Kairi took her sister off to the bathroom as soon as they arrived at Riku's place. Roxas climbed over into the front of the car while Axel looked for a place to park that was sheltered and out of sight.
"So, where's your costume? You wearing it under your clothes?" He asked teasingly.
Axel smirked at him. "It's inside. I dropped it off at Riku's earlier. You'll just have to wait like everyone else."
"Looking forward to it." And he was. Axel always had the most over dramatic costumes. Last year he'd gone as Marie Antoinette, with his own hair up in that weird tall hair style, and wearing little more than french lace and fake pearls.
"Shouldn't you be going after your girlfriend?" Axel asked, turning the engine off. He lit up a smoke before climbing out. "She was pretty upset."
"Kairi went with her." He shrugged. "Besides, shouldn't you be apologising?"
"She's not my friend, I don't gotta do shit," Axel scoffed, before taking a long drag. "She started it anyway."
"You can't insult everyone who says shit about your car, Axe. It's forty years old and still makes that clunky engine noise."
"I'm waiting for a part," he dismissed. "And it wasn't just the car."
Roxas was silent, enjoying the scent of the smoke. "Cinnamon?" He guessed.
"Practically a pumpkin spice latte," Axel replied. He offered him the smoke. "You want?"
He shouldn't. Naminé would hate it. But it did smell good, and Axel never offered him a smoke. He took it carefully between his thumb and forefinger, just like Axel did, and brought it up to his mouth. He knew how to smoke - had the occasional cigarette at parties since he was fourteen. He was no expert, like Axel, but he didn't hack up a lung on the first draw.
It really did taste like a pumpkin spice latte, he thought as he considered the flavour. It reminded him of last Halloween, reaching under lacy skirts and touching Axel's dick for the first time.
"It's our anniversary," he announced, surprised.
Axel rolled his eyes at him. "Anniversaries are for boyfriends, Roxas," he replied. "But yes. It's been a whole year since we first hooked up. When you officially destroyed our lifelong friendship."
"Destroyed?" Roxas asked, a sick feeling sinking in his stomach at the word choice. "We're still friends, Axe."
"Mm. We are," he replied. "But we weren't simple friends after that, were we? And it's not like we can exactly just go back to what we were like before we were screwing around. I know what your come tastes like mixed with your sweat, I can't pretend like I just don't."
Roxas swallowed. Axel was right, of course he was. But he sounded so final. "Axe…"
The redhead shrugged, climbing out of the car at least. "Come on. We still have to get through the haunted house before we get to the party."
Roxas stubbed out the smoke and followed after him, feeling glum. Tonight was supposed to fun, and now he felt like shit. He shoved his hands in the pocket of the stupid cat onesie, kicking a pebble along the driveway.
He didn't react to the haunted house at all. Sora had tossed in a few new jump-scares, but they did nothing to shift his mood. Axel was spooked a few times, but Roxas couldn't even laugh at him.
When they finally got to the party, he tucked himself in a dark corner with a bottle of coke. Kairi came to stand beside him. She was wearing some sort of whispy white dress/lingerie thing, with her nose painted red. She was theme matching with Sora and Riku, who were together as Jack and Sally.
"You need to break up with my sister," she said as the music shifted to something a little louder that could break up their conversation.
He frowned at her in confusion. "You're the one who told me to ask her out in the first place!" he protested.
"Yeah," she said. "I don't know. I guess I thought you'd be different with her." She sighed, sipping from her cooler. "Like maybe you'd help her relax a little, and she'd settle you down. Opposites are supposed to attract."
"We're going fine," he argued. "So Axel upset her. It's not my fault."
Kairi sighed and shook her head. "You're not who she wants you to be, Roxas. And you'd hate being who she expects."
"You're not making any sense, Kairi," he replied, setting down his empty bottle. "I'm going to go find my girlfriend and enjoy the party."
She sighed and didn't stop him.
He found Naminé sitting with Selphie and Olette, and settled into the couch beside her. "Hey, enjoying the party."
"Yeah," she said, giving him a tired smile.
"Ooh, that reminds me!" Olette said. "Naminé, you're giving Roxas a free pass tonight, aren't you? So he can have fun at the after party?"
"Free pass?" She echoed, confused. She glanced at Roxas, suspicious. "What's that?"
He cleared his throat. "It's when people in a committed relationship give each other permission to have sex with other people for like a night or a weekend. No consequences."
Her face became pinched, but Selphie, more than a little drunk at this stage, sprawled over Olette's lap to get closer to her. "Come on, Naminé pleeeease," she whined. "Roxas has been the crankiest little shit since you two went exclusive. Let him get laid and we'll all be way happier for it!"
She stood up. "What, he's not satisfied with me because I'm such a frigid bitch?" She snapped at the girl.
"Nam, that's not what she said…" Roxas reassured her. "Calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down!" she replied. "Do whatever you want tonight, Roxas! Nothing is stopping you!" She stormed off, going to talk to Kairi. The older sister did not look impressed being interrupted while flirting with Tidus.
Before Roxas could say anything to the girls, a flash of bright, fiery colour in the corner of his eye caught attention. He turned to look and stared.
Axel was dressed in his costume. It was less Halloween, and more Carnevale. Long boots cupped his feet and calves, settling just above his knees. A strip of long pale thigh travelled up until the skin was covered in tiny booty shorts. His stomach and chest were enclosed in a sparkling corset - his shoulders and neck ringed in an enormous feather ruffle, his plumage of sequins and feathers sticking up an extra metre taller than his already intimidating height.
Someone wolf-whistled. Axel turned and winked in the direction of the noise. Roxas stood, knees feeling oddly numb, and crossed to his best friend. "Carnevale Phoenix?"
"You know me so well, Rox." He grinned, preening like a very proud peacock.
Don't think the word cock.
"So, uh. I have to have Naminé home by 10:30. Can I take your car?" He asked carefully.
"Mm," Axel said. "You know they'll probably be starting the afterparty by then. I can drive her home."
Roxas gave him a look. "I'll come with you," he whispered. Naminé had given him a free pass for the night, after all. "Your uncle's still out of town, right?"