Chapter 8 - in which an ill-thought (and ill-quoted) Wizard of Oz joke causes friction

After pelting back to the school and racing in to the changing rooms, Axel and Roxas joined the group, who were gathered in the corner, waiting. Axel and Roxas chattered while they recovered from the rushed changing (Axel going so far as to turn his shirt the right way around), discussing quietly with Zexion about Axel's Struggle entry. Ten minutes dragged by, and neither Leon nor any of his usually assistants arrived, which became achingly obvious as time went on. Usually, they were there long beforehand, setting up. Finally, the door opened and Roxas felt Axel darken as their English teacher strode purposefully through the door with his head held high, and his ever-present sneer radiating outwards. He reached the group, which parted silently to allow him passage so he could speak to them.

"Good evening," he intoned, ending all muttering in the group. "For those of you who have not met me before, my name is Xemnas." Axel mouthed 'Professor' in an exaggerated parody, and Roxas giggled. "I have been teaching English here for a month. I'm afraid that your current gym leader has taken a job in Midgar training recruits to the army there, and has already transferred out." Roxas looked up at Axel, whose eyebrows were furrowed; his expression unusually serious. He was bothered. "However," Xemnas continued, "He asked me to look after this club and I have of course told him I would be honoured to oversee such a fine group of students of the martial arts. Please - if you could carry out this session tonight as thought it were normal, then I can learn from you." The words were open, friendly even, but the grin on his eyes was anything but. The club seemed mollified though, and broke into groups, segregating the warmup they usually performed together.

Xemnas walked through the groups, observing at length. When he arrived at the kendo group, he paid attention to each of them in turn, and when it came to Axel's turn, Roxas noticed the redhead held back more severely than usual, so much so that his opponent managed to disarm him and then, instead of stopping, he got overenthusiastic and cracked Axel on the arm. The redhead went down like a shot, and Xemnas sniffed, then turned around to look at another group. Axel's opponent, a sandy-haired blond named Demyx, whom Axel had struck up an immediate friendly rivalry with, dropped his shinai and ran to the side of the fallen boy. Roxas started forward, but Axel immediately sat up.

"Oh my god, Axel," Demyx gushed, "I'm so sorry."

Axel grunted, but had a wan smile teasing his features. "'S fine, Dem. Naughty, dirty cheap shot."

"I know, I'm really sorry. I couldn't believe it, my arms were acting on their own."

"Sure they were. Any other body parts I should be worried about acting on their own?"

"Oh, you know it." Demyx winked at Axel, who took his offered hand, stood, and grinned back. At the casual flirt, Roxas felt a hot flash of jealousy course through him, but he clenched his fist and unclenched it a number of times and let the anger fade. Axel cared about him, wanted him. Not Demyx, Roxas. As if to reassure him, Axel turned his head to face Roxas briefly, gave him a serious stare, then pinched his lips to hint at a blown kiss.

After the club, Xemnas thanked everyone for the session, and promised to see them all the next week. After changing, Roxas and Axel drove to Axel's house and wolfed down a meal before heading downstairs. The training room was empty, so they carried on to the changing area. As Axel tied his shoelaces, Roxas thought of a question.

"Why did you let yourself get hit?"

"Because Xemnas was watching me, and I didn't want to draw attention to myself. Quite the opposite. He was watching everyone, and there's something about him that creeps me out."

"What is it?"

"I don't know. It rings a bell, can't think why. Anyway, come on, twink."

"Will you stop calling me that?"

"Are you trying to tell me you're not? You're gay, pretty, slim and haven't even got a hint of a beard, and I'd wager not much hair anywhere else - dictionary-definition ectomorph. You're a twink, Roxas."

"No, but... well, by that definition yes, but I don't exactly like it, it's not exactly the nicest term, is it?"

