.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: sandwich
Suggested beverage: freezing cold water
Suggested listening: "All By Myself" – Eric Carmen
.o.O.o.
Where the Hell is Magic Lake?
Chapter 11: A Kiss From The Odd Man Out
-o-
Why did mornings at this place always have to be so bright and cheerful when all Roxas wanted to be was sullen and irate?
This was the first thought that entered the blonde's mind upon waking – that everything was too damn bright and happy. The world was a freaking beautiful, wonderful place, alright. And yet somehow Roxas couldn't suppress the desire to climb the tree right outside his tent and personally strangle every single happy little twittering bird that resided in it's branches.
Groaning as he rolled over, Roxas experienced the slightly disgusting feeling of waking up in the same clothes that were worn the previous day. Eyuck. Feeling exceptionally uncomfortable and gross, Roxas made quick work of stripping off his wrinkled t-shirt and pants in exchange for his swimtrunks that were laying in the corner. Pulling them on and grabbing a towel on his way out with the intention of quietly sneaking past whatever Sora and Riku were doing and taking a quick dip in the lake, Roxas peeked his head out of the tent and looked around. Finding neither one of his camp-mates in sight, Roxas slipped out of the tent and headed down to the water.
It was then that he discovered that it was actually a lot earlier than he had initially thought it was. Apparently this particular morning had decided to dawn brighter than usual, but the lingering cold from the previous night was still lingering around in full force. Grimacing at the prospect of immersing himself in what was most likely to be a freezing cold lake, Roxas sealed his resolve with the argument that it was the closest to a shower as he was going to get, so he might as well just take it like a man and get it over as fast as possible.
However, when hitting freezing cold lake water after a stupidly brave flying leap, facing it like a man can sometimes be the furthest thing from one's mind, let alone one's control.
Screaming like a little girl being attacked by rabid bunnies, Roxas floundered back to shore, cursing whatever freaking idiot had originally come up with the concept of 'getting it all over with at once'. Because whatever anyone might say, no one was ever again going to be able to convince Roxas that the concept was applicable to getting into a freezing cold lake first thing in the morning.
Roxas barely registered Sora popping his head out of his tent flap to see what on earth was going on as the blonde skittered back to his own tent, wrapping his towel around himself and diving back into the warmth of his bedding. Nothing like a cold shower (or a break-of-dawn dip in the lake, for that matter) to wake a guy up in the morning.
A few minutes later when Roxas finally regained some of the feeling in his body, he dared to peek out from under the covers and rummage through his bag for clothes. Pulling out a pair of pants and the most depressing shirt he owned (a tight black t-shirt with the word 'nobody' written across the chest in grungy, fading lettering), Roxas pulled them on, along with his socks and shoes, before once again exiting the tent. This time Sora and Riku were out there, Riku setting up a pan of water over the fire to make oatmeal with, and Sora sitting happily nearby, sipping hot chocolate.
"Good morning Roxas!" He greeted, much like he did every morning – as if he hadn't seen the other for at least a month. "What were you doing up so early? Me and Riku were about to get up when we heard you screaming."
Roxas muttered a vague response to this, getting the main point of wanting to take a shower across, and set himself down by the fire, propping his chin up on his hands as he rested his elbows on his legs. Sora cast a nervous glance to Riku before turning his attention back to Roxas. Usually Roxas was snappy and rude in the mornings… or…well… all the time, actually, but that wasn't the point. The point was that currently Roxas was just being kind of out of it, and it was weird.
"So… how were you last night? I mean, without Axel in your tent and everythi –"
Roxas sent Sora a glare, effectively silencing the brunette, who tugged nervously at his sleep-mussed hair. Actually, it didn't really look too different from his regular hair, maybe just the tiniest bit fluffier, but Roxas digressed. He really didn't want to be thinking about that stupid, jerky redhead this early in the morning, especially after last night and yesterday afternoon in town.
"Roxas, do you want some breakfast?" Riku asked, holding out a bowl of oatmeal. The blonde pushed it away.
"I'm not hungry."
"Oh come on, Roxas, you gotta eat!" Sora whined. "I'm sure Axel will be back soon, but in the meantime –"
"Who said this was about that no-good, annoying traitor?" Roxas snapped.
"Roxas, he didn't really… betray you." Riku argued, rather reasonably, which kind of irritated Roxas. He hated when he knew he was being unreasonable and someone pointed that out to him. "He just wanted to hang out with his other friends for a bit. He said he'd be back."
