I own nothing except the order I decided to put the words in!
.o.O.o.
Fuzzy and wet were not two sensations that Roxas was particularly accustomed to associating with waking up in the morning. However, those were the first two things his brain registered as he found himself dragged out of sleep the next day. Swatting out in an attempt to thwart off whatever was barraging him with the strange mix of sensations, Roxas grumbled and rolled over, away from whatever was causing the fuzzy wetness. Suddenly a low, pleading whine sounded in the otherwise silent room, and Roxas was instantly wide awake.
The dog!
"WAZZAPPENING?GETOFF!" Roxas yelped in his sleep-induced confusion, jerking away only to find himself tangled in the blankets. Falling quite ungracefully out of bed and landing with a 'thump' on the carpeted floor, Roxas groaned, raising a hand to rub his sore head. A happy bark from beside him drew his attention and he turned to glare at the dog.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Roxas admonished, although it seemed to have no affect on the chipper pooch. Glancing at the clock the blonde noted that it was only around seven o'clock in the morning. "I was trying to sleep in. Work doesn't start for another hour or two." At this Axel whined insistently, nuzzling Roxas's throat. "What do you want? Food? Do you have to pee? What is it?" Axel just continued to stand there wagging his tail, and Roxas took that to mean that the dog had nothing particular in mind, he just felt like being annoying and waking Roxas up early. Grudgingly, Roxas groggily got out of bed, grumbling to himself as he pulled on some pajama pants that had been lying on his floor, along with an overly large t-shirt. It wouldn't do to be walking around the house in just his boxers, not with some freaky dog-boy on the loose, anyways.
Happily trotting along at Roxas's heels, Axel smiled up at the blonde. He was (understandably) in a very good mood this morning. Not only had he woken up in a warm and cozy bed, he had woken up in a warm and cozy bed with Roxas! Happily trotting out of the room at Roxas's heels, he followed the blonde down the stairs, wagging his tail as Roxas headed towards the kitchen. Oh goodie! Food! Axel's other favourite thing besides Roxas! Grunting vaguely, Roxas set a bowl of cereal down on the floor for Axel, pulling a chair away from the kitchen table out for himself and flopping down in it, immediately laying his head down in his arms and wanting nothing more than to be back in bed.
Happily scarfing down his meal, it didn't take Axel long to polish off the bowl of cereal, looking up to Roxas in accomplishment. But wait! What was this!? Roxas had fallen asleep again! Oh no, Axel couldn't have that. Roxas was supposed to be paying attention to him, not sleeping! Toenails clicking as he trotted over to the slumbering boy, Axel shoved his nose into the blonde's side in an attempt to rouse him. No such luck. Hmm… time to pull out the big guns, then.
"BARK!"
"WHAT THE HELL!?" Roxas jerked up abruptly, frantically glancing around the room. When his gaze eventually settled back onto Axel his expression of startled panic quickly turned into a glare. "What is it, dog? Do you want out or something? Go push the screen door open in the back; it's not locked. I'm going back to bed." As Roxas stood, trudging back up the stairs, Axel went over his options in his head.
'Let's see… I could follow him back upstairs, but I really do need out. Hmm… marking bushes, or cuddling with Roxas?' This actually proved to be a harder decision to make than Axel would have thought. As much as he loved Roxas, who was he to ignore his instinctual need to piss people off by taking a leak on their shrubbery? Pondering this dilemma for a minute more, Axel suddenly struck upon the perfect plan. 'I know! I'll go pee on a bush and then go cuddle with Roxas! I'm a genius!'
Just like Roxas had said, the back door was indeed unlocked, all Axel had to do to get out was shove it open with his nose. Quickly trotting across the lawn and over to the neighbours flowery bushes, he did his thing before racing back inside, taking the steps five at a time in his haste to get back to Roxas, who was just waiting for him in that big, comfortable bed.
'Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy – OOF!'
Tripping over the last step, Axel at first thought it was his haste that had caused the fall, only to discover that he had turned back into a human in his excitement over rushing to Roxas. Shrugging, he continued into Roxas's room, slamming the door open…
…only to discover that Roxas wasn't waiting for him at all. The blonde had merely passed out on the bed, covers pulled up so that only a tuft of blonde hair was visible.
"Roxas…" Axel whined, tip-toeing over to the bed. "Roxas, wake up… let's do something…" However it seemed as though Roxas wasn't planning on getting up again anytime soon, and Axel sighed in defeat, not wanting to make Roxas mad by waking him up again. What to do, what to do…
Crawling up to the bedside, Axel lifted the covers, gazing down at Roxas's sleeping face, looking much more peaceful now than he did when awake. Axel couldn't help but smile fondly as he carefully slipped in beside Roxas, lying on his side facing the blonde. Unable to resist, he reached out, running his fingers over Roxas's smooth cheek before slipping his hand into the blonde locks, threading through Roxas's soft hair. The sleeping male sighed in his sleep, shifting slightly and nuzzling his face into his pillow with a sleepy murmur.
Axel's heart nearly burst right then and there.
