Siiiiiigh... This fic has been dead for so so so so SO long, I am very sorry. But don't worry, like I said before, I will complete this story, even if it kills me. I swear. Sorry for making you wait 4595i3934%3248 years again.
Thank you to everyone who's been sticking with me this far. Even if nobody reads this anymore, it still means a lot to me that someone once took their time to get into this fic, and that is the reason why I won't EVER drop this fic.
About the story itself, don't let this chapter's dark nature fool you! This is still supposed to be a humorous story, so I won't make dark and depressing themes the main thing. Roxas is harboring some inner demons that I think he must deal with properly sooner or later. I apologize in advance, but there's still some of the good stuff too. ;)
I also updated all the previous chapters, because… well, they sounded stupid. They probably still sound stupid but hey, I tried. I am infinitely open to all and any kind of help with grammar and such, because it seems like I only evolve through my mistakes… ^^'
R-18
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN KINGDOM HEARTS, FINAL FANTASY OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS.
Chapter 10: Trust rhymes with lust
I'm running for my life. Or if stumbling down the darkened, empty streets in a way that almost makes me look like a physically challenged person can be called proper running, then yeah.
I know I've been abused by someone – judging by the numbing pain all over my body and my shredded clothes flapping in the wind as I run – but I have no idea by what or who, which means that I also don't know what I'm running away from.
But what I do know, is that it's vital that whoever is chasing me doesn't catch me.
I navigate myself through a lot of narrow pathways and make several turns, occasionally left and sometimes taking a right turn, but no matter how far I run or how many trash bins or fire escape ladders I pass, the scenery doesn't seem to change.
A thought of this being just a dream runs through my head, but all the realistic sensations – the overwhelming panic, the exhaustion burning in my throat and muscles, the aching of open wounds, the disgusting feeling in my rear, and even the sound of my own frightened whimpering as I run – everything feels so hauntingly familiar that I start to realize something.
This is a memory, it must be.
Even if I feel that this has happened before, when I try to remember exact details, all I can see are blurry images wrapped in darkness. It may be in form of a dream, but there's no doubt that this is a piece of my traumatic past that I've been trying to dull out with medication and psychotherapy up until now.
Suddenly, I run right into a brick wall that for reasons unknown I fail to notice, and fall on my butt. Not giving a single thought to the pain inflicted from the impact, I frantically try to get myself up instead, but my legs feel strangely heavy, and my sense of balance seems to not exist at all. A desperate cry escapes me as I try to drag my feet away from the wall, and as I scoot away, I bump right into something laying on the ground behind me. When I turn around and see a brutally mangled corpse of someone unrecognizable, my stomach turns violently and the urge to throw up forces its way through my system.
"He won't bother us anymore."
With both of my hands covering my mouth in an attempt to not puke my innards out, I gaze up towards a familiar voice coming from the alley opening. I can see the dark outline of a tall man, a figure I know all too well but can't name. It's a very disturbing feeling.
"I... I had to kill him, he... he was going to hurt you", the man spoke with a chilling tone, his words ironically contradicting what he probably is going to do with me. That must be why I feel stings of fear hitting my stomach every time he speaks, not to mention the fact that he just claimed to have killed the man lying between us.
I check my surroundings in search for a weapon or anything to defend myself with but find absolutely nothing. Weren't there just moments ago things such as trash bins and such lying around, or was it just my imagination?
"I did it for you... I... did it for... for us", the man continues as heavy footsteps echo across the walls.
Panic swells inside me as I scoot back towards the brick wall and try to press my back into it as hard as I can while I watch the tall figure ominously closing in on me.
T-this really is a dream, right? Something like this couldn't possibly be happening to me right now. Even if this takes a turn towards the worst, it's got to end sooner or later. Any moment now, I'm going to wake up safely in my own bedroom, and forget this disturbing dream, just like I forget most of my dreams, right?
"I just don't get it...Why didn't you come back to me?"
...What? What is this man talking about?
"I took care of all obstacles, everyone who opposed us", the man's tone went lower and lower the more he spoke, as if the words hurt him.
"I even slayed... him."
The figure spoke the last word of that sentence with such venom, that it sent shivers down my spine.
"Who are you?" I finally speak up with a shaky voice, and the man jerks, as if the question shocked him.
He suddenly starts walking faster towards me, as if upset by my question, and... I begin to make out some features in the alley's poor lighting. The person I soon see standing in front of me fills me with dread.
When I see the all too familiar biology teacher, out of all possible people, standing in front of me with an expression completely opposite to his usual smiling, slightly mischievous one, the urge to hurl runs through me once again.
Confusion fills my head, and everything starts to make sense at the same time as absolutely nothing makes sense at all. Something… no, absolutely everything is wrong with this situation!
"How can you even ask something like that? After all these years...It's almost like you really forgot all about me", the redhead says visibly hurt.
He's right in front of me now, and I can see his extremely disturbing expression even better. I'm filled with more fear as his mood seems to make a full 180 degree turn when he suddenly starts laughing in a maniacal manner.
This... doesn't feel like Axel at all. It's like he's a whole different person! This dream, this memory… It can't be real! I refuse to believe in this!
