Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

Say It Isn't So!

Chapter 10: Dangerous

xXx

Let it be known that Roxas had no idea what he was doing, what he wanted to do or what he even hoped would happen. He threw the cloak around his shoulders and the only thing that really identified him as Roxas were his pair of 3-inch prince boots, and even that was hardly a giveaway. He zipped up the black as night fabric, situated the hood just right and, as if persuading him to continue, felt the redemption ticket stuck inside his pocket.

It egged him on, urged him on and screamed like a bubbly cheerleader to go on.

He could spot that head of hair and ears from where he sat with Sora and Riku and it didn't take him long before he could spot the redhead again, despite his momentary disappearance into the shadows. Now completely clad in black and looking like a shorter version of the grim reaper sans scythe, he followed him down the school courtyard and towards the school entrance.

The amount of people in the school had dwindled to about twenty or so. All of which remained locked up in the gym or lingered in the area in front of it. He could see them all from where he cast constant glances over his shoulder, none of them making a move toward the entrance, all caught up in their own little conversations and winnings. At the very least, he was sure he'd be alone with Axel, but what happened from there was still a mystery.

The redhead seemingly quickened his pace, probably catching on to the second set of footsteps trailing after him. He speed-walked past those prison-like double doors into the school and so nearly dashed out onto the empty street if not for the grip suddenly pulling him back.

Axel was shoved hard and rough against the school wall beside those very same double doors. He uttered a low grunt, but not much else. His head had met the wall with a loud thunk and the stars he was seeing surely weren't normal. So all he did was grunt and stare at the hidden face beneath the hood.

He wanted to flatter himself and say that it was Roxas. Of course, that couldn't be right. He knew Roxas. He knew how tall Roxas was compared to him and this person was taller than his Roxas. If he had to make a guess... maybe 3 inches, give or take. He couldn't tell by the build because the cloak was loose around all the areas that would have been inspected for Roxas-points and not like his hands gave it away either since they were, afterall, covered with warm leather gloves.

Said gloved hands had captured Axel's wrists and pinned them against the wall. Truth be told, he could have shoved the boy off, shoved him into the street, anything to get out of this funny little situation, but he couldn't. Why? Because somehow, during Axel's initial shock to the head, the cloaked boy had pulled out a redemption ticket. A ticket with his name on it.

He belonged to this boy, whether he liked it or not. ...In all actuality, he wasn't even quite sure if it was a boy. Maybe it was a girl. He didn't know. Couldn't tell. He just kinda wished he had a Roxas to hold instead. But then again, when wasn't he wishing that?

"S-So... you're the one who bought me huh?" He made an attempt to regain that wolfish composure from stage, but it wasn't working out too well. His voice cracked and he was still a little bit dizzy, not to mention him being on the wrong end of aggression.

Roxas nodded and only flicked the ticket between their faces again, never saying anything to reveal himself.

"So, uh... what is it that you want?" Axel asked, a bit perplexed as to why he was still pushed up against the wall.

The boy stuffed the ticket back into his pocket and patting it down to make sure it was secure in hiding. He faced Axel, only his lips coming into light beneath the school lamps and moonlight. From Axel's point of view, it seemed like the boy wanted a kiss, but he couldn't be sure. Perhaps it was just because he could only see the boy's lips that he thought that, but... well... if he had wanted something else, Axel didn't give him the chance to protest.

He didn't know what drove him to do it. It was just some reflex, some natural attraction that forced him to dip down and capture the boy's lips in one fell swoop. It felt natural; it felt right; and, somewhere at the pit of his stomach, he felt like he was going to hurl. He felt sick because it so wrong. This wasn't Roxas. This wasn't who he wanted. But what... What was he doing?

His lips moved on their own. His arms moved on their own. His whole body just acted like some kind of remote controlled mechanism driving him to continue, and continue he did. Axel switched their positions, slipping out from under the boy's grasp and onto him, pushing his "owner" up against the wall instead. He took control of the situation, but only... he didn't want to.

Roxas had lost himself. He was lost and was found all at the same time. It was a strange experience really. He could only explain it as mind blowing. Mind blowingly sweet. Sweet because Axel tasted like the chocolates his fans gave him and sweet because he couldn't think of any other word in his frazzled mind to explain the sensation traveling from his lips to his burned out brain.

He was trapped beneath Axel, who had turned the tables and now locked him in place with a death grip to his wrists. What a sight they were. A somewhat short boy cloaked in black, trapped beneath a redheaded wolf, who ate at his lips hungrily, who pressed against him hastily, who so nearly lost his own self along the way. He wasn't sure if it was because of the image of the moon behind Axel's wolfened head or if it was just his costume in general, but between their kisses, between their soft little mumbles and whispers, a low hybrid of a growl and a howl emitted from the back of Axel's throat, and that barely noticeable guttural sound had caused Roxas to swallow what little sanity he had left.

Axel wasn't sure what it was. It was just some noise that flew out of his mouth. He hadn't intended for it, but apparently, it had had some effect on his disguised partner. His eyes went half-lidded so he was multitasking with enjoying himself in the kiss and watching the boy beneath him. The boy had tensed for a split second before throwing off Axel's grip on his wrist and entwining his fingers through his red spikes, pushing their lips closer, their heads closer and their bodies overall closer.

He let out another estranged sound as the warmth of the boy passed onto him through the black cloak, contrasting against its icy cold metal zippers. He didn't deny the boy the contact they both so desired at this point. He just continued with his kisses, that never seemed to end. They were caught within each other, tangled together in front of the school doors, beneath that full, full moon.

Axel, like Roxas, had lost himself. Neither could really control what they were doing at this point. They just felt like they needed to continue.

But that feeling at the pit of Axel's stomach never really left. It was just sitting there, agonizing over the whole situation and churned and swirled within him that it was more mind racking than sickening. He'd finally pinpointed the name of this swirling mass of disgust. It was guilt. There it was, sloshing around at his center, hating him for every kiss, every sound passed between him and the person-that-wasn't-Roxas.

But even as he knew this. He couldn't stop. He just couldn't stop. There was something driving him forward and he was sure as hell it wasn't himself. Only to further prove his point, this one moan escaped his lips with a word, a name that certainly wasn't meant for the one in front of him. Though he wished it was.

"Roxas...!"

xXx

Ohhhh dear, oh dear, dear, dear. What had happened you ask? Well, the moment Roxas thought his identity was found out, he froze on the spot, pushed Axel away like a robot and dashed out onto the street, only just barely avoiding the oncoming cars. He had confronted him without a word and he left without a word, leaving Axel dumbfounded and somewhat hot during that breezy night.

He wasn't quite sure what happened to his wolfish fiend after that. He just ran on home, well, Axel's home to be exact, threw off his cloak, folded it neatly and hid it underneath his pillow with precision. Not a single piece of black poked out from beneath that white fluffy mass, and that's how he wanted to keep it.

Roxas completed his nightly routine of changing his clothes, brushing his teeth and avoiding Axel's hostile dog, only this time, he was a bit numb. He wasn't quite sure what to do. He didn't know if Axel knew. He didn't know if Axel was just picturing him beneath that hood or if he really saw him. He didn't know. And actually, he didn't want to know. At least, not yet.

So Roxas climbed up the ladder for his bed, all the while wondering where Axel was since he hadn't returned yet and it'd already been well over 20 minutes since they parted. With Axel being his last thought, he drifted on into sleep. Sleep, sleep, sleep. Slept until morning claimed him and asked him to face reality in this sweet yet torturous voice.

See, there was this little habit Axel had. It started the first night Roxas had slept over. This is how it went.

Roxas would go to bed alone. He would fall asleep alone. He never woke up alone.

There was always this scrawny form lying next to him in a bundle of red hair and tacky Tigger pj's for him to wake up to. He'd either find himself suffocating within Axel's hair or he'd be greeted warmly, or teasingly, whichever, by an all too Axel-like Tigger still-picture on his blue flannel. Tigger would make fun of him. Say that Axel liked to jump. That's why they were friends. And that's why he was up there... because Axel jumped too high and landed on the bed with Roxas.

Then again, that could have been his half-asleep state talking to him and forcing him to believe that the many Tigger pictures on Axel's pajama pants were laughing at him because he was this grumpy blond with a redhead attached to his hip. Now wasn't that just the best thing ever? Hah.

Whatever it was he expected to find that morning... wasn't there. No Axel. No taunting Tiggers to poke fun at him. Not even a strand of red hair on his bed.

He took the initiative to peer down below him where a sleeping Axel lay. It was kind of strange now that he thought about it, waking up to a sleeping Axel without a Roxas. It almost, and I emphasize almost, seemed wrong and out of place. Then Roxas glanced at his pillow. The cloak was still well hidden and undisturbed in its hiding. It really got Roxas to thinking that maybe... Axel never came up that night. And that sort of... hurt, in a weird and twisted way.

So Roxas did the only thing he knew how to do on an early Saturday morning.

He went back to sleep.

xXx

The tension hung thick that morning during breakfast. It was just Reno, Axel and Roxas. And then it was just Axel and Roxas because Reno had to answer to every beck and call his girlfriend texted him in the morning. See, now, if tension were a steak and it was in that kitchen, it'd be a huge, fat steak with juices flowing out. The kind that every self-respecting meat eater would drool for. It would be thick and cooked well-done and it'd be ten times the size they sell at those high-class steakhouses. This was the steak of all steaks.

So you can imagine what that morning was like. Imagine eating a bowl of cereal with this kind of steak- tension hanging above your head, so thick that you felt that you'd rather drown yourself in your less than appealing bowl of now soggy cereal bits and colored milk. This was how Roxas felt. This was how Axel felt.

It was just too... awkward.

"I'm going out," Roxas mumbled, picking up his untouched breakfast and placing it beside the sink for later cleaning, "See ya." He made a hasty dash towards the front door nearly tripping over that devil-dog Axel loved so much, earning himself a toothy snarl before he collided with the door.

"Wait a minute, Roxas!" Axel's chair made an annoying screech across the linoleum floor as he stood up, rushing to the door before Roxas had a chance to swing it open. The tall redhead wedged himself between Roxas, the door and the living room couch, which was placed directly beside the door. He leaned his whole weight against the door, practically challenging Roxas to open it now. "Can... Can we talk?"

Heat stretched across Roxas's face from cheek to cheek embarrassingly as he flinched at the sudden change in proximity between them. "Wh-What about?" Several hundred thoughts were flashing through his brain. What was it? Did Axel want to confess again? Did he know? Did he figure out it was him? What? What? What?

"I..." Tired green eyes shifted away from Roxas's general direction and towards the white door, taking note of Roxas's lingering hold on its knob. "I'll see you later." He pulled himself away from the doorway and walked back to the table, eyes glued to the ground and shoulders hanging somewhat low.

All he had to do now was open the door and run out. That's all he had to do. ...But he couldn't. He couldn't leave Axel like this. He didn't want to leave Axel like this. He didn't know why the older boy seemed so depressed, but he just wanted to... not leave him alone. He actually wanted, just for today... have Axel attached to his hip. He just had to ask, but his hand was already itching to turn the door.

"Axel...?"

Axel turned around, looking somewhat hopeful as his eyes met Roxas's. "Yes?" He added, "Roxas?"

There was something in the way he said his name. Something in the way he breathed it so happily. It just sent chills, sweet and tingling chills that brought bumps on his skin. It would be a lie to say that he didn't want to hear it again- Axel call him. His name. But not just like that. Like... that.

"Roxas...!"

Roxas's face heated up quickly as the memory reached a physical symptom and suddenly, it almost felt okay to leave Axel here; it was okay to run out because if he didn't, he wasn't sure if he'd pass out or attack the other boy. Either possibility was, well... possible.

"N-Nothing! Nevermind! I'll see you!" He wanted to say. He wanted to say, but that's not what came out. What really came out was, "D-do you want to go out with me today? I-I mean, it's not like I really want you to go, I just... well, do you wanttoornot?" If his face could turn any redder, it'd be the color of that fiery head. Hell, his whole head could be called a sunset with his spikey blond hair and his reddened face. Roxas, the sun. Isn't that just a knee slapper?

Axel's eyes lit up as if he'd just been told he won the lottery and nodded furiously. "Yeah! Of course I'll go!" He exclaimed, nearly jumping out of his body in all his joy. Then, as if lightning had struck him, his face almost looked horror-stricken. "But... Are you alright with me tagging along? You don't think it might be..." Now, Roxas didn't know if Axel was flattering himself or thought that maybe that was the only decent descriptive word the redhead could come up with, but whatever it was, he certainly wasn't threatened by it. "...I don't know... dangerous?"

Roxas nearly snorted as the word properly registered into his brain. Dangerous? He ate danger for breakfast. I mean, have you ever seen Axel cook? No? Well, it's horrible. It's like trying to down remnants from yesterday's garbage collection. But, other than that, what? Did he think that feat last night wasn't dangerous? Did he think that kiss wasn't dangerous?

"Oh please." Roxas rolled his eyes, gaining some of his dignity back. "You're no threat to me."

In the back of Axel's head, a wolf with red fur and green eyes smiled a toothy grin, baring its sharp whites as it let out a somewhat sinister laugh. This metaphorical wolf in Axel's head only grinned and shook its head at the innocent blond, turning around to conceal itself in the darkness... but just for a little while. It's a little early for the wolf to come out again, right? Until the next night, hm? Yes, that sounded nice. Another moonlit kiss, yes, and this wolf wanted it... Because this little wolf knew something Axel didn't.

This wolf relied on the forgotten senses, the old skill; it still possessed those skills of ancients. It could sense by touch, by smell, while Axel used only his blinded eyes. Its skills were much sharper, keener and in all senses, better than Axel's. In truth, Axel, too, possessed these skills because the wolf was him. He just didn't know it, but the wolf whispered to him. He whispered to him the truth, and still, Axel ignored it because it was just a small, tiny voice in the back of his head.

And before it disappeared into the dark, hidden areas of Axel's mind, it let out a howl, telling his more conscious self, "We'll see who's dangerous. Yes, we'll certainly see."

"Where exactly were you going to head off to, Roxas?" Axel questioned, meaning their destination, but his hazy-eyed partner didn't seem to think so.

"Somewhere dangerous." Axel gave the boy a questioning look, but didn't push the subject and simply walked side by side next to Roxas, all too happy to be there. Somewhere dangerous. Somehow... He really liked that answer.

Axel, Roxas and the wolf all gave a grin. Yes, they were all going somewhere dangerous.

xXx

TA: Okay, so when I said "soon," I meant, a lot sooner than this. Honest. I really meant to put up this chapter earlier, I just... A lot of things are happening lately, all right after the other and they're not exactly happy. So that's why this chapter seems a bit more detailed and dramatic because I tend to write more poetic/epically, if I may be so bold, when I'm going through teenage drama. LOL Soooo... Yeah.

A little head's up here to my ever faithful readers. The next chapter will come on time. Exactly next week, as usual. But the chapters after that... not so sure since school's starting up soon and that means a LOT less free time to write a chappie. D: So yeah. :) Thanks in advance for reviewing! Haha!