Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story. At all.
Warning: Shounen-ai, homosexual relationships, etc, etc.
Author's Note: AAAAAH! THIS IS SO LATE!
Please don't castrate me. Please don't crucify me. Please direct your attention downward and enjoy the excruciatingly painful 10,000 word chapter.
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
VII – He Finds a Letter and Falls in Love
Viktor the Victorious
Viktor the Victorious was successful in all his endeavors. He had conquered villages, climbed the tallest mountains, swam down to the deepest depths of the ocean, and ran around his country twice without ever stopping to rest. Viktor the Victorious was adored by all who knew of him. Statues were made in his honor, he had more money than he could ever use in a lifetime, and his dashing good looks made him popular with the ladies. But Viktor the Victorious knew his glory meant nothing when it came to Benita the Beautiful. She was hard to please, dubbed a 'wench' by the village men, and she made all the ladies jealous with her radiant beauty. Benita the Beautiful disliked Viktor the Victorious despite his great adventures and fame. Try as he might, Viktor the Victorious failed to impress her and after 689,258 attempts, he raised his arms in irate defeat. And, for once, Viktor the Victorious was not victorious.
Moral: Love makes losers out of everyone.
He tapped the end of his pen against his cheek and reread his slanted writing. The tattered notebook he kept his fables in was really starting to fall apart and Axel scribbled at the top of the page 'type fables on laptop' and then he proceeded to underline it. It wasn't that he wrote a lot. He was just always thumbing through the notebook, letting other people thumb through it, and then hiding it whenever he thought Roxas was around. This was a secret still. As far as Axel knew, Roxas was under the impression their bet was just a joke.
"Or maybe…" he thought aloud. "Maybe Viktor the Victorious should be lonely…"
Axel scrawled, "But Viktor the Victorious was lonely and all his glory and fame could never fix that. He had conquered many women before, but none of them could cure the perpetual seclusion that plagued his fragile, lonesome heart."
The redhead frowned, "That's depressing." He thought for a few moments more before finally deciding to cross out what he had just written. Viktor the Victorious made a better loser than a loner.
Henry the Hen
Henry wasn't really a Hen. He just had had the misfortune of earning that nickname after the other Roosters found him with another Rooster. Henry the Hen was probably the first openly gay Rooster and he knew it was taboo to be this way. He suffered bullying, abandonment by his family, and even Fred the Farmer didn't want anything to do with him. Henry the Hen was made to feel ashamed of himself and made to feel as if he didn't belong. So, one day, Henry the Hen packed up his things and he left the farm in search of a place with a little more tolerance. He ended up being run over by an irate driver when trying to cross the road.
Moral: 'Why did the chicken cross the road' jokes are dumb and so are you for making them.
He closed his notebook and stuffed the red pen into the binding. He hoisted himself off his bed and retrieved Roxas' copy of Aesop's Fables from the floor. The book was heavy, falling apart, and it smelled like flowers. Honeysuckles and jasmine and rosebuds. Axel didn't have to ask to know that this was probably the scent of Roxas' mother. When he found the occasional auburn hair strand, he knew it wasn't Kairi's.
Her dead hair, her dead skin cells, her scent of sweet things. The smell of flowers reminded Axel of decay and he had a good inkling as to why. Dead woman, smell of flowers… The image of a rotting corpse resting under a thin veil of sweet-smelling flora reeked of decay. Even if it was just all in his head.
It was late, around two or three in the morning. They were on their Thanksgiving holiday and the duplex had become very quiet. The Badcock Quadruplets had taken their leave from the duplex early last Saturday. Thanksgiving was, apparently, a large family affair at the Badcocks' home and Axel and Riku, who had been hinting that they wanted to tag along, were shot down by all four siblings on four separate occasions.
Axel hadn't made the decision to stay at the duplex. It had been made for him when his mother called him from an international line to tell him they were abroad for the holiday. A sigh parted his lips and he thumbed through Aesop's Fables, stopping once or twice to read some of the shorter tales.
A loud rumble of thunder caused Axel to jump and fumble the book of fables. He dropped it onto the floor and swore under his breath when he saw he had knocked a few of the loose pages out. Rain suddenly began pouring down on the roof of the duplex and Axel sighed as he squatted down and began to resort the ten or fifteen pages that had fallen out. Roxas was going to kill him.
Jade eyes narrowed somewhat when he noticed that in the mess of parchment-like paper there was something white and crisp. Axel took a seat on the floor of his bedroom and eyed the white envelope that had been folded in the pages of Aesop's Fables. The envelope was open, as if it had been read already, and there was no name scrawled on the front. Axel knew this would definitely constitute as "snooping" but, then again, finders keepers.
He hesitated as he greedily reached inside to retrieve the letter. It occurred to him that this could be a letter from Roxas to his mom or vice versa. It occurred to him that this could even be a letter from Roxas' mother to his dad or one of his siblings. He knew this was prying, that this was a definite invasion of privacy, but he wanted to know.
Thunder rumbled loudly outside and Axel sighed as he shoved the letter back into the envelope, folded and unread. He placed the pages of the book, and the letter, back into their proper place and placed the fables on his desk.
If he wanted to know about Roxas he'd just have to learn to ask. Snooping wasn't going to win him any kind of favor with the stubborn blond.
••••••••••••••
A grunt slipped between his parted lips as he blindly groped for his ringing cell phone. Normally he would just ignore any calls or texts until he was awake and caffeinated, but today his phone was ringing off the hook. His fingers graced the vibrating object and he fumbled with it blindly before flipping it open and shoving it to his ear.
"Ugh… hello?" he answered groggily.
"HAPPY THANKSGIVING, AXEL!"
The redhead yanked the phone away from his face, though he couldn't say he was completely displeased to hear Demyx's excited voice on the other end of the line. Sometimes he forgot the two of them were dating. It was easy to forget when he was all wrapped up in Roxas.
"Mm, Happy Thanksgiving to you, too…" he grunted sleepily.
"Are you coming over?" Demyx asked. "Are you? My mom is here. I want you to meet her."
"Aw, Dem," Axel sat up in his bed and reached for the small alarm clock that sat on his desk. It was only ten in the morning and he had managed to get to sleep around five. "We've only been dating for like… a month. Isn't that kind of soon?"
"We've been dating for like three months," the blond corrected somewhat unkindly. "Let me put it this way: either you come over here or I'm coming over there and you don't want me to have to come and get you, Axel."
The redhead raised a brow. "I don't know. Are you going to punish me? Will it be sexual?"
"Seen 2girls1cup?" Demyx asked testily.
"Y-yea," Axel frowned.
"It'll be like that."
"…I'll be over in an hour."
••••••••••••••
"I wish Axel was here," Roxas admitted to himself. He sighed and stared up at the ceiling in his bedroom. His siblings were downstairs, entertaining family that was just arriving, and helping their father in the kitchen. He had always been the cook, not their mom. Roxas supposed that was a good thing considering their Thanksgiving meal would've consisted of burned toast and cereal if their mom had been the chef.
His room was exactly how he had left it. Sora, who once shared this room with him, only left a few mementos and keepsakes. Since their mother's death the room had become packed with things that had once belonged to her. Jewelry boxes, photos, clothes, high school yearbooks, her journals and diaries from when she had been younger, some of her old stuffed animals and things their dad had given her. This room was an active memory of her.
It had freaked Sora out and he had moved his things elsewhere, but it comforted Roxas. Seeing her photos everywhere, smelling her sweet scent, finding strands of her hair… It comforted him and he knew, on some level, that it was sick. He knew, on some level, that he should be over her by now.
He slipped from his bed and walked over to a framed photo of her that sat on a shelf near his desk. Roxas picked up the frame and looked at her picture, looked at how pretty she used to be and how perfect she used to be. His fingers touched the glass and he was reminded of how far away she was. He was reminded that her memory pained him, but to forget would be even worse.
••••••••••••••
Everything had been perfect.
After their reunion before break, Roxas and Riku had been meeting up as frequently as possible to play with each other. Riku had dubbed their times together 'the good times' and his times with Sora as 'the wifey times.' Roxas didn't protest. He was happy to be better liked than his twin. He was happy that Riku was choosing time with him over time with Sora even if it was in secret.
"God, you're cute…" Riku mused one cold afternoon. It was right after Christmas break, the weekend before the new semester began, and Roxas and Riku were hiding out in an igloo they had built a few days back.
"Stop." He blushed, "I'm freezing my ass off. That's not cute."
"It's very cute." Riku insisted, "You know, you're not as needy as your brother."
Roxas raised a brow, a small smile lining his features. "Thanks?"
"Hey, come on…" He made his way over to the entrance of the igloo and crawled out. Roxas followed behind him, wiping the snow from his pants when he stood up.
"Where are we going?" the younger boy asked.
"My secret spot."
The blond hesitated before asking, "Is that a euphemism for sex?"
Riku laughed, "No. I'm not that clever. Just come on." He grabbed Roxas' hand and began to drag him through the snow and Roxas couldn't have been more pleased.
••••••••••••••
"You're lucky I'm lonely. An afternoon with Demyx and the bastard who gave birth to him is not how I want to spend my Thanksgiving." Riku looked at himself in his full-length mirror as he buttoned up his white shirt.
"Ugh, imagine how I feel." Axel was sprawled out on Riku's bed, his nice clothes rumbled and messy, and his tie crumbled in his hand. "I'd rather be spending my Thanksgiving eating a turkey in my bed. Followed by a whole pie. Preferably apple, but I'll also accept cherry."
Riku laughed and watched his reflection as he tied his tie. "You can do the same thing in Demyx's bed."
"Yea, but his mom is there and I don't know how Demy feels about food-play." Axel sat up and smiled at the horrified look on his best friend's face.
"Ugh, God, please stop talking. I can feel the throw up residing in my throat."
"Then my work here is done," Axel teased as he stood up and stretched. "Be ready to go in ten, Cheeseburger. I don't want to be late."
A rough smack was delivered to Riku's ass as Axel sauntered from the room.
••••••••••••••
"This is unsafe."
"I promise it's not."
Roxas wasn't convinced. "This is a cave. It's liable to come crashing down any second."
Riku laughed, "It's made of rocks, not mud and clay. Come on, it's right up here."
There was a winding path that lead to Riku's secret spot and Roxas, who wasn't much for adventuring, found the whole ordeal somewhat unsettling. He had a finger wrapped around one of Riku's belt loops and he was following the other closely despite there being nowhere to get lost. The cave was dark and damp, but surprisingly warm despite the snowy weather.
Roxas felt relieved when he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. He felt less claustrophobic when they were able to stand fully. The inner part of the cave was a perfect circle and filled with small flowers that apparently favored the damp conditions of the cave. There was a lantern sitting near the entrance, and the ground was smooth and cool instead of sandy and wet like the winding path.
"See? This is my secret spot." Riku gestured around the cave and then proceeded to sit on one of the rocks nearest to him.
"How secret is it?" Roxas looked around and smiled when he saw little drawings that had been scraped onto the walls of the cave.
"You're the first person I've showed it to." Riku watched Roxas with interest.
The blond looked at him somewhat suspiciously. "And Sora's never been here?"
"Roxas…"
"Just curious."
"I'm not lying." Riku stood and walked over to the younger boy. "You're… you're different from Sora. I can lie to him and I don't feel bad, but lying to you is different."
"How?" he asked as he slipped his arms around Riku's neck. Warmth spread through his small frame when he felt the older boy's arms wrap around his waist tightly.
"I don't know. I feel guilty. And I feel shitty. Really, really shitty," he admitted softly, his face buried against the blonde's neck. "You smell good. Like… sunflowers or honeysuckles."
Roxas smiled and nuzzled Riku. "Are… Are you a virgin?"
"I see how it is," Riku teased, "you find out I can't lie to you and then you start questioning me."
The blond shook his head. "Tell me."
"Yea. Are you?"
"Riku." Roxas rolled his eyes. "Really?"
He laughed and pulled away from the other slightly. "Sorry. Sometimes I forgot you're just as inexperienced as me."
The blond shrugged and closed the gap between them. The kisses they shared had become less and less chaste and more and more needy. The longer Riku and Sora dated, the more ferocious their affair became. Their time together had ceased to be small moments of Riku teasing Roxas. Now they were moments where Roxas nearly jumped Riku's bones whenever he saw him. The chemistry between them was almost frightening. They continually ended up in awkward positions where neither knew what to do next. Positions were nothing seemed natural and positions that seemed to require some semblance of skill.
But now it didn't matter. Now Roxas was on the floor of the warm, damp cave and Riku was on top of him. Their kisses were needy. Their clothing was becoming a problem. What they were doing now was natural and there was no awkward fumbling. There was no question of "what next?" They were naked and they needed each other. It was cold outside and they needed to stay warm.
And what a better way to keep warm than christening the floor of Riku's Secret Spot?
••••••••••••••
He set the photograph of his mother down in its rightful spot. His hands slipped into his pockets and he retrieved his phone. He knew it was a bad idea before he even sent the message, but whenever he remembered his mother he generally remembered Riku.
Do you remember your secret spot?
Roxas hesitated before sending the message. There was a chance this could drive Riku further away from him. There was a chance Sora could find this message and know Roxas was still attracted to his boyfriend. There was a lot of risk in sending the message, but he sent it anyway. Probably because he was selfish.
"Roxas!" he heard Kairi yell from downstairs, "Shake a leg, lazy bum!"
••••••••••••••
They both panted and didn't move from their spots on the ground. Riku was still on top of Roxas and Roxas had his arms wrapped tightly around the older boy. Small, delightful kisses were pressed to the blonde's neck and shoulders and Roxas couldn't recall a time he had felt so good.