Pulling the blonde closer, he wrapped his long arms around the smaller male's frame, grinning as Roxas easily shifted into his hold. If Roxas had been awake he surely would never have allowed it, and so for the moment Axel was grateful that the sleeping blonde was unaware of what was transpiring. Why didn't he see that all Axel wanted was to be close to him? After all, they were meant to be together forever – it was destiny! Shifting slightly closer still, Axel breathed a happy sigh into Roxas's hair, making it fluff just the tiniest bit at the action. Pulling back again, Axel smiled down at his sleeping captive before leaning in and…
Getting interrupted by a very loud, very annoying alarm suddenly going off.
Groaning, Roxas turned over, trying to grab a pillow and cover his head with it before realizing that something was terribly off. Axel was in the middle of contemplating the fact that Roxas must have been very used to the alarm, to have not jolted nearly straight out of his skin upon hearing it (like Axel had), when he was suddenly faced with a very grumpy looking Roxas.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Axel grinned back sheepishly. "Um… cuddling you?"
"…and what did I say about that just last night?"
"Um… to not do it?" Axel guesses, still attempting to win Roxas over with his smile.
"Exactly." Roxas said before unceremoniously pushing him out of the bed. Landing on the floor with a yelp, Axel couldn't help but feel hurt. Things were not going as planned. Roxas was supposed to fall in love with him and they would be together forever!
"Now get out of my room, I've gotta get dressed for work."
"But – "
"Out, Axel."
"Fine." The redhead pouted, dragging himself out of the room, but not before looking back one last time at the doorway, hopeful that maybe Roxas would change his mind. Which, of course, he didn't.
.x.X.x.
"Okay…" Roxas began in an authoritative tone as he tied a length of rope around Axel's neck, struggling with getting it properly knotted with all of the dog's struggling. "Now, I'm going to take you to work with me, but only because I really don't have any other choice. I refuse to let you stay here at home all day doing Lord-Knows-What, so you're going to be good today and do exactly what I tell you to at work, got it?"
Holy crackersnaps was Roxas hot when he got all commanding! Especially in that cute little button-up uniform shirt he had to wear for work!
"Hey, are you listening to me?"
Look at the way his cute little eyebrows furrowed in irritation!
"Hey!"
And the way that pouty little lip stuck out all indignantly!
"HEY!"
Snapping his attention back to what Roxas was actually yelling at him about, Axel thumped his tail against the hardwood floors happily, agreeing wholeheartedly with whatever it was Roxas was saying. Not that Axel had any idea, but as if he was going to disagree with such a cute little pouty, furrowed eyebrows-y blonde sexpot!
Sighing and rolling his eyes, Roxas stood up, tugging on Axel's makeshift leash and heading for the door. "Come on then, mutt, I'm gonna be late for work."
Axel quite enjoyed talking the morning walk with Roxas rather than just catching a brief glance of it as the blonde passed his hideout everyday. The sky was blue, birds were singing, and Roxas had him tied and bound! It was a beautiful, sun-shiney day! And come to find out, Roxas worked in a little streetcorner ice cream shop – Axel had never had the opportunity to follow the blonde to his destination before, and was overjoyed to find out that it led to food! Unfortunately he only caught the briefest glance of said delicious sustenance-providing shop before he was being dragged to the back, a few passerby staring in concern at the way Roxas forcefully yanked and pulled Axel around the back of the store.
"Okay then." Roxas began, again in that alluringly domineering tone, as he tied Axel to the bike racks. "You're going to stay back here while I work, got it? I don't want to be dealing with you all day, so just stay put, got it?" The blonde accentuated his demands with a firm tug on the rope, making sure Axel wouldn't be able to escape it's hold. "I'll bring you a snack at lunch or something." Wagging and giving Roxas's hand a parting lick goodbye – a lick that was immediately wiped off onto said blonde's pants with a disgusted 'urgh!' – Axel watched after Roxas as he left, entering the ice cream parlor through the back door.
However, waiting patiently was not one of Axel's stronger qualities. The self appointed motto 'I have very little patience, and can hardly wait until I get some more!' is what Axel lived by, and as a result it was only two or three minutes later that he was feeling extremely bored and fidgety. Whining softly to himself, Axel wondered if it would be lunchtime soon. Like… within the next thirty seconds. Operating on the off chance that this was not the case, Axel began to attack his rope with impressive luster, gnawing at the restraining object. It took him a while, but he was eventually able to loosen the holds and shred the rope enough that it was possible to tug free of the bike rack. With a happy yip of accomplishment Axel trotted over to the back door he had watched Roxas leave through, nudging it hopefully with the side of his muzzle.
Wonder of wonders, it was open!
Thanking the need for the back door to be unlocked, most likely due to chores such as taking out the trash or dead bodies or whatever it was that regularly called for use of an open back door, Axel slunk inside, following a dark little hallway, frayed rope end trailing along after him. The bright light of the main area of the store was right at the end of the hallway, spurring him onward and filling his doggy little heart with thoughts of being reunited with his love.
Apparently, however, it was not commonplace for a scruffy (although happy!) dog to just waltz in out of the back, and laughs and whispers and gasps immediately broke out upon Axel's entrance. But he paid them no heed, he was on a mission. A mission to find –
"Axel! What the hell are you doing in here!?"
Ah, music to his ears. Axel would recognize that pissed off voice anywhere.