"Yeah, well… who said I wanted him back?" Roxas grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. Okay, now he was just being pouty. This was getting ridiculous. Good thing it had NOTHING TO DO WITH AXEL, because that would certainly be weird. Riku sighed and went back to his breakfast.
Roxas continued to sit there as Sora started up a conversation with Riku, chatting about whatever flitted into his mind. Riku didn't seem to mind though, and in fact looked like he was actually enjoying the conversation, as silly as it might be. Roxas found himself unable to help but listen in, slightly envious of how close the two were, and how easily they got along and did things together. It made him feel a bit third wheel in their presence. Even though they weren't doing it on purpose or anything, Roxas still couldn't help but feel like the odd man out.
Standing up to go take a walk and leave Sora and Riku to their little 'friendship bonding time' or whatever, Roxas had just turned to leave when an enormous crashing came from the bushes and he whipped around just in time to see a fiery patch of red hair go crashing into the underbrush.
"I'm okay!" A voice called out, and for some reason it felt to Roxas as though it had been a long time since that voice had been around… to get on his nerves, that is.
"AXEL!" Sora called out, grinning happily as he ran over to welcome the redhead back. Roxas scoffed – he certainly wasn't going to be welcoming that jerk back with such open arms.
"Hey guys!" Axel called out, disentangling himself from the bush he had fallen into. "What's up?"
"Nothing, really!" Sora supplied. "We were just eating breakfast and stuff! Hey guess what? Earlier this morning…"
Uh oh. Roxas already didn't like where this was going.
"…Riku and I were just about to get up and start the fire and stuff when we heard this scream, and I looked out the tent and I saw Roxas running back to your guys's tent all soaking wet! He was the first one up today, and he even went in the lake!"
"Oh man, I really missed out, didn't I? Did hell freeze over without me noticing or something?" Axel laughed.
Sora burst into laughter at this as well, and even Riku snickered a little. Roxas just glared.
"Ha ha ha. Very funny." He eventually put in, rolling his eyes. "Bet your friends just can't contain themselves around you."
Axel looked a little confused at this, and tilted his head to one side, scrutinizing Roxas and trying to decipher the comment and it's relevance to the situation. "Uh… I guess…?"
"Oh, don't mind him." Sora said, waving a hand dismissively before leaning in and stage whispering. "I think Roxas was just a little l-o-n… l-o-n-l… L-O-N-E-L-Y last night. He missed you."
"I WAS NOT!" Roxas burst, cheeks colouring. "And no I didn't! Stop making stuff up!"
Grinning apologetically, Sora scampered back to the fire and sat down by Riku. Oh, he was so gonna get it later.
"Aw, really? Little Roxie missed me?" Axel cooed, clasping his hands and lifting them to one side of his face while making cutsey faces at the blonde.
"No I didn't." Roxas insisted, looking down at his feet to hide his blush. Wy was he even doing that?! Stupid blood always picking the worst places to go at the worst possible times!
"Aw! Yes you did!" Axel burst, bounding forward and enveloping Roxas into an all-consuming hug. "I feel so loved!"
"What!? God, Axel, get off me! I didn't miss you!" Roxas spluttered, trying to bring his arms up and push at Axel's chest.
"Yes you did!" Axel maintained, nuzzling his face into Roxas's hair.
"NO I DID NOT! GRAH!" Roxas exclaimed, squirming for all he was worth and finally breaking free, moving away to a safe distance and panting from the exertion.
"Well that's too bad." Axel teased. "Because I was just stopping by to see if you wanted to come back with me and hang out, but if you didn't miss me last night, then I guess you're not invited."
Roxas narrowed his eyes at Axel, who was grinning like he was about to win something and he knew it, before turning to look back at Sora, who was practically in Riku's lap, chattering like an idiot, having gotten bored with watching Roxas and Axel's little display of bickering.
Hmm… what would be worse? Having to endure Axel and his friends, or having to sit around here again all day with Sora and Riku, whose most exciting planned activities probably included making daisy chains or something.
Axel…
…or Sora and Riku?
Civilization…
…or sitting around in the middle of the woods again all day, bored out of his mind?
Hmmm…
Decisions, decisions.
"Yeah, okay fine, I'll go with you." Roxas eventually grumbled, walking over to Axel but refusing to look up at him.
"That's a good boy." Axel chuckled, patting Roxas on the head before his hand was swatted away. "Anyone else want to come?"
