7; voyager
"Sora, this is nuts! You can't just up and leave at your own leisure! A week? A WEEK? Did you leave enough money for a week! Sora …this is …I know, I know. But, Roxas needs you and So- …Sora? Soooorrrraaa? Shit."
I blinked hazily, trying to focus my vision. Inhaling sharply, I stretched from my confined space on the sofa, staring up at the white ceiling above my head. A shock of red hair passed my line of vision. Axel was currently pacing back and forth in the living room in a white wife beater and black flannel pants. His hair was a mess and matted to his face. He let out a loud aggravated sound as he turned the phone off and ran a hand through his hair, tugging at it rather forcefully.
"What the hell are you shouting for?" I mumbled, sitting up.
"Your brother is in Europe. London to be more exact." He answered looking down at the phone then back up at me.
I stared at him blinking again, "What?"
"I didn't stutter." He replied, groaning. He picked up the phone again and put it back into its cradle.
"You're joking." I sighed, "For what?"
"Not at all. He went off to go find Riku. Said he had to reaffirm their relationship or something." Axel shrugged, "He couldn't wait until he got back to do it. Sounds like something straight out a trashy romance novel doesn't it?"
I groaned, pressing my right hand against my face to massage it. "This is making my brain hurt …"
Axel picked up his Marlboro's, took one out and lit up. Walking over to the window, he tapped it over the ledge and sighed, "Does your brother think things out before he does stuff?"
"Sora tends not to." I leaned back in the chair. "How long did he say he was going to be gone for?"
"A week at most …" He slouched against the wall, "That leaves us in quite the little predicament doesn't it?"
"…What?"
"Well, what am I going to do with you? I can't let you stay here by yourself at night. Are there any people that you know off the top of your head that you know you can stay with until your brother gets back?" He gestured wildly with his hand.
"Well …" I considered him for a moment, "Cloud's still on vacation, Naminé's in Aspen and my parents are the only option …"
He winced, "I know you wouldn't want to stay with them. Is there no one else you can stay with?"
"Ansem?" I tried.
"Mr. Wise? It's a long shot but …hand me the phone." He removed the cigarette from his mouth, holding it steady between two long fingers. I passed him the cordless again and he pressed a few numbers on the phone and put it up to his ear, "Hello? Dr. Telford's office? …This is Axel Ramirez, is he in? He's with a patient but he's finishing up? Alright …no, it's alright, I'll hold."
I shrugged out of the blanket I was currently confined to and stood up. Soro moved in the corner of the room when she saw me get up. Picking up her head, she stretched her body out and toddled after me. I was about to make myself some coffee when I saw that her bowl was empty as was her water bowl.
I rummaged around in cabinets for her dog food while she jumped and whined around me. I poured her some food, and went about making my own coffee. When it was done, I headed back into the living room where Axel was back to pacing the living room again.
"…Sora just upped and left. What do you expect me to do? …Well, no there's no one he can stay with. …Yeah, that's what he said. I don't know …" He looked at me, "What can I do? I can't leave him here." He leaned his head back against the couch, "Yeah, but …well …no, he doesn't want …no, actually that's not completely out of the question. I mean, I wouldn't mind, but you would. What? It's not like I'd do anything. He'd be with me, Demyx and Zexion the entire time. …Three people, that's more than enough. …Oh come on, I'm not his professional shrink, I'm his live-in."
Why did I not like the way this was sounding?
"I am responsible! No …no …yes, that's exactly …oh jeez, look, you want to talk to him? He's right here." Axel looked at me, eyebrows furrowed. "Right, right." He pushed the phone into my hand, "Here, Mr. Wise wants to talk to you."
I sat my coffee down on the coffee table, accepting the phone from Axel. Pressing it to my ear, I spoke, "Ansem?"
"Good morning, Roxas." His gruff voice answered, "How are you this morning?"
"Fine, I guess." I looked at Axel who shrugged.
"Seeing as you are already informed about your current situation, I won't waste time on explaining the details. Listen carefully, Roxas. How apt are you to staying with Axel until your brother comes back?" He cleared his throat, "I have objected strongly to it."
"…I …"
Let's think about this.
