CHAPTER TWELVE
Yuffie's entrance the next day was noisy, her bickering voice mixing with a deeper male one in the hall as she slammed Axel's door open, frightening Roxas out of sleep with the bang.
"And I keep telling you, he's part of the Committee until further notice," the short-haired girl snapped. She smiled brightly at Roxas' wide blue eyes as he lay on his stomach, twisted in the covers of Axel's bed. "Morning, sleepy-head! Wow, is that your back, or did Aerith convince Leon to let her buy lobsters and hide one in your room?"
A second head poked in, a blond guy – was this planet of the blonds, or what? – and gasped, smothering his mouth with one hand. "What are you freaks doing to Axel's Roxie?" he demanded.
Axel's Roxie?
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "He's fine, Demyx, he's just developing a little tan."
"Oh, man, you wait til I tell Axel – he's gonna spaz out and set you all on fire…"
"Axel's seen it, dork-for-brains," Yuffie sighed, flicking his forehead. "I accidentally showed him in last night, and they made with the smoochies for a while."
"Aw, cute!"
"Excuse me?" Roxas started to sit, a pained expression on his face. "Do you mind? I'd rather you didn't stand there gossipping about what I may or may not have done with Axel last night."
"Gah, don't get up yet!" Yuffie bounced over, pushing him back down, carefully avoiding the worst of his burn. "I still have to give your next massage." She bent down to meet his gaze and said sternly, "And you're not getting out of it this time. You owe me big time for last night."
"Massage?" The blond, Demyx, stepped into the room, shaking his head incredulously. His hair style was… definitely different. Roxas couldn't help but stare. "Yuffie, if you touch his back he's going to scream. I swear to God, only Axel's allowed to make him – "
"Do you mind?" Roxas demanded loudly, heating up with a blush, eyes squeezing shut. "That is definitely none of your business. I don't even know you. Please don't talk about my non-existent sex-life with Axel."
"Non-existent? Really?" Yuffie seemed disappointed. "Well, what the hell were you guys doing last night?"
"Oh, my God," Roxas moaned into the pillow. "This conversation isn't happening."
"Allow me to introduce myself," the blond said happily, coming over and bending down, tilting his head to meet Roxas' angle. "I'm Demyx, Axel's friend. We're both techies, and I'm part of the Free Roxas Liberation Force. We're dedicated to getting you away from the crazy-ass Committee and getting you and Axel into bed together."
Roxas' eyes shot impossibly wide, his mouth coming off the pillow. "You what? Does Axel know about this?"
"You guys suck," Yuffie grumbled. "That doesn't even make a decent acronym."
"The acronym isn't important," Demyx glared over at her. "What's important is making Roxas happy, instead of letting him get forced into doing your job, which only crazy people want to do!" He smiled back down at Roxas. "And no, Axel doesn't know about it. It was just something I kind of made up. But I know several people who'll want to join!"
"Please, don't," Roxas begged. "I can't handle this. I barely even know Axel."
Demyx frowned, glanced over at Yuffie, who shrugged. "Oh, okay. Well, but… I mean, you do love him, though, right?"
Roxas fought the urge to start kicking his hands and feet in a tantrum. With a low groan, he said, "No, I don't love him. How can I love him when I barely know him? God." He buried his face again. "You're going to tell him I said that, aren't you?"
"Well…"
"No, he's not," Yuffie interrupted, glaring sharply at the taller blond. "It's pretty obvious what's going on here. Roxas likes Axel, but like he said, you can't love someone you don't know. It's different for Axel – he remembers the kid from way back." She slapped Demyx sharply around the back of the head. "So just shut up with your stupid non-acronym Force, and let Roxas and Axel sort it out for themselves." She lowered to peer pleadingly into the blond's blue eyes. "There, I totally stuck up for you – can I now give you a massage? I'm not even kidding, Roxas, it's really important. Especially after everything yesterday. I mean, come on, kid – can you even stand?"
Roxas was actually wondering the same thing. His every muscle ached, pulled tighter than a violin string. He felt pretty confident about crawling, but after that initial attempt to rise, he wasn't too sure about anything more ambitious. However, he also didn't feel like having his monstrous sunburn even breathed on, let alone touched.
