Disclaimer: Typical disclaimer, Square Enix/Tetsuya Nomura characters belong to them and Disney characters belong to Disney. Song used is "What If" by Lene Marlin; the song belongs to her, not me, I just love the song and it kind of inspired this chapter in a way...Sorry if it kind of seems to jump from Demyx being kind of "What am I going to do or talk to while Zexion's in prison" to him spring Zexion out...That's just how it worked out...Please don't send me reviews saying about how I jumped from my point to another...I personally don't like them. They make me not a nice person and tend to leave me leaving angry rambles on my Profile. Thanks.
Chapter 13
It had been a couple of weeks since the world as it had been known for Roxas' small, but crazy and dysfunctional family, nearly came to a screeching halt at the end of a gun going off, shooting Cloud against the side of his head and wounding Leon only as a flesh wound that had been nothing more then a graze against his skin. Only a minor scratch compared to the feared outcome of Cloud's near death brush with the bullet, but he was being monitored to assure he didn't go down hill; that would've killed Leon. Within the two weeks, Roxas had seemed to had slowly crawled out of his shell of depression over Axel; if it didn't seem like Axel was going to fight off the blonde she-vixen's advances on him, what was the point of him even bothering to fight for him? There had been a couple of times that Axel had attempted to confront Roxas and get him to just acknowledge he existed, but each time that he had managed to get within feet or inches of the blond, another particular blonde would appear out of nowhere. It seemed also lately that Roxas was spending more and more time with Demyx being that Zexion was taking a, "leave of absence due to a family emergency"; it was driving Axel up the walls to have to listen to Larxene more and more, babbling on and on about the latest drama in her classes or the fact that she couldn't get any of her Professor's to give her the time of day to let her slip up on an assignment or two.
"Like…I don't even think the man is even alive, I think the dude is dead on his feet or has no libido to speak of, Axel…are you even listening to me?" Larxene glowered at the man as she saw his eyes straying to Roxas who was standing in the Hall talking to Demyx, "Forget about the kid…You've got me…"
Axel inwardly rolled his eyes; And oh what fun that has been so far…
Larxene rolled her eyes as she headed off towards some friends she had spotted in the Hall, leaving Axel to be on his own which left him an ample chance to try and approach Roxas, but as he grew closer to Roxas; he could see that the boy was…laughing? He was laughing without him? Especially now that he was hanging around Demyx, had Demyx replaced Axel's place in Roxas' life? No, no he couldn't do that…he had Zexion, but…
"Ha, ha, ha, man Demyx; I can't believe you did that in Music Class, what did your teacher have to say about you doing some altered piece of a Classical Guitar piece using a Sitar?" Roxas wiped tears of laughing too hard out of his eyes, unaware that Axel was standing behind him, "Demyx?"
Demyx didn't need words to tell Roxas what was going on, "…You've got a long lost visitor…" his gaze was a mix of distaste for Axel but at the same time worry for the guy; he was still after all one of his best friends and could tell from how the man had been wandering around that he wasn't happy without Roxas, "I'll finish the story up later, Rox, see ya around."
Roxas raised a hand to stop the mullet haired musician but the man was already out of sight, "…Great. Thanks Dem," he shifted his backpack on his back as he turned around to sternly address Axel, "Well. You're off your leash and the she-bitch isn't throwing a fit that her little pet is off and running free with mongrels?"
"I deserve that, I understand, funny Roxy…now…"the man had had enough with putting up a front in regards to trying to act like he wasn't upset that Roxas wasn't fighting for him as he slammed the boy's back up against the wall and forced his lips on the boy's soft lips; he slowly pulled away, "…Tell me something…why have you been avoiding me so much lately…? I've wanted desperately to explain myself for what you saw the other night, but you keep blowing me off at every turn…"
"…If there is only thing I've learned in the dating world before I met you is this…You don't cheat on your girlfriend behind her back with some other hot thing on two legs…"Roxas felt guilty as he spilled out the words, there was still a tingle about his lips as he pulled Axel back down into a deeper lip lock; Gaia he had missed this as he worked his hands down to around the man's waist, "…I want you back, but…I can't do that just yet…I…I…I…I can't do it when I know you are with her still…"
"Roxas…please…"Axel tried to pull the boy off him, but his body reacted differently as his hands started to flush up the backside of Roxas' shirt as he let his fingers dress over each curve of Roxas; Gaia he missed how simplistic the male body felt under his fingers, so different and built more with muscle compared to a woman's body, "…Please…Please…Oh screw it…"
Axel couldn't help it as he ran his lips in hard against Roxas' lips, leaving little to no room for air as he pressed his weight in against Roxas' frame as his knee seemed to slip in against Roxas' thighs. The all too familiar soft mewling moan that Axel had not heard since that night of the Graduation party sent a shiver down the man's face as he lips started to slowly work down to Roxas' neck; it left a slight chill in their spines as Axel started nibbling on Roxas' neck but his hands worked down to just above Roxas' waistline. He wanted to go further then this, but it seemed alright the moment he felt Roxas' hands sink themselves into Axel backside; Gaia how he missed that sensation of kinky foreplay, by pure mistake, Axel shoved his knee in harder against in between Roxas' legs.