Axel can annoy the shit out of me, but …between him and staying with my parents; he would clearly be the better option. I could always avoid his moron roommate, Demyx and I knew Zexion wouldn't bother me too much if at all. Where as at home, my father would be breathing down my neck every five minutes or something worse. I'd barely have anything to say to my mother and Rikku would be the only semi-normal one. …When it came down to it …I had to stay with Axel.
"I'll stay with Axel. I mean, it's only temporary."
"Are you sure?" Ansem asked, "I can arrange for you—"
"No, it's …" I sighed, shaking my head and trying to force my stress level down, "It's fine. I'll manage.
"You're positive then, Roxas?"
"Yes."
"Well, if you have agreed to it, I have no further business here to attend to. If you feel like the situation is too much, you may call me at any time. I know Axel can be a bit …overbearing at times for you."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"I bid you farewell, Roxas. Take care of yourself."
He hung up the phone and I clicked the phone off. When I looked up at Axel he was grinning, "So?"
"I'm staying with you." I stood up, "Don't think this means I like you or anything. I still think you're an idiot. I just don't feel like bothering Ansem for anything."
"Sure, that's what they all say."
"Don't antagonize me." I snapped, hands on my hips, "This whole thing wouldn't even be happening if Sora didn't decide to gallivant off with Riku for God knows how long."
"It's only a week, chill; it'll fly by before you know it."
"Right."
"Well, if it's settled and you're staying with me …" He put his cigarette out in the ash tray at his side. Neither me, nor Sora smoke. But, when Sora found out that Axel did, he had gone out of his way to go find him a small little ash tray for Axel to use when he was over. "I suggest you start packing then." He clasped his hands together like some type of crazed, excited school girl, "We're going to have so much fun, Roxy!"
"Oh, I can hardly wait." I replied sarcastically, my voice void of all emotion.
"Stop being such a stick in the mud and go pack."
I kicked the door open to my room, sighing as I opened up my closet and began pulling an assortment of clothes out to pack. Someone really needed to remind me to kill Sora when he got back.
xXx
By late afternoon, bordering on the early evening, I had packed a sufficient bag that could carry me little over a week and half. Axel was checking everything out around the house to make sure everything was turned off and there were no hazards anywhere. Meanwhile, I was trying to get Soro to get into her carrier, but she was too busy thinking I was trying to play with her to cooperate.
God, this dog was so retarded at times.
Finally, I resorted to just picking her up and shoving her into the cage. I had given up on trying to be gentle with her. She growled at me, which soon subsided to whining when I closed the gate in on her. She pawed at me, whining as I headed over to the other side of my room.
Axel came, standing by the door and swinging a pair of keys around his index finger. "Ready?"
"Just about." I leaned over on my bed, peering behind my pillow for the journal Ansem requested that I write in. Turning around, Axel was still by the door, twirling the keys nonchalantly, "Can you give me a minute?"
"Right, right …" He clutched the keys inside his hand, "Where's the dog?" I nodded off to where Soro was whining in her cage by the foot of my bed. She whined as Axel neared her to pet her head through the cage. "What are you doing?"
"Getting something." I replied, sitting up straight.
"What?"
"None of your business, that's what."
He sighed, "Alright, then. Find your something. I'll be waiting in the front." He picked up the dog cage and Soro squeaked excitedly. "What the hell is this?" He held up a tattered pink piece of terry cloth.
"Her blanket." I answered, "Put it into the cage and please make sure she doesn't get out. It takes forever to get her in that thing."
Axel grumbled, unlocking the cage a bit so he could push the cloth in beside Soro. She whined at him as he locked the gate, licking at his fingers. "Sorry love, we'll let you out when we get to my place. Demyx is going to love her …he's obsessed with dogs." He stood back up, stretching his back out. Wandering over to my bed, he made a move to pick up my black duffel.
I turned to look at him, "I suggest you pick that up with two hands."
"This …doesn't even seem …" He instantly nearly fell over from the weight of the bag. Soro's cage dropped in his hands and she squeaked again, whining loudly.
