Author: kinda early, but it's 'cuz of my awesome beta : )
oh, and thanks everyone for the reviews. I think I replied to everyone...meep. I LOVE YOU ALL!!
Chapter Ten: Stupid Is In The Genes
Riku sighed, sympathy welling in his heart. "What do you mean, you need him?" he asked cautiously.
"Exactly that," Axel retorted, sitting up a little straighter. "Look at me."
Riku did. Well, his friend wasn't bad looking, that's for sure. For the most part, girls thought he was one of the hottest people they'd ever seen. Then he looked again and realized what the pyromaniac meant. "You're getting thin, I can see your bones jutting from your hips," he said finally. "And like you need to sleep more, you're getting circles under your eyes. And you've a mustard stain on collar."
Axel rubbed at the yellow spot, sighing. "Riku… you're my friend right?"
"Right."
"Then tell me…why I'm so…" he floundered with his words, red brows furrowing. "Stupid?"
"Genetics?" Riku said in spite of himself.
"That explains a lot," Axel mumbled, still rubbing at the mustard stain.
"So… you're going to go after him?"
"Duh."
"Then staying at home won't work. You still have that committee thing right?"
"Yeah, I have one today and the day after tomorrow."
"Isn't that just you and Roxas alone."
Axel broke into a grin. "I forgot about that. I'm going to go take a shower, feed Ginn wouldya?"
Riku shrugged, glancing at his watch. They had about ten minutes to get back to school, so his redheaded friend just wanted to hurry, thus putting him to work. He took the beer can from where Axel had been sitting, chucking it in the recycling bin before feeding the annoyed cat that was twining itself around his legs. By the time he had found everything and served the demanding feline, Axel was in uniform, shaking droplets from his flaming hair.
"Do you have any cologne?" Riku asked, taking a whiff of himself. He wouldn't mind a shower either, but there was no time for that.
Axel ducked into his room then withdrew a smooth black bottle. He sprayed his friend mercilessly with what smelled like licorice and a pleasant, spicy scent.
"Let's go," the redhead said with a smirk, opening the door.
They arrived as the bell rang, students flushing out of the school before the shrill tone ended. Riku waited in the sea of students as Axel ran off, scoping out his favorite brunette.
"RIKU!" A bright voice cried as a figure latched onto him.
"Sora," he said gently, petting the soft locks. "I came to watch your practice."
Sora beamed. "I think I've gotten much better at it! Hey…" He took a tentative sniff at his boyfriend. "You smell… like food!"
Riku chuckled softly, raising a brow. "You don't like it?"
An uncharacteristic smirk appeared over Sora's lips. "It's… interesting."
"Interesting?" the silver-haired teen echoed.
Sora nuzzled his neck, taking a hesitant lick. "Interesting," he confirmed.
Riku's heart jumped, causing him to squeeze his boyfriend tightly. "Isn't the tennis coach going to scold you?" he whispered, forcing the huskiness out of his voice.
"Uh huh," Sora said as he detached himself, leading the way.
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"Are you free tonight?" Zexion asked Demyx once his students left. He needed to see the blond again; his hormones and his heart said so. His genitals did have some say in it, but he ignored them for the most part.
Demyx inspected his teacher. He thought that over last night's near-sex experience would have the older male at least shying away for a couple of days. Instead, he was coming back? "Yes…" he finally managed hesitantly. He was granted a little smile from his teacher, sending his heart rolling down an infinite hill.
Zexion wanted nothing more than to simply kiss this newfound comfort, but he had a feeling that if he did, the universe would do something dramatic like have the principle walk in, thus earning himself a restraining order. "Good. So I may pick you up tonight?"
"Of course…" Demyx smiled his usual easy smile, heart now back and doing the tango in his chest happily reminding him that he was a giddy schoolboy in love. "You remember where my house is?"
"I've excellent memory," the lilac-haired man chuckled. "Now get to class."
Being the good, whipped doggie he was, Demyx faithfully obeyed. 'One of the downsides of dating a teacher…' he thought a little crossly as he opened the door to history. At least he wasn't getting lost anymore.
Zexion rubbed his chin as he mused. Now that he had gotten over the initial asking-out, his heart had quieted. 'Yes,' he thought to himself, commencing to write down the notes on the board for regular psychology, 'I do think tonight won't be a bad night at all.'
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'Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. C'mon, you know how to breathe Roxas. You did it before he came in, and you can do it while he's right next to you,' the blond scolded himself, his hands shaking above the gold-and-pink sun. 'So I almost let him screw me. He's been with hundreds of other guys, it's not like I'm anything special to him. He probably already forgot about it…'
Axel snuck a glance from the corner of his eye. Judging by the way his favorite blond was gripping the chalk, sweat coating his brow, something was bothering him. Something meaning his very presence. "You know," he said loudly, interrupting whatever blondie had been thinking, "you should really loosen up."
"How can I?" Roxas snapped, butterflies happily throwing themselves around in his stomach. "I'm stuck with someone who rapes little boys!"
"How could someone call it rape when they're moaning hotly begging for more?" Axel retorted innocently, giving his partner a sickly sweet smile.
"I did not."
