No, I don't own kingdom hearts. They belong to Disney and Squeenix. However I am proud owner of any of the original characters that appear here unless stated otherwise. Utada Hikaru and her music belong to herself, I only borrowed her name for the sake of the story.
Summary: KeyToDestiny and DancingFlames are widely known over the internet. No one knows who they are, though. It is only known that one of them has two 'keys' tattooed and the other has piercing green eyes...
Ignoring the growing admiration to those two amazing models, Roxas is recovering from a suicide attempt and has moved back with his family to his old hometown, Destiny Islands, to start anew. In that same hometown a new life, old friends and wonderful challenges await for him. Will Roxas and his new friends manage to pursue that dream that they chase?
IMPORTANT NOTE: for those that don't remember, Axel's aunt is called Utada Hikaru, exactly like the Japanese signer. Now, mind you that, although she has the same name SHE IS NOT THE SAME PERSON. Also, I am aware that Hikaru is her name and Utada her surname but… for the sake of the story, we are keeping the name as Utada and the surname as Hikaru. Her looks and personality are accord to Rowan Hikaru (my own character) and the rest of this fictional Hikaru family. Now, that said, on with the story!
Also, this is the unbeta-ed version… Or rather, crappily self-betaed. I'll update it when she gets around it, but at the moment More is on a well deserved vacation with her boyfriend
Last Time…
The blonde laughed, burying his head in Axel's neck. It was then he noticed that the other teen was shirtless and…
"Axel…" Roxas asked coyly "How come you went to bed completely naked?"
"It's more comfortable" Axel replied almost too quickly. Roxas looked straight into the teen's green eyes. "Oh, fine… I knew how this fight was going to end, okay?"
"And pray, how is that?"
Axel smirked, and with a surge of strength he turned Roxas around and pinned him under him.
"That is…" Axel's hot breath ghosted over Roxas' lips "With you moaning wildly as I ram hard and fast into you and make a point of who is the seme here"
Roxas' member pulsed again. The blonde rested his hands on Axel's chest and pushed slightly, toying with the nipple piercing as he stared straight into Axel's eyes.
"And how do you plan achieve that?"
Axel smiled wickedly. "Well, you're already hard..."
Roxas swallowed loudly. Oh man, that smile was a fucking turn on…
"Beepop, where are you taking us?" Sora asked, wondering how they had gone from being in the middle of the city to the middle of a forest. Roxas and Axel were behind, each minding their own business but sharing the same iPod. It was a miracle how they managed to walk in between the branches without any of the two dropping their side of the headphones.
"I'm taking you to the Mermaid Lagoon" the girl whispered, excitedly. "And I'm making sure that that annoying cousin of yours doesn't follow us"
"Don't you like Wendy?" Roxas asked. Beepop shrugged.
"I can't say because I don't know her. However, she spent the whole way back from the PSP talking non-stop about my pictures, how awesome we were and a shit load of things I could care less about." She took a deep breath "And what about the Christmas shopping trip? She didn't let us have a moment to us at all! Babbling the whole time, trying to get us to try certain types of clothes… Mind you, I know she was doing it out of good will but… it still was annoying. And I don't like annoying people"
"That is… quite a blunt way of putting it" Axel commented. It was perfectly clear that he agreed wholeheartedly with Beepop. The Christmas shopping spree hadn't been as nice as they had hoped it to be, and it was mainly because Wendy would just not let them have a moment of peace. She'd follow the twins around when they were looking for clothes shops, tagged along when Beepop went to find some shoes and hovered around Axel as he tried and pick some sunglasses. Yes, they managed to get what they wanted, but it hadn't been relaxing. "And what will we do in the Mermaid Lagoon?"
"I'm guessing you want to take some pictures" Beepop smiled cheekily. "That is why you brought the camera along, right?"
Roxas snickered when Axel's cheeks reddened slightly. Beepop laughed as they turned a corner. Suddenly, they arrived to what had to be the most amazing place in the whole of Neverland. A clear blue lagoon stood in the middle of the forest, sparkling invitingly at them. It was as if it had a microclimate of its own, for the fog that they had experienced on the way there seemed to disappear as the slowly neared the crystalline water. Sora's eyes widened when he spotted a huge, dark blue fish swimming near the shore.
"What is that…?"
"A giant mermaid" Beepop said "The lagoon is full of them, hence the name. But that one" she pointed at the fish "Is quite small. Mermaid fish are normally between two and three metres long"
The twins started bombarding Beepop with questions about the lagoon, the mermaids and the history behind the place. Beepop, aware that she had a very keen audience, started explaining everything in detail, rejoicing at the praises she was obtaining for 'knowing so much'. Axel, meanwhile, had ventured down to the very edge of the lagoon and was scanning the surroundings with a critical eye. An idea was forming in his mind, and it went down to three basic points.