"Heavy?" I rolled my eyes at him, reaching down underneath my mattress. My hand finally hit what I was looking for and I pulled it up out of the crevice of my bed. I unzipped my bag that was still held haphazardly hanging off his shoulder, and stuffed the book between a black thermal and a pair of white socks. I zipped the bag back up, walking around Axel to my closet to get my hoodie, scarf and coat out. I was about to leave the room when he protested loudly.
"Wait a minute! Aren't you going to take anything?"
I looked at him, looked at Soro and shrugged. "Give me the dog."
"You're evil."
"I know." I mumbled, wrapping the scarf around my neck. Soro had stopped whining and I headed out of the room and into the living room. The lights were off and everything was quiet.
Axel followed suit, lugging my duffel behind him. "You have everything, right?"
"Yes."
"So we won't have to come back for anything, right?"
"No."
"Well, alright then." He took out the keys, unlocking the front door.
I headed out first, just as he clicked the light off in the foyer. The door to the elevator opened just as Axel had finished closing the door and checking to make sure it was locked.
"How are we getting downtown?"
"…We're taking my car. Well, it's really Zexion's car, but that's besides the point." He pocketed the keys into his jacket, "You know, because I drive here sometimes?"
I rolled my eyes, "Obviously." Axel just smirked at me, doing nothing else. We quickly hit the bottom floor of the building and I made a move to step out, when Axel held a hand out against my chest. He poked his head out of the elevator, and I frowned. "What's the hold up?"
"Stay back, all right?" He asked and wandered out a bit of the elevator. Placing a hand over the door opening, he motioned with his hand for someone to come toward him.
I poked my head out after him, seeing two bald headed giant men coming our way. I looked up at him, raising an eyebrow, "Bodyguards?"
"There's a bit of trouble outside." He replied, "Paparazzi. You know, what with Sora missing and all."
"Lovely." I replied, groaning.
"I thought so too," He replied, adjusting the duffel as he reached for something in his back pocket, "You must be crazy if you think I'm trying to brave a crowd like that by myself. And I thought crowds like this only really happened in LA." He turned around to look at me, "You have sunglasses don't you?"
"…In the duffel …"
He let it drop gently to the floor, "Get them out." A flash startled me as I heard the door open and loud voices flood into the lobby. Another flash and the bodyguards before us closed in around me, "Come on, we don't have time for stalling,they're getting their pictures and you're wasting time. Get the shades, Rox."
I fumbled around in the bottom of my bag, pulling out a pair of large black shades. Pushing them on, I zipped the duffel back up and held it back up for Axel. He swung it back over his shoulder, motioning for me to follow him. Security was at our sides as soon as we stepped out into the crowd.
It was crazy trying to get out of the building. There had to be a total of at least fifteen or so paparazzi all standing around trying to get a picture of me with Axel. We walked through the crowd, security keeping close to us the entire way until we finally stopped at Zexion's coupe. Axel popped the doors open as soon as we got there, and dropped my duffel into the back seat, and backtracked back to the driver's seat.
When I opened the other door to put Soro's cage, Axel turned around to look at me. "You might want to stick to the back and make sure nothing happens to the dog …you know, so that the cage is secure." He said.
I opened the back door, pushed Soro's cage in between me and the duffel and closed the door behind us. "You can go." I replied.
The body guards walked away from the car, motioning for Axel to go ahead and drive up to where two cop cars were stationed at the end of the street. I buckled up, sinking down into the seat. I cradled an arm around Soro's cage to keep it steady. The minute Axel hit the gas pedal; he hit the brake rather harshly, jerking the car forward so that I nearly choked on the set belt.
The reason? Some crazy ass jumped onto the hood of the car, rolled across it and stumbled onto the floor. A cop quickly forced him to the ground as he pulled away his camera and began to cuff him. God, these people were insane.
Axel slammed a hand down on the horn as another idiot jumped in the way of the car. It took them a little while, but the police got a hold of the people so that they were away from the car. Axel leaned forward in his seat, turning the wheel and jetted out into the street. "I'm going to get on the FDR, alright? It's a lot quicker if we take it down directly to my house."
"Where do you live?"
