Disclaimer- I do not own Kingdom Hearts
Love Everlasting
Chapter 6
Threat
Roxas awoke the next morning from his mom's knocks. He had not been sleeping since his bedtime was so early. He had lain around lazily, not wanting to go to school and not wanting to face his mom. Roxas knew he would probably get a workload of chores to do after school as a punishment. However, he dragged himself out of bed, still in his pajamas and headed down the stairs to the kitchen.
On the table was breakfast while his mother was chatting away on the phone as she washed dishes, her apron tied around her. Roxas stared at his breakfast, which was a creamy wheat and berry porridge. Roxas did not know if this was part of his punishment or this was because his mom was health freak when it came to his meals. He slumped in his chair, his mom's voice continued in the background but he could not focus on what she was saying.
The blonde-haired boy pushed his porridge with his spoon. Roxas stirred around finding something disgusting mixed in with his berries. Hestared at wrinkly, sundried raisins! He hated raisins. He picked some porridge up with his spoon, avoiding all the raisins, and took a bite.
What a delicious and healthy meal! Roxas thought as he swallowed.
Right now, he wished he could trade places with Sora. At least his dad never cooked breakfast that was filled with raisins. Roxas pushed several more raisins off to the side of his bowl.
"Alright, I'll see you then," Aerith said hanging up the phone.
Roxas's mom turned around wiping her hands with a dishtowel. She could see her son's somber look as he stared in the depths of his bowl.
"Roxas," Aerith said.
Her son looked up.
"I have a list of chores for you to do." She said.
Roxas groaned, "Oh come on mom!"
"I think it will teach you not to do something that foolish." She said sternly. "Especially, since tonight Sephiroth is coming over."
"WHAT?" He cried, dropping his spoon. It landed with a loud clank against the bowl before tipping over onto the table.
"Well, Sephiroth and I had a nice time last night before he left and I think it would nice to introduce you to him and to have dinner together."
Roxas pushed his chair out from the table. The chair screeched across the floor
"Oh come on you ground me for two weeks where I can't do anything, make me do chores and now you invite this jerk over?" Roxas said stomping out of the room.
"Don't you talk like that about Sephiroth!" Aerith said sharply.
"Why you use to talk about dad like that!" he shot back, reentering the room.
"Roxas, I know you're upset and I am going to let it slide but if you continue like this I am going to add another week to your punishment!"
Roxas and his mother stared one another down. After several moments, Roxas backed down knowing he would not win. He slumped down back in the chair he sat when he ate his breakfast. He crossed his arms and let out a huff. He was angry. Angry that he was grounded worse than Sora. He was angrier that he had to do chores after school. Yet, he was beyond angry when he learned that creepy jerk from yesterday was coming back here to HIS house.
Aerith let out a sigh. Her son fumed and she did not want to leave on such a bad note. Aerith did not appreciate her son's attitude and she did not appreciate the shouting on the phone from Cloud because of him.
"Roxas, I'm not marrying Sephiroth and nor am I asking you to think of him as a father figure."
"I wasn't going to," he muttered.
"Roxas, please just give him a chance." Aerith begged softly. "Once you get to know him, you may find him… tolerable?"
Tolerable was the right word for it. The way Cloud shouted through the phone about her sons' antics made her wonder how much of a chance did they actually give that girl her former husband was with.
Roxas ignored her and Aerith let out another sigh. She dropped the chore list in front of him. She then leaned over and kissed his head, making her son let out a "yuck" before rubbing away the spot she kissed. She slipped off the apron she was wearing and hung it on a peg next to the kitchen door. She smoothed out her dress and tidied her hair before picking up her purse.
"See you later sweetheart." She called to her son.
Roxas slouched in his chair.
"And don't be late for school."
He muttered a comment that when unnoticed to Aerith. When his mom was finally gone, Roxas let out a frustrated cry. Could life be anymore unfair for him? It did. When he picked up Sora for school, he found out that while Cloud had yelled at and grounded Sora for a month he had it easy. Sora could still freely play video games, use the phone, watch TV, and he did not have any mountains of chores. Why did Sora have the parent who was bad at discipline? Roxas wanted to bang his head against a wall.
"Yeah but you only have two weeks, I have a whole month to sit at home." Sora sighed. "Plus dad is making ME apologize to the tramp."
"I rather apologize to her than be at home tonight." His brother groaned.
"Why, what's going on?"
"It's that creepy guy I told you about on the phone. Mom is inviting him over tonight and if I step out of line she'll ground me longer."
"Ouch, and mom won't let you do anything fun."
Roxas let out another groan as he threw his hands up in the air. "Why are our parents dating people now?"
"Who is dating what now?"
The boys turned around to see Kairi and Namine right behind them. Both girls, dressed in school uniforms and coy smiles on their faces, looked at the brothers. Sora grinned at Kairi while Roxas averted his eyes to the ground to avoid the cute smile Namine was giving him.