Just then, the door burst in, and Reno called in a sing-song voice, "Come along, ladies, Auntie Vincent is getting a hot flush and you'll be on the receiving end of her knicker-twist wrath if you don't hurry uuuuuup!" The door slammed closed heavily in his wake, but Axel was right behind him, yanking it open again to see Vincent glaring wearily at Reno, who blew him a kiss by way of apology. As the younger two males took up spots on the centre of the room, Vincent sat on the ground in front of them, and Reno took a position slightly to the side, lending the four the appearance of a haphazard circle.

"Roxas." Vincent's beautiful, deep voice sounded out, and Roxas looked at him, nodding. "Welcome to the family. Speakers are very, very rare, and always have been - but it is said that we gravitate towards each other, and as such, we have met you. Although Axel has told me he has spoken to you, and told you about the urgent nature of the requirement to learn to defend yourself, he has not told me if you have worked out your element yet?"

"How did he tell y- I'm not sure what you mean."

"Did he talk you through to the beach?"

"Yes..."

"Describe the beach you saw."

"Ok. There was sand on three sides, and far away, the ocean. Nothing else, except the sun shining in the sky."

"Can you go there now?"

Roxas nodded at the request, and closed his eyes. The image of the beach appeared after a moment's thought, and he did as he had been instructed earlier, and began to cup his hands into the sand. This time, the rushing feeling was expected, and as such, it was easier to concentrate. As such, he actually noticed the sun appear over the horizon; a fact he'd missed previously. Unknown to himself, he spoke a single word.

"Wow." At once, he felt a thrilling whoosh flow through him, not unlike a wave, and then there was a loud bang. The beach disappeared and Roxas opened his eyes to find the room in total darkness.

"Axel?" Vincent called impatiently. "A little illumination, perhaps?"

"Oh! Sorry!" Two large balls of fire erupted next to him, in Axel's hands, illuminating the four of them in the rough circle. One by one, more balls of fire burst into being throughout the room, floating on air, and began undulating lazily around the room. Vincent shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"Phenomenal cosmic power and brain the size of a turnip, you."

"I didn't blow the lightbulbs!" Axel protested.

"Yeah, and for once it wasn't me!" Reno cried. "Nice style, Roxas. I used to just go for the circuit breakers but the glass all over the floor is a nice touch."

"Th-that was ME!"

"Yes, you idiot, that was you," Axel snapped. "You said 'wow', the lights all went very bright and then they all blew." Although he spoke quickly, his voice was full of admiration and pride.

When Vincent spoke, his tone was much more one of pained patience; a familiar emotion to Roxas by now. "Well, I think we can unequivocally say that light is your friend. That is most useful - a light in the sky can illuminate, but a light in your opponent's eyes can momentarily blind them, giving you the upper hand. Congratulations, Roxas. For now, I would ask you to refrain from experimenting with this, and concentrate on learning the basics of defense." Roxas nodded, which pleased him. "Good. Reno - go get some lightbulbs. Axel - stand up front. Roxas, stay where you are."

The evening was more enjoyable than Roxas thought it would be. The mental defences were not complicated to learn, but Vincent made it painfully clear that if Axel really tried to do something drastic, he could probably overcome Vincent's own honed defences. The implication was somewhat frightening, and indeed Axel himself sank into the corner at each repetition of his potential. Vincent would instruct Roxas in how to raise a barrier around his own Will, then Axel would gently draw Will, and Roxas would practise strengthening his barrier until he could cease feeling Axel leeching his Will. It became easier and easier as the evening wore on, and by the end, Roxas did not feel it was too much of a challenge to maintain a small barrier at all times. Vincent promised that with time, he would not even realise he was doing it, and that was when he would truly be safe.

Axel made a bold request of Roxas afterwards.

"Hey, Rox, come up to my room for a while, we can hang out." The words were innocent, the tone was innocent, but the flash at the corner of Axel's eyes was... not quite. Roxas wanted to refused, to say no, to walk away coolly, but his mouth had other ideas.