"West 20th street, between 6th and 7th." He grinned at me in the rear view mirror, "In the heart of Chelsea. Surprised?"
"No, it's actually fitting that you live in Gayville."
"As it's completely fitting that you live up in Ritzy Richie Rich Rich Land?" He asked, mirth playing in his voice.
"Blame it on my parents." I shot back, rolling my eyes. I could see Brooklyn coming into view on the other side of the water, and I sighed pressing my face against the glass.
"Tired?"
"Sort of."
"You can go to sleep if you want …" He sighed, "We're in for some heavy traffic right now." He fumbled around with something above his head, and pushed a disc into the tray in front of him.
"Well, obviously. It's rush hour." I unbuckled my seat belt, moved Soro's cage to the floor and leaned over to press my head against the duffel. "Wake me up when we get downtown."
"Roger that."
xXx
It had grown dark since I had last been up. I sat up, yawning deftly into my hand. Turning around to look out of the back window, I saw that we were no longer on the FDR and were currently heading across 23rd toward Broadway. Axel caught sight of me in the rear view mirror, looking up at me briefly, "Why hello sleepy head, aren't you a sight to behold."
"Shut up," I mumbled, rubbing at my eyes and trying to focus. "What time is it?"
"Almost seven."
"…How long were we in traffic for?"
"For as long as you were asleep. It was pretty bad …" He shrugged, "But we're almost there."
I looked at Soro's cage and saw that she quieted down and was currently resting. When she saw me she picked her head up, pushing it against the screen.
"You know, you sleep a lot."
"So I've been told." Ignoring her, I flopped back onto the duffel and pressing my face against its surface.
"Some people would consider that abnormal."
"I'm not normal." I mumbled into my bag.
"No one is." He replied. Stopping at a light he turned around to look at me, a smirk on his face, "You know?"
"Sure." I sighed, rolling over on the duffel, "What the hell are you listening to?"
"Lupe Fiasco." He answered, wiggling the index of his right finger, "Why? Do you want me to change it or something else?"
"You struck me as more of the rock type."
"I listen to everything, my little Sunshine!" He replied, nodding his head. "Rap, hip hop, jazz, rock …" He lowered his voice a little and coughed, "Country …"
"Fascinating."
He hit the gas pedal again, and the car jutted forward. "So, I need to know a few things …"
"What?"
"Saturday's, you go to Ansem, right?"
"Yes." I replied, sighing.
"Anything else I should memorize? Any allergies to anything? I don't want to have you dying on me."
"I don't eat red meat." I replied, "And I'm lactose intolerant so I only drink soy milk."
"Well you're in luck with the soy milk thing. You're in the same boat as Zexion right there." He thought for a moment.
"Hm."
"Well, alright then!" Axel straightened up in his seat, "That's all. You can go back to sleep for a few, we're almost there though."
"Right." I took to resting my head against the duffel, not paying much attention to the outside world. "Did they follow us?"
"I think the police had everything blockaded off or whatever…I'm not sure." He was about to make a turn when he slammed down on the brakes, "Shit."
"What?" I made an attempt to sit up when he turned around, waving his hand down at me.
"Just stay down, alright?"
"Great." I buried my face into the duffel once again and sighed. It wasn't as bad as when we had first left the house. But, we were still moving along slowly and it was definitely touching one of my nerves. "How the hell would they know I was heading to your house? Of all places."
"Guess they were following us …I don't know, I was too busy focusing on traffic to actually check to see if we were being followed or anything." He followed the police man that was motioning for him come along. Just as he was about to head on through, a man with a camera jumped in from the left side of the car. He slammed down on the breaks and honked the horn, "What the fuck do you think you're doing, you dumb fuck?" He yelled out the partially cracked window at his side. The man snapped a few shots but was quickly dragged away by a horde of cops. Jesus, do these men even care about their safety?
Once Axel parked the car, security guards surrounded the car to escort us to Axel's building and hold back the crowd that had formed in the area. Axel, once again, took my duffel while I took Soro. I couldn't really see what was going on behind us because the guards were crowding my view. But, I can tell you one thing, it didn't sound pleasant.
"GET BACK! STOP TRYING TO GET THROUGH!"