1. Although they had been uncovered and subsequently had posted photos without their masks on Kingdom hArts, they still had to do a quality mask-less photoshoot
2. The place was beautiful and deserted. And warm. What else could they need as a place to shoot in?
3. The lake was a perfect excuse to get Roxas naked. And a naked Roxas meant that Axel would have to get naked.
And damn it, Axel and Roxas naked always ended up in hot, steamy sex. Axel was grinning by this point. Sex in a boat, sex in a lake… the holidays could not get any better.
"Hey, Roku!" Axel called, catching Roxas' attention. "You three! Get your asses down here, I've got an idea!"
Naminé's mouth fell wide open as she stared at her Kingdom hArts alert page. Fifteen photographs. Not one, not two, fifteen. Fifteen glorious pieces of Aku, Roku and Soku, fooling around and posing in what looked to be a lake. Clothed, shirtless, naked…
"Oh shit" she swore, clicking on a photo where Axel was clearly naked, waste deep in the clear water and waving happily at the camera. "Oh holy fucking shit… " she 'liked' that picture and went onto another one, where Axel and Roxas were shown, Axel towering over Roxas as he planted a kiss on the teen's temple. Roxas' tattoos and navel piercing glistened with water droplets, droplets which slid down his tan skin and went down and down and…
"Damn it, the picture only shows them waste up…" Demyx mumbled, startling his sister.
"Crap, Demyx, don't do that…" she scolded her brother, who had taken the mouse and was browsing through the pictures.
"They seem to be having fun…"
"Fun is an understatement" Naminé snorted, pointing at a thumbnail "See that picture? beePOP is with them. beePOP!"
Demyx low whistled. "Bloody lucky, if you ask me. Bloody fucking lucky. I'd give anything to shoot with beePOP"
The blonde girl smiled and kissed her brother's cheek. "Don't complain about luck when you're having a lucky stroke at the moment."
The Mohawk boy chuckled, ruffling his sister's hair. "Alright, point taken. Now, I better leave you so you can wank over their pictures in peace"
"Demyx! I can't wank, I haven't got a penis!"
Demyx stared at his sister as if he didn't believe it. "Nams, we all know you secretly are the man in this family"
"Anyone called?" Cid shouted from the kitchen. Demyx rolled his eyes, exiting his sister's room.
"No, dad, no one called you. Stop calling out every time someone says 'man', we all know you're the one who bought that frilly pink apron!"
XxakurokuxX
"So, the list goes as follows" Roxas said, pushing his glasses up "Boat, Lagoon, PSP wreck boats, female changing rooms…"
Axel smiled proudly as he typed something in his laptop. "I remember that one… bloody hot"
"We almost got caught, too" Roxas snorted "… rooftops and lift."
"The lift was only a blowjob"
"A decent blowjob, considering there are thirty five floors in this building" Roxas pointed out "And you came, which I'm pretty sure not many people can say when getting head in a lift"
The red haired turned around and stole a kiss from Roxas. The blonde smiled and returned the kiss, enjoying the still foreign sensation of Axel's tongue piercing.
"Roxas, can you come a moment-" Sora said, walking into the room "Oh fuck, sorry!"
"Don't worry, So" Roxas said, kissing Axel once more and leaving with his brother. "What was it that you wanted?"
Axel smiled to himself as he went back to his laptop. Frowning at the message, he started typing. He had been talking with Demyx and Zexion about Riku and he wasn't liking what his two friends were telling him.
FlurryOfDancingFlames: is it that bad?
MelodiousNocturne: bad no, worse
MelodiousNocturne: he practically ignores us!
CloakedSchemer: childish
FlurryOfDancingFlames: you don't say, Zex XP
CloakedSchemer: I do say.
MelodiousNocturne: On the other side, we have something to tell you
CloakedSchemer: call?
MelodiusNocturne is requesting a videoconference
The red haired accepted. The conversation closed and a huge image of Demyx and Zexion appeared.
"How the fuck were you both in the conversation if you're using the same computer?" Axel asked.
"Hey guys, how are you? Oh we're cool, Axel, thanks for asking" Demyx mocked "I'm using my laptop and Zex was using his phone"
"So what is it?" Axel asked. Demyx sighed.
"Its two things, one good and one bad" he started "the good thing: Zexion and I got an offer to start working as professional DJs"
Axel barked a laugh "That is fucking amazing! Congrats guys!"
Zexion smirked "Thank you Axel. However…"
"We have to quit the band if we are to accept" Demyx finished. "And… we really want to go on as DJs Aku…"
Axel's smile faded, and was replaced with a frown.
"Aku?" On the other side of the conversation, Demyx and Zexion were looking back at the red haired expectantly.
"Well…I'm fucking glad about you guys. But… at the same time…" he winced "I wished you didn't have to quit the band."
"I know Axel. But…" Demyx tried to excuse himself, but Axel shook his head and smiled.
"Don't say anything dude. I completely understand. In fact, I would probably do the same thing. It would be fucking stupid if you were to ignore the offer for my sake"
"So…" Zexion said, trying to dissipate the tension "Where's Roxas? I thought you two were joined at the hip…"
"Ha fucking ha." Axel replied, noticing the pun "He's actually somewhere in the house packing up with Sora and hiding all the Christmas presents they got…"
"Shit!" Demyx turned to Zexion "Christmas shopping!"
