Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.
Say It Isn't So!
Chapter 12: A Funny Little Thing Called Fate
xXx
A knock sounded at the front door of Riku's house as he and Sora watched some television talk show with a much too enthusiastic host and rather generic cast of players. There were cards, balloons and strange activities to keep them busy and entertained for a measly half hour until some poor fool gets suckered into getting a chance at a million dollars only to lose it only after his fingertips had brushed right up against the dream.
"Was that the door?" Sora asked, popping some kind of unhealthy snack into his mouth, not all too interested in the door or the show.
Neither boy bothered to move from their lazy position on the couch, leaning against each other like a sack of pillows with sprinkled crumbs from their snacks. They didn't pry their eyes from the TV, but it's not as if they were actually paying attention to it.
Munch... Munch... Knock, Knock...
"Are you going to get that?" Sora questioned, looking up at his equally lazy partner, only to receive a bored expression in return. "Guess not..." The brunette, much to Riku's dismay, rose from his seat beside Riku and headed for the front door, but not before dusting off the many crumbs that had gathered on the folds of his clothes and grabbing a potato chip as a souvenir for the trip.
With chip in mouth, Sora opened the door, only to hear a piece of news he hadn't expected to hear for at least another month.
"Sora, I think I'm gay."
Sora cracked the chip in his mouth just to end the awkward silence falling upon him and his brother. He blinked a few times before stepping aside, and holding out his arm to usher Roxas in. "Come on in," was all he said before closing the door shut behind the troubled blond and feeling an odd grin pull at the corners of his mouth.
Riku peeked over the couch just in time to catch Roxas's hazed blue eyes stare off at the TV screen with the same unseeing expression. Behind him, he could see Sora trying to hide a smile, and he knew right then he shouldn't be involved. So he slouched in the couch a bit more, flipped through all of his channels at record timing only to stop at the same hideous show and stare some more, lowering the volume just enough so sound came off, but not loud enough to cover any voices, and "watched" the game show. He managed a slight smirk as he heard his president's name in the mix and understood, but of course, it didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on.
"And? And? What happened after you kissed him?" Sora asked, once Roxas let out the past two days in one big (and rather impressive) breathe for Sora, amazed at how his brother even managed to understand a word he was saying.
"Who? Axel or Lea?" Roxas asked as he buried his face in his arms and hid himself between them.
"Lea! Lea!" Sora chirped, eyes wide and, for the first time since his and Riku's last make out session, interested. The kid was just about ready to jump out of his seat if you just looked at him.
Roxas sighed, "Well, it was fine at first, but apparently, it looked like I was being molested unwillingly, so some passerby informed a police officer making his rounds to help me out..."
Sora snickered as Roxas's muffled words came out hatefully and embarrassingly. "That's a first... Two guys caught making out red-handed by a police officer. You're well on your way to losing your model student aura there, Roxas."
The blond rolled his eyes. "Once the cop left, I just told Lea I had to go and ran over here like there'd be no tomorrow," Roxas paused, "And I so wish that there wouldn't be... I still have to go back to Axel's house for the night."
The brunette couldn't help but let out a small, itty-bitty little giggle as his brother willed himself to further sink into the table, hoping to become one with the piece of furniture and never have to deal with such troubles ever again. With a gentle ruffle of his hair, Sora comforted his brother, patting his head and repeating the only piece of advice he could give until Roxas decided to talk to him properly, "It's OK Roxas, it's not as bad as you think!"
Of course, Sora would think that. Afterall-
"Sora," Roxas pulled his head from his arms and stared at his brother, "you do know that I don't like Lea, but Axel, right?"
Sora blinked. The thought had never even crossed his mind. He knew, probably better than anyone, that of course Roxas would fall in love with Axel, because well... "OH! Yeah, yeah! Of course! I mean, it's pretty obvious."
"It's obvious?" Roxas nearly screeched, eyes going wide and buggy as his head fell back onto his arms limply. He let out a frustrated groan, conjuring up some metaphorical cloud to thunder and storm above him.
"Th-That's not what I meant! I mean," Sora tried to cover up his mistake, waving his arms wildly as he continued to babble, "o-okay, here's what we do." He cleared his throat and spoke in an authoritative tone. "You go back to Axel and tell him you're head over heels-"
"NO."
"Why noooot?" Sora whined, pulling up his pouty face.
"No. Just... I can't." Roxas looked at Sora, his face red and hot. "That's too embarrassing... Besides, we're friends now, remember?" The blond cringed slightly at the word and the context it was used, but immediately tried to shoo the expression away before Sora could catch it in full.
Sora rolled his eyes and placed his hands on the table, moving them accordingly as he spoke. "Look, if he bothered to confess to you, and then ask you to be friends instead, he probably just didn't want you to hate him or something. I'm sure that deep down, he still really likes you, Roxas!" Yep, Sora was sure. He was so sure he'd bet his entire life savings plus Riku on it, and that was saying something.
With narrowed eyes, Roxas observed Sora suspiciously before slumping in his seat and frowning. "But... Lea..."
Understanding where his brother was going with it, Sora sighed. "It was a one-time thing, Roxas. You didn't mean to kiss Lea."
"No, I didn't mean to, but I kept going, which is infinitely much worse. Not to mention the fact that I liked it."
"Not as much as kissing Axel riiiight?" Sora gave him a suggestive wink.
Roxas stayed silent.
"...Roxas, right?"
Blue eyes averted away from a similar pair.
"...Oh..."
"Yeah, 'oh.'"
xXx
Roxas glanced at his watch. 10:37 PM. He winced at the knowledge, hoping that Axel hadn't waited for him or anything. He had told the redhead he'd be home by 9 afterall. It was just one lie after another. Just when was he going to stop lying to all these guys?
The key shook slightly in his hands, giving him trouble when he tried to open the front door inconspicuously. The light was on, and Roxas hoped to all the deities in the heavens that it wasn't Axel. The lock gave a soft click and Roxas took a deep breath before pulling out the key and clutching the knob in his hand.
"Well, well, well."
Roxas gulped, being confronted by a familiar green, but not the green he loved. This green wasn't the one that pulled at his heartstrings and tormented every single day of his junior-senior life. No, the ones right now terrified him.
"If it isn't little Roxas."
His blue eyes sought escape from the piercing eyes, lowering their gaze to the floor and outlining their still shadows meticulously. "Reno." He whispered in acknowledgment, giving him a slight nod, but never budging from his post by the door. He was in trouble, he could tell. Axel being mad at him was understandable, but Reno? "What's... up?" Lame, he knew, but he didn't have anything else to say. Truth be told, he wanted to bolt out that door and go back running to his brother.
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Reno asked, arms folded and glaring angrily at Roxas.
"10:45?" Roxas asked quietly, not wanting to upset the other boy any further.
"Exactly." Reno stated crossly, unfolding his arms and approaching Roxas. He was hovering over Roxas now, looming over him with an evil intent. "Now that was an excellent display of skill, and it seems as though you can tell time expertly." A thin arm was propped up against the doorframe, supporting him as he leaned down toward Roxas to become eye-level with him. "So would you care to tell me why you're an hour and 45 minutes late?"
"I lost track of time..." Roxas mumbled, suddenly finding a great interest with the hem of his shirt, fiddling with it between his fingers as he still refused to look up at Reno.
"And your phone? Why couldn't you have answered it? Or called for that matter?"
Roxas froze. Ah. He had forgotten to put it back to its normal state after his escape from Lea. Now, his phone had a vibrate mode, but it was just as loud as his ringtone, so he set it to lights only, causing him to be oblivious to any sort of action his phone tried to tell him from its dark, hidden spot in his pants pocket.
"I... I forgot about it."
Reno let out a long breath, changing his position and moving over to the couch beside the door. He plopped himself on and rubbed his temples as he leaned back, arching in alignment with the couch, only to sigh again, just as deeply and tiredly as the first.
"Look, I'm not trying to make you feel bad." He gave Roxas a somewhat apologetic look, but traces of anger were still evident in his green-blue eyes. "It's just..." Another sigh. "I got hom about half an hour ago and found Axel freaking out, looking like he was about ready to go ballistic if he didn't do something."
The name caught Roxas's attention. So he sharpened his ears, making sure he caught every word.
"He said you weren't home yet, and you were supposed to be here over an hour ago." Roxas winced again, regretting the whole day even happened. "He said he called you about 10 times, but you didn't answer. You didn't call either, he said. He looked like a madman, ready to crack or something." Reno leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. "After explaining it to me, he said, 'stay here and wait for him.' Then he ran out of the door like it was a matter of life or death."
Roxas's gut twisted and turned as he imagined the worried look on Axel's face. Way to make him feel even worse about the day. First he kisses a guy he just met, then realizing he was in love with Axel and now finding out he drove the redhead insane. He was starting to wonder if things would ever work out for him...
"I tried calling him earlier, but," Reno fished a bold red cell from his pocket, and Roxas recognized it to be Axel's, "he's lacking any instant communication at the moment. So now I have no idea where my brother is, but I have the little munchkin he went nuts for." Reno placed the phone on the coffee table and scratched the back of his head in irritation. "So don't you dare leave-...Shit, Roxas? Oh damn it all..."
Roxas was already halfway down the block when he realized he had no idea where he was going. Not a single place came to mind and the horrible fact came at him harder than ever. He didn't know him. He knew a name, a place, a title, but he never really knew him. It was like having a shadow, a terrible, awful, hateful shadow cast over him and he couldn't do anything to stop it.
He halted at the next block, slowing his speedy start down to a slow jog, then a walk, then stopped altogether. Uneven pants escaped his lips, his eyes fixed on the road ahead... And then he hung his head low.
"I'm sorry." He whispered, not expecting any sort of reply in return. He repeated the phrase until it simply became a mantra, his voice cracking slightly as he imagine worst-case scenarios, the "what-ifs."
He could hear that cocky, self-proclaimed jerk's voice echoing in his head, calling him. First, it was just a statement, then a sweet call... All of a sudden, Axel's voice was shouting his name in exuberance. The image of his redhead throwing his arms in rejoice as Roxas admits to enjoying his company. A smile struggled against Roxas's habitual pout as he counted the memories they'd created in the past few weeks, of their whole junior/senior year.
He had so nearly gone through hell and back, turned homeless and was thrusted a year forward into his life, but if he recalled it all correctly, Axel was always there. Fate had brought them together, sometimes too close and sometimes too drastic, but it was undeniable that there was something pushing them together.
It wouldn't fail him now, right?
That hidden smile finally reached its pinnacle and suddenly, he couldn't hold back a widespread grin from his face.
"Nah, I lied." Roxas said in a relieved sigh, brushing his fingers through his hair. "I do know you." He made a sudden break down the street and, call it corny, but he ran where his heart told him to. He ran down streets he'd never seen before, turned corners and shortcuts he didn't know existed. He was running through town with only that red string of fate guiding him.
And then there he was.
Axel was, like Roxas, running in the exact direction of the other. "R-Roxas...!" Axel breathed, coming to a slow stop.
"S-Sorry!" Roxas panted, his chest heaving dramatically as he leaned against a store window. "I... I didn't realize I kept you waiting for so long."
Axel shook his head and smiled. "No. I'm just happy you're okay."
Yeah, Roxas admitted, he knew Axel, and at this point, he also knew for a fact he was in love with him. "Yeah. Same here." And Axel's eyes widened in surprise as a genuine Roxas smile pulled at the blond's lips.
xXx
TA: Well this took a while now didn't it? XD Sorry it took so long. School started up and once that happens, I'm pretty much dead to the world. Sooo. I got a review for this a while back and was like "OH! I think I have half a chapter for that written already!" So I finished it up and here's what you get. :D Thanks for the reviews everyone! :)