"So who is dating who?" Kairi asked Sora.
"Our mom is dating someone now."
"Aw, that is so cute."
"Roxas doesn't think so. He says the guy is kind of creepy."
"Are you sure he's creepy?" Namine asked. "Maybe you're just being overprotective."
Roxas shook his head. "He gave me this look?"
"What kind of look?" Namine asked.
Roxas rubbed his face. "I don't know a weird look."
How could he explain a look that man gave him? It was a creepy look and it made him want to have his mom kick the guy to the curb. Not to mention he was intimidating and a kiss up to his mom.
As Roxas was contemplating his thoughts, Kairi and Namine had discovered that both brothers were grounded.
"Serves you right," Kairi scolded. "Even if you don't like someone you shouldn't be so mean."
"Yeah, whatever, that tramp deserved it." Sora said confidently.
"Wait a minute…" Namine said. "The spring fling is in three weeks. That means you won't be able to go right?"
Sora's confidence shattered as he slumped forward, sighing miserably. How could he have been so stupid to forget about that? He looked over at Kairi who was frowning heavily.
"I'm sure my dad will let me go," Sora said but in his head, he could hear the words "fat chance." After what happened with Larxene he was luckily to be alive.
"Does that mean you can't go?" Namine asked Roxas, a hint of sadness in her voice.
"Actually, I'm grounded for 2 weeks so I'm sure I can go." Roxas said.
Namine smiled. Roxas felt his cheeks burn red forcing him to turn away from the girl. Kairi on the other hand was still saddened by the idea of Sora not going. Now it was his turn to want to slam his head against a wall. He wanted to dance with her at the dance. Now, unless by some miracle, he would be sitting at home wishing he could be there. He wondered, if other guys would want to dance with her. Of course there were, Kairi was cute and popular. Sora groaned.
"I'll think of something," Sora said banging his fist into the palm of his other hand.
"While you're at it help me think of a way to get rid of mom's boyfriend that won't get me grounded longer."
"Why me?"
"Because I can't pull any pranks like last night."
Kairi gasped. "You pulled pranks on your dad's date? I thought you were just being rude. I didn't think you would actually pull pranks!"
Sora grinned sheepishly just as the bell rang. Without answering, he ran away from Kairi to school. Kairi ran after him, leaving Roxas and Namine standing alone in their dust. After realizing they were together, the two looked away blushing slightly.
Roxas was about to go when he felt Namine grab his wrist. He looked back to see her blushing madly and looking at the ground.
"What… what is it?"
"Roxas will you… will you…" Namine flustered.
"Will I what?"
"Um…"
"Hurry up you two or we'll be late!" shouted Axel dashing past the two.
The two blinked and realized they would be late if they did not hurry.
"We better hurry," Namine said.
"Yeah, let's hurry." Roxas agreed. "But what did you want to ask me?"
"Nothing… let's go!"
Namine hurried off, leaving Roxas dumbfounded. Suddenly, the warning bell went off and Roxas realized he should be hurrying up.
School passed by without so much as an incident, other than Riku and Sora playing a prank along with Axel on a group of "bullies." Luckily for them they were not caught. Roxas decided he did not want to get involved due to the fact if he got in trouble his mom would KILL him. On the way home, Roxas was dragging his feet not wanting to go home and do chores.
Sora planned to play video games all night, since his dad did not specify he could not play video games. He invited his brother to come in for a while but Roxas declined and walked, painfully slow, home.
Once he arrived to his mother's home he took all his things upstairs and then returned to the kitchen. Lying on the table, where he left it, was the list of chores. He read the obscenely long list.
1. Take out garbage
2. Dust the furniture
3. Sweep the floors
4. Water the plants
5. Clean bedroom
6. Sort laundry and put them away
7. Vacuum
8. Bring in mail
9. Put Dishes Away
10. Organize rooms
11. Finish Homework
"Slave driver," Roxas muttered.
The boy did the chores, albeit using shortcuts. The house was practically spotless anyway. His mother was always organized and clean. He assumed it because otherwise her life would be hectic, or even more hectic than it already was. She was busy supporting him and herself. Then again he could only imagine his mom's face if she ever stepped into his father's home. She would have a fit.
Roxas did the easiest chores first to get them out of the way. He was nearly done with sorting the laundry when his mom came home. She unlocked the door while juggling a bag of groceries in one hand and flowerpot in the other. Roxas got up from the couch where he had been folding the laundry and sorting them in piles. He walked to the door and instinctively took the groceries out of her hand.
"Thank you," Aerith said, slipping off her shoes and placing on her puffy white slippers.
"No problem," Roxas replied.
Aerith took a few steps away from the door and stared at her clean house. She smiled at how perfect everything looked.
