Title: Let Your Colors Fill My World
Author: Donnie
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy VII
Setting: Various
Pairing: Axel/Zexion
Characters: Axel, Zexion, Vexen, Reno, Xigbar
Genre: Romance/Humor
Rating: T
Chapters: 1/3
Word Count: 4323
Type Of Work: Chapter Fic, Part of the Run To Me series
Status: Incomplete
Warnings: Gay, Slash, Yaoi, MLM, Secret Relationship, AU - Modern AU, AU - College AU, ABO Dynamics, Mating, No major smut, Vexen is Zexion's Father, Xigbar Adopted Axel Reno and Marluxia
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Axel's cat Pandora and Zexion's cats D'Artagnan and Hamlet.
Summary: A thirty kisses meme for Axel and Zexion with an ABO college AU.
AN: Hey guys, it's me again! Just thought I ought to say, if you want vague updates and to talk to me more, I have Twitter and Tumblr, too! Twitter is Sunshinecackle, and Tumblr is Writteninsunshine! I also have a writing Discord that is currently pretty dead. xD I can PM it to people who want it on FFN, for everyone else, it's here: /FyaWw25
I really got into this ship on accident after rping with my husband and it happened on accident. I really can't help myself, I needed more of them. I hope you guys don't mind. Here we go!
Chapter One: Reminded Of Your Pretty Eyes
(1. Look Over Here)
"And then you- Axel?" Zexion passed a hand over Axel's face with a frown, before finally leaning forward and kissing him. That seemed to help get his head back in the game, and the elder man leaned in to chase his lips. Zexion nipped him softly with his teeth and shook his head, "How much of that did you space out for?"
"Huh?" Axel blinked a little bit, staring at him, "What do you mean?"
"You were zoning out. You're as bad as Roxas." Zexion rolled his eyes, smiling slightly as he leaned forward, "No wonder you have to be tutored. Apparently you can't focus unless I touch you. You're so tactile."
"What's that mean?" It wasn't like Zexion didn't insult him occasionally, but he didn't think right now would be the best time. Was that even an insult? Zexion's entire vocabulary was way higher than his, despite the younger man being three years younger than him.
"You like to be touched." Zexion stroked his bare palm over Axel's cheek and the elder man purred, causing him to roll his eyes again. "You need to focus or you're going to fail this class. You can't go into accounting if you can't even pass the basics."
"I don't really think I'm going to fail just because I-"
"If you can't handle the basics, you will fail." Zexion sighed, straightening up from where he had settled to lean against the table. Crawling into his lap, he scooted into the best possible position to continue. "Will you listen, now?"
"I- Y-Yes." Axel murmured into his hair, pressing his nose to the nape of the other's neck, "I can do it."
"Then let's try again." Zexion took a deep breath. "Now, let's see… We'll start back here," He began, pointing to a page he turned to in the other's textbook. Axel knew he was in for a long afternoon.
(2. News; Letter)
[Text To: Fire In The Hole] You are never going to guess what happened.
[Text To: Sexion] Wut? Good or bad?
[Text To: Fire In The Hole] What do you think?
[Text To: Sexion] It's hard 2 tell with u.
[Text To: Fire In The Hole] Meet me at the fence.
Axel was in his backyard in a matter of minutes, and he could almost hear the vibrating of the sixteen-year-old on the other side. Pushing back the broken plank, Axel's jade eyes met wide cobalt as the younger teen grinned at him.
"Woah, you look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed." That was something Xigbar had definitely taught him to say. "What's up?"
"Radiant Garden accepted me to join the Biochem program." Zexion kept his voice down, but he nearly looked like he could jump for joy. "I'll be able to begin working in the lab Vexen works for in my second semester."
"That's great, Zex," Axel grinned, crouched in the corner of the yard, "I'm really happy for you." Even if that meant his boyfriend would probably have to take even more time away from him for studying.
"You sound sad. Didn't think you'd be my main focus forever, did you, Axel?" He teased, sitting on his knees and scooting close, "Do you need reassurance?" Axel often needed his attention to prove that he was important.
"For what?" Axel tried to laugh, rubbing his hair down against his neck as he scooted closer to face him better, "What are you going to do when you start going to school? Get drunk and mate someone else your first day?"
"Oh, hardly," Zexion cackled, hiding his amusement beneath his hand, "You're the only person I can feasibly see myself being even remotely nude around, so you shouldn't worry. Come here." Pushing more at the loose plank, he pressed the bridge of his nose to the top of the hole.
Axel eagerly scooted closer, kissing the smaller's lips and melting into the feeling of it. That was probably better for easing his worries than anything Zexion could have said.
"Anyway, don't you go to RGU? What sort of partying have you been doing?" Zexion accused playfully when he pulled back, leaving Axel wanting, chasing his lips.
"Getting tutored by a sixteen-year-old." Axel replied, "And I'm in the math department. Biochem is on the opposite side of campus."
"Well, we'll have to meet in the middle for lunch." Zexion told him, "I'll let you know what my schedule is when I get it. Maybe we can even talk Vexen into letting you be my ride."
"I doubt it." Axel chuckled, "But a little hope never killed anyone."
(3. Jolt!)
How long had he been sitting outside of McDuck's Ice Cream Parlor, now? Zexion was sure that he was going to be waiting all day. If Axel kept him there alone much longer, he'd be forced to start eating before he arrived. Sighing, he placed his elbow on the table and his head in his hand as he closed his eyes, pulling a small paperback of Of Mice And Men from his jacket pocket and began to read. The pressed flower bookmark he had had in it made him smile. A birthday gift from Axel when he'd been eleven, something he had kept in pristine condition all this time.
After a few minutes' worth of reading, he glanced at his phone. Axel had said that that was where they were going to meet… Maybe he was waiting inside. Sighing again and starting to get up, he jolted instead when he felt hands on his hips.
"There you are." Axel grinned, happy to take the elbow to the chest that had been apparently waiting for him. He chuckled, unable to help himself.
"Hey! Don't do that!" Zexion exclaimed, frowning, turning fully to face him and placing both hands on his hips, knocking Axel's grubby hands from them. "You know I detest being surprised!"
"I couldn't help myself!" Axel chuckled, holding his hands up in a placating gesture as Zexion bopped his shoulder with his palm. "Okay, okay. At least I didn't use this?" He held up a pen that suddenly looked menacing.
"What is that?" Zexion asked, unamused.
"It's one of those shocker pen things. Reno boosted it and got me with it." Axel explained, earning a bristled scowl from Zexion, "I wouldn't do that to you, Bunny, don't worry."
"You had best not." Zexion answered easily, "If you want me to buy you lunch, still."
"I won't, I won't." Axel laughed softly, leaning down to kiss his lips. Zexion knocked his hair into his face, leaving Axel to kiss it against his cheek, and he sighed. "I'm sorry."
"You should be for even considering it." Zexion flipped his hair back, looking up at him and finally smiled softly, "Let's get your ice cream. I can't believe your dad lets you eat that for lunch." He chuckled, knowing that Vexen would have his head for even thinking about it.
"Okay, okay." Axel smiled, leaning down again and surprising Zexion with an actual kiss on the lips, "Let's get lunch. Plus, this place has burgers and stuff, so we can get real food, first." But only if Zexion made him.
"You and I both know that Vexen won't think of that as food." Zexion laughed, pushing at the elder's face and turning to enter McDuck's Ice Cream Parlor. Axel was quick to follow, taking his hand once inside the building.
(4. Our Distance And That Person)
It wasn't every day that Zexion was allowed to get a ride home from someone other than Vexen. Axel had taken Xigbar's wood-paneled station wagon to Radiant Garden University, and Vexen was working late. Zexion had simply told him he was getting a ride home from a fellow student and that he would be waiting when he arrived with dinner ready. That seemed to be enough for Vexen's hesitant approval, and the ride home with Axel had begun.
Standing on Vexen's front porch, with Xigbar's station wagon parked in his own driveway, Zexion spoke in a flurry of hand motions uncharacteristic to his usually quiet demeanor. Axel hadn't heard the end of the supposed idiot in Zexion's Shakespearian Literature class, and it didn't seem like it would let up any time soon. Catching one of Zexion's hands, Axel tugged him in for a gentle kiss that caught him off guard and stopped his tirade for the first time in twenty minutes.
"I get it, Zex," Axel said softly against his mouth, "But didn't you tell me that more than fifteen minutes of talking about stuff that pisses you off is unproductive?" He remembered it being something about being detrimental if one continued to obsess.
"Mn… And you seek to stop me?" Zexion teased with a soft smile, wrapping his arms around the other's neck to tug him in tighter. Axel lifted him by his thighs, walking him to the porch swing and sitting down. Holding him close, he guided the smaller to tilt his head and lapped at his lips, easily being accepted as the pair kept contact, Axel's hands sliding to his hips. With both knees folded on the sides of Axel's thighs, Zexion scooted in until his knees touched the back of the swing.
It went on like that for a while, until Reno poked his head around the seven-foot-tall privacy fence and spoke.
"Dude, Vexen's definitely on the block. Scatter!"
Axel deposited Zexion on the porch swing with one final kiss and vaulted over the porch railing in record time, bounding to his side of the fence when the silver Acura NSX pulled past their other neighbor's mailbox. Once it was parked safely in the driveway, Zexion had already gone inside to start dinner, making a rather decent run of it by chopping as fast as he could. Their chicken carbonara would be done before Vexen was ready to eat, for sure.
Axel watched warily through a hole in the fence as Vexen paused on his doorstep, key in hand, and sniffed. The other Alpha shook his head and entered the house without a word, leaving him sighing softly, sinking down the fence.
"That was close." Reno commented absently, arms crossed as he looked down at his twin, "I'd say it's time you convince Zexion to convince Vexen to let him get a dorm room. Maybe then you wouldn't have to run away every time he got close."
"I'd still have to run if he came to visit." Axel replied, "And you can bet that Zexion would get his own room to himself, too. Vexen's program is incredibly pricey, I hear."
"Except for the one kid he ushered in without a test." Reno reminded, "So Zexion'll get a cozy little love nest for you two that Vexen has access to. So I guess just be careful and don't take off your shoes."
"My- Reno!" Smacking his twin in the thigh, Axel hoisted himself up to his feet and started for the house. "Shut it, you and I both know Zexion wouldn't tolerate dirt in his room." Shoes weren't allowed in his house, they wouldn't be allowed in his dorm room.
"I know, I know. Clean freak begets clean freak." Reno paused, "Did I use that right or are you going to go full ham on me?"
"Oh my God," Axel groaned, "I think you used it right but I'll be sure to ask."
"Dude, no!"
"Then don't try me."
"I totally helped you, dude, you guys were playing tonsil hockey and you would have gotten killed with an icicle if Vex would have caught you." Reno murmured, crossing his arms, "So you should be thanking me."
"Thanks for saving my life." Axel started, "But you're being an ass. The dorm room thing is a good idea, though, so I guess I'll give you that."
"Finally, point Reno!"
"Yeah, Reno, one, everyone else, a lot more."
"Shut it, Axe." Reno groaned, pushing open the door, "Pulled him off the neighbor, dad, we're good to go for dinner!"
(5. "Ano Sa…" ("Hey, You Know…."))
"I've been thinking about moving out to campus." Axel began one evening, dipping his french fry in his chocolate milkshake and taking a bite, "What do you think?"
Zexion took a long draw from his coffee malt, pursing his lips around the straw and frowning finally when he swallowed and it dropped from his lips. After a moment, he looked over the red lacquered table, their homework spread beside their blue baskets of burgers and fries, sighing heavily.
"So you'd elect to move away from me?" He asked, already regretting the question when it left him. Axel looked heartbroken for a split second before trying on a hesitant smile.
"Well, it would give us more time to be together." Axel told him easily, leaning forward animatedly, "You could come by my room and we could do whatever we want." Winking playfully, he waggled his eyebrows and Zexion snorted.
"Provided your roommate doesn't complain."
"Well, I'll have to deal with that, not you."
"What if he says something to the school? Vexen will find out-"
"Vexen won't find out. Trust me, babe, this will be better for us." Axel tried, reaching across the table and taking his hand. Zexion held it limply, not convinced. Anxiety permeated his scent and all Axel wanted to do was scent him to calm him down.
"I suppose it's something to think about." Zexion acquiesced finally, sighing softly as he closed his eyes and took another sip of his malt. After a squeeze to Axel's hand, they fell into relative silence, seemingly as Axel started to think.
"Hey, you know…" Axel began around a bite of his burger, a glare from Zexion making him swallow before he continued, "What if you got a dorm?"
"What?"
"You're sixteen now, and Vexen's on the school board." Axel told him, "I doubt he'd let you share a room with a stranger, he doesn't even let you come over to my house." He pointed out, "So you wouldn't have to worry about a roommate unless you wanted me to stay over with you."
That thought had Zexion chewing over his thoughts, another bite of his burger behind him before he spoke once more. Axel found it endearing that he always chewed thoroughly and swallowed before he spoke. That wasn't common in his house.
"I suppose you have a very valid point." He finally admitted, drinking down more of the coffee malt he'd found was his favorite at this establishment, "Though convincing him to let me get a room here might be a bit more difficult."
"How many times have you made and presented Powerpoints to him that have worked?" Axel asked with a sly grin, leaning over the table and nearly uprooting his milkshake in the process, "I know you can do this." He kissed the other's cheek, then his lips, and sat back on his side of the booth. "You've got this, babe. I wouldn't steer you wrong."
