There's not going to be much of an author's note here because I don't have much time to post this.
I actually had this finished yesterday, but to to the lack of internet at my house, I haven't been able to upload it until now. And I'm sorry it took me so long to get this up. I've had a busy, busy life lately and then BAM HOMESTUCK and if you read Homestuck I'm sure you understand how it would get in the way of my writing.
But here you go, have a chapter. *tosses at you* enjoy. I didn't do much proofreading so expect mistakes. I may look at this later and make little revisions but whatever.
Chapter Four: Blue
When Roxas stepped out of the car, he wasn't quite sure what to think. He figured Axel would have some dingy little apartment, or even an average house messily kept. He wasn't expecting this... this mansion.
Well, maybe mansion was a bit of an exaggeration. The nice, two story house with a big weeping willow and pool was just not what Roxas had imagined to be Axel's home.
"You live here?" the blonde asked, still admiring the well-kept yard.
Axel laughed and nodded. "Still living with my mom, but soon I'll have the money to get my own place. It's not bad though, she's pretty cool." He grabbed Roxas' hand and pulled him towards the front door, the blonde blushing at the action. He tried to pull his hand back but that only made Axel tighten his hold.
"Mom? I'm home now, I brought Roxas, too." Axel looked around the front room for his mother while Roxas took in his surroundings. There was a couch, chair, and loveseat. Everything looked normal- after seeing the outside of the house he was expecting something extravagant on the inside. There wasn't even a TV, only a fireplace with pictures on the mantel. Roxas pulled his hand away from Axel and drifted over to the fireplace, curious as to what the picture frames held.
On one end of the shelf was a picture of Axel as a child on his birthday, his green eyes excited as he leaned forward to blow out the 5-shaped candle. The opposite end held a picture of a man with black hair and green eyes, a woman with a stunning shade of red hair and blue eyes, and finally a photo considerably bigger than the other two- Axel and Roxas. They were in the front yard underneath the large willow, and Roxas stood in front of the taller boy whose arms were wrapped around the blonde's chest. Both wore happy expressions, though Roxas' seemed a little... Off.
Roxas stared at the picture. His face turned pink- he'd denied Axel so much, vehemently refused to believe he and Axel were more than friends. But 'just friends' don't take pictures like this, do they?
"That was taken before prom. You... Probably don't remember. My mom was thrilled to see me with someone, even if you were a guy. There's actually an entire photo album full of the pictures she took that day." Axel laughed as he explained the picture and came up to stand behind Roxas. Roxas nodded and continued to examine the picture, trying to remember. It seemed... Familiar.
"And speaking of my mom, she's not here. According to this note she left," he waved a piece of paper in front of Roxas' face. "She'll be gone for a few days, so we'll have the house all to ourselves." He sent Roxas a suggestive wink and smirked, knowing it'd cause an interesting reaction.
Roxas' face went red and he turned away from Axel, his hands coming up to hide his intense blush. Axel laughed.
"Oh, Roxy! You should've seen your face! That was great." He smiled down at Roxas before pulling him into his arms and holding him tightly. "You're so innocent, it's adorable. I was only kidding, Rox. I wouldn't do anything like that with you, not while you didn't know of our relationship at least."
Roxas' face was pressed against Axel's chest and he took in a deep breath, enjoying Axel's indescribable smell.
"Rox?"
Roxas looked up when he heard the unusually soft voice. "Hmm?"
Axel frowned and pulled back, his hands moving to slowly travel down Roxas' arms. He paused when his fingers felt the scarred skin at Roxas' wrists. "We're... gonna have to talk about this and what happened, you know."
Roxas abruptly jerked his hands away from Axel's. His eyes went wide with fear as he moved away from the other male. He couldn't get himself to say anything as he stared at the redhead's chest, not able to say anything. He brought his hands up to his chest and started to shake.
Roxas' reaction scared Axel and had him torn between running over to him and holding him or leaving him be to not scare him off. "Roxas?"
"N-No I can't, I just can't I-"
Axel stepped towards Roxas and grabbed him, pulling him tight against himself. "I'm sorry Roxas. You don't have to, I'm sorry. I just thought it might, you know, help. I don't deal with this so I don't know what to do." Roxas stayed still and silent while Axel held him. But the silence didn't last long. A loud chime rang throughout the house, and the sudden noise made Roxas jump. Axel smiled at him before going to the door.
Roxas trailed silently behind him, peeking around the taller male's arm when the door was opened, revealing a familiar face. Aquamarine eyes were framed by silvery hair- Roxas thought it was dyed, but his white-blonde eyebrows suggested it might be natural. His eyes were sharp and it almost made Roxas shudder and want to hide. He was tall, but not nearly as tall as Axel was.
Roxas kept finding himself drawn to his eyes. They seemed so familiar- Roxas was hit hard by a wave of déjà vu, finding the situation very much like the one he was in with Axel a few days ago.
The silver-haired man's eyes widened when he saw Roxas. His mouth opened like he wanted to say something, but no words came. He merely composed himself and cleared his throat before turning to Axel. "Thank you... for inviting me."
Axel nodded. "Yeah man, no problem. Figured it'd be nice... since its been a while. And I wouldn't know what to do if-"
Roxas frowned and stepped around Axel, interrupting the redhead's words. "Who are you?"
Axel and the stranger both stared down at Roxas, slightly shocked by the fact that Roxas spoke up.
"Hey... I'm Riku," was the only reply Roxas received.
"Okay, Riku, why are you here?"
Axel smirked and threw an arm around the short boy's shoulders. "Well, Roxy, feeling sassy, huh?" Roxas blushed but kept his gaze on Riku.
Riku looked confused- it seemed he was at a loss. This had Roxas turning to Axel to hear from him. "Axel?"
A silent moment passed before Roxas decided on his answer. "You know how you... forgot me? Well, Riku here, you forgot him, too. In a different way, though."
"What do you mean?" Roxas turned to look at Riku. He just looked familiar- Axel he at least felt he should remember. For all he knew, Riku could just be someone he had passed by at school or the store once.
Rikku looked away, his stoic mask faltering slightly, the sadness leaking through. "It's... You probably wouldn't-"
"Yo," Axel said, interrupting the nervous male. "I got it, don't worry. Why don't we all go sit in the living room and discuss this?"
Axel didn't wait for a reply, he simply grabbed the other two's arms and pulled them into the other room. Roxas tried to pull his arm away but even Riku couldn't remove the unwanted hand.
Once Riku and Roxas were seated on the couch, Axel spoke. "So Roxy. Do you know Riku at all? Do you even feel like you know him, like you do me?"
The blonde looked up at Axel, who was still standing. "I- I don't know. He's kind of familiar I guess. Should I know him?"
Riku and Axel stared at each other for a moment before they both turned their gazes to Roxas. "Sor- Roxas... Do you know why you think I'm familiar?"
Roxas thought about it for a moment. "I'm gonna guess it's the same reason I can't exactly remember Axel?"
"In a way, it is," Axel replied. "But it's not at the same time."
Roxas frowned as a dull, rhythmic throbbing began in his head. "That's confusing."
Riku sighed and Axel sat down on the arm of the couch next to Roxas. "Roxy you've... You know what split personality disorder is, right?"
"Yeah... What about it?"
Axel hesitated, which caused Roxas to assume what he would find to be correct. "Does the name Sora ring a bell?"
"Sora!"
A short brunette giggled as he mentally praised himself for finding such a brilliant hiding spot. He was in the towel closet beside the bathroom, hiding behind a mountain of towels. He would surely never get found in-
Sora shielded his eyes from the sudden blinding light as the door was yanked open. He looked up in dismay as he pouted. "How'd you find me, Riku?"
The silver-haired teen smiled down at him. "I could hear you from the other room." He reached down and grabbed Sora's hand, pulling him up and into his arms. Sora grinned as he threw his arms up around Riku's neck and wrapped his legs around the taller's waist.
"You always find me but I can never find you. It's not fair," Sora pouted as he spoke, looking up at Riku and suddenly burst out laughing.
Riku let out a few chuckles of his own before setting Sora down, taking the brunette's hand in his. "You need to dye your hair again, Sora," he said, playing with his boyfriends messy hair. "Your blondness is showing." He smiled at the joke he made, though he didn't think Sora would catch it.
Sora thought for a moment before speaking. "Nah, I think I'm gonna go back to being blonde again. I dunno... It just feels like its time."
Riku nodded and looked away, but not before Sora could catch his sad expression. "Riku? Is something wrong?"
Riku shook his head and looked back to Sora. He was smiling, but his aquamarine eyes still looked sad. "It's nothing Sora. I just remembered I... I have someone I need to say goodbye to soon."
Sora's brows furrowed in confusion. "That sounds... sad. Who is this 'someone?'"
Riku patted Sora's head and stood up. "Someone I love a lot. But it's almost time for them to go and I'm not sure I have enough time to tell them that.."
This only confused Sora more, but he decided not to ask about it anymore. He shook his head and grinned up at Riku. "I'm tired Riku, and my head is killing me. Can we go take a nap or somethin'?"
"Sure," Riku responded. "Just don't snore." Though he didn't seem enthusiastic about sleeping, Sora guessed he was only aiming to please the younger male.
"I don't snore! I just- breathe loudly when I sleep!" Sora laughed and got up, pulling Riku up with him. "Come on, Riku. Lets gooo."
Riku held Sora's hands as they made their way up the stairs to Riku's small room. Sora dove right for the bed that was messily made. He curled up on one side of it, smiling at Riku as he patiently waited for the silver-haired boy to make his way over.
Seconds later Riku finally slid in next to the younger male, who instantly pulled himself closer and wrapped his arms around Riku. "How long has it been since we met, Riku? A year?"
Riku nodded. "Yeah, I think so," he paused for a moment before continuing, a smile on his face as he recalled that day. "You ran into me on your first day of school. I got coffee all over my favorite sweater."
Sora blushed and smiled as he pressed his face against Riku's chest. "I remember. And you weren't mad at all. I was kinda scared you were gonna punch me or something 'cause you looked so scary. But you didn't. You just said-"
"'Hi, I'm Riku.'" They both smiled as they spoke together. Riku pressed his face into Sora's spiky hair as his smile grew. "That was the first time anyone paid me any attention during school- even if it was just you being clumsy and not paying attention. And then we had every class together and you never left my side once."
Sora grinned and looked up at Riku. "Hey Riku?"
"Hmm?" The teen in question looked down at the other boy, noticing how almost-serious he sounded.
"I love you."
Riku's eyes widened slightly at the confession. But once his mind started working again he returned Sora's smile. "I love you too." He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against Sora's lips, trying to contain his elation at the words just spoken.
Sora pulled away and moved his face to Riku's neck, hiding his face from the world. He was still smiling and probably would be until the day he died. He felt that his life was perfect and nothing would ruin his happiness so long as Riku was there to share it with him.
Sora fell asleep minutes later and Riku drifted off afterward, though not with as happy thoughts as Sora. He knew about Sora and his problem. He knew that, from what the doctor told him, he wouldn't have much more time with him. He knew he /didn't/ have forever with him.
The boy groaned as his eyes opened to reveal two worried looking faces. The second they saw he was awake, they spoke at the same time.
"Sora?"
"Roxas?"
Blonde brows furrowed in confusion.
"Who's Roxas?"
The chapter name is blue because it made me sad and because Sora's in it. I'll try and update faster than last time (this time?), but no promises.