Ack! Happy Halloween everybody!

I have been partying too much the past couple days… Uhg.

You know how drunk Roxas got in that last chapter? Yeah, that was me only ten times worse. I don't remember much of any of the parties but apparently I threw up during the entire duration of a 15 min drive home from a party out at a farm house a couple nights ago. In fact, my husband said I only paused in my vomiting once while I was hanging out the window to shout back at the people yelling "Party Hardy!" and all I said was "PUNK FUCKING ROCK!" and threw up the horns, then continued to vomit.

Which leads me to the moral of my story:

DON'T DRINK MORE ALCOHOL THAN YOU CAN HANDLE!

Even if its Vanilla Vodka which is delicious with your root beer mixer and you end up drinking ¾ of the bottle and think you're fine until you're sitting down and in the middle of a conversation with your boss you turn to spew and then turn back claiming "Lol! I'm good! I'm all good now! *hic hic* I'm good." because you're NOT good and you'll in fact go home and spend two hours in the shower shifting between passing out and begging your husband not to let you die.

So yeah, this chapter would have come to you sooner had I not been a belligerent ass hole. I'm sorry. I hope you enjoy.

On to this chapter itself. It was actually two chapters individually but they were both short in their own rights and so I decided to put them together to save time. This picks up shortly after the last chapter and then there is a break, and then its the next morning.

This chapter has all kinds of cute that I'm sure you've been waiting for and I promise you, if you've been waiting for smut, you will not be disappointed come next chapter.

I didn't realize it when I started this, but I'm thinking this could EASILY be a 40 chapter story. HOLY SHIT! Lets hope it doesn't get that long! I DOOOOO have other fics to write you know. As much as I would LOVE for this story to go on forever it does have to end, and there is still a lot to go.

Enjoy this chapter!

*Note: The actual title of this chapter should be Cough/Cool but won't let me put the "/" in. GAAAAAAY

"I'm sorry." Roxas said, words muffled against Axel's jacket as the man piggybacked him to the front door. "I'm really sorry."

"Don't sweat it. They're just clothes and they can easily be washed." Axel snickered as he dug one hand in his pocket and fished out his keys. He turned the key in the door and pushed it open. He eased Roxas down to the ground and flicked on a light. "Here we are…"

Roxas looked around quietly. "We're at your place. "

"Yeah, there's no way I'm taking you home and leaving you alone. You threw up! You could have alcohol poisoning and I'm not letting you deal with that alone." Axel pulled Roxas along and sat him on the couch. "I'm going to change these clothes real fast and then I'll be out here to take care of you. Ideally you should be getting a cold shower right about now to sober you up but given the circumstances…"

"A shower sounds fine." Roxas stood slowly but stumbled backward and fell onto the couch. "I can hardly stand. Why am I so drunk?"

"Well, for one you drank fancy imported beer. The generic stuff isn't as potent so last night when you only had two beers and it hit you, you were fine. But you had four, all with a higher alcohol content. You can't rush yourself into being a pro drinker like Marluxia. It takes time." Axel chuckled and pulled Roxas up. "Come on, I'll get you to the shower. But I warn you, it won't be warm and pleasant."

Roxas let Axel lead him to the bathroom. He tugged off his clothes and sat down in the bath tub. When Axel turned on the water it was freezing at first and Roxas let out a loud yelp. "Ah! It's so cold!"

Axel chuckled and adjusted the water to be a bit warmer but still on the cool side. "Yeah, well that's what happens when you drink too much kid. You get cold showers."

Roxas shivered and huddled himself up into a ball. "Axel?"

Axel had started to leave but at hearing his name he turned around and looked to Roxas. "Yeah?"

"I think I understand how you feel." Roxas smiled softly and glanced at Axel. "I like you a lot too. I hardly know you but tonight when I was thinking about you it made my heart pound and when I kissed you…" Blood rushed to the boy's face and he looked away from the older man. "Is that what its like when you meet someone you might fall in love with?"

Axel froze. Maybe it was just the alcohol talking but Roxas' words were like music to his ears. He chuckled lightly and shook his head. "More or less but usually there's no alcohol involved and nobody gets thrown up on."

