Chapter Ten
Riku was practically bouncing up and down on the front porch in excitement. Roxas just got the text saying Axel and Sora were pulling up. Riku wasn't kidding when he said it was pretty cold out. The wind was picking up again and he had his arms wrapped around himself to keep warm. Riku's jacket that he let Roxas borrow was surprisingly the right size. It fit him just right and kept Roxas somewhat warm. The jeans he wore helped a bit. Once Axel got back, he was going to use up all the red head's radiating heat.
"It's fucking freezing in summer. What a good sign," Roxas said, rubbing his arms. Riku didn't seem to hear him. His eyes were just scanning through the trees, waiting for the sign of an oncoming car. Roxas would've preferred the heat of the cold. Roxas and Sora tend to feel the cold more than most people. Leaning against the wall, Roxas watched the excited silver haired boy pace and jump at the slightest sound.
'Holy crap, it's only been a night that they've been separated. It was a stupid little fight. When Axel and I fight, we don't see each other for weeks. What's the big deal? Sora probably forgot all about the fight. He's probably too pumped about his birthday,' Roxas thought, growing annoyed. The honk of a horn caused the boys to snap their heads up. Roxas shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled as he saw the familiar dark blue car drive up to the house. Sora was waving through the windshield, a childish grin on his face. Axel look… irritated and pissed. Roxas smirked at the thought of his crazy little brother trapping Axel into a long, dull, conversation about, oh, possibly why the sky was blue or something. Sora had a tendency to ask stupid questions at random times.
Axel barely had the car in park when Sora threw open the door and ran straight for them. Roxas started to walk over, planning to hug his brother.
"Happy," Roxas started, but Sora already flew past him for Riku, "birthday Sora."
He frowned as he looked over his shoulder to see the lovebirds already locking lips. Roxas doubted Sora even heard him. Axel was mumbling to himself and pulling the two bags out of the backseat of his car. Using his butt to shut the door, Axel looked over to see Roxas heading for him and his whole face lit up. Bags forgotten, he dropped them and opened his arms to hug Roxas.
The blonde jogged the rest of the way to Axel and nearly jumped into his arms, holding him tightly. Roxas buried his face in Axel's hair and inhaled the woodsy and campfire-like smell the redhead had. Sure, he missed Axel, but really he was just cold. Axel had his arms around Roxas' waist and lifted him slightly off the ground. His frown was immediately switched to a smile as he held onto his love.
"I miss you too Princess. Riku treat you alright? You guys doing anything fun?" Axel smiled, setting Roxas back down. He took both of his ice cold hands and held them in his to warm them up. Axel already knew Roxas got cold very easily and today was strangely chilly. Roxas shivered once and looked up at Axel, his cheeks already turning red.
Roxas thought about how he woke up in Riku's arms, the face in the window, sleeping on the floor with Riku. The nightmare. He remembered crying in the shower, feeling so alone, and then Riku coming in like a hero and saving the day. Riku made Roxas smile and feel like a somebody again. How to explain that?
"We just ate, swam, and slept. Nothing out of the ordinary," he lied with a grin. Axel leaned down to kiss the corner of Roxas' mouth before he stole a real kiss from him. Pulling away, green eyes never left Roxas' red face.
"Sounds like a blast. Your brother was a hit with my aunt. She was expecting you, but well, you weren't there. Sora got her to keep from pinching his ass though. All he had to do was get her to talk and I mean talk. They were like best friends by the end of the night. Sora never shuts up, huh?" Axel laughed.
"Seems like you guys had fun."
"It was okay. It would've been better if you were there. My mom says hi and my dad didn't say a word. As usual. They seemed to like Sora though. Strange, I found out that I hate Sora."
Roxas laughed, with less enthusiasm. He was still so very tired and Axel could tell. The red head used his thumb to rub under his somewhat baggy eyes. He pursed his lips and squeezed the small hands in his.
"You look like you haven't slept in a week," Axel noted.
"Feels like it sometimes. Just stress and lack of sleep I guess."
"Stress? What's been giving you stress?"
Roxas had to think quickly on that one. It had to be a good lie. Something Axel would believe.
"Oh, just thinking about college. How I'm going to help Sora. Money issues. Getting a job. All that stuff."
