Author's Note: Welcome to my February pet project of 2021. This fic will updated roughly every week, barring updates to other WIPs.. This fic was inspired by the song Let's Fall in Love for the Night by FINNEAS and all chapter titles will be variations of the song lyrics.
Rating: This fic is hard M and has actually been adapted down from an Explicit rating so I could post on this site. If you'd like to read the original, more explicit version, go to AO3.
Chapter One: you need a pick me up?
Against her better judgement, she found herself calling him.
While the dial-tone rang, Kairi chewed a thumbnail and stared out her bedroom window. Her apartment on Twilight University campus faced a dark alley, and below she could see the glow of cigarette lights from fellow college students in her complex, distorted by the condensation creeping across the glass. She wiped at it with a sweaty palm, streaks visible in the moonlight.
Axel picked up on the fourth ring. "Hey Princess."
She scowled. "Stop calling me that."
There was shuffling sounds on his end. In the background she could hear a TV program, then someone close by laughing. He whistled low. "Aren't you in a mood tonight. Might I remind you, you're the one that called me."
She rubbed at her forehead, biting back a curse. "Sorry. I'm...it's been a stressful evening. I have finals this week."
He hummed. The crunch of a bag of chips. "Sounds fun," he deadpanned.
Quick as usual came the awkward lull in the conversation. Kairi searched for something to polite to say before she got to the point, staring at the algorithms sheet in her lap, the symbols an overlapping mess in her brain.
Axel cleared his throat. "If you're calling about Roxas, he isn't here. He said he was going out, I think with your friends-"
She knew that. They had invited her too down to the local diner for late night coffee. She'd declined when Xion had texted her, begging off for some last minute studying.
She blurted out, "Are you busy?"
Silence on the other end. Then the sound of couch springs releasing and the background noises fading, as if he'd stepped away into the hall.
"Depends," Axel said, his voice an octave deeper than it had been before and making her swallow, "on what you have in mind. You going to make it worth my while?"
Kairi opened her mouth, then closed it. Her lips formed the word yes, but the sound never left her lips.
After a moment, he snorted. "Give me twenty minutes." Then he hung up.
Kairi stared at her phone for a long second, then looked at her room. The lights were off, the moonlight through the window illuminating the messy state of her room. Dirty clothes on the floor, her bag and all of its vomited contents scattered across her desk. On her bed, a sea of papers with chicken scratch in the margins and liberal highlights in pink.
She carefully scooted out of bed, cursing when she stepped on a power cord, and rummaged through her clothes on the ground for something other than sweats. She slid on day old jeans and a parka over the loose fitted shirt she'd stolen from Riku ages ago. Then she went out to wait at the curb, breath pluming in the cold. Aside from the two cat calls by a pair of drunken students lurching into the complex as she exited, she was thankfully left alone.
Axel pulled up twenty five minutes later, his old red car with the peeling paint creaking up to the curb. She stood up, dusting the back of her pants where she'd sat on the concrete, and reached for the handle.
It was locked. She watched him lean over from the driver seat to open the handle on his side.
"Still broken?" she asked, sliding into the passenger seat. The seat had been pushed flat back for some reason, and she had to sit it up right to belt herself in properly.
He shrugged, eyes squinting at her in the low light. His hand casually slid up to press the back of his knuckles to her cheekbone, and she nearly winced at the heat of him against her icy skin. He clucked his tongue, withdrawing. "Heater too. You'll have to hold on til we get back." One hand settled on the wheel, the other half out the open window holding a butt of a lit cigarette. "Haven't gotten around to fixing either."
"Don't you work at a car shop?" she asked hesitantly.
"Who's gonna pay me to fix it?" he replied easily. At her startled laugh, he grinned. In the light from the lamp post, she could see he didn't have his hair spiked like she had occasionally seen him do when their friend groups crossed paths at the bars. He'd tied it up in a loose tail, strands falling over his shoulders and face. He was wearing a thin white t-shirt underneath a plaid flannel jacket that did not look thick enough for the weather. Just looking at him made her rub her hands together for warmth.
"How much does it cost?" she grumbled as he started up the car and pulled out onto the street.
"What, you cold?" he teased, shifting in his seat to switch hands on the steering wheel. His nearest arm slid behind the back of her seat and she felt his fingers ghost against the back of her neck. She stiffened, conscious of the way he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, then slowly breathed out.
"Where are we going?" Her voice cracked only a little.
From the reflection of the front window, she saw him turn away with smirk, flicking on his blinker. "Back to my place."
She made a face, thinking about his horrible housemates. "Why?"
He shrugged. The faintest touch against the ends of her hair and she held her breath. "Where else do you wanna go? It's the middle of winter."
Usually when she called they slipped into his back seat in an abandoned lot or, like their first encounters, a lockable bar bathroom. She hadn't thought about how the weather might change things. Or thought through any thing related to him really.
He didn't bother asking if she wanted to turn around and go back to her place. She never invited him up.
Kairi held her tongue, knowing any protest would amuse him further. "Okay."
