A/N: So I finished 358/2 Days :D So many emotions! I find the game in every song I hear now XD I also stayed up all night and finished a book I needed to finish, so so far so good.
Xion probably won't be in this story, actually. They might mention her by name at some point, but I don't think she'll end up having any role in this tale. She's back in Hallow Bastion with the other missing members of Org. XIII.
There's an italicized paragraph down near the end. It's nothing too serious, but the squeamish may want to skip it. Feel free to message me if there's ever something skip worthy that you want to hear a clean summary of.
My f key is falling off. D:
[EDIT] I received the book Collide by J. R. Lenk in the mail yesterday. I finished it last night and I'm still hit with random waves of emotions when I think about this story. The writing has amazing power and I just can't put into words how beautiful this story is. It's not about perfection, in fact it plays up on human impurities like insecurity and jealousy and it's just an amazing tale. J. R. is actually one of us-a fan fic writer. His pen name is White Silver and Mercury, and his work is absolutely amazing. He's more than half the reason Lost Consistency is what it is; when I first started this story I was striving to improve my writing capabilities because his had inspired me. [EDIT END]
Enjoy.
A light moan echoed through the air of the black and white bedroom as a messy haired blond adolescent rolled over. His forehead was burning and he felt sore all over. His headache was borderline migraine and he hadn't been able to eat anything for the past three days without spewing it into the nearest bucket ten minutes later. He wrapped his checkered bedspread tighter about himself and wished he could just curl up and die there.
"Morning, Roxas," a high voice spoke as his door squeaked open. Roxas would have hissed if wasn't too busy cringing at the noise. His curtains were drawn tightly to keep even the faintest ray of light from slipping in. Larxene squinted through the darkness as she came in with a bowl of soup Roxas knew he'd hate. Something about tasting it after it sat in his stomach seemed to take away the fun of eating chicken noodle. He'd have groaned in misery if it wouldn't make him scream in pain from his headache. So much for borderlines.
Larxene set the venomous bowl down on his desk and walked over to him with a thermometer. Roxas inwardly sighed and opened his mouth just enough for the instrument to probe the underside of his tongue. Its cruel, high pitch beep sent another arrow of pain through Roxas's head before Larxene quickly took it back and read the numbers Roxas knew would be too high. Larxene sighed despondently and walked back to the desk.
"Morning," a deeper voice greeted from the door. The new arrival made sure not to touch the door so as to avoid metaphorically stabbing Roxas in the brain with its high pitch squeal. Roxas sighed in relief as the deep tone soothed his headache like water on a burn.
"Out, Axel," Larxene said without looking up. Roxas didn't know why she bothered trying anymore. Everyday Axel followed her in and everyday she told him to get out.
"But he always feels better with me here," Axel lied, right on cue. Roxas would feel better if everyone left him to die here in peace.
"No he doesn't," Larxene repeated every morning. Today was no exception. Axel wouldn't be phased by that and would just sit himself down beside Roxas's bed with a grin to the blonde.
"Go back to your room," Larxene scolded him, her attention on the soup Roxas really didn't want.
"But it's all the way on the other side of the house," Axel groaned. He would have whined, but he somehow knew that high sounds were hurting Roxas the most. Roxas wondered how this stubborn redhead could be so intuitive.
"It's on the other side of that wall," Larxene said, giving Axel a look as she pointed to the wall behind him and Roxas. Axel just shrugged and leaned against Roxas's bed, making sure not to push on the mattress, because somehow that damn know-it-all knew it bothered Roxas. The blond was always irritable when he got sick. He seemed to get sick a lot, actually.
Larxene carried the bowl over to Roxas who groaned and sat up in the most miserable manner he could muster. Axel rolled his eyes playfully at the grumpy teen.
"What's everyone doing today?" Roxas asked, taking the bowl from the motherly female. It was Saturday, so there'd probably be a lot of activity going on, though Roxas always asked this question in order to distract himself from the urge to vomit as he ate his soup.
"Marluxia, Demyx, and Zexion went to Sora's house to watch a movie," Larxene told him. Roxas felt like her voice was making his ears bleed but focused on her words anyway as he ate.
"I'll be staying home to make sure you have everything you need. Axel will be writing his English paper," she added, glaring at the redhead on the floor. Axel just waved at her with one of his more irritating grins. Despite his mood, Roxas snorted.
"Fat chance," he mumbled through his soup. Larxene ignored him.
"You'll rest up in here. I don't want you running around or doing anything besides sleeping today, Roxas. You're fever's almost 104. Namine's staying home as well, but she wont-"
She was cut off by the screeching squeak of Roxas's door as the girl in question peered in.
"Is he up yet?" she asked softly. Roxas smile slightly to see his friend. They'd known each other for a while; ever since the one time when Larxene dated his older brother.
"She won't be coming in here," Larxene finished, looking pointedly at her younger sister. Namine rolled her eyes and tried to come forward, but Larxene quickly stepped forward and ushered her out of the room, closing the door and locking it. Roxas sighed and finished his soup. He'd hoped Namine would get to stay and chat with him a bit. Her voice was soft enough not to irritate his head and she was an entertaining person to be around, once she'd warmed up to you, of course. Larxene didn't want to risk her getting sick.
"How long ago did Dem and the others leave?" Axel asked as Larxene took Roxas's bowl. Roxas laid down and pulled his checkered comforter tightly around himself.
"About an hour ago," Larxene responded. Roxas drifted off to sleep.
"Roxas, Roxas," a voice called him from the depths of his warm nap. Roxas struggled to stay asleep, not wanting to wake to his headache. The voice was too persistent, though, and soon he was blinking sleep away and rolling over.
"I want to check your temperature again," Larxene said softly. Roxas felt sweat covering his forehead.
"What time is it?" he mumbled groggily, opening his mouth for the thermometer once again.
"You slept for about two hours," Axel said. Roxas didn't have to look to know the redhead hadn't left his place by the bed. He doubted Axel had even fidgeted. Roxas glared at the thermometer, wondering who was the cruel inventor that came up with the beeping idea. Larxene took it from him and bit her lip.
"It's 104," she said. "I'll call the doctor again." With that, she left the room for a phone. Namine slipped inside quickly, her trusty sketchbook under her arm.
"I drew you some pictures," she said, showing him what she'd been up to for the past two hours. She drawn him a very realistic looking lion cub who's fur looked similar to his hairstyle. Roxas smiled.
"Thanks, Namine," he croaked, his voice rough when pushed above a mumble due lack of use over the past few days.
"Demyx and the others came back, by the way," she told him, sitting down in front of Axel. Larxene walked back in and sighed when she saw her sister.
"I called the doctor, he said he'd make a house call," she informed them. Roxas felt like they thought he was dieing or something. Well, he did feel like it. And to top it off, now his fever was making him dizzy. He screwed up his eyes in confusion as the world started moving. He reached out for something to steady himself and found himself gravitating towards Axel somehow before the world went black.
He blinked at the sudden darkness and the fog cleared up, only to reveal that he had somehow teleported into Axel's lap and the redhead was looking down at him.
"Wh-what?" Roxas blinked, looking around.
"Easy," an unfamiliar voice reached him. Its tone was soothing.
"Roxas, the doctor's here," Larxene told him. Axel lifted him up back into his bed.
"That was fast," Roxas said in surprise, trying to figure out how he had ended up on the floor in the first place.
"Actually, Roxas, you passed out for about twenty minutes," Namine told him hesitantly. Roxas's eyes widened.
"Don't worry, it's normal for someone with such a high fever to faint," the doctor assured him and he checked Roxas's heart beat with his stethoscope. "The mumbling's common, too," he added as an after thought.
"Mumbling?" Roxas asked. Axel shrugged, a smirk pulling at his lips.
"It sounded like you mumbled a name or something," Namine shrugged. She was still speaking hesitantly, like there was something she was holding back. Axel's hidden smirk grew wider.
"It seems like it's just an early case of the flu," the doctor said, straightening back up. "I'm surprised the season's started this early on, but I think he should be fine."
"He has a weak immune system," Namine said, clearly remembering all the times he'd been sick in the past. The doctor nodded.
"That would explain how he caught this so early on. I'll prescribe you some medicine to help him fight it off.""Thank you," Larxene said, leading the way out. The doctor nodded and handed her a slip of paper that probably had the prescription written on it before he went down the stairs and out of the house. Demyx walked in, Zexion following him.
"So how is he? Does he have something deadly?" Demyx asked, looking Roxas over as if he could see the germs making the shorter blond sick.
"It's just the flu, Demyx," Zexion said.
"How do you know that?" Axel turned towards the slate haired teen.
"His symptoms," Zexion returned, his tone suggesting it was an obvious conclusion. Maybe that was his normal tone, Roxas mused absently. His main thoughts were still focused on piecing together what exactly he must have mumbled to make Axel look so smug and have Namine hesitating.
"So, he's not gonna die, right?" Demyx confirmed, grinning playfully at Roxas.
"No, Demyx, he's not going to die. So long as he ensures hypothermia doesn't snake its, no pun intended, cold hands around him."
"Don't worry Dem, I'll keep him warm," Axel dismissed. A look passed between the two of them as they had some sort of telepathic conversation Roxas couldn't begin to guess the topic of. The pair snickered at whatever they'd shared.
"He is, however," Zexion added as Larxene slipped back into the room, "likely to be highly contagious."
"That's enough from doctor emo, out with you," Larxene insisted, pushing on the short teen's shoulder.
"I am not emo," Zexion hissed at her.
"You're still one of the smallest, so out!" She was relentless when it came to abusing Zexion's self esteem. Roxas didn't know how the intelligent boy put up with it.
"You too," Larxene added, ushering Namine out as well. Her weak protests went unobserved as Demyx freely followed Zexion out of the black and white bedroom. Marluxia appeared in the doorway seconds after Namine's retreating figure disappeared down the hall.
"I just shooed them out," Larxene sighed irritably, glaring at Marluxia.
"I only came to tell you our sustenance supply is running on empty," Marluxia informed her, the strange phrasing of the sentence his way of showing Larxene her tone annoyed him. Roxas had been around the other exchange students long enough to pick up things like that, though he still didn't know what the others were thinking or what Axel and Demyx discussed in their seemingly telepathic conversations.
"I can't leave Roxas!" Larxene insisted, tossing a concerned look over her shoulder at him. Roxas, grimacing at her voice like always, was reminded of his first impression of her. Her voice didn't match her personality in the slightest.
"Then we'll go hungry," Marluxia shrugged. Roxas was pretty sure nothing bothered this cold man.
"I can look after him," Axel threw in, reminding Roxas that the redhead was seated beside his bed. "I have a crazy high immune system; haven't been sick since I got the chicken pox in second grade, and that was because the vaccine they gave me was stronger than it was supposed to be. Stupid nursing interns," he added under his breath. Roxas tried not to snicker at the face Axel was making.
Larxene stared long and hard at him before sighing in agreement.
"Fine, but you're to make sure no one but Axel comes in or out of this room until I get back," the blonde hissed at Marluxia, jabbing her finger into his chest before she stormed passed him to the stairs down the hall. Marluxia shut Roxas's bedroom door behind himself as he walked out without a backward glance.
"Why does he let her boss him around like that?" Roxas asked aloud, wrapping himself back up in the blankets.
"Maybe they're dating," Axel shrugged. They locked eyes and burst out laughing at the idea.
"Yeah, that's go to be it," Roxas said sarcastically.
"You watch, they'll get married one day," Axel snickered. Roxas snorted as best he could with his nose as stuffed as it was. Axel must've heard the signs of the nasal congestion.
"You need to get better soon, cub," he said seriously.
"'Cub?'" Roxas asked disbelievingly. Axel grinned and held up the picture Namine had left for Roxas. "You are not calling me that," Roxas hissed.
"Better than Roxy, though, isn't it?" Axel smirked. Roxas would have punched him if he weren't so warm in his blankets, so instead he offered up a thankful middle finger. Axel just laughed at him and stood up, tossing an "I'll be back," over his shoulder. Not that it was necessary. He always came back. Roxas managed to slip off into sleep again.
Panting echoed around the room. The sound of nails sliding across sheets ripped the air as a breathy "Ah," escaped a certain blond's lips. The sound was repeated a few times, each louder than the last. The sound elevated into light moans as hands fisted the sheets below them.
Roxas woke up, panting lightly, his heart beat elevated. He thanked whatever holy and or unholy force out there that was responsible for the fact that Axel had yet to return to his bedroom. It must've been a really quick nap.
The piercing squeak of his door announced an intruder's presence. Roxas rolled over, hoping he looked composed. Axel grinned at him, waggling a bag of gummy worms and a box of cheerios around.
"This was literally all we had left down there," he laughed, settling himself back down on the floor. "Figured you wouldn't want soup anyway," he added, holding the opening of the box towards Roxas. The sick teen gave in and took a handful. He was tired of soup.
"I thought Larxene was being a sugar Nazi?" Roxas mused, taking the gummy worm offered to him.
"Yeah, but me and Dem got ourselves a sugar stash," Axel grinned mischievously. He really was just a big kid, Roxas mused.
"So you stole Demyx's candy for me? I'm touched," Roxas teased. Axel snorted.
"It's our candy," he corrected. "We both pitched in to fill the stash. Besides, who doesn't want candy when they're sick?"
Roxas rolled his eyes and ate another worm. Despite his stomach, he was feeling a bit better from this.
"Y'know, Axel," Roxas began.
"Hm?" Axel said intelligently, turning to face the blond.
"You're a pretty good friend," Roxas said, not making eye contact. It felt weird saying it, but something compelled him to tell the redhead what he thought of him.
"You say that like it's a surprise," Axel snorted.
"Never mind," Roxas rolled his eyes.