A/N: I updated quickly 'cus i already had most of this chapter written, so i thought, lets post it. this is it tho, i have nothing else written as of yet. but i will update asap.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
...
Roxas was sure she'd spontaneously combusted. Her whole body tingled and screamed as she locked gazes with the man she knew so well yet had never technically met in this life. She had to concentrate hard to remain standing, quite a feat at this point seeing as her mind had pretty much turned to mush by now. Dully she realized her breathing had become shallow and ragged, and she vaguely contemplated the possibility of fainting.
Demyx was right. He looked exactly like she remembered. He had the same spiky red hair, though it might have been a bit shorter than before. The teardrop-like tattoos were engraved on his cheekbones, right where they were supposed to be. She'd remembered tracing them with her fingertips a dozen times before. His eyes were the same vibrant green. They always reminded her of glass, like if she gazed at them too long they would shatter. His eyes always made her feel refreshed and thirsty at the same time. Axel's gaze bore into her, filled with more emotion than she could've imagined. Dully she noticed even his scent was the same, a delicious mixture of leather and spice. God, how she missed it.
It took a moment for Roxas to realize Demyx was still talking to her. "Uh, I'll call you back."
She shut the phone without waiting for an answer and let it slide out of her hands onto the floor. She was unable to remove her gaze from Axel. Taking down every detail of his face hungrily, hoping to heaven this wasn't her only chance.
She really had to beat down the urge to embrace the man. But, if he hadn't already noticed Roxas was no longer a boy, due to the larger than necessary hoodie, pressing her chest against him would probably raise a couple of questions.
"R-Roxas?"
His voice was scratchy, but even in a half whisper, after all this time, she recognized it.
"Axel."
Roxas kept her voice low, not that she felt she could speak at a reasonable volume at this point. She wasn't sure if Axel realized the gender change yet, and she really didn't want to give herself away before she had a chance to tell Axel the truth on her own.
Axel dropped his hand and took a step towards her. Roxas felt her breath hitch in her throat. It was all she could do not to jump the redhead right here. Now that she saw him, now that she had him back at last, she was certain that if he left her now it would kill her.
"Roxas I-" He reached out to her but before he could finish his thought, they heard the back door fly open and Sora's voice ringing through the house.
"Roxas?! Hey, Roxas? You ready yet?"
Roxas froze, not sure what to do. She really couldn't deal with Sora right now.
Roxas turned around when she heard Sora jogging toward her. He rounded the corner, still shouting her name. When his gaze fell on the pair, however, he skidded to a halt, silencing himself and staring wide-eyed first at Axel standing in the doorframe, then at Roxas.
"Uh." Sora seemed to struggle with something before turning around completely and power walking in the other direction. "Ok! Roxas isn't here, Kairi! Sh-Roxas must've left without us! Roxas is defiantly not here! Let's go!"
Kairi trotted into the room just in time to catch a glimpse of Axel before she gasped. She didn't have time to do much else before Sora grasped her arm and tugged her back around.
"Nope! Roxas has left! I'm sure she-Roxas will meet us at the club! We'll see her-im, um, we'll see Roxas later!" And with that, the back door slammed shut and an awkward silence consumed the two still staring after Sora and Kairi.
Had the situation not been so nerve racking, Roxas was sure she'd find it quite hilarious. Her brother's distressed shouts and obvious attempt at not referring to Roxas as a "she" was comical at the very least. However, the seriousness of the situation stifled and laughter that may have thought to bubble up at Sora's actions. She hoped that one day she'd be able to look back on this and laugh.
Before Roxas had time to turn, they heard someone bounding down the steps. A moment later, Riku strode into the room.
"Hey, Sora! Where-" Riku froza and raised a brow at Roxas. "Roxas? I thought Sora…said…oh."
Riku's gaze shifted over Roxas's shoulder at Axel.
Roxas groaned quietly. If anyone was going to screw this up, it would be Riku. They were civil with each other, sure, but there was just enough tension between them that Roxas wouldn't be surprised if Riku spilled the beans and ruined this for her. Regardless of their common relationship with Sora, the memories of the past were difficult to ignore. Roxas couldn't help but blame Riku, and she'd suspected that her presence only further reminded Riku of his guilt. Sora and Kairi may have gotten over his betrayal, but Riku hadn't.
"Riku…" Roxas's abandoned her pride and allowed a bit of pleading to enter her voice.
Riku only smiled in response. It wasn't the sarcastic, mocking smile Roxas usually received. No, this one was small, but it was real.
"We'll meet you at the club tonight, ok, Roxas?"
Roxas was slightly taken aback but managed a tiny nod, afraid that any sudden movements would break the spell and provoke the silver-haired teen's wrath.
But Riku only turned and threw a wave over his shoulder. "Make sure to tell Namine I was nice to you!"
Roxas scowled in response, unable to stop herself from shouting, "It doesn't count if you're just doing it for brownie points!" She called after him. She faintly heard him chuckle as he walked out the back door.