"Oh." Roxas looked down sadly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Axel smiled and started out the bathroom door again. "Don't drown while I'm changing my clothes."

"I won't." Roxas sighed and continued to shiver in the water. He felt like he had to throw up more and he didn't want a repeat of earlier. "Earlier…" Earlier when he had kissed Axel on impulse. The memory now was very blurry but he could remember watching Axel stand there. Oddly attractive in a way Roxas had never thought of before; meaning that he was male. And now that Roxas thought back on it, he'd never been attracted to girls before. He'd never really given any thought to romance at all. It had always been study, study, study. But standing there on that carousel, drunk as he was, kissing Axel had just made sense. Thinking about it now made his heart quicken and his stomach grow in knots so when the vomit came rushing up his throat he didn't stop it. As soon as the rancid liquid left his mouth he felt worlds better. It was just then that Axel stepped back into the bathroom with a t-shirt in hand. "I threw up again. But I feel better now."

"Good." Axel smiled and turned off the water. He grabbed a towel from the cupboard and wrapped it around Roxas' shoulders. He then began drying the boy's hair vigorously with the towel. "You know, spewing sucks but it does help to get a lot of that out of you. Your body is already trying to process a lot of alcohol. More than it can handle. And there is still more its got to process in your stomach. Vomiting doesn't help the damage that's already been done to you but it does prevent you from taking on more. That's why we vomit when we drink too much. Our body is trying to get rid of the excess that could kill us. You'll still be drunk but you won't feel sick when you get that all out."

Roxas nodded slowly. "Makes sense. But I think I threw it all up. I don't feel nauseous anymore. Just cold."

Axel chuckled and helped Roxas out of the tub. "Well then you'll be happy to hear that I've got some coffee brewing and a nice, warm and completely vomit free t-shirt for you to wear."

Roxas smiled gratefully. "Thank you Axel. You're really kind."

"Yeah, just don't go telling anybody about it." Axel laughed and handed Roxas the shirt and a pair of underwear. "Your clothes are in the wash."

"Thanks." Roxas tugged on the underwear and then pulled the shirt on over his head. He looked down to see a woman's face staring up at him with the word Blondie written vertically along the side. "Who is she?"

"Ha! That's Debbie Harry. And you're going to pretend you never saw that shirt. I like Blondie but if any of the others new I still had that shirt they'd bust my balls for sure." Axel snickered. "Normally I don't give a shit but I'd never hear the end of that one so let's just keep it between you and me."

Roxas laughed lightly and made a zipping motion across his mouth. "My lips are sealed."

"Well, lets hope not too sealed." Axel winked slyly and started out the bathroom door. He waited for Roxas to follow him before he continued talking. "That shirt swallows you, by the way. How funny."

Roxas looked down at himself and the shirt that dangled just a little past his hips. "I don't think its so funny. I'm scrawny."

Axel chuckled and poured a cup of coffee for Roxas. "Well then you'll just have to beef up and get buff like Lexaeus."

"Ha ha! Yeah right!" Roxas laughed as he sat down on the couch. He accepted the cup of coffee Axel handed to him and watched silently as the man grabbed a Betamax cassette and put it into the VCR. "What are we watching?"

"I Walked With a Zombie." Axel smiled excitedly and plopped down on the couch beside Roxas. "You'll like this one, I promise."

Roxas nodded as he took a sip of the coffee. "I'm sure I will." He watched with interest as the RKO logo came up on the screen and then faded to the opening credits. Axel seemed to have an attraction to older films and this was the forth RKO film they had watched within the past twenty four hours. He nestled down as a colorless beach came into view and sat his coffee to the side. He tried to pay attention to the movie but he could feel Axel's stare burrowing into him. He looked to the man and chuckled as Axel quickly averted his eyes. "You can look at me Axel. It's ok. There's no harm in simple looking so who cares what Demyx thinks?"

"Yeah, I know." Axel sighed and ran a hand through his hair nervously. "It's just…"

Roxas blinked up at his companion curiously. "It's just what?"

