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Messages in a Bottle
VIII - Dinner with Reno
When Roxas got out of the shower, Axel and Namine were already dressed. Namine was wearing a cute little sunhat to protect her from the sun. Roxas could see that she had a light coating of sunscreen on as well.
Roxas sighed in relief. Axel was an angel.
Speaking of Axel, the redhead was wearing his hair in a ponytail and had a large picnic basket in his arms along with another bag. "You ready Roxy?"
The blonde man nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."
And at that, they all headed to the pier in Axel's truck.
Namine stared out of the truck window as she sat between the two men. "Wow.. its so pretty here.."
Axel chuckled. "It is isn't it? Look, there's where I met your mommy."
He pointed to the spot at the pier as he drove up. "Next to that boat?" Namine asked, tilting her head.
"Yup." Axel replied, parking the truck in his usual spot. "That's my boat."
Namine gasped. "It's so cool!" When Roxas opened the door, she crawled over Roxas' lap, too impatient to wait for him to get out. "We're riding on it, Axie?" She asked, squealing.
"Mmhm. But you have to wear this life jacket." The redhead said, pulling out light blue life jacket with purple flowers on it.
After Axel help her put it on, they all got on the boat and sailed off.
As they sailed, Namine gazed out at the ocean with curious eyes. This is the first time that she had been on a boat.
Shimmering, a few dolphins peeked up near the boat before hopping into the air. Namine squealed and pointed. "Look Axie! Mommy!"
Roxas watched in amazement. "Oh wow.."
Once the dolphins fell back into the water, Axel reached into his pocket and grabbed a can of sardines. His blonde lover looked at him strangely. "Why did you have a can of sardines in your pocket?"
Axel walked over to the edge of the boat and tossed a sardine into the water then grinned back at Roxas. "Why don't you have sardines in your pocket?"
Before Roxas could muster a retort, Namine ran over to Axel squealing. "Axie! I wanna feed the dolphins!"
Axel chuckled and handed the small girl a sardine. "Slimy," she commented before she threw it into the sea. A dolphin caught it in its mouth.
Roxas quickly took his phone out and snapped a picture of this moment. He smiled. I wonder if we'll have any more moments like this... God, I hope so..
The rest of the afternoon was filled with Namine laughing and just loving the ride. They ate lunch around 1:30 and then went to go swimming at the beach about an hour after.
Roxas was having more fun than he had had in such a long time. And Namine seemed to feel the same way too.
At around 3:00, Axel and Roxas sat together on the beach while Namine built a sandcastle.
"She really is just adorable," Axel said. "She's just like you, you know."
Roxas blinked. "I don't think she is... she's a lot more creative than I am."
"But when you both are upset about something, you have this pouty face. And both of your eyes sparkle when you are happy. Its wonderful." Axel said, staring off into the sunset.
Roxas blushed. All of this honestly still felt like a dream.. a beautiful, wonderful dream. And he didn't want it to end. The blonde leaned back against Axel's chest. "Thank you Axel."
"Hm? For what?"
"Being in my life."
To Roxas' dismay, their time at the beach seemed shorter than it was. By 5 o'clock, Axel was packing up their stuff that they brought and Namine was changing her clothes behind a tree.
And then they headed off to Reno's house. The whole way there, Roxas was nervous.
What if Axel's father doesn't like me? He looked down at himself. Oh I didn't even bother to wear something half decent.
He was wearing a pair of shorts and a white t-shirt. Roxas bit his lip.
Axel noticed when he glanced over at Roxas. "Relax Roxy, my pop isn't going to care about how you look."
Roxas looked slightly surprised. "How did you...?"
"Body language is a good way to read people," Axel said simply. "You were biting your lip, which means that you're worried. You were glancing over yourself which means that the topic of your worry is your clothes."
Roxas blinked.
Namine leaned forward, peeking her head from behind Roxas' seat. "You look cool Mommy!"
Cool...cool...I look cool... I don't feel cool, Roxas thought, his eyebrows furrowing.