Just as I feel like I too might lose my mind, I decide to take my chances to run away while he's having his fit. I try to sprint right past him, but his reflexes are far better than I expected. With inhuman speed he grabs my neck and pins me down under him. His hand pressing down on my throat prevents me from screaming.
"You're not like your usual self, Cloud, how could you ever forget me?"
…Huh?
…Did he just say...?
Suddenly the red-haired fiend grabs my hair forcefully, the strength of his grip almost tearing my scalp in the process, and I let out a very hoarse scream. I feel something warm and wet against my neck and cringe when I realize that I'm being licked.
No! Stop! Please let me wake up! I can't take this anymore!
This utter and complete feeling of helplessness... it's just like what happened on that day…
…What am I talking about? What day…?!
No, I don't want to know! I'm scared. Scared that what I'm experiencing right now really might be the truth!
But… it can't be the truth. I refuse to believe that Axel was the one who did this to me all those years ago!
Wait… did what now…? What did he do?
"Cloud…Cloud…Cloud!" The redheaded male's movements grow impatient as he starts chanting my dad's name like his life depended on it.
What's with him calling me by my dad's name? What the hell is up with that!?What is happening?!
Suddenly the situation seems to warp, and I notice that we're not in a dark alley anymore. As I look around, I notice that we are being watched by several pairs of scorning eyes. The eyes of my students, class 2A.
"There's no way I'm gonna miss what's beyond these glasses now that I have put you in place!"
I feel my stomach tighten upon hearing another horrifyingly familiar voice, and I quickly snap my head forward only to come face to face with someone I never wanted to see again. The ruthless eyes of the young gang member that bashed my head not too long ago feel like piercing needles against my own, terrified stare.
"…Seifer."
I whisper his name so quietly that I doubt anyone, even the guy himself hears me. Large hands tightening their hold around my throat has me coughing and wheezing as I desperately try to reason with the younger male.
" S-stop this right now, Seifer. I'm warning you, you won't get away with this!"
I hear sneering sounds of laughter rise from the other students around us at the same time as my vision grows blurrier and blurrier. My confidence that was very small to begin with, starts to crumble as I hear the youth laugh at me maniacally in unison with his comrades.
Finally, I stop resisting, and I stop caring.
As the desire to keep going – to keep trying – slips away like sand running through fingers, I let my hands fall to dangle uselessly beside me.
"…Hey, Shrimp! Don't tell me you've given up?"
There's no strength left in me, so I don't even bother sparing the brute one stinking look. I just continue staring blankly somewhere behind him into the crowd of students. I can't make out any of their faces, which I'm grateful of since I don't really feel like looking at them. Hearing their mocking laughter is enough.
"Tsk, you're no fun!" Seifer spits as he hits me against the wall and I hear something crack in the back of my head.
Not this again.
I feel tears forming in the corners of my eyes as the pain spreads from my head everywhere else in my body, but when Seifer decides that just once isn't enough, and proceeds to continuously bashing me against the wall, I feel the urge to throw up surface with alarming speed.
"S-sto–…"
Obviously, my incoherent plead sounds upon deaf ears. I just shut my eyes in hopes of this torture ending soon.
Please… someone, anyone… make this stop.
"–…xas."
…Huh?
"Roxas."
When I hear a distant voice coming from somewhere, I crack open my eyes just a bit, did I just imagine that?
"Roxas."
No, someone is calling my name. But it's difficult to make out who it is, or where it's coming from with Seifer hitting me against the wall.
"Roxas!"
The voice suddenly sounds a lot louder and a lot closer than before, so despite my head hurting like hell, I try to move my head to the side, where I think I hear the voice coming from.
I only see an extended hand, nothing else, and out of desperation I try to grab it.
It's as if someone just pulled me out of scorching water. When I wake up, the feeling is not as overwhelming as the sight of the worried redhead sitting in front of me.
"Roxas, you were having a nightmare."
When I slowly come to my senses, and my head that just a second ago hurt so much starts to cool a bit, I realize something:
The hand I tried to grab, it was Axel's.
As I steer my panicked eyes from his and stare at my small extended hand in his larger, slightly calloused hand, I feel my eyes watering up as relief engulfs me.
Even if it's him – the main antagonist from my nightmare – I see upon waking up, it's still pure relief that takes over my body. Not anxiety, not fear, just relief of finally being released from the stranglehold the nightmare had me in. Why is that? Because… well, I can't quite explain it, but somehow this Axel, holding my hand right now, is a different Axel. No, the redhead sitting in front of me is a completely different person from the monster in my dream! What spurred a dream like that in the first place, I have absolutely no clue. Quite frankly, I think I might be going insane.
"Hey, hey, what's wrong Roxy?"
I can't stop crying. It feels as if everything, every moment of my life up until now was all just a big nightmare, or a poor prologue to a badly written horror story, and only now, I managed to get away from its hold. It's useless for me to try and control the slurring words as they force their way out.
"It was– I was… he tried to– why would it be…?"
I don't know what I'm trying to tell him, or if it's still the dream talking nonsense, I still try to make him understand even just a little about the pain that I was going through. My hysterical breaths are making it extremely difficult for me to articulate properly.
