Roxas
Ever since that fateful day that Roxas had shown up at Cid's front door, his life had changed for the better. After a paternity test had confirmed what the two were already certain of, Cid had become a real part of Roxas' life physically and financially.
It was awkward at first, when the boy had to tell his mom what he had gone and done, and subsequently got grounded for taking such a long bus ride from home without so much as a note. Even more so the first time Cid had come over to speak to his mother. They had sent Roxas to his room so they could speak privately, but he could still hear their muffled voices. He had heard what sounded like a hushed argument, although he hadn't been able to decipher much other than their tone. In the end, it was agreed that Roxas would spend every other weekend at Cid's, and he was always excited when his dad would show up to get him on those Friday nights. Especially when he took the motorcycle instead of the car on sunny days, where he would smile in excitement the whole forty-five-minute drive out to Radiant Garden. It hadn't been easy to convince his mother to let him ride on the back of Cid's motorcycle, but with her stipulation of a helmet and knowledge of how safe Cid was on the road, she had finally allowed it.
However, not everything was quite perfect. He'd had hopes of his mother and father reconciling whatever their differences were, so that they could live together as a family. Although they were always pleasant toward each other, and he could always see affection in their eyes when they looked at each other, his parents kept their interactions brief for the most part. His idealized image of his family never came to be.
As the sunlight danced across his eyelids to rouse him from his sleep, and consciousness started to penetrate the boy's mind one Saturday morning, he was happy. The way things were now were still great, if not perfect.
The boy rubbed at his eyes and sat up a little in bed as he opened them. The sunlight drifted in through his bedroom window at his dad's house, illuminating the posters on the wall and half-finished homework at his desk. He grinned and swung his legs over the side of the bed to where last night's clothes still lay scattered on the floor.
It had been three years since the blonde had finally met his father, the boy now a spunky fifteen-year-old. He had settled into the routine of weekends at Cid's, and his father had even agreed to help his mother pay for the private high school Roxas had worked hard to be accepted into, back home in Twilight Town. He'd been working on getting in for years, knowing it would be his best chance of getting into the college of his dreams. They were sister schools, so when he'd gotten the acceptance letter he was thrilled. When his mother had seen the tuition, however, his dreams were nearly dashed. He expressed his disappointment at not being able to attend over the phone to his father, who had insisted that he would take on the whole cost if it meant Roxas could attend. The boy had cried with happiness, not having expected Cid to take such a stake in his education.
He had grown so used to Cid too, that it felt like he had always been around. After the first few months of getting to know each other, they had settled into a father-son relationship that suited them both. One thing that Roxas could always be sure of was that Cid loved him, and he loved him back.
Today would be a day with some father-son bonding, and Roxas couldn't wait. Still dressed in his loose-fitting pajamas he made his way downstairs into the kitchen, where the promising scent of breakfast came wafting out. As he approached he saw Cid standing over a skillet at the stove with his back to the boy, as well as plates piled high with eggs, toast, and pancakes sitting on the island in front of two of the three stools there.
"Morning," Roxas called in greeting to the man who was moving the contents of the skillet with a spatula.
The older man looked over his shoulder and grinned as he spoke, "Morning, Rox! Have a seat, breakfast is almost ready."
The boy moved and took a seat at one of the stools, eyeing the mountain of food Cid had piled on his plate, feeling hunger start to rumble in his stomach. A moment later, Cid had walked over with the skillet and was adding bacon to both of their plates. After he'd set the skillet down, the man poured them each a glass of orange juice and took a seat by his side.
For a few minutes, the only sounds were murmurs of contentment at the delicious food, and the sounds of cutlery against the plates. After the younger blonde started to feel the pangs of hunger subside, he looked to his dad. "So, what time are we going to the skate shop?" he asked, having been excited for this day for the past two weeks. His father had promised to buy him a new board, after the boy had recently broken his with an ill-timed attempt at a trick.
Cid's brow furrowed slightly, and he raised his arm up to check the time on his watch. "Going to have to head out of here soon if we're going to make it in time, kid. Got a call this morning and I have to stop in at work this afternoon to take care of something."
Roxas frowned and furrowed his brow, "Dad, you promised."
Four blue eyes met each other, and Cid's expression was soft. "I didn't say we're not going, Rox. Just that we need to hurry up. Finish up your breakfast then get dressed."
To be fair, it wasn't often that Cid left to take care of anything at work when Roxas was around. On the rare occasion that he did, the boy understood. He wasn't entirely sure what his dad did, only that it was something involving 'distribution' and that it was his own company. He also owned a mechanic shop in town, and although his dad didn't talk about work much, Roxas was proud of him for being an entrepreneur. So, he nodded and took another bite of pancake, picking up the pace. He knew he should consider himself lucky, because Cid was always a man of his word, even if he had to make adjustments to plans sometimes.
Once he finished his meal, he excused himself and ran up to his room. He rummaged in his dresser drawer past the neatly folded school uniforms for the rare occasion when he would spend a Sunday night, and retrieved his clothes for the day. He pulled on a red t-shirt, a dark wash pair of jeans, and a black hoodie on top since it was still early spring and a little chilly. He checked his mirror to look at his hair, swept up to the side in blonde spikes and made a feeble attempt at smoothing them. After a moment he gave up, waving his hand at his reflection, and grabbed a pair of socks from his top drawer before pulling on his favorite, and slightly worn, pair of black vans.
The youth practically catapulted himself down the stairs, where he saw his father waiting for him with keys in hand. "All set?" his dad asked, dressed in a pair of jeans and simple white t-shirt himself.
"Yeah, I'm all good." The teen replied, following after his father as he started toward the door. The older man locked up, then unlocked the unassuming black car in the driveway where they piled in. Key in the ignition and started, Cid waited until he saw that the boy was buckled in, then backed onto the road and began driving to their destination.
