A/N: I promised a couple of people a double-update with this one, but since it's been a while since I last posted, I figured I'd just stick it up and get to work on the next chapter asap :)
.o.O.o.
Chapter Ten
"You okay? You seem kind of… stiff."
Roxas' voice echoed slightly in the cavernous underground parking lot. Friday's workday, such as it was, had come to an end, with the blond the last one out of the lab, trailing the others by an extra hour. It was the first time that Axel had wished he would hurry it up a little; his middle had been throbbing like a bitch all night.
As he'd accompanied Roxas to his car, having changed before the blond had left the lab to eliminate any risk that he might see the bruises – a strip show like last weekend's being, for the moment, the furthest thing from Axel's mind – he had been holding himself carefully. Like the kid observed, he was stiff, unconsciously hunching into his injury. It wasn't anywhere near the worst injury he'd ever sustained, but neither was it particularly exciting to experience. The sharp pounding of it, along with every brush of his shirt scratching the tender flesh, left him weary.
With Roxas' blue-eyed gaze upon him, he pushed out a grin. "What, this? Nah, it's nothing." He flipped a careless hand. "I was moving some boxes and pulled a muscle in my back. It'll pass."
"Ouch," Roxas offered. "What the hell was in the boxes?"
Axel grasped for an answer. "Um – bricks," he blankly said. When Roxas lifted an eyebrow, he went on, "Yeah, I was hauling boxes of bricks for my landlord. He's, uh… renovating." Why was it that this guy always felt the need to ask follow-up questions? Couldn't he just be like anyone else and care more about himself? "I guess I didn't lift with my legs enough or something," he mumbled.
Roxas nodded sagely. "Oh, yeah, you've gotta do that. You'll mess up your spine, otherwise."
"Said the researcher, who lifts whole pads of paper every day," Axel sardonically teased, earning a punch to the arm that he was just… infinitely glad the kid hadn't directed to his stomach.
"For your information, I spent a few summers on a construction site," Roxas replied, with a superior sniff. "My best friend's uncle owns a company, and we did all sorts of lifting, so I know how to lift bricks – better than you, at least."
"Ha!" Axel gave a rueful laugh, then shot the kid a sidelong look. "Colour me surprised; and here I thought you were just some brainiac. But you've got your hands dirty, huh?"
Roxas gave a mischievous smirk, twisting and walking backwards, his hands clasped behind his back. "Oh, I'm full of surprises. A walking wonder factory, in fact."
"That," Axel replied, drily, "I believe."
They reached Roxas' car, the blond reaching into his pocket for his keys, but not yet pulling them out. Instead, he leaned against the door, peering into Axel's face, and asked, "So, really – where are we going on Sunday?"
Axel wagged a finger, chiding, "Ah-ah-ah – it's a secret."
"Because…?"
"Because secrets are fun?" Axel suggested. Roxas sighed and rolled his eyes.
"O-kay, if that's your kink then that's you're kink – but I really would kind of like to know. For example, what does 'dress sexy' even mean?"
Axel drew a breath, looking up at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression, pressing a hand against the car beside the blond. "Well, under normal circumstances, I'd say," he leaned in and lowered his voice, breathing, " 'come as you are, baby'."
"Lame," Roxas informed him, but didn't try to ease away, a small smile playing at the edges of his mouth.
"Agreed," Axel said, straightening again and giving him a once-over, shaking his head slowly. "But yeah, jeeze, you're such a train wreck. I mean, sexy? This?" He tugged a lock of blond, finding it soft to the touch. "I bet you don't even know how. I bet, when I come to get you on Sunday night, you'll just be wearing like… a potato sack. That's how much you know sexy." He rested his face on his knuckles, while Roxas smiled with slitted eyes. "I mean, unless you feel like proving me wrong," he added angelically.
Roxas snorted, glancing off to the side. "All right, Axel. You can keep your goddamned secrets. I'll just do my best, I guess."
"And I promise to let you into my car no matter the result, even if you are wearing a potato sack." Axel placed a hand upon his heart, all earnestness and generosity, before a glint entered his eyes as he gave the kid a once-over. "…Although, knowing you, I bet you'd pull the look off."
"Oh, I would, would I?" Roxas laughed. "I suppose I'll – take that compliment?"
"Well, seeing how often you rock a hoodie," Axel said, plucking at the hem of Roxas' baggy sweater, "how can I possibly question your hotness?"