Running over to the counter, slipping a bit on the slippery tiled floor and causing a few children to break out into giggle fits, Axel made his way to Roxas's side. It didn't matter that the blonde didn't look happy to see him, or that there were all sorts of unnecessary people around to witness their joyful reunion – all that mattered was that Roxas was right there and he had ice cream in his hand.
"Axel, cut it out, stop right now! Axel, stop running, you're going to – FUCK!"
Another round of gasps spread at not only Roxas's blatant use of the f-bomb in front of small children, but the fact that Axel had run straight into him, tripping over himself at the last minute and sending them both sprawling onto the floor. Axel immediately made use of the situation, crawling on top of Roxas and lapping up the ice cream that had splattered all over his shirt. But this triumph was short lived as Roxas nearly instantaneously grabbed ahold of the remains of the tattered rope and a good portion of the loose skin and fur around Axel's neck. Roughly grabbing hold and dragging the dog out of the main store area and back down the hallway Axel had entered from, Roxas growled low in his throat, mutterings of pain and misery for Axel's near future falling from his lips. About halfway down the hallway Roxas stopped and kicked a side door open, shoving Axel into what turned out to be a storage closet. Despite Roxas's current fury, Axel still couldn't help but let his mind run wild with the possibilities.
"Okay, dog, let's get something straight…"
Oh man, Roxas was doing that commanding thing again.
"…I don't know where you came from, or why you insist on following me around claiming you're in love with me…"
Axel thought back to what he knew about human romance novels. Wasn't this the kind of thing that always happened? Two people would get stuck in some small, enclosed space, one thing led to another, and the next thing you knew rampant sex was happening.
"…but you just can't keep doing this! You're going to get me in serious fucking trouble!"
Axel suddenly felt extremely fidgety, as if all the nerves in his body were jerking, unable to keep still. He wanted, needed to make something happen. This was the perfect moment, the perfect opportunity…
"I mean, it's really flattering and all that you like me and all, but – HEY!"
Axel was suddenly towering over him in his human form, the rope still dangling loosely hanging around his neck serving as the only article on his body that could even remotely pass as clothing. Pressing Roxas back into a cluttered case of shelves, Axel growled softly, moving his lips to Roxas's neck.
"A–Axel, what are you doing?" The blonde whimpered, suddenly not sounding nearly as in control of the situation as he had a second ago. All Roxas got in response, however, was a long lick up the exposed column of his throat. "Axel, d…don't." Roxas's voice had taken on a breathy, gasping quality, and he wasn't fighting to get Axel off of him nearly as much as normally would have been expected. Axel chuckled to himself. So it seemed as though the smaller male wasn't entirely unaffected by the situation. After all, there was only so much being stuck in a small, dark, enclosed space with another attractive individual that a person could take before cracking. Licking a trail up to the underside of Roxas's jaw, Axel growled softly again before nipping at the sensitive flesh and proceeding to latch on to Roxas's throat, sucking gently.
"A–Axel, stop." Roxas stuttered, pulling away with a small whimper. "This is just… no! We can't do this here!"
"Can we go home and do it then?" Axel asked, nuzzling his face into Roxas's soft hair.
"No!" Roxas snapped back. "This is… we can't just… NO! God, Axel – I'm supposed to be at work right now, not getting it on with you in a storage closet!"
"But if we go home…" Axel prompted.
"No." Roxas firmly repeated, pointing a finger at Axel's face and poking his nose to emphasize his point. "You are going to be going home by yourself and you will be staying there until my shift is over, got it?"
"Nooo…" Axel whined, pressing himself to Roxas, who currently had a shelf wedged rather uncomfortably between his shoulder blades. "I want to stay here with yooou…"
"Axel, no! This is… this… Axel, get off me! God, you're not even wearing any clothes!"
"I know…" Axel purred as if it was the greatest thing in the world, running one of his hands up Roxas's shirt. Jerking back wildly, Roxas pushed Axel an arms length away, which was about all the cramped space of the storage closet allowed.
"Okay here's what we're gonna do." Roxas said, looking Axel straight in the eye with a 'listen-up-and-listen-good' expression. "You are going to change back into a dog. I am going to somehow tell my boss that I have to go home. And then you and I are both going to go home and finish up our little chat. Got it?"
"Finish up…?" Axel questioned hopefully. Roxas rolled his eyes.
"Yes. Finish up our chat. With words. Nothing else."
"Hmph, fine." Axel huffed, the tips of his red spikes drooping slightly in disappointment. He had been so close!
It didn't take too long to get Axel back into a state that was acceptable for public viewing, and Roxas made up some half-assed story about a family emergency that he had to get home to. Luckily his boss bought it, and a few minutes later Roxas was dragging Axel back down the street to his house, giving Axel a few harsh tugs on the leash to remind him that they weren't going home to have fun, but to have a serious talk.
As soon as Roxas got the door to his house open, however, Axel was happily racing in, tail wagging as he gave a joyous bark.
"Hey cut it out you idiot, get over here." Roxas snapped. "It's time for us to have a little talk."
.x.X.x.
