Hey y'all! This is actually a rewrite of a story I wrote on an old account. I was feeling nostalgic and also was feeling like I could do much better now, so if it seems familiar, you may have read it almost 10 years ago lol. I rewrote it for a few reasons, one of them being that the original was just not very good and it had lots of problems. I wrote it when I was 17 and I'd like to think I've improved since then. A big one though is that I had wanted to put ~seggs~ in the original but I had friends and family reading it so I didn't haha. But, I'm an adult now and no one knows about this account so there will be full blown smut in later chapters lol.

If you did happen to read the original for some reason, I've made a few changes to this version. Some names have been changed to better fit in with the KH universe and I've also aged up most of the characters.

Anyway, I really am basically just doing this for my own enjoyment, but if you happen to like it, I'd love to know!

Another day, another dollar.

And another fucking article. Axel leaned back in his office chair, staring at the blank document in front of him, watching the cursor blink over and over again. The day was more than halfway over and he'd gotten nothing accomplished. Who even gives a shit what I have to say about countertops? We're all going to die anyway. At least, that's what he kept telling himself. He knew his boss would probably not find that to be an acceptable excuse if he submitted something past the due date again. Axel smirked to himself, knowing Xemnas would never fire him though. He'd realized it a while ago and was using it to his full advantage, much to the executive's chagrin. He was a valuable employee, and a damn good writer too. He'd pull something out of his ass and it'd be good enough to publish by the end of the day.

Well, at this rate, it might be a little past the end of the day.

Just as he was about to start typing, a calendar reminder appeared in the middle of the screen.

Monthly Department Meeting – 5 minutes. Shit. Guess I'll be here all night.

Knowing Xemnas didn't appreciate tardiness and figuring the day was awash anyway, Axel stood up, grabbing a notepad and pen from his desk that he knew he wasn't going to use and headed across the building. Somehow, he was still one of the last ones to the conference room. He scanned the area, looking for a place to sit—had there always been this many people working in their department? Finally, his eyes landed on his closest/only friend in the office, Roxas. The younger man noticed him, gesturing to the seat beside him with a smile. Axel grinned back and plopped into the chair.

"Thanks man," Axel said, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"No problem," the blond replied. "You get anything done today?" Axel chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"What do you think, Roxas?"

"I don't know why I even bothered to ask," Roxas said with a laugh. He was several years younger, but it hadn't taken long for them to become friends after Axel was assigned to train him during his first few weeks. Hell, he'd even taken the kid out drinking for his 21st birthday.

"All right, I believe we have everyone here," Xemnas began, clearing his throat. "Let's get started."

What a gigantic waste of time. They'd be here for an hour, at least. It hadn't even been five minutes and Axel had already mentally checked out.

"This could have been an email," Roxas whispered. Axel did his best to stifle a laugh.

He wasn't sure how long Xemnas had been talking, or what he had been saying before he began wrapping things up. It wasn't his fault this was boring and that their boss was basically a robot.

He hoped it wasn't anything important, but he knew he could count on Roxas to fill him in if he needed. The kid had only been working here for about a year and was still trying his hardest, God bless him.

"Just one more announcement before you all head back to work," Xemnas said, pushing his reading glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

Finally, Axel thought.

"As you all know, we've had the Office Assistant position open for a few months now. I'm pleased to announce that I hired someone this week."

"Great, now someone besides Saïx gets to be up his ass 24/7," Axel whispered under his breath. He glanced over at Roxas, who looked like he was on the verge of tears.

"Shut up, Axel," Roxas said through his teeth, trying his best not to lose it. "You're gonna get me in trouble."

"Everyone, this is Raina."

Whoa. A young brunette woman next to Xemnas stood up and for the first time that day, Axel was paying attention. He wasn't sure how he'd missed seeing her. A shy, polite smile tugged at the corners of her pink lips, dimples appearing on each of her cheeks. She looked put together, her long hair falling in perfectly tousled waves past her shoulders, dressed in a pale blue dress with a collar that accentuated the striking blue of her eyes. Not just her eyes though, he couldn't help but notice. His eyes raked over her, silently appreciating the way the fabric was clinging to every curve of her petite frame.

"Feel free to introduce yourselves to her today," Xemnas said. "Please make her feel welcome and be sure to get acquainted with her. She's here to help."

Oh, Axel wanted to get acquainted with her alright. Intimately acquainted.

"Hey man, you're giving off a real creepy, serial killer vibe right now," Roxas whispered, suddenly snapping Axel out of his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"You've been staring at her for a while." He hadn't realized. Luckily, she was too busy being greeted by her new co-workers to notice. Axel shrugged.

"She's cute," he murmured, still watching her. She was talking to Demyx now. He said something that made her laugh. Axel glanced back over at his friend, surprised by the glare he was giving him.

"You aren't gonna pull that shit you normally do, are you?"

"Roxas!" He said with a gasp, placing his hand over his heart, feigning shock. "I'm hurt. Wounded, even." Of course, he knew he was referring to his pattern of sleeping with a woman until it got boring and then completely ghosting her. Which may or may not have been exactly what he was planning to do. Roxas still had a serious look on his face.

"Geez, man, why do you care so much?" Axel scoffed as he stood up. Roxas caught the girl's eye and she smiled, waving to him as they left the room.

"Do you know her or something?" The redhead asked, slightly confused by the interaction.

"Yeah, she's my cousin." Axel rolled his eyes.

"Are you messing with me?"

"No, I mean she's my actual cousin, like we're actually related."

"Dude, what the fuck?" Axel was somewhat startled by the new information but Roxas was acting like it was the most normal thing in the world. They didn't discuss family much, but if someone Roxas was related to was going to be working with them, he thought he'd at least have mentioned it before now.

"I haven't seen her in a while, I didn't know she was getting a job here," Roxas said, as if he had been reading Axel's thoughts.

"So, why have you been hiding your hot cousin from me?" he teased with a grin.

"That's a dumb question and you know it." He had a point. Axel could tell he was trying to piece his next sentence together carefully. "Look, you're my friend, but you aren't exactly the best boyfriend." Fair enough. He couldn't even remember the last time someone called him their boyfriend. He shrugged again.

"I don't have to be her boyfriend." He thought he was being smart but Roxas shot him another look.

"I'm serious, Axel, leave her alone."

"Fine," he sighed, raising his hands in surrender. "I won't bother her." Roxas nodded, seeming satisfied with that.

"Good. I'll see you later." Axel waved in response and they headed in their separate directions. Time to squeeze out a ten page article in the next three hours.

Somehow, he'd managed to write something decent in two hours. It was impressive, even for him. He'd need a good dose of caffeine to power the rest of the way through though. He headed to the break room to get a cup of coffee—it wasn't good, but it'd do the job.

With it being so late in the afternoon, Axel found himself alone as he began pouring hours old coffee into his mug. In a vain attempt to disguise the bitter, alkaline taste, he dumped a couple tubs of creamer into the cup and popped it in the microwave. He closed his eyes for a moment, leaning his head back and letting out a drawn out sigh as the microwave hummed. Procrastination sure was hard work.

His moment of reprieve was interrupted when the door swung open but he didn't bother to see who walked in. However, it was difficult to ignore the presence of another person standing next to him and he glanced over.

Well, that's convenient. Raina was pouring herself a cup of coffee next to him and they were the only two people in the break room. So much for his promise to Roxas. Although, he was in here first, so he wasn't really breaking any rules.

"Hey," he greeted after a moment and she turned to face him.

Oh shit, she's so cute. She was even better looking up close and it caught him off guard. She was quite a bit shorter than he was, even in heels. He was probably a good foot taller than her. Just a hint of freckles dusted the bridge of her nose and the apples of her cheeks. Doe-like blue eyes met his green as she smiled warmly at him.

"Hi." She turned her attention back to her coffee and Axel realized he had no idea what to say to her. He didn't normally have this much trouble.

"So...uh…" he cleared his throat awkwardly. "You come here often?" Dumbass, it's her first day.

She glanced up at him again, her brow slightly knit in confusion.

"Um...it's my first time." He knew that. This was not going well. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air as she stirred her coffee and Axel made another attempt to fill it.

"What's the weather like down there?" He asked, looking down at her pointedly. Oh. Oh that was worse. This was turning into a disaster. She gave him another strange look.

"Fine, I guess…" And with that she picked up her coffee cup and turned to leave the room. He wondered if he should let her know the coffee was cold but he'd said enough. He groaned softly after he'd heard the door close behind her, running his hands over his face.

Axel, you absolute fucking clown.