"Nmnh! A-Axel…"Roxas' head rolled back as did his eyes as he started to feel a growing problem between them, "…I…I…I can't do this…not yet…"
"…Please don't stop this now, Roxas," Axel growled softly as he nipped hard down on Roxas' neck, "…I've missed this and you too much to let you go now…"
Roxas growled faintly under his breath as he pushed Axel off, "…Seriously, we can't be doing this," he pointed towards the sight of Larxene coming back, looking for Axel; it gave Roxas the chance to escape at the moment as Axel's turned back to where Roxas had been.
"There you are, Axel…"Larxene seemed to muse and purr over the man as she draped her arms around his neck, unaware of the faint bite marks on Axel's neck, "I missed you…"
"…Same…here…"Axel managed to mutter how as they left, but Axel felt that it was going to be hard to walk with a hard on in his pants, Thanks a lot Roxas, not only have you left me with a problem in that region, but now I've got Larxene on my arm…Cold shower…here I come…
Roxas decked away into his Dorm room without anyone else noticing him, but it seemed he wasn't alone, "Hey Roxas, how did it go with Ax---?" Demyx was sitting on Roxas' bed as he heard Roxas slam the bathroom door shut and the sound of running water started to run in the shower, "…Roxas, you okay?"
"J-Just peachy…no problems…here…Mmnh…" he could feel the cold running over his body and it didn't help the problem he had below, Damn it…why did he have to go and make me so turned on…
"Roxas…Are you…Oh Gaia…You…Oh Gaia…DUDE!" Demyx started to grimace but it turned into utter laughter that lead to a wet and dripping, towel draped around his hips, Roxas with a glare that said, 'You. Dead.'
"Hello ladies and gentleman, and welcome to Twilight Rose Academy's Light In The Window Café's Karaoke night," a half hearted sound of applause seemed to come out throughout the Friday night crowd of College of students as the MC tried to sound happy for the lack of enthusiasm, "Tonight, we have a young lady here that I can vouch for that has the voice of a song bird that I'm sure you will all leave here wishing you had the stuff to come up here and sing on our next Karaoke night."
Lights were swishing about the stage as the buzz of the machine and microphone seemed to be the only sound in the Café aside from the sounds of a Coffee machine making coffee or the Espresso machine was gurgling to make up the caffeine that was going to be keeping the last minute study nerds going throughout the night or that last minute, partied the first whole week of school and had forgotten that they had their first paper due come Monday morning and wanted to be able to use the weekend to hang with friends. Softly, footsteps stepped forward to the microphone as the music track of the song of choice began to fill the air. Roxas leaned back in the chair as he listened to the sound of the instrumental track and as the sound of the young woman's voice coming out in a soft, nervous sigh to clear her voice.
"My name is Selphie and I'm going to be singing "What If" by Lene Marlin," she softly nodded as to cue the music to play in for her to sing the song.
If I said I want you, if I said I need you
What if I don't wanna move on
If I like it as it is
Wanna keep it like this, for a while...forever
Just let me lie close to you
Don't wanna let you go, don't wanna let you go
The words felt and seemed to hit old nerves with Roxas, the words sang out over the Café as Roxas sank further into the seat as he watched the girl singing move about the stage, but she seemed more nervous then calm because just a few feet from him was a man about Roxas' age with the same sandy blond hair. He was watching her as her face seemed to blossom into a hue of pink with embarrassment, but the way he watched her seemed to prompt her on to continue and her gaze continued to stray towards him as the words started into a simple chorus. But as Roxas watched her, he couldn't help but imagine himself in the place of the girl while the guy was replaced by the one person that was missing in his life, but why should he be thinking of the one that broke his heart by not putting up a bigger fight against the woman that had wormed her way into his life, his heart, from what Roxas had seen, and even if it was possible, into his bed. That was the last place he wanted or needed to see her, aside from the night previous following the near tragedy at the hospital involving his Father and his Father's significant other.
"…Axel…what if…" Roxas couldn't think of it right now, "…He's a lost cause, I'm better off just ditching this road I'm on and just getting a job in town, maybe at my old High School as some afterschool Tutor…"
A simple hand fell on his shoulder, "You can't give it up, Roxas…You fought to get to this point, and if you quit now…" the mullet sandy haired blond squeezed his friend's shoulder tight, "…Who am I going to have to talk to until I can find a way to get Zexion out of that Hell hole they call a Prison…?"