"What about it?"
"We haven't done it yet!"
"Well, you better get onto it guys! Christmas is around the corner!" Rowan singsonged, walking into the room "Axel, close the computer and go to bed already. We're leaving early tomorrow, remember?"
"What? Aww, come on Rowan…" Demyx whined.
"You two should be going to bed too" Rowan smirked "Should I make you go to bed?"
"I'll make sure Demyx gets to bed just fine, thank you" Zexion answered for Demyx, who pouted. "Hopefully we'll see you tomorrow, dude"
"Yeah, see you guys" Axel smiled before closing the conversation and turning off the computer. Then he turned to his father "Where's Roku?"
"I think… last time I checked, he was with Tads" Rowan shrugged "Don't take my word, though. He's been running around the house like a mad man…" the adult stuck his tongue out and wrapped his arms around his son "Now, come on! Dinner's ready. I can smell it"
Axel laughed and let his father drag him out of the room that, in the two weeks they'd been at his aunt's place, had become their makeshift computer room. Time had flown by but, even then, Axel felt that Neverland was just the start to be the best Christmas holidays he was going to have.
/
/
That night, Sora lay in his bed, unable to sleep. His mind went back to Beepop, and all the amazing times they'd spent together in the past two weeks. Skating in the PSP, Christmas shopping, dying his hair brown again, the mermaid lagoon shoot...
The teen sighed and closed his eyes, his mind going back to Beepop and…
"I really like you" Sora said as he combed her blue-black hair. "A shame I'm leaving tomorrow though"
Beepop snuggled into Sora, making a sound that was in between a giggle and a sigh. "I like you too, you know…" she looked up to him "You'll come to visit me, right?
Sora smiled, leaning in softly. "Sure" he whispered as he planted a soft kiss on her lips…
Sora groaned into his pillow as the images of him kissing Beepop (for some reason) brought Riku back to his mind. Riku, whom he had loved so much, the same Riku that had held him, kissed him and made his stomach flutter so many times… Just like now.
"Damn Riku…"he grumbled "I really need to get over him"
"Yeah, you do" Kairi mumbled sleepily as she walked into the room and flopped onto his bed. "Mind if I sleep here? They're going at it much louder than the rest of the nights and the earplugs are not exactly effective…"
Sora looked up and shuffled slightly to the side, making some space for his best friend. The girl sighed happily and snuggled into the mattress, falling asleep almost instantly. The teen stared at the sleeping figure of his friend for a second before sighing and lying down beside her. As soon as he closed his eyes, more images of Riku flooded his mind, probably triggered by the fact that he knew what his brother was up to. Opening his eyes, he sighed again. It seemed he wasn't going to have much sleep tonight.
XxakurokuxX
Saying goodbye had been an interesting affair. Wendy had been kind of sad that her internet idols were leaving after spending so little time with her (they had been purposely avoiding her ever since the shopping spree) but didn't make much of a fuss. Beepop and Sora had been overly cuddly and stealing kisses when they thought no one was watching, but apart from that the goodbye went smoothly. Utada, on the other hand…
"Oh come on Auntie Tad… we'll visit again!" Axel exclaimed in fright when his aunt broke down crying against him, hugging him tightly and screaming nonsensical stuff. "It's not like we'll be gone forever!"
"Yeah but… I'M GONNA MIZZ CHU GUYZ!" The woman wailed, hugging her nephew even tighter. Axel rolled his eyes and patted her shoulder.
"There, there… Dad, why don't you come and say goodbye to auntie?"
"I already did" the adult shrugged. "But, why are you so mean? Don't you love your auntie?"
"Of course I do!" Axel cried out, glaring at his father when he snickered at the drama that Utada was putting on now.
Half an hour and many tears later, the group was heading back to Destiny Islands. Rowan surprisingly, spent most of the journey sleeping, blaming it on a painfully strong migraine. The rest of them lounged around the deck, playing cards, laughing at jokes and sharing their plans for Christmas. Axel also told the twins about Demyx and Zexion, and although they all agreed on how amazing it was that they'd already gotten a contract with Sephiroth, the three of them were feeling quite bitter about it.
"We'll need a new bassist and guitarist" Roxas thought out loud, leaning against Axel. Sora nodded, frowning.
"And preferably someone we can trust. Someone…"
"Xigbar plays the bass and recently quit his old band" Kairi said, catching the teens' attention "And Saix told me once he likes to play guitar in his spare time…"
"What were you doing with Xigbar and Saix?/When did they tell you this?" Axel and Roxas asked at the same time, before looking at each other and breaking into a laugh. Kairi sniffled, pretending to be offended.
"As a matter of fact, I happen to get along greatly with Xigbar"
Axel's eyebrows shot up and looked at his sister. "Really Kai, Xigbar?"