In the end, Roxas's lecture didn't wind up going quite according to plan. Really, you could only take yourself so seriously while lecturing a happy dog, and one that kept trying to lick you endearingly, to boot. Eventually the blonde gave up, and the rest of the day was spent lazing around the house, watching TV and eating snacks. Axel somehow also coerced Roxas into throwing a ball around out in the back yard for a while, and taking him on a walk around the block, and Roxas was surprised to find that both events were rather fun. Axel was a cute dog when he wasn't screwing up Roxas's life, and he was just so happy whenever he was around the blonde. Roxas hadn't ever been in that kind of a situation before, and he found it rather gratifying. It was nice to be wanted, even if it was by a freaky dog-boy who wanted to have sex with him.
That night Roxas had to fight Axel out of the bathroom so he could take his shower. Halfway through it, however, the dog somehow managed to rev himself up enough to turn back into a human and, using the advanced evolutionary powers of opposable thumbs, let himself back in. Roxas had shrieked like a little girl upon being barged in on, but eventually settled for turning away and sharing the shower. After all, it wasn't like he'd never taken showers in public settings like locker rooms and poolhouses before, right? Except for the fact that usually in those cases he wasn't usually being groped every five seconds.
As it turned out, it was a good thing that Axel didn't have all of his fur when he had hopped in the shower, because as Roxas crashed into his bed, followed quickly by Axel, the blonde realized that would have meant having to put up with wet dog smell in his bed all night. However he wasn't sure if having a naked guy who was essentially still a stranger occupying his bed outweighed that outcome by too much.
"Axel, put some clothes on." Roxas groaned, rolling over as Axel tried to latch on to him in a spooning maneuver.
"I don't have any." The redhead responded, making another grab for Roxas, who moved away again, reaching over the side of his bed and chucking a pair of boxers that had been lying on the floor at Axel's face.
"There, now you do." He replied, watching as Axel pulled the garment off of his head, only to dive back in to smell them. "EW! God, what the hell are you doing, you freak!?"
"I like them." Axel grinned. "They smell like you."
"Yeah, okay you're gross." Roxas groaned, rolling over as Axel reached down, pulling the fabric up his legs to properly cover himself. No sooner had he done so than he was scooting closer again, pulling Roxas back against his chest and running his hands through the blonde's soft locks of hair. Roxas couldn't even muster up the strength to protest – it had been a long day and (not that he would ever admit it) the head scratching actually felt really nice. Turning on his back to be able to look at Axel as the redhead gave a happy sigh, Roxas couldn't help but ask a question that had been nagging him in the back of his mind all day.
"Hey Axel?"
"Hmm?" the redhead replied, nuzzling into the crook of Roxas's neck as he tentatively skimmed his fingers over the bit of Roxas's stomach that had been revealed when the blonde's shirt had ridden up. Roxas chose not smack him across the face… this time.
"How come you like me so much? You don't even know me."
"You're perfect." Axel quickly replied, not even looking up.
"No I'm not." Roxas retorted, a little exasperated. "Come on, seriously." He urged, tugging Axel off of him and making the taller male look him in the eye. "Why do you like me?"
"Because…" Axel replied, this time sounding like he was going to go into a little more detail. "I saw you walking to work every day and thought you were the most beautiful person I had ever seen. And then when I passed out on the street you were the one who rescued me. You're the first person that's ever been nice to me and paid attention to me."
Roxas flushed a little, both flattered and slightly embarrassed. He wasn't used to such sincere and meaningful compliments. "It's not a big deal."
"Yes it is." Axel insisted, scooting closer and lying himself on top of Roxas. He winced a little, anticipating and waiting for the blonde to shove him off the bed, but relaxed when all Roxas did was sigh and roll his eyes, resigned to the fact that Axel was going to attempt to crawl all over him any chance he got. "You're the most important person in the world to me, Roxas. You make me feel like… like… I don't know. Like I'm more than just some ratty dog you picked up on the street. You make me feel special."
With that last admission said, Axel laid his head back down on Roxas's chest, wrapping his arms around the boy's chest. Roxas was glad the redhead hadn't chosen to comment on the deep flush he just knew was streaked across his face. As embarrassing as Axel's words might have been, at the same time they made Roxas's chest feel exceptionally full. It was… kind of nice to be so wanted and loved. Suddenly Roxas realized why so many people had pets – to get this feeling of security that came from this level of loyalty and devotion that they couldn't get from fellow humans. Except Roxas's case seemed to be an exception to this rule. It seemed as though through some twist of fate he had been handed not only the zealous loyalty and companionship of a pet as well as pure devotion and love from a human. How many people would kill for this kind of an opportunity? And here he had just had it carelessly tossed right at him, almost as if fate had just looked down at him and said "Here, take this. Be happy."
Roxas sighed, reaching out to turn out his bedside lamp before readjusting his position on the bed, a little awkwardly due to the fact that he was currently being laid on. "Hey Axel…"
"Hmm?" came the muffled reply, Axel's face buried in Roxas's sleep shirt.
"Um… I know I told you you're a pain and everything, and that's still holds true, but…" Roxas trailed off, not wanting to sound too sappy, but eventually just deciding to screw it and just say it anyways. "Thanks. For liking me."
Axel suddenly sat up, a brilliant smile on his face that Roxas could still see despite the darkness the room had been plunged into. "Really!?"