"Yeah, sure." The words fell out before he had a chance to stop them, and so Axel led Roxas up the grand staircase, and along one corridor. He pointed out several rooms along the way ('guest room, guest room, Reno's room where hope goes to die, bathroom where Reno goes to die...') before they came to a room with a broad blue door. Axel pushed the door in, then stepped inside Roxas following close behind. He only had a moment to take the room in (surprisingly neat, with a small double bed in one corner and a desk alongside) before the door closed and his exploration was cut short by Axel pushing him abruptly against the wall, capturing his lips in a kiss reminiscent of the one under the tree two days ago.

It was savage and passionate, and the force of it drew a sharp moan from the younger boy's throat. Determined not to be a pushover, Roxas responded fiercely, taking the slightest opening to slip his tongue past the hot lips on his, and stroking the opposing tongue with his own. When he let go and bit Axel's lips, he felt rather than heard the redhead growl, and he pushed against Roxas' hips, a movement which made Roxas weak at the knees as his clothing-cushioned erection brushed against a similarly-restricted bulge which had to be Axel's. Belatedly, the bags over each boy's shoulders dropped to the floor and Roxas' head was shoved to the side as Axel attacked his neck, licking and sucking the soft skin there. Roxas' eyes were shut, and he cried out softly as the older boy dragged teeth across the crook of Roxas' neck. His attention was so distracted by the mouth on his neck that he totally failed to notice his belt being carefully unbuckled, or the button on his jeans being surreptitiously undone, but he definitely noticed when Axel's hand slipped inside his pants to slide down inside his underwear, confidently stroking the heated flesh that hardened painfully under the attention and caused Roxas to let out a moan. The noise was louder than Axel had anticipated, and he echoed it with an involuntary moan of his own.

"A-Axel..." Roxas' breathy pleas stopped the older boy short, and Axel took a moment to lock the door to his room, then he forcibly picked up the gasping blond and carried him to his bed, laying him down carefully, kissing him once briefly and then immediately dropping to where he'd undone Roxas' jeans, and pulled down the slightly-strained briefs just enough to free Roxas' erection, and did not pause for breath, or even to check if he was allowed to continue, before gently nudging the tip of his tongue against the slit at the top of Roxas' arousal. Roxas managed to breathe long enough to gasp loudly, until Axel deftly took as much of Roxas in his mouth as he could, working his tongue around Roxas' over-sensitive head. Given that Roxas was proportioned well with his height, when he jerked his hips upwards and inadvertently forced Axel's lips to slam against his pelvis, the older boy took it in his stride and continued sucking, soft at first, then harder, twisting his tongue as quickly as he could manage.

It was like nothing Roxas had ever felt before - it was so hot and wet and quick that he simply had no resistance to it, and he came with a long groan into Axel's mouth. Axel slowed his movements, eventually letting the now-limp flesh flop from his lips, before moving back up along Roxas' body to rest alongside the spent blond, lazily reclothing Roxas as he went. He leaned over the smaller boy to the bedside table, where an unopened bottle of water rested, flipping it open and taking a large swig before offering the bottle to Roxas, who took a chaste sip and handed it back. Once Axel dumped it back onto the nightstand, he settled in next to Roxas and draped an arm over him, snuggling in close and closing his eyes. They lay like that for a few minutes, comfortable, until eventually Roxas broke the silence.

"Axel?" The redhead opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on Roxas. "I... where did that come from?"

"I have no idea. Just wanted to. Is it... ok?"

"It was incredible, but uh... don't you want me to return the favour?"

"Nah, I'm in the mood for snuggling just now, if you don't mind."