"It's alright, I'm right here."
The embrace of the larger male around me has me calming down one sobbing hiccup at a time and as I slowly start to regain my ability to think clearly, I finally notice the unfamiliar room around us.
"W-where are we…?" I ask in between shaky sobs as Axel continuously rubs my back in a soothing manner.
"We're still in the clock tower, you can relax."
Letting out a trembling sigh and finally taking up on the redhead's advice, I let my head rest against his warm chest and relax. My hands find their way around his back, and I feel him tightening his hold around me in response.
This feels so right. This can't be wrong.
I don't know for how long we stay like this, but I almost manage to drift back to sleep. Then I remember what kind of dreams might be waiting for me if I fall asleep carelessly, so I bite away the grogginess and force myself to sit more upright. Unhanding myself from the warm body in front of me, I shift a bit further away as I wipe my face with the back of my arm.
"S-sorry."
I don't know what else to tell the redhead. Shame and guilt prevent me from being able to look him in the eyes, it must be a pain for him to see his co-worker behaving like this. Crying over a dream like a complete lunatic.
"I'm so, so sorry that you had to see me like this, I never intended to react like this– I didn't mean to show you this side of me."
I feel the heavy sigh coming from the redhead, tickling the strands on my forehead as a pair of hands cup my face.
"You're doing that again."
Before I have time to ask what Axel could be talking about, he squeezes my cheeks together in a way that makes me look like a fish and continues.
"I'm your friend."
I don't think I've ever seen him like this before; determination radiating from his whole being. Swallowing hard, I realize that I can't tear my eyes off his captivating gaze. His eyebrows are furrowed, giving shape to an insistent "V" between his eyes. His hair is tied up messily, which does little to restrict his wild locks in any way.
When a light blush appears to complete the perfection of his features, I feel my heart skip a beat. Axel is very beautiful, I think as my hands find their way up to his own, still squeezing my face.
"Well… I'd be a lot more… if you'd let me, but that's beside the point!"
I feel my face flush with heat in response to his words as I finally manage to look away in embarrassment.
"How can I get you to trust me, Roxas?"
The sudden sadness in the redhead's tone fills me with guilt all over again as I desperately try to come up with something to say. Nothing comes out.
At the same time as my whole being is telling me to trust Axel with everything I've got, there's still something… something that is not quite right. Something that feels… off.
When I look at him, there's no denying that I'm filled with desire. Not just the carnal feeling of wanting him sexually, but the desire to just be with him too. To spend time with him, or just be by his side. But… then there's also the irking feeling of something not being quite how it should be. It's very difficult to explain, but it kind of reminds me of the feeling you sometimes get when you're alone, the feeling that someone's watching you from the shadows.
"How… how can I make you understand?"
Axel's eyes close in defeat as his hands leave my face, and my heart sinks so low it hurts all the way to my stomach. It hurts to see him lose his resolve and confidence that just moments ago made him look so beautiful.
I act purely out of instinct when I capture his lips in a tender kiss. If I can't put my feelings into words, then I just have to show him through my actions.
The redhead freezes completely when our lips connect, it's almost comical. This time it's my turn to cup his face between my hands, and as I give his lower lip a light suck, he finally reacts a little by letting out a content sigh and starts kissing me back.
Our kiss is slow and sensual, but nothing that tempts us to take it any further than just simply trying to get the other to understand that we trust each other. I trust Axel, and I too can feel that he trusts me. That's all I wanted to do, to get him to understand just that. Although, after what feels like several minutes of passionate kissing, I start to feel the familiar nuances of arousal prickling my innards and decide it's time to stop before we're too far gone. I almost laugh at myself for being this easily affected by Axel's touch – but to my defence – he seems to be just as affected by me as I am by him. When I realize this, my heart swells a little with pride.
When we part for air, the redhead rests his head on my shoulder and lets out a small chuckle.
"Damnit Roxy, we've had plenty of fun this morning already and you're making me excited all over again. Are you trying to kill me?"
Hmm… that certainly wasn't my intention, but it can't be helped, I think and return his smile with one of my own sheepish ones.
"Sorry, couldn't help it, there was too much nonsense coming out of your mouth", I say and poke his forehead with my index finger playfully.
"Mmmaybe, but your mouth started it", he says eyeing my lips and I just roll my eyes.
"So, does that mean you trust me?" The redhead asks and grins so widely that my stomach makes a flip in adoration at the sight.
"Your expression says that you already know the answer", I laugh, and he just grins even wider.
I let my eyes wander around the room for a second as I try to deduce whether we're still somewhere in Axel's apartment or not. The redhead seems to notice this and enlightens me immediately.
"Oh right, this is Pence's apartment. You know, the guy who went to get help."
As I'm suddenly flooded with the memories of our heated actions earlier this morning, I try not to get too carried away by them, and instead try to focus on my surroundings instead.
The small clock on the wall says it's almost half past noon and judging from the slightly messy but modestly decorated living room, it sure enough seemed to belong to a young man living by himself.