Suddenly, Roxas felt Axel's warm hand touch his as if reassuring the blonde man. "My dad will just be glad to meet the man who's making me so happy. Why do you think he invited us over? He didn't want to meet your outfit," Axel sounded slightly amused.
Bring the car to a stop in Reno's driveway, Axel looked over at Roxas. "Everything will be alright. Kay?"
"Okay." Roxas said, nodding. He was a little less nervous now that Axel was holding his hand.
Axel smiled then looked back at Namine. "You ready, squirt?"
Namine grinned. "Yah!"
Once they were out of the car, Axel led the way to Reno's front door and knocked loudly. "Yo pops!" Axel yelled when there wasn't an answer immediately.
"Its open!" Reno shouted from inside the house.
Axel looked back and opened the door, gesturing for them to head inside.
Namine skipped in first and the couple followed.
"Oi Dad! Where are you?" Axel said aloud.
"In the kitchen! Be there in a second, son!" Reno yelled. There were shuffling sounds in the kitchen and something smelt great.
"Go ahead and sit," Axel said, gesturing to the couch and chairs in the living room.
Namine sat down first, in a spinning chair with cushions on it. She started spinning. "Weeeee! Look at me Mommyyyyy!" She squealed, raising her hands in the air.
Roxas noticed and frowned. "Namine Grace Strife! Stop that!"
"Oh its okay, let the kid have her fun." Roxas turned to see a tall man who looked like Axel except a lot more aged. The man, who must have been Reno, smiled at Roxas.
"So you're the famous Roxy. Nice ta meetcha, I'm Axel's father, but you can call me Reno." Reno held his hand out so that Roxas could shake it. Roxas did.
Looking past Roxas, Reno smiled at Namine. "And who's this?"
"I-I'm Namine," Namine answered, her voice slightly quiet. Her shyness was kicking in.
Reno knelt down and held his hand out. "I'm Reno; Axel's dad."
Namine blinked. "Then can I call you Grandpa? I've never had a grandpa before."
A smile crossed the elder Russo's face. "Of course, sweet pea."
Namine grinned and shook Reno's hand. "Okay Grandpa!"
Roxas smiled at the exchange. He was glad that everything was going well with Namine. She seemed very happy.
Reno escorted them to the dining room, which was rather small but quaint. There were four chairs at a small oak-table and a few family photos rested on the walls. On the table, there were empty plates, forks, and cups placed on place mats.
Roxas found it rather strange that such an older man had set the table this way. Reno noticed Roxas' look and scratched behind his neck. "My wife always set the table this way. Is it bad?"
"Of course not!" Roxas exclaimed, shaking his head quickly. "Its nice!"
Reno smiled in relief. "I'm glad. I wouldn't want Axel's boyfriend getting mad at me. Sit, sit, dinner will be out in a few minutes!"
They all sat down. "I wonder what the old man cooked up this time..." Axel murmured to himself.
After a few minutes, Reno brought out a pot with a serving spoon in it and a plate with a type of bread on it.
"Here it is! My homemade jambalaya and french bread!" Reno grinned, placing it down. Roxas glanced at it and his eyes widened. That looks amazing! He thought in pure awe. He almost didn't want to ruin it by eating it.
Namine clapped her hands. "Looks yummy!"
Reno's expression brightened more. It was almost blinding. "Well dig in kiddo! There's plenty!"
Namine grinned and Roxas scooped a few scoops onto her plate, making sure to get her plenty of sausage. Whenever they had jambalaya in the past (though it wasn't homemade like Reno's), the sausage was always Namine's favorite part.
Namine took the first bite and her eyes brightened at the taste. "Its yummy! Grandpa, you and Axie have to come live with Mommy and me! Mommy's food isn't as good as yours!"
Roxas, surprisingly, wasn't hurt by this statement. He had never been good at cooking.
Reno chuckled. "Thanks kiddo. Now eat up."
Everyone else got their food and dug in. Roxas genuinely enjoyed it, even though he wasn't one for spicy food. The elder Russo looked over at Roxas. "Do you like it, blondie?"
Roxas nodded, not speaking because his mouth was full.
Reno grinned, glad that he was impressing his son's lover.