"Don't think about that stuff then, have your parents help you. It'll take a bunch of pressure off you. I'll have my parents help you with money issues. Money isn't really a problem for us. Not to mention, I'm always here for you my Princess."
Roxas smiled weakly and stood on his tip toes to kiss Axel again. He was just too tall for Roxas, but he had grown used to it. Axel grinned and pulled Roxas' arms behind his neck. He grabbed hold of his waist again. They swayed side to side before Axel turned them around and continued to sway.
"What are we doing?" Roxas asked."
"Dancing, you idiot."
"With no music?"
"Our heartbeats can be the music. Or I'll just sing to you, no wait. Scratch that, no singing."
Roxas laughed and let go of Axel. He shoved his hands back into his pockets and began walking back to the house. Axel sighed and bent down to grab the bags again before he ran to catch up with Roxas.
"Sora's just lucky it's his birthday or I'd just leave his bag out here for him to grab later," Axel said angrily. Roxas smiled and looked down at the ground. The tops of his shoes were decorated in writings that he and Riku did freshman year. They were accompanied with little doodles. The writing was so tiny and smudged that Roxas wasn't sure he could still read the words. Memories of what was his favorite year of high school.
"Were do you supposed they went?" Roxas asked, looking around and not seeing Riku or Sora.
"Probably upstairs or in the kitchen. Sora kept whining in the car about how hungry he was. I wouldn't go buy him some nasty fast food just for him to have to use the bathroom once we were off on the road again," Axel complained.
"He better not touch my cake. I worked hard on it and he can't see it until cake time!"
"I'm sure it's a work of art Roxy! As long as I get a nice big chunk of it I'm fine!"
"I'll save you half the cake sweetheart," Roxas said sarcastically. Axel threw his hands and the bags into the air anyway, not quite catching onto Roxas' tone. The blonde rolled his eyes and held the door open for Axel. Axel bowed his head and walked inside. Roxas rushed in after him, closing both doors and keeping all cold wind out.
O~o~O
Chocolate was smeared all over his face, like a baby eating his first piece of cake ever. Except, that was Sora's sixth slice. He had another slice waiting on the table in front of him, but as he looked at it, Sora wasn't sure he could stomach it with the six others and three slices of pizza. Sora saw that Axel's hungry and greedy eyes watched his uneaten slice without even blinking. Feeling his stomach growl from being too full, Sora put a hand on his stomach and pushed the plate to Axel with the other. Axel snatched it up quickly and began to devour the slice. Roxas glared at him in disgust and slowly ate his second. Riku was still on his first as he sat on the floor, leaning against Sora's legs. The darker it got, the colder it got, so they moved the party inside.
Roxas still wore the jacket Riku gave him and Sora stole a humongous orange one from Axel. He said he wanted something big and baggy to snuggle in. Axel was sprawled out on the couch, empty plate just resting on his stomach. He set a leg on Roxas' lap, wiggling his foot around. Roxas was glad he at least kept his socks on. Feet just grossed him out.
Riku looked up at Sora and made a motion with his hand over the bottom half of his face. Sora blushed lightly and reached over for some napkins. Riku laughed and grabbed a whole bunch and helped Sora out with the chocolate mess.
"How you missed that giant mouth of yours amazes me," Riku smiled, wiping off some of the chocolate. Roxas and Axel turned to each other, grinning madly. Everyone knew Sora had the biggest mouth in the world and he knew how to use it.
Mess free, Riku got up to run upstairs with a quick 'I'll be right back' and went without another word. Sora smiled and waited in the chair patiently. Roxas took the plate off of Axel's stomach, stacked it on his, and then took Riku's and Sora's and stacked them on top. Axel smacked his butt as Roxas turned for the kitchen. Roxas froze for a moment, gave him a disapproving glare and ran the rest of the way into the kitchen.
"Present time!" Riku said, two gifts under each arm and making his way down the stairs. Roxas dumped the plates into the sink and went to take his present to Sora from Riku. They walked back into the living room, setting the presents by Sora and resuming their spots from before. Axel scooted closer to Roxas and placed an arm over the back of the couch and the blonde leaned against him, smiling at his little brother. Sora's blue eyes were wide in excitement as he reached out for Roxas and Axel's present.
