Author's Note: Alrighty, so, here's the next chapter of Blackbird!! Just to clear one thing up that might be a little confusing...the two meetings in the first chapter occured three years apart. At this point in the story, Riku and Sora met three years ago, and Axel and Roxas met yesterday. Sorry if that was a little confusing.
Blackbird
Chapter Two: Quite That Simple
The first thought that entered Axel's mind that morning, when he woke with a slender arm wrapped around his waist, was simple enough.
When Axel woke with Roxas at his side, still sleeping and tangled in the redhead's limbs, his only thought was to leave.
After all, Roxas was just a distraction from Axel's boredom. If Axel got bored, he found a distraction. Usually, this distraction was, of course, a fling, a one-night-stand.
Sometimes, when Axel was really, really bored - so much so that the scotch and the split ends and the cracking knuckles and the fling weren't enough - he would go so low as to find someone who looked particularly naïve and vulnerable, and he would hurt them.
There was something about Roxas's expression, those thoughtful eyes and that impatient little pout, that had caught Axel's eye, made him seem like an especially good target.
And so Axel found himself wrapped in this boy's sheets and arms and legs, and hoping that Roxas was not a light sleeper.
He sighed, silently, wriggling slowly in an effort to escape, lips pursed and nostrils flared in concentration. It was not long after Axel started this maneuvering, that he realized it would be difficult not to wake Roxas.
As expected, he did not succeed.
"You're leaving?" Roxas mumbled, his voice groggy and slurred with sleep as he blinked his sharp eyes at the older man and moving himself out of Axel's way.
"Yeah," Axel replied with a snort. Sitting up and leaning over, he groped at the floor near the bed, searching for the pile of rough fabric that was his jeans.
In reply, Roxas shrugged and rolled over, sighing heavily and pulling the blankets tightly around his lithe frame.
"Good," he said gruffly, "I didn't really want you hanging around for long. I've got a lot to do today."
Leaning back on the bed, Axel struggled to slip into his tight jeans, slamming his head on Roxas arm and trying to pretend it was an accident.
"Gee thanks, kid," he grumbled, frowning. This wasn't going how he planned. He wasn't supposed to be here when Roxas woke up, and Roxas most certainly was not supposed to be happy about his leaving.
"What?" Roxas practically snapped, sitting up and glaring with his sharp, pensive eyes at the emerald-eyed man, whose head was resting heavily on his arm. "It's not like you went into this thing thinking it would last. Did you really expect me to be so oblivious to that fact?"
Axel blinked, rolling onto his stomach and looking up at Roxas.
"What makes you think I didn't want this to last?" he growled as he rose onto his knees and crawled slowly over the boy, the slant of his smirk and the glint of his eye almost feline. Shoulder blades rolling backward as he sank down to hover inches above Roxas's lips, his smirk widened and he breathed out slowly against the blonde's cheek. Every inch of him, every pore, oozed affirmation, but inside he was praying that Roxas would take the bait.
He would see this through to the end. No matter how long it took, he would hurt Roxas. Axel never left anything unfinished.
"The fact that you went into this knowing it would be a one-night stand," the blonde snorted stubbornly, pushing up on Axel's chest with his elbow, "whether or not I wanted it to be."
Narrowing his eyes and clutching at his ribcage - which he was sure Roxas had just bruised with his pointy little elbow - Axel growled low in his throat and flopped to one side, sprawling out on the sheets with a hefty sigh.
"Which, I did," the boy added, pouting sullenly and pushing a lock of his bedraggled hair out of his face.
Axel's gaze was instantly drawn to those eyes again, and his drive increased. It didn't matter that those baby blues of Roxas's were harsh and sharp, scrutinizing and analyzing rather than soft and sincere.
Roxas's eyes, Roxas's pout, reminded Axel of Sora.
And so, Axel's boredom, Axel's desire to emotionally destroy the kid, increased.
"Well," he drawled, rolling off of the blonde boy with a mockingly wistful sigh, "Maybe I've changed my mind, mmm?" As he hummed suggestively, he tiptoed his fingers up Roxas's shoulder, dragged them along the curve of his slender neck and nestled the tip of his index finger in the hollow of the boy's dimple.
"Really, now?" Roxas growled, swatting at the older man's hand, rubbing at his offended cheek as if he could erase the dimple that had apparently called so longingly for Axel's attentions.
"Guess I was a better lay than I thought," the blonde drawled, exasperation dripping from every syllable.
Axel laughed in what he hoped was an affirmative manner. If he couldn't catch Roxas in his little, haphazardly woven web, if he couldn't hurt this kid…
He'd have absolutely no idea what he'd do then. This was how Axel had lived for the past two years. He'd swung from heartbreak to heartbreak with a wide grin and a light heart.
Ever since Sora, he'd felt the uncontrollable need to hurt others. He was pretty sure it made him a sociopath to some small degree, but he didn't really care. Which, sadly, led him to further belief that he was a psychopath who emotionally preyed on young boys with big blue eyes and stubborn pouts.
"I have changed my mind, Roxie," he reiterated, glancing over at the boy and softening his voice and expression.
Roxas snorted and turned onto his side to avoid the surprisingly alluring emerald gaze.
"For some reason I hesitate to believe you," he grumbled in a sleepy tone that Axel assumed meant the boy firmly intended on returning to sleep with the hope that when he woke, this time, Axel would be gone.
"What can I say?" the redhead crooned with an easy shrug. "There was a real connection, you know. Like we were one, Roxie."
Roxas repeated his indignant snort.
"You don't believe me?" Axel cried, making sure he sounded just as offended as he was indifferent.
"You're hardly the type that says something like that," Roxas mumbled, not bothering to roll over and face the other man.
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, for one thing, you've got a dick. And for another, you are a dick."
Axel growled and rolled onto his side so that his back was pressed up against Roxas's and sifted through his mind for an excuse, some sort of escape from the current situation.
"Get out," Roxas stated after a long moment, his voice void of any tone or emotion or anything readable.
Finding his mind empty for the moment, Axel sat up and leaned over, grabbing his black zip-up from the floor and putting it on with no intention to find the black t-shirt that had been worn under it the night before. If nothing else he conjured up flew, then at least he could come back for his shirt and try again.
"Fine. But this ain't the end kid," he grumbled. "I know where to find you, and I also happen to know that you secretly find me irresistible."
"Yeah, sure. Go."
As Axel rose he glanced at the alarm clock on the night stand next to him. It's neon green numbers read 7:48. Out of pure curiosity, and perhaps a splash of scorn, he pressed the small button labeled "alarm" and watched as the numbers briefly switched to 8:00.
With a flick of his wrist a switch slid, the small indent in its center now indicating that the alarm had been turned on.
So with a smirk and a saunter Axel exited the apartment, content in the knowledge that he would ruin the damn kid's day once again in a mere twelve minutes.
When Axel entered Sanctuary for the second time, he did so with the intention to find out when Roxas was next on shift.
He walked right on up to the counter with his hands in his back pockets and he smiled charmingly at the young girl on duty.
"You wouldn't happen to know when Roxas is coming in next, would you?" he crooned, hoping his smile didn't look anywhere near as maniacal as it felt.
"You a friend of his?" the girl asked, pushing a short lock of dark hair out of her dark eyes and surveying him with a small smile.
"You could call it that," Axel drawled, delighting in the short, appreciative laugh the brunette gave in return.
"I don't know, sorry. I can find out for you though?"
"Could you?"
Nodding enthusiastically, the girl walked around the counter and disappeared through a door marked "employees only".
"Squally!" he heard her call in an obnoxious, sing-songy tone.
"Get back to work, Yuffie," came the gruff, distance muffled reply.
Axel shot a quick laugh through his nose as he heard Yuffie's feet stomp stubbornly against the hardwood floor.
"I am working! I need you to ask you a question."
"Prying into my personal life is hardly considered work."
"I'm not prying this time! Promise!"
"Can this wait until I get up there, Yuffie? I'm sure the customers would prefer not to hear your yelling."
"Fii-iine," the girl sighed as she slipped through the door and back into Axel's vision.
"The owner'll be up in a minute," she said apologetically, "He'll know when Roxas is working."
"I should hope so," the redhead muttered under his breath, stepping away from the counter to wait and listen for the creak of mounted stairs.
It wasn't too long before his keen ears picked up on the sound of footsteps, each one becoming louder and clearer before a tall man with broad shoulders and long, neatly layered hair emerged from the stairwell.
He wore a simple white tee, under a short-sleeved leather jacket, which was unzipped to reveal a pendant in the shape of some odd lion-headed cross. Over tight leather pants, three or four belts were slung loosely around his waist, clinking together as he walked past Axel, who arched an eyebrow sharply and examined the man's expression.
It was a gruff expression, one that warned even the bold redhead to try to be as un-bothersome as humanly possible. Stormy eyes surveyed their surroundings carefully, meticulously, making sure every coffee pot, every bean, was in its place.
Narrowing his eyes, Axel attempted to peer past the wisps of mahogany hair that fell across the man's brow, swearing he could catch a glimpse of a scar every once in a while, cutting across from a point just above his right eye down to just below his left.
And there, in his hand, held with the delicacy required when handling a newborn, was a chocolate cake, thick with icing, drizzled with caramel and ringed with brownie crumbs.
If this man had been even an ounce less intimidating than he was, Axel wouldn't have bothered to stifle the chuckle that threatened to fly from his thin lips.
As soon as the brunette entered the main café, Yuffie jumped up to scuttle over to him and carefully take the cake. As she moved with slow, lumbering steps towards the small refrigerated case at the opposite end of the counter, her employer spoke.
"What was it you needed to know?" he mumbled, his words barely discernable as he bent over to grab a nearby bundle of empty coffee sacks.
Axel was sure that if he took even a nanosecond to admire the way those pants fit, the brunette would know, and Axel would die.
Yuffie nodded curtly in the redhead's direction as she popped up from behind the case.
"Customer came by looking for Roxas, wants to know when he's on next," she explained matter-of-factly, all jest and cheer gone in the face of her boss and the customers that lined up behind her as another girl with long, brown hair that flipped out around her face, frantically prepared drinks.
"Olette couldn't answer that for you?" the brunette said, his tone nearing what Axel would have considered to be growling.
"Nope, sorry Squall. Roxas is pretty tight-lipped about his schedule," the second girl called over her shoulder as she slid a drink across the marbled emerald counter.
With a long, weary sigh, Squall turned to Axel and answered.
"Roxas will be in tonight. His shift starts at three and we close at ten. You can catch him any time between."
His words were crisp and his tone clearly indicated that if the redhead was not seriously considering ordering something, he should leave immediately.
"Now, if you two are set here, I'm going home. I've got somewhere to be in about an hour," he continued, returning his attention to the two girls.
"That new art show opens today, right?" Olette asked cheerfully as she stood at the register, counting out an elderly man's change.
"Right," the brunette confirmed curtly.
"Ooooh! That's the one with the new set of paintings from that guy you like, huh?" Yuffie crooned, all business left behind as the store emptied of customers. "What's his name again…Ri…something?"
"Riku Higure," Olette finished.
Axel froze, his brows pulling together and his eyes narrowing in interest and something similar to anger.
"That's the one!" the dark-haired girl cried, snapping her fingers together and smiling, "He comes in here a lot, you know."
"No. I didn't," Squall replied, turning quickly and disappearing out the back door without a word of passing.
Axel watched as the two girls relaxed, posture slouching and mindless duties slipping away instantly.
"So, Riku comes in here a lot?" he asked softly, his emerald eyes scrutinizing the two as they picked at nails and split ends.
Olette nodded.
"He and his boyfriend, Sora, are pretty frequent customers," she murmured sweetly.
"They had their first date here!" Yuffie chimed in, her statement directed more so at the other girl than at Axel.
"Really? How cute!"
"Mmhmm! It was about three years ago and they met, like, three seconds before they came in. I watched it all happen right across the street."
"As adorable as that sounds," Axel drawled disdainfully, "I really can't stay to hear this sappy little love story."
"Alright then," Olette said, smiling and waving brightly. "I'll let Roxas know you came by."
"No," Axel snapped, whirling around to face the girl before regaining his composure and grinning awkwardly, "I…uh…I want to surprise him. So, keep it a secret for me would you?"
"Sure thing!" Yuffie chirped, suddenly standing at attention and saluting him smartly.
"Right…" he muttered, turning quickly to stalk out of Sanctuary and make his terse way down the street towards his apartment.
Shoving his hands deep into his pockets, Axel half sighed, half growled, gnashing his teeth and glaring at the grimy sidewalk.
He'd known that Sora had taken up with Riku rather quickly, but that quickly?
He acknowledged the fact that this Yuffie girl was most likely quite prone to exaggeration, but she had said she'd witnessed the whole thing.
"Damn it," he grumbled, thrusting his toes into the pavement with a swift kick.
Sora had griped and bitched and moaned and groaned endlessly, and then he had turned around and hopped into Riku's pants in a matter of seconds!
And to top it all off, there was the damned café.
He'd stumbled into Sanctuary and Roxas in order to escape Sora, and then him and that damned faggot boyfriend of his ended up being regulars.
Axel's mind raced through thousands of scenarios, and he briefly considered dropping this whole thing, just walking away and accepting the fact that Roxas would not be hurt.
After all, if he did pursue the blonde, he'd end up in Sanctuary quite often, and chances were he'd run into the happy couple.
But tonight…Riku was busy. The owner of the café had mentioned that the bastard had a few paintings in a show opening tonight. Riku would be there, and Sora would be there and Roxas would be in the shop without either one of them in sight.
Tonight was safe, and so Axel decided that he would try once more to break the kid's spirit. He would strut on into Sanctuary and convince Roxas to carry on with this thing, and once that was through, once Roxas was in deep with no hope of getting out, Axel would simply disappear.
And that was where it would all end.
It was that simple.