Roxas' eyes glanced out the window to watch the houses pass. "So, what's going on at work?" he asked casually.
Cid sighed, "Ah- one of my employees has gotten themselves into a bit of trouble. Gotta go clean up the mess they made."
"Sounds like a pain," the boy commented.
"Yeah," his dad agreed. "Might be on your own for a bit longer than usual today. You going to be okay?"
The teen leaned his cheek on his hand as he continued staring out the window, uninterested. "I'll be fine, dad," he assured.
On the other side of the car, Cid's lips curled into a frown. "Don't like leaving you alone."
Roxas turned to look at his father and offered a small smile. "It's really okay, dad. Besides, they don't let me go to Kingdom High for free, do they?"
The older blonde let out a single laugh, "Ya got that right, kid."
When they arrived at the skate shop, a little place near downtown, the teen immediately wandered to a wall where lots of boards were hung on display. He looked at them all with a smile on his face, thrilled to finally be replacing his old board after many years of use. When Cid walked up behind the boy, Roxas turned to look at him over his shoulder.
"What's my budget, dad?" he asked, ready to crunch the numbers and figure out what to spend on the board, trucks, etc.
But Cid simply shook his head, his usual hard expression softening a bit. "Don't you worry about that, Rox. You just pick out whatever you want and call it a back payment of child support."
Roxas raised a single eyebrow at him. "You always say that."
"Yeah, well," Cid rubbed his nose quickly with a fist and looked at the ground. "Got a lot of catching up to do."
Roxas smiled softly at his dad and let the conversation drop. The only thing he hated more than the fact that Cid had missed out on the first twelve years of his life was how much guilt the older man felt over it. Even though his dad had no reason to suspect Roxas even existed until he finally showed up, he knew his father was constantly trying to make up for something that wasn't his fault. At first Roxas had protested, insisting that gifts and money weren't the reason he had wanted to find him. These days, he protested a little less often, allowing his father to spend on occasion if it eased his guilt a little.
Cid wandered the shop as Roxas looked over his options, taking his time to find a balance between what he wanted and what wasn't excessively expensive. After making some touch choices in regard to the board, truck, wheels, hardware, and even the grip tape, Roxas stood with his hands in his pockets while watching the employee assemble his choices.
His father walked up behind him and placed a box on the counter by the register, catching Roxas' eye. "What's that?" he asked, nodding to it as the man approached him.
"New pair of the shoes you're wearing. They're starting to look a little tired."
"What? They're fine, dad," he protested, looking down at his feet. Upon inspection, his shoes did look a little worse for wear. None of his toes were sticking out or anything, but the fabric was thin in places, he had to admit.
"You can have the nicest clothes in the world, Rox, but if you show up in shoes like those," he nodded to the boy's feet, "people are going to think your mom and I are broke. You go to school with highbrows these days, you need to look like you belong."
Roxas sighed in defeat and nodded, walking over to check that the shoes his dad had picked were the same style and correct size. They were. Finished with assembling the skate deck, the employee passed it to Roxas and began to ring them out on the register. Roxas watched while the employee told Cid the total, and the man retrieved his wallet from his back pocket. As usual, his father pulled out several large bills from the thick stack in his wallet.
"You know, debit cards are easier," he commented, for what felt to him like the millionth time.
Cid grunted and shrugged as he passed the money to the cashier. "I prefer to work with cash."
Cash was given, change received, the shoebox placed into a bag and held by Cid, and the two walked out of the shop as the older blonde dropped the coins in his pocket. Excited, Roxas dropped his deck to the ground and skated toward the car, earning a low chuckle from his dad.
"That excited?" he called after him with a smile as he followed.
Roxas simply beamed a grin back at him, performing a simple trick just before he reached the car, and took the board back into his hands. "Are you kidding? I'm ecstatic! I'll finally get to stop having to share Hayner's board when we go to the skate park!" he answered as his father approached the car and unlocked it. "Thanks, dad."
A smile lit up Cid's face, reaching his eyes. "You're welcome, kid. Get in, I've got to get going."
The two got in the car and began the drive home, with Roxas explaining some tricks that he and Hayner had been working on while the older man just smiled and listened. When they arrived, they walked into the house, the boy's shoes and new skateboard left by the door. Cid retrieved his leather jacket from the hallway closet and held it loosely in one arm as he turned to his son.
"I'm going to head out. Do me a favor, will ya?" the older man asked and nodded toward the kitchen, "Wash the dishes from this morning, and try to do some homework so we can relax when I get back."
"I'm on it," the boy replied while giving the man a thumbs up.
"Thanks. See you later Rox, love you."
"Love you too, dad."
Once Cid had left and closed the door behind him, Roxas made his way into the kitchen and turned on the hot water of the faucet. He donned a pair of gloves and wet his sponge before applying some soap and starting to work on washing one of the plates. Before he had finished rinsing it off, he heard the sound of a motorcycle approach, and shut off. He glanced over his shoulder toward the front door curiously but heard his father's car start a moment later and so he shrugged and continued his task.
Cid was gone for several hours, and in that time Roxas had cleaned the dishes, finished what was left of his homework, and grabbed his board to go practice tricks in the driveway. Once he was on the porch however, he spotted a motorcycle parked behind his father's, leaving room for where Cid's car had been. He raised an eyebrow, wondering who it belonged to. The cold metal of the bike didn't offer any clues, and so Roxas ignored it in favor of his original plan of practicing.
The blonde eventually settled into the couch in front of the TV, flipping through the channels. He pulled his phone from his pocket which now read 3:30, and answered a text from his friend Hayner about their English homework. He scrolled through his Instagram feed for a while, no longer paying attention to the television which had failed to provide him with any entertainment. A low grumble had started in his stomach and the boy realized that he had forgotten to eat something for lunch. He hoped his dad would be up for an early dinner and wondered if he could convince him to go to his favorite wings place here in town. He opened his text messages and began to write one out to his father, when he heard a car pulling into the driveway.