"To Sora, love Roxy and Axel! Oh, I wonder what it is," Sora said, examining the wrapped thing. He tore open the paper and gasped as he saw the item sitting on his lap. Just before graduation, Sora's favorite blue hair dryer finally blew out and he had been towel drying his hair perfectly since then and his hair just wasn't the same. Sitting on his lap was almost the exact same hair dryer from before. It was the same shade of blue and it was smaller than before, so it would fit his small hands perfectly.
"Roxy! Axy! I love it! It's just what I need!" Sora exclaimed, picking it up and looking it over. Riku turned to Roxas and winked. Then he gave him an I-told-you-so-look, which only made Roxas roll his eyes at him. Sora threw the wrapping paper to the floor and handed Riku the hair dryer. He got up and hopped over to his brother. Sora bent down and kissed Roxas and Axels cheeks and then saying a rushed thank you before sitting back down. Roxas knew that was how they were raised to thank you to gifts and Axel's puzzled expression was just hilarious.
"Family thing Ax, family thing," Roxas reminded him with a quick laugh. Axel thought about it for a moment and nodded with a smile. He remembered the time he invited Roxas over his house for Christmas and his parents' faces when he kissed their cheeks had Axel in stitches. Sora picked up Riku's box and looked it over carefully. He had no idea what Riku could have got him, Roxas already got him the hair dryer. Riku never asked what Sora wanted for his birthday. Besides, Riku was all he could ever ask for. He was his birthday present each year.
His fingers moved rapidly as he opened the box with a very small amount of adrenaline pulsing through him. He opened the lid to the box and peered in. His hand dipped in and it felt cardboard and then a velvety sort of feel. Sora grabbed the cardboard one first and pulled out a heart shaped box. He took off the lid to that and licked his lips greedily.
"Riku should've known better than to give Sora chocolate," Axel whispered in Roxas' ear. Roxas shook his head with a sigh and continued to watcher. He was eager to see what the mystery present Riku got Sora.
Thinking ahead, Riku took the box of chocolate away from Sora before he could inhale the whole thing. Sora's eyes snapped back and he reached back into the box for the other thing he felt. He pulled out a small, dark velvet box and immediately his heart was racing. His mind was not as fast as his heart however. It slowly processed the small velvet box from Riku, on a special day. Even Axel and Roxas' eyes were on the box, all of them wondering the same thing. Riku sat back, a smug grin on his face.
'Is it? No, Riku wouldn't jump right into that. They're too young! Is he crazy? If so, Sora's going to want them there and how to explain that? Riku's not that stupid! Plus, he wouldn't do that to me! I mean, c'mon, I'm his best friend. Shouldn't he have told me before he jumped to something as big as… as… marriage?' Roxas thought, kind of scared. Sora gulped before he opened the box, worry and curiosity in his shining blue eyes. Axel's jaw was slightly dropped. Drama filled the room and everything was quiet as Sora opened the box.
Roxas could almost hear the sigh of relief that escaped Sora's lips. Instead of a beautiful, glittering, engagement ring that they all expected, there sat a just as pretty class ring. The class ring for the year they graduated. Sora and Roxas couldn't afford to get one, so they just decided to forget about it. Axel offered to buy them each one, but the brothers politely refused his offer. Riku must've gotten one because there it sat, sparkling in the light. A deep blue jewel stood out against the brilliant silver of the ring. Instead of it reading 'Riku' on the side, it read 'Sora'. As if Riku planned to give it to him all along. Engraved on the inside were just three simple words.
"I love you. Oh Riku, it's so wonderful! I-I don't know how to thank you! Jesus, I think I'm starting to cry. This was supposed to be your class ring! You wasted your money on me," Sora cried, tears rolling down his cheeks already. Riku sat up on his knees and took the box from Sora's hands. He pulled the ring out of the box and grabbed Sora's hand. Riku slid it onto his finger and then kissed Sora's hand.
"When you told me you weren't getting a class ring, I was sad. It would be a nice memory for some of the best years of our lives. So, I figured, why not get one from me for your birthday? If, that sentence made sense. I thought it would look nice on you. Now, you don't have to wear it all the time seeing as how we're planning out being outside most of the time, but whatever. Happy birthday my darling Sora. I'll love you always," Riku blushed. Sora's eyes looked his scarlet face up and down before he crushed his mouth to his own. They were deeply involved with each other and that's when Roxas and Axel made their quick escape.
