explain.
"Mmmmhmm." Axel hummed disbelievingly.
My face was as red as a tomato. There was literally no way out of this. I was soo embarrassed! I sighed as I took of the disgusting t-shirt and went to dump the sponge in the bucket. This sucks! Not only do I embarrass myself in front of everyone, but I probably embarrassed Cloud too. I feel terrible.
I squeaked as cold water hit my back.
"Cheep up kid! We were just teasing you!" Axel smiled with the offending hose in his hands.
I glared at him "Don't call me kid."
I was sprayed with the hose again.
"Stop that!" I yelled.
"Make me, kid!" Axel egged.
He sprayed me again. He started to laugh. The bastard was laughing at me! That was the final straw.
I quickly dunked my sponge in the water and pelted it as hard as I could at his laughing face.
And it hit its mark perfectly.
Many of the men laughed as Axel fell back on his ass!
"Take that! Asshole!" I yelled. Ha! I feel better now.
"You little punk!" Axel yelled as he stood up.
"Maybe you should think before you start offending people, jerk!" I yelled again.
There wasn't much I could do when the redhead charged towards me and threw me over his shoulder again. I tried to beak free but his grip was too strong. Axel pulled some keys out of his pocket, opened the door of the fire truck, threw me in, and locked the door before I could get out.
I couldn't really hear him but I could tell he was boasting that he won our little fight. Quite frankly, I didn't care about the fight anymore. I just wanted to get out of this damn truck! I banged on the door. Trying to get someone to open the door. Most of the people just laughed again. This isn't fair! I want out of this truck! I looked around to see if there was any other way to get out. I checked all the pockets to see if there was a key of some sort. I reached my hand down to look for a key in between the seats only to feel a sharp pain. I pull my arm out and see a large gaping cut on my hand.
What the fuck?
I look down in the crevice and see an unsheathed knife. Well, at least I know what I cut myself on. Just my luck! Right when my hand healed from the burn.
I bang on the door again to get someone's attention. They're still freaking laughing! What bastards! I look at my hand and see blood drip down my wrist.
I was starting to freak out a little!
I banged on the door harder and started to yell.
"Axel is my son still in that truck?" Cloud asked.
"Yeah, should I let him out know?"
"Yes! He should not have been locked in there in the first place!"
"Aww shit! What happened to his hand!?"
"Well, he did burn it yesterday, but that should be healed by now." Cloud answered.
"No, Cloud, I mean he's bleeding all over the upholstery!" Axel said.
"WHAT?!" Cloud yanked the keys away from Axel and opened the door.
I quickly get myself out of that death trap and glare at Axel.
"What happened, Roxas?" Cloud said pulling me towards the first aid kit on the wall.
"Well, I was looking for a key so I could get out of the truck and I ended up slicing my hand on a knife that was hidden between the seats." I explained.
"Zack could you please retrieve the knife while I look at his hand?" Cloud asked.
"Sure thing!" was Zack's reply.
"I think I just need to stop touching things. If I don't, my hand might just fall off." I joked trying to lighten my situation.
Cloud laughed as he opened the kit and pulled out gauze and bandages.
"Cloud, I would disinfect that cut. This knife looked pretty dirty!" Zack yelled from the truck.
"Alright! Roxas, I'm not gonna lie, this is gonna hurt." Cloud said slowly.
Cloud fist wiped most of the blood off my arm and hand. Then, he pulled out a disinfectant spray.
"Brace yourself…" He warned.
I took a beep breath, but that was no good. I bit my lip and tried really hard not to scream form the burn. Tears were definitely falling quickly.
"OWWWWWWW!" I whined.
I bit my lip again when Cloud started to apply pressure on the wound. I couldn't help it… I started to cry like a baby.
When he was finally done wrapping up my hand, I was a mess.
"That r-really hu-hurt!" I sobbed.
Cloud enveloped me in a hug and rubbed my back. "Shhhh, it's okay now. I'm done wrapping it."
I took a couple of deep breaths and rested my head on Cloud's shoulder. I felt like such a wuss but being held like this made me feel better. After a couple of minutes I let go of Cloud and asked if I could go back up on the loft. He nodded so I quickly grabbed my clothes and succeeded in putting them back on with minimal use of my injured hand. I walked back up the stairs and sat in my original spot near the edge.
I watched as they finished washing the trucks. Then they all pulled up some boxes, sat on them, and joked around. I thought about what happened today. I'll be completely honest and say that it was a completely terrible day. Everything, and I mean everything went to shit. Turns out a lot of the firemen here are assholes, especially Axel. I don't really know if I wanna come back here tomorrow. Maybe Sora will switch… no I wouldn't do that to him. The people here would pick on him too and plus he wants to spend time with Riku.
I hope Sora is having a better day…
"How's your hand?" I jumped as I saw Axel next to me.
"Why do you care, anyway." I grumbled.
"Does it still hurt?" He asked.
I didn't respond.
Axel sighed, "Look, I'm sorry for teasing you and locking you in the fire truck."
"Are you apologizing because Cloud told you to?"
"No… maybe?…" Axel replied sheepishly.
I turned away from him.
"Cloud may have asked me to apologize but I really am sorry."
"You don't sound like it…" I grumbled again.
"I'm really sorry, Roxas." Axel said sincerely.
I nodded at him to let know I heard but quite frankly I didn't want to deal with him right now.
"Does your hand still hurt?" He asked again.
"YES. It hurts, okay!" I turned away again. I really just wanted to be alone.
I was surprised when I felt him turn me around and take my hand.
He opened my palm and kissed the wounded area softly.
My breath hitched. I quickly looked around to see if anyone was looking. All of the others were still joking around on the bottom floor, completely oblivious.
He softly placed my hand in my lap and stood.
"I hope you feel better, kid."
I was so shocked I didn't even care that he called me kid.
Maybe today wasn't completely terrible…