"Oh. Well, ok then." He planted a short kiss on Axel's lips, and watched as Axel's eyes drifted closed, before casting his own around the room. Axel's room was quite large, with an expensive computer sitting on the desk, a beautifully thick shag carpet and light blue walls. The entirety of one wall was taken up with a walk-in wardrobe, but the walls were completely bare. Next to one of the wardrobe doors, a line of picture frames leaned haphazardly against the wall, unhung despite the room having been occupied for just over a month. They were lined up one behind the other, so the only one visible was a large photograph of what looked like hand holding a ball of fire. He grinned.

Roxas was so comfortable, he could have drifted off to sleep much like Axel was already on his way to doing, but the little tableau was interrupted by the trilling of Roxas' cellphone from his bag near the door. He shifted out from under Axel's arm and sat up to the sound of Axel grunting a 'hmph'. He crossed the floor and fumbled for his phone, not even bothering to check the caller ID before flipping it open and answering,

"Hello?"

"Rox, where are you? I thought you'd be home from fight club thing by now."

"Sora! God, sorry. I, uh.. I'm-"

"Oooh, you're at Axel's, aren't you? Are you naked?"

"SORA! On what planet is that even REMOTELY appropriate?"

"This one!"

"Godammit Sora, you have such a gutter mind. Listen, I'll be leaving soon and when I get home I can-" He was interrupted by Axel, who had walked up behind him and pointed at the computer he'd just booted up.

"Rox, you can VoIP him there if you want, I'm just gonna go grab something to eat from downstairs. You want something?"

"Yeah, something sugary. Sora? I'll be there in a minute, hang on for me."

"Sure." He hung up the phone and sat down at Axel's computer, which had an enormous screen. After a few moments, he opened the VoIP software and waited for it to log in. As soon as he had done so, it rang shrilly, and he picked up, accepting Sora's initiated video call. The image on his screen blurred, then settled into the familiar form of his brother.

"Hi Rox! Whoa, Axel's webcam is waaaaaay better than yours. Are - are you in his room?"

"Yeah..."

"As are you, just now." Axel called as he entered the room, throwing a plate of baklava in front of Roxas. "I take it you're Sora, nice to meetcha. I'm Axel."

"Heard a lot about you."

"You too. Where are you right now?"

"Pride Lands. It's mating season, I'm surprised the lionesses haven't asked Dad out yet."

Roxas guffawed at this, and Axel grinned. "Call me dumb, but last I checked, lions didn't *have* a mating season."

"They don't, but the ones here do because it's just before the time of year when food is most abundant. They've got it locked down tight, it's pretty sweet. Lots of cubs around at the same time, it's so cute! Hey, Axel, has Rox managed to actually smack you one yet? He described that keyblade thing to me, sounds kinda awesome."

Roxas blushed. "You *would* say that, wouldn't you, Sor. I'm doing just fine, thanks."

"What? It's a SWORD that looks like a KEY, how can that not be cool! Maybe you'll find some giant door to unlock!" At this, Axel spilled over into open laughter.

"The doooooor to your soooouuuulllll!"

I'm a Speaker. I can control light. The thoughts repeated themselves over and over and over in his mind. It was 4am, and Roxas still had not slept; the mixed emotions from the day conspiring to occupy his thinking until not even a hammer blow to the head could have sent him to sleep. But every so often, he drifted back to Axel, and the thought of Axel's hands touching him, stroking him, and then Axel's mouth around his... The thought was so intense that Roxas allowed his hands to wander, groaning quietly as he bit the back of one hand to silence himself and stroking himself shallowly with the other, curling his hand over an erection brought on by a memory, then gripping himself tighter as he arched his back, digging his head further into his pillow until he came with a stuttered sigh and wide eyes, mercifully containing it all in his hand so he could clean up easier. Deciding to do so, he stepped out of bed and felt his way down the hall, but when he got to the bathroom, instead of turning on the light, he stood stock still, and imagined the feeling of the rush of what it felt like to draw the sand to him on the beach, and whispered quietly,

"Light?" The bathroom light switched itself on. Roxas grinned to himself, cleaned up, and slept hard when he returned to bed.