O~o~O
"I seriously thought he was going to, you know," Axel murmured, going up the stairs with Roxas.
"Me too! They're definitely not ready! Not to mention, what if Sora lets it slip that they're engaged? Or if after summer Dad would've saw the ring on his finger, he'd flip the fuck out," Roxas whispered back. They ran into their room and shut the door behind them. Roxas had to remember to keep up with the lie he was spinning to Axel. The lie hurt to say, but he had to do it.
"Yeah I know. Hey Princess, I think the wind died down. Want to go sleep under the stars? I don't mean in a tent. No, I mean the real thing. We can grab like a whole bunch of blankets and go lay in the hammock. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe and warm," Axel said, sounded a bit rushed. Roxas froze, caught off guard at the sudden offer. He thought of the cold and the woods, but thought of Axel's strong arms keeping him safe.
"I guess that sounds good. Plus, after what just happened down there, I don't even want to be in the same house as those two," Roxas said, pulling his zipper all the way up, bracing for the cold. Axel was smiling widely as he ran for the hall closet. Roxas followed him and was ready to catch the many blankets that were about to head his way. He could feel how thick each blanket was and figured he'd only need two. What with Axel acting as a natural space heater, he'd be warm enough.
Roxas shut the door and the two of them ran down the stairs, one blanket for each of them. As they passed by the living room, Roxas frowned as he caught sight of the other two. They had made their way to the couch and he really didn't care to see more. Axel urged him to go faster and they were giggling like little school girls as they slipped on their sneakers. It was too cold for Roxas to wear flip flops anyway. They walked outside and shut the door behind them. Axel took Roxas' hand in his and they ran for the hammock on the back side of the house.
It was true, the wind was down to a gentle breeze, but it was still cold for a summer night. Roxas was not all that excited about cold weather, preferring heat over chill, but he'd deal. Axel skidded to a halt in front of the rope hammock and threw his blanket over it. It covered most of the rough, itchy, ropes and provided more comfort. Axel carefully climbed in first and Roxas crawled in next. The red head pulled him onto his chest, balanced them and managed to cover the both of them with the blanket.
The blonde snuggled up on Axel and placed his hand on Axel's warm chest. He could hear the soft beating of his heart and felt the rise of his chest as Axel breathed. Arms were then wrapped around him tightly and Roxas looked off to the side. Stars shone vividly in the dark night sky. It wasn't all that late, but late enough were the sky was still dark. It still had a light to it, but Roxas didn't mind. It just meant he was getting more hours of sleep. Hopefully sleep without nightmares.
"It's so peaceful out here, huh Roxy?" Axel sighed happily. The wind moved the hammock side to side, in a gentle rocking motion. It was lulling Roxas to sleep even quicker than expected.
"Yeah it is. I love it," Roxas said, adding a yawn at the end. A few moments of silence passed.
"What else do you love Princess?"
"Lots of things. Family, friends, peace, air, books, animals. I also love the rush of running. It gives me this… this thrill I've never experienced before."
"No Roxy, I mean what do you love?"
Roxas froze and he knew what Axel was trying to get him to say. He caught on and had to think of something to say.
"Well, what do you mean by that?" Dumbass response Roxas. Nice going.
Axel made the face he made whenever he was deep in thought. His green eyes lifted, along with his eyebrows and his bottom lip jutted out to the side. Roxas looked up at him, his pulse racing. How was he going to answer Axel?
"I mean, is there anyone in your life that you're, you know, in love with? Anyone at all, Princess?" Axel asked after what seemed like an eternity.
"Oh, well I don't know Ax. Maybe, I'm just not sure."
Roxas could almost feel the heartbreak through Axel's chest. He felt him inhale deeply and exhale just as hard. Roxas could tell he had hurt Axel, but he tried not to show that he knew.
"Good to know. Well, why don't we get some sleep? Night Prince-I mean, Roxas. I love you."
And Roxas heard the pain in his voice. How was he to sleep after that? Probably not well. Roxas closed his eyes and waited for the nightmares to creep in front of his eyes.
Author's Note: