Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story. At all.
Warning: Shounen-ai, homosexual relationships, etc, etc.
Author's Note: This is EXTREMELY late. However, it is filled with Axel x Roxas goodness and a tiny bit of Sora x Riku goodness at the end. It's also slightly longer than usual. I'm sorry about the wait, again, and everyone's patience is GREATLY appreciated. College is such a bummer.
Summary: Axel thinks Aesop taught decent lessons in his fables, but the redhead is willing to bet he could do better. What good are fables that teach things like "attempt not impossibilities" or "little friends may prove great friends" anyway? Times are different from when Aesop lived and Axel thinks it's time for a new set of fables. All of which will be authored by himself, of course, because he's an expert on love, life, and what truly matters.
That, and Roxas Badcock promised to marry him if he gets his book published.
Axel's Fables
•••
•••
By: Freekiwi
VI – They Stroll Down Memory Lane
"When did your mom die?"
The question caught him off-guard and it took him a few moments to process what he had just been asked. Normally, Axel woke Roxas up by jumping on his bed or saying his name a few hundred times or shaking him. But today the redhead was standing at the blonde's bookshelf, searching through the many different titles with an expression of total content. How long he had been there, Roxas didn't know and he wasn't going to ask.
"Uh…" the blonde rolled over onto his back and starred upward at the ceiling. "Jesus. What time is it?" he grabbed his alarm clock from the bedside table and sighed. "It's five in the morning. What are you doing here?"
"I couldn't sleep. I blame your brother."
Roxas scowled and yanked a pillow over his face. "Leave."
"Oh, come on," Axel turned to face his duplex-mate. "I don't want to listen to Riku and Sora do it."
"Then go outside. Go for a morning jog. It's five AM. I'm sure some place is open for breakfast." He mumbled from underneath the pillow.
The redhead contemplated these suggestions momentarily. "Ok. Let's go get breakfast."
Roxas yanked the pillow from his face and looked over at Axel. He had already made the decision to say 'no,' but something about the way the other looked made the blonde suddenly change his mind. Maybe it was the dark circles under Axel's eyes, or his disheveled hair, or the fact that he looked exactly how Roxas always felt: exhausted and fed up with the people around him.
"Ok."
"Really?" Axel perked up considerably. "Well hot damn, Zombie. I'll grab your car keys."
••••••••••••••
Axel had come to the conclusion that Roxas was much more tolerant of his antics early in the morning. He got to drive Roxas' car despite his suspended license, he got to choose the radio station despite the blonde's usual dislike of anything fun, and he got to choose where they would go for breakfast because Roxas didn't seem to care one way or another. He just seemed pleased to be leaving the duplex for once and having something to do.
"Cold?" Axel teased. The blonde was slumped in the front seat with the blanket from his bed wrapped around his body. The window was cracked just the slightest bit so Roxas could occasionally tap the ashes from his cigarette out the window.
"Freezing," he responded.
For mid-October, it was fairly cold. The weather had gone from hot to wintry in the course of a few weeks and the early mornings were the worst. It had to be around forty-five degrees. The small drafts of cold air that came in from the cracked window were leaving Roxas with goose bumps.
"Where are we going?" The blond tossed the end of his cigarette, but didn't roll the window up.
"It's a surprise."
"Oh, God…" Roxas sighed.
"Where is your sense of adventure, Zombie?" Axel asked playfully.
"Home in bed, where all senses of adventure are at this time in the morning," he grumbled not unkindly.
The redhead offered a small smile. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Is it about my mom?" Roxas frowned.
"No," Axel replied. "It's about Sora and Riku."
"Oh, fantastic." He rolled his eyes. "Can it be a question about my mom instead?"
"See, that's what I don't understand. I know something happened between Sora and Riku and you, but I don't know what. But it was something bad, wasn't it?"
It was clear from Roxas' expression that the answer was 'yes.'
They were silent for a long time. The radio played softly in the background, something kind of jazzy, and the wind blowing in through the crack in the window created a soft whistling whenever Axel sped up.
"It's… It's like you guys think I don't have feelings." Axel's voice was forcibly even. "It's like all of you assume that I don't ever feel left out or that I don't ever feel bad. Do you have any idea what it's like living with a group of people who all have this huge secret that you can't know? And what's worse is that… I'm not a stranger. I've known all of you for years. Riku has been my best friend for years and I..." he paused and thought for a moment. "Maybe it's not my business, but I feel like it should be."
Roxas shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The usual playfulness, the usual flirtatiousness, the usual laughter and deviousness had left Axel and the blonde could not recall a time when the redhead seemed so… honest. He had seen Axel upset. He had seen him tired and intoxicated and stressed. But he had never witnessed this before.
"It's not on purpose," Roxas mumbled. "We're not trying to make you feel left out. It's… It's just private. It's our lives, Axel. It's not some kind of awesome secret we all share. It's a massive bump in our history together. If you and Riku had something private, something private and bad, would you want it shared around? It's bad enough Kairi and Naminé know."
"I'm not prying, Roxas." Axel gave the blonde a look, "I'm not asking around about it. It's all around me. How the hell am I supposed to ignore something that I can't even get away from? I get it's private, but… but that doesn't make me feel any less like an outsider."
A blush came to the blonde's cheeks when he realized that he had had this conversation before, except it was with Riku and it was about the death of his mother. It was funny, and Roxas guessed coincidence, that Axel was reiterating what his best friend had said years ago.
"I knew you in high school. You're the reason I became best friends with Riku."
"What?" Roxas looked up at Axel. "What are you talking about?" The quick subject change caught him off-guard.
"You don't remember?" he smiled. "I was going to kick Riku's ass for you."
"You're making that up," the blonde mumbled unsurely.
"I swear I'm not," Axel's smile increased. "You didn't ask me to. You were just upset and you told me it was because of this guy named Riku, so I was gonna go beat him up."
"Oh my God," Roxas tried to hide his smile. "We weren't even friends in high school."
"Sure we were. Just not for very long. You sort of fell off the face of the earth."
The blonde thought about this for a moment. He couldn't recall feeling anything toward Axel other than complete and total loathing, but… Maybe 'friends' was stretching it. Maybe Axel was just remembering things how they should have been.
••••••••••••••
"It's free to look, but it'll cost you if you wanna touch."
He had never seen this boy before, but he had heard of him. He was heavily talked about around school, both negatively and positively, and Roxas had been told by multiple people that it would be in his best interest to stay away from Axel. Roxas had been told he was Axel's type. He had been told that the redhead had a thing for blondes and an even bigger thing for twins. He also happened to have a thing for young, naïve, virgin, freshmen boys. Roxas did not appreciate this.
"I wasn't looking at you." The blond stated bluntly. "I was looking at –" he paused, hesitated, and then mumbled "nothing. I was looking at nothing."
He had been looking at Riku who was sitting at a table across the library with Sora. Roxas, who didn't want to be noticed by them, had chosen to sit somewhere where he was partially hidden by a book shelf. He could see them, but they couldn't see him and he preferred it this way. He was smitten with Riku and it was best if Sora didn't know.
Their first date had gone well, much to Roxas' dismay. However, that didn't mean Riku wasn't finding time for Roxas. That didn't mean they didn't get together to kiss and touch in secret. It didn't mean anything because as far as Roxas knew, Riku and his brother weren't even dating. They were just talking. They were just feeling each other out.
"Uhuh… Nothing." Axel mused. He pulled a chair out and sat down next to Roxas. "I know you."
The blonde gave Axel a look. "I know you too. And you're not a good person."
"Ouch. You're judgmental. Did it ever occur to you that maybe people spread vicious rumors about me? Maybe there's just a select group of people who hate me and decide to ruin my reputation?"
Well, no. It hadn't occurred to Roxas, but that didn't seem to matter much. Axel didn't wait for an answer before he continued talking.
"Exactly. I'm Axel."
"And I'm leaving," Roxas closed the textbook he had been pretending to read and he began to gather up his notebook and his papers. His eyes were fixated on Riku and Sora who also happened to be packing up their things and leaving the library too.
"You know," Axel smirked delightedly. "If you're going to stalk someone, you should be less obvious."
"I'm not stalking anyone." Roxas blushed and slowed the pace at which he put things in his backpack.
"You're starring at that couple over there. You're terrible at lying, by the way."
His blush increased. "They're not a couple," he stated rather defensively.
"Well, I imagine you would know since you're stalking them." Axel teased.
Roxas glared at him and then quickly left the library in an embarrassed huff.
••••••••••••••
"I can't believe you drove us all the way out here," Roxas untangled himself from his blanket and glanced up at Axel.
"Like you have anything better to do?" Axel teased as he unbuckled his seatbelt.
They had stopped at this diner back over the summer when they had made the trip to the redhead's house. Roxas couldn't imagine why in the world Axel would want to come back. It was a small, truck-stop diner in the middle of nowhere and the food wasn't particularly worth the hour drive it took to get there. However, his exhaustion and his amusement kept him from complaining. This was some sort of strange Axel-gesture and Roxas wasn't going to intentionally sabotage the moment.
Both boys exited the vehicle and made their way to the front doors of the diner. They walked inside and chose to sit at the booth they had sat at last time. This time the sun was rising instead of setting and Roxas appreciated the feeling of familiarly this place gave him.
Their waitress walked over and they both ordered coffee.
"With cream," Roxas said before she walked away. "Lots of cream."
Axel smiled.
"Black coffee is gross…" Roxas shrugged and leaned back in his seat.
••••••••••••••
"So…" Roxas fiddled with the edge of his blanket. Their room was dark and he wasn't even sure if his brother was awake. They had school tomorrow and, because they were freshmen, a bedtime was still enforced by their mother. A rule she would sometimes bend for Roxas if he got up from bed after all his siblings had fallen asleep.
"What?" Sora asked.
"Are you and Riku dating?" he tried to sound casual, "I haven't heard you say anything about it lately."
"Oh," he sounded surprised. "I didn't think you cared. I've been talking to Kairi about it a lot."
Roxas wanted to say "that's weird. I've been talking to Naminé about it too" but he didn't. His conversations with Naminé were personal. He knew she wouldn't blab to Kairi the way Kairi would blab to anyone who would listen. He knew what he said to Naminé was completely confidential.
"Well, are you?" Roxas asked again.
"Dating Riku?" Sora sighed, "I don't know. We've gone out on like five dates, but he just seems… distracted." He shifted in his bed. "Like we kiss and he holds my hand, but he just…" a pause, "it's as if he's looking over his shoulder for something else. Like he's waiting for someone else to come up and make a move on him."
Roxas felt his cheeks heat and he was glad it was dark in their room. "Maybe some guys are just like that."
"Maybe," Sora yawned. "I don't know enough about him to say, but I like Riku a lot."
Roxas stopped himself from saying "yea, me too."
••••••••••••••
"Tell me," Axel pressed.
"What's there to tell?" Roxas frowned as he stirred his coffee. "You didn't take me all the way out here just to pry, did you?"
"No," Axel answered honestly. "I took you out here because I like you."
The blond rolled his eyes. "Great. I hope you're not hoping for some kind of booty call."
"No," Axel laughed, "I don't treat my booty calls to breakfast." He winked and Roxas raised his brows.
"You just treat them to dinner because you know sex is better when you have energy to burn."
"Oh, really?" the redhead smiled softly. "And just what do you know about sex, Roxy?"
The indignant look on his face screamed 'a lot more than you think.'
••••••••••••••
Roxas had decided to make a move on Riku based on what Sora had said to him last night. It was October and Riku had started taking Sora out in the beginning of September. If he hadn't made a move on Sora by now, then he obviously wasn't going to at all. Roxas had reasoned this out on the bus to school and had come to the conclusion that while he had given up Riku for Sora, it would be wrong to let Riku lead his twin brother on. So it was Roxas' moral obligation to snatch Riku from his brother's hands.
Naminé wasn't so sure about this when he told her of his plan during their first period class.
"Maybe he's waiting for the right moment to make a move on Sora," she whispered to her brother.
"Nami," Roxas whispered back, "he keeps leading me off to secluded areas to kiss. He tells me I'm cute and that he likes me. He keeps going out with Sora, but that's because I told him too. I thought maybe if they went out, he would fall for Sora and forget about me, but he hasn't. It's a sign that I should make a move on Riku."
Naminé frowned. "I thought it was your moral obligation to make a move on Riku."
"What?" Roxas asked, "Oh – oh yea. That too."
She sighed and leaned back in her seat. She wanted to advise her brother against his plan, but how could she? Roxas had fallen for Riku and he had fallen hard.
••••••••••••••
"So you're not a virgin?" Axel had such an impassive look on his face that Roxas couldn't decide if he really was impassive or if he was upset and this was his attempt at hiding it. It seemed like a strange thing to be upset about. It wasn't as if they had dated and it wasn't like they were dating now. Roxas knew Axel was interested in him, but why would his virginity matter? He was 19 and a boy. He lost his virginity the first chance he got.
"Does it matter?" Roxas was looking into his coffee cup. They had flipped through their menus and ordered their food and now they sat in a somewhat awkward silence.
"I guess not." Axel shrugged, the impassive look still stuck on his features. "I guess I just assumed you were."
"You're mad." He sighed and leaned back in the booth. "Why are you mad?"
"I'm not mad. Just surprised."
"And disappointed."
"Roxas," Axel gave him a stony look. "I'm just surprised. You're… sort of bitchy. I just didn't think someone would actually…"
"Sleep with me?" Roxas glared. "Thanks."
"Oh, come on." He rolled his eyes, "You're always overly shocked when someone sleeps with me."
"Yea, but that's because you're a disease-infested trollop."
"Not true. Do you see my point?" Axel raised a brow.
Roxas grumbled something under his breath and stared into his mug of creamy coffee.
••••••••••••••
As soon as the last bell rang, Roxas was up and out of his seat and searching for Riku. He had contemplated exactly what he was going to say all day. He had written the words out on paper multiple times and he had resisted the urge to send a text message to the older boy. He wanted to do this in person. This was important.
Kids flooded the hallway in excitement. It was Friday afternoon and a long-weekend, something Roxas should've been more excited about. However, he was in a rush to see Riku. He had been purposefully avoiding the older boy all day to make this moment all the more special. He hurried down the steps, shoving past kids and making his way over to the library.
This was Riku's normal spot and Roxas figured today would be no different. A breath was taken before he pushed the library doors open and, quite literally, ran into the person he had been looking for.
"Riku!"
"Hey," he smiled in his usual charming manner.
"I need to talk to you." Roxas slipped his hand into the older boy's own and was briefly shocked when Riku pulled his hand away.
"Later," he looked around in both directions before placing a very brief kiss to Roxas' lips. "I'm meeting someone."
"What?" The blonde could not mask his hurt. "But Riku, I –"
"Hey, Roxas…. Riku…." Sora walked into the library with a small smile on his face. "Was your dad okay with me coming over today?" he grabbed Riku's hand and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Roxas' mouth fell open slightly and he looked extremely hurt. Riku looked away, trying his mask his own guilt, and Sora looked from his brother to his boyfriend and back again.
"Is everything okay?" he asked kindly. "Rox –"
"Fine," the blond replied stiffly. "I guess you're dating now?"
Sora grinned and nodded eagerly and Riku refused to take his eyes from the floor.
"Oh, well… I'm glad that it worked out." Roxas mumbled stupidly before quickly leaving the library.
••••••••••••••
"So who took it?" Axel sipped his coffee, his jade eyes staring curiously at Roxas.
"You make it sound like five dollars," the blonde muttered. "I don't kiss and tell."
"Was it someone I know?" he pressed.
"Axel." Roxas gave him a look.
"So it WAS someone I know."
"What is this? An interrogation?" His brow furrowed. "I don't ask who you've slept with before, though I'm sure that's a long, disease-riddled list."
Their waitress came over with their food and both parties fell silent as she handed them their plates. Breakfast was probably one of Roxas' favorite meals. It was probably one of Axel's too, but neither boy had taken the time to genuinely get to know one another. The similarities between them would probably shock them both.
"Why can't I know?" Axel grabbed a fork and began to hack his pancakes into small pieces. "If it's not a big deal, why can't I know?"
Roxas pouted and didn't answer.
••••••••••••••
Because he was upset, he had ended up missing his bus home. He had received multiple texts from his siblings, all asking where he was, and he had ignored all of them except Naminé. He told her everything that happened, including how he now had to walk home, and he blamed every single detail on Sora. Roxas never would've missed the bus if it wasn't for Sora. Riku would be his right now too. Hell, Roxas was willing to bet his mother and father wouldn't have to work so much if Sora didn't exist.
And if his mother didn't work so much, she could pick him up and he could tell her everything. But it wasn't happening. His mother was a successful business woman who had recently begun working late hours. She was seldom home and her sudden absence was devastating to Roxas, who was clearly in the middle of a crisis.
It was going to rain too. He could hear the thunder overhead as he walked along the side of the road. He could see the storm clouds rolling in. The only thing worse than a thunderstorm was being stuck outside in one.
"Hey, stalker-kid!"
Roxas looked over at the small, red car that had pulled up next to him. A scowl crossed his features when he noticed Axel was the driver and he turned his head the other way and proceeded to ignore the redhead.
"Oh, come on!" he called. "Get in. I'll give you a ride."
"I don't need a ride." Roxas pouted.
"Oh, okay. I guess you're walking to your invisible car. My bad."
Roxas turned to Axel and glared hotly at him. "Just leave me alone! I'm having a horrible day and you're just… bothering me!"
Axel raised a brow. "I'll leave you alone if you let me give you a ride."
He debated whether or not he should take the ride, but his decision was made for him when it suddenly began to rain.
"Where do you live?" He watched Roxas as he buckled his seatbelt.
"Whitegate."
Axel began to drive down the road, his windshield wipers on, and there was a momentary, but not awkward, silence between them.
"What's your name?" Axel asked.
"Roxas," he muttered. "How do you know where Whitegate is?"
"I live there too."
"Oh…" the blonde fell silent and he looked out the window as the rain fell in heavy, thick droplets. "Are… Are you really as bad as people say you are?"
"I hope not," Axel answered honestly. "A lot of it is talk."
Roxas frowned, "Doesn't that bother you?"
"No. I know what I've done and what I haven't. Besides, it's kind of cool that everyone knows my name, even if it's sometimes associated with bad things."
Roxas smiled a little.
"Cute." Axel glanced at the blond. "First time I've seen you smile, which is a real shame."
Roxas felt his cheeks heat slightly. "Why is that a shame?"
"Because you look so much better when you're smiling than when you're scowling. You should really cheer up, Roxy. I bet a cute boy like you has a lot to be smiling about."
Blue eyes went wide and he stared at Axel, shocked and surprised and intrigued and mortified all at once. What his mother had said about his name… He hadn't realized how much he had taken it to heart until this moment.
"What?" Axel asked. "Why are you staring at me? You gonna start stalking me too?"
"What did you say?" Roxas ignored his question. "My name – what did you call me?"
"What?" The redhead's brow furrowed. "I called you Roxy."
"Why?" His blue eyes were wide with confusion and he was searching for some kind of answer.
"Because… I don't know." Axel shrugged. "Because it's cute and… and you're cute so you deserve a cute nickname."
Roxas looked away from Axel, befuddlement still etched on his features. He leaned back in his seat and tried, unsuccessfully, to sort out how he felt about all of this. Axel, someone he barely knew, was the one to call him Roxy. Someone who didn't even know his name until all of three or four minutes ago.
"Is that okay?" Axel frowned. "Should I just call you Roxas?"
"No," he shook his head. "You can call me Roxy."
••••••••••••••
"Why Roxy?" Roxas forked a piece of pancake and eyed it skeptically before eating it.
"Excuse me?" Axel had butchered his pancakes into small bits that could be easily scooped with a fork. "What are you talking about?"
"Why did you call me Roxy?" he paused. "I mean, when we first met. When you gave me a ride home. Why did you call me Roxy?"
The question came from nowhere and Axel didn't have a good answer. How their talk had gone from virginity to the blonde's nickname confused the redhead, but he wasn't sure he minded the change in subject. It was clear Roxas was hiding something about the loss of his virginity and Axel didn't want to alienate him by prodding him for an answer.
"Because it fit you," he replied simply. "You were cute and you looked so lonely and upset all the time. You were in permanent distress and Roxas made you sound so much tougher than you actually were. Roxy softened you. It turned you from 'brooding youth' to 'boy in distress.' I liked that."
Roxas wasn't sure how he felt about this answer, but he didn't have it in him to argue. Axel was, essentially, right. Roxas was upset and lonely and he was in permanent distress. A distress that was only worsened when his mother died. After she was gone, he figured he had begun to fit the name 'Roxas' because all the softness he had once had was gone. And a simple name-change wasn't going to fix that.
"Axel?"
"Yea?"
Roxas hesitated, "Nothing. Never mind."
He was pretty sure Axel would just laugh at him if he even began to explain what his mother had told him years ago.
••••••••••••••
"You live in the fancy part of Whitehall." Axel mentioned as he pulled up into the driveway of Roxas' house.
"The fancy part?" Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Is there any other part to Whitehall?"
"Yea. This neighborhood is huge. Bet your mom doesn't let you out after dark though."
The blond blushed because Axel was right. Roxas wasn't allowed to go out after dark unless he was with someone and that someone usually had to be a trusted adult or one of his siblings. Why his mother was much more lenient when it came to Kairi, Sora, or Naminé, Roxas wasn't sure. He liked to entertain the idea that it was because she loved him the most.
"Um, Axel?"
"Yea?" the redhead looked over at the blond.
"Thanks for driving me home. I guess… I guess you're not so bad."
"Hell yea," Axel grinned, "People do a lot of talking for me, Roxy, and nearly none of it is true."
He offered a small smile to the redhead as he grasped the handle on the car door. The rain was still pouring down in heavy, thick drops and it was thundering overhead. Roxas hesitated before getting out. He knew it probably wasn't a good idea to invite Axel inside, but it was storming and the older boy had just done him a favor.
"Do you want to come in?" Roxas asked shyly. "You don't have to, I just… It's raining."
Axel laughed, "Afraid of storms, Roxy?"
A blush crossed his pale cheeks and he didn't answer. He felt a comforting hand pat his shoulder and then he heard the redhead mutter 'I'm just playing with you. Yea, I'll stay for a bit.'
Roxas didn't know how to feel, but he found Axel's touch had left him feeling warm on the inside.
••••••••••••••
Their conversation had slowed while they were eating. Both boys were tired and they both seemed stuck for something to say. Axel was clearly afraid of stepping on Roxas' toes and Roxas wasn't sure how honest he wanted to be with the redhead. He remembered what Riku had said, when they had been at the bakery. He remembered Riku telling him that Axel would be upset if he knew about them.
Roxas knew he was going against his better judgment, but he asked anyway, "What do you think happened between Riku, Sora and me?"
Axel looked down at his half-eaten plate of pancakes and after a few moments of thought, he merely shrugged. "I don't know. I'm kind of afraid to find out what happened, so I try not to think about it. Don't get me wrong, I wanna know, but only because it's been dangling in front of me for months."
"Why afraid?" Roxas frowned and he picked up his mug.
"Because… Because I have an image of you that I don't want tarnished. In my head, you're this grumpy kid who's all hard on the outside, but soft on the inside. In my head, you're just this sad and lonely boy who needs someone to love him unconditionally. In my head, you're untouched. Never kissed, never fucked, never messed with… I guess I like thinking you're innocent. I like thinking your coldness, your rough exterior, is just a mask for all that gentle kindness on the inside." Axel shrugged his shoulders and played with his food. "I don't want to know if you are this mean and if you always have been…"
"Wait, so..." Roxas looked at Axel with some confusion. "You don't think I'm inherently mean?"
The redhead shook his head. "No. I think you're just… a little bit weathered. Maybe a little bit scared."
The blond turned slightly and looked out the window. The sun was rising slowly and early morning clouds hung overhead. A trunk rolled into the diner parking lot and Roxas was mildly surprised when he found himself disappointed that his semi-solitude with Axel was going to be interrupted by a tired, hungry truck driver.
"Why do you think I'm scared?" Roxas didn't look at Axel when he asked the question.
"Are you?" the redhead raised a brow, his jade eyes locked onto his duplex-mate's small form.
"Maybe…" he mumbled unsurely. "Maybe I'm not scared, I'm just…" he hesitated. The sudden pressure he felt in his chest, the lump in his throat, the stinging behind his eyes… These symptoms distressed him and he suddenly wished he wasn't with Axel, he wished he wasn't in this diner, and he wished he was alone, in his bed, where he was safe from the world.
"Roxy?" Axel looked concerned.
"Alone. I'm just alone."
Wide, frightened blue eyes met calm, soothing jade ones. Axel slipped from his side of the booth and went to sit next to Roxas. An arm went around the blonde's waist and the redhead yanked him impossibly close. His other hand came to rest in the mess of his duplex-mate's blond hair and he held the other in a tight embrace.
Roxas had his face buried against Axel's chest and he gripped the older boy much more tightly than he meant to. He was afraid to let go though. He was afraid Axel would just up and disappear.
••••••••••••••
"I don't think my parents are home." Roxas and Axel had gotten soaked from their short walk from the driveway to the blonde's front door. "My siblings are, though." He put his key in the lock and let himself and Axel inside. The redhead watched as Roxas suddenly began to remove his shoes and his shirt. An eyebrow was raised and the younger boy blushed when he caught Axel's eye.
"I'm wet," he mumbled.
"Me too." Axel stripped his own shirt and kicked off his shoes. Roxas had to keep his eyes on the floor to avoid staring at the other's body. Well, that much was true. Axel did have a really nice body.
"Uh… there are towels in the laundry room," he stated awkwardly. He looked everywhere except at Axel and the harder he tried to avert his eyes, the bigger the redhead's smile became.
"You're cute, Roxy." He followed the blond as he walked from the foyer to the living room and into the kitchen.
"No." The blond shook his head and walked into a small room where a washer and dryer sat. "Just nervous." He pawed through a laundry basket briefly before grabbing two clean, white towels from the mess. Roxas passed one to Axel and the older boy immediately began to dry his long, red hair.
"I make you nervous?" he smirked.
Roxas shrugged and wiped down his arms and chest. "A little. I don't really get hit on a lot."
Axel laughed and then stifled it when he noticed the other boy blush. "Oh, hey…" he stepped closer to Roxas and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm not making fun of you."
He passed the redhead a slight look.
"Okay, you're obviously not as naïve as people say." Axel admitted, "However, I will say I'm not laughing at you."
"You're laughing with me?" he smiled slightly. "I'm not laughing, Axel."
"But you're smiling. And that's a start."
Roxas felt the smile on his features grow and their eyes locked. Axel was considerably taller than the blond and he did not notice this until he noticed that they were leaning in to kiss each other.
Their lips were close. Axel was radiating heat like a fire and this only caused a spike in the younger boy's embarrassment. He felt the other's hand move from his shoulder to his cheek and he felt a soft, gentle thumb caress his plump bottom lip. It was a new feeling, a new sensation, and it left Roxas feeling like a bundle of nerves.
"Roxas?"
He could've sworn he heard Axel mutter 'damn it' under his breath when both boys backed away from one another. Sora's voice had interrupted their moment and Roxas didn't take his sudden appearance in the kitchen too kindly.
"Aren't you supposed to be with Riku?" he snapped. He began to towel-dry his hair and did not appreciate the way Sora looked accusingly from Roxas to Axel and back again.
"Uh… Why are you guys half-dressed?"
"We got wet." Axel shrugged and placed his towel over his shoulders.
"Right." Sora's eyes narrowed somewhat and he opened his mouth to say more, but Riku came up behind him and snaked his arms around the brunet's waist. A kiss was placed to his cheek and a smile crossed Sora's features.
Roxas couldn't help his look of infuriation. A look that seemed to go largely unnoticed.
"Wow. You guys having fun?" Riku's eyes narrowed. He was attempting to look impassive, but his eyes were giving him away. "Didn't think you were the type to give it away so easily, Roxas."
"We got rained on," he growled. "And we're just friends."
"Pft. No one is just friends with Axel." Riku held back a dirty look.
"Wow, you know," Axel sighed, "it's funny. It's like you guys don't know I'm standing right here or something."
"Some of us can keep our hands to ourselves." Roxas glared hotly at Riku. He wasn't bothering to hide the fact that he was hurt and upset. He didn't care if he caused problems for Riku and Sora. Sora deserved to be hurt. He stole Riku away from Roxas.
"I can't help it if your brother is cute." He pressed a kiss to Sora's cheek and relished in the heat that burned in the blonde's pale cheeks.
Roxas opened his mouth to respond, but Kairi's voice calling from the stairway in the foyer cut him off. "Sora! Dad's on the phone! He wants to talk to you!"
The brunet slipped from his boyfriend's arms and was glad to have a reason to leave the strained, awkward situation. Riku and Roxas stood facing each other, eyes locked in heated stares. Axel pretended to be interested in the magnets that were stuck haphazardly on the door of the fridge. His towel was still draped around his neck and he tried not to notice the tension.
"Why?" Roxas asked. "Why now?"
"I waited!" Riku's voice was extremely on-edge.
"I was coming today!" Roxas yelled. "I was coming to see you today! I was going to tell you today! You just didn't give me enough time!"
His aqua eyes narrowed and he looked away, "So, what? Now you're besties with Axel?"
"No. He just gave me a ride home."
"That explains why you're half-naked. Gotta pay him back somehow."
Roxas' cheeks burned and Axel suddenly turned his attention to Riku. "Hey." He was considerably taller than Riku and therefore much more intimidating. "We got wet walking to the door. Don't insult him."
"Ooh, so now you're fighting his battles?" Riku crossed his arms and glared up at the redhead.
"I'll fuck you up." Axel was dead serious. The smugness on Riku's face left and Roxas looked up at the older boy with wide, blue eyes. "I'm not kidding. If you say one more negative thing about him, I'll fuck you up until you're nothing but a bloodied, unrecognizable heap."
The silver haired boy backed down. He shrugged his shoulders and then walked out of the kitchen. He would never admit it, but he was afraid of Axel. He had good reason to be, too. Aside from his height, Riku had heard many stories about Axel and the things he did to people he didn't like. Axel was intimidating and Riku would rather have his pride mildly agitated than his face crushed in like a can.
"Now you do kind of owe me," Axel teased. He turned to face Roxas, a smile lining his handsome features. "I just –" he was caught off-guard when the blond kissed him in the softest and sweetest way the redhead had ever felt.
••••••••••••••
"Are you okay?" Axel drove down the road with his windshield wipers on. A storm had come from seemingly nowhere and rain poured down in thick droplets. Roxas sat in the passenger seat with his blanket wrapped around his body and his pack of cigarettes in his right hand. He stared straight ahead. His eyes were red, his cheeks were streaked. He hadn't cried in a long time.
"Look, I'm sorry," he frowned. "I didn't mean to make you cry."
"It wasn't you," Roxas answered softly. He sniffled and wiped at his face and he was more than pleased when he felt Axel's warm, gentle fingers touch his cheek.
"I still feel like an asshole though."
"You can make it up to me," Roxas teased. He took the redhead's hand in his own and intertwined their fingers. He gripped the slender digits tightly and reminded himself that this was the calmest he had felt in a very long time. He should be weary of Axel, maybe even afraid of him, but Roxas was learning that while Axel's actions weren't always good, his intentions certainly were.
"Oh, really?" the redhead squeezed the blonde's hand gently. "How?"
"Sleep with me."
Axel's eyes went wide and he glanced over at a very red-faced Roxas.
"I-I meant literally. Not… having sex, but actual sleeping."
"Oh," Axel breathed a sigh. "Good."
"Good?" Roxas looked over at him with mild offense. "Why is that good?"
"Because I would hate myself if I had to reject you, Roxy."
His mild offense turned into annoyance and he opened his mouth to argue, but then he decided that Axel probably did have some good reason for not wanting to have sex with him. Not yet, anyway. He didn't push the redhead for an answer which was just as well. Axel wasn't sure he could provide a satisfactory one.
••••••••••••••
"Mom?"
She was outside in the garden when Roxas came to her. It was early morning, her first day off in almost three weeks, and she was sitting in her garden enjoying a small breakfast of toast and juice. She was wearing a very pretty white dress that was now covered in dirt and her beautiful hair fell gracefully about her shoulders.
"Yes, Roxy?"
He sat next to her, in the dirt, and she offered him a piece of her toast. He took the one that looked the most burnt because he knew she wouldn't eat it. She liked her toast very barely toasted. Anything more than slightly brown was, in her head, "burned."
"I met him."
"Who?" she brushed a few strands of blond hair from his face.
"The one – the guy who called me Roxy without provocation. It was almost immediate, Mom. I told him my name and he just… came up with it. Like it was natural."
She smiled at him in her charming, beautiful way before placing both her hands over one of Roxas' own. "That's wonderful! Who is he? Is he the young man Sora brought over last night?"
Roxas shook his head, "No. That's… That's Riku."
She realized she hit a nerve and she quickly backtracked. "Just as well. That boy isn't good enough for my Roxy."
He smiled at her and then looked away, embarrassed to know that he truly was her favorite. "His name is Axel."
"He has a strong name," she stroked her son's cheek affectionately. "I bet he's handsome and charming and everything you'll ever need in a man."
"I… I like him." Roxas looked at his mother. "He reminds me of you."
"Of me?" she asked.
"Yea," he smiled slightly. "He's affectionate and when he touches my face or my arms or my back, it's always soft and gentle, just like you. The way he says my name, the way he laughs and smiles… He's got a lot of your mannerisms."
There was a hesitation that Roxas failed to notice. There was a look that crossed her features that Roxas did not see. It took her a moment to resume her affectionate touches and she was hesitant to say 'that's good, Roxy. I want you to be happy.'
••••••••••••••
The drive back to the duplex didn't seem to take as long as the drive to the diner. The rain had not let up since their departure and when Axel pulled into the driveway of the duplex, he sighed softly. He didn't like rain. He didn't like getting wet because it left him feeling cold and messy. He much preferred dry, dry heat.
"Leave your blanket," Axel suggested. "You're just going to get it wet on the way inside."
Roxas sighed, "Yea. I'll pull one from the hall closet before we sleep."
They both exchanged a look and then opened the door to Roxas' car. They stepped out and hurried to the front door. Axel searched his pockets for his key, but the blond grabbed the door handle and turned it. They hadn't locked the duplex when they left.
They both walked inside and Axel sighed when he realized that he was soaked. His shirt clung to his body, his hair was a wet mess, and his pants gripped his legs in a way he did not find comforting. Roxas seemed to be in the same position, but fairing it a little better.
"Shower?"
"You want to shower with me, but you don't want to sleep with me?" Roxas looked up at Axel with a mixture of confusion and amusement.
He thought about this for a moment and then nodded. "Yea," he answered, "maybe I just want to know you first. Maybe I care about you. Maybe I just wanna see what you look like when you're naked."
The blond shrugged and then proceeded to his bedroom with Axel on his heels.
••••••••••••••
"When will I get to meet Axel?"
Roxas was lying on her bed when she asked the question. His father was at work and his mother was putting make-up on in the bathroom mirror. Her white dress, the one she had been wearing that morning, sat in a pile on the floor. She was wrapped in a towel and her beautiful hair was wet from her recent shower.
"I'm not sure."
"Are you dating?" she asked.
"No." Roxas sat up on the bed and looked over at her. "We kissed, but… just once. We're just friends, maybe."
"But he touches you?" She put eye drops in her eyes and tilted her head back.
"Well, yea, but just friendly touches. Sometimes he'll touch my face or play with my hands, but we haven't really talked about the possibly of dating."
"It's good to take things slow," she said as she blinked her eyes. "Your brother, Sora, he's going to end up hurt. He's going to get so tangled up in that boy he's with, he'll end up heartbroken. First relationships always fail."
Roxas his mouth to speak, but then closed it. He wanted to tell her about how Riku would come up and kiss him and compliment him when Sora wasn't around. He wanted to tell her about how when Sora and Riku started dating, and Axel threatened Riku, Riku stopped seeking Roxas out. He missed the other boy's attention. Axel seemed interested in Roxas, but in the same way a cat seems interested in a new toy. It becomes old news rather quickly.
"What?" she leaned against the countertop and looked at her son. "What's wrong?"
"I… I still like Sora's boyfriend."
"Well of course," she smiled warmly at him and Roxas immediately felt better. "That's natural, Roxy. He's a good looking boy. You know what I think?"
"Huh?" He slipped off the bed and walked over to her.
"I think you should go for what you want. If you want Riku, then go for him. If you think Axel is the one, don't make him your first boyfriend. Relationships are hard and you'll have a better, happier, and longer relationship with Axel if you don't date him first."
"But…" Roxas frowned. He didn't like hearing this. His mother was telling him to steal his brother's boyfriend so later on he could have a happy, healthy relationship with Axel.
"Roxy," she turned to him and touched his cheek tenderly. "Would I ever lead you wrong? If you go for Riku, you'll be doing Sora a favor too. He and Riku will fail regardless. If you bring that to a quick end, you'll save Sora a lot of suffering. Your mother knows what's best. She would never do anything to hurt any of her children."
Roxas nodded, reassured by her words. It was true – she never would lead him wrong. She wanted what was best for him. She wanted what was best for all of them… Didn't she?
••••••••••••••
Axel pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the bathroom floor. He struggled to remove his wet jeans and then felt somewhat embarrassed when he saw Roxas smiling at him. The shower was running and steam from the water was already beginning to fill the room. The blonde removed his shirt from his body and hesitated before undoing his pants.
"Hey," Axel, still in his boxer shorts, pressed a soft kiss to Roxas' forehead. "You don't have to be nervous. I'm not going to sleep with you. I won't even touch you if you're against it."
These words reassured Roxas and he slowly worked his jeans from his body. He dropped them into a heap on the floor and felt the color in his face rise when Axel unceremoniously removed his own boxers from his body.
"No jokes about it." He warned with his back turned to Roxas.
"Your… your dick?" the blonde tried to bite back his smile. "Why? What's wrong with it? Is it curved?"
"What? No! I mean my… hair color." Axel blushed. "Shut the fuck up. Is it curved…" he shook his head. "My dick is perfect."
Roxas was grinning. "Then turn around. Let me see."
"I will, once you promise me you won't joke about my red hair."
"Ugh," he groaned, "can I still call you Firecrotch?"
"Yes." Axel nodded, "But no other references or jokes."
"Okay, okay. I promise." Roxas rolled his eyes. "Now turn."
"Take your boxers off first."
The blond sighed in an overly dramatic manner. "I already promised I wouldn't make jokes about your volcano crotch."
Axel glared.
"Oh, sorry." Roxas smiled. "I guess that one just kind of slipped."
"Boxers. Off. Now."
"Fine."
Hesitantly, Roxas slipped his boxers down his legs. He hadn't gotten naked in front of anyone in a very long time. He was pretty certain the last time he had gotten naked in front of anyone was when he and Riku had played around and that had been quite a few years ago.
"You're blond."
"Yea, and my head is up here." Roxas was blushing a great deal.
"No, you've got a head down there too." Axel teased. He turned and walked over to Roxas and gently grasped his wrist. He yanked the smaller boy into the shower with him and allowed the hot water to wash over their wet, cold bodies.
"How come you trust me now?" Axel ran his fingers through Roxas' wet mess of blond hair.
"Because this is your second chance to sleep with me and you're not even attempting to get me in the sack."
"I wasn't joking when I said I only sleep with boys I don't want to keep around." He brushed the hair back from the other's face and then gently stroked his cheek with his thumb. "I don't want to damage you anymore."
"Anymore?" Roxas looked up at Axel. His own hands had snaked their way around the older boy's waist and he was gently raking his fingers down his smooth back.
"Yea. You're damaged goods. I don't want to further the damage."
Roxas didn't know if he should be insulted or happy. "Uh… thanks?" He raised his eyebrows at Axel.
"You're welcome," he replied simply.
Shampoo was grabbed from a wire rack that hung around the neck of the shower head. Axel gently nudged Roxas out from under the water and then opened the shampoo bottle. He squeezed a small amount into his palm and then began to leather up his duplex-mate's blond locks of hair.
"I can do it myself…" he mumbled half-heartedly. Axel's hands felt nice and he appreciated the feeling of being cleansed.
"Why do it yourself when I can do it for you?" He scratched along the younger boy's scalp, working the shampoo into a nice lather before yanking the other back into the stream of warm water. Fingers worked through his hair to ensure all the shampoo was rinsed out and Roxas merely enjoyed the sensation of not having to do something for himself.
••••••••••••••
It was right before Thanksgiving break when he decided to make a move on Riku. He had heavily debated with himself over whether or not this was the right thing to do, but in the end he had reasoned that his mother was only looking out for his and his siblings' best interests. Riku and Sora were destined to fail so he should help make it fail faster. It was his moral obligation to help his brother escape a very painful break-up.
He had texted Riku that morning with an ominous 'we need to talk' message and then had refused to say much else throughout the day. They planned to meet outside on the football field behind the bleachers after the last bell rang and after all his siblings boarded the school bus to go home.
He made up a lie when his siblings asked him why he wasn't riding the bus. At this point, not even Naminé could be trusted. She often questioned the advice of her mother and Roxas didn't want to argue with his sister over whether or not their mother was correct. The buses were pulling out of the parking lot by the time Roxas got to the football field. The weather was frigid and Riku was already standing there with his winter coat on and his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a scarf and he looked more handsome than usual.
"Hey," Riku said as soon as Roxas was within earshot. "What did yo—"
The blond was on top of him before he could react. Their lips were touching, Roxas' arms were wrapped tightly around his waist, and he couldn't help but feel his stomach flip-flop when Roxas' tongue pressed against his lips.
"Mm…" he grasped the other's shoulders and pushed him off. "What are you doing?" Riku's cheeks were red and the younger boy wasn't sure if it was from the cold or from their kiss.
"I want you." Roxas kissed Riku again and was momentarily hurt when Riku pushed him away.
"What happened to your new friend Axel?" His tongue flicked out to lick at his lips. The hint of jealousy that crossed his features caused a small smile to curve Roxas' lips upward. The fact that Riku had asked about Axel and not about Sora made him smile even more.
"He's not you," Roxas answered, "and I want you."
There was a hesitation in Riku's movements. He was confused by Roxas' sudden abandonment of Axel and why now, all of a sudden, he and the blond were on good terms again. They last time they had spoken had been the day Axel had threatened him. Riku would never admit it, but he stopped seeking Roxas out because he was afraid of the possibility of having to fight with Axel. It wouldn't look good to Sora if Riku was fighting with some guy over his twin brother.
"What about Sora?"
Roxas looked away from the taller boy and he shrugged his shoulders. "What about him?"
"Wait, let me get this straight…" Riku looked at the blond and his usual, charming smirk was slowly taking over his features. "You wanted me to go out with Sora so he wouldn't be hurt, then you're mad when I start dating him over you, and now you want me to cheat on him?" He knew he shouldn't be amused, but he was.
"It's complicated," Roxas frowned and played with the edge of Riku's scarf. He didn't want to begin to explain that it was his mother encouraging him to act in this manner. He didn't want Riku to know for fear that Riku would tell Sora or that, maybe in the future, Sora would find out that it was their mother who encouraged Roxas to purposefully wreck his relationship.
"Complicated?" Riku cupped the shorter boy's chin, "Like us?" He placed a firm, brief kiss to Roxas' mouth.
"Y-yea…" his cheeks were red from a combination of the cold and the blood that had just rushed to his face. "Like us."
Roxas closed the gap between them in a long kiss. This was the right thing to do.
••••••••••••••
"How many people have you slept with?" Roxas was lying in his bed, on his stomach, in only a pair of boxers. Axel was lying next to him, but on his back, and he was staring up at the ceiling. He had thrown on a pair of pajama pants but only because he generally didn't wear anything when he slept. Especially not underwear.
"Not a lot."
"Are you lying?" Roxas propped himself up on his elbows and looked over at Axel. "Are you just saying that because you think I'll be upset if you've slept with a lot of other people?"
"No," the redhead answered honestly. "I could lie, but I haven't slept with that many people so there isn't really a reason to."
Blond eyebrows furrowed and he frowned somewhat. "So… How many?"
"Six? Seven, maybe?" he looked over at Roxas. "No more than ten."
"You don't know?" He hadn't meant to sound so critical, so he quickly added, "I mean, you know, you just don't sound very sure."
A small smile curved Axel's lips upward and he reached over and brushed a bit of wet, blond hair from his duplex-mate's face. "I used to party way more than I should have."
Roxas opened his mouth to critique the redhead's lifestyle, but then decided against it. He looked downward at his hands and mumbled, "So, who all have you slept with?"
"I don't kiss and tell." Axel was smiling in a way that made Roxas want to strike him.
"Bullshit," the blond rolled over onto his back and was practically lying on top of the redhead. "You can't have casual sex and then not talk about it."
"Who are you asking about specifically?" Axel wrapped an arm around the younger boy and pulled him closer. In response, Roxas laid his face on his duplex-mate's chest.
"Okay… Have you slept with anyone I know?"
"You mean Demyx?"
"No," Roxas said a little too nonchalantly.
Axel smiled and shook his head, "Yea, okay."
"Fine. I want to know if you've slept with Demyx. Sue me." He rolled his eyes, but didn't move from the redhead's chest.
"Yea. I have."
"Ew."
Annoyed with the answer, the blond moved away from Axel and opted to lie on the other side of the bed. He turned on his side with his back to the other, and he wasn't exactly sure how to feel when Axel didn't immediately roll over and spoon with him or try and be sweet with him. He didn't know if this was good or bad and it only made him feel worse.
"Why do you ask questions you know you're not going to like the answer to?" Axel sighed.
"Because I want to know. I can't go through my whole entire life afraid to ask questions and afraid of what the answers might be."
"I slept with Riku, too. But those are the only two people you know that I've done it with," he mumbled before sliding from the blonde's bed and making his way over to the door. It was probably a bad idea to tell Roxas he had had sex with Riku, but Axel didn't want to lie. Not to Roxas, anyway.
"Hey," the blond called, "where are you going?" He sat up and walked over to where Axel was standing. The redhead had grasped the door handle and had been about to make his somewhat subtle disappearance, but Roxas' sudden interest in him stopped him.
"Aren't you going to kick me out?"
"I was, but now I don't want to be predictable," he replied somewhat jokingly. "Why Riku?" He reached out and touched Axel's arm affectionately.
"Because I was drunk and he was sad." He shrugged, "It was right before we went off to college. Like… the summer of our senior year, I think. I don't really remember."
Roxas turned his attention to the floor and he made a mental note to ask Riku about this later. Surely there was more to that story than what Axel could remember. Riku was not one to just sleep around (he had always been fairly selective) and his decision to sleep with Axel probably had some bearing in something else.
"So you're more upset I slept with Demyx?" He seemed fairly amused by this and he felt relieved when Roxas pulled him back over to the bed. "You don't care that I slept with Riku?"
"I like Riku." He sat on the edge of the bed and smiled somewhat when Axel leaned down and touched their foreheads together. His hands came to rest on Roxas' hips and Roxas reciprocated by wrapping his arms around Axel's neck.
"I thought Demyx was your friend."
"He was, but then he started dating this really obnoxious redhead…"
Axel smiled, "Sounds like you're jealous that Demyx has such a hot piece of arm candy."
"Hey." Roxas tangled his fingers in the other's mess of red hair. "His arm candy is with me right now. I don't have to be jealous."
"Yea. I think Demyx should really be jealous of you." Axel placed a brief kiss to the other's lips.
"Why?" Roxas asked softly.
"Because you make a way cuter blond."
He smiled and found he couldn't argue. Axel was right and, besides, it would've been too hard to argue with the redhead's tongue in his mouth.
••••••••••••••
"Should I just assume my phone is gone forever?" Riku ran his fingers through Sora's hair. The brunet was above him, lining his chest and stomach with hot, wet kisses and teasing him to the point where it was almost painful.
"I would." Sora kissed along Riku's happy trail. His fingers clutched at the edge of the blanket and he refused to go any farther down than his boyfriend's hips.
"This is torture."
"Not having a phone?" he asked before allowing his tongue to dart out and gently lap at the other's belly-button.
Riku caught his lower lip with his teeth and he gently yanked at Sora's brown locks of hair. "No. You teasing me like this. I forgot how much you liked to play."
"I commit in the end." He pulled the edge of the blanket down another half-inch. "Eventually I'll get down there…" he slipped his hand beneath the blanket and grasped Riku's erection gently, causing the older boy to tense slightly. Sora slid his hand up and down the other's length in slow, rhythmic motions. "You'll appreciate it more if I get you really worked up beforehand."
"Yea, or I'll just be really rough with you and force you down there before you're ready."
Sora felt a small smile pull at the corners of his lips. "Maybe I'm asking for it."
And Riku smiled because he knew Sora was.
A/N: This chapter is around 10,000 words. It has taken me TWO MONTHS to get this thing out and this delay has been significantly long and awful. That's the bad news. The good news is that there's only a month left in school before Christmas break and no school means I'm going to be writing my heart out. Thanksgiving break is also coming up which, hopefully, means a new chapter will make an appearance sometime in the beginning of December (but no later than mid-Dec because by then I'll be on Christmas vacation).
I know this is late. I tried to make it a little longer because it's so late. I appreciate everyone being patient and I appreciate all the faithful readers and reviewers who came back. I changed a few things in this chapter (I always end up rewriting chapters two or three times) and I've decided to split up the whole R x R x S love-triangle thing. I realized I wanted to do more with it than I originally had planned and I can't stuff it all into one chapter.
ANYWAY – added in some Roxas x Axel fluff and Sora and Riku got to make an appearance at the end of the chapter. Hooray!
Thank You for Reviewing:
Vithian: Thank you. I don't mind the KH high school stories if they aren't one dimensional. The problem with those stories, however, is the fact that they've been done over and over again and there's no originality. I'm glad you prefer my seemingly tough-as-nails Roxas. And this update was exceptionally slow. I hope this doesn't happen again.
TopHatGlow: I added that in there because I'm trying to show the similarities between Axel and Roxas' mom without making Axel seem creepy and without making Roxas seem like he wants to bang his mom. Er, yikes.
Along with being the most hardcore, those kids would also be the most fucked up. They'd have no legs or arms. Or teeth. Another yikes.
Loves Ironic Tragedy: Thank you, C. The job is awesome, but I can no longer eat at a Taco Bell without thinking about disposal day (for whatever reason, autoclaved agar and bacteria smells like the inside of a Taco Bell. Very disgusting). I can't do creative. It's not really my thing. And besides, artsy, post-modern kids annoy me.
Yea, I guess I never thought about it like that. I never guessed people might see Roxas' actions as slutty over just selfishness. I mean, okay, yea, it IS kind of slutty, but he didn't do it for a feeling of self-worth. He did it because he was A: listening to his mother's advice, and B: he genuinely liked Riku a lot.
Eventually Demyx will find out about Axel and Roxas (their "engagement," Axel's inability to keep his hands to himself, etc) and then things will slowly start to go downhill from there. It's going to be a bumpy fucking ride.
Oh yea – speaking of one-shots… I'm going to be writing another one as soon as I have the time. It's probably going to be Roxas x Axel-centric, but I'm pretty excited about it.
Muffin: I have the same problem with the little boxes glitching out when I type, too. It's incredibly aggravating and I salute you for writing that long of a review.
I like the friendship between Axel and Naminé because it can be easily manipulated. It also doesn't make Axel look like such an outsider in the Badcock clan. I also enjoy the conflict between Axel and Officer Leonhart because that's totally going to play a future role in the story. Same with Zemyx's kidnapping. All of that will come together toward the end in a horrific explosion of fire and flames (er, no one dies). The next chapter will probably be somewhat more humorous. I still haven't completely decided if it's going to be a chapter like this one or if it's going to be a little bit different.
Aindel S. Druida: All of your statements are true. Leon does need to get laid, Axel does need to dump Demyx, and Roxas needs some therapy (or a good romping in the bedroom. Almost the same thing). I really need to start reusing you as my beta. However, my updates are so late that I feel bad for waiting any longer to post them. You're a good beta and I really need to utilize you more.
Chelsey Adams: Wow, thank you. That means a lot to me! There's a TON of KH stories out there. I'm really glad you like this one so much.
Usuilove21: I really appreciate you saying that! There are so many stories out there (you would know if you've read over 800!) and it feels really nice to know that you like this one so much. It makes me feel good about my writing (and even better about my English). I'm picky, too. That's why these chapters get rewritten over and over and over again until I'm satisfied with the reread.
Superkawaiifreak: Hahaha. Thanks. I'm trying to make Roxas a little more dynamic. I want readers to feel badly for him, but I don't want to turn him into this poor kid whose life has been ruined because his mother died. I want there to be a balance between "aw, poor Rox" and "wow, what an asshole."
Believe me, it's not easy writing this much. I tend to do it all in one sitting too.
sana-chan9: Thanks. Some of this story is planned, but portions of it just come into my head as I'm writing (sometimes it causes plot problems which is very annoying). I actually had to draw out a timeline a few weeks ago because I really couldn't keep track of everything. Now I just add to it as stuff comes into my head.
Hahaha… Slickwoody and Cornhole… I laugh my ass off whenever I think about it.
misunderstood mysterious 1: Yea, Axel does seem to get blamed a LOT for stuff that isn't his fault. I guess it's the obnoxious behavior. You almost kind of want to punish him for being irritating.
RennyWasHere: Well, it was Labor Day Weekend (wasn't it?)! I figured a lot of people would actually be gone, but hey – at least there was something to look forward to when you got back.
I actually just discovered "that's what she said." I had kind of heard people say it before, but I never really understood it. There seems to be no Russian equivalent (damn!) but I've thoroughly annoyed my roommate by muttering "that's what she said" whenever he says something.
Loveless Heart: You're sweet. I think I have a few stalkers, but not many of them will actually take time to write a review. I really appreciate it when people review though. Writing reviews is awful (or, well, I think so) so I'm always thrilled when someone makes the effort to tell me they like what I'm writing. Thank you for reading.
animearlinefreak: I always figure if someone takes the time to review my story, I can take the time to write a little something back. I don't know how much of Roxas' obsession with Riku is 'love.' I think it's more just a… possession thing? But I haven't completely worked that all out yet.
Yea, Axel hasn't written a fable in a while. I'm sure they'll make an appearance in the next chapter. He will most definitely be writing one about Sora/Riku/Roxas whenever he finds out about them. A lot of Axel's fables are going to start being stories from his life (the pool incident, Officer Leonhart, etc.) which will eventually tie into the end of the story.
Demexiffie: Yes! The sixth chapter is here and the seventh chapter will be out soon! I'm expecting this story to be finished by the end of the summer (2011). I'm going to try and edit it into less than twenty chapters.
Daydreamishly: Well played, dear reader.
That's going to come up within the next few chapters, I hope.
Axel's-Wife: Thanks! I hate rushed stories and writing with only one plot is extremely difficult. It's good for one-shots, but when it comes to chapter stories the story can get really boring if it's one-dimensional. Plus, a multi-plot makes for an excellent drama.
Bazil-kun: Thank you. I'm glad you're the second person to comment on the pace of the story. I'm always afraid I'm moving way too slow.