"What? He's funny, has this devilish air around him…"
"Is missing an eye, has gray hair and more scars than we can count" Sora finished for her. "What you see in him is a mystery"
Kairi shrugged "It's not his looks I'm particularly concerned about…"
"Wow that surely is a first-"
A happy cry and an ecstatic laugh shook the teens out of their conversation. The four teens turned around to find Cloud jumping onto Vincent, who was laughing like a madman and, for once, didn't have his stoic face on. Sora looked at the couple, confused.
"What's going on?"
"Vincent…" Cloud laughed, dragging his boyfriend towards the group. Roxas was glad that no one was on the deck apart from them, because the two had caused quite a scene. "Vincent asked me to marry him!"
"What…" Axel blurted, before standing up and clapping the two on the back "Way to go guys!"
"Congratulations, guys!" Kairi smiled. Sora laughed, jumping to hug his brother whilst Roxas stared at the couple, confused.
"Congratulations but…" Roxas rubbed his chin "Wouldn't that mean I'd be somehow related to Axel?"
Cloud snorted, ruffling his youngest brother's hair. "Doesn't matter, kid. Vincent is Axel's god brother, so it's no real relation…"
"Hey, I happen to consider Vincent one of my kin, red haired or not" Axel said, sounding offended. Everyone laughed at the statement before breaking into excited chatter about wedding plans. The twins shared a happy look, wide grins dancing in their faces. Those definitely were going to be the best Christmas holidays ever.
XxakurokuxX
Time went by in a blur for everyone after returning from Neverland. Christmas party preparations, organising presents, telling everyone about Cloud and Vincent's wedding, starting to set dates up for said wedding… Although busy, everyone was enjoying themselves. All except Rowan, who seemed to have come down with some sort of virus and spent the whole time vomiting, moaning about his head and sleeping. He had gone to the doctor and they had been told it was just stomach flu, probably caught in Neverland, and that with medication and a week's worth of rest Rowan would be back to normal.
"Come on dad… it's just medicine" Axel droned as if he'd said that same sentence thousands of times before.
"No!" Rowan replied in a very childish manner.
"Rowan…" Roxas warned "Do you want to get better for Christmas or not?"
"Yes I do!" moaned the adult, looking pale "but one thing is getting better, and a completely different matter is having to take… that!"
"Oh come on" Axel cried "It's even strawberry flavoured!"
"My ass if they call that strawberry flavour…" Rowan mumbled, but took the flask that Axel was handing him. "Fine, I'll take it…"
Rowan disappeared into the kitchen in search of a spoon, time that Axel took to share a look with his boyfriend.
"Well, he does seem to be getting better…"
"Yup" Roxas agreed "He moans more and more each day…"
That was how Axel and Roxas spent most of their day: arguing with Rowan to take his medicines. They'd get up, have breakfast, wake the adult up and fight over him due to the medicine, make him breakfast, went out to help with preparations and other things, had lunch, fought with Rowan over medicine, curl up in the sofa and talked, had dinner, fought over medicine and went to bed to do naughty things to one another. If they were having a good day, they'd go out with their friends and if the day wasn't as good, the three of them would curl up to watch a movie.
Gradually the days became weeks and, suddenly, it was Christmas Eve. Roxas was panicking because he felt they'd wasted a lot of time they could have spent decorating the house (he spent so much time at Axel's that he practically lived with them), Axel was locked up in the kitchen wondering what to cook for that night and Rowan sat in the sofa playing Wii with Zack, who seemed to be winning.
"No.. no! Zack, I'm the master, I'm the one supposed to be winning!"
"WOOF!" Zack's deep bark resounded in the house. Roxas let out a frustrated groan.
"Rowan! You could stop playing for a moment and help me, you know? It's your house we're talking about decorating!"
"I'm sick, I'm not supposed to help" Rowan replied, his brow furrowing in concentration as he tried to beat Zack. The mongrel was just pawing randomly at the control and rolling it around the floor, but somehow everything he did was not random at all in the game.
"That's bollocks, dad" Axel called from the kitchen, trying to disguise his laugh in a cough. If Roxas was stressed, it was better to agree with him. "What about grilled vegetables?"
"And a barbecue" Rowan stated "oh, fuck"
"Fish barbecue" Axel pressed. Rowan snorted
"My arse. It's Christmas! Let me have some meaty goodness"
"Just put a pile of different things in the centre of the table and let's have a 'everyone cooks their own meal' thing of sorts" Roxas suggested "Now, someone help me decorate the freaking house!"
"Why are you so stressed, Roku?" Rowan asked "We're going to be sitting in the terrace anyway, it's not like they'll see the Christmas decorations"
Axel feared his father's life for a second when something seemed to snap inside Roxas. The blonde teen smiled eerily, flexing his knuckles.