"Ooooh Axel!" the redhead mocked, scrunching his face in mock pleasure. "Don't stop, oh right there!"
"Enough!" the blond snarled, his eyes narrowing. Making fun of him wasn't the best way to win his heart.
Surprisingly, Axel did stop. They continued on in silence, the only sound being the chalk scraping across concrete. Well, other than their breathing, but most people ignored that.
"Hey…" the proclaimed-pyro started.
"What?" Roxas didn't even bother to sound mad. He was curious more than anything.
"What's your favorite color?"
This earned stunned silence. "….Why?" the blond demanded, feeling like he was in some weird form of a Monty Python movie.
"Just curious. Is it white and black? You wear a lot of checkered stuff…"
"It's red," Roxas corrected awkwardly.
A grin split Axel's face, stopping his languid strokes of the chalk. "So is mine, we have something in common!"
"Stop the press," Roxas couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"Aren't we Mr. Sunshine?" Axel teased, stepping back to see the work they had done. "Hey, we've finished the mural. All we need to do is get the balloons and streamers!"
"Finally."
A moment of silence passed between them.
'C'mon Axel. There's something you came here to do, you can do it! You've never had trouble before,' he thought to himself, uselessly trying to gain some confidence.
"Hey…Roxas…?"
"Uhn?"
"Do you hate me?"
Roxas stared at his work, trying to get out of answering. When Axel stayed quiet, he sighed. "No."
"Then will you go out with me?"
An awkward silence followed. The blond stared at the ground, trying not to rock back and forth. "No…" he said softly. "I can't."
'Figures he wouldn't..' Axel thought, straightening up. He didn't want to admit it, but he felt hurt and he wanted nothing more to crawl back to his house and curl up in bed with ice cream watching slasher flicks so that he knew other people lived shittier lives than he.
"I think we're done here for the day," he said curtly, leaving before Roxas had a chance to speak.
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'Why the hell is being sweaty such a turn-on?' Riku thought painfully, a throb in his pants confirming his reverie.
Sora turned to flash him a dorky thumb-ups before whacking the ball back to his opponent then dashing after it when it rounded back to him.
Finally, his agony came to an end when the practice ended. Sora was called back by the coach while the other members changed and headed home, leaving the locker room empty.
"He says he thinks I'm definitely going to go on in the next round this year!" he said enthusiastically, removing his shirt.
Riku watched the flesh expose itself, biting his lip. "That's…really great." It was hard to concentrate on conversation when before him was sweat-slicked Sora flesh.
"Are you okay?" Sora paused, leaning over to inspect his boyfriend, a clean shirt in one hand. "You're not mad or anything are you?" he whispered, kissing the teen's cheek.
"Of course not," the silver-haired teen replied, turning the brunette's chin to kiss him. "Hurry up and get dressed, it's torture."
"Hmm, torture you say?" Sora whispered deviously, sliding closer. "Why, Riku?"
"Sora…" the teen growled warningly. "Don't mess with a horny man. Get dressed!"
The brunet let out a giggle. "You're not being any fun"
"I want to save that 'fun' for another time," Riku mumbled, watching the white tank top go over his boyfriend's head.
As they went out, a flash of red hair made its appearance. Further inspection showed Axel, walking quickly out of the gym, face flushed.
"Hey!" Riku called, breaking away from Sora. "How'd it go?"
Axel gave him a cold glare. "How do you think it went?"
Sora frowned as he caught up. "What do you mean?"
"I had some stupid fucking idea to ask your brother out," he said hotly, flexing his fingers in a rather menacing manner.
"Oh…" the lovers exchanged glances, wondering what to do. An angry redhead was something to be very, very afraid of.
"Axel…" Sora began, wondering exactly what he could say to cheer the boy up. He wasn't about to say the truth, 'well you knew Roxas wasn't gay so of course he turned you down.'
"Look, I'm fine," the pyro growled. "So I'm a little upset. I have a right to be. I'll cool down. Just wish he had given me a fucking chance…"
"Maybe he just needs some encouraging?" Riku suggested.
"Shut up, it's not like you and Sora, you've been mooning over each other since the day you met. Mine's always been a one-sided affair."
"I was just trying to help-"
"STOP TRYING!" Axel exploded. "I was fucking turned down, drop it!" with that, he stomped away, leaving a very bewildered couple.
"He's scary…" Sora said in awe.
"You've no idea," Riku retorted.
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Roxas stared at the ground on the way home from school, hands shoved in his pockets, scowling at the concrete. 'Why did I turn him down? There was no harm in going out with him. He could've been asking to be friends…'
He paused in mid-step, his brow furrowing darkly. 'We were friends. Now what? I completely screwed up. If I had just kept my cool…' He sighed for the umpteenth time today. 'I'm just stupid…'
'But I mean…of course I'd turn him down, I told him I wasn't gay,' his other voice told him.
'How would you know, you've never tried it. You've only been on a date once in your life, and it hadn't been very enjoyable,' the first voice replied in a snarky tone.
'So? It doesn't mean I automatically like guys if I had a bad first date.'