"You were working hard." Aerith smiled.
"What else could I do?"
"Good point, I'm going to start getting dinner ready. Sephiroth is coming here at six so make sure you're cleaned up."
Roxas let out a low growl that Aerith did not hear. The two entered the kitchen and Aerith set the potted plant on the windowsill above the sink. Roxas noticed that the flowers were snapdragons. Sadly, after spending so much time as a kid at his mom's flower shop he knew which flowers were what. Roxas dropped the grocery bag on the kitchen counter and unloaded the contents.
"So what should we have for dinner?" Aerith asked, adjusting the pot of flowers.
"How about Chinese," Roxas asked. "In fact we can go all the way to China and get some. You make the arrangements and I'll start packing."
Aerith smirked and turned to her son. She placed her hand under his chin. He looked at her.
"Roxas, give Sephiroth a chance. You might like him."
WHY, why did his parents think they would like the person they were dating? He wondered if they were too blind to see how scary Larxene and Sephiroth look. Then again, he hoped that Larxene would not consider dating his dad after what he and Sora put her through. However, he wished Sora were here now. Two heads were better than one.
"How about we have spaghetti tonight?" Aerith suggested.
Roxas shrugged. He just wanted dinner over with and Sephiroth far, FAR away from his mom. Soon enough the aroma of spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove filled the kitchen. Roxas was upstairs doing his homework when it neared six o'clock. Aerith knocked on the door to see her son still in his school uniform.
"Roxas I told you to dress nicely." Aerith complained.
"I was doing homework." Roxas shot back, looking up from his books.
He wished he did not look at his mom. She looked very pretty again, like last night. She had her hair half up and half down and was now wearing a pretty blue and white sundress. He hated that his mom was trying so hard to impress some loser.
"Well hurry up, Sephiroth will be here any minute." Aerith called, leaving his room.
Roxas stripped out of his uniform, tossing them to the floor. He did not bother to hang them up since he was not in the mood for this dinner. Standing only in his boxers, socks, and a necklace he always wore, he observed his closet for clothes to wear. He dressed in a pair of tan pants and a black shirt. He noticed a few wrinkles in his shirt but did not care. He was not here to impress anyone.
As he finished up, the doorbell rang. His mother called him to come down. He let out a groan as he slumped down the stairs. When he made it halfway down, Sephiroth was already there kissing his mother's hands. Roxas wanted to puke over the banister.
"Sephiroth, I am so glad you could come." Aerith said.
"I'm glad you invited me back." He smiled.
"Mom is dinner done?" Roxas interrupted, not wanting to see anymore displays of affection between the two.
"Ah, oh yes, let me go check on it. Roxas, take Sephiroth's coat."
Aerith hurried into the kitchen leaving Roxas and Sephiroth in the foyer. Sephiroth was staring after Aerith while Roxas was glaring at him for it. When she was out of view, the silver haired man looked at the boy. He slipped off his coat and threw it at Roxas carelessly.
"Shove that somewhere," he ordered, walking away.
Roxas wanted to shove that coat somewhere and it was not into a closet. After throwing the coat into the closet, Roxas dragged himself into the kitchen. His eyes found his mother at the stove, and Sephiroth hovering over her. He could hear his mom giggle slightly and it made him gag. Why was he always the one to walk in on these types of moments? They were enough to scar him for life!
"Is dinner done? I'm starving?" Roxas asked, pulling out his chair.
Aerith broke away and nodded. She turned off the burners and quickly drained the water from the noodles. She placed equal amounts of noodles on three plates that were on the counter and then scooped the sauce over it. She placed each plate on a place mat that rested on the table.
"Please, sit," Aerith said showing Sephiroth a chair.
Instead, he pulled out Aerith's chair.
"Oh, a gentleman!" she blushed while Roxas tried his best to keep himself from throwing up.
Sephiroth finally sat down and the three began to eat. Roxas hunched over his food and began to eat quickly as possible. Sephiroth took one bite and chewed it slowly before swallowing.
"It tastes delicious. My compliments to the chef," Sephiroth said.
Roxas snorted causing Aerith and Sephiroth to look at him. He ignored them and continued to chow down. It was not as if his mom was a bad cook. This was freaking spaghetti. Even he knew how to make it. How hard was it to boil noodles and heat up some sauce?
"So, Sephiroth last time you were telling me about your job," Aerith said, striking up a conversation.
"Indeed, I am self-employed."
"What, as a con artist?" Roxas muttered before shoving his mouth full of food.
Aerith turned to her son, hearing his muttering. "What did you say?"
Roxas looked up, "Water, I want water."
"Oh, how silly of me I forgot to get us all drinks. Sephiroth what will you have?"
"Water sounds perfectly fine. As I was saying, I am self-employed which is why I can afford that car and three others like it."