They drove the remaining time in silence. His hand retreated to the steering wheel and she leaned her forehead against the window as they passed dark neighborhoods, the noises of the street outside punctuated by the occasional pull he made on his cigarette.
When he pulled into an empty spot on the street a few lots down from a familiar house, Kairi stared blankly at the peeling dash. He stubbed his cigarette out in the ashtray between them and turned his body to face her.
Green eyes reflected street lamps in the dark. "Here we are."
She stared at the house. She'd been over here plenty of times when Roxas had invited their group over. His housemates-all working adults-were normally out during the day. In contrast, she was not usually here by herself so late.
Axel had his head cocked at her, eyes tracing over her parka and down her legs. When his eyes met hers, she suppressed a shiver. "Getting out?"
She hesitated too long. Suddenly Axel was leaning over the stick shift, half-lidded green eyes glinting, close enough that she could taste cigarettes in the back of her throat. "Having second thoughts, Princess?" He drawled. "Do you want me to take you home?" His hand came up to brush her chin and she jerked away. "Given how late it is, it's gonna cost you this time."
She resisted snapping at his mocking tone. Not because of what he was saying-he would take her home if she asked. More at the fact that he was goading her and she was falling for it, hook, line and sinker.
Without a word, Kairi jerked the handle on the door and abruptly got out of the car.
Axel took his sweet time getting out. By the time he had rolled down his window, locked all the doors and made his way around the car and onto the sidewalk, Kairi had walked briskly away and was standing at the walkway leading up to his house. She rubbed her hands together to bring feeling back to the tips of her fingers, wishing she had thought to wear gloves. Her local friends teased her about how her island blood needing to adapt to the colder climate, but it had been almost three years now since she'd first arrived at this small university town as a bright eyed freshman. She was a junior now and if she hadn't adjusted by now, she was never going to.
As Axel sidled up to her, his eyes flicked down to her hands, but he didn't comment. Instead he waved a hand mockingly in front of them. "After you, Princess."
Kairi stared up at him, feeling her mouth go dry. Axel was ridiculously tall, standing a good head over Riku, the tallest over her friends, and while she could admit the size difference was eighty percent of her attraction to him, it was also highly aggravating when she was attempting to glare down her nose at him. She turned away with a huff, ignoring his faint chuckle as he followed.
The lawn glistened crystal white and dead grass yellow under the lights from the porch. Two lawn chairs that had been sitting out since summer were covered with a fine layer of untouched snow. The driveway had dark slushy tire tracks and a long green cord of a sprinkler hose halfway to freezing solid that she was forced to step over multiple times.
Axel trailed after her as she walked straight to the front door and opened it, knowing by now it was always unlocked.
Entering the living room was like walking into a cloud of ash. She knew that most of the people in this house would chain smoke for hours in front of the television. Kairi wrinkled her nose and waved at the air in front of her face, trying not to cough. Through the haze, she could see an old, heavy LED screen TV sitting against a wall, turned on to a sports channel.
There was a stir of motion from one of the couches on the far end, and Kairi turned to see a blonde woman sitting up from where she was tangled with someone, cigarette perched from the corner of her mouth. "Is that you, Demyx? You better have gotten the right fucking ice cream this time."
Kairi pressed her lips together. Wonderful, her favorite person was here too.
Before she could retreat down the hall, Axel was closing the door behind her and stamping the slush from his shoes. With reluctance, she mimicked him. By then the blonde woman was squinting at her, forehead wrinkled. "Oh, it's you." Then she smiled, all teeth. "Hey bitch."
Kairi glared. "Larxene."
The man lounging on the couch beside the woman yawned, reaching for the remote. "Be nice, Larx."
"Fuck off," she shot back, then turned her gaze back on Kairi. "What's she doing here, red? I thought the shrimp going out meant we were rid of college brats for a while."
She felt an arm slide over her shoulder as Axel interrupted unnecessarily, "Is it any of your business?"
Larxene looked at the two of them, then started to laugh. Neck flushing, Kairi shrugged Axel off roughly and moved down the hall. She passed three doors, lingering a second at the last, which was Roxas's. The lights were out but the door was ajar and she could see the shadow of his bed and a half played board game scattered over the carpet. She shook her head, mystified how her blonde fellow pre-med even knew, much less liked the people in this house, and continued down the hall, opening the final door on the left.
Axel's room was surprisingly lacking of smoke, likely due to the cracked window on the far wall letting cold air in. It was also fairly tidy, though she could see the peak of clothes stuffed through the gap of a closed closet. His walls were bare save for fliers of bands she presumed must be his that had gotten tacked on with pins directly into the walls. As for the furniture, there wasn't much of that either. A small cluttered desk with a half filled ashtray, sticky notes with scribbled hand writing, a grease smudged spiral notebook that was starting to fray at one end. A black and red checkered comforter over a queen sized mattress in the corner of the room, a dresser that served as a night stand, and what looked to be three different phones plugged into a wall charger.