'Doesn't mean I automatically like girls either,' pro-Axel reminded. 'He was so upset by it, indulging him wouldn't have been too much to ask.'
'If you want to get raped,' anti-Axel hissed.
Both voices quieted when a certain silver-haired teen came into view, legs swinging over the usual concrete wall. "Hey, Roxas," Riku greeted, his tone unreadable.
"Uh…hi Riku," Roxas replied perplexedly. It wasn't like they were the best of friends.
"So…you don't find Axel good enough or something?"
"Huh?"
"What's wrong with him? Is it the abnormal hair? The carpet matches the drapes, so he can't help it."
Roxas stared at the teen, stunned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, why didn't you at least think about it? You could've tried him at least once."
"You're…talking about me turning him down?"
"No shit! Honestly, I didn't think you were that slow. I guess it's just in the genes…"
"Hey!" Roxas protested.
He was promptly ignored as Riku swung himself off the mini wall, towering over his boyfriend's brother. "You know, you really upset him."
"I can't help it, I'm not-"
"So? You say that but you've never tried any of it! You've only been on a date once Roxas, and it was with Namine! She doesn't even count technically, she was your best friend at the time!"
"If I told him yes, would you shut up?" the blond snapped, not wanting to deal with this right now.
"Go tell him that yourself," Riku ordered, steering him towards Axel's house. "Now, before he goes and does something stupid."
Roxas glared at him before doing as he was told, knocking on the door. When no one answered, he looked back at Riku. "Just go in," the silver-haired teen shrugged. "He's in there, pry just sulking."
A sigh, and he allowed himself in.
Click.
Click.
Click click click.
He followed the noise to find Axel staring at the TV in the living room, flipping his Zippo lighter open and closed.
"Um…?"
Click. Click. Click.
"Axel?" he tried again, his courage dwindling.
CLICK.
"What're you doing here?" the redhead asked quietly, his eyes narrowing dangerously. He didn't like to be toyed with, and even if it was Roxas, he wasn't going to take it.
"I…I…I wanted to say…"
"What?" came the demand impatiently when a moment of awkward silence passed.
"Iwanttogooutwithyou!" Roxas said in one breath, having been holding it in.
Axel stared at him blankly, resuming opening and closing his lighter. "What'd you say?"
"I'll go out with you…." the blond said slowly, heat rushing to his face. He was having trouble finding the answer as to why Axel playing with a lighter was inexplicably hot.
"Why the sudden change of heart?" the redhead asked suspiciously.
Click.
Roxas stared at the thumb that gracefully flicked the top of the lighter off, then the flick of the wrist that set it back into place. "Huh?" he asked, snapping out of it.
"Were…were you just…" Axel suddenly laughed, putting the lighter away. "Okay, whatever the reason why, I'll do it. Only because you asked," he added slyly. "I'll pick you up tonight."
"Um, tonight's not a good night," the blond replied truthfully. "I have a lot of homework."
"Tomorrow?"
"O-okay…"
"Good. At 7:15. You better not keep me waiting!"
"I…I won't?"
"If you do, the pants come off!"
"Uh…"
"Hey, have you ever tried to light hair spray on fire?"
-------------
Demyx sighed happily, glad to be in the comfort of his teacher's arms once again. Zexion had picked him up, and they had gone off to the park, settling against a tree watching the lake sparkle in the moonlight. It was perfect.
"You smell good tonight," he whispered cheerfully.
"Showers can do wonders."
"What is it you use?" he asked, turning so that he could bury his face into his lover's chest, enjoying the deep, slightly musky scent.
"I don't know. It smelled good so I bought it," the slate-haired man replied, uninterested.
"I like it," the blond confirmed, his breath coming in a warm shower over Zexion's chest.
Instead of replying, Zexion contented himself to kissing his pupil's ear. "I thought you might want to feed the ducks," he said out of the blue.
"You got ducky food?" he squealed, immediately jumping up. "Where?!"
With amused light blue eyes, he gestured to the basket that had bread crumbs in a bag. Immediately Demyx snatched it, bounding over to the lake. A few handfuls later, he came back shouting, nearly being mobbed by twenty or so of the big birds.
"Help!" he cried, diving next to Zexion for cover.
"You think I can?" the lilac-haired man asked disdainfully, eyeing the impending doom.
"Do something!"
So Zexion did. He threw the bag of bread crumbs over the bird's heads, causing them to turn and run for it.
They watched the evil birds eat for a while, before Zexion took the opportunity to speak again. "I was conned into chaperoning the dance this Friday."
"Oh?"
"Do you want to stay after?"
"Like an after party?"
"I guess."
Demyx grinned, kissing the man he was growing to like more and more. "Sure."
Unfortunately, they were interrupted again as the birds found out they were out of food, thus turning back to the source, quacking irritably.
Author: hehe…I loved that… duckys….even if they are evil
Um… not much to say here, but the dance will end by the next chapter. But what lies in store? OoooOOOo!
Another Poll:
What'll happen at the dance?
-Zexion will get caught!
-Roxas will finally confess his love to Axel!
-Riku will pounce!
-Axel will set the school on fire!
-Demyx will find another boyfriend!
-Sora will wear drag!
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO