The prequel-ish-type-thing to "Wake Up."

Title: Damn Regret
Characters: Axel, Roxas
Song: "Damn Regret" by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Axel stared at the ceiling unseeingly, malachite eyes motionless save the requisite blinking every few seconds. He was bored. Bored, with a capital B Bored. In fact, Bored didn't even begin to cover it. He was dying a slow, comatose-like death of Boredom, the kind of Boredom that had him wishing that he could do something as exciting as watch paint dry or grass grow right about now.

He missed Roxas. That was the real truth to the matter, hidden under the agonizing Boredom and utter melancholy. He missed Roxas, definitely, missed the boy he was in love with, throbbed with the pain of rejection long after the bruise had faded from his jaw. He missed him, but more than he missed the blue eyes that shone like diamonds, he missed his best friend. Life was never boring when Roxas was around, even if solely for the fact that at least when he and Roxas were bored, they were bored together.
Thinking about Roxas did nothing for his boredom. Now he was bored and miserable, not just bored. Stupid, smirking little bitch. He always was a troublemaker, always was a huge fucking pain in the ass, but the fact that he was able to drive Axel out of his mind without even being there, without even talking to him, was a whole new level of irksome. Jackass.

Axel sat up suddenly, and since when had his body started making these kinds of decisions without his brain being involved in the process? He certainly didn't remember being consciously aware of deciding to get up, to scoop a semi-clean t-shirt off the floor and pull it over his shock of auburn hair, to shove his feet into shoes. Really, any time his body decided to clue his brain in would be great, because he almost felt like he was about to head over to Roxas' house and apologize to the bastard. That would be ridiculous though. For one, he wasn't the one who'd punched his best friend in the face.

Still, Axel mused silently as he laced up his Chucks, the red ones today, it was a twenty minute walk to Roxas' house, and even if all they did was scream at each other it would still kill a solid hour of time. It beat staring at the ceiling, yeah?

Mind made up, and hi-tops laced up, Axel crossed the room in two purposeful strides, yanking his bedroom door open.

And coming face to face with Roxas.

"I...what?" Axel gaped at the blond standing in front of him, the scowl on his face, both hands shoved into the front pockets of his jeans. "What are you...what?"

The scowl on Roxas' face deepened, blond eyebrows furrowed together over unusually steel blue eyes, glinting with fierce determination. Axel didn't particularly like the expression glaring out at him...somehow he felt it didn't bode very well for his jaw. Or his nose. God, he hoped Roxas didn't break his nose.

"Did you mean it?" Roxas snapped. Axel frowned, fingers tightening on the doorknob he was still latched onto. Did he mean what? Kissing him? Telling the stupid brat that he thought he might be in love with him? What do you even say to that, no, I was totally joking, thought it'd be a laugh?

"Seriously, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Did you mean it, Axel?" There was something else in his voice this time, something that Axel didn't really recognize, but it kept Roxas' shoulders squared and his jaw tight, and the outline of the fingers in his pockets looked like fists.

"Of course I meant it, jackass. What, did you think I was just kidding? Having a laugh? Why the fuck would I –"

Roxas' knuckles collided with Axel's jaw, hard enough that it would have sent him flying if it wasn't for the second hand fisted in the material around his collar. Roxas held him upright, absently shaking his right hand, looking entirely non-plussed as Axel swore and rubbed at his jaw, fingers delicately probing the rapidly-bruising skin.

"Who the fuck are you," Axel spat, fingers leaving his jaw to grab at the hand holding his collar, struggling to wrench Roxas' hand away. "Show up at my house and fucking punch me in the face? I left you alone man, I wasn't doing anything to you."

"That," Roxas hissed, batting Axel's groping hand away, "is exactly the point, asshole. Now shut up." And before Axel had time to muster up an appropriate response, before he really even had a chance to register that Roxas' free hand was sliding along his collarbone to the back of his neck, the shorter boy had yanked him forward, closing the distance between them until it was non-existent.

It was far from perfect. Axel had been open-mouthed, about to speak, and Roxas had pulled a little too hard, and there was an awkward collision of teeth and lips and it took Axel a few moments to catch up to exactly what was going on. It only took seconds after that for Axel to move though, to relinquish his hold on the doorknob and wrap his arm around Roxas' waist, pulling the smaller boy flush up against him as he adjusted the angle of his mouth. It was far from perfect, but it was absolutely the best kiss either one of them had ever had.

Axel pulled away first, only far enough to put an inch or two between their faces, to give him a chance to breathe, and maybe to figure out what the fuck just happened. The hand that had been on his own jaw had relocated to Roxas' hair; he found himself playing absently with the short blond spikes as he caught his breath.

"You're not going to hit me again, are you?"

Roxas laughed, a short, breathy wisp of laughter that was more an exhalation of breath than anything else. His eyes were still closed, cheeks slightly pink with a flush that Axel found entirely too appealing. The hand that was still gripping his collar crept up to his jaw as Roxas' finally opened his eyes, pale fingers gingerly brushing over the inflamed flesh.

"You deserved it." Roxas shrugged unashamedly, but Axel could see the unspoken apology in his eyes. They'd been friends for nine years, it wasn't hard to hear the things Roxas didn't say.

"You punched me for kissing you." Axel reminded him, smirking at the blond still only inches away. "Does that mean I get to hit you now?"

"If you really want to," Roxas rolled his eyes, "although really, I'd much rather you just kiss me instead."

And really, Axel reasoned, pulling Roxas over the threshold and slamming the door shut, pressing his best friend against the wood and picking up right where they had left off, he didn't mind that alternative at all.