Haven't messed with this story in awhile. it just feels so sloppy and half assed. i know where i want to go but i'm just impatient to get there. but i have a few chunks written, and i have ideas of what i want to do. so this story may be in a looooong hiatus at times, but i wont abandon it. by God i will finish this!.......eventually.
if this seems rushed, sorry. it's kinda short, but there are some bigger plot points i hope to get to in the near upcoming chapters, and i hope those will have mor substance. college is hard now though! so i only have so much time to work on stuff. i'll try to write over break. seriously, i haven't forgotten this story. i've been working on some Style (Stan/Kyle) fics lately, will hopefully finishe one of them soon...
but nevertheless, onward! i hope you enjoy it.
Dinner that night was awkward.
Riku and Kairi had come over in the early afternoon, and the two of them along with Sora ordered pizza an hour or two ago, so they'd skipped the family dinner and were currently closed up in Sora's bedroom no doubt playing video games.
That left Axel, Roxas, and Xemnas sitting at the kitchen table, which would have been uncomfortable enough, but they were joined by Xigbar (who was mostly here to appease Xemnas's paranoia), Xaldin (who was preparing dinner as he often did on Sunday evenings), Lexeaus, Demyx, and Zexion. All and all, it felt rather odd to have the Organization partially reformed as it was.
Namine even joined them, opting to give Riku some time with his friends. Of course Roxas knew better. Namine had been shadowing her all evening. The girl was irritatingly intuitive. Something Roxas used to attribute to her gender. But now that Roxas too was a woman, she knew that wasn't the case. Namine just knew things. Roxas however wasn't much for the share-your-feelings girl talk bonding crap. So she was doing her best to keep Namine from asking her any personal questions.
As it was, Namine was currently bustling around the kitchen with Xaldin, while Demyx played guitar in the corner. Lexeaus was…somewhere, probably off with Xigbar "securing the parameter" or something, and Zexion was, (surprise), reading by the window.
It was so familiar Roxas couldn't help but feel discomfited. This is just like how they used to be. Sitting together like this. Casually co-"existing".
Roxas tried to hide her discomfort by looking as apathetic as possible – which she had gotten pretty good at over the years. She fiddled absently with her silverware, something her father would often scold her for. He was surprisingly strict when it came to manners. But today Roxas wasn't too concerned about being called out on poor dinner etiquette, since Xemnas was either deep in thought, or trying to burn a hole through the table with his mind. Roxas doubted anything could break his concentration.
Axel, however, seemed distracted. He sat rather leisurely across from Roxas, in no way acknowledging the uncomfortable atmosphere. Though that was the thing about Axel, he never really got intimidated by authority. In all honesty, neither did Roxas, but when the "authority" was her father it did unease her a bit.
Axel's attention, though, was focused on the kitchen, at what Roxas couldn't tell. She started to turn to look when she saw Axel shake his head out of the corner of her eye.
"Don't look."
Roxas cocked a brow but dutifully followed Axel's advice. He was obviously waiting for something. And Roxas was a little surprised to realize she thought she knew what that look meant. She felt a smirk tug at her lips. Axel was exactly the same.
So why had Roxas changed?
It was an issue Roxas had mulled over many times in her life. She saw all her old team members, Sora's friends she'd known through his memories, none of them seemed any different. But Roxas, well except for the gender thing she wasn't really any different at all. Still it forced her to wonder, why was Roxas reborn a girl? Did Roxas do something wrong? Did she make a mistake somewhere? Not that there was anything wrong with being a girl mind you, but it was nevertheless a suspicious turn of events.
"Is that a tapir?"
It took a moment for everyone to process what Lexeaus had just said. Apparently Lexeaus had snuck in at some point during Roxas's musings. How a man that large was able to sneak around so well Roxas would never know. She, along with the rest of the occupants turned to stare at where Lexeaus was now standing by the window. He held the shades open partially and stood with a detached expression looking out onto the lawn.
Demyx, being closest to the window, bolted out of his seat and joined his former superior.
His face was screwed up with shock and perhaps a touch of excitement. "There's like three of them!"
By this time the occupants of the entire dining room had migrated to the window. Sure enough, Roxas saw three lone tapirs sniffing through their neighbor's bushes. She couldn't quite process exactly what she was seeing. What the hell were tapirs doing wandering the suburbs of Twilight town?
"There's an ostridge across the street." Lexeaus pointed out.
Roxas looked instinctively at Axel. It was more a reflex action than anything else. She didn't really think he had anything to do with this. Actually, she was almost sure there was no reason for Axel to unleash tapirs, and apparently an ostridge, on her cul-de-sac for any reason. But force of habit had taught her to look to Axel when something ridiculously out of the ordinary occurred.
Axel shot her a sideways glance, as if expecting an accusing glare, and smirked. "Like I did this."
Roxas shivered and turned away. "Whatever." She heard Axel chuckle lightly next to her. The warm shiver that ran down her spine was new and not entirely welcome. She hadn't had those tingling girl feeling before – when she was a Nobody – so this was a very new sensation. It felt pathetic to think this, but god she loved his smile. Always had. That whole cocky look about him was really attractive. Especially now, when she knew her feelings were real.
She also found comfort in the fact that Axel, like herself, had fallen back into the same routine just like before (barring the sex, unfortunately).
Xigbar was already on his cell, no doubt calling animal control. When he hung up he pocketed the phone and gave the rest of the group a peculiar look.
"They're from the zoo. Apparently there's been a massive breakout. Nearly all the animals have been released." Xigbar absently scratched the scar below his eye patch. "Cloud and Zack are out with the rest of the force, trying to contain them. I should go too."
Zexion finally found the situation interesting enough to close his book. "What do you mean "released"?"
Xigbar, who was already half way out the door, paused and turned back to the group. "I mean they were set free."
Everyone waited, including Xigbar. When he didn't elaborate it was Axel who spoke first.
"By who?"
Roxas, unable to contain herself, mumbled "By whom."
Axel smirked but otherwise ignored her, as did everyone else.
"We don't know." And with that Xigbar walked out of the house.
Xemnas, who had been oddly silent throughout this incident, remained near the window, watching Xigbar attempt to collect the uncooperative tapirs and usher them into his police vehicle.
Back in the kitchen, Roxas could hear the faint sound of Xaldin's curses as the stove erupted in flames.
REVIEW? the more reviews/favorites i get the more i'm reminded that i need to work on this. seriously i updated this because i saw people review and favorite the story. so if you wanna read more of my shit, write detailed reviews. and favorite my stories. otherwise, dont i guess.
thanks for reading.
