Hey hey! It's been a while! I actually have this posted on AO3 as well but stopped updating it here because I thought no one was reading it until I randomly got a favorite on it the other day, so I guess even one person reading this is reason enough to update it here LOL. I do have two more chapters of this completed that I will upload here at some point. Anyway, enjoy if you are reading! 3
At least the overtime pay was good.
It had been a particularly long day and Axel just wanted to go home and have a drink. But it was nearly 7 PM, and he was still working. It had grown quiet a couple of hours ago—even the cleaning crew had already moved on to another floor. He rested his head in his hands, desperate to give his strained eyes a break from staring at the screen.
Fuck this job. And fuck Xemnas.
Okay, no, not really. He had to make money somehow and it was his only source of income. But Xemnas had not been too impressed with his three hour article. In fact, the words he'd used to describe it had been "sloppy" and "careless" and he'd demanded a complete rewrite by 8 AM on Friday.
"You're better than this, Axel," he had said. "I expect more from you."
Maybe, but I just don't give a rat's ass, he'd wanted to respond. He just kept his mouth shut, though, not in the mood for further lecturing at best, or the more likely scenario, being fired.
So, here he was at 7:05 PM on a Thursday night and he was feeling less and less productive by the second.
I could just come in early tomorrow…
Surely he'd write better when he could think straight. Being there for 10 hours was certainly not doing him any favors either. He'd made up his mind then that he wasn't going to stay any longer. Procrastination won again. Just as he was beginning to shut his computer down and gather his things, he could have sworn he could faintly hear the sound of someone singing nearby.
That's weird. Who else could still be here?
Intrigued, he picked up his coat from the back of his chair and went down the hall to follow the source of the sound. A brief thought of the building being haunted crossed his mind but he quickly shook it off as he got closer, vaguely recognizing the timbre of the voice he'd only heard once before. He leaned against the wall, waiting for her to finish before giving her light applause. She had a nice voice. She whipped her head around, startled by the sound, her eyes wide.
"Jesus!" Raina gasped, placing a hand to her chest. "You scared the shit out of me."
"Sorry," he said, a light smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You scared me a little too. I thought you might have been a ghost." A peal of giggles escaped her lips then and he couldn't help but grin. Damn, even her laugh is adorable.
"A ghost?" she repeated, returning his grin, dimples becoming pronounced on her cheeks.
"Yeah." He paused to take a quick glance around the room. "Zexion is always saying the building is haunted because it's built on an ancient burial ground and that one day we'll end up paying for the sins of our forefathers, or something like that. Weird guy." She looked a little bit worried after he'd said that.
"I mean, I wouldn't put too much stock into it though, he's always saying stuff like that," he said quickly. "Uh, anyway...I thought I was the only one still here. What are you doing here so late?"
"Oh, Xemnas has me doing inventory," she explained, gesturing to the office supplies piled neatly across the floor. His eyebrows shot up.
"By yourself?"
"Well, yeah. It's kind of part of my job."
"Ah," he replied with a nod, placing his hands in his pockets. "Doing the job you were hired to do. What's that like?" He flashed her a grin as she giggled again. He liked making her do that.
"I'm Axel, by the way." He walked over to meet her where she stood, offering his hand to her. "I don't think I got the chance to properly introduce myself yet." No, he had been making sure of that. She didn't need to know that though.
"Oh, I know who you are," she said with a playful smirk, taking his hand to give it a firm shake. He stiffened a bit when their hands made contact, feeling instant sparks at the touch. That was new. He wondered if she felt them too.
"Oh?" he smirked right back at her with a raised brow, wondering how she already knew his name. Maybe she'd been asking around about him. He kind of liked the idea of that, though he hadn't exactly nailed his first impression. Maybe she was into guys acting awkward around her. The odds of that were pretty slim though.
"Yeah, Demyx told me you were the office womanizer and that I should stay away from you." Fucking Demyx. He did his best to act casually, though that little tidbit had annoyed him.
"And what did you say?"
"Really? That guy? He made a short joke and didn't tell me his name." He chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah, not my best work."
"I've had worse conversations," she said with a laugh. She started to turn her attention back to her work and without thinking he blurted out, "Do you want some help?"