"Uh… yeah." Roxas awkwardly replied. "Really."
Suddenly a pair of warm lips settled over his own, forcefully pressing down to capture and recapture Roxas's mouth in a hungry kiss. Axel gripped Roxas's arms in a heady embrace, smoothly shifting so that their bodies were perfectly aligned when he pressed himself against the blonde. Roxas's head spun, but before he could even begin to make sense of any of it, it was gone. Axel pulled away, moving slightly off of Roxas so that he was now only half lying on top of him, hooking a leg over Roxas's hip and wrapping long arms around Roxas's waist. Roxas opened his mouth to ask what the hell just happened, but before he could say anything Axel was heaving a content sigh, nuzzling his face into the crook of Roxas's neck.
"You're welcome."
Roxas closed his mouth, not having any response to that. It seemed as though the burst of passion had just been some sort of built up 'thank you' of Axel's own, but damn if Roxas wasn't still extremely confused by what had just taken place. But as Axel's breathing evened out, letting Roxas know that the redhead was falling asleep, simply content to hold him for the night, Roxas figured it didn't really matter anyways. Whatever it was, it could wait until the morning.
.x.X.x.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!
"Nnnnnnnrgh…" Roxas grumpily turned over, smacking his alarm until it turned off, feeling a tug at his waist at his movement. Glancing down to see Axel's arm thrown over his in a possessive embrace, Roxas rolled his eyes. Honestly, the redhead had nearly jumped out of his skin when he'd heard the alarm while he was awake, but it seemed as though in sleep he was far enough out of it that the shrill ringing wouldn't pull him from his slumber. Shoving Axel's arm off of him, Roxas blearily shuffled out of bed and headed over to his dresser, yawning as he pulled out his work uniform shirt and pants. All of his other clothes were, of course, scattered around the room in typical teenage boy fashion, but he didn't think his boss would approve of him showing up to work in a crumpled and stinking uniform.
"Roxas!" Axel suddenly called out in greeting, looking sleep-mussed but sounding quite happy and awake.
"Hey, Axel." Roxas replied, clipping on his tie and heading out of the room. Axel scampered after him, grabbing onto the blonde's wrist and holding it as Roxas headed downstairs and into the kitchen. Roxas thought about shrugging it off, but decided against it. It was kind of cute, really, that Axel seemed to be trying to hold his hand.
"What are we going to do today?"
"I am going to work." Roxas informed him. "And you aren't going to show up and screw things up again, you got it?"
Axel pouted. "But I want to beeeee with yoooooooou…" he whined. "And when you're at your boring job all day I can't do that."
"Well too bad, you're staying here." Roxas told him, grabbing a cereal bar and handing it to Axel. "Here, eat this, I'm gonna go get my wallet and stuff." As Roxas headed back upstairs he wasn't surprised to hear Axel clambering up after him.
"I'm coming to work with you." Axel insisted.
"No you're not." Roxas said, rounding on him. "You'll mess everything up and get me fired!"
"No I won't!" Axel insisted. "I can go in as a human and sit in the corner and watch you or something!"
Roxas rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, because that's not suspicious. Besides, you'd get all fidgety after like five seconds of that. Or worse – you'd get bored and change back into a dog right in the middle of the store."
"I'll go as just a dog then! I could even wait outside in the front! I'll even let you tie me to a post like the other owners do when they need to go into a store without their pets!"
For some reason Axel saying this made Roxas feel a little bad. If Axel was willing to sit outside all tied up and degraded like some common pet, he must have really wanted to be around Roxas really, really badly.
"…even if I say 'no' you're going to find a way to barge in there anyways, aren't you?"
"Yep!" Axel supplied with a grin. Roxas sighed.
"Fine. I'll bring you with me. But you have to swear not to get me in any trouble, do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand!" Axel happily replied, grabbing Roxas into a hug. "Thank you so much, Roxas!"
"Yeah, you're welcome you stupid mutt." Roxas smirked playfully, lightly punching Axel in the shoulder.
A few minutes later, and Roxas and Axel were heading down the street, Axel as a dog and once again on the same tattered rope leash from the previous day. Every once in a while Axel would look up at Roxas and smile a doggy grin as he wagged his tail, happy to have been brought along. And true to his word, he allowed Roxas to tie him up to the post outside the front of the store, leaving him there as Roxas went inside.
However, Roxas's predictions soon proved true as only a few minutes later Axel found himself bored stiff. Unfortunately this time he was in plain sight of Roxas through the large front windows, and as the blonde seemed to have built-in 'Axel-is-doing-something-he-shouldn't-be' sensors, the dog decided it would be wise to not do anything that would get him or Roxas in trouble.
'Bored… bored, bored, boooooooooored.' Axel thought to himself, watching people pass by on the street. No one paid him much attention, and as a result he soon found himself getting slightly disheartened by his willingness to let Roxas tie him up on the street. It was quite lonely out here. Nothing was worse than feeling alone in a crowd. His thoughts began to wander, and the next thing he knew he was slipping asleep, unable to find anything worthwhile to keep him awake…
"Hey there, Axel – how you holding up?"
ROXAS!