It hurt. It had hurt a lot, but then it had felt better and now he just felt incredibly relaxed.
"We can never tell Sora about this," Roxas stated as he raked his nails down Riku's back.
"Mm…" he purred as he pressed more kisses to the younger boy's neck. "I'm still a virgin if he asks."
"Me too."
Both boys looked at each other, aqua into blue, and then Roxas held up his right pinky finger and wiggled it at Riku.
"Pinkie-promise?"
Riku smiled and gave the blond his own pinkie. "Pinkie-promise. This is our little secret."
••••••••••••••
The vibration from his pocket caused him to jump. Axel gave him a look, one that stated 'hurry the fuck up and walk, it's cold as shit out here,' but Riku merely ignored him. They were walking to Demyx's house. Riku's car had been snowed in (or iced in, rather) and the blond didn't live far enough away to justify digging it out. Both were wrapped in their winter clothes, but Axel was still shooting Riku death glares when his best friend stopped to check his phone.
"When did you get a new phone?" Axel asked, his words muffled by his scarf.
"Before break. I wanted Sora to be able to reach me."
The redhead rolled his eyes, "So what's Wifey want?"
Riku felt a smile tug the corners of his lips upward. "Nothing."
"Great. Keep walking." Axel turned his back to his friend and continued down the slippery, snowy sidewalk. Riku, however, lagged behind and quickly typed his own message back to Roxas.
I never broke our pinkie-promise.
••••••••••••••
Roxas had trouble hiding that he and Riku had been intimate. He didn't parade it around, but the sudden exuberance that radiated from him was enough to make anyone question why he was always smiling and always in a good mood. Sora paid the least attention to it. He was just as wrapped up in Riku as his brother, but for a completely different reason.
"He's just distant," Sora complained to Kairi. He had been confiding in her since the beginning. She had showed to be a great support system despite her usual tendency to blab secrets to anyone who would listen. "He's nice and he'll hold my hand, but it's like I'm only getting half of his attention."
Kairi frowned and hesitated before asking, "Do you think he's cheating?"
The thought had never occurred to Sora. It was clear he had trouble thinking people capable of such deceit. It was even harder for him to comprehend that the people who claimed to care about him could be deceiving him. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked away from Kairi. She had, evidently, hit a nerve.
"Don't jump to conclusions," she said quickly. "I-I mean, he might just be having trouble at home or in school. It could be stress."
Sora didn't seem convinced. He looked toward the front of the room where their English teacher was lecturing and breathed the smallest of sighs. "How do I confront him?" he asked.
"Just tell him how you feel," Kairi offered helpfully. "Don't accuse him. Just… Just ask him what's wrong and then tell him how you feel."
Roxas exchanged a look with Naminé. They were sitting behind Sora and Kairi and eavesdropping on their whispered conversation. Naminé, who had her suspicions about Riku and Roxas, didn't say anything and chose to look away from her brother. She didn't want to be in the middle. Whatever Roxas was doing, she didn't want to know.
She didn't want to be responsible. She didn't want to be just as bad as Roxas.
••••••••••••••
"I hate mingling," Roxas sighed as he and Naminé rolled out two pie crusts. "Everyone walks on eggshells, you know? Everyone acts like they're afraid to talk about her around me. They act like I'm going to break down and cry or something if they mention her name."
Naminé placed her pie crust into a pie dish and began to mold it into place. "They're just trying to be sensitive. That first Thanksgiving without her was a disaster."
"Yea, but that wasn't just me. I mean, okay… I did smash a pie in Sora's face. But then he punched me in the face." Roxas mimicked his sister's actions. "It could have been worse. I could've broken a chair over his head."
Naminé gave him a look. "You smashed the end of a wine bottle and threatened to cut him with the sharpened ends if he didn't back off. That was out of control."
Roxas shrugged. "That didn't have much to do with Mom, though. That had more to do with Riku."
Naminé didn't respond. She walked over to the pantry and pulled a can of apple pie filling and a can of cherry pie filling from the top shelf. She set them down on the counter nearest to Roxas and a rare look of scorn passed her features when she saw her brother's phone light up with a text message from Riku.
I never broke our pinkie-promise.
"Roxas!" She picked up the phone and shoved it at him. "What are you doing?"
He blushed and snatched his phone from her. "Nothing! Can't two friends have a conversation?"
"No!" she exclaimed. "Sora and Riku just got back together. You can't be friends with him yet! You can't be having private conversations like that! What if Sora finds out? You know he's going to overreact even if it's nothing!"
Roxas shoved his phone in his pocket. "Naminé, it's none of your business."
Her usual calm demeanor was replaced by a look of rage and hurt. She very rarely lost her temper and when she did, it was usually Roxas' fault. Whenever she raised her voice, whenever she cried or felt bad, it was usually because of Roxas. It was usually because he was being selfish and involving her in his plans to hurt others.
"Not my business?" she cried. "Was it not my business when you begged me not to tell Sora about you and Riku? Was it not my business when you told Sora I knew? Was it not my business when I told you I didn't want ANY part, but you insisted I know everything? When you insisted that I choose between you and Sora?"
Roxas didn't look at her and, instead, pretended to be extra interested in pressing his pie dough down into the pie dish. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and ignored the very hurt, very cold look Naminé threw at him.
"All I ever tried to do was help you, Roxas. All I ever wanted was for you to make the right choices!" Naminé looked close to crying. "But now you're STILL being selfish! I'm not going to help you! I'm not going to be part of your games! I'm not going to watch you wreck Sora's relationship for the second time!"
Roxas rounded on her, "Shut up!" he yelled. "Shut the fuck up, Naminé! We're just talking! I don't even care about Riku! We're just two people having a normal conversation! I'm sorry us talking has to fucking mean something!"
Naminé blinked back tears and hurriedly left the kitchen. She didn't stop when Kairi asked her how the pies were coming along. She didn't stop when Sora asked her what was wrong. She didn't stop until she was safe in her room and could cry by herself. She didn't like to fight and she liked it best when she could be upset in peace.
••••••••••••••
It wasn't until the end of January when Sora finally asked Riku what was going on. It was Saturday night when he finally plucked up the courage to ask. They had been hanging around the brunet's house the whole day, lounging and enjoying the bad weather, and Riku's general distractedness had tapered off somewhat. Maybe it was the lack of supervision he and Sora were under. After all, his parents and his siblings were off at some fancy family business retreat this weekend and Sora had insisted he stay home.
He wanted to get Riku alone. Something easier said than done.
"Can I ask you something?" Sora was snuggled against his boyfriend's chest, listening closely to the rhythmic beating of his heart.
"Sure," Riku answered. He ran his fingers through the other's soft, brown locks of hair. His hand would occasionally dip low and he would slide his hand under Sora's shirt and feel his soft, warm skin beneath the fabric.