It also seems that someone had carried me to rest on the sofa and laid a blanket over me… wait a minute! Did everyone see me–… us, in this completely and utterly reprehensible state?
"Axel! Did everyone see… I mean, what happened after I blacked out?" the question came out a little bit too hurried, but that doesn't seem to faze Axel at all.
"Don't worry, I had Riku hand me the blanket from a small crack in the rubble before they managed to get us out completely. I wrapped it around you, so they didn't see anything except... well your work on me."
The amount of accusatory emphasis Axel puts on the last word goes almost unnoticed by me, because I think I might've heard the first part very wrong.
"…Riku Falter?" I ask in disbelief.
There's just no way, right?
"Yeah, he lives on the fifth floor. The entire Falter family likes to bother Pence and me for some reason. I don't know how Riku and Pence became friends to begin with, guess they must have something they've got in common."
I try to swallow, but my mouth and throat have gone completely dry of shock. The genius of class 3A lives in the same building as Axel! The kid saw us together, and in extremely questionable circumstances too! Oh, I can already hear the rumours that are sure to appear amongst everyone at school about my close affiliation with the biology teacher. I almost cry out when I imagine the already small amount of respect I have among the students disappear like tears in the rain.
Well, Sora had earlier implied that such rumours already existed more or less among the students but… Oh, and speaking of Sora, I had promised to help the little trouble-maker to get closer to his crush, but that'll have to wait for now.
When I think about the situation calmly, Riku does seem like the kind of guy who doesn't quite care about other people's business. He's the quiet, intelligent type, and I read somewhere that intelligent people don't find it particularly interesting to gossip about other people. Ironically, I might have read that fact in a gossip magazine though…
"But… why would Pence hang out with a kid? Isn't their age gap pretty big?" I ask when I can't come up with anything else to say.
"Well, their age gap is about the same as ours", Axel winks at me and I only utter a small "oh" as I look away in slight embarrassment and a bit of shame. Who am I to judge, it's not my business anyway.
When I shift my legs a little under the blanket, I notice something crucial. My nether regions feel extremely disgusting with the fruits of our heated actions earlier sticking to my skin uncomfortably, and what's more – I probably smell like I just ran a lap around the whole island clad in leather overalls.
I need a shower. Big time. Like right now.
"W-where's the bathroom by the way?" I ask with a blush.
"It's right there", the redhead points at the door to the left of the clock I spotted earlier hanging from the wall, "I brought you a set of the smallest clothes I own, sorry if they're still a bit big though."
There's something in the way the redhead utters that sentence that I don't like.
"Thanks."
My sour answer is involuntary, but it just came out like it did when I imagine myself in Axel's considerably bigger clothes. Well, I've looked more stupid before, so I'll just bear with it, at least I don't have to remain clad in just my boxers.
"Hey, Roxy."
Just before I grab the plastic bag containing the clothes Axel had left beside the bathroom door, the redhead stops me. When I turn to look at him, I see him shamelessly checking me out, his eyes darting from my face all the way down to my legs before finally stopping to rest on my neck.
"You look hot."
I just continue standing there in front of the bathroom, with an incredulous look on my face as I just stare at the redhead. Several seconds pass without either of us saying anything at all, me not having even a small clue as to how I'm supposed to react. Axel just boldly continues to ogle me as if to–
Oh, now I get it.
My face immediately hits an unhealthy shade of red when I remember all the marks the cursed clown left on me while we were… being intimate.
Looking down at myself, I notice I'm not wearing anything else but my stained boxers and – surprisingly – my ripped shirt that really doesn't serve its purpose as a shirt anymore. Why am I even wearing it? I don't think that I even put it on earlier…
"Don't look so offended Roxy, it was meant to be a compliment. Also, hickeys look good on you."
There it is. The infuriating side of the him that I absolutely cannot get used to, no matter how much I try. I want to tell Axel that if he really wants me to believe that he just genuinely tried to "compliment" me, then he can go fuck himself. However, my head feels so hot that all I end up doing is just stutter something incoherently as my face reddens. This only seems to spur his teasing further as his smirk widens even more.
"Next time, I won't miss a single spot." He winks at me again, and I'm afraid that I might spontaneously combust. From anger or embarrassment, I have no idea.
"S-shut up!" I exclaim in newly found rage and slam the bathroom door shut behind me with a bit too much force.
I hear the redhead laugh a bit before I hear him get up. Then a door opens and shuts, which I presume is the front door since I can hear the doorbell chime a bit from the impact.
For a while, I just lean against the bathroom door and listen to the sounds coming from everywhere around me as I try not to faint from the emotions the jerk stirred up inside me. It's quiet in Pence's apartment, but I can hear voices coming from above me, which must be Pence and the others rummaging around inside Axel's apartment upstairs.
I catch a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror and almost jump at how obscene I look. I can't even begin to explain how bruised the area between my neck and shoulders are. What the hell did Axel think he was talking about? He already didn't miss a single spot on my neck! And I don't even know what to say about my… nether region. My hair is also standing out in every direction possible, and my lips are swollen and bruised to the point where I almost look like I'd been in a fight. Were we really this rough? I certainly don't remember being this rough.