"Roxas! Roxas! Where's your brother?"
"How are your parents reacting to this news!"
"Roxas! Roxas! Come back, we just want to talk to you!"
"Why are you always with Axel?"
"Why all the secrets, Roxas!"
…Jesus …fucking …Christ.
Axel directed me into the main entrance of the building and away from everyone that was screaming at us. The minute we were in the lobby, Axel jabbed the up button on the elevator, shaking his head. "Sorry." He shrugged.
The elevator came and we entered. He hit the top floor and I sighed, resting my back against the wall behind me. "I can't take this …"
"They'll give up soon enough." He responded.
"Soon is never enough."
He sighed when the elevator opened and chimed. There was some soft thumping coming from the end of the hall to where Axel was walking to. He twirled his keys around his index finger, jabbing it into the door and was about to turn it when he turned around to look at me. "The following things you are about to see may shock and amuse you."
"Or blind me with sheer stupidity." I replied, "Look, it's getting late, just open the door, will you?"
The minute Axel opened the door, I was assaulted with the sounds of blaring techno music. Axel stepped aside to let me through first. He locked the door behind me and then proceeded to drop my duffel down on the floor, "DEMYX!" He yelled.
Demyx, whom I remembered as the moron from Starbucks, was currently playing on what I presumed was DDR hooked up to a PS2. The volume was turned up to deafening levels. "AXEL, YOU'RE HOME!"
"STOP YELLING, DEMYX, AND TURN THAT SHIT DOWN!"
"WHATTTTT?" Demyx yelled back. "TAKE A SHIT ROUND?"
Axel growled, walking over to the PS2 and yanked the cords from the back of the console so that the sound and video cord was hanging limply in his hand. "I said, TURN IT DOWN."
"Wahh! What the hell do you think you're doing coming in here and just ripping cords out whatever you feel like? I had a hundred and forty two combo going you ass!" Demyx whined loudly.
"I can hear the god damn game all the way out in the hallway. As if the neighbors don't hate us enough, already." He rolled his eyes, "Where's Zexion?
I was getting my jacket off when my foot hit the back of Soro's cage and the thing popped open. Soro instantly jumped out, and started barking at me, "Shut up."
"He stepped out to go get some herbal shit or something …" He waved his arms excitedly, "BUT DUDE! Do you SEE the crowd that's formed downstairs? It's insane! Who the hell is over here …" He paused, "Did you get a dog while you were out?"
"Actually …" Axel started.
Footsteps echoed over to where I was standing and Demyx appeared around the bend. Demyx looked at Axel, then looked at me, then looked at Axel again and pointed toward me, "What's Roxas doing here?"
"…That's what I wanted to tell you." Axel rubbed the back of his head, "Roxas is staying with us for awhile. His brother went …away for awhile …so he's here until he gets back."
Demyx looked down at Soro, "And you guys brought a dog? You know, Zexion's not going to take this too well. You know how he is with dogs."
"Yeah, well, she's harmless." Axel looked at me, "Right?"
"She's retarded." I replied.
"She's adorable though. You mind if I pet her?" He asked looking up at me, wide eyed.
"Be my guest." I shrugged.
"Awww! Hi, baby!" Demyx instantly leaned down to scratch her behind the ears. Soro stopped barking and instantly gravitated over to Demyx and stated licking his hand. She jumped up onto his lap and he drew back so he could sit on the floor. "Hi! Hiii! Aren't you just the cutest doggy in the whole wide world?"
"Um …" Axel scratched his head, "I'll show you where you're staying." He picked up the duffel, lugging it over his shoulder and directed me past the living room and kitchen to a small side hallway all the way on the other side of the apartment. He cracked the door open a bit, clicking the lights on. He motioned for me to follow him inside.
This was definitely Axel's room.
The walls were a dark shade of sangria, and the carpet was black and covered in clothes, sheets of paper and other various paraphernalia. On the walls hung various plaques of albums, and what I realized was a caricature of what looked like him, Demyx and Zexion. There was a long black mirror hanging from one wall, and a dresser was pushed up right next to it. On the other side a large walk in closet lay open with even more clothes littered around inside of it.