Hungry and inpatient, Roxas stood up and ran to the door, pulling it open to rush out onto the porch. As his father opened his car door, Roxas gripped the railing and leaned over a bit, calling out to him. "Dad! Can we go to-" but his words caught in his throat as he noticed that the passenger side door was open, and a boy about his age stood there, his green eyes locking on blue. He watches the boy's expression flash from surprise, to eyes narrowed in confusion, his lips twisting to a frown.
The blonde teen felt his mouth hanging open as he stared at the other boy, with bright red hair in spikes. His piercing green eyes hold Roxas captive with a look that was almost as though he was angry with him. The redhead closes the car door but doesn't look away. The blonde continues to stare, feeling a mixture of confusion and something else he can't identify.
The words "Go where?" jolt the boy back to reality, and he looks to his father in confusion.
"Uh."
The older man looks at the strange boy, and Roxas follows his gaze as the man speaks. "I'll see you later, Axel." He starts to make his way to the porch as he shrugs out of his jacket to carry it instead. The boy's eyes return to his father, surprise and confusion still evident on his face as the man approaches. "Let's go inside."
Roxas takes a gulp and nods, but his eyes wander back to the other boy. While he wasn't watching, he'd donned a helmet and straddled his bike, getting ready to leave. Finally remembering himself, Roxas turns and follows Cid into the house, not looking back as he hears the other boy leave.
Closing the door behind him, blue eyes look to his father. "Dad, who was that?"
Cid hangs his jacket in the closet as he speaks. "Huh? Axel? He works for me after school."
"What does he do?" Roxas inquired. Something about the other boy- Axel- had made him uncomfortable, and it showed in his face and body language as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Cid sighed, uncertain where the sudden curiosity came from, and how to explain. "He's sort of like… an apprentice. He mostly shadows me for the time being." The man paused only momentarily, deciding to take the opportunity to change the subject. "Anyway, where did you want to go, Rox?"
"What?" the boy asked, before remembering his original train of thought. "Oh, right. I was going to ask if we could go to Donald's for wings tonight. I forgot to eat lunch, and I'm starved."
His father smiled and gave a nod. "Sure kid, I skipped out on lunch too. Go throw on your new shoes, and put on a jacket, it's getting chilly."
"Okay," the boy responded, scurrying off to do just that, more questions still churning in his head.
The trip to Donald's was quiet, while more and more questions popped into Roxas' mind. He wasn't sure why he was so interested in the red-haired boy, but his mind remained on him even as he sat at the booth at the restaurant, staring at the cartoon chicken on the menu that he swore looked more like a duck. After placing their orders, the teen watched his father take a drink from his beer glass, and finally spoke up.
"Isn't he a little young to be working already?"
Cid placed the glass down and met his son's blue eyes with his own. "He's sixteen," he answered.
"Why is he apprenticing under you?" he asked, not breaking eye contact.
The older man cleared his throat. "I want him to take over the business when I retire," he answered before taking another sip of his drink.
Roxas felt his heart sink into his stomach. He wasn't even sure what it was that his dad really did, apart from owning the mechanic shop, but he was pretty sure that typically sons were the first choice when it came to leaving your business to someone. He'd never thought about it enough to want it, but knowing now that it wasn't a possibility hurt him more than he would have ever realized. "Oh," he murmured, looking down to his glass of soda where he started swirling his straw around the ice. "Not me, then?"
Cid frowned as he watched his son's expression fall, and his shoulders slump down. "It's not like that," he reassured, "It's just that this business was my dream, but it's probably not yours. I want you to find your own dream, and I want to help you make it happen."
The boy understood what his father was saying, and he was pretty sure he didn't want a life in 'distribution', whatever that meant. Still, some part of him had wished his father had asked him first. He thought for a moment about everything his father had done for him, and thought himself selfish for wanting this from him too. He didn't want to seem as selfish as he was feeling, so he met his father's gaze with a grin. "Yeah, you're right," he replied, "this way I get to follow my own dreams."
His father smiled back, and the subject was dropped in favor of talk of school until their food came. The jealousy blossoming in Roxas' heart was squashed down for the time being.
But once the two had eaten and were home, and Roxas was alone in his room after spending some time watching a movie with Cid, those feelings resurfaced. He was sprawled out on his bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering just what it was that Axel had that he didn't. He understood that Axel being his father's apprentice meant that he probably spent more time with him than Roxas was able to, only staying every other weekend. The thought made his jealousy intensify. He found himself rolling his eyes as he thought about how the redhead had been wearing a leather jacket just like his father's, and how stupid it looked what with it being too big for his lanky frame. He decided that the way his red hair stuck out in spikes looked ridiculous, and what kind of name was 'Axel', anyway? He loathed how Axel had looked like a better fit with Cid with that hard look and sharp features, suddenly hating how much more he had taken after his mother with his own soft, round features. The more he thought of the other boy, the more his jealousy turned to anger and hatred.
By the time Cid had poked his head in to tell him it was time for sleep, the boy was seething. However, he managed to hide it long enough to wish his father goodnight, before changing into his pajamas and getting into bed.
The next morning, Roxas awoke to the sound of his phone buzzing, and grunted in annoyance as he rubbed his eyes. He'd slept terribly, not falling asleep until early in the morning and felt groggy as he slowly tried to open his eyes and reach for his phone.
He scowled at the screen as he looked at his notification, a text from Hayner and read it.
Hayner: What time will you be home?
Roxas unlocked his phone and typed out his reply that Cid wouldn't drop him off until after dinner, as usual. He sat up, resigning himself to the fact that he probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep. Which he decided was just as well, since he could smell something cooking downstairs.
He wandered into the kitchen and said good morning to his dad as he took out some plates to set on the counter in front of the stools. His father nodded to him as he cooked, and Roxas retrieved the cutlery and glasses before sitting down at his place. The sleep had done nothing to elevate his mood and he sat in irritated silence as the older man began piling waffles, ham, and eggs onto their plates and pouring juice into their glasses. When Cid sat down and noticed that the teen hadn't started eating, simply sitting and scowling at his plate, he lightly elbowed him.
"What's with you, kid?"
"Huh?" Roxas looked up, ripped from his thoughts. "Nothing, just tired is all."
His father gave him a thoughtful hum but didn't inquire further when the boy began to eat. "Whole day is free," he commented, "anything you wanted to do today?"
Roxas swallowed a piece of waffle. "I thought I'd go to the skatepark for a bit, if that's okay. Test out the new board." The truth was he wanted to skate off some steam, to try to improve this sour mood of his.
"Sure," Cid replied, "but be back before lunch? Want to spend some time with you before I have to bring you back to your mom's."
"Yeah, I can do that."
"Want me to drop you off?" Cid asked, then shoveled some ham into his mouth.
"Nah, it's not far. I'd rather skate there."
The older man nodded, and the two finished their breakfasts. Afterwards, Roxas took a shower and went to his room to change into some clothes. He opened his drawer and pulled out a pair of underwear, jeans, a red t-shirt with a grungy checker pattern on it, and a white zip up hoodie. He stopped at his mirror and gave a disheartened sigh when he saw that his hair was drying up and to the side in spikes as usual. It somehow always just looked unkempt. He swiped some styling cream into it in an attempt to tame it, but all he managed to do was define the spikes. He shook his head and walked out of his bedroom, and down the stairs.
Cid was lounging on the couch and flipping through the channels when he got downstairs, but the man looked up to him as he crossed the room. "Heading out, Rox?"
"Yeah, I'll be back before lunch," he assured, slipping on his shoes and grabbing his board.
"Alright, love you, Rox."
"Love you too, dad," he called as he closed the door behind him. He strode down to the sidewalk, dropped his board onto it and hopped on.
As he made his way to the skate park, he already felt his tense body relax a little. He may not have been the world's best skateboarder, but it was an activity that numbed Roxas' mind. He didn't think about much when he skated, just felt his body keep his balance and felt the wind tousle his hair. The way to the skatepark was fairly level and easy to navigate, enough that he probably could have done it with his eyes closed.
When he arrived, the place was nearly empty, only two other teens skating a bit further in. So, he made his way to the stairs and began to practice grinding the railing. He was successful more often than not, and eventually got bored and moved on, tuning out the voices and sounds of traffic around him, losing himself in the activity.
About a half hour after he had arrived, he paused to wipe a bead of sweat from his forehead, and something red caught his eye. His eyes darted to the offending color, to see a group of teens on the other side of the park. There was a blonde, dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt skating on the half pipe, and a boy with shortish, spiky blue hair, sitting relaxed against the nearby chain link fence looking uninterested, in jeans and a black leather jacket. But he barely noticed those two, blue eyes fixed on the redhead he had seen the previous day. Axel stood, arms crossed, against the fence next to the boy with blue hair, dressed in black jeans, and a white t-shirt under his black leather jacket. He was smirking, his green eyes fixed on Roxas who scowled at him.
Suddenly not at all interested in staying to skate, he hopped back on his board and made his way to the exit, which was unfortunately in their direction. As he approached, Axel called out to him, causing him to stop.
"Hey." The redhead said in greeting, eyeing the blonde with a hint of curiosity. "You Cid's kid?"
The blue haired boy raised his eyebrows and looked the blonde over.
Roxas gritted his teeth and turned to respond, "Yeah, what's it to you?"
Axel scoffed and shook his head. "Gotta say, you don't look like you'd be Cid's kid."
Roxas stood straight and his hands balled into fists. "I look more like my mom."
Axel stood up straight, and Roxas noticed that he was quite a bit taller than he'd originally noticed. In fact, the older teen was a good six inches taller. "I can see that," he responded, waving a hand, "but regardless, that's not what I meant." His eyes wandered slowly down to Roxas' feet and back up again.
The younger teen swallowed hard and inferred his meaning. Cid was a tough looking man, grizzled from what he assumed was a hard life. Roxas looked like a cabbage patch doll in comparison.
Axel took a step toward him. "What's your name, kid?"
Something about the redhead's stance made Roxas tense up and lean back a little as if threatened. "Roxas."
He seemed to ponder the name for a minute. "Roxas." He repeated.
The blonde rolled his eyes. "What, do you need me to write it down for you?"
Axel grinned and leaned forward, tapping his index finger to his temple. "No need. Already memorized."
"Whatever," the blonde muttered, turning to continue to leave.
"Why is it," the redhead asked, raising an eyebrow and folding his arms back over his chest, "that I've never heard about Cid having a kid?"
Roxas stopped and stared back, surprised that his father had never mentioned him. "Well I've never heard about you, either."
With a dismissive waive of his hand, Axel replied, "Guess you two just aren't that close."
Anger boiled within the blonde, a nerve struck, and his fists clenched harder. "Say. That. Again." He threatened, fuming.
Axel chuckled. "Guess you two aren't that-"
His words were cut off as Roxas' fist collided with his jaw, his eyes widening in shock for a moment at the realization that Roxas had hit him. He quickly rebounded, throwing a hard punch to Roxas' stomach before the blue haired teen grabbed him, locking his arms under Axel's arms to hold him back while his blonde friend looked to Roxas, who had hunched over in pain.
"Are you okay?" the boy with dirty blonde hair asked Roxas.