Roxas coughed a little, looking away, seeming kind of embarrassed, but… at the same time pleased. Axel's eyes narrowed, his smile briefly sharpening.
"Uh, well, on that note, I guess I'll just…" The blond made a feeble sort of gesture, Axel discerning that it meant he needed to step away so he could get into his car. Glancing up at Axel as he was sitting, Roxas said, his voice a little soft, "I'll see you tomorrow, Axel."
"And I," Axel said, leaning down to speak into the gap before the door shut, "can't wait to see you on Sunday."
The door closed, Roxas looking like maybe he was blushing, lifting an elbow to prop against the windowsill to mask it. He started the car, twitched his fingers in a wave, and pulled away without looking Axel in the face.
The redhead watched him go, then limped to his own car and headed home, one day closer to conquest.
.o.O.o.
Saturday passed, the night progressing without incident, with Roxas leaving earlier alongside some of the other researchers. The look he'd tossed through the window was promisingly warm – he was looking forward to the next time they'd see each other.
And finally, it was Sunday, seven P.M. Axel was due to pick Roxas up at eight.
He stood in the bathroom of his apartment, leaning over the sink, staring hard at himself in the mirror while running through a mental checklist. He was clean, he smelled good; everything looked okay. His outfit was deliberately understated: figure-hugging black jeans and a black shirt, with a white beater underneath. This way, at the end of the night, when he tried to recall what had happened, all Roxas should have memories of was the red of Axel's hair, and the green of his eyes. These features had always been his combined curse and advantage as an assassin – they were what made him memorable. Even Reno had once grumbled that, when they were next to each other, it was Axel who got that majority of the attention, because Reno's pale eyes couldn't hold a candle to the venomous green of Axel's, especially once they started to smoulder.
With Roxas, getting his eyes to smoulder wasn't going to be much of a challenge. He had to admit, he was looking forward to the end-result of the night. He couldn't deny his attraction to the kid – Roxas was the kind of cute with a sting in his tail that Axel had no trouble getting riled up about. Whatever else was slated for the days to come, he was going to make sure he at least enjoyed this.
Giving his reflection a short nod of approval – he could see no immediate room for improvement – he opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of painkillers. They were non-drowsy, but effective enough. They would make it so that his bruises didn't bother him, at least. When it actually came time to take his shirt off, well, he'd just attribute the sunset palette across his stomach to that whole 'renovation' thing and leave it at that. It wasn't like Roxas was going to assume the real cause of the injury's existence.
Taking the pills with a gulp of water from the faucet, Axel once again gave himself a final glance-over in the mirror, then vacated the bathroom. He grabbed his wallet and flipped it open, double-checking the presence of cash and condoms, then snatched up his keys from the kitchen counter, locked up the basement, and headed up onto the street.
He was setting off early, but wanted to make a quick pass of Roxas' bungalow and the immediate area to make sure the silver-haired guys weren't on the loose. What he would actually do if he happened upon one of them prowling, he wasn't sure – he had a date to get to, and didn't much feel like showing up partially beaten from a struggle – but forewarned was forearmed, or some shit like that.
Roxas' house was all lit up as he made the first pass, making it look, for once, actually lived in. Axel was accustomed to seeing it during the day, when the blond was asleep, or at the end of his workday when he was getting ready for bed and only had one or two lights burning. Even the porch light was on, evidently in anticipation of his arrival. It was kind of a rush, really; he usually didn't get invited inside quite so willingly by someone he was planning to kill. Yet here Roxas was, welcoming him with open arms.
At exactly eight, he pulled into Roxas' driveway, having ascertained that the area was clear of the silver-haired blight. He walked along the path with his hands in his pockets, hopping up the stairs to the porch and rapping on the mottled, stained glass of the front door. As he waited, he turned, giving the area a quick scan, then twisted with a smile as he heard the door rattle.
"You're punctual," Roxas remarked, sounding mildly surprised by this.
"Would I let you down in such a basic way?" Axel asked with a suave grin, then paused to take in the blond's appearance. It was his first time seeing Roxas out of the ordinary, lab-appropriate garb. The kid favoured hoodies a lot, as Axel had pointed out the other night, which he supposed were good for slipping a white coat over and doing the whole research thing. Tonight, however, the shapeless hoodie was gone, replaced by a clean white shirt over a black tank top in an inverted colour scheme to Axel's, with blue jeans sporting several belts and a Frankenstein's monster scarring of zippers. He had silver-studded, black-and-white checked wristbands, and a leather necklace that disappeared beneath his shirt. The look was simple, and ravishingly cute.
As Roxas cocked a hip, his hands on the door frame, with an increasingly questioning expression, Axel realised, after a moment, that he was staring. He snapped himself out of it, coughing mildly into his fist. "Hm, ah, excuse me. You look… nice," he said, unable to keep his gaze from doing the rounds once more.
"The potato sack is at the cleaners," the blond replied, amused by his reaction. "I had this moment of panic before realising I have other things to wear. Let's hope it's good enough for where you're taking me." He took a minute to size Axel up, seeming to like, as much as Axel did, what he saw. "…Judging by what you're wearing, I should be fine. If you'd turned up in a suit or something, I really might have had to panic."
Axel snorted, spreading his arms wide. "Do I look like the kind of guy who wears suits on his day off?"
A sly smile spread across the blond's face. "Hmm… no, definitely not. I'd have probably liked you better to begin with if I thought you had an ounce of class." As Axel blustered with mock hurt, Roxas said, "Just wait here, I'll get my things and we can leave."
He disappeared back into the house, leaving Axel standing on the porch. He stepped over the threshold and leaned against the doorway, alert gaze taking in everything he could of the bungalow's visible interior. "Don't forget your purse," he called, seconds before Roxas reappeared with a jingle of keys.
Rolling his eyes, the blond ordered, "Get out of my house," and as Axel backed up, grinning, Roxas followed, turning off a few lights and pausing to set the alarm system. He then pulled the door shut, locked up, and turned expectantly to the redhead. "So, now do I get to find out where we're going?"
"Dinner, first," Axel announced. He swept an arm out and bowed with exaggerated gallantry, ushering Roxas ahead of him down the stairs.
"Uh-huh," the kid responded, stepping down onto the path, "and where would that be?"
"A magical place," Axel promised, enigmatically. "Just wait and see."
.o.O.o.
The night air was crisp, containing a floral hint from some night-blooming flowers gaining vibrancy as spring progressed. The city lights glowed through the darkness, creating a bright, energetic atmosphere. There was a park across the road, deep in the Archades city centre, and the streets, to Axel's satisfaction, were suitably lively.
Roxas seemed somewhat less impressed.
"So," he said slowly, "your idea of a 'magical place' – that would be a street-side burger bar?"
Its neon sign blinked haphazardly above their heads, greasy fumes and mouth-watering scents drifting out from the cramped interior of the vendor's tiny shop.
"You laugh now," Axel sagely started, to which Roxas replied, "Oh, I'm not laughing," the redhead valiantly pressing on, "but you, sir, should feel ashamed if you've lived here all this time and never tried one of this guy's burgers."
'This guy' did happen to be an overly hairy, bear-like man with a layer of grease permanently pasted to his visible flesh, with a shop that was a single room facing the street, but the online reviews had been stellar. Just because Axel hadn't been here before either did nothing to perturb his certainty in the choice of venue; the fact that the few sidewalk tables were packed with people eating was a point in the burger bar's favour.
"You… are such a cheap date," Roxas dubiously said.
Axel arched an eyebrow. "Hey – did I promise you fancy restaurants, or did I promise you a good time?"
"I don't recall being promised anything," the kid pointed out.
Without missing a beat, Axel replied, "Then allow me to begin now." He stepped up to the counter and confidently requested, "Two with the lot, my good man." He turned to Roxas. "I promise you are going to be blown away by this." Please, God, let the online reviews be true.
The vendor moved as if he'd exited the womb slinging burgers for a living. The end results were wrapped in grease-proof paper and deposited on the counter in paper bags, Axel waving off Roxas' attempt to bring out his wallet and paying for both with an air of mocking gentility. "No – please – allow me."
He handed Roxas his burger, took one look at the crowded tables, and gestured for the blond to follow him. "Let's hit the park."
They crossed the road, Roxas' hands shifting around his burger, the crinkle of paper sounding out. "God, I hope I don't drip this on my shirt."
"Is it really so hard to not eat over your chest?" Axel asked. "I mean, maybe if I was eating off your chest things might get dirty…" He broke off for a moment to appreciate that mental image, which resonated with the word dirty. Roxas, sensing as much, reached out and smacked his chest. Axel's eyes bulged slightly, and he grunted, while the blond snorted. The kid figured it was a comical display, but holy shit, that had been right above his bruises. He forced a grin and resisted the urge to clutch the area. "My mistake," he rasped.
