(CHAPTER 2 EDITED 2/4/10 I'm trying to make the relationships flow a little more. Last time, I just had Sora jumping around which was kind of weird, and didn't really fit in with... well... anything. So I tried to make the interaction between him, Roxas and Cloud a little more human. Since they're supposed to be in a fight and all : D)
shugo: Thanks to Darkness-Heart, animefan4life12, and blockofthewritingkind for being the first to review. Your reviews make me feel all fluffeh inside. :3
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sunshine in a bag
CHAPTER o2 : starbucks
-axel-
"Start the day with a smile and get it over with." - W. C. Fields
Next morning-no wait, it's still the same day. Okay, let me start over.
Morning turned out to be very awkward today. Before you go on, please remember my wonderful heart-to-heart with the blonde angel.
So anyway, I woke up somewhere around eleven in the morning, with the sun shining square on my face, mustered up the energy to drag myself out of bed and into the shower, got out at around eleven ten, and then proceeded to wake Roxas up. Who was still sleeping, the little shit.
''Yo! Roxas! Wake up!'' I shouted, banging on the door. Yes. This was my way of waking him up.
No response. Figuring the door was locked, I rammed into it with my shoulder, only to find out that the door wasn't locked. So I ended up falling through the door and bruising my abused shoulder even more on the hard floor. Um, owww.
Grimacing, I sat up and rubbed gingerly at my poor bones, looking up to see that Roxas really was still sleeping, head stuffed under the pillow with only a few tufts of yellow poking out. Maybe he tried to suffocate himself after realizing that he had agreed to go out to with me'n my friends?
"Rooooxaas, wake uuuuup," I sang, ambling over to the bed. I plopped down (gracefully, might I add, because the great Axel isn't clumsy) on the edge of the bed and reached out to shake his shoulder.
"Nngh.. Axel.. go away," came the muffled reply.
I jut out my lower lip in a pout, putting a hand over my heart in mock surprise. "Stop the presses. You remembered name!"
The pillow shifted and I grinned brightly at the blue eyes glaring at me from the darkness. "Um... duh, dumbass."
I pouted again, sagging my shoulders a bit. "Aw, that hurts, Roxas. That really... hurts." I held out my hand to him, pumping it as though I was holding my heart. He took my wrist and slammed my hand back at my chest, and before he could pull away and sneak back under the covers, I grabbed his wrist and forcefully yanked him out of bed. He squawked in protest, hissing out expletives that had noooo effect on me.
"You. Shower. Go. Now."
Roxas glared daggers and knives and all sorts of other sharp and lethal weapons at me. "And why do you think you can tell me what to do?"
I put finger to my chin and looked up in faux-contemplation. "Um, let's see.. Maybe that's because we're supposed to leave in like half an hour, and this is still technically my apartment? Yeah. I win."
Still keeping a firm hold on his wrist, I dragged him to the bathroom, resulting in much more protest and profanity leaking from his mouth. I never knew someone could swear so much. Besides for Cid. You should hear the way that guy hounds me for my rent! Anyway, after I managed to push him into the bathroom without losing any limbs in the process, and then jumped on the couch and turned on the TV.
Roxas came out barely three minutes later, frowning.
''What? Done already?'' I asked, shooting him a surprised glance. And then did a double-take.
Roxas's hair was sopping wet, framing his eyes and face in sharp layers-Well, actually, his whole body was sopping wet and steam rose from his skin in the air-conditioned room. Now... I have quite a bit of self-control, but even I can't help a look every now and then. And boy oh boy was Roxas a looker. Against the annoying, protesting voice in my head, I let my eyes wander briefly, from the water beaded across his clavicle, to the drops sliding down what looked like decently toned abs, and finally the fluffy towel hung loosely from his hipbones.
If I was into him, he'd be boned by now.
"Axel, the shower head has gone haywire," Roxas huffed, bringing me out of my reverie and crossing his arms over his chest.