Gasping for air, the other blonde nodded and replied through gritted teeth. "Yeah, I'm fine." He lied, the pain in his side radiating. For being kind of skinny the redhead could certainly pack a punch, and Roxas knew he'd have a bruise come morning if not sooner.
He stood up straight, to see the blue haired boy releasing Axel from his hold. The redhead moved his jaw, testing it. His eyes caught Roxas' blues, and he smiled. It was in that moment that he decided Axel was nuts.
"Way to go Roxas, fight fight fight." He gave a slow clap.
The blue haired boy rolled his eyes. "Lay off, Axel. You want the boss to find out you're fighting his son?"
"Not sure you should have let him go, Saix," warned the unfamiliar dirty blonde.
Roxas stared at the blue haired teen, Saix, surprised that he seemed to work for his dad too.
"I'd run off if I were you," the unidentified blonde advised, his tone not at all threatening, but somewhat urgent.
Not needing to be told twice, Roxas hopped on his skateboard and went home as fast as the board would take him, and the pain in his side would allow.
Once he was in the front door, he dropped the board, and slipped out of his shoes, scowling. Cid's blue eyes watched him from the couch, and he raised a single eyebrow. "You look out of breath," he commented.
"I'm fine," came Roxas' reply, more terse than intentioned.
"Something happen?"
The boy considered giving a retelling of the events at the skate park, but wasn't sure he wanted to admit to all of it. Axel had hit him, sure. Cid would definitely rip him a new one for that. However, Roxas had thrown the first punch, and knew that he'd get his own angry lecture. He decided to leave the violence part of the story out.
"Saw that Axel kid down at the park," he settled on, watching his father.
The older blonde leaned forward on the couch, pressing the 'off' button on the television remote and giving the teen his full attention. "Oh?"
Roxas nodded, "We didn't talk much, but…" he considered his words, not noticing how intensely Cid was watching. "He was kind of a jerk. I don't like that kid."
His father's head tilted slightly to the side, "Why, Rox? What did he say?"
"Nothing really," the youth responded, "he just kind of hit a nerve."
The older man visibly relaxed, leaning back into the couch. "Well if he bothers you, stay away from him. I'll talk to him."
"What? No, dad, I-" Roxas stammered, "Please don't. I don't want to be the kid that goes running to his dad. Please." He didn't want to seem weak to Axel, who seemed so much tougher than he was. Not only would it be embarrassing, but it would be like an admission that he had been intimidated by the other teen.
Cid sighed, understanding the boy's plight but his fatherly protective instinct kicked in anyway. "Fine, but if he gives you too much trouble you just say the world and I'll handle it."
Roxas nodded, "I promise."
Three years passed without any further run-ins with Axel, although he never forgot that first one. He caught sight of him from time to time, either around town or as he was coming or going with Cid, but they stayed away from each other for the most part, which suited Roxas just fine. His feelings of animosity toward the redhead were steadfast, and on the rare occasion that their eyes did meet, it was with glares from Roxas and half-smirks from Axel. In fact, it had been a long time since Roxas had even seen him in passing. In those years, lots of things had changed for the boy. When he was seventeen, he'd moved in with his father permanently when his mother had passed away after a year and a half battle with cancer. It had been hard at first, but Cid had welcomed him into his home and let him grieve as long as he needed to. He made everything official guardianship wise, and when Roxas was ready to go back to school Cid had gifted him with a car to save him from needing to spend an hour and a half on the bus each way.
But he was nineteen now, back home from college for the summer break after freshman. Although he was happy to be on vacation, he did regret that his best friends were a forty-five-minute drive away. He made the drive often, as sitting at home while Cid was at work proved to be boring pretty quickly. Today, however, was not one of those days. It was a Tuesday evening, and Roxas was busying himself by doing chores around the house. The sun was low in the sky as he grabbed the bag of garbage from the can in the kitchen and made his way outside with it.
He tossed the bag into the bin outside and was pushing it down the driveway as he heard the sound of a motorcycle approaching. He paid no mind to the noise until he got to the end of the drive, and the offending motorcycle stopped on the street in front of him.
The man riding it removed his helmet, revealing red spikes, longer now than they had been the last time he'd seen him up close, and green feline eyes. Shock shot through the blonde, but he managed to catch Axel's helmet when it was tossed to him.
"Get on," Axel demanded, expressionless.
One brow raising in a mix between surprise and disgust, Roxas held the helmet back out toward the red-haired man. "No thanks." He didn't know why he was here or what he wanted, but he was certain that he wasn't interested in going anywhere with the redhead.
Axel nearly rolled his eyes back into his head, clearly irritated. "I'm not here to take you out for ice cream, you idiot," he seethed, "Cid's been hurt. Now get on the damn bike!"
Fear struck him as he stood there in the driveway, coursing from his spine and radiating out towards his limbs. "What?!" The blood left Roxas' face as he spoke. "Is he okay?!"
"He will be," the redhead insisted, "but if you don't get on the damn bike I'm not going to be able to say the same for you."
Without another word, Roxas slid the helmet over his head, adjusting the strap quickly. He swung his leg over the back of the bike, and scooted closer to Axel than he would have preferred in any other situation.
"Hold on," the redhead advised, and the blonde wrapped his arms around the man's waist, which wasn't as thin as he'd remembered it being. Without another word, the two took off. As Axel raced them through the streets, Roxas felt anxiety over his father sweep over him. He was so panicked by the time that Axel had pulled in and parked at the hospital that as soon as the engine was off, he was darting toward the entrance, slipping off the helmet and holding it by the strap as he ran.
The older man followed after him, running to catch up. When he reached the blonde he was standing at the front desk demanding a room number. Axel tapped him on the shoulder and nodded toward a hall. "Come on, I know the way."
Axel was walking too slow for Roxas' comfort, but he kept that to himself as he followed him into an elevator and then down a hall, finally arriving at the room. The boy pushed past Axel and rushed in to stand beside the bed where Cid lay.