"Can't you do it and not touch my back?"
Regretfully, she shook her head. "I'm sorry, kid, but that's the same as not doing it. This is really important to keep your circulation going strong, remind your body it knows how to do it all by itself. It'll just have to hurt."
Demyx glowered. "God, you Committee guys are assholes," he said coldly. "Didn't you even consider this might happen?"
"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Yuffie cried over at him. "It's my fault, I'm aware of that, but there's really nothing to be done about that now."
Demyx cocked a finger at her. "I'm waiting in the hall, and when you're done, Roxas is sitting with us for breakfast. Axel gets him at mealtimes."
"Fine," she huffed. "But don't blame me if Leon comes over and tells Roxas off because you guys make him late."
"Fine!" Cheerfully, Demyx went out to wait, leaving Roxas to Yuffie's agonising ministrations. He sank his teeth into the pillow, and didn't let go for an hour, tongue scraping the material over and over until it turned numb. Whimpers escaped him from time to time, but Yuffie did her best to work around the worst sections.
"Man," she muttered towards the end, "did you want a bag to take all this peeled skin with you when you leave?"
Roxas released the pillow. "That's fucking gross," he complained.
"You're telling me!"
At last, they were done. Trembling, covered in a fine, sickly sheen of sweat, Roxas climbed to his feet, muscles sore but manageable. It was an improvement, but his back throbbed hideously, Yuffie's nails having scraped the burn countless times even despite her care. He went to the wardrobe and pulled out the lightest garment he could find, a pale blue t-shirt, pulling it gingerly over his red neck, feeling the dampness across his shoulders instantly latch into the fabric and start clinging. Heat radiated from his body, rolling up into his face, making him pale dizzily.
Yuffie watched, concerned, as he staggered pulling on his dirty jeans. "It's a damn good thing Aerith's grabbed you for today," she said worriedly. "You look like hell, kid." She grimaced guiltily. "It really was my fault. I was put in charge of you, after all. Shoulda been paying more attention."
"It's okay," Roxas said shortly, trying hard to curb his impatience. Irritability shivered through him. He bit it back with effort, aware that it was the burn affecting him. "I wasn't even near you while we were working."
She sighed and nodded, then went over to the door and yanked it open. Demyx just about fell through the sudden gap, a startled, sleepy expression on his face. "Fuck, Yuffie." He wiped his face hard. "I was totally having a cat-nap there."
"Not my problem!" she sang, skipping past. She turned, flapped Roxas a wave. "See you round, kid. If we don't speak at breakfast, I'll catch you at dinner!"
"You won't be speaking at breakfast," Demyx bellowed after her retreating back. "He's all Axel's!"
Faintly amused, Roxas stepped out, finishing the buckle on his belt. "I'm all Axel's?"
"Well, yeah," Demyx snorted, rolling his eyes. "Maybe you're having emotional issues or whatever, but Axel's crazy about you!" He pulled the door shut, and hooked an arm around Roxas' shoulders, yelping and withdrawing almost instantly from the sweltering shirt. A frown creasing his face, humour dissipating, he asked, "How much water have you had to drink?"
"Uh… I had some yesterday in the Fissure."
"You need to have more, very soon," the blond replied firmly, instead taking hold of Roxas' arm and steering him in Yuffie's wake. "You're burning up. If we don't re-hydrate you, you'll end up getting sick."
Roxas struggled for something to say to this perfect stranger. "So, uh, you and Axel are friends?" he ended up settling on lamely. Demyx smiled brightly, nodded.
"We sure are. Ever since we were kids."
Roxas' interest was aroused. "Really? So that means, you didn't go into the – the program, either?"
The blond shook his head, turned them down a left-side corridor. "Nope, not me. I became a technician so I could monitor all the people who were put into Twilight Town." He smiled, a little sadly, at Roxas. "It was the only way back then for people like me and Axel to keep an eye on people like you. My boyfriend, Zexion, has been out for nearly a year."
Roxas frowned, they turned right. "Is it just me, or does everyone end up getting together with the person that took them out?"
Demyx laughed, delightedly. "But, see, that's the attachment! It's so freaking awesome, I love it! Sora took out Riku, I took out Zexy, Axel took out you…" Demyx gave him a sly, flashing look.
"What about the girls?" Roxas wondered, studiously ignoring the insinuation, eyes fixed determinedly forward. "Does the whole… taking out process turn people gay, or what?"
Demyx laughed again. "You'd think so, wouldn't you? But no – my friend Larxene got out my other friend Naminé, and Sora got out Axel's sister Kairi, and they spend half their time pretending to cry because all the sexy boys are making out with other sexy boys." Roxas couldn't help but chuckle. "But," Demyx conceded thoughtfully, "Sora did get out Riku first, so maybe that's why he and Kairi didn't end up together… maybe it only works the first time…" He frowned to himself. "But then that would mean Nam and Larx were together…" He shrugged suddenly, dismissing it all. Roxas studied him with new amusement. No one in Twilight Town had ever been like the people he'd met so far. People like Axel and Demyx, who had been living in the real world their entire lives, were almost fascinating with their differences, their loudness, their quirks. They were the product of a far more open society than anything Roxas had encountered, which was curious, considering that it had been people from this world who had built that whole town to begin with.
He frowned thoughtfully. "Demyx – why was I put into Twilight Town but you and Axel weren't? Why was anyone put into Twilight Town? Come to think of it – why was a simulation town built in the first place?"
Demyx tilted his head to the side. "Hmm. Well, there's a long story, there's a short story, and then there's the story Axel made me swear to let him tell you." He adopted a mournful expression. "He won't let me tell you anything."
Anger stirred. "Why?" Roxas demanded.
Demyx swivelled his head, giving the shorter boy a gentle look. "Because, he wants to be the one to share it all with you, Roxas. He promised to tell you, and he's going to." He patted the boy's arm, adding, "Don't worry, you'll know everything eventually. It's not that great, not that exciting, and to be honest, not necessarily very nice, but I know how you kids these days get with your questions."
Roxas rolled his eyes. "How old are you, anyway?"
"Twenty-one," he answered proudly. "Same as Axel."
Roxas jerked to a halt, nearly pulling Demyx over as the blond tried to keep moving. "Axel's twenty-one?" he asked loudly, eyes wide. "He told me he was eighteen!"
"Ah." Demyx smiled nervously. "Well, did he? Or did you just assume it? He did pretend to be a senior to get closer to you and all, but…"
"Why did he even have to get close to me at all?" Roxas demanded, letting the older boy go. He crossed his arms, glaring. "I don't get it. All that shit with convincing me to leave – those weird wonders… Hell, it's all just an overgrown videogame anyway, so what exactly was all that about?"
"It's… a conditioning process," Demyx answered in a small voice. "But, seriously, Axel wants to tell you – "
"Axel's not here." Roxas scowled. "You are. I want to know the truth about everything, and I'm sick of waiting for a time that's just convenient."
"We – we're on our way to breakfast right now…"
Roxas' blue eyes narrowed, before he nodded sharply. "Fine. Take me to him, then."
Doing a bad job of hiding his relief, Demyx meekly led the rest of the way to the dining hall. As they entered the naturally lit room, the older blond burst into a sunny smile and surged away from Roxas' side. Halfway across the hall, he hurled himself into the arms of a tall, thin man with blue-silver hair covering one half of his face. Roxas caught sight of a slight smile on the man's face, his arms moving to automatically wrap around the excitable other. That must be the Zexion he mentioned, then.
A little of Roxas' anger drained away in that moment, seeing the two together. Demyx said Zexion had been out for nearly a year, and he was looking okay. He obviously knew all there was to know, and was happy with Demyx – is that how Roxas would be in a year's time? He might have been clueless and in pain right now, but wouldn't it all be worth it if in a few months he could run into this room and throw himself joyfully at Axel, and be received?
Not that he was the type to run and throw himself around. And – and not at Axel, necessarily, or – or anyone, but, well… He felt himself blushing, tried to keep the cringing thoughts away. If anyone ever had the slightest idea of what went on in his head, he'd never get a moment's peace. Not with Axel the way he was, and Demyx threatening to form a Free Roxas Liberation Force with the goal of getting them into bed together…
God, this morning was turning out to be painful.
He caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of his eye, and twisted automatically. The smile that broke out was completely against his will, traitorous emotions and hormones insisting that the face coming towards him was precisely all he needed to make everything better again. Axel smiled fondly down at him, enfolded him instantly in his arms, startling and embarrassing the blond, whose eyes flicked around the busy room. "Um, nice to see you, too," he said, "but, uh, PDA much?"
"Oh, Roxie, you think a hug is PDA?" Axel grinned, drawing back to pinch his cheek. "That is so insanely cute and innocent. By the time I'm done with you, you'll barely think dry-humping on Aerith's stove counts as PDA."
Roxas' mouth flew open as he shoved the redhead away. "Axel, you freaking pervert!"
Heads swung around at the cry, a few chuckles travelling through the room. Demyx had twisted, grinning, his boyfriend smirking, but none could smile quite as broadly as Axel in that moment. He allowed himself to be pushed, swaying, then coming back and planting a quick kiss on the blond's forehead before he could protest. Scowling, Roxas wiped it off, but his skin continued to tingle in sync with the butterflies that had erupted in his gut the instant the redhead's lips had touched him.
Unperturbed by Roxas' attitude, Axel took him by the elbow and steered him over to the same table that Demyx and Zexion were converging on. Already seated there were a man in his early-thirties, idly shuffling a deck of cards with one hand while the other calmly spooned cereal into his mouth, and a blonde girl with short, slicked-back hair, watching the older man's motions with a squinted eye. She was shredding a napkin methodically into strips, laying them flat on the table, her own bowl emptied and sitting to one side.
They both glanced up at the sudden influx of people, their gazes settling almost simultaneously on the new face with interest. "Morning boys," Axel chirped, tugging Roxas to sit beside him. The girl flipped him off with a scowl, before returning to tearing the napkin. The man nodded, mumbling incoherently through his cereal.
"Roxie, allow me to introduce you to these fine friends of mine." Axel pointed to the girl, his other hand resting on the boy's shoulder, thumb moving almost unconsciously up and down the bare skin under the short sleeve. "This lovely creature sitting here is the oft-mentioned sylph, Larxene. She is charming in every aspect of her prodigiously generous nature."
"Axel, do the world a favour and go fuck yourself," she replied in bored tones, not raising her eyes from her work. "I'd say to get your boyfriend there to do it for you, but he's screaming virgin vibes, so I won't bother."
Axel coughed, while Roxas turned a steady shade of rose, eyes squeezing shut. "Why is everyone trying to kill me with embarrassment today?" he asked the air.
"Don't worry, me and Zexy will protect you," Demyx sang, clinging to his boyfriend as they sat. "Larxene, don't be a bitch!"
The girl shrugged, snorted, and started rolling the strips of soft paper into little balls, lining them up carefully like artillery.
Axel cleared his throat loudly, shooting Roxas an apologetic glance. "And, uh, that's Zexion over by Dem, they're slightly sickening together in a way I hope you and I can be someday…" Roxas dropped his head against the table, moaning to himself. Clearly losing confidence, Axel moved right along. "And over there is Luxord, our resident gambling addict."
"It's not an addiction, you fucking pyro," the man stated mildly, his accent reminiscent of DiZ's, only softer and less asshole-ish. Roxas was beginning to feel a tug of déja-vu, could picture Cloud sulkily claiming he wasn't anorexic. It seemed it wasn't limited just to the Restoration Committee, then; this kind of madness was evidently catching, and Roxas was curious as to how long he'd last against it.
"Tell me, Roxas, have you ever played poker?" Luxord asked. The blond lifted his head wearily, shook his head weakly. A glint appeared in the man's light blue eyes. "I see. This situation must be rectified, as soon as possible."
"Axie's on probation," Larxene reminded him, a saccharine-sweet tone to her voice that made Roxas wonder how Axel could call her a friend. The redhead threw her a glare.
"It's only for a week."
"A week is such a long time, though, isn't it?" she sighed, picking up one of the balls and rolling it quickly between her thumb and forefinger. "Poor Axel, a whole week. There's today, and tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day – "
"Larxene is, if you hadn't already noticed, our resident bitch," Zexion offered dryly from Demyx's left. The slender man had obviously already organised their food in advance, and the two were eating one handed, the hands between them twisted together under the table.
"I'm sure he's realised," Axel answered, with a caustic glance at the girl. He turned to Roxas. "You hungry? I'll get you something to eat." He looked so eager, that Roxas couldn't bear to say no – this was obviously giving Axel a lot of pleasure.
Roxas opened his mouth to agree, then suddenly blurted, "Holy crap! What the fuck happened to your eyes?"
Axel blinked, pulling back slightly, reaching up to touch the corners of his eyes, startled. "What? What's wrong?"
"Not there!" Roxas reached, hesitated, ran his fingers softly over the skin beneath each burning green eye, at the peaks of his cheekbones. He noticed Axel's slight shiver at the touch, ignored it in favour of his concern. "There's these – these red marks… Hang on." He licked his thumb, then wiped at the marks. Axel shuddered again, eyelids slipping shut, an intense look drifting over his features, making Roxas pause, torn between uncertainty and the part of his brain that found Axel's face hardened like that unbelievably hot. "Um. It's not coming off."
The rest of the table watched, puzzled, before Demyx burst into sudden laughter. "It's your tattoos!"
Axel blinked, slightly dazed. "Huh?" Roxas drew back, cheeks red beneath the sunburn.
"You have – tattoos?" he asked, confused. "Since when?"
"Oh!" The redhead came back to himself with a slight shake. "Right. Uh, yep, I'm a rebel." He dragged two fingers along the twin tattoos, narrow upside-down triangles. "I got these babies a couple years back. They, uh, didn't translate over into Twilight Town. I wasn't allowed to keep them, because Kairi thought they'd make me look too… tough or something."
Roxas felt a laugh bubble up. "And I wouldn't want to hang out with you if I thought you were some kind of tough guy, right?"
Axel shrugged. "Maybe. After all, you did spend your life growing up in a secluded, goodie-goodie town where kids can't even elope further than the beach."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they're all mindless robots," Roxas scoffed. "I mean, look at Seifer – he's an asshole."
"Yeah, but we weren't looking at that guy – we were looking at you, and all your friends, well – they're pretty front, centre and straight, you know?" He demonstrated with his hands, rolled a shoulder uncomfortably. "Not that they weren't cool people, but I can't exactly see Hayner hanging out with a tatt-encrusted guy."
"You're not encrusted, there's just two of them," Roxas argued. "I wouldn't have rejected you over that. If you'll remember, Hayner didn't want to hang with you at all."
"I didn't want to risk it," the redhead murmured, eyes averted. "I mean, now I know better, but before I went in, I didn't even really know what you were gonna think of me…"
Roxas fell silent, blinking a couple of times in surprise. He… hadn't really thought about that side of things. Ever since he got out, he'd just really focused on what it all meant for him… He knew what Axel hoped to get out of the extraction, or whatever they wanted to call it, but – well – Roxas already had ample evidence of Axel's feelings for him long before the blond even knew he existed… He hadn't really imagined that, while he struggled with his growing attraction to the redhead, Axel had been desperately hoping that there was something there between them.
"Huh." Roxas laughed slightly, through a frown. "No wonder you were so tolerant of me… What – did you think when I was such an asshole to you that first night? Were you disappointed?"
Axel smiled suddenly. An anxious expression had been slowly creeping over his features as he watched the blond thinking, but it vanished completely in the face of Roxas' question. "You know, we have ways of monitoring the inside of Twilight Town from out here. I told you I'd been watching you, Roxie – so I already knew that you weren't that bad. I just hoped you'd, you know, give me a chance." He grinned. "And you did."
Demyx was obviously some kind of desperate romantic, judging from the misty look in his eyes as he watched the mini-drama unfold. Luxord was ignoring them, Zexion deliberately not looking, while Larxene had a faint sneer in place as she continued to roll the balls of paper tighter and firmer.
Roxas' eyes narrowed with sudden suspicion. "Exactly how often, when, and where did you watch me, Axel?"
Larxene cackled, momentarily forgetting her task to lean back and pound the table. Axel's head whipped to the side, a faintly frantic expression as he called, "What was that, Kairi? Of course I'm getting Roxie some food! Yes, I'll do it right now!" The redhead leapt from his seat, nearly tripping over it as he didn't quite lift his foot high enough. Zexion grabbed it as it began to topple, while Axel very quickly vacated the immediate area.
As Roxas caught his head in his hands, he heard someone sigh loudly nearby, an affectionate, exasperated noise. He cautiously peeked out with one eye, wondering who had come to compound his misery. He saw the pink-clad girl from yesterday, Naminé's friend, tapping her foot, hands on hips, mouth twisted in amusement as she watched Axel stumble across to the other side of the dining hall. "You know," she said conversationally to Roxas, "that would have worked a lot better if I hadn't been standing on the absolute opposite side of the room." She smiled warmly down at him, touching her fingers to her chest as she added, "I'm Kairi, his long-suffering sister. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Roxas."
Roxas brightened, straightened. "You're Kairi?" He tilted his head, looking thoughtful. "You seem familiar…"
"Hah! You remember me but not Riku? Oh, I'll have to remember to rub that in his face," she grinned. "Sora got me out a little while after him, but yes, I was in Twilight Town as well. And before you ask – " She held up a hand, forestalling his next question. "I was put into the program, and Axel wasn't, because I was younger. He was only eight at the time, but he managed to make himself useful enough to keep free." She shrugged helplessly. "Being the tiny toddler I was, there was really nothing either of us could do to keep me out, except hide me away from the soldiers, and it didn't really make sense to try."
Roxas leaned forward slightly. "Soldiers? What's up with this talk of a war? Was there really a war?"
"No, we just enjoy making shit up," Larxene responded sarcastically. She plucked up one well-formed ball and flicked it at Luxord's shuffling hand, hard enough to make him glare.
Kairi rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I just wanted to come introduce myself, Roxas. It's great to finally meet you."
Roxas smiled. "Same here."
The girl opened her mouth to say more, but was abruptly distracted. Roxas turned in his chair to see Leon approaching, a stoic expression in place, his eyes fixed on the blond. Roxas barely managed to hold back the groan that fought to be free of his throat, head dropping slightly. "Hi, Leon," Kairi breathed once he was close enough. He flicked her a disinterested glance.
"Hi." His attention shifted to Roxas, gaze slipping down to the table, an eyebrow raising. "You haven't eaten yet?" He shook his head. "You're lucky you're with Aerith today; we're setting out now, and if you weren't ready you'd have had to work anyway."
Roxas scowled. "It's a good thing I am with her, then."
"Very," Leon agreed tonelessly. "She'll be ready to leave in ten minutes, you'll be going shopping in the city. Do me a favour, don't let her buy too many flowers. She blows her budget every time, and this is the first chance I have to send someone who might be able to dissuade her." He frowned suddenly. "Last time I asked Cloud to, she ended up buying more."
"Maybe she didn't feel like being under your thumb," Larxene sneered, ignored utterly by the brunet.
"Can you try?" he asked.
Uncertainly, Roxas answered, "Yeah…"
He nodded once, briefly. "That's all I ask."
Axel returned, scowling, a bowl of cereal and a plate of toast in hand. "What do you want, Committee? Roxie's sitting with me."
"No doubt the reason he's isn't ready on time," Leon replied dryly. "I've said what I had to say, he's all yours." The man left, returning to his own table, a collection of frowns directed at his back. Kairi was looking after him dreamily.
"There's about a two-percent chance that man isn't gay; that's like a dream come true, for me."
"Kairi, take your man-whoring elsewhere," Axel grumbled, sitting down next to Roxas and setting the two dishes up in front of the blond. "Roxie doesn't need to hear about what a catch Leon is."
She grabbed one of his long spikes, tugged playfully. "Jealous?"
"Of course not," replied Axel disdainfully. "The only time that man will ever have someone's dick up his ass is if he pulls the gigantic stick out first. In other words, never."
"Whoever said he'd be taking it? Having a stick jammed up his ass doesn't mean he can't fuck someone else," Demyx chipped in brightly. Zexion dipped his head, shook it, and patted Demyx's shoulder in a 'shut up, dear' fashion. Axel was glowering.
"Well, he's not fucking Roxas."
"Please! God!" Roxas clapped his hands over his ears, saying shrilly, "What is it with people and this fascination with me fucking men?"
"Which people?" Axel frowned.
Demyx winked across the table. "It's coz you're so cute, Rox. I bet you turn the straight guys around."
"Okay, so, this conversation was fun, but now it's over," Axel said loudly. "Roxas, eat your breakfast."
Glad to oblige, Roxas starting munching his cereal in earnest. Axel drew possessive circles on his upper arm, glaring occasionally at Demyx, who simpered back. Every now and then Roxas tried to twitch away, but only half-heartedly. After all, breakfast time was counting down – Aerith would come soon, and he'd have to leave Axel until the next mealtime. As painful as this meal had become, he didn't want to be separated again from the redhead.
Eventually, the food was eaten, though, and Aerith came for him. There wasn't anything they could do about this, apparently – DiZ's word appeared to be law around the castle, the way everyone acted and talked about him. And… it was only a week. Not all that long.
As Aerith stood by, a large basket in her hands, smiling patiently, the blue eyes met the green, and for a moment, they wavered. The other technicians were getting up, a pile of white napkin-balls scattered at Luxord's place, the Restoration Committee already long-gone, the dining hall emptying fast with what appeared to be the official end of breakfast.
"Don't wanna leave you," Axel said quietly, once Demyx and Zexion had vacated. Roxas shook his head, agreeing. Both knew it was only a matter of hours until the next meal. To remind themselves out loud would have been superfluous, unnecessary. So instead, Roxas moments later found himself inside another of Axel's tight embraces, his long fingers taking care to avoid the burns, not quite succeeding, but the blond really didn't give a damn. Roxas returned the gesture, holding Axel loosely around the middle.
"This is beginning to suck big time," Roxas informed him, resting his cheek on the other's shoulder. He felt Axel's chuckle.
"Yeah, it is." He drew back, drawing a hand through the blond spikes. "Sorry about my friends. They can get a little weird."
Roxas smiled crookedly, shaking his head. "Hey, they're real, aren't they? That's better than my track record."
As soon as he said it, he felt a pang of regret, felt like a bastard. After all, Hayner, Pence and Olette were no less real than he was – just… more content to remain in unreality. Axel saw him darken, kissed him lightly, ignoring the squirm of embarrassment the blond gave, blue eyes darting over to where Aerith tactfully gazed elsewhere, humming under her breath. "I'll see you later," he murmured, pulling back and resting his forehead against Roxas'.
Roxas swallowed and nodded. "Later," he agreed. He added sharply, "I expect some explanations then, too."
Axel released him with a reluctant exhalation, sitting back and studying him for a long moment, before climbing slowly to his feet. "Aerith, take good care of my Roxie, okay?"
She turned to them, smiling. "Of course. I won't let him out of my sight."
Axel nodded, glancing over at the blond. "Just… he's cute. Don't let anyone try anything. And – "
"Axel, you should go," she told him, shaking her head good-naturedly. "He's not going to leave his seat until you're out of the room. And no one will hurt him, I swear it. I'll protect him with everything I have."
Axel grimaced, sighed. He went back to Roxas, kissed his hair. "Be careful, damn it. This is your first trip to a real city. Don't for God's sake lose sight of Aerith, or I'll hunt you down and molest you."
Roxas chuckled. "You do that anyway."
"Yeah, well, I'll molest you like I mean it," the redhead warned, eyebrows rising. "And that's a lot messier than the molestations you've had so far."
Aerith cleared her throat tactfully, sending Axel a meaningful look. He rolled his eyes, tilted Roxas' chin back and kissed his mouth again. "I find it very difficult to not do this all day, do you know that?" he muttered.
"I – have an idea," Roxas replied a little breathlessly.
"Buy some aloe for those burns. Aerith knows where to look."
"Axel, you should go," Roxas said, echoing the brunette's previous words, albeit more unwillingly. Axel huffed.
"I'm going, jeeze. This is me going, okay?" He straightened, gave Roxas, and then Aerith, one last hard look. Then he turned his back on them and left the dining hall, not glancing back. Aerith sighed.
"Come on, Roxas." She smiled kindly. "Maybe we can buy him some flowers in town, hm?"