"You don't have to do that. I'm sure you want to go home." True. He had been planning on leaving just a few minutes prior and ordinarily he wouldn't be so eager to volunteer himself for extra work. He could make an exception just this once though. Something was telling him it might be worth it.
"I don't mind." She smiled at the offer.
"If you insist."
She quickly explained to him the system she had going and told him which piles she was done with and asked him to start putting them away while she started on new ones. Between the both of them it didn't take long to make a good amount of progress. They worked quietly for a while, with Raina only offering instruction or telling him where things belonged when he asked.
"So," he began while putting away some toner, trying to make for more interesting conversation. "How's your first week going?"
"Really well," she replied. She was counting some pens now, taking each one out of a basket and setting them aside on top of the filing cabinet she was standing in front of. She had to stand on her tiptoes slightly to reach them. Axel thought it was cute. "Everyone's really nice to me." When that made him breathe out a laugh, she turned around to face him, giving him a questioning look.
"Well, of course they are," he said, chuckling. "You're like, super hot."
She laughed incredulously in response, scrunching her nose slightly.
"What? Come on."
"I'm serious," he said, though his grin may have indicated otherwise. She took a glance back at him and rolled her eyes, but he could tell she was trying not to smile back. They worked in silence for a few moments after that, but this time it wasn't uncomfortable.
"So...you think I'm hot?" She finally asked. Her tone was teasing but Axel couldn't help but notice the hint of pink that had spread into her cheeks and he felt a little smug, knowing this time his attempts at flirting seemed to be working.
"Yeah." He turned to face her, casually leaning against one of the cabinets. "I thought that was obvious. You know, from the way I made a complete ass of myself the first time I talked to you."
Her mouth fell open then, the corners upturned in a disbelieving smile.
"No way." Her hand flew to cover her mouth in an attempt to hide her laughter but it was too late. "You were trying to hit on me?"
"Kind of."
He felt a little less smug when that made her burst out laughing, but part of him didn't care. It was genuine and unrestrained and full of warmth.
"I'm sorry," she gasped in between laughs, clutching her sides as she sank to the floor, her eyes watering. Axel only chuckled and shook his head.
"You really know how to bruise a guy's ego, you know that?" As her laughter quieted he joined her on the floor and sat down beside her on the carpet, his back against the shelves behind them.
"Sorry," she repeated with a giggle, looking up at him. He only smiled in response as he got another good look at her pretty face. Her eyes were the same bright shade of blue as Roxas's, he noticed. Strong genes, I guess. But the similarities ended there—she seemed softer, warmer than he was. They joked around, but Roxas could be too serious for his own good sometimes. Axel was always telling him to lighten up. And her rosy lips looked perfectly kissable at that moment, he thought, taking a quick glance at them. He definitely hadn't ever paid this much attention to Roxas's mouth, that's for sure.
"Y'know," he said, finally tearing his gaze away from her. "Your cousin told me to stay away from you, too."
Raina smiled again. "And yet here we are, alone together."
"Here we are."
"Should I be scared of you, or something?" She teased. He grinned.
"Nah, you seem to be handling yourself just fine." A silence had fallen between them again, save for the sound of the fluorescent lights buzzing quietly above them.
"You're doing a much better job this time, by the way," she murmured, a hint of a smile still on her lips.
"Is that so?" She nodded in response and he gave her another grin. Her hand was resting on the carpet between them and for a brief moment he was tempted to brush it with his, just to see if he'd feel the same jolt of electricity he'd felt when they'd touched before. He was also curious to see how she'd react. He quickly thought better of that impulse though, considering she'd just told him he was doing a good job. He wasn't about to screw up his chances again. They were also perfect strangers to each other—though Axel had enjoyed doing much more than just touching hands with strangers before. But he was enjoying just looking at her, for now.
"It's getting late," she finally sighed softly, glancing up at the clock. It was past 8 PM now. He hadn't noticed. "I should head home. Thank you for your help."
"Anytime. Can I walk you to your car?"
"Oh, I didn't drive. I usually take a cab here."
"I could take you home, if you wanted," he offered, hoping he sounded casual, and not creepy. "It's getting pretty dark for you to be out by yourself."
"Are you sure?" she asked, biting her lower lip, drawing his gaze to her mouth again. Damn. What gave her the right to look like that? "I live all the way across town."