It seemed like a simple enough question, more like request, "…Fine. For you, I'll stick around…"
"Thanks, Roxas."
If I said I want you, if I said I need you
If I said I love you, what would you do
If I said I want you, if I said I need you
If I said I love you, what would you do
Axel sat at the makeshift desk in the apartment, hunched over books and a faintly, dim reading lamp, trying to do homework, but a pair of lanky arms draping down over his shoulders, playing with the textbook pages, notes that were strewn about the desk and pencils that were laying here and there. A scent of feminine perfume was starting to constrict around him like a tightening boa constrictor; he had never liked the scent of women's perfume even when his Mom had worn it when he was a kid. Her fingers were playing against Axel's shirt and chest as the man tried all he could to fight her off, but it was a loss cause he found his attention taken from the desk and into the face of the annoying hinder to his studies and work.
"Larxene…please…not right now," slowly, her lips were working about his neck and down against his chest as she started to work her fingers up under his shirt to work it off, "I've got to seriously buckle down and get this assignment done, my Professor isn't about to give me an extra extension…"
As slowly and seductive as the fingers and lips had locked themselves against Axel's skin, they slowly stopped, but they kept their distance close to resume, "Can't I just have a little bit of your time, just for five minutes…?"
"Larxene…" Axel rolled his eyes as he shoved her off his lap, "…Just…please. Give me time to finish this assignment and then you've got undivided attention."
"Well…what brought on this change in you? I thought you were still hung up on that little, petite blond?" Larxene was at a loss for what was happening, Is he actually considering letting this marriage go through and giving up on being a fruity little fairy?
That was the one thing Axel hadn't forgotten about; he just needed to play the part of giving up on Roxas to keep his Father off his back, Forgive me Roxas, but…hopefully…she'll see through all of this and give up on me…
"I figured, maybe I need to be the guy my Dad wanted me to be; maybe nailing a guy wasn't all its cracked up to be, it was probably a phase, but I'm sure doing it with you…" Axel had to hold back bile that was forming up his throat that burned like swallowing an entire buck of hot coals, "Doing it with you…shouldn't be too bad. I figured, 'Why not see what those straight dudes are always raving about because who knows, I might have been missing something all these years by chasing after those hiked up shortie shorts on those young boys"
"Well, well, I'm glad to see you coming back towards the 'Right' side," Larxene fiercely clamped her lips against Axel's as she giggled before pulling back away from the man's lips, "I can't wait to get you into that dapper little tuxedo and watch it come walking down the aisle in a couple of weeks and then be able to just rip it off you and get to the real fun!"
Real fun, was there any real fun in pretending to actually like the female in his lap that had all but destroyed the relationship that had taken him nearly the several months and semesters left of High School to create, keep and hold onto without losing sight of the one thing in his life that had made it worth getting up and greeting the world with that plastered, 'Hello world! I'm Axel, what's yours?' smile across his face. All the fun in faking the impossible, faking this relationship, faking he was truly in love with the woman starting to leave her own playful marks on him; there was no fun in it, only heartache and pain and painful tears that he would let out in the shower when he was alone.
The only real fun in my life…doesn't even want to see or speak to me…
What if I don't wanna forget
Don't want anyone but you
Believe me, it's true, for a while...forever
Just let me stay here with you
I don't wanna leave, I don't wanna leave
"…Heh, come on, Cloud…you're going to have to wake up sooner or later…"Leon rested his cheek against Cloud's knuckles as they rested in Leon's hand, "I saw, Zexion the other day…it seems, he should be getting out soon. The Judge overruled the on the charges regarding that he is an unfit teacher…his relationship with Demyx has nothing to do with his personal life. He can go back to teaching, but under probationary rules laid down by the College, isn't that great?"
The only thing to answer him back was the soft sounds of the machines keeping Cloud alive, from the respirator to the heart monitor keeping an eye on his heart rhythm, "…Please Cloud. I need to see you open your eyes…if only a little…" it was hard staying at the apartment alone without the man at his side, especially when parts of the apartment had been still cornered off to finish the investigation into convicting Sephiroth for assault with a deadly weapon, "…Please…I…I…I can't keep up this charade of keeping it all together."
Held back tears started to fall on the sheets as the man let Cloud's hand slip a little as Leon's shoulders started to heave; it had been hard to keep up the charade of a sane man that wasn't hurt by what had happened to the only man in his life; Rinoa had now and again had come into visit the men. There had been times she had found Leon asleep with his head rested on Cloud's bedside and all she could do was just brush aside the hairs from his forehead and drape a hospital blanket across the man. Now and again she would bring food in for Leon to help him keep up his strength, but it wasn't enough, Leon needed Cloud. Leon's words seemed like a request and a prayer, and it was about to be answered as soft, muffled moans started to utter forward as fingers began to flinch and twitch.
"…Mmnh…Nmh…W-Why…Why can't I move my hand…?" Cloud mumbled as his eyes began to flutter open, but if only slowly and briefly until they looked about confusedly, "…I-Is someone there…?"
Cloud's hand reached out to reach for the Call Button to the Nurse's desk, but Leon was better then any Nurse Call Button as he became a flurry of noise, kissing Cloud's face like a crazed mad man who hadn't seen the man in several years and as he brushed his hands over the man's body as Cloud slowly started to gain some sense of focus and grip on the situation. Slowly, his fingers worked up against Leon's face, a soft and light chuckle brushed a quivering set of lips as they felt the scar across Leon's face that had at first when he had begun dating Leon, had kind of made Cloud feel odd about dating such a man.
"L-Leon…?"
"I'm here, babe…I'm here…I'm really here…" Leon spoke through a choked sob in his throat as he threw his arms around Cloud as the Nurse walked in.
"Dr. McKinley!" the Nurse called out into the Hall as the room became a flurry of activity, more then it had in the past weeks since Cloud had been admitted to the Hospital, "Dr. McKinley! Patient Strife is awake!"
Cloud wasn't sure why they were fussing over him so much, but it made sense after he was told why he was even in the Hospital, but after several tests to ensure no permanent damage had been done, the news didn't come as good news; the verdict was that Sephiroth's attack had done not only harm in the way of mental nightmares but it had as far as it seemed, left the man blind. The length of the inability to see was unknown at this time, but there was only one that could be done was to take things slowly and hope that in time, the length of the blindness could be discovered and hopefully fixed.
"…I'm just glad you're alive, Cloud," Leon softly kissed the back of the man's hand; "…I thought I lost you."
Cloud softly chuckle, "…It'll take more then just a shot to the head to take me out, Leonhart…"
If I said I want you, if I said I need you
If I said I love you, what would you do
If I said I want you, if I said I need you
If I said I love you, what would you do
Demyx sat on the other side of the glass, waiting to talk to Zexion, "You have ten minutes," the voice of the guard said it all, "Make it count."
"…Hey," Demyx wanted to say more, but right now; he just wanted to admire the one thing or person in that mattered at this moment.
"Hey…Turns out the one that was sent out to be my downfall was the man posing as the Officer who broke into the house that night to arrest us…" Zexion couldn't bring himself to say anything more, "…So…I guess that means I'm getting out of here soon. The Judge through out the case…"
Demyx just only looked on at Zexion as he tried to at least touch the glass, but the Guard had told them to keep off the glass, "…I know…I heard it from Rinoa…she's the one that helped us get the case thrown out."
"But…how?" Zexion was confused beyond anything.
"Turns out, not only does she have a knack for figures, she's also a once former Attorney…it seems…when she and Leon got married, for the time that they were…she was the one that made up their Prenuptial agreement and then annulled it once they figured out that it wouldn't work out…" Demyx softly smiled as there seemed to be a happier step in his words and body language, "She managed to vouch for us, she did a heavy research into what was going on and what happened…seems that my Dad decided he was going to ruin me one way or another since I managed to get away from him…"
"…So…" Demyx looked through the glass hoping Zexion was catching on to what he meant as he pressed his hands and lips against the glass, "…You ready to go home, Zexy?"
"…You goof…"Zexion softly chuckled.
And I thought I could, let this go
I thought I would, but now I know
Now I know...
Rinoa wasn't one for visiting people that were in prison, but she had to on the behalf of Cloud and Leon and she had been the one that had introduced Sephiroth to them sine she had taken a class with the man back when she was dating Leon, but at that same time, Sephiroth had been dating Axel's father, but who would've know that he would have turned out the way he had.
"…So, they sent a woman to do the job of a man," Sephiroth chuckled to himself, "Why isn't your man down here to defend his little boyfriend?"
She was hesitant to answer him as she finally picked up the phone at the small booth, "My man is at his boyfriend's bedside to make sure that bullet you hit him with didn't kill him…and if you did, I hope they fry your ass…"
"Oh, such language Heartlily, where on Earth did you ever learn such language?" Sephiroth's dark smile only seemed to worm further and further across Sephiroth's face, "Let me guess, you learned it from all the men you've slept with."
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Rinoa slammed her hands against the glass that nearly had the Guards on high alert, "I can't believe you! I hope they fry you!"
"Time's up," the Guard called out as Rinoa stood up, "I'll see you out, miss."
The only thing that Rinoa could do was give him one last glance, "…Goodbye forever, Sephiroth…"
If I said I want you, if I said I need you
If I said I love you, what would you do
If I said I want you, if I said I need you