"...Huh?"
"I said, 'Axel, the shower head has gone haywire,'" he repeated, speaking slowly as though I was mentally challenged. Why, I should spit on you.
"Oh," I said, blinking again. For some odd reason, my brain was catching up with those words far too slowly.
"Oh, it always does that," I stated simply, relaxing against the couch again. My shower head was the one of those detachable kinds, the ones that fall off and smack you over the head if you're not careful. And for some odd reason or another, it sometimes started switching modes. I think it's possessed. But we won't tell Roxas that, now will we?
Roxas huffed again and I noticed a muscle above his eyebrow tic in annoyance. "Well, how do I make it stop?"
"Oh, yeah," I said, grinning sheepishly. I stood up and walked into the bathroom, sucking in a sharp breath when hot air entered my lungs. No wonder Roxas came out practically smoking. I reached for the shower head and jumped back in two seconds flat, shaking out my burnt hand and cursing under my breath.
"Jeez, Roxas, do you try to like, boil yourself when you take showers?" I asked him incredulously. I myself didn't have problems with hot things. I liked fires and burning things and such, but who tries, well, literally boiling themselves?
"What, do you have a problem with the temperature of the water when I take showers?" Roxas scowled at me, fingers tapping impatiently against his biceps.
"I... I don't. I'm just surprised that you're not scalded or anything... Anyway, this is what you gotta do: Next this happens again, just give it a good smack against the wall."
Roxas raised an eyebrow at me this time, the rest of his face completely deadpan.
"What? It works," I said with a shrug and hit the shower head against the wall, which jerked spasmodically and went back to the mode Roxas had probably set it to: massage. I set the shower head back in place and stepped away with a grin.
"Okay, you're all set to go."
Roxas looked at me with a piercing gaze. We stood like that for a few moments. "What, you gonna watch me shower now?"
I opened my mouth to make a perverted comment but then thought better of it, muttered a sorry and stepped out of the bathroom, the door slamming in my face. I suddenly had the urge to take another shower. A cold one.
"Roxaaas! Hurry up!" I wailed, slamming my fist against the door.
x.x.x
Sora was happily finishing his fourth frappuccino. After finishing the cold liquid inside, he popped off the top and stuck a finger in, scooping out whipped cream and slowly licking it off. The people around him were started to get concerned and Riku merely stared.
"Sora, is that your fourth one?" Naminé asked with somewhat of a shocked expression. Sora only nodded, brown spikes bouncing, and sucked cream off his pinky.
"Holy Jenova, kid," Larxene muttered in slight awe. "How many of those things can you drink at one time?"
The brunette blinked, blue eyes wide in thought, and then shrugged off-offhandedly, returning to the task at hand0. "Uhh, last time I remember, I had nine in a row."
Larxene snorted and shook her head, slumping back in her chair with what could only be called relief. "Was that when you jumped on me screaming that you loved me and then tried diving into the pool from the roof?"
''Uh-huh.''
The blonde's eyebrow shot up delicately, a burst of laughter bubbling up in her throat. And she had thought he had been smoking. Sora a pretty happy-go-lucky kid, but... around copious amounts of caffeine, he simply turned lethal. Just like the time he had consumed a pack of Red Bull by himself and also attempted to jump off the roof... in his boxers, with a blanket tied to his neck. But it was also amusing, considering the fact that his boxers had little red hearts on them.
Once the plastic cup was empty, Sora moaned unhappily and turned to the silverette beside him, cocking his head adorably to the side. "Riku, can ya get me another one?"
The boy made an equally unhappy noise, dropping his head down on the table. His forehead and that table had become well acquainted in the past half hour. They were practically best friends.
"I really don't think this is healthy for you," Riku mumbled into the table.
"Oh pleeeeaaase Riku," Sora whined, latching himself onto Riku's arm and nuzzling his nose against the silverette's ear. Goosebumps instantly erupted along the pale column of his neck and Sora knew he was doing something right. "I'll pay you back later," he added on as an afterthought, lowering his voice to a husky whisper. "In bed. With a can of whipped cream."
"...Ugh. Fine. I hate you."
"Whatever you say," Sora giggled, letting Riku disentangle himself.
"Oh, get me a coffee!" Larxene shouted after him with a smirk.
The teen paused and glanced over his shoulder with a deep scowl. "I can pay for Sora's, but get your own damn coffee, Larx. I'm not paying."
The blonde scowled back in return, the expression far more threatening with the way her green eyes narrowed and darkened. She picked up a quarter off the table, flicking it at Riku's head. "There's your pay, buddy."
"Well, that was a waste," the pony-tailed redhead beside her drawled.
"I want my goddamned coffee," Larxene snapped back moodily.
And Cloud just sat by silently like always. He'd have to deal with Sora hyperactivity later on too if Riku decided to dump the brunette in his lap. Well, that was just fanfuckingtastic.
x.x.x
"Sorry I'm late," I breathed out, bursting through the door. The bell above my head chimed happily and Naminé, Larxene, Cloud, Sora, and Riku all looked up. And.. oh god what was my brother doing here?
...Can you tell we're not on best friend terms? This is my brother. My older fucking brother. The same one who nearly drowned my in the ocean when I was little, the same one that engraved my fear of clowns and limes (long story) and very large sharp knives-
"Princess here took an hour long shower," I laughed, jerking my thumb towards the blonde behind me..
"Shut the hell up! It wasn't my fault you took two showers," Roxas snarled at me.
Riku glanced behind me, frowning in confusion. "I didn't know that you hooked up with Sora and Cloud's brother."
"Okay, first of all," I dead-panned, my brain not quite working properly once again, "I'm not hooked up with anyone. And second of all, he's Sora and Cloud's what-now?"
"Brother!"
Wincing, I looked towards the source of the shriek. Sora had just only now seemed to have realized that Roxas was hovering behind me and had thrust a finger in his direction, mouth hanging open in shock. I looked back, noticing how very much displeased my little guest looked.
Everything clicked into place almost instantly. I suddenly remembered how only a couple of weeks ago Sora was wailing about his younger brother suddenly vanishing from the house in a fit of rage. He didn't elaborate, and being a good friend, I didn't pressure him for details. And now... I found out that the very same brother that went MIA was the one that showed up on my doorstep. ...How convenient.
Even more interesting was the fact that I never met Roxas until that day. I didn't even know his name because Sora and Cloud were always iffy on the details when it came to their younger brother. That's the only way they referred to him. From the conversations that I can recall, apparently, he hung with the wrong crowd.
As Sora and Roxas stared at each other in awkward silence, I slipped away and tapped my hand on Cloud's shoulder, motioning for him to follow me outside. He frowned at me, casting a concerned glance at his brothers, and quietly slid out of his chair. He followed me out the door, and we left the group behind in its staring contest.
Before I could stop myself, I had whirled around, shaking Cloud by his shoulders. "How come neither of you told me I was rooming with your brother?!"
Cloud smacked my hands away, his eyes sliding towards the coffee-shop window. "You said you had found a roommate. You didn't specifically state that said roommate was my little brother."
"How was I supposed to know?!"
"...I kind of like how you're wondering why even though you never told us your roommate's name." He paused and straightened out, arching a brow at me. "Didn't he give you his last name?"
"...No," I muttered, awkwardly running a hand through my spikes. Actually, I hadn't even noticed the similarities until now. I'm sure if Roxas had told me his last name was Strife, I woulda put the two and two together. I wondered if he knew that I was friends with Sora and Cloud, and if so... why did he pick to room with me? Was he desperate? Was the situation really that bad?
"...But... Then... What happened between you g-"
"Do you guys plan on standing out here all day? It's waaaay awkward in there, yo, like you have no idea."
My nerves screamed in irritation and I rounded my glare on my brother, who was poking his big fat stupid red head out of the door. "For your information, Reno, Cloud and I were in the middle of a very intellectual conversation."
"Intellectual huh?" Reno smirked widely, drumming his fingers against the frame of the door. "I'm surprised you knew the word intellectual, much less managed to use it in a sentence."
I twitched.
Cloud sighed heavily behind me and swept past me to the other door. ''Three... two...''
"I'll KILL YOU!" I screamed, jumping at Reno, who bolted back and slammed the door in my face. Like I didn't get that enough from Roxas! I collided face first with a cold wall of glass and let out a pained moan when the hit vibrated through my skull. I turned on Cloud, who was busy laughing his pretty blonde head off and smacked him hard upside the head, stalking back into the café.
The stormy air from before had dissipated slightly and Roxas was now perched precariously on a chair beside Larxene, making awkward small talk with Sora. Y'know, the kind you have when you fight with someone, and then bump into each other a few weeks later, not quite knowing what to say?
I decided to side-step the area for now and snuck up to the counter. "Hey, sorry about the epic awkwardness," I told the girl behind the counter, waving my hand to indicate the heaviness that had crept into the air. She smiled at me and shrugged, tapping out of place, dark-polished nails against the counter.
This was Tifa, sorta like the mother of our little clan. She used to date Cloud and currently worked two part-time jobs, one as a bartender in Seventh Heaven and one here. Just in case you were curious.
"Don't worry about it," Tifa said with a laugh. "This place always livens up a bit when you guys come here. Coffee and a soap opera."
I managed a weak laugh of my own and slid a Snapple at her along with five munny. Much to the displeasure of the other patrons, Sora's sugar high and worn off, and he was now sitting there in silence beside Riku, while Larxene, Reno and Naminé peppered Roxas with question. He seemed a little uncomfortable at first, but it was apparent that he was at least trying to be sociable. It must've been weird to act normal after the apparent big blow-up they went through.
Tifa handed me back my Snapple and change and I looked back at my unusual, weird group of friends. Naminé and Roxas seemed to be getting along fine, even though his eyes nervously kept darting to his brothers. I frowned, feeling a small (tiny, itty-bitty) pang of jealousy. Noo, I wasn't jealous. I was just feeling a little envious. Yeah, yeah, I know it's the same thing. Shut up. Here I was, slaving away to make the relationship between me and Roxas a little less strenuous, and there was Naminé, breezing right past his defenses with that pretty little smile of hers.
"Who's the blonde kid?" Tifa asked, resting her elbow on the counter and her chin in her hand.
"Your ex-boyfriend," I replied smartly.
Tifa rolled her eyes, smacking me halfheartedly on the arm. "Not that one."
"Oh, that's Roxas. He's my new roommate. And... Sora and Cloud's brother, from the looks of things."
"Ohhh, yeah. I see it now. Cloud mentioned him a few times... Straight?"
"Sure looks like it."
"Upset?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know what I mean," Tifa purred lowly, smiling deviously.
"No I'm not 'upset'!" I protested, trying to salvage some of my dignity. Did I look like I was into the sadistic little bastard? He walks through my front door, tells me only his first name, locks himself in his new room, and then slinks back out a few days later like pissed off lion! I mean, sure, okay, I get you've got family problems, but don't take it out on me!
"Doesn't sound like that to me."
"Yo, Axel!" Reno shouted, and I was almost glad for the interruption. "You gonna keep making small talk with her? Though small talk seems perfectly compatible with your brain."
Almost.
"Reno. You. Die. NOW!"
x.x.x
It was somewhere around ten when we decided to leave Starbucks. Yeah I know we're lame, spending the entire time there, but it was a chill sort of day, and after the awkwardness settled, we were all too lazy to get up and go anywhere. There was still a weird tension between the Strife's, but they sort of tip-toed around each other when they spoke, and Naminé, Larx and Reno were unsuccessful in wheedling out too much personal information from the blonde. They got past the usual preference-in-music-favorite-movies-food-coffee-etc... but the family situation was bluntly avoided.
"Bye, Roxas," Naminé called with a cheery wave, heading down the opposite side of the sidewalk with Reno and Larxene. Sora and Riku were already farther ahead of them, whispering to each other, and tailgated by Cloud. "Bye, Axel!"
"Bye," I called after her, and Roxas followed suit. I glanced down at him when he wasn't looking, and noticed a small smile on his face. For one thing, I was glad that he had loosened up... but on the other hand, I was kinda ticked that hadn't really been me that did that. Y'know what I mean? When you try cheering people up, you wanted them to be cheering up by you, not someone else. Then you just feel shitty and awkward.
After everyone left, Roxas and I were the only ones left standing outside, side by side in an illuminated circle cast by the street lamp above us.
"So.. you like Naminé?" I asked, unable to keep silent any longer. I tried to make the question sound casual, even a little teasing.
Roxas blinked up at me, eyes dull in the fake light, and shrugged lightly. "Yeah, she's cool, I guess."
"Gonna hook up with her?"
He frowned at me and averted his eyes to the other side of the street. "...Maybe. I'm gay, but... I don't know. Could be promising."
"So... you're bisexual then?"
"I guess?"
"Okay then," I mumbled, feeling even more horribly awkward than before, while some proverbial little Axel inside my head danced with glee. "...Let's go then."
"Where?"
"Um... home?"
Roxas raised an incredulous eyebrow at me and cocked his head. "Are you serious? It's only ten o'clock!"
"Yes I'm serious. I'm tired. We're going home."
''And what if I refuse?'' Roxas asked, crossing his arms.
...Now he decides to crawl out of his little turtle-shell.
"Then I'll do this."
Being a smart and stubborn cookie, I leaned down, slipping my arms easily around Roxas's small waist, and lifting him up until he was draped over my shoulder.
"What the fuck! Axel put me down!" he snarled, beating a fist against my back.
"Mmmnope," I replied smugly, playfully smacking him on the butt.
"AXEL!"
"Roxas."
Roxas gave up his protests at some point, and fell silent letting me carry him. He was actually pretty light, so I managed to shift him easily into a much more comfortable position. His head ended up right under my chin and I could smell the shampoo he used. Vanilla? And... was he sleeping?
"Roxas?" I asked softly, hoping not to wake him if he really was sleeping.
"... Mm?"
Oh.
"Uh..." I furiously racked my brain for something to say. "Had fun today?"
I felt him shrug, his sigh puffing out against the fabric covering my chest. "Okay, I guess... still a bit shaken up from seeing my brothers but... I'm sorta glad your friends kept pestering me. Otherwise it would've felt so much worse..."
I hummed in understanding, nodding my head against his. "So what did you think about Naminé, Larxene, and Reno?"
"They were... interesting."
I smiled. "They're all weird. Well, Naminé the most sane one. Larxene can be a bitch sometimes and Reno's just annoying, and I'm not saying that just because he's my brother. But they're okay once you get to know them, I suppose."
"...Yeah."
Like this... Roxas was actually very easy to like. And he was cute to boot, too. When he was calm and quiet, and smiled every once in a while instead of trying to bite my head off for something I didn't do, it just made me like him even more. Despite my tiny inklings of jealously, I was inwardly glad that I got to see Roxas like this.
When we got the apartment, Roxas leapt away from me like nothing ever happened, threw a pillow at my head in a belated response to me carrying him, and shut himself up in his room.
x.x.x
shugo: Oh god. The ending was so... random. xD
I love Reno. He's funneh.
omg, my word processor doesn't think that the word frappuccino exists. xD
If you guys have any suggestions or anything, don't hesitate to tell me. I don't bite.
Review and I shall give you cake. You know you waaaant tooooo. :P