"Dad!" he nearly shouted as his eyes looked his father over. The bed was elevated so that Cid was almost in a sitting position, and bloodied bandages covered the left side of his bare chest. Blue eyes stared at them in horror, the red of his father's blood stirring the fear that still swirled in his chest.
"Roxas," Cid whispered, his voice shaky, a soft smile on his features.
Worry contorted the blonde's face as he stared at the wound, unsure what to make of it. He did not notice Axel standing behind him. "What happened?" he asked, quieter now.
Cid moved to speak, but Axel raised a hand and stopped him. "Don't, boss." He turned to Roxas who raised his gaze to meet the green eyes looking at him. "It hurts him to talk right now. Bullet to the chest, and although it missed his heart, it did some damage. He's already been in surgery and the bullet has been removed, but it's going to take some time to recover."
"S-shot?" Roxas asked but looked down to where his dad lightly placed his hand over his, and met Cid's blue eyes.
"I'm going to be fine," he manged whispered to his son. He held his reassuring smile, despite the pain he was in.
"He's not in any danger anymore," Axel interjected, "but he wanted to see you. Said you would worry if you didn't see him."
Roxas simply nodded, still watching his dad. "Does it hurt bad?" he asked softly.
"Like the Devil," the eldest man replied softly, smile never leaving his face.
"What can I do, can I get you anything?"
"No," Cid breathed. "No, nothing."
"He's going to need to stay here for a while," the redhead explained, "the doc said recovery would take a week or so, then after some physical therapy he should be as good as new."
The older blonde removed his gaze from his son, turning to Axel. "I want you to look after Roxas. Stay with him," he whispered, wincing at the pain it caused.
Roxas' brow furrowed. "Dad, I don't need a-"
"Got it." Axel interrupted. "And surveillance?"
Cid gave a slight nod, which was apparently the only response Axel needed. He grabbed Roxas by the shoulders with a heavy but not painful grip, and started to push him towards the door. "I'll have Saix keep you updated," he directed to the injured man, and then to Roxas, "Come on, we need to let your dad rest."
"What? No I-!" Roxas tried to protest, attempting to release himself from Axel's grip. But Axel was stronger, and all he could do was cry, "I love you, dad!" as he was pushed from the room and down the hall a little.
The blonde finally managed to shrug out of Axel's grip, with a biting, "I can walk on my own, thanks!"
The redhead raised and dropped his shoulders, placing his hands into the pockets of his jacket as the pair walked down the hall toward the elevator. Roxas still had plenty of questions, though.
"How did he get shot?" he asked, watching Axel as they walked.
"With a gun," the other man replied, casual disinterest lacing his voice, his eyes pointed straight ahead.
Annoyed, Roxas glared at him. "Obviously. And not what I meant."
"Well I'm not going to be answering any questions until we're back at the house," Axel countered.
"At the house?" Roxas questioned as they stepped into the elevator and the redhead pushed the button for the main lobby. "Wait- are you coming back to my house?!"
The redhead turned to look over the blonde, giving him a once over before raising an eyebrow. "Didn't you go to that fancy school out in Twilight Town? Why is this so hard for you?"
Insulted, the blonde drew back. "Because I have no idea what's going on!"
Axel chuckled as the elevator doors opened. "Man, Cid really didn't get his money's worth paying for that education," he commented, and strolled out into the lobby. As Axel walked ahead of him, Roxas read the word 'Organization' written in white lettering across the back of his leather jacket. These days, Axel stood a foot taller than the blonde, and so he had to walk fast to reach him again. They made their way into the parking lot before Roxas spoke up again as the redhead was getting on his bike. "Why are you coming to my house?" Roxas demanded.
A smirk crept onto Axel's features and he held a fist up to mimic holding up a microphone. "Thank you for choosing Axel's Radiant Garden Motorcycle Tours. We ask that you take a seat and keep arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. We also request that you hold all questions until the end of the tour."
The blonde rolled his eyes and put the helmet back on, sliding onto the seat behind Axel, and placing his arms around his waist again as the engine roared to life. "You are so lame."
Axel simply laughed, and with that they took off.
When they finally got back to Roxas' house, he slid the helmet off and started to the door. "I never locked up!" he called as he ran onto the porch and to the front door. Once he was inside, he looked around him to see if there was anything obviously missing.
A moment later Axel strolled in, hands in pockets. "Relax, no one is stupid enough to rob this place," he assured, though Roxas didn't understand what he meant by that. The redhead continued onward into the kitchen. "Got any beer?"
"Uh, in the fridge," he offered, a little dazed from everything that happened in the past hour. After a moment, he wandered into the kitchen where he found Axel leaning against the counter, taking a swig from one of his dad's bottles of beer. He thought about asking him if he was old enough to drink for a moment but reconsidered. "Hey, tour's over. I want some answers."
Green eyes met blue and Axel nodded. "Shoot."
Now that he was out of his panic, he finally noticed how much Axel had changed over the years. Thick, lean muscle had replaced the teenage thinness of yesteryear, and lord was Axel tall. In the back of his mind, the blonde thought that he'd hate to be hit by him now. But Roxas had so many unanswered questions, he had to consider where to begin. He settled on asking about his father's attacker. "Who shot my dad?" he asked pointedly.
A sigh escaped the lips of the older man, and he took another drink of his beer before answering. "He works for a rival, but we've got him in custody."
He nodded, pleased at least that the man had been caught and was in police custody. But Axel's answer had raised another question, so the blonde continued, "A rival? What do you mean, like the owner of another distribution company?"
Axel let out a bitter laugh. "I mean, that's one way to put it."
Unsure of the redhead's meaning, the boy moved on. "So, what exactly did my dad mean when he asked you to watch me?"
