.o.O.o.
I own nothing! Don't sue me!
For additional disclaimers, warnings, summary, pairings, and everything else see the first chapter!
.x.X.x.
Suggested food: rocks
Suggested beverage: creek water… again.
Suggested listening: "Right Back In The Water" – Jesse McCartney
.o.O.o
Where the Hell is Magic Lake?
Chapter 07: Hypothermia Can Be A Good Thing
-o-
"So… how long until we get there?" Axel asked for what felt like the bajillionth time in the last five minutes.
"Hopefully before dark." Roxas ground out, not looking back at the other male. Things were not going as planned. They were supposed to have been at the arranged meeting spot at Magic Lake before dark, but it the sun was already setting, and they weren't there yet, nor did they have any way of telling how close they were. Roxas attributed the delay to them having to take the creek instead of the trail, which automatically slowed them down, as well as Axel's stalling that he had been doing all day before Roxas found out what the problem was. They'd had to cross a few more pools since the one where Roxas found out about Axel's issues with water, but none of them had been as deep, cutting down greatly on the amount of arguing that they had to go through before they just went through the stupid thing already.
"Uh… yeah." Axel responded, looking around. "So… in case you hadn't noticed… it's already getting dark out. Maybe we should just –"
"We're not stopping!" Roxas growled. 'It's YOUR fault we're not there yet, anyways!' he added to himself.
"Look, Roxas…" Axel tried again. "I just… I really don't think we're gonna get there before it gets dark. Maybe we should just… you know… call it a night."
"I already said we're not stopping." Roxas told him. Sora had said it took two days to get there, and damnit, he was gonna get there in two days if it killed him!
Axel sighed. "Could we at least like… take a break?"
Roxas turned to glare at him but didn't stop walking. "We already stopped and took a break a half an hour ago to eat dinner." He reminded Axel.
Heaving a sigh, Axel tried for a different angle. "Well… we shouldn't be walking around out here this late, anyways. It's getting dark, and we could not see something and trip and fall and get hurt."
"There's a full moon out, Axel." Roxas grumbled. "We'll be fine."
"Well… what about werewolves then!" Axel blurted, and Roxas turned to raise an eyebrow at him.
"Werewolves? Axel, you've got to be kidding me…"
"Werewolves come out on the full moon and we could get eaten!" Axel explained. "You were the one who was so worried about that earlier! And everyone knows nighttime is when all the wild animals that want to eat people come out! Bears, wolves, mountain lions… deer." The last one was tacked on for good measure, meant to remind Roxas of the previous night.
And it worked. "Hey, shut up!" Roxas snapped. Unfortunately for Axel, this only further served to harden Roxas's resolve, and he pushed ahead with more determination than before.
"Come oooooooooon, Roxas!" Axel whined. "We could pull over and park anytime now! We've been clear of the cliffs for a while now, and the creek bed's gotten nice and wide again… this is the perfect place to call it a night!"
"I said, no, Axel."
Roxas heard Axel sigh again, and it was obvious even he was getting tired of all the annoying pleading he was doing.
"You know, for someone who agreed to go on this camping trip, you sure do seem to hate every single second of it."
The statement caught Roxas off guard, and he slowed down, allowing Axel to catch up to him. Curious despite himself, he couldn't help but want to hear what else Axel had to say on the matter. "What do you mean?"
"I mean… are you even having fun at all?" Axel asked. "Cause it doesn't seem like it."
Roxas thought about this. Was he having fun? True, Axel annoyed the living daylights out of him, and Sora seemed to have the weirdest sense of 'fun' things to do out of everyone Roxas had ever met in his entire life, and Riku was… Riku… but at the same time it was kind of nice… Being out here in the woods away from all the stress and pressure of life in 'the real world'. Granted, this camping trip did seem to have it's own set of stress inducing problems, but for the most part… as much as he grumbled and complained about it, Roxas actually found it to be rather… not fun, exactly, but something like that.
"I guess." The blonde finally answered. "It's just… this isn't the kind of person I am. I don't do this kind of stuff."
"What do you do, then?" Axel asked. "I mean, we've been hanging out all this time, but we really don't know anything about eachother."
"That's not true." Roxas said. "I know that you're an annoying freak who has a fear of water and an interest in lame music."
Axel rolled his eyes. "And I know that you're a bitter little blonde boy who hates the world and everything in it." He responded. Letting out a frustrated sound of annoyance, but not necessarily denial, Roxas kept walking, ignoring Axel. Why did the guy have to get so 'let's get to know eachother' at random intervals? Especially at night. What was it about night that made Axel want to pry into his life?
"So what's your favourite colour?"
Roxas heaved a sigh, not wanting to answer. Hadn't they been through this already? Like, the first night? Oh right, that was right before Axel had lost what was left of his mind and started rolling all over Roxas like some freaking rolling pin. "Do I have to answer?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I asked."
"That's not a good enough reason." Roxas informed him. He really didn't want this little game to continue. The last time he'd started telling Axel stuff about himself he'd ended up admitting to some highly compromising events that transpired between him and a supposed 'enemy'. "And why do you care, anyways?"
Behind him, Axel shrugged, folding his arms behind his head and looking up at the sky, which was quickly filling with stars. "Hey, it's either nag you about yourself or ramble on about whatever comes to mind, and you don't seem to enjoy that very much."
Roxas was a little surprised that Axel was aware of that. He'd always thought that Axel just did it because he was just annoying in general, not really noticing or caring about Roxas's reaction.
The silence didn't seem to agree with Axel, and behind him, Roxas heard a distinctive "Mmm… tree/rock."
"Oh for – What the hell, Axel? That doesn't even make sense!"
"Hey, don't judge them!" Axel replied, sounding amused. "Their love is pure and true!"
"Pure and truly stupid." Roxas grumbled.
"So Roxas, did I tell you about the one time me and this guy went into the hardware store and – "
"My favourite colour is blue." Roxas suddenly cut in. Anything to save himself from having to sit through another one of Axel's pointlessly stupid stories.
"That's more like it." Axel grinned. "As long as we're going to be out here all night we might as well enjoy it, right?"
"Speak for yourself." Roxas grumbled.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
"Okay. So then. What kind of music do you like?"
"Anything that's not that crappy boy band junk you listen to." Roxas shot back, and Axel actually laughed.
"Touché."
.x.X.x.
A few hours and approximately 28,563,601,46Q2 questions later, even Axel had grown bored of his little games, reverting to 'nag Roxas to stop for the night' mode.
"Come on, Roxas, you can't seriously be considering going all night! We're both exhausted, I'm just the only one self-confident enough to admit it."
"No." Roxas corrected. "You're the only one whiny enough to keep nagging me about it, because you're just to lazy to keep going."
"That too." Axel admitted.
"Well too bad, I wanna get to stupid whatever it's called – Magic Lake – tonight, so I'm gonna keep going. If you wanna stay here and call it a night and get eaten by wild animals that's fine with me."
"Aw, Roxie, you do care!" Axel giggled, and Roxas rolled his eyes. He hated when Axel gave him cutesie nicknames, which he did on occasion, but knew better than to tell the other male that, because it would only make him use them more. Best to leave it at the occasional 'Roxie' than to let it escalate into something horrible and permanent like 'Roxie-poo-cuddle-bear-sugar-pie-sweetums.' Roxas shuddered at the thought. "And here I was thinking you didn't return my feelings of fluffy love and puppies and rainbows!"
Roxas turned around to give Axel a dirty look, but kept walking. "Okay, Axel not only is that freaking weird, it doesn't even make sense. And I told you before, I am not –"
But whatever Roxas 'was not' never got said, because at that moment he tripped over a rock, twisting his ankle and falling face first into the water.
It wasn't deep, so it was only a second later that Roxas splutteringly pushed himself up, completely soaking wet, only to hear Axel's annoying, uncontrollable laughter in the background.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! HAHA! Oh man Roxas, that was priceless! I wish I had that on film so I could watch it over and over and –"
"Shut up, Axel." Roxas grumbled, picking himself up and continuing to walk ahead so Axel wouldn't see his embarrassed blush. And wow…he really hadn't noticed how cold it was out until the night air bit into his soaking wet, freezing cold clothes. But determined to not let a little cold stop him, Roxas pushed on, followed by an amused Axel. Letting the redhead snicker to himself for a minute, Roxas irritatedly put up with it until it became obvious that it wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Quickly turning on his heel again, Roxas opened his mouth to deliver a snappy message ("Look, Axel, it wasn't that funny! Shut up already!") only to once again trip over himself and fall in the creek.
Axel went into absolute hysterics. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh man, are you doing that on purpose or something?!" He managed in between gasps for air, clutching his stomach. "Cause I mean… twice! That's … that's just… Oh man! You're killing me, Roxas!" Breaking down into another laughing fit, Axel collapsed on a nearby rock as Roxas picked himself out of the water, shaking uncontrollably.
'Great.' Roxas miserably thought to himself. 'I'm tired, I'm wet, Axel is probably going to laugh at me for another hour, and to top it all off I think my nipples are frozen.' Pathetically shaking his shoes out and wrapping his arms around his chest, Roxas shivered again. This only served to add fuel to the fire for Axel's amusement.
"For only 39 cents a day," Axel announced, trying to sound like he was doing some sort of commercial. "You can help this poor little boy get a new home, clothes, and maybe even a new haircut. Send in your support today!" Unable to handle his own joke, Axel lapsed into another fit of laughter.
"Yeah, haha, very funny, Axel." Roxas bitterly mumbled, rubbing his arms in an attempt to warm himself up. "Come on, let's keep going."
Axel stopped laughing, and gave Roxas an incredulous look, still a little out of breath. "Ro–Roxas, you can't be serious! You just fell in the freezing creek water – twice – and we've been going since like… an ungodly hour this morning! I think you need to accept it's time to pack it in for the night!"
"N-n-no!" Roxas obstinately shot back. "It – I want to get there t-tonight, and that's what we're g-g-gonna do!"
"Roxas…" Axel said, his voice taking on a serious tone. "Come on. You're gonna kill yourself if you keep pushing yourself like this."
"N-NO I'M NOT!" Roxas shouted back. "I c-can take care of myself j-just fine!"
Axel rolled his eyes. "Roxas, gimme the tent. We're calling it a night." Roxas glared at him, but didn't struggle when he reached out to take the pack, undoing the tent where it was strapped onto the side and walking off a few yards to find a level place to set it up. Roxas simply stood there, teeth chattering, as Axel fumbled with the poles, taking a good five minutes just to get them untangled. Even in his half frozen state, Roxas inwardly basked in his superior tent-setting-up skills.
Finally getting their dilapidated little tent set up and setting out the remaining bedding, Axel grabbed Roxas, shoving him in. "H-hey!" Roxas indignantly protested as he was pushed. The action caused his head to slosh and he realized with dismay that he had water in his ear. Violently jerking his head in an attempt to dislodge it, Axel sent him a funny look.
"Um… so… is this a weird Roxas thing that I didn't know about before now, or is it just the hypothermia setting in?"
"I have w-water in my ear." Roxas told him, still jerking his head, as if this was the utmost of his concerns at the moment. And to be honest, it really was. What's a little hypothermia when you have freaking water in your ear? Axel watched him for another minute before the water finally leaked out, at which Roxas gave a heavy, satisfied sigh. Ah, sweet relief.
"You good now?"
"Y-yes." Roxas replied, teeth chattering. Man, it was cold.
"Okay then." Axel said in an authoritative tone. "Strip."
"Wha-WHAT?" Roxas shouted back, wrapping his arms around himself protectively. What was this pervert up to? Was Axel trying to take advantage of the fact that Roxas was suffering from borderline hypothermia so that he could get in his pants?! Well no way, José, Roxas wasn't gonna give in that easy! "N-no way!"
Axel rolled his eyes, taking a step towards Roxas. Roxas took two steps back. Axel took three more forward. Roxas went to take a few more steps back, but found that the stretched canvas sides of the tent prevented him from doing so. Gulp.
"Roxas, come on, don't be such a girl." Axel insisted, and Roxas glared at him. There was nothing girly about not wanting to be raped, damnit!
"K-keep your hands off me, you p-pervert!" Roxas instructed.
"Pervert?" Axel echoed, confused. "What are you talking about? I'm not trying to rape you, I'm trying to get you warmed up so you don't freaking die!"
"Oh, so th-that's what they're c-calling it these days!" Roxas shot back. Oh, Axel was a tricky one, alright. Trying to act all concerned for Roxas's safety while he plotted his devious plans.
"What?" Axel asked. "Roxas, I'm not trying to pull some sort of elaborate 'surprise sex attack' on you, I'm just trying to help!"
"Oh, I'm so sure!" Roxas replied, feeling a bit light-headed. Was everything starting to get a little blurry around the edges or was it just him?
"Roxas." Axel began in an exasperated tone. "Stop being difficult. You're like… delirious right now. You've obviously overworked yourself, and you look like you're about to turn into a human popsicle."
"I… I do not!" Roxas protested, wavering a little on his feet. "I'm p-perfectly fine! Y-you're the one who… the one who's t-trying to…t-to…"
Losing his balance, Roxas started to tip over, closing his eyes and bracing himself for impact with the ground, but it never came. Instead, he felt someone's arms wrap around him, holding him up, and when he blinked his eyes open it was to see Axel smiling down on him, one corner of his lips quirked up in a companionable smirk. "You really are stubborn, aren't you?" he asked.
"N-no I'm not." Roxas retorted, but he could feel what little fight and resistance he had in him leaving. 'NO! No, come back!' his brain protested. 'I need you!'. "I just… I j-just… Axel, I don't feel very good."
Axel shook his head in amusement. "Gee, go figure. Now can you please not freak out while I get you out of these clothes?"
Against his better judgment Roxas found himself nodding as Axel pulled him up, grabbing the hem of his shirt and lifting it up and over his head. Feeling a bit trapped and panicky for a second, Roxas struggled, but as soon as it was off he felt a little bit better. That was, until he looked down to see Axel's hands fumbling with his pants.
"Stop that!" he snapped, swatting away the offending hands as a blush rose to his cheeks. "I can d-do that."
"Alright." Axel said in a voice that conveyed that he obviously didn't believe the blonde, stepping back and watching Roxas attempt to undo his own pants. Making frustrated little noises as he attempted to undo his belt, button, and zipper with his shaking hands, Roxas made little progress and after a minute or so growled in irritation, letting his hands fall to his sides. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed help. But he'd be damned if he was just going to ask if Axel would pretty please take his pants off for him. Thankfully Axel wasn't as stupid as Roxas sometimes thought he was.
"Need some help?" Axel offered. Roxas nodded, unable to bring himself to verbally admit it, causing Axel to chuckle as he moved to help. 'Ew, freaky.' Roxas's brain noted. Axel was chuckling as he took off Roxas's pants. Gross.
Carefully sliding Roxas's pants down to pool around his ankles, Axel helped the blonde keep his balance as he stepped out of them. Eyeing Axel warily, Roxas made sure to make his limits known as Axel eyed his last remaining article of clothing. "I'm not letting you take off my boxers."
"I figured as much." Axel sniggered, pulling Roxas down to the sleeping bag and blankets.
"Hey, I need my pajamas." Roxas weakly protested.