While Axel took some deep breaths, the pair made their way to a nearby park bench, Roxas stepping onto the seat and sitting on the edge of the table. He leaned his elbows on his knees, evidently planning to eat between them, taking no chances on his white shirt with the admittedly oily burger. Axel took his place beside him, their knees almost, but not quite, touching. In silence, they unwrapped their burgers and each took an experimental bite. There was a beat, then Roxas, eyes widening, said, "Holy shit, this is awesome."
"Never doubt me again," Axel advised. "I am wisdom incarnate." It was pretty damn good – he was pleased with his detective skills in tracking down the place. Cheap he might be, but calculatedly so. A regular old dinner date in a restaurant had nothing on epic burgers in the park.
Taking another bite, Roxas glanced around a little, then directed his eyes upward and let out a small sigh. "Man. It's been a while since I got to just look at the stars like this." Axel followed his gaze. There weren't that many of them, what with the brightness of the city, but what few that were visible were perfect little sky-studding gems. He had to admit, it had been a while for him, too. When one worked through the night – whatever his job might be – one sort of… stopped looking up.
"It's nice, huh?" he commented, eyes moving from one end of the sky to the other. "They're easy to forget about, but they're always right there, whether we're noticing them or not."
When he lowered his gaze, he found Roxas looking at him, a softer expression on his face than Axel was accustomed to seeing. "You know, you're not what I expected," the blond mildly told him. "After how you were at first with Pence, I kind of figured…" He trailed off, then shrugged. "Well, you're different than I assumed, anyway. There's more to you than what you, I don't know, project."
"…Yeah?" Axel had nothing intelligent to respond to that with. There was far more to him than Roxas realised, and thinking about that right now wasn't likely to aid the mood. Instead, he suggested, "Let's play a game." As Roxas' expression changed, developing a look of curiosity, Axel felt the strange pressure that had briefly weighed on him dissipate. "Truth or truth. We ask each other questions – but whatever you ask, you then have to answer as well, so choose wisely."
Roxas thought for a second, then nodded. "Okay. Sounds… informative. You go first."
For Axel, this was a win-win situation. Not only was it good ice-breaker material for getting to know one another, but he could finally, casually, find out some of the things that his woeful data had failed to provide. "Okay. We'll start off easy. Cat person or dog person?"
Roxas laughed a little, a relaxed, happy sound. "Really? Okay, cats. You?"
"Cats, all the way."
"Oh, yeah? You surprise me, you seem more like a dog guy."
Axel rolled his shoulders and scrunched his face. "Eh. I might not look it, but I have standards for what I allow to slobber over my crotch."
Roxas laughed again, and shook his head. "So, my turn? All right – uh, what do your parents do?"
Axel thought about them, somewhere out there right now, with a five-year-old him clinging to his mother's skirts. "Home-maker and army sergeant. And not in the roles you'd expect. You?"
"Pharmacists."
"What, both?" Axel tilted his head. "I guess that's where you must get your scientific prowess."
"Maybe. Your turn."
"What did you want to be when you grew up?"
Roxas took a bite of burger, considering as he chewed. "A rockstar astronaut vampire-killer." As Axel crowed with laughter, he demanded, "What about you?"
"A doctor. Jesus Christ, rockstar astronaut vampire-killer…"
As he bent over, grabbing his middle, bruises jolted by helpless chuckles, Roxas asked, "So how does a guy go from wanting to heal people to knocking their heads together for a living?"
Axel calmed himself with some effort, wiping his eyes. The question itself had a slightly sobering effect, as well; answering these sorts of things honestly felt better than trying to construct lies about inconsequential things. It had been a long time since he'd thought about how he'd started off wanting to help people. And he didn't simply 'knock heads together' for a living – he blasted them off shoulders. He drew a breath and cleared his throat, squinting slightly as he searched himself for the answer. "I guess I just… ended up on a different path," he said, eventually. "Life doesn't progress like you think it will – before you know it, you end up starting something you can't back away from, and the ideals you had when you were a kid… kind of dissolve."
"Hell, Axel. That was kind of deep." Roxas seemed almost impressed, if a little bemused by the seriousness that had crept unbidden into the redhead's tone.