Suddenly I realize something that has my eyes widen in shock. I let my hand trace the side of my face as I stare back at the wide blue eyes in the mirror.
I'm not wearing my glasses. I don't even know where I left them. Did everyone see me like this? They must have. There's no way they didn't.
My hands tighten into fists shaking a bit from anger when I realize that Axel probably took the liberty to confiscate my glasses, because of course he did. He so openly implied earlier that he didn't think I even needed them. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with my eyesight, but it still doesn't give him the right to decide that I can't wear a pair of glasses!
Axel really doesn't seem to get just how important they are to me. Well… can't say I told him properly why I wear them, so I only have myself to blame. After I think this, a fraction of my heart sinks a little, and I make up my mind to maybe tell the redhead sometime about my insecurities.
Wobbling a bit when suddenly the strength in my legs betray me, and I remember that I still haven't eaten anything. With shaking movements, I take a few much-needed gulps of water straight from the faucet. Usually I don't like the idea of drinking straight from faucets, especially inside bathrooms, but I feel like I might collapse from dehydration if I don't drink something.
I hurry with the shower and after I'm done, I pick a random towel from a cupboard and proceed to dry myself up as quickly as possible. While I'm at it, I hear the front door open and several voices talking consecutively over each other, making it impossible for me to understand who or what they're talking about. The voices sound excited, or maybe they're arguing?
Taking out the clothes Axel prepared for me, I immediately curse the redhead through every possible hell there is, as I first reveal a pair of bright purple mini-shorts from the plastic bag. There is also a belt – which I'm grateful of – but still did he have to bring me the shortest fucking pair of pants he owned? Why does he even have these? And what's with the colour?! I can't even imagine him wearing something like this!
Wait…
I rustle through the empty plastic bag in disbelief as I see that Axel forgot to provide me with underwear. Or did he now? I growl in anger as I realize that he probably didn't give me any underwear because:
He's a pervert.
He's a complete sadist who likes to see me suffer. And he's a pervert.
He's an evil bastard, and a pervert.
I swallow my anger, as it won't do me any good as of right now. Any underwear of his wouldn't have fit me anyway so I'll just have to go commando. There are plenty of people who don't wear underwear, right?
Next, I reveal a black shirt with some brightly coloured band print over it from the plastic bag. The shirt is small enough to probably just barely fit Axel, but it's almost too big for me. The long sleeves make me look like I'm a little kid in his dad's shirt, and the shorts almost get completely hidden by the hem. Deciding that I don't want to look like I'm not wearing any pants at all, I fold the hem of the shirt a little and tuck one side inside the shorts.
Lastly, I pull out a black and yellow checkered scarf, which I'm the most thankful of since it's going to hide most of the bite marks on my neck quite effectively. So, Axel can be at least a little thoughtful if he wants to, huh.
I quickly get changed and as I wrap the scarf around my neck I inhale the pleasant scent that is 100% Axel. Unable to help myself, a small moan escapes me. There's something in that spicy yet oddly sweet and musky smell that I can't resist but smell a second and even a third time. God, I'm such a creep, how am I even supposed to be able to ignore the smell until I get home? Also, I'm supposed to be angry at him.
Home…
I have to get home! I have work tomorrow! I have tests to look through! Speaking of which, isn't Axel supposed to be at his part-time job again today? I don't think that I remember my way back to my car either…
Taking one last look at myself in the mirror I decide that I look stupid, but not as stupid as I could have. It's true that this style – this Axel-style doesn't quite fit my more… how should I put it, prudent… no, maybe boring is the word I was looking for? – my kind of style is what I meant anyway.
I try to even out my nervous breathing, and without second thoughts I open the bathroom door. There already seems to be quite a commotion forming, judging by the sounds of hectic conversation coming from the lively living room.
I'm greeted by several pairs of curious eyes, and to my extreme discomfort, none of them belong to Axel. When I realize this, I immediately look down and try to brush as discreetly as possible my damp bangs in front to hide my eyes at least. The desire to just run off is extremely difficult to ignore, but just as I'm about to lose myself, a reassuring hand comes to rest on my shoulder and I jump a little.
"So, you're finally up and about. Roxas, was it? I'm Pence!"
A chubby guy with kind brown eyes offers me his hand in a greet, and I shake it out of instinct as I just open and close my mouth unable to get anything coherent out.
"Axel told me you collapsed from exhaustion, but man… we were really starting to get worried when you wouldn't wake up!"
"I– uhh sorry…"
How iconic of me to freeze in front of new people. Still, when I look at the widely smiling man in front of me, I'm hit with a strange kind of nostalgia. I can't help but think that I've seen the man somewhere before, and his name... now that I really let the sound of his name play over and over inside my head, I can't shake the feeling that I've heard it somewhere before.
"I… uhm, thanks. For uh, digging us out and sorry for… scaring you."
The words come out in a weird splutter, and the second I finish my sentence, my stomach lets out the loudest damn growl I've ever heard. When there's a small chuckle coming from someone sitting in the living room, I want to disappear in shame.
"Still a bit out of it, huh?" the brunette laughs and gives me another pat on my shoulder, "Don't worry, Axel went to get pizza. A little something in your belly will surely help you recover faster."