"Rowe… it was your idea to have a Christmas themed party… and we haven't even put the Christmas palm tree up"
/
/
"Happy Christmas, guys!" Demyx screamed as he walked into the terrace, 'fashionably' late, followed by his sisters, father and Marluxia. "Sorry, but Larxene had a bit of a problem with her dress and…"
"I'm too fat" The girl laughed, rubbing her three month pregnant belly "So I had to improvise"
"Well, you look dashing" Tifa smiled, taking the girl by the arm and leading her towards the massive table that had been set in the terrace "Come on! You five are the only ones missing!"
"Great decorations…" Cid commented, sitting beside Rowan, who glaring at Roxas in a very childish manner "Did you decorate, Rowan?"
"He did" Roxas smiled from his place in Axel's arms "With a bit of help, didn't you?"
"You're worse than my mother…" Rowan mumbled "I'm a sick person! Sick people are supposed to cuddle in blankets and comment on what others do…"
"Exactly" Roxas said "And you were sitting in swimming trunks and playing Wii with Zack. In my opinion, that means you were perfectly able to help in decorating your Christmas party"
Those around them broke into laughter whist Rowan crossed his arms and sulked.
"Hey, Reno! How that's grill going?" Axel asked, shouting at his brother over the chaos of the conversations. Reno had decided that grilling everything was his duty and wasn't letting anyone get near it, which amused everyone to no end since he was displaying the same protective attitude Axel had with his kitchen.
"Almost done, bro!" Reno called "Okay, Tifa, Rude, Yuffie and Dad, come and pick up your thingies!"
Everyone had made it to the party, except Riku who was out with his father and siblings and Zexion, who was spending time with his parents and his father's newly born daughter (his parents were divorced, but maintained an excellent relationship and dined together every Christmas eve). Under the Christmas palm tree that Roxas had set up in the middle of the garden, over fifty presents piled up, hiding the trunk of the artificial tree. Roxas (with Rowan's 'aid') had decorated the garden to make it look like a summer Christmas. Little lights hanging in between the different palm trees and bushes, paopu fruits with little santa hats, Christmas star fish, shells… and Christmas palm trees covered with white sand instead of snow.
"It's really nice, albeit a bit weird…" Sora commented at the end of dinner, when everyone was relaxing and taking notice of Roxas' work "Christmas in summer, I mean. I'm used to the chilly weather of Twilight town"
"And it wasn't that chilly this year in Neverland, either…" Vincent added as he tried to free his hair from little Denzel's hands "The day you went to the lagoon we didn't go below the 30ºC…"
"We had snow the very next day" Rowan snorted "Remember? When we attempted, and key word being attempted, to go to the museum"
"And what about the shopping spree?" Kairi laughed "We were fine on the way there, but it snowed so much on the way back we were stuck in the car until they cleaned the road!"
"However, the day we left it felt like summer once more…" Axel said "That's Neverland's crazy weather for you"
"Shopping spree equals presents?" Demyx asked all too subtly "Because I am deadly curious about what you got me!"
Rowan's eyes opened wide. "Oh shit… I forgot about Demyx!"
The teen's mouth fell open comically "Say what?"
"Oh I'm sorry, Demyx!" Rowan wailed, flailing around dramatically and heading for the present pile "But… I think most of the things I got were for myself!"
"Rowan!" Demyx cried, looking as if he were to burst into tears at any moment.
"Joking!" Rowan stuck his tongue out, handing a huge pink box to Demyx "Happy Christmas, Deedee!"
"Oh god, not you too…" Demyx laughed, hugging the box all too tightly "Present!"
"Well… I take that as a cue to say 'Present time, dudes!'" Axel grinned "Daddy, I'm going to fetch Roxas' present, okay?"
"Oh god, what did you get me this time?" Roxas asked, excited but partly fearing his boyfriend. Axel liked to spoil him, despite the blonde telling him that he didn't need any of the things that Axel got him.
"You're going to love it, Roku" Cloud smirked "We've kind of teamed up against you this time…"
Roxas arched an eyebrow "Who's we?"
Sora, Cloud, Vincent and Rowan raised their hands up, only Sora having the decency of looking guilty. "And Axel" Sora pointed out "the thing is, I don't know how he's managed to keep it hidden for so long…"
Roxas was about to say something when a high pitched bark caught his attention. The teen's blue eyes widened when he saw Axel come back into the terrace holding a brown ball of fur…
"You got me a dog?" Roxas breathed, staring at the small puppy "A dog?"
"You got him a dog?" Demyx whined, staring at his father "How come you never got me a dog?"
"We've got enough feeding you, Demyx" Cid shrugged, lighting a cigar "And you're just as dirty and practically behave like a dog… why another one?"
"Go on, take her" Axel chuckled, handing the little pup to Roxas, who still didn't believe it "We haven't named her yet but…"
"I suggested Aerith" Rowan suggested, innocently "Since we've already got Zack…"
"She's so soft…" The blonde laughed when the puppy tried to lick his nose "What breed is she?"
"Afollie" Axel announced proudly "Mixture of Afghan hound and collie. Pretty little thing… bloody fast, too"
"But… I thought you hated dogs, Vincent!"