"Well," he responded with a smirk, "pretty sure you can feed and walk yourself, so it sounded to me like he meant for protection. Looks like you and I are going to be roomies for a while."
The blonde started to shake his head, "Oh no. No no no." He waved his hands in front of him back and forth. "Thanks for the offer Axel, but I don't think I need protection from anything. I can take care of myself."
The look on Axel's face became incredulous. "What are you going to do, throw textbooks at someone pointing a gun at you?"
"A gun? Why on earth would anyone come at me with a gun? I still don't understand why someone shot my dad over a distribution business and a… mechanic shop!"
Realization dawned on the redhead, his features sinking into a look of seriousness as he turned his body to fully face the other man. "Roxas… do you really not know what your dad does?"
The look on Axel's face made the younger man uneasy. Each word uttered slowly, he asked another question. "What do you mean?"
"Oh boy," Axel murmured, shaking his head. He wandered to the rarely used dining table and took a seat, motioning for Roxas to sit across from him. "You better sit down for this," he advised, and took another sip of his drink.
Roxas did as he was told, staring at Axel and awaiting further explanation as he sank slowly into the chair.
"Look, I don't know what his reason is for never telling you this, but given… ya know, everything," the redhead waived his hands at their situation. "Let's agree that explaining it to you is the only way you're going to be cooperative."
"O..kay…"
"Have you ever heard of the Organization?" he asked leaning in and resting his arms on the table.
Roxas nodded slowly. "Yeah, they're a gang around here," he answered, and suddenly remembered the word on the back of Axel's jacket. "So wait, you and my dad are in that little gang?"
Axel smirked with pride and sat up straight, "Little? You must be joking. The Organization owns half of this city. It's tangled up in the politics around here, and what we don't own we get income from in exchange for our protection. We're everywhere."
"Okay," Roxas said, not fully grasping the Organization's reach. "But so, what? You're in a gang. That doesn't explain-"
"Not in a gang, Roxie," the older man interrupted. The blonde cringed at the nickname. "Run a gang. Your dad's the boss. It's his gang. That little garage he owns? Money laundering. Your dad runs this city, and someone wants his turf and will do whatever it takes to get it. Got it memorized?"
For the second time that evening, the blood rushed out of Roxas' face as realization hit. His mind flashed to all the secrecy surrounding his dad's work, the suspicious red stains that he sometimes saw on Cid's laundry that Cid would dismiss as having hurt himself. Then there was the late-night work emergencies, the way his dad always carried loads of cash. He felt his body start to shake and a wooziness come over him. A numbness swept over his body as his mind reeled with information. He thought of how he never knew anything at all about his dad's job, how his mother had glossed over why she had left him by saying she wanted a different life for the two of them and refusing to elaborate.
"Hey, you okay? You look like you're going to be sick," Axel asked with concern in his voice, breaking the other from his thoughts.
"Why would he keep this from me?" he murmured, barely loud enough for the redhead to hear him.
"If I had to wager a guess, I'd say for the same reason I'm here right now." Blue eyes met green, and the red haired man shrugged his shoulders. "He was probably trying to protect you."
Another thing dawned on Roxas as feeling started to come back to his fingers. "Wait, so when you said that the shooter was in custody-"
"Now you're catching on," Axel praised. "He's with our guys, getting interrogated as we speak. Once we get what we want out of him, I've given the order to have him taken care of." The redhead finished off his drink and set the bottle on the table.
The way Axel's expression had remained completely calm and nonchalant as he told Roxas he'd given the order to have a man murdered shook him to his core. How many people had Axel killed, directly or indirectly, he found himself wondering? And how many had his father killed?
All this time, Roxas had thought of his father as a modest but well-off business man. To find out that the clothes he wore, his car, his tuition for both high school and college may have been paid for with blood money was the biggest shock of his life. As much as things were finally starting to make sense, there was a part of him that wished he had never known. Cid had been a better father than he had ever dreamed of asking for, but who knows what he was doing while he was at 'work'.
"What else does the Organization do?" the blonde asked, feeling as sick as he must have looked. "I need to know."
He could see the gears turning in Axel's head as their eyes met again. The man's lips parted as if to speak, but quickly closed again. He averted his gaze and sighed.
"I have a right to know," the younger man pressed.
When green eyes locked to his again, he felt a shiver run down his spine. "Drug cartel, mostly."
Roxas sank in his chair in disbelief, swallowing around the lump that formed in his throat. He knew next to nothing about drugs aside from some experimentation with marijuana, and yet here he sat, the son of a kingpin.
Axel's voice broke a long silence between the two. "I don't get you, Roxas. You're properly educated, yet somehow you thought your dad was able to pay for expensive schools and all the clothes and gadgets that would make you look like you belong, and you just… never questioned it? You do know the economy is terrible right now, right?"
As much as the blonde wanted to bite back with a scathing retort, he just couldn't. He sat in the chair at the table silently, processing everything that had happened.
The redhead stood, the feet of his chair loudly scraping against the floor and pulled a phone from his pocket. After moment he started chatting on it loudly, barking orders to people Roxas assumed were in the Organization when he bothered to listen.
His father was the leader of an underground drug operation, and he now sat in the room listening to his second in command and future successor give orders to other members. And he had once punched said successor in the face, to boot. It was a lot to take in, and the blonde wished he could scream.
When Axel had finished his conversations and put the phone back in his pocket, Roxas finally spoke again. "I want to see my dad." He made to stand up, but Axel moved across the room quickly and placed a hand on his shoulder, keeping the blonde in his chair.
"No can do," the redhead countered, his expression serious. "Direct orders. Cid doesn't want you at the hospital in case someone comes to finish the job."
The younger man's eyebrows knitted together and his lip quivered. "Finish the job?"
Axel nodded. "It's unlikely," he reassured, "what with there being cameras, a hospital isn't the ideal place to murder someone. Not to mention that he's being watched by our guys. But he'd rather be safe than sorry, I guess."