"Perhaps not on purpose." Zexion chuckled, wiping absently at his lips with a napkin. "Very well. I will begin work tonight when I am home. This should be interesting, surely, because Vexen has as of yet decided that I will live at home until I'm his age."
"You're never going to catch up to him." Axel laughed softly, rolling his eyes, "Well, maybe we can convince him that you need to spread your wings, test out being on your own. He won't be around forever, after all."
"Indeed." Even if Reno often said that he was older than dirt. "I'll have to talk him into it."
"If anyone can do it, it's you, kid genius."
(6. The Space Between Dream And Reality)
"I can't believe it." Zexion told him through the fence, leaning on the back wall of it as he sighed dreamily, "My own dorm room, sans medical equipment and a parental figure."
"It's going to be so great. I can help you decorate." Axel sounded more relieved than anything because maybe this was the real start to this five-year-long relationship. Their anniversary was coming up, and he thought it would be good to try and do something for it. Maybe this year they could actually celebrate.
"You can move in, if you want." Zexion laughed softly, trying to keep his voice down, "I wouldn't mind having you as a roommate."
"Vexen would flip his shit." Axel chuckled, "But I'd like to stay with you as much as I can. I can't wait to get you to myself."
"I suppose one Powerpoint was an awfully cheap price to pay for a little freedom and a lot more time with you. But it had better not interfere with my studying and work." Zexion leveled a finger and wagged it at the other's face through the hole in the fence.
"You look just like him when you do that. I'm sure he's proud." Axel rolled his eyes playfully, scooting towards the broken plank and pressing his cheeks to the wood, pursing his lips. "I won't, I promise."
"And you'll seal it with a kiss?" Zexion chuckled, moving to his knees to place a soft peck on the other's lips. "Then you had best not fall through on this promise. I need to maintain my studies."
"I know, I know." Axel leaned in for another kiss, "You have to maintain contact with me, too. Maybe you can study in my lap, and I'll just hold you while you work."
"That… Sounds rather nice, actually."And brought a heavy blush to his cheeks, to boot.
"You're beautiful," Axel said that way too often for Zexion's comfort, but he accepted the compliment with a tilt of his head to hide his face in his hair. "I honestly think I could-"
"Zexion! What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be packing?" Vexen's voice signaled the end of their rendezvous, and Axel dutifully closed the loose plank so that he wouldn't be seen.
"I'll text you." He whispered before disappearing into his house, and Zexion rose from his spot behind the strawberry bushes to enter the house.
"Yes, I know, Vexen. I was just taking a moment in the backyard, I needed some fresh air."
"Well, you should know better than to take breaks before your toiling starts," Vexen began, guiding him into the house with a sigh. The screen door slammed shut behind him, but he closed the inner door gentler, leading his son to his room, where boxes awaited him. He was going to have to take his time, even if he wanted to throw everything in the boxes. If he didn't, his OCD wouldn't give him a break.
(7. Superstar)
"No, no, no." Zexion frowned a little bit as he placed his hands on his hips, weight shifting to his right foot, "That isn't going up."
"Oh, come on, Zex, he's a good musician. Have to support our friends." Axel pouted, holding up the poster that he and Demyx had made together so he could feel special. "He's a regular superstar."
"And he doesn't get along with me very well." Zexion pointed out, "I'm not going to stare at Demyx while you're not here. I said 'no'. Demyx is your friend, not mine."
"Okay, okay, jeez." Axel rubbed a hand through his hair, "I just thought-"
"You thought wrong." Zexion crossed his arms, "Plus, I know he likes you. That doesn't help."
"He does?"
"He does." Crossing the room to where his poster of the elements had hung up a minute ago, he placed it back on the wall and tacked it back into place. "And I don't want the reminder every time I look at this wall."
"Okay, I see your point." Axel sighed, rolling the poster back up and putting it in his bag. "I'm sorry."
"...You don't have to be. I know he's your friend." Zexion crossed the room to his bed, sitting down. "Come here."
Axel listened, walking to him and sitting beside him, head down. Zexion carefully reached over, taking his chin in hand and bringing him forth for a kiss.
"I'm sorry. I just… We really don't get on well and I don't really want to see him every time you're here…" And if Axel got used to staring at Demyx, he might leave. Zexion was always anxious about that because Axel had so many options that were probably better than him.
"It's okay, babe, I promise. I don't want to stress you out more." Living by himself was already bothering the younger teen, and Axel didn't need to add to that. "I promise, it's okay."
"Okay… Thank you for understanding."
