Red Light District
Chapter 3 - Substitute
I can't believe how popular this is! I love you all so very much!
"What would you do," Axel stormed as he slammed the door to Roxas' room shut after being escorted inside, causing the blonde to jump and cringe. "If you had a client that was enraged, just like I am now. How would you react?"
Roxas cringed once more at the hiss of words that spewed from the angry redhead. He barely had time to wonder what was wrong before the frustrated teen drew closer to him, appearing to be about ready to cuff the side of his head before stopping his quivering fist just a hair away from making contact with the blonde. "That's not the right answer," he mumbled, slowly gaining his composure once more. As he sat beside Roxas on the soft bed, he clenched his fists tighter before letting them loose and throwing himself back to stare at the ceiling.
"A-Axel?"
Roxas almost slapped himself. He had forgotten his fake voice, his manners, his charade! He had forgotten he wasn't Roxas around his best friend.
The blonde was in shock when Axel didn't respond to his name.
Taking the elder boy's disconnection to his advantage, Roxas composed himself before leaning down and wiping away a stray strand of that fiery hair, flicking it out of those perfect emeralds. The smaller boy shifted so that he was looking into those precious gems so that the redhead would take him seriously. "Axel, whatever is wrong, you can tell me. You can take it out on me. I'm here for you to do that. I'm here to take your pain away."
"Roxas, get rid of that god damn fake voice." Axel startled the boy when he sat bolt upright, still shaking slightly in his anger. "Tell me, Roxas. Are you my Rox-as? Do you still go to school? Do you hang out with Zexion and Demyx? Are you in my class? Do I drive you to and from school every day? Am I your best friend?!" Axel stood, gripping his hair in his anger, looking as if he was about ready to start pulling it out by the roots. He spun around to face a teary-eyed, done-up, pretty-boy that, if he looked hard enough, didn't look all that different from his Roxas. But, he didn't want this ... person to be his Roxas. This person was a stranger and he wanted to keep it that way.
But, a voice in the back of his mind chirped up, grating at his already frayed nerves, you already know him. You know that he is your friend, but you don't care! You'll just keeping taking advantage of his position and having him pleasure you in ways that you crave from the real him. That's why you love blondes the way you do. That's why you always chose Luxord. He was just a substitute like this Roxas. You are a sick and twisted fool, Axel. You know it. How long will you let this go on? How long until Roxas finds out about your evil ways?
The redhead could feel himself losing it. What had even got him so worked up in the first place? His argument with Reno? Yeah, that had to be it. It was in the drive over when he could get lost in his mind that he became so grouchy. He was tired already of the small boy's lies and antics. He just wanted all of his stress to melt away, like it would when he was with Luxord. Luxord knew how to make him forget all of his troubles. This child, this new boy ... he just made everything hurt. He made him feel all the stress that the elder blonde could take away.
"Rox-as."
He didn't know when the tears started or when Roxas had wrapped his arms around him, rocking him softly, but it felt good. Even if this person wasn't his Roxas, he would have to do.
--
Roxas was still in shock when he took his sobbing best friend into his arms. He had never known the older boy to be much of a crier, but believed that it had to be bad for him to start. It didn't take long for Axel to realize what was going on and that Roxas was still holding him. When he came to his senses, he went rigid for a moment before wiping the tears from his face.
"I-I'm sorry, Rox-as. You just remind me so much of…my friend. He hasn't been himself lately and I haven't gotten to hang out with him at all ever since he started his new job. He doesn't stay awake enough at school for me to get to see the way he used to be. He used to laugh and smile and mess around with the rest of us ... but not anymore. I love him and I just wanted to make him better."
Axel sighed and, if you hadn't known about his emotional breakdown, there were no signs of it left in his sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks.
--
"You help me out a lot, you know? Thanks for listening to me. I sound so pathetic."
--
"What'd the doctor say?"
Roxas closed the door softly behind himself so as to not wake his slumbering brother. The tired-eyed silver-haired teen gazed up at him from his position by his friend's bed. Before the other answered, Roxas went over and shifted a chocolaty strand of hair off of his brother's slumbering face. Riku made a small noise, a mix between a moan and a sob, before gaining his composure. He balled the fist that was not gripping Sora's hand and was secretly happy that Roxas hadn't turned to look at him.
"H-He's in bad shape. It has gotten bigger. It's pressing even harder on his brain. He needs the surgery, soon, or we'll lose him."
Roxas moved and slammed his fists on the windowsill, watching the sun break through the cloudy horizon. "You need to get some sleep, Riku. You look awful. He'll be alright with you not holding his hand for a few hours. I don't have school today so, I'll stay here with him, in case he needs anything."
"B-But .."
"No, it'll be okay. If anything happens, I'll wake you up, alright?"
A sigh. "You win. But, you had better make that a promise."
A nod. Standing, Riku took one more longing look at the chocolaty haired boy before leaving a gentle kiss on his forehead and leaving the two brothers alone in the gaining light.
--
"You really think he'll let you take him out?"
"Pah, no. I'm hoping that I'll be invited in. Maybe he's just too busy around the house? Parents are slave-drivers? You never know with that kid."
Zexion sighed at the redhead who was lounged out across the stuffed animal-print beanbag in the middle of a blonde teen's bedroom while said teen was off getting the trio lunch. "I sometimes wonder what goes through your mind, Axel. But, I always get too frightened by what I think."
Axel glowered, reaching behind his head and grabbing the stuffed animal that sat on the edge of his friend's bed. Taking the supposed-to-be-masculine-and-ferocious lion in his hand, he whipped it towards his slate-haired friend with a snarled bark of laughter when its red, fluffy mane stuffed the teen's mouth before he could insult the redhead once again. Someone 'tsk'ed at the door, tray of bowls and sandwiches balanced delicately on their hip while they turned the knob to their room.
"I leave you alone for five minutes while I make you something nice to eat and neither of you bother to get along! What am I going to do with you?!" Demyx sighed, causing Zexion to turn red and grab the fake feline from between his lips. "Come on, help me with this."
--
"Good luck."
"Oh, like I need it!"
"Don't be kidding yourself, Axel. You'll be hit hard by reality if you stay lost in that dream world of yours. "
--
TBC
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How will Axel's confrontation with Roxas go? Will he ever truly wake up to the fact that Roxas is his Roxas? You'll have to wait until next time to find out!
I'm falling in the black, slipping through the cracks ... Dreaming of the way you used to be - Falling inside the Black
Skillet
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