She stood like that a moment, staring after Riku, her back to Axel. Roxas knew she had to tell Axel quickly. The sooner she got it over with the sooner she could deal with whatever came next.
Collecting her resolve, she turned around, mouth open, confession on her lips. But before she could speak Axel's silvery voice interrupted her.
"I feel like I'm missing something important here." He chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. A gesture Roxas has seen a thousand times before. He stopped and looked seriously at her. "You're different."
Roxas stilled. So he'd noticed, not that she shouldn't be surprised.
"Ha ha…yeah…a little, I suppose…" Roxas slumped her shoulders and stared at the floor. "Um, come on inside. We should…I need to tell you…something."
Axel nodded and stepped through the threshold allowing Roxas to shut the door behind him. She immediately backed up a few steps, determined to keep her distance from Axel until she got her confession out properly.
"Should I be nervous?"
Roxas laughed a little at this. "Uh, well, I don't know. It's really not that big a deal, but…it's kinda…important, or whatever."
Roxas did not miss the tension in the redheaded shoulders. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest. She had to do it. Now.
"Uh well," Roxas had to force herself to hold Axel's gaze. "You know we were all, like, reborn with hearts and shit?"
Axel cocked a brow and nodded slowly, clearly unsure as to where Roxas was going with this.
Roxas sighed. "Well, when I was…reincarnated or whatever, I guess God, or whoever the hell it was, thought it'd be kind of funny if I was brought back as, well…a girl."
There it was. Roxas said it. She watched as Axel's eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly at her confession. There was a moment where no one moved. Then-
"Oh my god! That's fucking hilarious!" Axel burst into a loud laughter that filled the house and brought a bright red blush to Roxas's cheeks. She only dully noticed through her embarrassment that at least Axel hadn't bolted out the door.
"What's so funny?" She said through gritted teeth. When Axel only shook his head and wrapped his arms around his stomach Roxas lifted a fist and punched Axel hard in the shoulder. "Don't laugh at me, asshole!"
"Hey!" Axel grumbled, a large grin plastered on his voice, rubbing his abused shoulder. "God, Roxas, even as a girl your punches still hurt." When Roxas only scowled Axel's grin grew slightly. "Same old Roxas. I knew something was different about you."
Roxas cocked a brow, still a little pissed off but relieved the redhead hadn't rejected her. Yet. "What, am I that obvious?"
Axel straightened, managing to lower his grin to a regular smile. "Well, you do look a little more, ah…feminine than I remember."
Roxas narrowed her baby blue eyes. "More feminine?" Her tone was calm but dangerous. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well," even Axel looked a little cautious. "You were always kinda…small and soft and whatever."
Roxas clenched her jaw, anger rising. "Soft?"
"Well, yeah, like, your skin, you know?"
Roxas pursed her lips but decided to take it as a compliment.
"Besides," Axel took a step back before continuing, "you PMSed more than Larxene, and she was crazy."
Roxas growled, and raised a fist fully prepared to beat the taller man into a coma.
"Whoa! Whoa!" Axel held his hands up in mock surrender. "I'm just kidding, you know? But, seriously," Axel looked Roxas over, "it's pretty obvious."
Roxas raised a brow but still kept up an offensive stance. "What is?"
"The whole girl thing." Axel gestured with one of his still raised hands. "Your hair's longer, though you still have the bangs and managed to make it do that," he made a movement with his hand, "flippy thing."
"It does that on its own…"
"Yeah, well." He looked studied her a moment. "It's hard to tell with the hoodie, but your shoulders aren't as wide, and those," he pointed at Roxas's waist, "are defiantly girlish hips."
Roxas scoffed, dropping her hands and crossing her arms over her chest. "You're one to talk."
Axel chuckled, dropping his hands as well, and stood akimbo. "Well, my hips don't lie…" He narrowed his eyes seductively at Roxas before adding, "got it memorized?"
Roxas rolled her eyes only barely fighting back a surge of laughter. "You and your damn catchphrase."
Axel just grinned. "You like it."
"Uh, huh. Well, so," Roxas looked at Axel intensely "you're…okay with this?"
Axel's grin fell and his face became serious. "You…being a girl?" He saw Roxas nod. "Well, it's certainly…weird."
Roxas felt her heart collapse at his words. She was being rejected, she just knew it.
"But I –"
Axel's words were cut off, much to Roxas's dismay, when the door behind Axel was thrust open, revealing a tall, familiar figure that made Roxas pale slightly and Axel's eyes widen.
Upon seeing Axel standing in the entryway, the man froze.
...
A/N: ok, lame ending. but i wasnt sure how to stop this. most of my ideas right now are dialogue heavy (as this is) and i know people dont like that.i have an idea where to take this i'm just...not sure how i'm gonna get there, but it seems this fic is gonna end up being a lot longer than the three or four chapters i originally intended. so reviews are crucial. i really appriciate them.
thanks again for reading! now...time to review! (PLEASE?)
