Rating: M
Bitter
Chapter 7
--
Axel visited every day for the next two weeks, trying, or as Cloud would say, pestering, every day, before finally convincing the older blond to let him take Roxas outside. The more Cloud had said no, the harder Axel had tried.
--
Roxas smiled happily as he got ready- Axel was currently waiting for him in the living room. He was happy because he'd been so sick of being confined to his house. Axel's visiting, at least, had made it a little better.
The blond checked himself over in the mirror attached to his dresser, finally satisfied with how he looked. He'd decided to wear something simple- blue jeans and a black sweatshirt. Axel had told him to wear something similar, only saying 'it's a surprise' when he asked why. Roxas had frowned and said he didn't like surprises.
He smiled, staring at his reflection a moment longer before gripping his keys, smiling when his fingers ran across the mace. The action made him feel safe as he slipped them into his back pocket. He closed his eyes briefly. If it was Axel surprising him… he'd decided he'd trust him.
Roxas slipped away from the mirror, heading for his bedroom door. After opening it, he made his way to the living room, surprised that Cloud wasn't with Axel.
"You look lovely," he said. Roxas blinked, looking himself over. A better word was 'plain'.
"Since when?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Axel smirked, approaching the blond. He drew Roxas into his arms.
"Since always," he whispered in his ear. Roxas' face flushed and his eyes widened. He was saved from saying anything in response, and very grateful too, when Cloud entered the room.
"I can't leave you alone for one minute can I?" He asked, directing the question at Axel. The red-head smiled sheepishly, slipping away from the flustered blond.
"I was behaving," he insisted. Cloud didn't look like he was buying it. Axel looked back at Roxas, smirking. "Ready to go, Rox?"
The blond took a deep breath, nodding. "Bye Cloud," he said, waving to his brother, "And good luck tonight!"
Cloud smiled. He'd been planning on proposing to Tifa tonight. "Thanks honey," he said. He'd told Roxas all about it, making sure, foremost, that the blond was okay with it. Roxas was overjoyed.
--
Axel took Roxas outside, leading him a block or two away. He paused at a motorcycle, and suddenly Roxas' outfit clicked. Axel had probably parked so far away because he'd known that Cloud wouldn't approve.
"No way!" Roxas said excitedly. The red-head smiled at the blond's reaction before getting on.
"Yes way," he replied. "Up for seeing where I live?" He asked, getting on and handing the blond a helmet.
"Yes!" he said, hugging the red-head tightly before putting it on. Axel's smile widened.
"Hold on tight, honey," Roxas gripped him just before they took off.
--
The blond smiled widely when Axel increased the speed, heart pounding. It almost felt as if they were flying and he absolutely loved it. He found himself enjoying it so much that he was disappointed when they reached Axel's house.
Axel smiled at the blond's look of wonder as they dismounted. The red-head's house was huge. Roxas blinked. The other boy seemed to be constantly surprising him.
"My parents own the flower shop here in town," he said. Roxas flushed, remembering the roses. "People come from all around just to buy our flowers."
"Is that where you got the roses?" Roxas asked. He'd heard that the owners of the flower shop were wealthy. He blinked when Axel shook his head.
"No, I got those from the garden," he said, taking Roxas' hand and opening the gate that surrounded his house, making sure to close and lock it behind him. The blond allowed Axel to lead him around the house to the back yard. They passed through a trellis and into a breathtaking garden. Axel smiled at Roxas' look of awe.
"My mother and I both love gardening, so this' how we bond," he replied. Roxas nodded in understanding.
"Do you want to look around?"
"Please," Roxas said. Axel smiled, giving the blond a grand tour. The garden seemed to have everything- ranging from herbs, to exotic flowers, which were in a greenhouse.
Once Roxas was satisfied, Axel took him inside, looking at the blond questioningly when he stopped. "You're so…" Roxas said, "Unexpected." Axel smiled.
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
Roxas laughed. "Well, it's not a bad thing," he whispered. Axel's smile widened.
"Good to hear," he replied.
"Axel..?" Roxas asked, catching a glimpse of what he was certain had been a grand piano as they walked further into the house.
"Yes?"
"Will you play?" the blond asked. Axel followed Roxas' gaze, eyes resting on the instrument.
"Of course," the red-head replied. "But we have more than one piano. Mine's this way," he said, leading Roxas to another room. Roxas paused, looking around. They were in a circular shaped room with a large window and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Everything was white, including the floor and the piano, save for the black keys.
"Why is everything white?" Roxas asked as they stepped inside.
"My sister…" Axel began, "Was blind."
"Was?" Axel smiled sadly.
"Her name was Naminé. She developed ovarian cancer years ago and passed away."
"I'm sorry," the blond whispered. Axel shook his head before continuing.
"Every time I'd play for her, she'd say that this' how she'd imagined the room to look and that she loved feeling the way I poured my soul into the music… So when she died, I changed the room to look like this."
"What was her favorite song?" Roxas asked. Axel closed the door then went up to the piano, sighing softly as he sat on the bench.
"Sunny Rain," he whispered. "Would you like to hear it?" The blond nodded and then closed his eyes as Axel started to play softly.
The title really did do the song justice. He could almost imagine a thunderstorm as the sun shined. It was one of his favorite phenomenon. He listened for moments longer than opened his eyes as the song got more intricate and beautiful.
Axel really did look like he poured his soul into the songs he played. The way he was bent over, giving it everything he had, was beautiful.
But the thing that impressed Roxas the most was the way he could get the dynamics perfect and play flawlessly without sheet music. The song wasn't terribly long, being just over four and a half minutes, but Roxas thought it was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever heard.
He watched the red-head up until the last cord, seeing him straighten himself before those beautiful emeralds fluttered open again. "Sorry," he said, smiling apologetically, glancing back at Roxas.
"For?" Roxas asked, approaching the red-head.
"I seem to have gotten rusty," Axel replied, glancing out the window.
"That was rusty?" Roxas asked, staring in disbelief. Axel glanced at the blond when he sat next to him. "You were wonderful," Roxas said, gripping the red-head's hand. Axel smiled down at the blond.
"Would you like to hear some more?" Roxas nodded and the red-head's smile widened. "Okay. You can sit there, if you'd like."
"Okay."
--
Roxas found himself listening to Axel play for hours. It was beautiful- both how and what he played. The blond was amazed by how many songs the red-head could play from memory and knew that the red-head would excel in his field of choice.
Roxas' favorite songs that Axel played for him were; Sunny Rain, Clair de Lune, Friendship, River Flows in You, and Unforgettable.
He was shocked, to say the least, when the red-head asked if he'd like to learn how to play a song.
"Are you sure I'd be able to?" The red-head nodded. "I don't know… what if I mess up?"
"Then I'll show you where you went wrong and help you improve," Axel whispered. "Come here," he said, standing and patting the spot where he had been. Roxas hesitantly complied. "Let's try River Flows in You. That one's relatively simple."
"Are you sure?" Roxas asked, lacking confidence in himself. Axel laughed.
"Very. You can do this. Think of the song as really being in patterns," he said, showing him the different ways the left and then right hand was played, "and hold the pedal down," he said, gesturing to what he was referring to, "to hold out the notes longer and make them blend together."
Roxas was surprised when he slowly began to play the song, repeating section after section as Axel played it first and after a good two hours, the blond, who had never touched a piano before, could play the roughly three minute long song. It was crude and lacking in dynamics but he could play it.
"I did it!" He said excitedly, smiling up at the red-head widely. Axel returned the smile.
"Good job," he whispered.
"Thank you," Roxas said, "For being patient and believing in me." Axel sat next to him.
"It was nothing." The blond hugged the red-head tightly and Axel laughed, returning the hug before sighing. "I should probably get you back. I promised your brother I'd have you back before dark."
"Axel?" Roxas asked.
"Rox-?" he started to ask, getting cut off when the blond's lips pressed to his. He was surprised by the action, but after a moment, closed his eyes and returned the smaller boy's kiss, kissing the blond slowly until Roxas pulled back, ending the brief kiss.
"Thank you for today. I had a lot of fun." Axel smiled.
"Any time."
--
Roxas and Axel decided to end their day by going to the mall. Even though Cloud had wanted him home and most of the stores were closed Roxas had wanted to see Tifa while she was at work. He had for weeks. He'd missed her terribly, so he was sure Cloud would understand.
The two dismounted for a second time and Roxas began to tell the red-head all about the raven-hair. "She's always been there for me," He said as they approached the entrance, "I'm really happy because Cloud plans on proposing to her tonight," stopping when he saw that there was police caution tape and patrol cars nearby. He and Axel took in the scene, shocked.
"Wh-what is this?" He asked one of the officers.
"We're sorry but you can't go into the mall- a murder was just reported half an hour ago," a policeman informed them.
"What? What happened?! Wh-who," Roxas asked, panicking. Axel gripped his hand. "Who was it?!" The officer closed his eyes.
"We're not supposed to disclose that information… I'm sorry."
"Roxas?" The blond heard. "It's okay, we needed to speak with him anyway." The voice was familiar and Roxas opened his eyes. It was Leon.
"Leon, please tell me!" He said running up to the brunette. He didn't know what he'd do if it'd been Tifa.
"It seems to be related to you, so you should know. The similarities are uncanny from what you wrote in your police report." Roxas' heart began to pound just before Leon closed his eyes. "The victim was Tifa Na-" He started, getting cut of when Roxas screamed. Axel hugged the blond tightly as he began to cry, saying soothing things into his honey hair.
Leon gripped Roxas' shoulder when he'd finally calmed. "There's more… if you're up to seeing it." Roxas nodded, turning and seeing for the first time that Leon was holding a folder. "Are you sure?"
"Just show me," the blond whispered, fresh tears streaming down his cheeks. Leon opened the folder, flipping through some pages before showing Roxas one in particular. It looked like there was message, in what Roxas assumed was Tifa's blood, written across the glass doors where Roxas worked.
"Come play, sweetie, or someone else you love dies tomorrow."
Roxas fell to his knees, emptying the contents of his stomach onto the pavement.
--
-TBC-
A/N: Hope that answers your question, DearlyBeloved-13.
Thoughts?