"No thanks!" Sora chirruped. "Me and Riku were gonna do some stuff here today – we might go into town later though, or tomorrow or something! But you guys have fun!"
"Yeah. Fun." Roxas grumbled. Oh yes, he was certain that there was just oodles and oodles of fun in store for him in the immediate future. Except not.
The whole hike to town was, of course, filled with Axel's endless babbling, and Roxas's sarcastic replies, if he decided to give any at all. But for some reason… the blonde couldn't help but almost-smile when Axel wasn't looking. Not that he would ever, under pain of death, admit it, but…
…he had missed this.
.o.X.o.
"Hey guys!" Axel shouted out, the moment he entered the door of the cabin (having kicked in the door, B&E style), Roxas trailing uncertainly after him. Roxas had never been very good in social situations, especially with people he didn't know. He was starting to wonder if this had been such a good idea after all…
"Axel!" A chorus of voices answered, no one actually getting up to meet him at the door.
"Hey, who did you bring with you?" the dirty blonde that Roxas recognized from yesterday called out.
"Guys, this is Roxas!" Axel introduced, beaming and puffing his chest out as if he were presenting a prize-winning showdog or a special new toy. "He's gonna hang out with us today so Sora and Riku can have some aloooone time." Axel accompanied this comment with a wink, and everyone laughed.
"Nice to meet you, Roxas." Demyx said politely as Axel led Roxas to the large couch everyone was sitting around. Roxas wanted to point out that technically they had met before, but Axel was too busy being a jerk at the time to properly introduce them then, but refrained. "Wanna play?" Roxas took the time to look at what Demyx was pointing at, and saw that a video game that seemed to mostly involve blowing things up was being played, the controllers held by the emo kid from yesterday and some blonde, seemingly antennae'd, girl he didn't recognize. "After Zexion and Larxene finish beating this level we were gonna switch off."
"Um, thanks, but no." Roxas answered. Not that he wasn't confident in his video gaming skillz, he just didn't really know anyone yet and was therefore hesitant to do anything that might put him in the spotlight.
"Okay then, in that case me and Marly have got the next round!"
"What!?" Axel responded, sounding like he had just been cheated out of something he wanted. "No fair!"
"Quit whining, Axel" The blonde girl told him from her position on the floor in front of the couch, not looking away from the screen. "You weren't here to claim the next round, so Dem and Marly beat you to it. Get over it."
Wondering who this Marly was, Roxas looked around to see who they kept referring to. The name sounded like it belonged to a pet of some kind, but Roxas spotted someone at the far end of the couch that had yet to be introduced, so he assumed that was the person the name belonged to. Although… whether this person was a guy or a girl was beyond him. They had shoulder length layered hair that was the faded pinkish-red/brown colour of dried roses, and some sort of flowery design embroidered on the front of their shirt, both of which led him to the conclusion that the person was female…but in looking at the flowery design on the chest, Roxas couldn't help but notice that the chest was rather… lacking in the female chest accessories department.
"Figured it out yet?"
Roxas jumped, startled by the sudden question being posed so close to his ear – he hadn't even noticed Axel sneaking up on him. Although by now he really should have been expecting this kind of thing.
"What are you talking about?" he snapped back, turning to face Axel, who was only a couple inches away from his face, as always, grinning like he had a secret and was just waiting to spill it to Roxas.
"Oh come on, you've been staring at Marluxia for the past couple minutes, you're obviously trying to figure out if he's a guy or a girl." Axel replied, sounding smug.
"He?" Roxas echoed, turning away from Axel for a second to look back to Marluxia and check. "So… Marluxia is a guy then?"
"Yup!" Axel laughed, straightening up and folding his arms behind his head in a relaxed manner. "He's just girly."
"Hey! I heard that!" An indignant voice called out, and Roxas looked over to see Marluxia regarding them with a pouty scowl.
"Yeah, well, it's true." Axel replied, waving it off as he pushed Roxas back and into a sitting position. "Now come on Roxie, set your cute little butt down on the couch."
Roxas awkwardly stayed put on the couch, Axel settling down beside him, but his physical inclusion didn't seem to stretch anywhere past that. True, he was sitting there with everyone as they talked and laughed and played their games… but he didn't really feel… included. It was a rather awkward feeling, being alone within a group, and for the second time that day found himself as the odd man out. Except this morning with Sora and Riku he had at least known the people he was playing third wheel to, here he was just with Axel and a bunch of other random people he didn't know or particularly care too much about.
Shifting uneasily as the attention in the room turned to Demyx, Roxas tried to follow along as he launched into some kind of a story.
"Okay, okay so!" the excited male started, waving his hands enthusiastically. "Just a couple days ago… I was standing… like… on the ground…"
No really? Roxas's brain sarcastically remarked. This is shaping up to be the greatest story ever told, alright! With a beginning like that…
"And… and so, I was just out in the trees, right?"
"And they were growing out of the ground?" Roxas questioned, rolling his eyes. Axel elbowed him, hard. "Ow! Sorry! I was just asking!"
"Uh… yeah." Demyx said, seemingly thrown a little off track by Roxas's interruption. "Anyways! So I was just out there in the woods, right? And so all of a sudden I hear this noise! So like… I turned to see what it was, and…"
By this point Roxas wasn't even listening anymore. Demyx seemed to get tremendously fragmented and redundant when he was excited, and Roxas found it exceptionally annoying. He sat there while Demyx continued for a while longer, but when it became clear that everyone was thoroughly engrossed in what he was saying and it wasn't going to be over anytime soon he stood up quietly and left, shutting the door behind him on his way out with as little noise as possible. Not that they probably would have cared or noticed even if he'd left with a bang.
"Roxas?"
The blonde turned, looking back as he descended the steps to see Axel standing on the porch, watching after him with a confused expression. "What?"
"Where are you going?"
"Does it matter?" Roxas shot back, fighting down that same feeling of… NOT hurt that was constricting his chest.
"Well yeah!" Axel replied, looking confused. "You just got up and left in the middle of Dem's story! Where are you going?"
It almost sounded like he cared. For a second Roxas actually almost convinced himself that Axel really did care, and that he could go back in there and hang out and have a good time. Almost. But he knew it wouldn't actually work out that way – Axel was annoying and a pain and even though it was sometimes okay to be around that when it was being directed at him, Roxas didn't like being around it when it wasn't. Yes, he was an attention whore, but at least he admitted to it.
"It doesn't matter." He eventually replied, looking away. "Just… back to camp or something. Whatever. Just go back and hang out with your friends."
"But Roxas –"
"Whatever, Axel, I'm leaving."
"Roxas!"
But the blonde wasn't going to stick around to hear Axel out; he was tired of listening to the redhead's excuses. So, finishing his decent of the stairs, Roxas made his way back down the street and to the little trail that led back to camp. However, halfway there he paused, realizing that waiting back at that camp was Sora and Riku, probably being all cuddly and lame and stupid and Sora/Riku-y for all Roxas knew. Damn it! It was then, in a sudden burst of realization, that Roxas realized why he was so upset at Axel for running off on him… When he was alone with Sora and Riku he was…
Envious.
He was envious of what they had, but when Axel was around, he was so preoccupied with dealing with how annoyed he was by Axel that he didn't notice. With Axel gone all he had to do all day was hang around with them and be taunted by what he didn't have, and what he hated to admit he actually kind of wanted.
…Well this certainly sucked.
Eventually deciding to follow the tail most of the way back to camp so as to not get lost, Roxas left it as soon as he caught sight of the lake, wandering off in the opposite direction of where they had all of their tents and stuff put together. Vaguely he heard Sora's squealing and a splash as Riku threw him into the water, but Roxas didn't want to be involved. No, he'd much rather go off on his own and sulk somewhere.
Of course this eventually got quite frustrating, because there's really only so much sulking a little blonde boy can do in the middle of the woods by a lake on a bright summer day. It's just not the right environment for sulking, unfortunately. So eventually Roxas was forced to wander back into camp, not only because he couldn't sulk properly, but because he was also exceptionally hungry. Not eating can do that sometimes.
In the middle of fixing himself a sandwich, he was suddenly bombarded from behind and found himself enveloped in an enthusiastic and very wet bear hug, just barely managing to save his sandwich from being dropped from the impact.
"ROXAS!" Sora squealed. "You're back!"
"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Roxas grumbled back, resuming the task of spreading some peanut butter onto a slice of bread.
"How were Axel's friends?"
All Roxas offered in return was a scoff before he slapped his two pieces of bread-with-spread together and took a large angry bite out of his sandwich.
"Oh… okay then." Sora said, backing up, his theoretical ears flattening out and his imaginary tail going between his legs. It wasn't clear whether Roxas was imagining that sandwich as him or Axel, but the brunette wanted no part of the insinuated violence. Scampering off, Roxas was left alone once again, and he headed back to his tent, flopping down on the bedding and closing his eyes while letting out a heavy sigh.
.x.X.x.
When Roxas woke up he was disoriented for a moment, because the last time he checked, he could see. Blinking a few times and letting his eyes adjust he realized that it was pitch dark out, and there were no lights on in the tent. Just how late was it? He couldn't even hear Sora and Riku talking by the fire. In fact, he was currently immersed in perfect sleeping conditions, despite the fact that he had just woken up in his day clothes – again.
Quickly remedying the situation by stripping down to his boxers and climbing under the covers, Roxas was just pondering over what had woken him in the first place when he heard a snapping and crackling of branches right outside his tent. Immediately the blonde froze, terror gripping him in a suffocating grasp, cackling evily as Roxas began to hyperventilate.
Another crash, louder this time, and closer.
"H – hello?" Roxas dared to gasp, voice barely above a whisper. "Who's there?"
A sickening crunch was his only reply, and Roxas impulsively reached out and grabbed the closest thing to him – a rather lumpy pillow – and clutched it threateningly. "I'm w-warning you!" He whispered. "I'm armed!"
Yeah right. His brain mocked. What are you gonna do, pillow fight them to death?
"Shut up, brain!" Roxas whispered venomously, just as another crash came from outside, this one sounding rather like bushes getting into a violent fight with eachother.
"Shit, ow!"
Wait a minute… bushes didn't talk. At least not the last time Roxas had checked, they didn't. Not that he did random bush speaking-ability checks or anything, but that wasn't the point. And besides, he was pretty sure he recognized that voice.
Pausing for a second to think it over and come to a decision about what to do, he found himself calling out in a loud stage whisper "Axel? Is that you?"
"Roxas?" The voice answered. "Hey, keep talking, I can't find our tent."
"What the hell are you doing?" Roxas hissed. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" Not that Roxas knew or anything, it just seemed like the appropriately cliché thing to say.
"No." Axel replied, shuffling over to the tent on the wrong side from the sounds of things. "Why, do you?"
"…no." Roxas admitted. "But it's really late! What the hell are you doing wandering around in the dark in the middle of the night? Where's your flashlight?"
"Dropped it." Axel answered, circling the tent in an attempt to find the front so that he could unzip the door and get in.
"So then why aren't you staying with your friends?" Roxas shot back, spitting out the last word in a rather nasty manner. "I'm sure they have lights in their fancy cabin."
"True…" Axel replied, sounding distracted as he fumbled with the zipper, eventually managing to get it open and fall face first into the tent, ending up sprawled across Roxas's legs. "But I missed ya!"
Roxas huffed at this disbelievingly, kicking Axel off of him and facing away, deciding that this conversation was over. Axel, however, seemed to have other plans.
"Hey, come on, didn't you miss me too?"
"No." Roxas replied, burying his face in the pillow. "Why would I miss you? I hate you. Shut up and go to sleep."
"Aw, Roxie, don't be like that…" Axel said, the words getting a bit mixed up as he struggled with pulling his shirt up and over his head, following that up with his pants. "You know you did."
"No I didn't." Roxas stubbornly insisted. "Why would I?"
"Because you liiiiike me." Axel informed him in a sing-song voice, and Roxas could sense that smirk in the darkness, even if he couldn't see it.
"No I don't." Roxas shot back, pulling the covers up around him more securely.
Axel didn't respond right away, and Roxas hoped he was feeling hurt. Because gosh darnit, he deserved it, after everything he had put Roxas through. However it seemed that it would take more than being told he wasn't liked to completely crush Axel's persistently annoying nature, as evidenced by his next question.
"Come on, Rox, what's up?"
"Stop calling me all those weird nicknames – it's not cute, it's annoying."
"Fine then, Roxas." Axel started over, placing emphasis on the blonde's full, given name. "What's up? You've been acting really weird all day."
"No I haven't."
"Yes you have, yes you have, yes you have!" Axel happily chanted, diving under Roxas's blankets and grabbing the blonde around the middle and proceeding to attempt to tickle the living daylights out of him. With a yelp Roxas shot out, lashing out at Axel with whatever limbs he could disentangle enough to smack out with.
