Roses are red, terrors are… blue?

Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}
Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama
Rated: T (M?)
Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors.

Chapter Four
The Hikari's

It had been a quiet morning. There wasn't much work to, so Hayner and I could leave early. Our boss said he could handle the customers alone and let us go off.

"Quite lucky today, aren't we?" Hayner muttered under his breath once the shop vanished from our sight.

"Guess so," I said, stuffing my hands in my pockets. "Guess he wanted to steal some of his own CD's again."

"I bet he does," Hayner said bitterly. "And then he nearly fires me when I accidentally slipped a game in my bag… the bastard."

I started to laugh. "Does Olette know you tried to steal from your work?"

"Hush," He mumbled, a bit flushed.

"So, she doesn't know she's dating a thief, huh?" I grinned. "Well, in comparison to Seiffer, I prefer you, I think."

"Oh, shut up," Hayner said, aiming a hit at my head. "At least I never got drunk while a Christmas party and tried to kiss Pence under the mistletoe," He added, beaming at me.

"That wasn't me," I said, feeling embarrassed. "It was my very much lookalike twin brother."

"Never knew you had one."

"… Don't really have one, though."

We looked at each other for a moment and started to laugh.

"At least Pence nearly got to kiss someone hot," I said, winking at him.

He barked a laugh. "God, Roxas, you need serious help, you hear? You scared the shit out of the poor guy."

"Yeah… well. You guys scared the hell out of me too when you told me what happened the next morning." I said, shivering. "I solemnly swore not to drink anymore after that."

"We will see next Christmas," Hayner said, sticking his tongue at me. "I will bring a recorder this time."

"Sure, then I'll record you while flirting with the waitress and get smacked in the balls by Olette, okay?" I chuckled. "Oh, man, I sure loved that look on your face."

He flushed again. "That's- No, that's different- I mean, I was kinda drunk too- Wait, no, oh, shut your face," He grumbled when I just started to laugh harder.

I said goodbye to him and promised to meet up with him later as we parted ways.

xxx

After a couple of minutes laying down on my bed and thinking about yesterday's events, I was tired of being bored.

After rummaging through my usual mess, I found the old list from school, in which addresses and phone numbers were collected from your classmates.

I found Axel's number, put it in my phone and stared at it.

Would I ring or would I wait? It was still early… but I had no idea if he was awake or not.

I decided to stop by. I could always make up my mind that way and head for Pence's place instead. He was probably organizing his old photo's.

Not to mention it did feel kind of strange to visit him, I thought as I closed the front door behind me. I had hardly known the guy and I had no idea how to truly handle him. He seemed okay, but to lose your parents in a car crash does deal a great amount of damage, nevertheless.

It might also be a bit depressing, visiting Axel's place, as I imagined it to be tainted with the loss of their parents.

I gave myself a mental slap in the face. God, I was such a coward sometimes. Not to mention a dick.

I am Roxas Strife, your average guy from next door. I'm a coward and a prick, but I can do this.

I can do this.

xxx

"Coming, coming!" A voice bellowed behind the closed front door of Axel's house. "Van, NO! Don't eat that- oh gross. Sora, don't, for heaven's sake, stop trying to- VAN, what did I tell you,- NO! I'm coming!"

Finally the door opened, revealing a very annoyed Axel with two small children clinging to his legs.

"Oh, hey, Roxas!" He said, looking relieved, trying to pry his younger siblings from his legs.

"Who that?" The boy with black hair asked his older brother, poking his leg. "Yeah, who that?" The other boy with brown hair repeated him, who started to poke his older brother's leg as well.

"That's a friend of mine," Axel said while leading me inside and still trying to pry the boys off him. "C'mon, let go, Sora, Vanitas, now! Ow, stop poking, you damn kids!"

I chuckled. "Need some help?"

Axel looked kind of desperate. "Yeah, well, usually I can handle them, really-"

Then the black-haired boy demanded his full attention back by biting in his hand.

"OUCH! You damn- Didn't Kairi tell you not to bite people?" Axel growled at the boy, rubbing his sore hand while grabbing the laughing toddler.

The other boy, the brown haired one, let go of Axel's leg and stared up at me. "Who are you?" He said, narrowing his eyes and pointing an accusing finger at me.

I got down on my knees so I was eye level with the small boy. "I'm Roxas," I said, trying to sound friendly and trying to hold in my laughter. "And who are you?"

"I'm Sora," The boy said, pointing to himself.

Sora's brother had finally let go of his brother too and bounced over to us. "And I'm Vanitas," He exclaimed happily. "Van, if you are a pirate."

"C'mon, kids, get to the living room," Axel said. "Roxas, want something to drink?"

"Yeah," I said, getting up. "I don't really mind what. I'll have what you have."

Axel disappeared and the twins crossed both their small arms. "You here to steal our treasure?" Vanitas demanded, sounding surprisingly threatening for such a small boy.

"Of course not," I said brightly. "I'm here to help you search for it."

Sora started to clap his hands. "So you want to play with us?"

"Yeah, sure," I said, as the kids started to tug at my hands.

The Hikari's place was a bit smaller than I'd imagined it, but was still very spacious.

The space itself, however, was completely covered with toys. I nearly tripped over a toy car.

"Don't mind the mess," Axel called from the kitchen. "Just try to watch your step."

Thanks for the early message, I thought sarcastically as the kids pulled me down to the floor.

"Now," Vanitas said, touching his lip thoughtfully. "What will we do with you?"

"Are you our prisoner?" Sora asked me hopefully, poking my cheek.

"No, Sora," Axel said, returning to the room with a tray with drinks. "Here, I brought your soda. Here's lemonade for the twins!" Axel added as he handed them over to the little boys.

They gulped down their drinks and then ran off again, their excited voices drifting off along with them.

"What're they up to now?" I said to Axel, who fell down in the couch with a tired sigh.

"Dunno," He muttered darkly. "God, they're horrible if you have to face them alone."

"They can't be that bad, can they?" I said, taking my drink as well. They seemed rather cute to me.

"Hey, Axel, do you know-oh!"

We both turned to face the owner of the voice in the doorway. The petite girl had a towel wrapped around her and her crimson hair was wet, dripping water onto the floor.

She caught my eye and we both flushed at the same time. Then she turned and made a run for the stairs.

"And that was my lovely sister Kairi," Axel said, grinning. "Making a rather striking appearance in the doorway."

I chuckled nervously, running a hand through my hair, feeling kind of embarrassed myself too. I'd never seen a girl like that, not even Olette.

Hayner would've knocked me dead too if I ever did, though.

After a few minutes, a very embarrassed Kairi reappeared, fully clothed now.

"I'm so sorry for barging in like that," She said, extending her hand to me as she sat down too. "I'm Kairi, although I think Axel's told you already."

"I'm Roxas," I said, feeling still a bit uneasy. "Nice to meet you."

She smiled at me, blush fading.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

The twins were back again and climbed up the chair to jump on her lap. "Mommy! Guess what, guess what?"

Kairi beamed at them as she made them sit down, one on each leg. "You guys found the treasure?" She whispered in a hushed voice.

"No, no treasure," Vanitas said impatiently as Sora stuck his thumb in his mouth.

"Hmm," She said thoughtfully, winking at Axel, who grinned back. "Maybe you have stolen Axel's keys again?"

"No," Vanitas said, glowing with pride. "We just hid them, but that's not it."

Axel groaned. "Oh, great," He muttered under his breath. "Those damned kids."

I laughed and leaned back in the chair. "Be happy it's not your own fault you keep losing them. I don't have any excuses but my own lack of memory."

He rolled his eyes at me. "Oh, joy. Now I feel so much better."

Kairi made the third wrong guess and Sora impatiently removed his thumb from his mouth. "No, mommy! We made Roxy prisoner!"

Axel snorted and choked on his drink.

Kairi started to laugh. "Oh, is that so?"

The twins nodded, looking very pleased with themselves. I tried not to burst into laughter.

"Well, I think that's not very nice of you," Kairi said, in a mock stern voice. "No cookies anymore today!"

"Awwwh," They pouted. "Please? Pretty please?"

"With a strawberry on top?" Axel added, pouting along.

"No!" Kairi said, laughing as she brushed the twins off her lap. "None of you get a cookie, because Riku ate them all yesterday."

Vanitas and Sora looked at each other, frowning. "Now he must be punished," Vanitas said in a low tone which kind of frightened me a little. "He stole our secret treasure!"

Sora nodded in agreement. "Let's put some bugs from our secret hiding place in his shoes next time!"

With that, they ran off again, crying out some chants.

Kairi stifled another bubble of laughter as she pointed at my shoes. "If I were you, I would untie them before you stand up, you know."

I looked down to find my shoelaces from both shoes knotted together.

Axel gulped down the rest of his drink. "You gotta admit they are kinda clever, don't you think? Still think they can't be that bad?"

I snorted as I leaned down to undo the knot. "Yeah, well, I'm glad they don't have a lighter. You know, they might've set my shoes on fire."

"Then at least you have warm feet," Kairi said brightly as she left to room to search for the twins again. "I'll take them for a walk so you guys have some rest."

"Bye, Kai!" Axel said, standing up to fiddle with some TV cables on the floor.

"Bye Kairi," I said to her, smiling at her.

She smiled back at me. "I hope to see you again, Roxas."

"Same," I mumbled after her as she left. I felt slightly dazed.

"You know," Axel said, laying flat on his stomach to separate the cables, tip of his tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration. "You're really something special."

"How so?" I asked, lacing my shoes up the proper way.

"They talked to you and included you in their pranks," Axel said, pausing to wink at me. "Believe me, they only do that with people they're really familiar with. So, welcome to the family, Rox!"

I beamed at him. "So that means I can come over anytime?" That somehow made me feel happy.

He rolled with his eyes. "You could've done that even without the twin's approval," He said, attention back on the cables. "But just… just don't barge in at midnight, okay? I need my sleep every now and then."

"Oh, really? I thought I'd just found my zombie partner in crime!"

"Shut it, Blondie."

xxxx

„Oh, that's nice," Olette commented as we sat down in our usual spot in the bar. „I'm glad you got out again."

„It's not like he locks himself in his room every day to cut himself," Hayner snorted, crossing his arms.

„But it's not like he has a very active social life besides us," Pence added, starting to leave the table to get our drinks.

I groaned. „Come on guys, seriously?"

„No, really Roxas," Olette said with a concerned look on her face. „You are a good friend of us, but we were really worried whether you were truly happy… it just didn't seem that way very often."

„Stop it," I mumbled. „I'm perfectly happy."

„You do seem happy now," Olette said, a bright smile replacing the concerned look. „So, how was Kairi?"

„Oh, right," I said. „You knew Kairi."

„I still know her," She said, laughing. „I just don't get to hang out with her so often anymore. She's very busy these days."

„And so are you," Hayner said teasingly as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, leaning into her neck to give her a small kiss there.

Olette giggled and pushed him away a little. „I'm kind of busy, indeed."

Pence returned with the drinks. „Here we are then!"

„Thanks, Pence," Olette said, taking her drink as Hayner patted Pence on the back. „Next time's my treat," he said while grabbing his drink. „Thanks, man!"

„Thank you," I said as I took mine while Pence sat down with his own drink.

I smiled at my three friends. They were good friends and they had always been.

But it was true that they seemed to indulge in their passions, in relationships and in life in general, where I got the feeling I was stuck in a pattern I couldn't escape from.

„So, how is the Hikari family doing?" Pence asked. „Must've been rough on them."

„It was," I said thoughtfully. „Though they seem okay, even though they have to work very hard to make it all possible."

„I think it's good that they still have each other," Hayner suddenly said. „It means you can depend on each other when you're going through a rough time, especially when you know the other has been through the same."

„Yeah, I think so," I murmured. „They seem very close."

„They have two younger siblings, right?" Pence stated, taking a sip.

