"I hope Cloud gets here soon. I think I'm getting a rash." Roxas grumbled as he stepped out of the bushes, adjusting his clothing. Axel snickered. "It's not funny."
"Sure it is. Do you know how long it took the priests to teach me to use TP in the first place?" Axel asked as he knawed on a bone. Roxas sat down across from him, watching him for a moment. The cambion looked particularly handsome, lit by the fire and chewing on a rabbit bone like a savage.
"I'm sure it took them forever. Just like it took them to teach you to bathe. And I need a bath too." Roxas thought longingly of being clean. It had been almost two days and he was starting to feel seriously grubby. Axel grimaced and tossed his bone into the fire, scratching his head lightly with one clawed finger.
"Don't remind me." The redhead sighed, gazing into the fire thoughtfully. "I didn't notice when I was dirty all the time, but once you learn how to get clean it's a hard habit to break. Dirt itches something fierce." Then he grinned, white teeth flashing in the dim light of evening. "Not to mention it's hard to get your sexy on when we're both dirty and you're getting a rash on your ass."
"Axel!" Roxas couldn't help but laugh. "Is that all you ever think of?" He teased the cambion, who shrugged with a smile.
"Hey, my dad corrupts people with lust – someone's coming!" Axel jumped to his feet and Roxas turned, surprised. He couldn't hear anything but he was willing to take Axel's word for it.
"It must be Cloud." He said brightly. Axel looked a bit uneasy but nodded. If someone had been tapping Cloud's phone lines they could have come gotten them much sooner. On the other hand, had they timed it so the arrival of a car wouldn't alarm them? Axel bit his lip and decided to go with Roxas. He preferred action anyway and it was probably Cloud. The car came rattling up and Axel relaxed as his sharp eyes picked out familiar blonde hair.
"Roxas!" Cloud called as soon as he got out of the car and the smaller blonde ran to his brother, giving him a tight hug. Cloud hugged him back, smiling widely. "How have you been? Let me look at you." Cloud examined Roxas a moment and seemed relieved as his brother made a face.
"Great except for the no running water and no toilets. We're lucky Axel's father gave us supplies." Roxas replied. They'd have been in trouble without the water bottles. They'd looked but hadn't been able to locate a well on the property. Cloud looked up with a frown and met burning green eyes.
"Uh…" He paled a little then shook his head before offering Axel a hand to shake. "I just want to say one thing. I don't care what you are. If you hurt Roxas, I'll hunt you down, got it?" Cloud was trying to sound tough although the hint of uneasiness in his expression wasn't helping with that. Axel repressed a grin. He knew Roxas' brother didn't have a hope of harming him but he didn't doubt Cloud would try.
"Cloud! I can take care of myself." Roxas said, exasperated. "He – Axel?" Axel had rested a hand on his shoulder and the blonde looked up at him quizzically.
"It's okay Roxy." Axel murmured, planting a gentle kiss on his forehead before looking at Cloud. "I would never hurt him." The quiet sincerity in his voice clearly made Cloud feel better. The older blonde smiled and gestured for them to get in.
"Shotgun!" Axel looked at Roxas, perplexed, as he grabbed the door and jumped inside. Cloud laughed as he went back to the driver's side and Axel shrugged, taking the back. He had to move a backpack out of the way and idly wondered what was inside it. Well, Cloud had been travelling for two days so it could be a lot of things.
"Shotgun?" He asked and Roxas looked back at him with a smile.
"It means I get the front seat." He explained and Axel filed that away for future use. Cloud started the car and carefully turned around before starting back down the rugged trail that led to the main highway. Axel bit his lip, closing his eyes for a moment as he got used to riding in a car. He supposed the priests might have used something similar to take him from his mother's mansion to the monastery but he couldn't remember any of it. They'd given him some drugged candy and coaxed him into eating it. He hadn't really wanted to, but it had been clear at the time that it was the candy or a crossbow bolt.
"So, from Roxy's description I figured you might need some stuff to wear." Cloud said conversationally as they reached the highway. "There's a hoodie in the backpack, along with some sunglasses. I also borrowed Tifa's makeup. She's probably going to kill me but it might help with those marks on your skin." Axel blinked. Trying to blend in hadn't really occurred to him. He'd always assumed it was a lost cause. Sorting through the backpack, he quickly pulled on the grey hoodie. It was a bit hot for summer time but that wouldn't bother him a bit. Axel put the sunglasses on and quickly decided he liked them. They didn't impair his vision much and a quick check in the car mirror showed him that they looked pretty stylish. The makeup was more difficult and Axel was snarling to himself by the time he had it applied to his satisfaction.