Feeling a little more exposed than he had intended, Axel redirected the conversation, asking, "And you?"
Roxas raised his eyebrows. "Oh – was that my question? Okay, then. Uh, how did I end up a biophysicist?"
"I would like to point out that that's a lot of syllables," Axel contributed.
"Duly noted." Roxas rolled his eyes, then shrugged. "I just got drawn in that direction. Biology was my first major interest, and that led to the more detailed side of things until I ended up in biophysics. You're either into it, or you're not, I guess."
"Okay. Interesting." Axel bobbed his head a few times, musingly. "So, when did you start working for the Research Committee?"
"Eight months ago," the blond said. Axel quickly did the math – that was two months before the first attack on the kid. There had to be a connection there. A good place to start trying to figure the silver-haired guys out.
"It was you out of four hundred others, right?" Axel remembered.
Looking surprised, Roxas nodded. "Yeah. It was a hard fight, but I guess I had… qualities that the professor and Lucrecia appreciated more than the others."
"Qualities?"
"So, what about you?" Roxas was pulling Axel's trick, diverting the flow of the discussion. He made a mental note of this, and tucked the concept of 'qualities' away for later review. Somehow, he doubted it was due to Roxas sleeping his way to the top. "When did you start working for that agency you mentioned?" He then hesitated, evidently recalling the last time they'd spoken about it. "Uh – that is, if you don't mind me asking."
Ready for such inquiries this time, Axel promptly answered, "Since I was eighteen. So it's been… what, seven years now?" His teeth clicked shut. Man – had it seriously been that long? He hadn't really thought about it quantitatively before, what with time itself ending up pretty damn relative after a while. He blew out a steady sigh, lifting his gaze back to the night sky. "It's all I know anymore."
They were silent for a moment, before Roxas nudged him with an elbow. "You'll be fine," he offered. "At least you'll get a good referral from them, right? And hey, you could always just keep working for the Research Committee. If Ansem trusts you, you've got a lifetime pass."
The kid still thought Axel was cut up about his story about the agency closing down. He was trying to be nice, trying to reassure him. He really had… no idea what was in store for him, did he? Here he sat, calm and contented, comforting his future killer. It was… a strange sensation. "…Yeah," Axel quietly said. "No reason why not."
They each took a bite of burger, a lull falling between them as they chewed. Their game seemed to have stalled. A slight awkwardness attempted to blossom in the gap left behind, very much the bane of a successful date. It was Axel who was the first to swallow, clearing his throat and speaking to fill the empty space: "So… how'd you lose your virginity?"
Roxas choked on the last of his mouthful, swallowing hard and then gasping, "Oh, no you don't – it's my turn. And I am not asking that."
"If you don't, I will," the redhead wickedly told him. "It's my turn next, after all."
Roxas' eyes narrowed, the two men staring each other down. He took another bite, chewing slowly, then gradually began to smile. "…Okay. Axel. What is the entire history of the planet, from first known historical accounts to present day, nation by nation, taking the migratory patterns of early humans into account?"
Axel gaped, then argued, "No way, that's against the rules!"
"The rules, such as they are, merely state that what one party asks, the other has to answer, and then vice-versa." Roxas' sense of triumph was swelling with every strangled sound out of Axel's mouth.
"But – then that would mean that you had to recite it, too!"
"And if we did that, we'd be here all night," Roxas sighed, affecting a sorrowful demeanour, "and that would be such a lame date I don't think I'd even look at you again." He flashed a toothy, victorious grin Axel's way. "And that would be so sad."
Axel stared for a long minute, while Roxas cockily finished another mouthful of his dinner. As the kid's tongue came out to lick away some lingering sauce, the urge to grab him and just – smother the breath out of him with a kiss was almost too much to fight. Axel's heart was pounding. Roxas had utterly defeated him.
"You… are…"
"Yes?" Roxas asked with a batting of eyelashes, all mock innocence and superiority.
"…so… sexy."
The blond blinked, took a good look at Axel's dumbfounded expression, then started laughing. "Well – okay. If you say so." He smirked a little, holding the redhead's gaze for a lingering moment, bolder than usual. "As luck would have it, you're not so bad yourself."
Axel sat in a daze for a moment, then asked, "Hey – are you nearly done with your burger?"
Roxas showed him that he was down to his last few bites. "Why?"
"…Let's move on to the next place."