„Yes, that's right," I said, grinning. „They're four years old and they're hilarious. Axel calls them the ‚Twin Terrors', but I think he's exaggerating."

Hayner chuckled. „You might not be saying that anymore when you've visited them a couple of times."

Olette beamed. „I really hope you do. I really hope you will."

And why the hell not?

-x-x-x-x

„So that concludes all the advantages of this new system. I can guarantee you that it'll…" I looked up when the small bell above the door rang.

A certain grinning redhead had entered the shop.

„I mean, I can asure you, sir, that this system will solve the problems you have been experiencing with your CD's," I told the man who was still hesitating as he looked down upon the big box.

„So all I have to do is to buy this system and get it installed?"

I nodded. „Yes. You can also look for the proper cables and try to fix the old system, but you can count on me when I tell you they will switch to this new system in a couple of months, and then you won't be able to play your newer CD's on the old system. It might seem expensive right now, but you'll benefit from it later."

„Oh," the man said, ruffling through his short, blonde hair. „Can I also play my own guitar on this system?"

„Why, yes, of course," I answered, smiling. „It's the same as the old one, but newer and improved. The sound will be greatly improved, you will find out soon enough?"

He was on the hook. „Seriously? Right. Thanks, man. I'll buy it."

„Great," I said as I scanned the product. „That'll be 800 munny, please."

The man made a face but pulled out a card. „Everything for good music," he said jokingly as he put the card in the system and typed in his code.

Axel was looking at the shelves, obviously waiting. I held back a grin as I waited for the man to finish.

„All right, thank you very much," I said as I shoved the product in a plastic bag with the receipt. „Come again and have a nice day."

„Same to you," the man said, grinning widely as he took his bag. „Goodbye."

„Roxas!"

„Axel!" I said as he leaned on the counter. „What's up, man?"

„Nice store man. I might be secretly wanting to fire myself from the shoe shop and start working here," he said, crossing his arms. „I got a message for you."

„And that message is?" I said, raising a brow as I wrote down the purchase of the blonde man for my boss.

„Kairi invites you over for dinner because she thinks I'm a pathetic lonely bastard," he chuckled.

„Wait, what?" I said, looking up from the note. „She thinks what?"

„I'm only joking," he grinned. „She does think I'm lonely though. So come on join us tonight."

„Whoa… really? I mean, we're barely…"

„Don't worry," Axel said, smiling at me. „Riku's gonna be there too, so it'll be a full house anyways. The more the merrier. Actually, then he and Kairi can watch the kids and we can play videogames if you'd like."

„Geez, thanks," I said, feeling strangely happy. „I look forward to it! Wait, I can pick up some games here, if I bring them back tomorrow! Have you seen anything that you'd like to try?"

„Really, man? Sweet," Axel whistled. „Let's go for Grand Theft Auto Five, Call of Duty 3 and Mario Kart. That should keep us busy for the night."
„All right," I said, walking around the counter. „Let's collect them without making it seem like we're stealing."

Axel laughed. „Nice. Won't your boss mind?"

„I don't think so. Unless we really steal them," I said, chuckling.

I extended the note for my boss, telling him that I took home three games to play with my friend and that I left 200 munny as a surety.

My parents were pleasantly surprised that I wouldn't join them for dinner and that I would be home late.

And there I was, standing in front of the mirror because I was incredibly nervous.

I finally went along with a nice shirt and my favorite jeans and the feeling I was more girly than I wanted myself to be.

(A/N)

Oh my God, she published! Yes, yes, I published. Man, although I hated this chapter for almost a year, I believe, I can't believe how much fun I started to have while rewriting. This is what I write for.

All right, I hope you have fun reading this; I've giving up on this being the ‚story of my life', simply because I have so many ideas right now and I'm sure there will be many more. But this is a story that I like, the concept at least. I hope I can share that fun with you guys and thanks so much if you waited for this chapter to come.
I'm so thankful if you would stick with me until the very end.

Besides, everyone who wants to read more about the Twin Terrors, raise your hand (raises). Better get writing for the next chapter and I hope to meet you there again.

Lots of love,

Your author. :)