Title : Strike a Cord

Author : Madd13

Rating : M for language and more

Disclaimer : I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters. All credit goes to their various creators.

Summery : In this AU world, Roxas is dragged out to see "the best cover band" ever. Turns out things go better than expected.

Credit :

"Mom, what are you doing?" Roxas asked, watching his mother move like a tornado around the living room. Honestly, it was like she couldn't stay in once spot long enough to actually do anything. Hopping from one place to another seemed rather inefficient. Then again, what did he know? He never did major cleaning like this. His mother paused, glancing over her shoulder at her small son. "Isn't Axel coming for dinner? I need to get the house presentable," She answered, making it sound like Roxas had asked a silly question.

The boy narrowed his eyes. This seemed a little too cool, calm, and collected from his mother. She had always been rather protective of her "blue-eyed babies" for her to be this worried over someone coming over. He had known she would be fine with him having a boyfriend. What he hadn't expected was that she wouldn't be yelling at them every time the twins stayed out extra late or just didn't come home. The past few nights, since meeting Vanitas, Ventus hadn't been home all that much. The fact that she wasn't constantly checking her phone for a message or call was strange.

He really didn't understand her mood. She was their mother. She should be yelling about how disrespectful they were. She should be "worried sick wondering where they are!" That was what he thought anyway. The lovely blond lady resumed her mission. "Go clean your room and get ready. Dinner will be ready at six thirty," She said with a wave of her hand. Roxas continued to frown even as he did as his mother bid. What the hell was going on?

He let out a sigh as he closed the door to his room. It was still hours until Axel was due so he didn't think it necessary to do too much just yet. His room was neat enough and it wasn't like the redhead hadn't seen it before. It had been darker when he entered the room, but that didn't make much difference. Instead of cleaning, he settled down with his laptop. He would let his mom freak out for no reason. He would have to ask Ventus later if he had any idea why she was being so strange.

/

Finally the time had come. An unexpected incident at work was keeping his father out of the dinner, but Roxas was still hopeful for the evening. His mother would be sure to tell him everything and based on that, his dad might have something to say. The blond was just hoping that Axel's appearance wouldn't be the thing to just turn his mother off and unwilling to judge him based on personality. The outward look was a shock but the bigger surprise was how great of a person he actually was if you let him show his true self.

A knock on the door came and his mother was there immediately. Outside the door was a very presentable young man. Axel's bright red hair was still all over the place and the tattoos were very stark against his pale skin. Roxas' mother looked passed all that to the man dressed in a nice button up and jeans that were entirely intact, no holes or tears at all. She did take in the beat up old boots but smiled brightly anyway. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Please, come in," She greeted warmly.

She stepped aside, ushering Axel in. "Thank you for having me over. It's nice to finally meet you." He grinned, doing his best to look like a proper boyfriend. Tattoos clearly didn't faze the lovely little woman. Given how common they were becoming, he guessed the ones on his cheeks shouldn't be all that bothersome to anyone. "You've made a very nice home," He commented, glancing around and finally seeing the rest of where his boyfriend had grown up. It was odd being invited in while the sun was still up and entering through the front door.

Very strange.

"Unfortunately it'll just be the three of us tonight. I still can't understand why Ventus couldn't make time to have dinner with us," Roxas' mother said, closing the door and starting toward the dining area. Roxas and Axel shared a look behind her back. They were well aware of what the blond twin was doing that he couldn't join them. It was shocking how quickly he and Vanitas took to each other since the dark haired male was often the type to dump someone after the first night. He wouldn't even give a person a second glance more times than not.

As long as Ventus didn't get hurt, Roxas was fine with it. Axel was having their other friends keep tabs on the couple so he knew whether it would be coming or not. For tonight, his phone was on silent so he could put all his attention into this dinner. The redhead gave the blond a wicked smirk and went for the other room. That one look made Roxas' stomach sink. At the best of times, it was exciting. This time it made him worry about what was to come.

He really shouldn't have worried though. The entire meal was pleasant, filled with stories of Roxas' childhood and Axel sharing details of his own life. There were little factoids that he hadn't know. It was like learning Axel had reading glasses all over again. Each little thing just added to how he loved him. It was something to keep in mind that Axel had been pushed to take piano lessons as a child. It was a wise move on his parents' part since he had those wonderfully long fingers. That thought brought up certain memories and he had to suppress a shudder.

This was so not the time to think bad things about his boyfriend. His mother gave him an odd look but dismissed it easily. The plates were empty and things needed to be cleaned. Axel was quicker, gathering the dishes. "Please allow me. You cooked. I can clean." The blond woman was stunned. Never had anyone that the boys brought home been so quick to help. This was the first man to take house work from her and didn't seem to mind at all. She glanced at her son once more, brows raised.

"Why wouldn't you bring him home sooner?" She asked, quite happy with Roxas' choice in partners. The blue eyed male gave a shrug and waited for Axel to come back to the table. When the singer joined them once more, the trio started to talk again. "I'm so happy Roxas found someone to spend his time with. He usually just holes up in his room," Roxas' mother said with a small laugh. "It's good for him to have some real fun before he goes off to college."

The mention of college made both boys stiffen a little. Roxas hadn't said that he was leaving at the end of the summer to go away for school. Axel found this alarming but hid it well. "It's my purpose in life to make sure he has fun. It's unacceptable for him to stay inside all the time," He replied, forcing a smile and ignoring that screaming voice in the back of his head. It was yelling that he was just a fling and that he would be brushed aside as soon as Roxas left. The blond would find someone else at school and he would be nothing more than a memory.

That was unacceptable and this would not be an easy pill to swallow. They would certainly be having a serious talk as soon as they got away from his mother. They didn't have to wait long as suddenly she got very tired. She apologized, excused herself, and disappeared. That forced smile quickly fell from Axel's face as he stared at the table. "You're leaving," He stated. Just his tone said how clearly he disliked the news. It wasn't even just how he received it but that he didn't want Roxas to leave at all. This was the first relationship that he was putting a lot of effort into. This was the first relationship he truly wanted to work out.

Azure eyes went wide as Roxas realized how badly things could go tonight. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you," He said quietly. He wasn't sure why he didn't mention it when he noticed things getting serious. Maybe he was afraid that his impending departure was going to push Axel away. Obviously, not mentioning it was going to do just that anyway. "It's not for a few more weeks. We have time to find a way to make this work," He added urgently. He could see Axel pulling away and he didn't think he could let him go.

Axel's acid green eyes snapped up to meet his pleading gaze. That almost puppy dog look on Roxas' face would usually melt the redhead's heart. If this had been any other night about anything else, he would give the blond whatever he wanted. Tonight all those warm fuzzy feelings went cold. He was nothing more than a play thing for the summer and Roxas was just trying to ease the sting by offering to "work things out."

"You probably weren't going to say anything until you were in the car, driving away. I don't like being made a fool of like this," He growled. He knew he could make himself into nothing more than a court jester but that was on his terms, his way. This just made him feel like he was a sap. He was finally starting to open up to someone like he never had before and his heart was being ripped out. Saix was going to get a kick out of this one if he was in a cruel mood.

The musician sighed, looking away. "If you can't be honest with me, I don't know how we can make anything work." Tears started to well up in Roxas' eyes. The blond opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to find the words to fix this. He had been upset over ending relationships before, but this felt worse. It felt like he was being gutted and everything that made him who he was was being taken from him. The thought of not having Axel to talk to, to hold him seemed like the worst thing that could happen.

The blond leaned across the table, reaching out for the taller man. "I'm sorry. I didn't want the fact that I was leaving to make this just a summer thing. I know I should of told you, but I started to fall in love with you and I didn't want you to pull away." The tears began to roll down his cheeks. He didn't even notice since he was too busy thinking of the right words to keep Axel here just long enough to listen and think this through with him. "I can't stand the thought that I won't have you near me as it is. Thinking that I can't call you every night and hear your voice would kill me. Please, don't take the best thing in my life away."

Axel was now pulling on every ounce of resolve he had. Roxas crying seemed to be a major weakness of his that he didn't know he had. Hell, Roxas just standing there looking adorable was hard enough to say no to. However, he really didn't want to deal with this right now. Finding out that his boyfriend was moving away in a few weeks was enough to rub anyone the wrong way. It was such an obstacle for him that he completely missed that Roxas admitted that he was in love with him. Hell, Roxas missed it.

The redhead shook his head, stood, and took a few steps back. "I need a little time to adjust to this. I can't think right now. I'll call you," He said with a note of finality. There was no arguing for him to stay and listen. There was no talking him into just sitting there in silence together. Axel turned his back on who could very well be the love of his life and walked out the door.