"Oh, and I do" Vincent shrugged "But I'm not going to be taking care of her so… I guess she'll be fine"
Roxas' mouth fell open. "I think this is the first time I've heard you say you're willing to go against something for the sake of someone else"
"Roku" Cloud laughed "We all know how much you've wanted a pup since… ages. So, why not?"
"I'm not complaining!" Roxas cried, huddling the puppy close to his chest. The little mutt yipped happily and tried to lick Roxas' nose once again, much to Axel's amusement.
"You guys go over the top with sentimentalism" Reno interrupted, laughing "He got the puppy, didn't he? How about we name her, introduce her to Zack and go on with the rest of the presents!"
"Aerith is a good suggestion…" Roxas stared at his pup, which looked at him with beautiful green eyes "Yes, she's going to be Aerith. We do need the couple, don't we?" he set the pup down and headed for the present pile. "Come on, I want to see what else I got!"
Somehow, in between the process of handing and receiving presents, everyone ended sitting around the palm three in a sort of circle. Aerith kept trotting around the circle cutely, trying to follow the different presents and barking happily every time she got praised or was called. Denzel kept trying to grab her when she got near him, and gurgled happily when the puppy 'kissed' him. At one point Tifa grabbed her and tied a bright pink ribbon around her neck, which reminded everyone of the characteristic bow that the Strife's mum wore every time. Aerith the pup truly did honour her namesake.
Most of the presents the twins got (except Aerith, whom Sora had insisted was strictly for Roxas) were intended to be shared. Two guitar hero games, a new reflex camera (Roxas stated that it was more intended for Sora than him), two free tattoo or piercings sessions in Yuffie's shop, a whole set of professional photographer equipment and...
"Okay" Sora turned around, clearly excited but slightly pissed at the same time "Who was the one that got us two new laptops?"
"Either Rowan, Axel or Reno" Roxas mumbled, crossing his arms "Seriously, why do you insist in getting us such expensive presents?"
"Because it's about damn time someone spoiled you two!" Rowan exclaimed, not being able to contain himself "I mean, I know you say that you don't need anyone to do so but… Brotherly love and small, but sentimental presents are sometimes not enough!" the adult pouted "And I have too much money for my own good, so allow me some guilty pleasures, okay?"
"You'll get used to it, guys" Marluxia commented, eyeing his brand new blackberry phone (another of Rowan's presents) "He likes to go over the top with things…"
"But…" Sora started to complain "It's too much! You already got us those metal keyblades for our birthday!"
"So?" Rowan snorted "Think about this way. I earn far more money than what I need, I'm single, I live comfortably off and even with all the charity donations I make, I still have money spewing out of my ears" the adult crossed his arms over his chest "I happen to love my family and friends and I like to see them happy. So, you're keeping those laptops, want them or not"
"Still…" Roxas started, but was silenced by Demyx, who threw an arm around him and kissed his cheek.
"He got me my first bass. Spent over 3000 munny on it. He's never allowed me to give the money back or repay him in one way or another"
"Paid for the repairs of the hangar when it was destroyed by a particularly nasty storm" Cid commented
"Finished paying off my medical degree when my parents couldn't" Tifa smiled, kissing her father in law on the cheek "He likes throwing his money around for others"
"Set up my tattoo shop" Yuffie piped up.
"Face it, dudes" the adult smiled "You're in for one big, spoiling with me"
The twins laughed and hugged Rowan, throwing him on the floor. "Thank you!"
"This is strange…" Vincent turned around, staring at his god brother "Sora has received a present from Axel, but Roxas hasn't…"
"Isn't Aerith my gift from Axel?"
"Partly…" the red haired started "The thing is…" Axel twitched around, uncomfortably "Why is everyone staring at me?"
"How about, you get on with the present?" Kairi cat called "I'm curious now!"
Larxene gasped, grabbing Marluxia's hand "Oh my god! I think I know what it is!"
"What is it?" Marluxia asked, worried "Xeeny?"
"A ring! He's going to ask Roxas to marry him!"
Both Axel and Roxas shared a look when all the girls present started squealing and planning a supposed 'double wedding'.
"I'm not marrying him!" Axel exclaimed "Yet…"
Roxas smiled softly and shuffled slightly so he could kiss Axel's cheek. "So, come on. What is it?"
Axel looked away, blushing and thrusted a small box into Roxas' hands, a box that was surprisingly heavy. The blonde teen picked up Aerith, who was sitting in Axel's lap and chewing on his sandals, took her place and placed the puppy upon his own lap. Slowly, too slowly in Axel's opinion, Roxas untied the small thread that held the lid together, carefully took the wrapping paper apart and opened the box lid.
"What is it, Roxas?" Cloud asked in a teasing manner. The blonde looked up and stuck his tongue out at his brother "Shut up" he went back to the box and took out a small keychain, a sphere with thirteen roman numerals. Dangling from it where a set of keys, varying in size and colour "it's a key chain…"
"Very good" Rowan clapped sarcastically "And what could that key chain symbolize?"