"Of course." Axel smiled softly, holding his free hand and kissing him again. "Try not to worry so much. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."
(8. Our Own World)
The fairie lights around the bed were a good touch, and even Axel could appreciate them. They made Zexion's cobalt eyes sparkle as he looked at up Axel, laying in his bed laden with pillows and blankets like the veritable king he was in his palace. He lay with his head on a cat-themed pillow, one hand curled by his face and the other on his hip. It was a beautiful look on him, and Axel's breath was caught in his throat.
"Axel?" Zexion asked softly, head tilting a little bit, "You're staring."
"You're beautiful." Axel purred happily, reaching forward to brush some hair from his face, "You made your room pretty beautiful, too."
"Thanks." Blushing a little bit, Zexion nuzzled his nose against Axel's hand and kissed his palm.
"I love you," Axel said softly, leaning forward to kiss his lips. "I really do."
"I… I love you, too." Zexion replied against his lips, and he nuzzled their noses together, "I'm so glad that you do." He was always thankful for it.
Despite Vexen trying to tear them apart, the couple was happy to float in their own little world, oblivious to the elder man's attempts to drive them away from each other.
(9. Dash)
Zexion opened the door to his dorm with his bag on his shoulder, only to find Axel fumbling with his keys. Blinking a couple of times in rapid succession, he looked up at him with a curious glint in his eyes.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was coming to see you between classes." Axel replied, "But you look like you're leaving?"
"I have a class in fifteen." He replied, laughing softly, "So it's a bad time. I'm not missing Vexen's class."
"Oh, shit, yeah.." Rubbing his hair, Axel blushed slightly, "I'll come back, then."
Leaning up on his tiptoes, Zexion pursed his lips, and Axel leaned in to kiss him lovingly.
"Gotta run." Patting his shoulder, Zexion laughed softly as he made his mad dash to Vexen's class.
"Wait," Axel started, sucking his own lips into his mouth, "I could walk you most of the way to class?" He offered, clearly wanting to spend at least some time with Zexion. He liked to see him off to class, anyway, making sure the younger man got to class safely.
Zexion considered it, tapping his lower lip with his pointer finger, and finally nodded. "As long as I'm not late, I don't mind."
The pair walked together in companionable silence, Axel humming a song stuck in his head as he held the other's hand. Leading the way to the science building, Zexion leaned his head on the other's arm, closing his eyes for a second. The crisp fall air was chilly and he was thankful for his scarf, even if it was almost too big and chunky.
"I love the fall." Zexion murmured, a couple leaves crunching under his boots, "It's so relaxing…"
"Plus, you love Halloween." Axel pointed out, "And all things spooky."
"I do, don't I?" Zexion chuckled, shaking his head as they arrived at the building. Leaning up on his toes, he delighted in Axel leaning down to kiss him again.
"You do," Axel replied against his lips, holding the other close as they shared in another long kiss. Zexion didn't realize how long they had been kissing until his phone began to sing, reminding him that he had a minute left to make it to class. Eyes popping open wide, he pecked Axel's lips once more before ducking around him.
"I'm almost late! See you later!" He called over his shoulder, rushing into the building to try and make it to Vexen's class on time.
(10. #10)
"I can't believe Luxord won't bet against you. He bets against everyone." Axel sighed softly, shaking his head. "It's like he's scared, he was so adamant about it."
Everyone had gathered at Luxord's house for poker that night, and Vexen had brought Zexion along. He played the game like Luxord did, counting cards and folding a lot in the beginning, but in the end, he'd left with everyone's munny.
"I think he just knows my tricks to play, he knows I'm the best and he won't take the bet against me because we'd never finish playing." Zexion smiled slightly, flicking his hair out of his face, watching Axel as he adjusted something on Zexion's desk.
"You were cheating, weren't you?"
"I still won the pot." He replied, shrugging slightly as he placed a few more books on his desk. Zexion was always reading in his spare time, and Axel liked how he smelled like an old library all the time. But he was giving a nonanswer, and Axel knew that that meant that he had definitely cheated.
"That you did." Axel chuckled, slouching slightly as he paced the room towards the other, taking his waist with his hands. Turning him, Axel kissed him softly on the lips. "But did you have to take all my munny, too?"
"Yes. That's the point of poker." He chuckled, "I'll buy us dinner to celebrate?"
"Yeah, that sounds good. I think I want pizza."
"Pizza sounds excellent."
AN: There we go, part one is finished! It took a little longer than I'd like, but I still like how these are coming out. I hope you guys enjoyed it!
Prompts: Thirty Kisses Theme Set 1