As soon as it began, the night soon ended. Namine ended up falling asleep on Reno's couch during a movie that they were watching. Her head was resting upon Axel's arm.
"She's such a good kid," Reno commented, glancing over at Roxas. Roxas smiled, always proud of Namine. "I know."
Reno looked over to Axel. "Why don't you take her to the truck? I'd like to talk to Roxas alone."
Axel nodded and Roxas gulped. What could this possibly be about? He asked himself as Axel gently picked up Namine and took her out of the house.
Reno looked over at the blonde, his expression turning serious. "Roxas?"
Roxas squeaked lightly. "U-uh yes?"
"..Don't hurt my son. For his sake." Reno said after a few seconds. The blonde blinked. "I-I'd never hurt Axel..." Roxas stuttered after a few moments.
"Good," Reno said, patting Roxas' shoulder. "Cause I like that Namine. She's funny. Come visit me again sometimes, even if things go wrong with Axel."
Right after he said this, Axel peeked in the front door. "Everything okay in here guys? Dad, you didn't kill Roxy, right?"
Reno pouted. "You have such little faith in your old man, Axel! I'd never hurt the famous 'Roxy'! Without him, we wouldn't have anything to talk about!"
Both Roxas and Axel blushed. With a good-bye hug, the two men left Reno's house with generally good feelings within them.
As Axel drove Roxas and the sleeping Namine back to his home, the two adults were talking quietly and laughing.
"So what did pops say to you anyway?" Axel asked, steering the wheel with one hand, the other arm was around Roxas.
"Just the usual dad stuff. And that he liked Nami," Roxas answered, leaning on Axel. Axel chuckled. "I knew he'd like her. How could anyone not? She's so fucking cool."
Roxas laughed. "She is," The blonde agreed. "I'm so lucky to have her. I don't know what I'd do without her."
Despite all of the fun they had that weekend, soon it was time for them to leave Destiny Islands.
Axel drove them all to the airport while Namine pouted in between them. She had pitched quite a fit that morning when she found out that they were going home. She didn't want to leave Axel at all.
The flaming red head had to eventually promise that he'd see her again soon. And even then, she still wasn't pleased.
Roxas sighed softly as a song played on the radio. It was a song that was popular the year before and obviously Sora loved it because he was singing along in his obnoxiously loud voice.
"TONIIIIIIIIIIIGGGHHHT! WE ARE YOOOOOOUUUNNNNGGGGGG! SO LET'S SET THE WORLD ON FIREEEEEE!" Sora sang, grinning.
Riku chuckled and wrapped an arm around the shorter brunette, always used to his antics. Axel joined Sora in his singing which made it even more obnoxious, but funny.
"SO LET'S SET THE WORLD ON FIREEE! WE CAN BURN BRIIIIGHTER! THAN THE SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNN!" They sang while Axel drove. Grinning as he sang, Axel rolled down the windows of his truck and proceeded to sing even louder.
Namine giggled as this went on. It had obviously cheered her up and she had even begun to clap along to the beat.
This continued until Axel pulled up to the airport and shut off the music. Bohemian Rhapsody had been playing. Sora looked scandalized. "Oh heeeelllll nah!"
Axel looked confused. "What?"
Riku facepalmed. "Dude, you don't just shut off the radio when Bohemian Rhapsody is playing. It's against the rules of the music gods."
Roxas rolled his eyes. "We need to catch our plane guys. Come on, let's get the things."
With a nod, they all got out and grabbed their things. Soon they were getting on the plane.
Sniffling, Namine hugged Axel. "Bye Axie.." Axel hugged back. "I'll see ya soon kid, okay?"
She nodded and followed Riku and Sora onto the plane.
Turning to Roxas, Axel hugged him tightly. "I'll miss ya Roxy."
"I'll Skype you when I get home," Roxas promised, kissing Axel on the cheek, breathing in the scent of his lover for a final time. He knew that he'd miss sleeping next to Axel and just feeling him...but Roxas knew that he couldn't move this relationship too fast.
He didn't want Nami or himself to get hurt.
Waving slightly, Roxas stepped onto the plane.