She'd been here once before-last term, when she'd come over to give Roxas her notes from one of their shared classes while he was laid up with a cold. She'd been on her way out when she'd caught the faint strains of music echoing down the hall. Her feet had led her of her own accord towards the cracked door to find Axel sitting on the ground with papers strewn around him and plucking a melody out on an electric guitar. He'd glanced up at her when she lingered in the doorway, eyes widening at seeing her there.
They'd known each other for six months then. Barely on a name basis in front of their mutual friends. But just like when Roxas had first introduced them in that hole-in-the-wall bar, his look had seared right through her. Those acid green eyes that had chased her down dark halls. That mouth, grinning against her jaw when she'd later cornered him in an empty bathroom.
She'd held his gaze across the threshold of his room, the pulse in her neck pounding, until he'd quirked an eyebrow at her and beckoned her with a finger. She'd immediately stepped inside, wringing her hands as he'd set his guitar down and casually asked her to close the door. By the time she'd turned around and the snick of the lock had slid into the frame, he'd stepped over the mess on his floor to crowd her against the door.
They hadn't said a word. He'd placed her palms flat on the door, slid his hands beneath her shirt, and worried a bite mark inside her shirt collar as she'd ground against his growing erection. It ended too soon-he'd gotten her off right there, one hand down her pants and his palm over her mouth to muffle her noises. She didn't think he even came. By the time she'd come down, gasping, he'd glanced at the clock, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with his one clean thumb, and then ushered her out of his room with a low, "You owe me one, Princess."
Her toes curled at the memory.
Kairi's eyes flicked to the farthest corner, where an amp was plugged into a wall and several guitars were displayed. She shucked her coat, leaving it in a pile by the door, and immediately gravitated toward the acoustic guitar leaning against the wall, picking it up and moving to sit cross-legged on the ground in front of his bed.
Ten minutes later, Axel walked in with a steaming mug in one hand, kicking his door shut casually with a foot. He didn't seem at all surprised that she had made herself comfortable with his instruments.
"I hate her," Kairi muttered, referring to the blonde bimbo who menaced anyone who walked through the front doors of the place.
"Funny, she said the same thing," Axel said dryly, setting the mug down on his desk and moving into the bathroom. He left the door partially open, the bathroom light carving a line across the carpet to where she sat. She thumbed at the strings of the guitar, listening to him turn on the sink. From the slit through the door, she saw him reach behind and drag his shirt over his head, revealing the smooth planes of his back and shoulder blades. She dropped her gaze quickly to the guitar, biting back a nervous frisson of anticipation, plucking at the strings and playing simple chords to occupy herself.
"What have you been playing recently?" she asked when he eventually came out with a new clean shirt on, rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand.
He flopped on the bed, and then patted the spot beside him. Kairi hesitated a moment, but then clambered to her feet and moved to sit at the far end, the body of the guitar a barrier between them. By his amused look, her tactics had not escaped his notice.
"Haven't had much time to play." He held out a hand and she gave him the guitar with a flicker of interest. To her great disappointment, he merely moved to lean it against the nearest wall.
"You won't play?" she asked as he reached for the mug he'd set down earlier and handed it to her. It was hot chocolate, the store bought kind that left a faint white powder all over the rim of the cup where it hadn't been dissolved. She didn't really like hot chocolate and had no clue why he'd made it for her, but the piping hot ceramic of the mug was glorious against her ice cold fingers. She huddled over the mug eagerly, feeling the steam wash faintly over her face.
"You gotta pay me if you want a show," he reminded her, moving to lay flat on the bed again, arms folded over his chest.
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Cheap skate." She tested a sip of the chocolate, powder dry on her tongue, and resisted making a face at the taste. Then she took a second warm sip, sighing with pleasure.
They sat in silence for a while, her sipping from her mug and him tapping idle rhythms on his arms. She wished he'd pick up his guitar and play something for her but knew better than to ask again.
Eventually, he turned his head to look at her in the low light and cleared his throat.
"How's school going?"
If he'd been going for casual conversation, he hit a landmine instead. Kairi stiffened, eyes flicking to the clock on the wall. One o'clock in the morning. Her mouth flattened. "Fine."
He snorted and she glared at him. "It is fine," she repeated.
"If you say so."
The silence resumed, but this time much less comfortable. Kairi's eyes kept flicking to the clock, fingers clenching the mug tighter as she thought about the class she had in seven hours. Six hours and fifty minutes.
Suddenly Axel sat up. "Fuck this." Without warning, his hand closed on her nearest foot and he dragged her by the ankle towards him. She yelped, nearly spilling the remains of the hot chocolate all over the bed.
She shoved the cup at his chest. "Watch it!"
He sneered, taking it from her and setting it sharply on his dresser. Then he was leaning over her, and she fell back to her elbows, throat going dry at the look in his eyes. "If you had wanted to just sit around, you would have gone with your friends." His hand came up, running over her elbow, her shoulder, then fisting at the back of her head and making her gasp. At the sound, he smiled and nosed at her hairline. "But you didn't. You called me."
"You're such an asshole," she whispered, even as she found herself laying back against the bed.
He followed her down, his smile all teeth. "Got it memorized?"