"I don't mind," he assured her. "Besides, you can use your time in the car to think of ways to pay me back." He winked at her at the end of his sentence, earning a playful shove against his arm in response.
She was easy to talk to, he quickly discovered as he drove her home. A bit of a surprise, considering he'd had so much difficulty the first time around. They talked about whatever came to mind and he learned a little bit more about her—she had been a waitress before Xemnas had hired her. "Shitty customers, shittier tips," she'd said. He told her that surprised him, when she looked the way that she did. She told him to shut up and he'd smirked at her. He shared a few details here and there about himself too as they drove past the limits of the city—nothing too personal though. He'd never been comfortable with that, being vulnerable. He didn't even share that much with the person he considered to be his best friend. He was just a little bit more open with him than he was with most people, but even then, Axel knew more about Roxas than Roxas knew about him, and he intended to keep it that way. Partially out of discomfort, and partially because being vulnerable often led to being hurt, and Axel was not good at dealing with complicated feelings, or feelings in general. Could he use some therapy? Probably, but but just not dealing with it was way easier and way less expensive.
He'd been driving a while before they reached a small, sleepy neighborhood out in the suburbs.
"This is me," she said when he pulled up to a small white house, tucked away behind some trees. It had taken at least 20 minutes to get there, but it sure hadn't felt like it.
"Is that yours?" Axel asked, pointing to the car parked in the driveway. Didn't she say she took a cab?
"Yeah, but I let my little brother use it most of the time though for his college classes. It's just easier that way."
"Awfully considerate of you."
"Yeah, well, you know…" she trailed off, shrugging off the praise as she tucked a bit of hair behind her ear. They looked at each other for a moment again before she broke the silence.
"Thank you again. For your help and for the ride."
"Not a problem at all, sweetheart," Axel said with a grin, noting the way she blushed a little bit when he called her that, despite her best efforts to appear unaffected. "Ah, listen…" he cleared his throat, suddenly feeling a bit nervous, for some reason. "I know this might seem a bit forward, but I'd really like to take you out sometime, if you'd be okay with that."
"Like on a date, or you wanna murder me?" the brunette asked, an amused smirk playing on her lips.
"On a date," he laughed.
"Hmm…" she acted like she was deep in thought for a moment, her eyes drifting to the ceiling of the car. "I don't know if my boyfriend would be too happy about that." Axel blinked in surprise, thrown by the sudden mention of a boyfriend. He definitely hadn't been imagining that she'd been flirting with him all night, right? Unless he'd suddenly become really bad at reading signals.
"Boyfriend? What-" He suddenly noticed the grin spreading across her features. "Ah, you're messing with me."
"Just wanted to see the look on your face," she teased. "I might let you take me out, but.." Of course, this wasn't going to come easy. He was starting to get used to it by now though. Besides, where was the fun in immediate gratification anyway? He didn't usually have to try very hard or do much chasing these days. It'd be like a game, and it was one he was sure he'd win.
"But?"
"I want to mess with Roxas a little bit first."
"Devious," he commented, raising his eyebrows. He was a little impressed. "I like where your head's at. You wanna do that to your family though?" He wasn't really one to talk though, he thought as memories of torturing his younger sister years ago flashed through his mind.
"He's a good kid," she said. "But he's always been a little overprotective, even though I'm older than he is."
"Yeah," he agreed, nodding. "He tends to think he knows what's best for other people." He was always trying to get Axel to try harder—at work and in general. Although, he was so earnest in his efforts that it was almost convincing. Not quite convincing enough though.
"Okay, I'm in." She looked pretty pleased with that.
"In return-" she reached over from the passenger seat to playfully pluck his phone from his coat pocket and quickly typed something into it. "—there's my number." She handed it back to him and he looked down, seeing that she had, in fact, added herself to his contact list.
"Fair trade," he said, grinning. Well, she was just full of surprises, wasn't she? She only threw him a coy smile as she opened the car door.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Axel." The sound of his name in her mouth made his pulse quicken just a bit. He liked how easily his name rolled off her tongue and it made him wonder about all the other ways he could make her say it again.
"See you tomorrow, Raina."
This was going a hell of a lot better than he'd expected.