"Grah! AXEL! Cut it out!" He shouted out, trying to keep his voice down and not disturb the occupants of the other tent. "I'm not ticklish, what you're doing is just freaking weird!"
"What? I don't believe you!" Axel exclaimed, obviously having no volume control qualms of his own. "Everyone's ticklish!" With that he determinedly returned his hands to Roxas's sides, attacking them with renewed fervor to prove him point.
Roxas crossed his hands over his chest, squirming at the weird feeling of Axel's wandering fingers, but refusing to laugh or otherwise react in a ticklish manner. "You see? Not ticklish. So stop touching me and leave me alone." Rolling over again, Roxas tried to pull the covers back over him, but this time Axel came with them, settling himself on top of Roxas and resting his head in his hands, elbows resting on either side of Roxas's shoulders.
"AXEL! GET OFF ME!" Roxas burst, colour rising to his cheeks, a brilliant flush that he was sure Axel could feel the heat radiating from.
"No." Axel stubbornly answered, refusing to comply. "Not until you spill the beans about what's up."
That was the last straw. Roxas could only be pushed so far before he snapped, irritated so much before he lost it, and Axel had just successfully crossed his lines. Congratulations, Roxas would have to remember to give him a fucking trophy.
"Fine!" Roxas snapped. "You wanna know why I'm acting weird? It's because you ditched me for those other friends, okay? I don't like it! You annoy me and piss me off like no one else, but I kinda like the attention, okay? And while you were gone I had to deal with Sora and Riku being all fucking cuddly and friendly and it just made me incredibly jealous because I don't have that kind of a relationship with anyone but I kind of want one! And when I'd try to go off to sulk it was just too damn nice out, and all I could think about was you and I don't know why because I shouldn't care but I do anyways, alright? So there you go, I spilled my guts, you happy now?"
For a moment the only sounds in the tent were those of Roxas panting from saying so much all at once, and he was pretty sure his beating heart was audible as well from how loud it sounded in his own ears. But then Axel spoke, and the near silence was broken.
"You really mean that?"
Roxas averted his gaze, even though their faces were so close they were almost touching and they couldn't really see much in the dark anyways. At least Axel was taking him seriously, though. He wasn't sure how he would have reacted if Axel had decided to be an insensitive spaz-case and made a joke of his confessions. "Yeah, I meant it." He mumbled.
Again, it took Axel a moment to process this, but eventually he did work up a response. "HaHA!" he burst triumphantly. "I knew it! You do like me!"
So much for not being an insensitive spaz-case. "Yeah, whatever, I kinda like you or something. Now get off me so I can –"
"Roxas liiiiiikes me…"
"Axel, shut up."
"He wants to kiiiiiiss me…"
"No I do not! Stop singing!"
"He wants to loooooove me!"
"GRAH! AXEL!" Roxas was quite surprised that Sora and Riku weren't awake by now from the noise level their tent had reached. Even though the other two had their own tent pitched a good distance away, Roxas and Axel were still being pretty loud in the middle of the night.
"Aw, come on Roxie, you know it's true!" Axel chuckled, waggling an eyebrow suggestively.
"No it's not!" Roxas shot back, embarrassed. " I don't want to do any of those things, so just shut up and get off me. And I thought I told you to stop calling me those stupid cutsey nicknames!"
"Well I don't think I want to." Axel brattily replied, and Roxas was surprised that the redhead didn't go so far as to stick his tongue out to accompany the immature remark. Or maybe he did, but Roxas just couldn't see it in the all-comsuming darkness. "I think I'm going to stay right where I am and call you all the cutesy pet names I want." Here Axel paused for a second to shift slightly, adjusting himself into a more comfortable position on top of Roxas, who had for some reason not resorted to forcibly pushing him off. Yet. "So Roxie-foxie baby bunker boo, wanna tell me about how much you luuuurve me some more!"
"No!" Roxas spat, wiggling a little.
"Aw, that's too bad, because I really like you!" Axel teased. "My little Rox in socks with a box of – "
With a frustrated growl Roxas surged forward, grabbing the back of Axel's head and pulling him down into a near violent kiss. If Axel was shocked he didn't show it for more than a second, because not a moment after their lips touched he was pressing himself against Roxas, quickly taking control of the kiss and running his tongue along Roxas's bottom lip as he slipped his hands up into the blonde's messy hair, giving an encouraging tug. Roxas gasped in surprise, giving Axel all the opportunity he needed to slip his tongue into the blonde's awaiting mouth.