The next week passed by in a total blur for Roxas - training continued, game night came and went, he went out with his mother for a nice meal, and the weekend was spent at his own house, where his friends all came around for the whole Saturday, Axel for the first time. In the space of that same week, Roxas learned how to maintain a small barrier at all times, a fact that Vincent heaped praise on him for, as he managed the feat more quickly than the older man had guessed he would. He also kept up the weapon practice, feeling slightly more and more frustrated as he found his grip failing the more he tried to do. The more energy he put into an attack, the likelier he found himself in a sprawled heap on the floor. It was happening more often than not, and he could not work out how to rectify the problem. He tried different grips; two-handed felt wrong, but with it in either hand felt unbalanced. However, he refused to be drawn on it, determined to succeed and convinced it was only a learning curve.

On Monday afternoon during English, Roxas noticed Axel studying Xemnas closely, and afterwards quizzed him about it. Axel answered that he did not trust Xemnas one iota, not one jot, but Roxas maintained he was being paranoid, and dismissed the discussion almost as soon as it had begun.

Tuesday morning brought the same subject, this time tending towards an argument, which Axel opened.

"Roxas. Are you even slightly worried about where Leon has gone to?" The words were carefully neutral, but Axel could tell by how Roxas set his jaw that he was not pleased with the question.

"No, I'm not. What makes you think something is wrong? You're sounding really-"

"Paranoid, I know." He sighed. "Look, I can't really explain it. It's just... I mean, I was talking to him only two weeks ago about the Struggle, and he seemed so excited about it - I just have this bad feeling about Xemnas in general, like he's not good news. I looked up the school he said he was from - it's some kind of creepy Hitler Youth-type private school, or it was. It was shut down a few months ago, but there's no notice as to why. And then he comes here a few weeks later, and..." He was silenced by the too-loud clattering of several pens on the desk next to him, as Roxas flung down what he was holding in frustration.

"Oh for fu- Look, you need to chill out. You've already said this, You've rabbited on and on about him, I get it. There is NOTHING wrong - don't you think that if something bad had happened to someone as nice as Leon, that maybe he'd have family that would raise some hell about it? Or friends?"

Axel did not have an answer for this, and the argument would have stopped there, but unfortunately, Roxas' mouth did not stop there. "Exactly. Just because Axel the Great and Terrible says something mysterious doesn't mean we all have to jump to attention." Axel stilled; Roxas felt the faintest edge of a dangerous aura, but carried on regardless, even while a part of him screamed that he was going to regret every word of this later.

"Axel the what?"

"Axel the Great and Terrible." Roxas was trying to be funny, but his words hit a particular nerve point for the older boy, whose eyes flashed with hot fury, face whitened, and then he spoke so quietly Roxas was forced to be silent just to hear what he had to say.

"Is that what you really think?"

Without thinking, Roxas answered him.

"Well, you know, you did say you could go insane at any moment and start..."

"You're right. I did. Which is probably a reason you shouldn't say dumb things to me." Without further ado, he angrily picked up his bag and book, and stormed out of the classroom.

Roxas sat still for a moment, stuck fast by the reality of what had just happened. The door burst open, and he looked at it quickly, expecting to see the redhead reentering, but instead, Xemnas' decidedly more filled-out frame charged through the doorway, slamming the door closed behind him. Roxas sank low into his seat, realising that whatever damage he had done, it would be two hours before he could repair it.

The moment the class was over, Roxas raced out to find Axel, but a breakneck run to the cafeteria revealed nothing. After a lunch sitting in silence while his friends babbled mindlessly and Roxas could do nothing but think of Axel's reaction to his earlier jape, he dejectedly loped to his locker, and opened it up. A piece of paper that had been stuck in the vents on the locker door fluttered to the ground, and he picked it up.

Rox,

I need time to cool off. I'm going to skip MA club this evening. Give me a call when you're out.

Great and Terrible