"That I need a new one?" Roxas joked, eyeing the keys. Reno barked a laugh, amused by the whole situation.
"It's fucking obvious, Roxas! Those are a copy of Axel's keys!"
"Reno, don't swear" Tifa scolded, pointing at little Denzel who was asleep in his cradle. "Roxas, what Reno means is…" The brunet woman didn't bother continuing the sentence, since Roxas was all too busy kissing the living daylights out of Axel "Ah never mind…"
"So, is Roxas moving in with Axel?" Sora asked, snuggling into Demyx, who in turn was sitting on his father's lap.
"No… he's just been given free reign into their house" Cid explained "It's like saying 'I'm real serious about you and my father adores you'"
"He didn't do that for me" Larxene said, wrapping her arms around Marluxia and snuggling "Speaks volumes about his feelings"
"And how about they go express their feelings elsewhere?" Vincent droned, pointing at how Roxas seemed to be slowly unfastening Axel's shirt "There are minors here…"
"I like the show" Yuffie pouted "Don't say anything; I want to see if it's true that Roxas is the boss-"
"He is" Cloud pointed out "I've heard them and it's always, always Axel moaning and begging and…"
"We're talking about my little god brother and your brother, Cloud!" Vincent complained. "I can't just stay and watch!"
"Well, no one said I could watch either, I just mentioned I heard them-"
"Guys…" Rowan breathed, feeling suddenly very dizzy. "I'm not feeling…"
"Then go somewhere else!" Yuffie shouted, not taking notice of Rowan or how pale the man seemed to be.
"Guys…" Rowan rasped, standing up. Cid noticed that something was off with his friend.
"Rowan?" he asked, pushing the two teens off him and standing up. "Are you?"
Rowan turned to his friend, deathly white. "My head hurts…"
"Hey, shut up a moment!" Reno called to the arguing Tifa and Vincent. "Dad?"
Everyone turned, now worried. Rowan was leaning heavily on Cid, panting and grasping his head.
"Is it another migraine?" Axel asked, pulling Roxas up and nearing his father "Do you want to go and lie down?"
"No, I'm…" Rowan heaved "I need…" The red haired adult let out a pained, strangled sound and collapsed, startling Cid in such a way that they almost fell to the floor. Kairi screamed, calling his father's name. Reno shouted something about an ambulance, Tifa started voicing orders and getting everyone to react. Axel just stood there, transfixed, not reacting to anything or anyone around him. Only one thought was racing through his mind: they needed to get his father into hospital, and they needed to do it now.
/
"Your father just woke up" A nurse announced after two long, angsty hours of waiting in the emergency ward. Axel let out the breath he had been holding and exchanged a relieved look with Reno "Would you like to visit him?"
They were directed to the room where Rowan was, and were amazed to find him talking animatedly with the doctor. Upon noticing their entrance, the adult smiled painfully.
"Err… happy Christmas?"
"Shut up, dad" Axel breathed, nearing his father's bed and hugging him tightly "How are you feeling?"
"I was just talking about that with Doctor Spencer, here" Rowan said, motioning to the blonde man standing by his side "Thing is, it was all too sudden to be a normal faint, but I'm feeling fine now, aside from a very painful headache"
"We are discussing the possibility of migraines, but until we run certain tests on your father, we can't be sure for certain"
"But, is he alright?" Kairi asked, speaking for the first time since the whole ordeal. After the ambulance had picked Rowan up, only the siblings had gone to the hospital with him, leaving Roxas in charge of the house.
"That is the most strange thing… your father is as healthy as one can be" Doctor Spencer commented. "He's been given painkillers for his headache, and we just need to schedule a time to run these tests before he can return back home"
"Just like that?" Reno asked, slightly worried about the fact that it sound so simple. The doctor nodded.
"Yes, just like that. I would keep your father in observation but… when he got in, everything was as it should be aside from the fact that he was out cold. We've run various tests on him and nothing is out of normal. However, judging by the various symptoms he's described it could very well be migraines"
"So, when can he get those tests done?" Axel asked.
Doctor Spencer frowned. "Well, aside from urgencies we don't run any tests from here until New Year, for the sake of the staff. And, considering the excellent health your father seems to be in I think that the sooner he can get them done is the first of January. However" the doctor looked at Rowan "Should he faint again or feel extremely badly, come straight here and I'll arrange for things to be done"
The three siblings exchanged a look, not entirely convinced, but who were they to argue with the expert? Rowan noticed the worry in his children and smiled.
"Come on, kids, it'll be alright! It's better this way, anyhow" He winked at them "I can get to enjoy my Christmas holidays in peace"
"That's the spirit" Doctor Spencer smiled "Now, if you don't mind…"
/
"They're coming back!" Roxas exclaimed, rushing into the terrace where everyone still remained, all wanting to know the same thing. "They'll be here in twenty minutes!"