"How come…. How come you're so distracted?"
There was a pause when the question was asked and it took Riku a moment too long to respond.
Sora pulled away from him. "What's going on?"
Riku sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Nothing, I just… I don't know."
"Are… Are you cheating on me?" he asked quickly. "I'm not… I'm not trying to accuse you but Kairi and I were talking and I told her what was going on and then she said maybe you were cheating and I said maybe but I wasn't sure and I didn't want to accuse you and now I feel stupid for asking but you're always distracted or busy and I –"
Riku cut him off by kissing his lips.
"I'm not cheating on you," he breathed gently. "You're cute when you're flustered." Their noses touched and Sora felt his cheeks heat. Riku always had a way of making him feel like the most important person in the universe. He had a way about him that made Sora feel like he was the only thing that mattered in the other boy's life.
"I… I love you," Sora blurted stupidly.
Riku's eyes went wide and he pulled back slightly.
The brunet's blush deepened and he stumbled through his words, trying to find an explanation. "I don't know!" he exclaimed. "I just thought about it and I realized that if you were cheating on me, I wouldn't be mad, I'd just be really hurt! And then I realized that I'm liable to take you back even if I found out you were cheating! And then I realized that that must be love because that's just… Well, it's stupid! Why in the world would I take someone back who had wronged me? I'm not stupid, so I think love is just making me that way."
Riku blinked and opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. No one had ever told him they loved him before and meant it. No one had ever offered an explanation as to why they loved him. Sora's explanation even made sense.
"You don't have to love me back," Sora fidgeted. "In fact, maybe it's better if you don't."
"Why do you say that?" Riku asked.
"Because then I can justify why I'm so clingy and why you're so distant."
And just like that, Riku felt the warm, awful sensation of guilt building in his stomach. He felt the heart wrenching tug to tell the truth. He felt the need to vomit up all the things he had done wrong and he felt momentarily nauseated. Sora's willingness to defend his bad behavior suddenly made Riku realize that he couldn't lie to Sora anymore than he couldn't lie to Roxas.
••••••••••••••
"I hope you don't mind. I brought Riku along so he wouldn't have to be alone," Axel said as he shivered on the front steps of Demyx's porch.
The blond stood at the doorway, looking mildly amused, "I'm surprised you came."
Axel rolled his eyes. "I have faith in you too, love."
Demyx grinned and stepped aside, allowing both boys inside. The house was warm and smelled like a home cooked meal. It smelled like turkey and mashed potatoes and cookies. It smelled like Axel's childhood and it gave him goosebumps.
They immediately began to strip their winter gear from their bodies. Demyx eagerly hung up their coats and scarves in the closet. Their shoes were placed neatly near the front door and once Axel had finished removing his outerwear, Demyx pressed a soft kiss to his mouth.
"I really didn't think you'd come." He held Axel's hand tightly in his own.
Riku smirked. "Demyx obviously knows you better than you think."
The redhead glared and snarled, "Shut up." He turned his attention to his boyfriend, "Stop talking to Zexion. He's turning you against me."
"No, I think that's all you," the blond muttered before pressing a kiss to his boyfriend's mouth.
Axel exchanged a concerned look with Riku and Riku couldn't help but grin back. Seeing Axel in a state of perplexed misery made him smile. It was nice, for once, to see the redhead getting some kind of shit for his lack of care. Demyx, though he didn't seem particularly smart, obviously had some idea of what Axel was up to.
"Come meet my mom!" he stated excitedly as he reached out and grabbed Riku's hand too. He yanked both of them into the kitchen, happy as could be, and called out to a petite woman who was standing over the stove making something that smelled delicious.
"This is Axel," Demyx shoved the redhead toward her. "Axel, that's my Mom."
The only difference between her and Demyx was their height and haircut. She was considerably shorter, but she had nearly the same face as he did. Their hair color was the same, their eye color was the same, and when Axel looked at her, he felt somewhat uneasy. It was like looking at a female Demyx. And it was really strange.
"Uh… Pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand for her and she looked at it.
"A handshake is meant for a man." She smiled and embraced him tightly. "A hug is meant for a woman."
It was rare for parents to like Axel. It was even rarer for him to ever meet parents. He only ever met parents when he went to take someone on a date in high school. And, usually, the meetings were fairly short and ended with the kid's parents giving him distrustful looks. What did he expect, though? He had long, wild hair and tattoos on his face. He wasn't meant to be trusted.
He hugged her back unsurely. She smelled like sugar cookies and other nice, harmless things.
"And this is Riku!" Demyx shoved the other boy forward and she instantly embraced him when she released Axel.
Riku took the hug well. He liked affection and he was used to mothers loving on him. He looked trustworthy. He looked like the kind of guy anyone would want their daughter to go home with.
"Such handsome young men!" she smiled up at both of them. "Demyx is certainly lucky to have you both! Especially you, Axel." She patted the lower portion of his back. "I hope both of you are hungry. Dinner will be ready in a few hours, but please help yourself to some cookies or fudge." She gestured over toward the kitchen table which was filled with sweet, delicious-looking things.
Axel's mouth was slightly propped open. He had been expecting Demyx's mother to be somewhat crazy. Maybe a little stupid and definitely lazy. The only thing they seemed to share was their looks and maybe their sweetness. She was all smiles and all charm and Axel could definitely get used to someone like that.
"Riku, Demy tells me you work at a bakery. Would you mind making some pie crust?" she asked kindly.
"Oh, definitely," Riku smiled. "I'd love to."
And he meant it too.
••••••••••••••
"Roxas?"
The blond sat up and rubbed tiredly at his eyes. He had fallen asleep a few hours ago on Riku's bed. Ever since their meeting at the Secret Spot, nearly every moment they shared together was filled with sex. Sometimes it was understood that that's why they were meeting up and other times, it was spontaneous and exciting. Roxas had become an expert at working Riku up and Riku had just given up on trying to deny the other. It was an impossible task.
"Hm?" He looked over at Riku, who had obviously been awake for a while, and then proceeded to cuddle next to him. They were both naked, tangled in the older boy's mess of sheets. The sun had already set and Roxas wasn't worried about getting home. He had told his mom where he would be and she seemed content enough to let him stay out past dark.
"Can I ask you something cheesy?" he asked as he ran his fingers through the blonde's hair. Riku frowned when he noticed Roxas' hair wasn't as soft as Sora's. He kept his sigh in when he realized he had a thing for brunets, not blondes.
"I… I guess," Roxas answered.
"Do you love me?"
The blond sat up and locked eyes with Riku. He was quiet for a long time and then he let a soft sigh escape his lips.
"I don't know," Roxas answered truthfully. "I don't think so."
Riku nodded, "Oh."
"Why?" the blond frowned, "Do you love me?"
"No," he said quickly. "I was just wondering."
They were silent and trapped in an awkward moment with one another. Roxas cleared his throat and shifted in Riku's bed. Riku looked away, down at the floor, and then glanced at the clock sitting on his dresser.
"Are you staying here tonight?"
"Oh, I… I don't know. Do you want me to?" Roxas shifted uncomfortably.
"What if… What if I did love you?" Riku asked suddenly. "Hypothetically speaking, I mean."
"I don't know," the blond answered. "I guess you'd… love me. Why are you asking?"
"I don't know, Roxas," Riku answered defensively.
There was another awkward silence. It hung in the hair like a storm cloud threatening a pool party. It made both of them uncomfortable and it was only broken when Roxas crawled from Riku's bed and began to dress himself.
"Where are you going?" the older boy asked.
"Home?" Roxas frowned. "I don't know. You're freaking me out."
Riku sighed and looked out his window. Thoughts of Sora crossed his mind and guilt tugged at him roughly. He didn't know when it had happened, but it had happened. Roxas was no longer the naïve one being kissed in the library. Sex had made him a little careless. Things had become too comfortable. Roxas had stopped looking for something meaningful with Riku and Riku was slowly realizing that Sora was the one he needed.
••••••••••••••
"Real nice," Kairi growled as she took the cooked pies out of the oven and set them on a rack to cool. "You really upset her, Roxas."
"Yea, but she –"
"I don't care," Kairi snapped. She rounded on Roxas, her hands on her hips, and she looked at him with a hard, unforgiving stare. "I don't care if she threatened to jam our 30 pound turkey up your behind. You hurt her feelings."
"Yea, but –"
"No!" she yelled. "There is no "but," Roxas! Everyone around you is careful about what they say and do and everyone tries really hard not to upset or offend you, but you walk all over everyone!" Kairi sighed, "Your song and dance is getting really old," she stated coldly. "Mom is dead and gone. She's been that way for years and you need to stop taking your anger out on people who are trying to care about you."
Roxas was silent.
"I swear, Roxas, it's like you're purposefully looking to make your life harder than it needs to be. Sometimes you have to grin and bear it and take the bad news. Sometimes you have to accept things and then move on." Kairi reached out and placed a comforting hand on her brother's shoulder. "These last few years have been really, really hard on everyone, especially you and Sora. But Naminé is allowed to have her moments too. She's allowed to threaten to violate you with a wine bottle every now and again."
Roxas tried to hide his smile, but Kairi caught it.
"Go apologize." She hugged Roxas. "You know she cares about you. I mean, God forbid you fall into a coma. Sora and I are all about plugging the plug while the doctor isn't looking. You might want Nami on your team or she just might end up distracting the doctor for us."
He didn't want to laugh, but he did. Kairi always had a way of making him feel better even when he didn't deserve it.
••••••••••••••
It was right near the last few days of school when it happened. When Roxas' whole entire world came crashing down on him. After he and Riku had had their strange talk about love, Roxas had been seeing less and less of the older boy. Their affair had become somewhat strained and the once playful nature of the other boy had turned into all seriousness. Roxas attempted to initiate sex, but Riku was wholly uninterested. Roxas tried to be sweet, but Riku seemed distracted.
The sudden behavior change scared him, but he refused to let it show. He refused to let Riku know that he was afraid they were going to break the whole thing off.
Roxas had become increasingly distant the more distant Riku was. He had stopped talking to his siblings and he had stopped talking to even his mother. She was often busy with work, away on business trips, but her absence was noticed less and less the more he focused on Riku. The prospect of a whole summer with the older boy had excited him, but now he was afraid for the school year to end.
"Hey."
Roxas was sitting alone at the top of the bleachers outside when Riku approached him. It was a Friday afternoon in mid-May and the weather was nice. It was warm enough for shorts and the cold weather from winter had retreated completely.
"Hi," Roxas replied.
Riku took a seat next to him and stared out at the field. The track and field team was running laps and from where both boys sat, they just looked like ants.
"We need to talk."
"I know."
Riku looked over at him. "You know?"
"You've been distant and distracted," Roxas sighed. "Unless it's all been a trick and you're going to tell me you're dumping Sora –"
"Why would I do that?" Riku asked defensively.
"What?" he asked. "Dump Sora?"
"Yea."
"Uh, because you've been fucking around with me?" Roxas asked. "Maybe because you've been all over me? Because you lost your virginity to me and not him? You haven't even slept with him, Riku."
"That's because I care about him."
Roxas looked extremely hurt and he immediately looked in the opposite direction to hide it.
Riku bit his lower lip. "I… Sorry. That was mean, I… I care about you. I do." He reached out and wrapped Roxas in his arms. "I just can't do this anymore."
"Why?" He fidgeted out of the embrace and gave the other a look.
"I don't know," Riku sighed. "Because I…" he hesitated and then took a deep breath. "I love Sora."
Roxas stared at Riku for a long time. The silence that hung in the air wasn't awkward, but it was filled with tension. It was filled with resentment. This was a silence so loud Riku could've sworn it was liable to deafen him.
"Isn't that nice," Roxas snapped as he stood up. "Well, I hope you and Sora have a great fucking time together."
"Come on, Rox…" Riku sighed and stood. "You don't love me. Why do you –"
"Go fuck yourself!" Roxas shoved him. "You're damn right I don't love you! You're a fucking cheating, backstabbing –"
Riku hadn't meant to hit him, but he did.
Blood fell freely from his nose and once he regained his composure, he struck Riku back. Then they were in a fist fight and Riku had never meant for it to be this way. He hadn't meant for Roxas to take the news like this. Even worse, he had never seen Roxas lose his temper like this and Riku felt at fault for his erratic behavior.
"Hey, hey!"
They were being yanked apart by someone. They were being told to cut it out, to stop, and then they were off each other. Riku's face was scratched and he had a nice bruises forming near his eye. Roxas' nose was bleeding freely and he was sporting a nasty busted lip.
"Jesus Christ. I've never seen two people hate each other more," Axel said as he restrained Roxas with one hand and Riku with the other.
Riku shoved Axel off. "I'm sorry. I really, really am."
"I don't care," Roxas lied. The hurt etched on his features couldn't be held in and he only felt even worse when Riku quickly made his way down the bleachers and out of sight.
Axel sighed. "Are you okay?"
Roxas couldn't help himself. He sat down on the bleachers, buried his face into his arms, and he cried. He hadn't realized how much he liked Riku until Riku was gone. He hadn't realized how invested he was in Riku until Riku was giving him up for Sora.
He hadn't realized how soothing it was to have Axel rub his back while he sobbed into his hands.
••••••••••••••
Demyx and Axel were going through a bunch of boxes upstairs while Riku and Demyx's mom prepared dinner downstairs. Demyx rented this house with Zexion, but Axel hadn't seen the slate-haired boy. Probably off with his family, but Zexion had never struck Axel as the type to go and play holiday with his kin. He seemed more like someone who despised the holidays because of their commercialism. That was precisely why Axel loved them.
"So…" Axel pulled a wreath out of one of the boxes and set it on the ground. "Are you mad at me?"
Demyx shrugged, "No. Why do you ask?"
"Because you were all surprised I came over. And then you told me I was turning you against me," the redhead responded. He reached down and began pulling out grocery bags that were tied at the top. Inside were a bunch of Christmas lights that had been neatly put away. Maybe Zexion was more holiday-oriented than Axel assumed. There was no way Demyx took the time to neatly put all these lights away.
"You just don't seem very serious," the blond stated honestly. "I have fun with you, but that's it."
"Fun's not everything?" Axel asked jokingly.
"I have deeper talks with Zexion and Zexion never says anything."
The redhead sighed and looked over at his boyfriend. "What do you want me to do?"
"I don't know," Demyx frowned and plucked imaginary dust from a strand of garland. "Commit?"
Axel laughed and then immediately stopped when he saw the look on the other's face. "You know that word sends most men running."
"Axel," Demyx sighed and dropped the strand of garland to the floor. "We've been together for like… three months. I'm not stupid. I know you're not serious about me."
The redhead wanted to debate the whole 'not stupid' thing but decided now wasn't the time. He walked over to his boyfriend and wrapped him in a tight embrace. A kiss was pressed to his cheek and he ran his hand soothingly up and down the blonde's back.
"Okay. Let's be serious."
Demyx smiled, "Really?"
"Yea, whatever." Axel shrugged and kissed the other's mouth.
"Okay. Tell me you love me."
The redhead loosened his embrace and stared at Demyx. "What?"
"Say it. Say 'I love you, Demy.'"
Axel hesitated for a second, but then he laughed, "Oh, okay. I get it. It's a joke."
The blond took a step back from Axel and folded his arms over his chest.
Axel stared. "I'm not saying that." He crossed his arms over his own chest and watched Demyx closely. "You can't just tell me to say it."
"Why not?" he frowned, "That's how it works with Zexy."
Axel felt heat rush to his cheeks and he dropped his arms to his sides. His hands balled up into fists and he hoped Zexion was around so he could kick his ass. He couldn't go around telling Demyx he loved him! And how in the world could Demyx see that as even remotely okay?
"Why don't you go date him then?" Axel snapped.
The blond looked surprised. The redhead had never taken a rough tone with him, nor had he ever even really been upset. Maybe mildly put-off, but never angry.
"Are you jealous?" Demyx dropped his arms by his sides. "Of Zexion?"
Axel blushed and then immediately bent down and began pulling Christmas-oriented things from a nearby box. "Shut up, Demy," he mumbled. He wanted to hide his embarrassment. Maybe it was stupid to be jealous of Zexion.
"Aww," the blond cooed, "you are jealous of him."
"Well," he frowned and stood up straight. "Well yea. He's always… eyeing you and dropping hints that you two should be together. And… and you're my boyfriend! He can't just go around saying he loves you!"
Demyx smiled at Axel and Axel immediately dropped his gaze to the floor.
"Axel."
"What?" he grunted.
"I love you, not Zexion."
••••••••••••••
"Well that was a freak show."
Roxas didn't say anything and merely allowed Axel to clean up the blood from his face. He was sitting on the edge of one of the sinks in the boy's bathroom and Axel, who refused to let him walk home, had insisted that he clean Roxas up and give him a ride.
"You know, you haven't spoken to me in months."
Roxas hissed with pain when Axel dabbed something that wasn't water onto his cut lip. "That hurts."
"I don't want you to get an infection."
"Can you please just take me home?"
The redhead sighed and ran his hand through the other's blond locks of hair. "I'm your friend. You can talk to me, you know."
"I don't want to talk." Roxas crossed his arms over his chest. "I just want to go home."
He frowned and placed his hands on either side of the sink where Roxas sat. He leaned forward, his green eyes staring into wide, frightened blue ones, and he stared at the other for a long time. When did it suddenly become so complicated to be fourteen? Axel didn't recall having any kind of problems when he was that old.
Though, Axel didn't really have problems now either. Maybe he was just lucky.
"Why were you fighting with him?"
Roxas broke eye contact with Axel and stared down at the floor. "We weren't fighting. We were just having a really spirited debate."
"Hey." The redhead frowned and grasped Roxas' chin, gently forcing the other to look at him. "I'm not judging you. I just think maybe you'll feel better if you talk about it."
Roxas didn't say anything.
Axel released his chin and sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll drop it."
"Thank you."
He shrugged and was momentarily surprised when Roxas suddenly wrapped his arms around him. They hugged each other close in a tight embrace. Axel ran his hands up and down the blonde's back and Roxas buried his face against the redhead's neck. This was exactly the kind of comfort he needed. This was something he couldn't get from his mother.
"Can I go home with you?"
Axel pulled back from their embrace and raised a brow at Roxas. "Sure. It's been a long time since I had a sleepover."
••••••••••••••
"I'm really sorry, Nam."
She brushed her hair down and fixed her eye make-up in the bathroom mirror. She offered Roxas a smile and then shrugged her shoulders. "It happens."
"Rain happens," Roxas said, "a cloud on a sunny day happens. Random freak-outs in the kitchen with your sister don't just happen."
Naminé laughed lightly and then turned to face her brother. "In our house they do."
Roxas frowned, "Can I tell you something?"
She nodded. She was always happy to listen to him even if there were times she wished he had never said anything to her at all. Some things were better left a secret and Naminé had had the misfortune of learning that the hard way.
"I didn't mean to involve you when… when Riku and I…"
"Oh, I know," Naminé interrupted. "I didn't really have a choice after I had walked in on you guys."
Roxas blushed. "I never meant to let Sora know you knew, either. It just… It was like word vomit."
She sighed softly and they were both silent for a few moments. She folded her hands together and watched Roxas shift uncomfortably.
"Just… Just stay away from him," Naminé mumbled. "I know that's not what you want to hear, but please, Roxas, just stay away from Riku."
His phone buzzed in his pocket and guilt washed over him.
••••••••••••••
"I forgot we live in the same neighborhood."
Axel pulled into his driveway and put his car in park. He hadn't been kidding when he told Roxas he lived in the fancy part of Whitehall. The un-fancy part was, apparently, where the poor people lived. The houses were much smaller and nowhere near as well taken care of. But Axel's place was quaint, something an old person might own, and it was somehow charming.
"Do your parents live here?"
Axel laughed, "Why do you ask?"
Roxas shrugged his shoulders. "There's no car in the driveway except for yours."
He got out of the car and Roxas followed his lead. They walked up the front path to his house and Axel walked inside. He didn't lock his house, which Roxas thought strange, but then he supposed not everyone was as mistrustful as he tended to be. Not everyone was afraid of being robbed or killed or kidnapped.
"Hey, Axel?" He followed the redhead closely and allowed his eyes to wander around the small house every now and then. It was pretty on the inside despite it's dumpy exterior.
"Hm?"
They were in the older boy's bedroom. It was everything Roxas had expected it to be – messy, but not dirty, and it smelled, but not in a bad way. It smelled like he lit matches in his free time. It smelled like a fire that hadn't reached it's full potential yet.
"Do you live by yourself?"
"No." He picked up a few of his clothes from the floor and tossed them into a nearby hamper.
"Who do you live with?" Roxas asked curiously.
"My parents," Axel answered simply.
"Where are they?"
He tossed the blond a look. "Are we playing 20 Questions?"
"No," he mumbled. "I was just wondering."
Axel took a seat on his bed and motioned for Roxas to sit next to him. The blond obliged and he watched the older boy as he laid back, put his arms behind his head, and looked up toward the ceiling. Roxas followed his lead and smiled when he saw that a star pattern had been painted on the edges of the wall.
"Actually," the redhead sighed, "my real mom lives in California. I was adopted when I was three."
Roxas looked over at him. "Really?"
"Yep."
"Why did your mom give you up?"
Axel shrugged. "I don't know. It never occurred to me to ask."
Roxas sat up and looked at Axel indignantly. "It never occurred to you to ask?"
"Not really. I like my adoptive parents. I'm happy here, so there's no real reason to go asking around about my real mom." The redhead propped himself up on his elbows and he looked up at Roxas. "Okay, your turn. You tell me something about you now."
He frowned and looked down at his feet and down at the floor. A sigh passed through his nose and he laid back on the bed, next to Axel, and thought of something interesting he could say about himself.
"I'm gay."
Axel laughed, "You don't say?"
Roxas looked over at him, eyebrows raised. "Shocking, huh?"
The redhead rolled his eyes and placed a swift kiss on the other's cheek. "Yea. I had no idea," he teased.
••••••••••••••
Dinner had been disposed of, dessert had been eaten, and Demyx's mother (who Axel discovered was very flirtatious with enough wine) had made her way to bed when Axel nearly jumped his boyfriend's bones. Riku had left shortly after Demyx's mother turned in. She had stuffed his hands full with leftovers and reiterated how glad she was to have met him. Axel, who had decided to spend the night with Demyx, had his ass smacked by Demyx's mom and told that she wanted to get to know him even better.
"Easy," the blond squeaked when Axel roughly tossed him onto his bed.
"Easiness is for virgins," he said as he climbed on top of the other, "and whores."
He lined Demyx's neck with warm, soft kisses and slipped his hands underneath the other's shirt. They had been relatively good about keeping their hands off each other all throughout the evening, but now was different. Now Axel really, really wanted Demyx.
"Mm, not that I mind, but…" a soft moan left his lips when Axel nibbled a particularly sensitive spot along his neck. "W-why so needy?"
"I guess I like knowing I'm loved," the redhead answered simply.
"And you're not bothered that you don't love me back?" Demyx placed a hand on his boyfriend's chest and gave him a slight push off.
"You're harshing my mellow," Axel whined.
"Have you ever loved someone?" the blond asked curiously. "I mean… Aside from loving your mom and dad, have you ever really loved someone?"
His curiosity reminded Axel of Roxas and it was only now that the redhead realized Demyx looked a lot like Roxas. With his blond hair, his blue eyes, his perfect teeth, and soft, plump lips…
"Axel?"
The redhead shook his head, "Um, I don't know. How do you know if it's love?"
Demyx thought about this for a moment, "You'd do anything for that person even if they don't deserve it."
Axel breathed a sigh through his nose and reached up to run a hand nervously through his hair. Was that love? Doing shit for someone who didn't deserve it? Or was that what Zexion had told Demyx love was? He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at his boyfriend's bedspread.
He opened his mouth to speak, but his phone buzzed nosily in his pocket. A groan parted his lips and Demyx laid back on his bed, a sigh escaping his small, exhausted frame.
Axel opened his phone and smiled gently to himself when he saw the text message.
"I have to go." He shoved his phone in his pocket and slipped from Demyx's bed.
"What?" The blond sat up and frowned. "Why? What's going on?"
"It's Riku. Dumbshit locked himself out." Axel shook his head and sighed.
Demyx's frown increased and he grabbed his boyfriend's tie, brought him close, and placed a firm kiss on his lips. "Okay. But this means you owe me."
"I know," the redhead smiled, "I owe you big time."
After he had on his coat, his scarf, mittens and shoes, Axel offered his boyfriend one last kiss before making his way out of the other's house. He was only a half block away when he retrieved his phone from his pocket and reread the text message. He knew he was going to go to Hell for lying, but he couldn't help it. It was rare for Roxas to text him. He reread the message and felt butterflies in his stomach.
Please come home.
Maybe Demyx was right. Maybe love was doing shit for someone who didn't deserve it.
Maybe Axel was in love.
••••••••••••••
His coat, his shoes, scarf, and mittens were all quickly removed when he finally got to the duplex. The weather outside was awful and his cheeks and nose had turned a little pink from the cold. The two-story house was just as quiet as it had been since the beginning of break and Axel frowned somewhat.
"Hey."
The redhead looked up and there, at the top of the stairs, stood Roxas. He was in his sleep pants and he was wearing one of Axel's shirts. He looked exhausted, but amused, and Axel made his way up the steps in a way that showed his eagerness and excitement.
"When did you get back?" He squeezed Roxas to him as if his life depended on it. "Fuck, I missed you…"
He was hugging Axel back just as tightly and he hadn't realized how much he had missed the obnoxious redhead until this moment.
"An hour or two ago? I got your text message and I…"
Axel pulled back from their embrace, "Huh?"
Roxas pulled his phone from the pocket of his sleep pants and found the text message he had received when he had been apologizing to Naminé.
"See?" Roxas showed him the message and Axel looked at it.
Hahahaha. Demyx's mom is a flirtatious drunk.
"Uh, yea, but…" the redhead looked at his roommate. "What in the world does that have to do with you coming back?"
Roxas blushed. "I don't know."
They stood there in silence. Roxas slipped his phone back into his pocket and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked away and was surprised when Axel grabbed him and squeezed him tightly.
"You missed me," Axel stated as he buried his face in the other's hair. "Oh man, you missed me."
"Shut up." Roxas blushed and tried to struggle free from the embrace.
"What did you miss about me the most?" Axel held Roxas tightly. "My smile? My general good humor? My body? My delightful kisses? Maybe it was my teasing."
"Yea," the blond replied, "who wouldn't miss that good old emotional abuse?"
The redhead pressed a sloppy, rough kiss to Roxas' mouth. "I've never been so happy to be sassed." He tangled a hand in the blonde's hair and kissed his mouth again in a less-sloppy manner.
"You're ridiculous," Roxas sighed. "I'm sorry I asked you to come back."
"Nooo," Axel was grinning. "You didn't ask! You said 'please come home.' That's near begging!"
The blond shot him a fiery look. "I didn't beg you to come back!"
"Yes you did," the redhead pressed kisses to the other's cheeks. "You definitely did."
"Axel," he whined. "This is bordering sexual assault!"
"You can't sexually assault the wiling," he pointed out. "Let's go to bed."
Roxas blushed, but didn't protest much when Axel hoisted him over his shoulder and literally took him to bed.
A/N: I do feel genuinely bad for Demyx. I also feel badly for making Roxas out to be such a douchebag. He's not. It's just hard to not make him seem like such a monster when his main role in the story is being a brooding teen. The other thing I feel badly about is how late this is. This was the hardest thing EVER to write. I generally rewrite two to three times, but this was crazy. I rewrote this five or six times and I'm still not entirely pleased.
I don't know when the next chapter will surface. I'm HOPING it'll be end of December, beginning of January, but every time I give a date, it takes me longer to get the chapter out. Gargh! However, this chapter is pretty long. Hooray.
Anyway, thanks for being patient everyone. I really appreciate all the support. Thank you for reviewing, favoriting, alerting, and all that other neat stuff. You guys are absolutely fantastic.
Thank You for Reviewing
Sensory Overload: BAHAHAHA. Constipated bitch. New favorite insult. I hate putting anything all in one big chunk because things in life don't generally happen like that. It's all spaced out. And I also hate overloading people. I feel like it's better to get a nice, dynamic look around instead of "this is what happened yesterday, this is what's happening now."
You're sweet. Can I say I love you too? I'm really glad you like my writing and I'm really glad you like this story. It makes me feel spectacular.
Aindel S. Druida: My ex loved Frank Sinatra Jr. I saw him in Guys and Dolls. Really excellent… Anyway, yea. I wish I could get these chapters out fast enough to be beta-edited. After this story is over, I'm not going to write anything until summer. -.- I never have free time.
SitarLover: I love the mental picture your review gave me. Imagining someone screaming, jumping, kicking, and giggling makes me think of crack addiction which makes me laugh. I'm glad you liked it.
Reku14: I'm still on the fence about Roxas finding out. I'm not sure how much good it'll do for him and I'm not even sure how that would ever come up in conversation. "Oh, hey, Roxas, did you hear? Your mom was a bitch! See you tomorrow!" Yea, I don't see that happening. At least not until much later.
Usuilove21: I like my writing being compared to rare jewels. That's awesome. Thanks. English is definitely a hard language to master. It was easier for me to learn, I think, because I was immersed in it. Immersion is such an important thing when learning a language.
Believe me – I've written some REALLY bad things in my time on ff. Rewriting is never a bad thing for me, especially if it determines how the story will pan out.
JustSayNoToPants: Originally Roxas' mom was going to be just as sweet as Roxas made her out to be. But she was not. She was actually pretty evil, but Roxas just never saw it. Yea, I really, really do feel badly for Demyx. Axel is just heartlessly using him at his discretion, but I already know Demyx is going to get his in the end. And hopefully all the readers will stop being mad at Axel and start being mad at Demyx.
TheAnnoyingVoice: I wanted to show a separate side of Axel. He's got the bad reputation, but I wanted to put it out there that he's not wholly terrible. He sleeps around, but it isn't much, and he isn't after Roxas just to sleep with him. I like slowly building up to their relationship because it allows for other things, like Axel cheating on Demyx.
Yea, there is a definite lack of Zexion x Demyx and Officer Leonhart. Trying to fit everything in is a real pain, but I promise the Zexion x Demyx payoff will be big. As will the whole twist with Officer Leonhart. I promise you won't be disappointed.
Vithian: It's late again this time, too. ._. Poop.
Yea, Roxas does kind of a mom fetish which is a little weird. Especially considering she wasn't as great as he remembers her to be.
High school stories are actually pretty hard to write with a splash of originality. Even in the flashback scenes, there's no real originality. It's still high school nonsense (cheating boyfriends, fist fights, gay romance in the bathroom… That shit happens in high school, right?).
MoonLLotus: AHAHAHAHAHA. Love this review. They are just a bunch of sluts and whores.
Liarsenic: I would have never read this story if it crossed my path. Too many words. That sounds so incredibly lazy, but it's easier to type out so many words than actually read them (reading them sounds like work). I'm glad you liked it though. It would've suck to get through all that and then realized it was the worst piece of crap you ever read.
Jezzaanne: Holy shit! You read this whole thing in one night? I applaud you. I would've gotten through a quarter of chapter one, gone "UGH. ME CAN'T READ THAT MANY WORDS," and clicked the back button forty-five hundred times. I'm really glad you liked it and I'm even more thrilled that you, just like Liarsenic, read it and found it worth your time to review. I hope the wait for chapter 7 was worth it.
Sana-chan9: Oh, Sana-chan… How I love thee.
I KNOW. She is a crazy bitch. When I first wrote the moment she shared with Roxas about Sora, I was like "what kind of retarded kid would believe the shit she's spewing?" and then I remembered Roxas worshipped the ground she walked on. If she told him eating shit cured cancer, he'd probably consume it (ugh, ew. That's gross).
TopHatGlow: I keep a thesaurus on hand so I don't continually use words like 'good' and 'bad.' My vocabulary sometimes elopes with my thesaurus and I end up with words that I'm pretty sure aren't even words.
I don't usually keep the fluff going for long. After I finish up the flashback chapters, shit will start rolling downhill. This story has to end eventually.
Rocket-ship-Romance: I got this review when I was having a really, really shitty day and it made me feel so much better. I really appreciate your analysis / opinion on the story and the events taking place. You're right – Officer Leonhart is up to no good and no, Axel isn't just that unlucky.
Originally, their mother had no depth. She was going to be just as sweet and nice as Roxas made her out to be, but then I decided that that was boring and uninteresting and I could play around with her. I like the idea of her favoriting Roxas over the others. It kind of gives him this "I'm better than you guys" complex that sort of fucks him up when it comes to things like friendship and dating. And yea – I was going for the original Freudian concept.
This is where the story gets kind of murky and I have to be careful to not make everyone hate Roxas or hate Riku or hate Axel. It's hard here because I want to make it clear that Roxas was being partially driven by his mother and partially driven by his own feelings and motives. Axel is just selfish and doesn't see the ramifications of his actions and Riku is… just something that I haven't even figured out yet. I think the Quadruplet's mom will play a slightly larger role when it comes to the remainder of the flashbacks. I'm still unsure of how she'll factor in at the end of the story.
I can't believe you read this whole thing in one night. That's crazy. My eyes would've started to bleed and I would've waved my white flag. Or I would've gone on an extra-extended spider hunt and never returned to my PC.
Sada-chan: Those are all good questions. I don't know when Axel will find out, I haven't thought about how Riku would feel if Axel and Roxas slept together, and Kairi and Naminé made themselves known in this chapter. I really need to include them more.