A keyboard was pushed along the length of one side of the room, and a guitar was cradled next to the amplifier. There was a bathroom off to the side of the bedroom. I turned a little bit further and noted that Axel had framed the picture that I had drew of him dying, and it was resting on the table next to his guitar. Lastly, I looked to the bed. It was fairly large, probably bordering on king size. I placed a hand down on the bed, testing it out and found that the sheets were just as I suspected; black silk.
"…Okay, so it's a bit of mess." He bent over to pick a few articles of clothing off of the floor and threw them into his closet and kicked the door shut. "But I wasn't planning on you coming back with me …you know …today and all."
I shrugged, not responding.
"Look, why don't you get settled? I'm going to go call Ansem to let him know we're safe and sound or whatever." He left the room, keeping the door open and walked into the living room. He began shouting out something at Demyx as he swiveled around the corner. I unzipped my duffel and began rummaging around in it until a loud scream broke through the house.
"Why …is there a dog in the house?" The voice was bordering on hysterical.
"Shit, Zexion! Calm down!" That was Axel.
"She's harmless, Zex! Aren't you, little baby?" Demyx.
"Rawrrf!"
"I don't care what she is, I don't want that thing anywhere near me!"
"But she's …"
"Oh my god, Demyx catch her!"
There was a loud crash and heavy stomping. Soro started barking and a door slammed. I groaned, burying my face into my hands, letting go of my duffel. There was more shouting, crashing and hysterical screaming. I just knew it was going to be one long ass week.
xXx
I was running.
Running through an endless maze of corridors and pictures, they passed as blurs as I tried to keep up the pace. It was dark, and I couldn't clearly see where I was going. Behind me, heavy footsteps were thudding behind me. I turned another corner of blurs, rushing into darkness once again. The walls were closing in on me the further I ran.
Something crashed behind me and there was a loud scratching sound ringing in my ears. I ran faster, not paying attention to the direction I was headed or what was in front of me. I collided with the wall, soon being knocked off my feet. Sitting up, I looked above me to see those familiar amber eyes staring back at me. I tried to roll over and get away from him, backing up into the corner. He leaned down to look at me, a small grin on his face.
"I hate it when you run away."
He stroked the corner of my face, running a long hand under my eye and caressing my skin. Paralyzed, I stared back at him. He drew closer, his arms drawing around me to try and pick me up. As soon as he tried to get close, I tried to push him away with my arms.
"Now, now, it's alright."
"I don't …"
I started, as he tried to pick me up again. I tried to reach for X who had flown out of my arms previously, but he stopped my hand from grasping any further. I looked at the hand, and then up at him. He locked my arms at my sides, hoisting me up into his arms. I struggled, shaking my head.
"No. No."
"Shhh."
He stroked my head, turning around to head to the door behind us.
"X. Lemme get X."
I pleaded, kicking at his stomach. When that didn't work, I bit at his wrist, managing to wriggle one arm free and started to reach over his shoulder at my discarded bear in the hallway. I tried to pull away from him, but his grip only tightened. The door creaked to a close behind us as I tried to reach out for X.
"Please! Lemme get X!"
…Reach out for anything.
I couldn't.
"We don't like naughty boys."
xXx
Roxas? …Jesus, It's two in the morning, what's wrong?
Get out …
What?
Get out! Get the fuck out this room, right now! I don't want you here!
Woah, woah woah …slow down.
Shut up! Shut up right now!
Can you calm the fuck down? Sheesh. God, what the hell did you do …shit; you nearly chewed yourself down to the bone.
Get your fucking hands OFF of me, dammit.
Stop struggling. Let's go.
No! Give me X first. I'm not leaving until I …
…Roxas, what are you talking about?
I hate you. I hate you so fucking much.
xXx
"…What the hell do you think you're doing?"
I was currently sitting up in bed with Axel leaning over my side. He was winding a roll of gauze around my wrist. The light was dim and he looked tired and slightly unfocused. He pressed a few pieces of medical tape firmly to the gauze and looked at me, his eyes narrowed.
"I don't know, maybe you can tell me." Axel answered, agitation laced into his voice. "What was that whole outburst was about earlier?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You were screaming at me to get out of my own room."