Roxas's eyes traveled to the silver haired man. He felt eyes burning into him. Sephiroth's eyes were narrowed as he stared at Roxas. Roxas swore mentally because he knew Sephiroth heard it. Thankfully, his mom did not. Aerith came back to the table with three glasses of ice water.
"So, Sephiroth does your family live in the city?" Aerith asked.
"No, my family is out of town. How about yours?"
"Well my sons are my only family I have now." Aerith smiled at Roxas. "They mean the world to me."
"Ah, your second son is where?"
"He is grounded at his father's home. Once he is ungrounded, I want to introduce you to him."
"Yes, you also mentioned they were twins. So I'm guessing he looks just like the father?"
Roxas's eyes narrowed when he heard the emphasis on "the father." Roxas was a spitting image of his father. Aerith, however, did not catch it.
"Oh, everyone says Sora looks more like me. He has eyes just like his father does."
"Yeah, we get our good looks from our dad," the blonde-haired boy seethed.
"Yes, but as far as intelligence go… he must not have any to let such a beautiful woman get away."
Roxas slammed his hands on the table and glared at Sephiroth. "My dad is hundred times smarter than you and you'll never be even half of what he is. It doesn't take me five seconds to realize that you are an egotistical jackass!"
Aerith jumped, shocked that her son would behave like this. Before she could even say a thing Roxas stormed up to his room. His mother's mouth hung open.
"I am so sorry," she apologized. "I have no idea what has gotten into him."
"It's quite alright." Sephiroth said. "It's obvious that he thinks I am here to replace his father."
"Oh, I should go talk to him…" Sephiroth stopped her.
Once in his room, he slammed the door shut. Roxas sat on his bed, arms folded and his eyes narrow slits. He stared at the bedpost, since he had nothing else to do because he was grounded. He did not want to be anywhere near his mom when she was with that man, Sephiroth. He was a fake, like Larxene, and he knew it. The only difference was this creep was good at hiding it. Whatever reason he wanted to be with his mom was beyond him. Well, he knew his mom was pretty and still young, but Roxas believed that his intentions were not pure at all.
Roxas knew his mom wanted him to give him a chance. However, the simple presence of that man made Roxas's hair stand on end. Maybe if he was lucky his mom would break up with him if he showed so much hate toward Sephiroth. After all, she would never marry someone he hated, right?
As he contemplated that thought, there was a knock on the door. Roxas lifted his head toward the door. The knob turned and he expected to see his mother, wanting to talk to him about his outburst at dinner. Instead, his eyes burned with resentment as Sephiroth stood in the doorway, a smirk upon his face.
"Get out of my room," Roxas hissed venomously, "or else."
Sephiroth ignored his pathetic threat. He stepped into the room, stepping carelessly on his school clothes, which he had left on the ground. Roxas saw that, and his fist clenched tightly.
"You know, you're being very unfair to your mother." He said calmly. "You don't even know me. We could at least act civilized around one another for your sake."
He neared the bed, prompting Roxas to get up. Despite standing, the man before him was still a lot taller than he was. Sephiroth towered over him as if he was an infant. His sapphire eyes stared dangerously into Sephiroth jade ones. Roxas did not seem at all intimidated.
"I know I don't like you." Roxas shot back. "And my mom won't date anyone I don't like. So, don't worry about my mom's sake. Just get ready when she dumps you."
The next thing that occurred, happened so fast that Roxas did not even have time to realize what had happened. He was on the ground clutching his side. It felt as if a car had slammed into him. He sucked in a sharp breath realizing the pain washing over him. He looked up and saw Sephiroth's staring down at him with no emotion across his face. He had hit the younger boy so fast that he did not even see it.
Sephiroth reached down and grabbed Roxas off the ground. He held him off the ground by his throat. Roxas coughed, unable to catch a breath as Sephiroth fingers closed around him, tightening little by little, as he raised the boy eye level.
"I said worry about your sake." Sephiroth reminded him. "Your mother told me about your little stunt, getting rid of your pathetic father's girlfriend. If you think your pathetic pranks will get in my way, you're dead wrong."
Roxas tried to pry off Sephiroth's hand but his grip was strong. Roxas knew this person was a creep but never figured he be dangerous.
He finally dropped Roxas who landed hard on the floor. He looked up Sephiroth who was glaring dangerously.
"Once my mom finds out… your history…" Roxas choked.
"Yes, she'll believe her son who doesn't wish for her to be happy…" Sephiroth mocked. "Go ahead, she'll never believe you. I warn you though… try and interfere and you'll wish you've never been born."
As Sephiroth left the room, Roxas glared at after him. His hands rubbed his throat. Despite the threat, he knew he had to get rid of this creep, if not for his own sake, but definitely for his mother's sake.
X, X, X,
Author Note- Sorry for the wait. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far.