"This stuff itches." He grumbled, scratching his cheek with the tip of his nail. Roxas turned around in his seat and looked at him carefully.
"It really does help though. You look like you have peeling skin. The only thing that really stands out now is your nails." Axel glanced down at his fingers. "I don't know how we could fix those." Roxas knew Axel's nails were hard and sharp enough to cut through steel. What could be used to file them? Diamonds?
"Fix them?" Axel examined his nails thoughtfully. "I dunno Roxy. That would take away one of my main defenses." He was good with his talons and used to using them as a weapon.
"You can't kill people much anyway if we're going to stay together." Roxas said softly, reaching back to touch his hand. Axel looked up with a small smile, meeting concerned blue eyes.
"There's always self-defense Roxy." Although that energetic a defense might not go over well in the eyes of the law. Axel shrugged. "But I guess I could learn karate. Hey, you gonna teach me?" Axel playfully poked Cloud on the shoulder. "Oops, sorry." There was a small hole in his shirt now. Cloud glanced down and shook his head before concentrating on the road.
"It's nothing. So Axel, how old are you?" Cloud asked, skipping past the usual questions about family. For Axel those would only be painful. The redhead had to think about it.
"Cambions mature early." He finally said. "I think I was fifteen when Xemnas put me in the mirror." Roxas glanced back at him, surprised, and Axel shrugged. "I think I aged a few years in the mirror. Say seventeen?" Roxas nodded. That made sense. He'd though Axel was a bit older than him, but only a bit. The younger blonde turned on the radio, flipping through various stations. "Hey, that sounds nice."
"Classical?" Cloud said in confusion and Roxas snickered. From Axel's memories he knew the cambion's sole exposure to music had been the choir when Father Patrick had taken him to Mass. Axel hadn't liked it much but that had only been because he'd been heavily warded and bound to make sure he wouldn't be a threat to any of the monks. He'd liked the music. "You look like you should be into heavy metal." Axel rolled his eyes behind his glasses.
"I've been on ice for thirty-seven years. Remember?" He pointed out and Cloud thought a moment before laughing.
"Then let's try classical rock!" He flipped the station a bit more, finally settling on a golden oldies station. "When you got put away would have been about when the Beatles were hitting it big." Axel tilted his head as he listened to the strains of Hey Jude. Roxas belatedly realized that he hadn't introduced the cambion to much in the way of music. Roxas didn't mind music but he wasn't really into it either.
"That's interesting." Axel said diplomatically when the song was over. "Classical?" He said in a wheedling tone. Cloud sighed before flipping the station back to the first one. Orchestral music filled the car. "I really like that!"
"Your taste desperately needs updating." To Cloud, music like this was mood music. Pleasant enough for a background but not something to really get into. "Well, it'll do." It was pleasant enough and Roxas didn't care one way or the other. Axel grinned and sat back, lacing his fingers behind his head. "I've got a hotel room. It's not much but there's two beds."
"And a shower!" Roxas said longingly, scratching his hair. Cloud laughed. "It's not funny. I haven't had a bath in two days and I've been crapping in the woods."
"And he has a rash." Axel said with a grin as Roxas growled at him, blue eyes flashing. "In unmentionable areas – hey!" Axel caught the bottle of hand cream Roxas tossed at him easily and looked it over. "Aloe vera? What's that?"
"That's Tifa's, don't you ruin it. I'm already going to be in enough trouble for taking her makeup." Cloud said firmly and Axel grinned, passing the tube back to Roxas who stored it in the glove compartment. "Both of you behave."
"Yes Cloud." Roxas said obediently but shot Axel a look that quickly dissolved into something warmer. He just couldn't stay mad at Axel and truth be told, he didn't want to. Roxas reached back and felt a warm, almost hot hand slipping into his own. He had no idea what they could do to convince everyone Axel would be good, but for now they were safe.
That would have to be enough.
Roxas sighed in pleasure as the hot water sleeted over him. It felt wonderful, glorious to finally be clean again. He picked up the little bar of hotel soap and began giving himself a thorough cleaning, finding all the hard to reach spots.
"Hey there." Roxas glanced lazily over his shoulder, smiling at the soft, sexy purr. Axel lowered his glasses to look at Roxas over the top, his eyes glowing with emerald fire. "Mind if I join you?"
"Before I use up all the hot water? Sure." Roxas smiled as Axel shed his clothing and joined him in the shower. The redhead was so beautiful unclothed, all lean muscles over his tall, lanky frame. Axel tilted his head up to catch the spray, luxuriating in it for a moment. Then he laughed as the blonde firmly turned him around and began lathering up his hair.
"You're not standing on tip toes to do that, are you?" Axel asked, amused and enjoying the feeling of strong fingers against his scalp. Roxas chuckled and nuzzled his shoulder for a moment.
"Not hardly." He said with a smile as Axel grabbed the soap and began to get rid of Tifa's makeup. Roxas was just as glad. While it did a good job at making him look normal, the effect wasn't that attractive. The black lines looked so otherworldly… Roxas did stand on his top toes then, so he could run his tongue over one of the lines on Axel's shoulders, tasting the heat of his skin. Axel shivered and Roxas was sure he knew why.
"Roxas." The deep, sexy purr in Axel's voice sent a jolt to his groin. Roxas moaned softly as the redhead turned around, arms encircling him as Axel lowered his face for a kiss. Roxas was lost in the sensation and almost didn't notice when his feet slipped a little on the slippery tub. Axel caught him easily, supporting his weight as Roxas slid a hand between his legs, finding his heavy sacks and –
"Guys?" Axel growled and Roxas made a small, protesting sound as Cloud knocked on the door. "I can guess what you're up to but I want to warn you the walls are super thin and the pizza just arrived." Roxas winced at the thought of Cloud listening in on their romantic interlude and glanced up into Axel's face. From the look there, the cambion was torn.
"Do we care that he can hear us and the food's getting cold?" Axel asked and Roxas laughed, regaining his balance and pulling away a bit.
"I don't care much about the food but I think we might traumatize my oh-so straight brother for life." Axel sighed in disappointment but followed as Roxas stepped out of the tub, turning off the water. They were both clean enough. When they left the bathroom Cloud was eating a slice of pizza and watching the TV. He looked up and Roxas almost regretted that moment in the bathroom when he saw the amusement on his brother's face.
"Horny kids… you do realize that even if we sort all of this out and you can go home, mom and dad probably aren't going to be keen on you two doing the nasty under their roof?" Cloud said before taking a long drink of his coke. Axel looked befuddled as Roxas winced at the thought. His parents hearing them? Eeeek.
"Well, it's not like we can go down the aisle in a wedding dress." Axel protested and Roxas choked before slapping him on the back of his head. "What?" Axel rubbed his head, baffled, and gave Roxas a hurt look. It was somewhat ruined by his burning eyes but Roxas melted anyway and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I'm not a girl you know. I'm not wearing a dress." Roxas said firmly and Axel suddenly grinned.
"Of course not! I would be." Cloud choked on his pizza and Roxas' eyes widened at the image. "I want something in off white, with lots of sequines… hah! I'm just messing with you. I know guys can't get married." Axel said confidently and Roxas blinked, suddenly remembering. Gay marriage had been quite illegal thirty-seven years ago and Axel had been raised by a priest, as much as he'd been raised by anyone. The church had been even slower to recognize it.
"Actually, they can. It was legalized about five years ago." Roxas smiled sweetly at Axel's dumbfounded look. "I guess we'll have to start finding a dress for you."
"Hey now!" Axel protested as Roxas laughed. "I was just kidding. Although I'd wear a dress if it meant I'd be married to you." He added and Roxas felt his heart melt again. At this rate he was going to be nothing but a puddle of goo. He snuggled up to Axel on the couch and gripped bright red spikes, pulling the cambion down for a kiss. Cloud waited patiently for a moment as the two teenagers began to explore a bit, then cleared his throat. Roxas and Axel suddenly parted, blushing.
"I can see hormones are destroying your brains. Eat before the pizza gets cold." Roxas began to eat his pizza dutifully. It was the cheapest brand possible and tasted a bit like cardboard. Axel took a bite and made a face.