With a happy yelp, Axel jerked awake, looking up to see Roxas looking down on him, hands in his pockets and an amused expression on his face. Jumping up, Axel rested his front paws on Roxas's shoulders for balance as he gave the boy's face a thorough lick.
"Down! Down, Axel, get down!" Roxas grumped, pushing Axel off. "You'll get my uniform all dirty." Roxas sighed. "Come on, I don't have a very long break, let's get going."
Untying Axel's makeshift leash, Roxas led him to a nearby park for a few minutes, giving Axel the chance to stretch his legs and sniff a few interesting smells. All too soon, however, Axel was being tugged back to the store and tied up outside once again. Heaving a sigh, Axel flopped down, sending Roxas his best 'sad doggy face' and whimpering a little.
"Yeah, yeah, you're very cute and pitiful. I'm sorry." Roxas acknowledged sarcastically. "But I have to get back to work. It's only another hour or so. You'll live." Axel watched Roxas head back into the store before settling down one again, an indignant huff of air accompanying his flopping onto the sidewalk.
It seemed to take forever, but finally – FINALLY! – Roxas was coming back outside, done with his shift for the day. Axel's heart leapt with excitement as the rope was undone from the pole and Roxas led him off down the street. Prancing alongside the blonde, Axel couldn't help himself from leaning over and licking Roxas's hand affectionately. Of course Roxas promptly wiped it off and made a disgusted face, but Axel still caught the hint of a smile that threatened to break out afterwards. The moment they got into the house Axel lunged, instantly transforming into human form, and trapped Roxas against a doorframe in the entry.
"Axel! Axel, cut it out!" Roxas protested, trying to squirm away as Axel dragged his tongue along the underside of the blonde's jawline.
"No way…" Axel replied between licks. "You were in that stupid place without me all day – now it's my turn to have your attention."
"Fine!" Roxas gasped as Axel bit down lightly on the side of his neck. "You have my attention, just – ah! – cut that out!"
"No." Axel replied stubbornly. He had missed out on 'Roxas time' all day so far, and he was going to make up for that lost time if it was the last thing he did! Running one hand down Roxas's side he rested it on the curve of the smaller boy's hip, squeezing with a teasing pressure, rubbing his thumb in small circles.
"Axel…" Roxas panted, weakly trying to push the taller boy off of him. "S-stop that…" Because so help him if Axel didn't stop it, he was going to have a little, er… problem any minute now. Unbeknownst to Axel, Roxas's hipbones were one of his more sensitive 'trigger' spots, as it were. However Axel chose to ignore this request, pressing his thumb even harder into the dip of Roxas's hip, simultaneously nipping at the hollow of Roxas's throat.
"AXEL!" Roxas yelped, bucking his hips forward both in reaction to the onslaught of sensation and in an attempt to throw Axel off of him. "Axel… we… we can't… we're in the middle of the entry of my house! Get yourself under control, you horndog!"
"…but… you liked it…" Axel uncertainly replied, almost a question – as if he wasn't sure if Roxas really had or not.
"Yeah, well… um… I mean I didn't exactly… uh…I… I'm going to take a shower!" Roxas announced with a blush, turning and heading up the stairs.
"But it's the middle of the –"
"I don't care!" Roxas interrupted, racing up the rest of the stairs and slamming the bathroom door behind him. Axel stood frozen to the spot, not quite processing what had just occurred. He had been pretty sure that Roxas had liked the attention being so generously lavished upon him… but maybe he had been wrong? Maybe Roxas didn't like Axel back as much as Axel liked Roxas? Whimpering to himself, Axel headed into the living room, flopping down on the couch and waiting for Roxas to be done with his middle-of-the-day shower.
By the time Roxas came back downstairs, Axel was back in dog form, curled up on the couch and looking downtrodden. With a sigh, Roxas plopped down next to him, grabbing the remote and flipping on the television. Personally, Axel didn't get why the blonde spent so much of his time staring at a glowing box, but he figured he'd just keep his mouth shut about it. Cautiously, he moved to set his head down in Roxas's lap, hoping he was forgiven for whatever lines he had crossed when they first gotten home. For a second Roxas didn't acknowledge him, but it didn't take too long before Roxas had lifted his hand, setting it down on Axel's head and petting him. Axel closed his eyes, content to simply lay there and let his Roxas gently run a hand over his fur…
The next thing Axel knew, he was being shaken awake. Upon opening his eyes, he discovered that it was dark, the only light in the room being provided by the faint glow of the television, which was till on, but with the volume turned down low. He hadn't even realized that he had fallen asleep…
"It's getting late." Roxas informed him, standing up. "Time to go to bed." Axel gave a low whine. Already? But they hadn't done anything fun today!
Oh well, there was always tomorrow…
.x.X.x.
Unfortunately for Axel, the rest of the week passed rather uneventfully. Roxas would rise first thing in the morning, go take his shower (taking to locking the door after a few attempts on Axel's part at trying to get in and join him), get dressed, snag a quick breakfast, and be out the door, headed for work. He allowed Axel to continue to tag along, but Axel found himself growing increasingly bored and downtrodden over the fact that he had to be tied up to a lightpole or fencepost all day while Roxas worked inside. Occasionally people would stop by and pet him, but most of his time and energy was spent looking longingly at Roxas through the front window and trying to find ways to amuse himself. Axel was used to being free to run around all day, doing whatever he wanted, and it made him very fidgety to be at the restriction of a rope for hours on end.
But he did it for Roxas.
Axel stopped keeping track of the days of the week. Not many were passing, but they were long and boring and not filled with enough Roxas time. Sure, after work every day Roxas would walk home with him and talk to him a little, but as soon as they stepped inside he would collapse on the couch and let the television hold most of his attention for the rest of the afternoon. Once he tried to show Axel how to use some sort of little controller that, when you pressed buttons and toggles, allowed you to make things on the screen blow up, but Axel didn't really get it. So he spent his time trying to crawl into Roxas's lap (whether in dog or human form) to get pets and scratchies, any sort of attention he could manage.
Sometimes the nights were good, though. By then Roxas had usually somewhat recharged from his exhausting work day, and Axel could snuggle up to him in bed, draping his long, lanky limbs around the smaller boy, and they would talk. Roxas would sigh with feigned irritation at the contact and jabbering, but sometimes Axel would catch him trying to stifle a smile and he knew Roxas liked the attention and love. Roxas would tell Axel about how his day had gone, how many rude customers had come in, and how much he hated his job. Axel didn't understand why Roxas would keep a job that he hated so much, but assumed it must just be a human thing.
Finally one morning, after endless days of boredom for Axel, Roxas woke up, rolled over and out of bed, stood up, stretched, and proclaimed in a groggy voice "Thank God it's Friday."
'Friday?' Axel's brain computed as he woke up at hearing his beloved blonde speak. 'Friday is at the end of the week! As in the last day before the weekend! AS IN AFTER TODAY ROXAS IS GOING TO HAVE FREE TIME TO SPEND WITH ME!' Instantly Axel's outlook on life, or at least the day, brightened considerably.
Axel chipperly allowed himself to be dragged along on that ratty old leash to Roxas's work. He wagged his tail as Roxas tied him to a lamppost, flicking out his tongue for a parting goodbye lick as Roxas headed away. He smiled as Roxas looked back over his shoulder at him before closing the store's door behind him, and then sat his cute little doggie butt down and waited for Roxas to be done with work.
And waited.
…and waited…
'Whiiiiiiiiine…' Axel flopped down in frustration. He had been waiting for hours – HOURS! – and Roxas had yet to so much as come out to visit on a break. Axel was boooooored once again, and he was starting to feel a little pouty. What was taking Roxas so long? It was starting to get a little late… the sun was sitting low in the sky, sending shadows creeping over the ground, a slightly nippy breeze ruffling Axel's fur. 'Rooooooxas…' Axel internally whined. 'Where aaaaare yooooooou?'
As if on cue, Roxas stomped out of the store, his hands jammed into his pockets and a sullen expression set on his features. Yelping happily, Axel leapt out to him as best he could – curse that restraining leash! – and proceeded to lather the blonde with slobbery licks and kisses.
"Cut it out, Axel." Roxas heartlessly ordered, shoving Axel off of him and proceeding to untie the leash. Flattening his ears sadly, Axel backed off, tucking his tail between his legs at Roxas's tone. What had he done wrong? Why was Roxas mad at him?
To Axel's surprise, he found Roxas leading him not down the street, away from the store and back to the house, but actually into the ice cream parlor. Shoving the door open and sending it swinging swiftly on its hinges to smack into the interior wall with a sickening crack, Roxas tugged Axel inside. Axel quirked an ear up at Roxas in confusion, but Roxas wasn't even looking at him. He was glaring straight ahead, and looking in the same direction, Axel saw that a middle aged man was standing in their path with his arms crossed.
"What do you think you're doing?" the man asked. "You're not allowed to bring that filthy animal in here!"
"Well too bad." Roxas snapped back. "He's my dog, and I'm not leaving him tied up out in the cold. He's staying in here with me." Axel wagged his tail enthusiastically as his heart filled to bursting. Roxas was defending him! The man sent a glare at Axel, and then back to Roxas, before apparently giving in, but not without parting words of warning.
"Fine then, but you had better keep it under control. If I find one single smelly dog hair floating around here tomorrow when I come in, it's costing you your job."
"Big loss." Roxas muttered under his breath.
"What was that?"
"I said yes sir." Roxas amended through gritted teeth. "Everything is under control."
Nodding sharply, the man left, Roxas wasting no time in flipping him the bird the moment the door closed behind him. "Fucking hate that guy." Roxas mumbled, grabbing a broom and heading off behind the counter. Axel trotted after him, whining a little to ask for an explanation.
"That guy's my boss." Roxas informed him. "He's making me stay late to do closing, while he fucking runs off to go sit on his ass at home, stuffing his ugly face, or whatever it is he does."
Axel dropped his ears sympathetically. He knew what it was like to have people be mean. Leaning out and licking Roxas's hand consolingly, he concentrated his hardest and focused on turning into a human. A few moments later and his endeavour was accomplished. Stepping up behind Roxas and pulling him back into a hug, Roxas started, not having been expecting it.
"What the – AXEL! What are you doing!? Don't do that here, anyone could see you!"
"Everyone's gone…" the redhead pointed out.
"You're naked!" Roxas countered. "That's… you… ARGH, here!" The blonde pulled his apron up and over his head, tossing it at Axel. "Put that on."
Happily complying, Axel pulled the clothing article up and over his head, clumsily tying the dangly straps around his waist. "How long will we be here?" Axel asked, looking around excitedly. Everything was very clean and white and smelled like food!
"I dunno, a little while longer." Roxas told him, rolling his eyes as he swept some debris from the floor into a dustpan. Axel continued surveying the area, spotting a few cartons sitting in a corner behind the counter, a creamy substance leaking out over the rims.
"What's that!?" he asked in wonderment, scampering over. Roxas looked to where Axel's gaze was fixed, shrugging.
"Eh, just the leftover ice cream from today that's no good. I've gotta toss that out in a minute."
"Toss it out!?" Axel echoed incredulously. "Why? We could eat it instead!"
"What? No!" Roxas chided as Axel reached out to tug the lid off of one of the containers. "Axel, that ice cream's all messed up and melty. If you want some so bad we have some at home in the freezer."
Axel successfully pried the lid open, licking some of the sticky mess off of his fingers. "It tastes fine to me!"
"Axel, ew! Cut that out!" Roxas commanded, grabbing the container and attempting to yank it away. Axel refused to relinquish his hold on it, however, and a short tug-of-war later found said tub of melted ice cream flying out of both of their hands and all over the front of one very disgruntled blonde.
"…Axel…" Roxas began warningly, and the taller male backed away slowly, heading for the back exit as a way of escape. Roxas, although small and cute and blonde, was not one to be trifled with when he was mad.
"Um… oops?"
"Oops is right." Roxas growled, and Axel's eyes widened in shock as a sudden change came over the smaller boy's countenance. Roxas's lips twisted into an evil smirk, and his body language suggested that he was about to make a very sudden, extremely drastic movement of some sort. As a pre-emptive counter maneuver, Axel turned tail and tried to bolt for the back exit, but Roxas launched, sending them both falling to the ground in a sticky mess of melted ice cream, tangled limbs, and rumpled clothing. Laughing maliciously, Roxas scooped up a handful of melted ice cream from the tub, plopping it right smack dab on Axel's face. The kid must have snapped, Axel figured, but right now it was working to his advantage so he wasn't going to complain. He had a sticky, messy Roxas straddling him, and the kid was enjoying it. In retaliation to Roxas's attack, Axel wiped the mess out of his face, smearing it into Roxas's pretty blonde locks. Feigning anger, Roxas snarled out a "that's it, you're going down!" before upending the entire tub over the boy beneath him.
Writhing as the cold goo slathered all over him, Axel laughed. This was fun! They were getting messy, and there was an awful lot of physical contact happening, and he couldn't think of anything he'd rather be doing! Taking the initiative to catch Roxas off guard and flip their positions, Axel wasted no time in pressing the entire length of his body town on Roxas's, pinning the boy's hands over his head. Smirking down at his captive, Axel leaned forward, licking trough a glob of ice cream that had gathered on Roxas's cheek. Squirming and laughing, the blonde attempted to get away, but to no avail. "Axel, noooooooooo!" he called out, but Axel was relentless in cleaning Roxas's face up with his tongue. "It tickles!"
After a few more minutes of fun as the lick-fest escalated into a tickling/wrestling/(on Axel's part) grope session, the two boys collapsed against eachother, the occasional chuckle escaping as they both gasped for air. Eventually Roxas heaved a long, heavy sigh, and smiled up at Axel. "We should finish cleaning the store and get headed home."
As the two walked home (Axel back in dog form but still covered in melted ice cream) after cleaning up the store, Axel noticed that Roxas was looking a lot more at ease than he had in the past week that Axel had been with him. It was as if a few minutes of pure, unadulterated fun and silliness were just what he had needed after a long, stressful week of working at a job he detested. Smiling a doggy smile to himself, Axel happily trotted along at the blonde's heels, eagerly awaiting the coming weekend break. They could have so much fun together, and Roxas could spend one hundred percent of his time with Axel! The possibilities for this weekend were endless!
Roxas noisily shoved the key in the lock to his front door, jingling the keychains as he turned the doorknob open and pushed his way into the house. Flipping a light switch on he looked over both himself and his furry companion before nodding, seeming to have come to a conclusion. "Come on." He said, moving to the couch and flopping down on it tiredly. "I'm exhausted and it's too late to struggle through getting you a bath, so we're camping out on the couch tonight." With a happy yelp of approval at this idea, Axel leapt up onto Roxas, nesting down into the couch and the squelchy shirt of his blonde. Yes, it was disgusting and uncomfortable, and they would probably regret it in the morning, but for now they were content to simply drift of to sleep, covered in ice sticky, melty cream but happy just to be together.
.o.O.o.
Hooray! Chapter two is complete! Next chapter is the last, and it may take me some time to finish writing/editing it for errors and all that, but I'll get it out as soon as I can! Thanks for reading! And thanks ESPECIALLY to all of you who who reviewed last chapter! I was blown away by you guys! Thanks so much!