"Thank god…" Tifa breathed, collapsing in a chair beside Denzel's cradle "I thought it was going to be something serious for a moment…"
"Well, it's not that bad if he recovered so quickly" Larxene smiled, soothing the over worried brunet woman "There is no need to worry"
"It's only two in the morning, but I feel like I pulled an all-nighter…" Demyx commented, glancing over at his father and sister, who were sleeping on the couch "How about we call it a night? We have quite a busy day tomorrow…"
"I agree" Rude said "Now that we know that Rowan is alright, it's kind of pointless to stay"
"Besides, the mood is ruined" Yuffie sulked "The only thing I want to do is go back home and sleep the night off"
By the time Rowan, Axel, Kairi and Reno returned only Vincent, Cloud, the twins and Tifa remained in the house. Axel headed straight for Roxas, wrapping his arms around him and mumbling softly into his neck. Tifa rushed and jumped her husband, who would have fallen straight to the floor had he not leaned against the wall.
"How are you feeling?" Vincent asked, standing up from the couch were Cloud and Sora were asleep.
"Like I ate a mouthful of sand…" Rowan shuddered "It was that disgusting"
"But… is it serious?"
"If it were, we wouldn't be back" Kairi soothed Vincent. "It's alright now, or so the doctor said. He has to go back next year to get some tests done"
"Next Year?" Vincent exclaimed until he realised Kairi's pun. "Ha, ha Kairi. Very funny"
"The mood needs to lighten up a bit" she smiled "It's fine now, really"
"Okay… I'll take your word for it" Vincent sighed "Roxas, come on. Let's wake up your brothers and head home. We've got things to do tomorrow morning…"
Roxas pouted, but didn't complain. "I'll see you sometime tomorrow, then?" he asked Axel, who smiled and nodded.
"Or whenever you want, you've got the keys now"
"Well, since people have decided to call it a night…" Rowan yawned "I'm going to bed now. Merry Christmas, people"
With a chorus of goodbyes, merry Christmas and promises to shout if anything went wrong during the night, Rowan went up to his room. As soon as he closed the door, the façade fell. Massaging his temples, he collapsed onto his bed, turning his head to look at the pictures that stood on his bedside table. A picture of his children, a picture of his siblings and a picture of a younger him and his best friend, Zack Fair Strife. Stretching out to grab the frame, he set it beside him on the pillow and whispered softly.
"Zack… what the fuck is going on?"
XxakurokuxX
Sora shared a look with his brother and Demyx as they looked over what was supposed to be the Strife's living room. It looked like a war zone. Papers, cups and bottles of alcohol everywhere and a very drunk Cloud, Vincent, Rude, Reno, Sephiroth, Yuffie and Tifa lying around the floor, all knocked out cold. Not to mention the state of the furniture… Though maybe that was Aerith's fault, since the puppy looked all too happy as she trotted around the room, jumping over the drunk adults.
"Someone please explain" Sora asked "Why the fuck do they throw a party if they are not going to clean up afterwards"
"I'm not cleaning up" Roxas announced, jumping over his brother in his way to the kitchen "It's their mess. Breakfast anyone?" he asked as he opened the door to let Aerith out for a little pee. He'd walk her properly when he was more awake and had eaten something.
"I didn't know the meaning of 'responsible adults' had changed…" Demyx commented as he managed to reach the kitchen "The thing is, how did we manage not to hear anything?"
"We were at The World That Never Was, Dem" Sora reminded the teen as he searched for three clean cups in which to pour the milk into "New Years party… does that ring a bell?"
"Ah, true…" Demyx scratched his forehead "For some odd reason I thought that was two nights ago"
"Technically, it was last year" Roxas snorted, making Sora crack up at the bad joke.
"Speaking of, isn't Rowan supposed to go to the doctor today?" Demyx asked, grabbing his cup of milk and pouring healthy amounts of coffee and chocolate in it before mixing it all together. Roxas nodded, eyeing the mixture with curiosity and slight disgust.
"Yes, Axel said he'd text me to tell me about it… what are you doing?"
"A milkshake, isn't it obvious?"
Sora laughed "That certainly isn't a milkshake!"
Whilst Sora and Demyx argued, Roxas took his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. 11:37, and still no text from Axel. The teen thought it strange, for he was sure the doctors appointment was at 9 o' clock.
'I hope everything's alright…' he thought to himself before focusing on his breakfast once more. Of course it would be alright. It was Rowan they were talking about… right?
Okay, sorry for taking so freaking long to update this chapter. I kind of got stuck on it, and didn't know how to continue it. It took me way to much to figure out that the answer was to include the mermaid lagoon... On the bright side, I got a head start on both chapters 26 and 27. I won't give any dates, since every time I do I skip them but… lets hope to have them up soon!
I love all the reviews I'm getting for the story, and I love the fact that all of you love Rowan so much. I'm sorry that he goes through some nasty stuff this chapter but… it's all necessary!
Reviews are gladly welcomed! And thank you very much to those that took the time to review or send me a message! Any input is more than appreciated