Roxas let out a confused whimper, but didn't make to move away. Quite frankly, he wasn't quite sure what had just happened and was still stuck in slight shock. One minute he had been pissed as hell, snapping at Axel to shut up, and the next he had been initiating a game of tonsil hockey? What the heck kind of sequence of events was that? Right on cue, Axel's tongue did a sweep of Roxas's mouth before gently rubbing against the blonde's own. Moving the hand that wasn't still at the back of Axel's neck up to grab at the taller teen's shoulder, he clutched desperately, trying to hold on and grasp the situation at hand, both mentally and physically.
As Axel shifted again, pressing the rest of the length of his body flush against the blonde – effectively pinning the smaller male and conveying his intentions all at once – Roxas realized he had done a very stupid thing. He had yet again acted impulsively to get out of one situation, and landed himself in a much more compromising one as a result. Really, now that he thought about it (as coherent as his thoughts could be with Axel trying to slip a knee in between Roxas's legs the way he was) he could have shut Axel up with a million different ways, or at least body parts. He could have slapped him, or kicked him, or smothered him with a pillow… heck, he could have employed the use of a spoon somehow and ended up in a less awkward situation than this! But of all the ways and body parts to choose from, he had chosen his mouth!
Axel let out a low growl, tugging at Roxas's bottom lip in a rather predatory manner. Gasping, Roxas pulled his hands back, pressing against Axel's chest in an attempt to push him back. It looked like he'd unleashed a dam, and if he didn't do something about it soon he was going to get in over his head. Way over his head, if Axel was allowed to continue at the rate he was currently going.
"Axel..." Roxas attempted, turning his head to the side. The fiery haired teen was undeterred, however, and simply moved his mouth to the exposed column of Roxas's throat, biting gently before running his tongue soothingly over the very same area. "Nnn… Axel, hold on! Stop for a minute!"
"What?" Axel breathed, nipping at the dip in Roxas's throat.
"Axel…" Roxas tried again, panting. "H-hold on, okay? I… I, uh…" Roxas train of thoughts went off track and nearly derailed as Axel bit down on a particularly sensitive nap of flesh, sucking on it and most likely leaving a mark.
"A-AXEL!" Roxas shouted, a combination of a result of the sensation and his desperation to get through to the older male. With a sigh Axel released the skin of Roxas's neck with a sloppy, wet sound, moving back up to look him in the eye through the darkness.
"What?"
"I… I, uh…" Roxas stuttered, wondering where his usual collected and sarcastic exterior had fled to. "Um… isn't this a little sudden?"
"You started it." Axel replied in a low voice, nuzzling his nose into Roxas's soft hair near his ear. Roxas would have rolled his eyes at the childish remark if he had been in his right state of mind.
"Yeah, but… um… I didn't really mean it…" he explained.
"What?" This time there was hurt in Axel's voice, and he drew back, trying to search Roxas's face for signs of what he meant by that.
"No, I didn't mean it like that!" Roxas quickly replied, setting Axel at ease. "I just… um… this is really… sudden. I hadn't really thought about it or anything."
"Oh…" Axel replied. "I see..."
"Not that I didn't like it!" Roxas babbled, realizing he just kept saying the wrong things and he should probably just shut up before he screwed things up even more. "Just… I dunno!" Flustered, he pushed out from under Axel, turning away and mumbling incoherently to himself, convinced that his blush was pretty much permanent by this point. For a minute or two neither of them said anything more, but then Axel gave a slight 'hm' which Roxas didn't quite know how to take until a pair of arms was wrapping around him and pulling him close. Sighing, Roxas allowed it and settled his head where Axel had tucked it into the crook of his neck. Tentatively he snaked his arm around Axel's chest, burying his head into the taller teen's shoulder in embarrassment. Axel hummed in contentment.
"Night Roxie."
Roxas made a small, noncommittal noise in response and scooted a little closer. He didn't know what the hell he had just gotten himself into… but for the moment he had to admit that he kind of enjoyed it.
.o.O.o.
YAY! Finally we get to the Axel/Roxas lovie stuff! X3 Oh Roxas, you emo little boy, you – we all knew you wouldn't be able to hold out forever!
So anyways! Hi again! How did you like the chapter? Haha, it's taken a while to get to this point but look! LOOK! Roxas finally caved! Sorta… XD Only one or two more chapters to go after this, but for now I hope everyone is pleased with the update! Um, have a nice day or something!