Pence gives me yet another kind smile as he gently ushers me to sit down on an armchair next to the sofa, which is occupied by three silver haired men I don't recognize.
The room that upon my arrival had gone almost eerily quiet feels heavy, as if I had just disturbed something with my presence. Scanning the room cautiously, my eyes naturally land first on the silver haired youth sitting right across me on an armchair similar to the one I'm sitting in.
"Riku", I state simply when our eyes meet.
"Mr. Strife", he replies while bowing his head a little in a polite greet.
"Oh, how surprising! For someone to know our Riku, who barely thinks of anything else but training or holing himself up in his room doing god knows what, this is truly remarkable."
One of the silver haired men on the sofa speaks up, visibly surprised as his green catlike eyes practically shine with amusement as he leans even closer in his seat to pin me with his stare.
"You are very cute! Are you friends with Riku? In that case, you should visit our place too some time! It's way cooler than this sad place."
The strange man gets a disapproving look from Pence, but before the brunette can comment further on the rude remark, yet another silver haired man speaks up.
"Kadaj, stop scaring the child. We don't want an angry Axel on our backs for traumatizing his guest."
I want oh so badly to correct whoever just called me a child, but I'm cut by this Kadaj who lets out a yelp as he's pulled back in his seat by the seemingly calmer and more collected man sitting on his right side on the sofa.
This man looks like the splitting image of Riku, only with very long hair… No, all three of the men sitting on the sofa look just like him! Aside from the slightly larger male with short hair, sitting on Kadaj's right side who looks at least a little bit different from his other three identical silver-haired companions.
"You should at least try to live up to be the oldest of us, big brother", the larger male speaks up with a deep voice fitting for his more muscular physique.
Visibly annoyed by his brother's comment, Kadaj turns to glare daggers at the larger male on his left.
"I don't want to hear that from you, Loz. You still got your ass handed to you by Riku, even if he's the youngest."
Quite to my amusement, the larger male seems to take this too much to heart as small tears start to form in the corners of his eyes.
"That was only one time! Why do you always have to bring it up?!" Loz cries out and hides his face behind his hands dramatically. Despite looking the most… manly out of the four of them, he seems to be the most… sensitive of them too.
"Riku was nine years old. You were a grown ass man, Loz. That is hilarious no matter how you look at it", Kadaj states bluntly while sneering at his now whining brother.
I can't help the small chuckle forcing its way out of me, and I cover my mouth hastily in a futile attempt to hide the fact that I just laughed at the quarrelling brothers.
"See? Even the kid thinks you're pathetic", Kadaj grabs the larger brother's shoulder and shakes it, probably trying to taunt the poor man even further.
"Mr. Strife is my teacher, could you please not embarrass me in front of him?"
The commotion between the two brothers is broken by Riku, who looks like he wants to be anywhere else but here right now.
"What!? You're the Mr. Strife, the teacher who got beaten up by Seifer?" Loz seems to have recovered from his little… emotional breakdown as he's almost in my face with his question.
"Yes, now please stop being so obnoxious in front of my teacher", Riku says with his forehead resting in one of his hands.
"Oh, come on! Axel's your teacher too and we never hear you complaining about him!" Kadaj looks at his younger brother across the table with a teasing grin, and Riku just looks away in defiance.
"I don't have to worry about Mr. Primred since he's just as round the bend as you guys."
Even if the Broncox kid was mentioned, that last statement has me letting out another chortle in amusement at the peculiar brothers. I never would have guessed that Riku had brothers like these. My image of the collected teenager might've changed just a little bit, I think as my attempt to hold in my laughter gets weaker by the second.
"HEY! I heard that!"
As soon as the familiar voice roars from somewhere, not even a second passes before the front door is violently flung open by a supposedly angry redhead, carrying several cartons of pizza in one hand and carrying a plastic bag – probably filled with drinks judging from the shape of it – in the other.
The heavenly smell of food has my stomach growling almost painfully, demanding I immediately provide it with whatever just gave off that mouth-watering smell. I don't know how, but I somehow manage to not attack the pile of cartons in a carnal frenzy, even as they float right past me.
"How original of you, bad-mouthing your teacher the second he's not around. I should be degrading your behavioural score for this!" the redhead exclaims and hands Pence the pile of pizza cartons and the plastic bag to stalk towards his prey instead.
It's apparent that Axel is joking, but the silver haired youth nonetheless bolts up from his seat in attempt to escape from his teacher's vengeful tries to grab him.
"You've got school and private life all mixed up again, Axel."
As he speaks, Riku successfully manages to dodge the older male's every attempt to grab him, and as the two of them continue their own little dance, he continues:
"You might be my teacher, but outside of school you're just my wacky neighbour."
"How can you say that, Riku? I've practically been a mom to you ever since you guys came here!"
"Please don't refer to yourself as my mother. Ever."
Thrown off by Axel's words, Riku is finally captured in a stranglehold by the redhead, and a sneering laugh escapes the other three brothers in playful spite of their little brother being handled by the biology teacher.