"No you don't." Axel said. "You'll be much warmer without them." Roxas mumbled a vague reply to this, but it was mostly unintelligible. "Come on." Axel insisted, pulling up the covers. "Get in."
Only when Roxas felt Axel sliding in beside him after taking off his own pants and shirt did his defensive tendencies kick back into gear. "A-Axel! G-Get out of here!" He shouted, a blush of embarrassment rising to his cheeks. "We're not sh-sharing a sleeping bag!"
"Roxas, shut up already." Axel quipped, pulling the covers up around them as Roxas attempted to squirm away. Stopping him with an arm thrown over his waist, dragging the smaller boy back to him, Axel pulled Roxas flush up against him. "You have to keep warm. And besides, I don't have a sleeping bag anymore, remember? We have to share. Get over it."
Roxas shifted uncomfortably, trying to put even a fraction of an inch between him and Axel, but to no avail. Realizing that he'd just have to suck up his pride and deal with this for the night he eventually lay still, but the tension never left his body, keeping on full alert in case Axel tried anything… untoward.
"Feeling any better?" Axel asked quietly, breath ruffling Roxas's hair, causing the blonde to suppress a shiver. His back was pulled right up against Axel's bare chest, the steady rise and fall as the redhead breathed oddly comforting to Roxas. Not that he'd ever in a million years admit to it.
"Um… y-yeah." Roxas reluctantly replied. He really was starting to feel better. Curse Axel and his random and unexpected nurturing abilities. He was warm and getting dry… and really, really comfortable. Aside from this same insane redhead who had fallen asleep on him in the car, Roxas couldn't remember the last time he had actually slept next to someone… possibly Sora back when they used to have sleepovers when they were both little kids. He'd forgotten how nice it was.
Axel sighed, moving his arm up around Roxas's chest to more firmly tuck the blonde against him as he nuzzled Roxas's hair, breathing in deeply. Roxas stiffened. Maybe it was just the fuzzy haze that had been engulfing his mind for a while now but…was he being… cuddled? Because it sure seemed like it. Axel's fingers brushed up against his bare shin and Roxas felt another shudder go through him. Well this was certainly embarrassing.
"Are you still cold?" Axel asked, sounding a little concerned.
"Y…yeah." Roxas stuttered. Right. Cold. He was cold. Nothing else… just… cold.
"Here…" Axel said, shifting and turning Roxas around. Roxas's foggy brain immediately went into overdrive. What was Axel doing?!
Feeling himself being gently pulled back against Axel, Roxas was quite embarrassed to find himself being drawn half on top of him, their torso's aligned and their legs tangling. Roxas was extremely grateful that it was dark, because he could feel his blush exploding over his face.
"Is this better?" Axel practically whispered the words, and Roxas could only nod in response, hiding his face in Axel's chest, even though he knew Axel couldn't see him. Stiffening slightly as Axel began tentatively running his fingers though Roxas's hair, Roxas sighed, allowing it. Axel was just trying to help, right? Because he thought Roxas was sick and cold? Hesitantly moving his arms to lay them across Axel's chest, Roxas tucked his face into the crook of Axel's neck, nuzzling.
'This is actually… kind of nice…' he thought as he finally drifted off to sleep, at last realizing how tired he really was after such a long and trying day.
.o.O.o.
D'aw! Fluffy cuddliness overload! Sick!Roxas and Nurturing!Axel is the cutest thing ever, as far as I'm concerned.
ANYWHOOZLES, notice the speedy rapidity of my updatingness! It is because I have been a writing MACHINE lately, and am so inspired to get this all finished up and posted. This story is my baby, and the fact that I'm starting to get consistent reviewers who I love and who never fail to make my life makes me all sqiggly and happy inside and makes me want to crank this thing out for them.
…also, I went back and spiffed up the header type thing I put at the beginning chapter, and slightly tweaked some of the author notes. Not that anyone really cares or reads those anyways, I'm just saying. XD