What the hell was he talking about? "What?" I asked, narrowing my own eyes.
He didn't elaborate anymore, and pushed some sheets aside. "I'm going to go make you some tea to calm your ass down. Don't go anywhere."
I looked at him leave and then turned my attention to my wrist. It stung like a bitch. What the hell was I doing up in the first place? I had been having that flash back and then …I'm right here. What the fuck.
Axel came back a few minutes later, black pajama pants dragging on the floor and yawning. He kicked the door shut with his foot and passed me the steaming cup. "Drink it."
"I'm not—"
"Look, I'm trying to help you get back to sleep. I'm tired, and I want to get back to sleep myself. Would you just drink it?" He stood, arms crossed over his bare chest. I eyed him briefly. Despite looking somewhat emaciated with clothes on, Axel had a somewhat defined muscle structure. I looked at the tea then back at him. I held it underneath my nose to sniff it then looked back at him. "It's herbal or some shit."
I sipped at it cautiously. It wasn't all that sweet but the after taste was less than spectacular. He turned around to walk to the other side of the bed, fluffing the sheets out again. I realized there was something written in dark script between his shoulder blades. "…What does that mean on your back?"
"Onda de Dança chamas," He answered, not turning around to look at me, "Flurry of dancing flames." He kneeled back down on the futon next to the bed. Pulling the sheets back over his head, he mumbled, "When you're done, just put the mug on the night stand, I'm going back to sleep."
I looked down at the mug, and then turned to look at him again. "Axel." I started.
"What?" Came his muffled response.
"What happened?"
He sat up looking at me for a long time, "…You honestly don't know?" I shook my head my head in response. He sighed, turning to look at me and began rubbing his nose. "You woke me up, first off."
"How?"
"You were telling someone, "No, no, no", I think. You were making grabbing motions at nothing in particular. I tried calling out to you, but you only swatted at me further. You know, your kicks hurt, but your punches are way worse."
I coughed, taking a small sip from the cup in front of me.
He pointed at my wrist, "I don't know why, but after I couldn't wake you up, you started chewing on your wrist. You probably would have bit the entire thing off if I hadn't woken up, it was pretty messy. Then you woke up and started yelling and bitching at me. You told me to get the fuck out of my own room and accused me on not letting me get 'X'?"
I paled considerably, sipping at the rest of the tea in the mug.
"Is something wrong?"
"No." I answered quickly. I'm not dealing with this right now.
"Roxas, I've never said this before, but …" He scratched his head, "You do know that part of my job as your live-in is to have someone to talk to and confide in…you know, besides Ansem? I know it's late and all, but if you want to talk about what happened, you can tell me now."
I shook my head, "I don't want to."
"And you don't have to, but I'm just worried that you keeping everything is going to do more harm than good."
"I'm fine."
"If you say so." He replied, laying back on the futon.
I paused, "…Are you going to tell Ansem about what happened here tonight?"
He considered me for a long time, "Do you want me to?"
I didn't answer, sipping at my tea, and shifted my view
"…There's something called patient confidentiality, Roxas. It's something I'm sworn to as your live-in. …I report only the surface workings to Ansem. This is in the deep end. Don't worry. Now if you're done with that, go back to sleep."
He turned out the light, and shuffled around in the futon. I set the mug down on the nightstand beside me, looking down at Axel for a few minutes before reclining back to lie on my own pillow. I cuddled the sheets around my body, pressing my face firmly into the pillow as I did.
This is precisely why I thought it was a bad idea to come over here in the first place. I didn't want Axel to see how bad I could get. How badly I was fucked up at times. This isn't what I wanted. I was supposed to be an asshole and drive him away, I wasn't supposed to be civil, I wasn't going to let him in, and he wasn't supposed to see these things. He was supposed to see the Roxas like the rest of the public saw. The one people called a cold hearted, acerbic asshole who never let anyone get close. Who always held people at an arms length. How the hell was I going to survive a week with Axel breathing down my neck and watching my every move?
The bricks in the wall were starting to sway …
…And I seriously don't know if I can catch them all when they start to fall.