"Will they be after you too, then?" He had asked the question so softly, he wasn't even sure the redhead heard him at first. Before he could repeat himself, the other man answered.
"Maybe," came the reply paired with a shrug of shoulders. "But I'm basically untouchable. Your dad taught me well, and I've got the advantage if I'm expecting them. Trust me kid, being with me is the safest you could be."
"Then how did they get my dad?" Roxas barked, his feelings morphing into anger that had nowhere to be directed. He chose to ignore the 'kid' comment.
Axel's face fell, and his eyes went to the floor. "I wasn't with him," he admitted with guilt lacing his tone.
The anger in Roxas subsided quickly, and an uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Roxas stared at his hands, and Axel shifted his weight from one leg to the other, staring out the window. His eyes were greeted with nothing but darkness as night had long since fallen.
"It's late," the redhead commented after a while, breaking the silence.
Roxas nodded, his mind brought back to their current situation. He loathed the idea of Axel staying with him, but he had a feeling the other man wouldn't budge on that if it was his father's orders. Physical force wasn't going to be an option either, since the man towered over the blonde and had a build like a stone wall. While Roxas had filled out a bit, he wasn't so delusional as to think he could overpower Axel. So, he resigned himself to the situation. His mind drifted to the sleeping situation, and he decided quickly that the idea of Axel sleeping in his dad's bed irritated him.
"I'll sleep in my dad's room," he finally answered. "You can take mine. It's upstairs-"
"I know where it is," the redhead interrupted casually.
The answer surprised the blonde, as he was fairly certain he had never seen Axel actually inside the house, but he let it go without pressing further and stood up. "Alright. I'm going to bed."
"I'm going to stay up for a bit," Axel replied, retrieving his phone from his pocket and looking at the screen. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Roxas simply nodded and grabbed his phone from where it had sat forgotten on the kitchen counter. He glanced at the screen as he walked, a dozen or so notifications from a group text amongst his friends about plans to go to the beach. The blonde ascended the stairs, his legs feeling heavy. Most likely from the emotional toll the evening had taken him. He stuffed the phone in his pocket and wandered into his room to grab some pajamas from his drawer, and his toothbrush from his bathroom before heading into his father's room.
In the master bathroom he brushed his teeth, changed into his pajamas, and neatly piled the day's clothes by the door, retrieving the phone from the pocket of his jeans. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the screen again before unlocking it and typing out a message into the group chat.
Roxas: My dad is in the hospital
He flopped backward onto the bed, his arms stretched out beside him. After a moment, his phone buzzed once in his hand. After another moment a quick succession of buzzes followed, and he brought the screen back towards his face.
Olette: OMG! Is he ok?
Hayner: Wat happened?
Pence: im so sorry Roxas. is he sick?
Olette: Is there anything we can do?
Roxas rolled onto his side and began typing.
Roxas: He was injured. He'll be okay, but he has to stay at the hospital for a while
Roxas: Thanks for the offer Olette but I'm alright. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow
Hayner: here if you need us. just say the word and we'll come
Olette: I'll keep Cid in my prayers. Let us know if you need anything.
Pence: ditto what Hay and Olette said. Tell Cid we're thinking about him
Roxas: Thanks guys
The blonde dropped his phone to the bed and stared at the walls of his father's room. His eyes drifted over the light grey walls to the black furniture, the comfortable familiarity of the room soothing the blonde. He thought to himself that it was a reflection of the way his father lived. It was tidy, the decoration simple and used sparingly, not revealing too much about the man other than that he was well organized. His gaze drifted to the dresser on the far wall, the top of it lined with photos in frames. Several picture frames were filled with photos of the two from various outings they'd had together, and a single photo of Roxas with his mother.
He grabbed the plug end of his father's charger from the nightstand and plugged his phone into it, placing it next to the lamp. He maneuvered his body so that he could slip under the sheets, pulling the plush comforter tightly around him. A part of him wanted to reach for his phone again, to tell his friends in detail what had happened, and about the Organization, but he resisted that urge. He wasn't sure he should, or could, ever tell his friends the truth. He needed to talk to his dad, before he said anything to anyone. However, that didn't look like it was going to happen anytime soon, since Cid wanted him away from the hospital.
As if everything going on wasn't bad enough, Roxas couldn't believe that his dad had charged Axel with protecting him. Of all the people he could have chosen, why Axel? Although his interactions with the redhead had been few and far between over the years, he had never stopped resenting him and the relationship he had with his father. And even if that wasn't the case, something about the other man just rubbed him the wrong way. Not to mention that he was a criminal.
The thought that his father was also involved in organized crime occurred to him, and he shuddered.
The teen reached over and turned off the lamp, draping the room in darkness. He felt exhausted, but his mind was racing too hard for sleep to come quickly. The occasional muffled noise from Axel doing god knows what downstairs interrupted his thoughts, but he payed it little mind.
He didn't know what time it was as he lay still on the bed with his eyes closed, but he imagined that it must be pretty late when he heard quiet footsteps make their way to his bedroom. He turned onto his side and kept his eyes closed, hoping that If he could only find a comfortable enough position that his mind would quiet and he would at last fall asleep.
Sleep eventually took him, but his mind gave him no rest. He was tortured by nightmares that he awoke from several times throughout the night, waking up startled with cold sweat on his skin. Eventually exhaustion won out, and he finally fell into a restful sleep.
Author's Notes: Thanks for reading! I wanted to get this chapter out asap, to get the story moving along! The next chapter will be going over the same events but following Axel. After that, we're going to really get into the thick of our little plot, with Roxas and Axel's roommate situation being the main focus for a while. I hope you're enjoying it so far, I'm so excited to finally be writing it all down! The next chapter will be out sometime early next week most likely, so stay tuned!