"This sight never gets old", Kadaj grins and catches a soda can that the brunette throws in his direction. Loz and Yazoo also catch a can each, and before handing me one, Pence hesitates.
"Pepsi or 7up?" he asks.
Deciding that my body desperately needs the caffeine to start functioning properly, I grab the Pepsi can and waste no time gulping down almost all of it in one go.
"Looks like you needed that", Pence laughs, and I just nod as I take another sip. The carbons don't feel too good on an empty stomach, but in the end, I still end up finishing the whole can.
"Hey, quit it already you two. You'll miss out on the warm pizza, and I know for a fact that cold pizza equals roadkill for some of you", the brunette exclaims at the two rumbustious idiots.
"You hear that big boy? Chow time! Now let me go!" Axel wheezes.
I chuckle a bit when I see the reversed positions of the redhead and his student. The teenager had pinned Axel down in what looked like some sort of a wrestling hold, and the sight is so so ridiculous – the redhead lying on his stomach with his long limbs tucked neatly behind him by Riku, who in turn was sitting on top of him, restricting his elder's movement completely. After seeing this, I'm not at all surprised that even someone like Loz got his ass handed to him – like Kadaj had put it – by his considerably smaller brother. It looks like Riku is way stronger than what his age might suggest.
"Are you sure you're not getting old, Axel?" I chuckle.
My own words surprise me a little. Usually I wouldn't be comfortable enough to make anything even close to witty remarks when in the same room with people I've only just met, in an environment that is completely new, in a situation so alien that I'm still not too sure if I'm dreaming or not.
The silver-haired teen finally releases his teacher from his hold – and when Axel finally registers the fact that, yes, I was in the same room as him this entire time and witnessed a sight that I'm not going to forget any time soon if ever, a series of undeterminable expressions appear and disappear consecutively on the redhead's face.
Until his eyes catch up on the clothes I'm wearing.
There's absolutely no way I wouldn't know when I'm in serious danger – and I know I'm not really right now either, so why is Axel's heated stare making me want to run away?
Oh, who am I kidding? I know perfectly well what's going on here. The bastard's probably busy undressing me with his eyes like the complete pervert he is. This was probably his plan all along when he decided to give me these clothes to wear.
Even if I try to look at him disapprovingly, his hungry eyes scanning me from top to bottom has my body reacting in all the ways I don't want it to. Unspeakable areas on me gradually start to feel hot, as he shamelessly ogles me, and I want to scream in frustration. How is he able to make me react like this when all he does is stare!?
"Eeeww no bedroom eyes, Axel. There's children in the room!"
Kadaj's unamused comment earns an irritated retort from the youngest brother, and both Axel and I are rattled back to reality from whatever that situation was, which I'm more than grateful of. With a bright-red face I take a seat as close to the pile of pizza cartons as possible, and as far away from the redhead as I can.
Throughout the whole meal, the room is filled with everyone's eager chatter, and occasionally there's toppings flying over the table when the brothers get a little too much into their quarrelling. Aside from Axel, whom I catch giving me intense looks every now and then, and me – trying not to be awkward about him giving me these looks while there's other people around.
What if there were nobody else around? What would he do if we were all alone–
I stop that train of thought when I notice my body heat going up with alarming speed. I don't need any awkward hard-ons right now.
"Speaking of which, are you two dating or something? You must be, right?"
Before I even realize that people were talking about me, or that Kadaj aimed the question at Axel and I for that matter, the redhead clears his throat awkwardly.
"Well, we haven't really talked about stuff like 'going out' but…"
I can feel everyone's eyes on me, but I just can't muster up the courage to look up from my pizza slice I'm trying to finish.
"Buuuuut…?"
As Kadaj presses further, I feel like I should say something, but nothing comes to mind. To be honest, I have no idea what is going on between Axel and myself. I don't know what to call us or our current relationship.
"Buuuuuut, it's none of your business."
Axel grins and takes a sip of his soda as he nonchalantly crosses his legs and leans further back in his chair.
"Have you fucked?"
There's absolutely no detectable shame on Kadaj's face or tone when he blurts out that question. Like it's completely normal to be asking something like that.
Axel chokes on his drink and starts coughing uncontrollably at the same time as Pence scolds the oldest brother for intruding on other people's privacy or something.
I don't really know how to react, so I just kind of… sit there. Red like a fire truck.
"I can't take this, I'm going back to my room. See ya'." Riku utters while pretending to gag and rises from his seat beside Axel.
Before he's gone through the front door, he thanks Axel for the pizza, to which the redhead only waves, as he's still busy coughing his lungs out.
"Oh my god, you guys are so childish," a pouting Kadaj receives a chop to the head by Yazoo and the conversation changes course just like that.
The following few hours carry out with us just sitting around the coffee table in Pence's living room, conversation flying across the room just like they've been up until now. Somehow, I get the feeling that this is more or less normal for these people, for Axel too. It warms my heart to know that Axel has people like this to look out for him. They're… special alright, but still it seems like they care. When I look at the redhead smiling from ear to ear when he's talking to Pence and the brothers, I can't help but smile like an idiot in unison with them.
When Axel notices me just sitting there smiling at him, he winks at me as he continues with whatever debate he's having with Yazoo. Blushing a little, I steer my attention towards the clock and realize that I should probably be heading home if I still want to finish some work before tomorrow.
"I should probably head home," I say as I stand up slowly.
Everyone bids me farewell while Axel spurts off to get my remaining belongings I left at his apartment. While Axel's away, Kadaj drags me to the side to whisper something in my ear.
"If there's ever something… anything at all that you want to know about anything, I'm the guy you need."
A little thrown off, I just look at the man incredulously for a while before whispering back:
"What do you mean by…anything?" I ask carefully.
"Anything."
Kadaj puts a lot of emphasis on the only word he utters and gives me a look that lingers too long to not have a meaning behind it. However, before I have time to question him further, Axel's back.
The walk back to my car is silent and a little awkward. Axel insisted on walking me there, since I'm not too sure whether I'd be able to navigate myself to the small parking lot I left it in. Axel seemed to have an idea of where this parking lot was located though, and furthermore, he wanted to make sure nothing happened to me on the way there.
"So… you're close with Riku's family then?" I ask to break the silence.
"Yeah, we just kind of… became like this. There's really no explaining it."
"I see," I smile a little, since I kind of knew how it must've gone, them becoming friends I mean.
He seems to regain some of his cheerfulness as normal conversation finally takes life between us, just like it always used to. When we arrive at the nearly empty parking lot, I almost don't want to part with the redhead as the mood between us seems to have lifted to what it's supposed to be; talking about stupid stuff and then laughing about it like two complete dorks. Just like at work, on lunchbreaks and occasionally when we happen to walk into each other in the hallways.
I feel a small pull at my heartstrings as I realize that I miss being at school, even if it's been just another weekend.
Unlocking the doors to my car, I tell Axel a "see you tomorrow", but when I open the door, it's quickly slammed back shut as a pair of hands grab my shoulders, turning me around. I'm pinned against the car in a harsh maneuver, and a startled whimper escapes me. I look up to search the redhead's face for an explanation, but I only get caught up in his intense stare. It sends shivers down my spine.
"Wha–"
When I try to question Axel's sudden outburst, my lips are sealed with his own, and that's it. It's like a switch was pulled inside me when I just drop all my things and abandon all reason to return his hungry kisses with just as much, if not even more passion. It's funny how my body just betrays me like this, I was really trying to not get too infatuated with the redhead ever since I woke up at Pence's.
Axel tilts his head to reach even deeper inside my mouth, and I sigh against him as I try to run my hands through his hair. When I realize that his hair is tied up, a small growl emanates from me and I pull his hair loose a bit aggressively, but it only seems to excite the redhead as his movements only grow more demanding.
"Mmh, Roxas…"
Axel's ragged voice sends heat straight to my lower areas and I bite back a moan when Axel starts kissing my neck, sometimes lightly nipping. The area between my neck and shoulders is still a bit sore from our earlier activities, but his mouth on me feels incredible nonetheless.
Letting out a startled moan when Axel suddenly presses his thigh against my rapidly growing hardness, I try to muster up willpower to stop him from having his way with me. This is public property, anyone could see us grinding up a storm here, and I'd rather not have someone calling the police on us.
However, my resolve to push Axel away decreases even more when I feel his own excitement pressing against me, and without thinking I grind against him sensually.
"Ah! Axel…"
A little ashamed by the desperate sounds escaping me, I guide his mouth back up with trembling hands, and he gladly accepts my lips in another hungry make-out session. This time there's a lot of nipping and sucking, and the sounds are making me weak with wanton.
Thankfully, when I finally get him to let out a strangled groan with another roll of my hips, he tears his lips away from mine to rest his forehead against my shoulder. It's good that he pulled away, because I highly doubt that I would've been able to.
"Shit–" he curses under his breath as he pants against my neck. His hot breath against my skin sends another wave of shivers throughout my body.
"It definitely… was a big mistake… to give you those clothes."
"So that's what this was all about…" I grin mischievously and try to catch my breath.
"Didn't quite expect you to be so… irresistible," Axel laughs and starts placing open-mouthed kisses along my neck.
"Nngh… Axel, I should go." I say and collect every piece of willpower there exists inside me and push him away.
"Roooxyyy can't you stay just one more night?" the redhead whines and tries to nuzzle my neck even after I push him off me.
"C-can't, I have work to do. Don't you?"
"Nah… I never do work unless I'm at school." Axel finally retreats a little, but I can still feel the warmth radiating from him.
"I could crash at your place?" he tries, but I give him a stern look.
"Absolutely not. I couldn't possibly concentrate on checking tests with you around."
This seems to lift the redhead's spirits as he flashes me a teethy smirk in return.
"Really?" he asks.
"Really." I say and enter the car.
Before I close the door, Axel sneaks a chaste kiss to my cheek and winks at me.
"Next time, I won't let you run away."
I don't know if it's what he said, or my lingering arousal that makes the drive back home extremely bothersome. The scarf – that had amazingly managed to only slip off a little during our making out – isn't helping one bit either, with Axel's addicting smell emitting from it and all.