"The monks cooked better than this." He muttered and Roxas nodded.
"I bet they did. All this has going for it is that it's cheap." Then he shrugged. "But it's very cheap." Axel nodded then hesitated. That reminded him of something.
"Hey Cloud?" Axel figured they could trust Roxas' brother, so it was probably time to level with him. "We have some money. I knew where my mother kept her stash and the priests didn't find it, so we took it. You still got those pearls Roxy?" Roxas nodded and began emptying his pockets as Cloud stopped chewing on his pizza. He stared as Axel pulled out the bills he'd found, then frowned and began leafing through them.
"It's about thirty thousand dollars. We counted." Roxas said helpfully. That had probably been an immense sum thirty-seven years ago and it was still sizeable today. "We're not sure what the pearls and jewelry are worth." Cloud looked at the jewelry, his frown deepening as he took in the mismatched assortment of objects. To Axel's relief he didn't ask where his mother had gotten them.
"Hm. This jewelry might be worth quite a bit, but we'll have to take it to a pawnshop. So we won't get too much for it." Cloud rolled a pearl across the table thoughtfully. "These might be worth more but I have no real idea how to sell them. I'll have to ask Tifa, she likes jewelry."
"If we can't sell them maybe you could get a necklace made for her." Axel suggested and Roxas frowned slightly, then shrugged. They were Axel's pearls, really. He could do what he wanted with them. Cloud smiled briefly and shook his head.
"She's not that fond of pearls. We'll think of something. Want me to put these in my backpack?" Roxas nodded, feeling relieved. He'd been getting tired of hauling the pearls around. Cloud quickly stored them in a side pocket and put the cash in a zipped up compartment in the centre. It would be very hard for anyone to steal that without taking the whole backpack.
The rest of the night passed quite pleasantly. Cloud drew Axel out during commercial breaks and Roxas was glad to see his brother seemed to like the cambion. Axel was relaxed and enjoying himself, his arm snugly around Roxas' waist. They ended up watching Iron Chef and Axel laughed at the announcer's antics and eyed the final creations longingly.
"I'd love to try food like that someday." He looked ruefully at his half-eaten pizza. "I bet those guys never made anything like this, even when they were kids." Roxas tried to imagine one of the Iron Chef's making cardboard pizza. No, he couldn't picture it.
"I'm sure they've all done something equally terrible. No one is perfect… but I'm sure they threw it out rather than serving it to someone." Cloud picked up another piece of pizza, chewing on the soggy crust. "It does make this seem even worse though, doesn't it? We'll get something better next time. You're paying." Axel smiled, amused.
"Sure." He said agreeably. Money didn't mean a lot to him since he'd never had any. Roxas frowned faintly and poked him in the side, making the cambion look down at him questioningly.
"We should save most of that." He cautioned. "You're going to need it for school." Axel looked startled and Roxas wasn't surprised. He clearly hadn't thought of what he'd do in the future.
"I need school? The monks taught me a lot…" Axel's voice trailed off. "But it was pretty lopsided." He admitted. The priests had taught him to read, write and do basic math. Then they'd taught him mostly about religion. His brief education hadn't touched on things like science. "I dunno Roxy. Maybe I should get an apprenticeship at something?" Axel thought that might be better. He was good with his hands and almost tireless.
"Oh. Maybe." Roxas smiled as an idea came to him. "If mom and dad get with the problem they could teach you to be a locksmith! We could expand the business." The Islands really only needed one locksmith but that was fine. They could split the work and maybe solicit work online. Axel looked interested.
"I already know how to pick locks a bit." He volunteered and Roxas wondered how he'd picked that up. Probably when he was trying to outwit the monks. "Or maybe I could be a carpenter or something. I can cut wood like a snap." Axel flexed his fingers, neatly slicing through his pizza… then swearing as part of it fell on the floor. "Damn!" He carefully picked up the shred of half devoured bread and cheese as Cloud laughed.
"You guys are thinking too much. Let's worry about getting our folks on the same page first." He advised and Roxas nodded. If he couldn't get his parents working with them, maybe he could use the money to start his own locksmith business? Although thirty thousand was awfully low for that. And the church was still going to be a problem. Roxas sighed to himself and looked at the TV as Iron Chef came on again. Cloud was right, he was thinking too much.
The future would just have to sort itself out.