"Roxas, I have this fatal character flaw. I fall for people, hard and fast. And I know we've barely met but I really like you. I mean, really. Those hours we spent here last night and then on the phone this morning, just talking and getting to know each other. It doesn't take much for me to know whether or not I like somebody. And I like you Roxas." Axel looked down at the ground to avoid the boy's gaze. "I just don't know how to take things slow. I guess I'm a believer in love at first sight."

"Love at first sight?" Roxas looked to Axel and chuckled. "But how can you love someone you haven't spent time with?"

Axel glanced to Roxas. "But I've spent time with you."

"Are you saying…" Roxas swallowed hard and began picking at the bottom of the shirt to occupy himself. "You're in love with me?"

"I'm not saying that. Just that, well…" Axel sighed and rubbed his neck briskly. "I'd be very sad if I never got to see you again. And I want to love you. I think that I can very easily. I'm already very fond of you in this short time we've known each other. Just imagine how I'll feel in a week! You mentioned it earlier in the bathroom, that when you thought of me it made your heart pound. When I first laid eyes on you at the concert it made my heart pound and I thought 'I have to meet him.' and I'm so glad I did. Geeze, I sound so cheesy right now but you understand, right? When you kissed me, what did you feel?"

Roxas blushed at the thought and avoided Axel's gaze. "I felt…" He smiled and looked further away from the older man feeling all the more embarrassed. "Butterflies. And my heart was pounding. But that's normal, right? For a first kiss?"

"Your first!?" Axel stared at Roxas feeling a bit of guilt. "Ah, I didn't mean to steal your first kiss Rox."

Roxas smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry about it! You didn't steal it! I was the one that kissed you, remember?"

Axel nodded slowly and stared at the boy out of the corner of his eye. "Why did you?"

"I don't know." Roxas half chuckled, half sighed. "I guess it just felt like something I should do. Granted, I was pretty drunk at the time but it just made sense. You like me. I like you. Thinking about you made my heart pound. That's what falling in love is like, right?"

"Yeah." Axel gave a sad smile and looked down at the ground. There was nothing quite like painful memories to take away from a moment of happiness. "Yeah, it's just like that."

"Axel…" Roxas smiled kindly at the man and gripped his hand. "Don't look so sad, ok? It doesn't suit you."

"Sorry." Axel shrugged and forced a smile. "Sheesh, here I am feeling sorry for myself like some kind of douche bag and you probably just want to watch the movie."

"No, it's fine. I like talking to you." Roxas reclaimed his coffee and took another sip. "You're interesting Axel. You're easily my favorite person in the world."

Axel grinned. "Yeah? I think I can feel comfortable saying the same thing about you kid."

Roxas smiled and sat his drink to the side again. There was silence and Axel had returned his attention to the movie so Roxas did the same. It didn't take long for sleep to claim Axel and Roxas didn't have the heart to wake him. He yawned quietly and turned the television off before snuggling up beside the dozing redhead. Watching the man sleep brought a smile to Roxas' face and he couldn't help but place a gentle kiss on the tip of Axel's nose. He yawned again and let his hand fall across his companion's chest. "Good night Axel."

--

"Good morning Roxas." Axel smiled brightly at the teen laying sprawled on the floor. "You know, you could have slept in my bed if I was hogging the couch."

"Huh?" Roxas sat up slowly and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Oh, I must have fell onto the floor. What time is it?"

"Nine o'clock. Still early enough for breakfast at McDonalds. You want some? I grabbed plenty." Axel fished into the bag he held and pulled out a breakfast sandwich. "Greasy goodness."

Roxas made a face as his stomach churned at the word greasy. "Eh, no thanks." He ran a hand through his hair and ruffled it slowly. "Any word from Demyx and the others?"

"Not a word." Axel sat on the couch and chuckled. "I'm sure they're fine. Marluxia probably got bailed out before he even had to spend a night in jail. Same probably goes for the others if they actually got caught. Pampered brats."

Roxas joined Axel on the couch and looked to him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Marluxia's dad is a lawyer. And not just any lawyer. He's a high profile prosecution attorney. Because of that, he really knows how to bend the legal system to his every whim. Marly's always getting into trouble but his dad gets him out of it before he has to face any real punishment. It's all about who you know." Axel rolled his eyes. "Then Larxene, her father owns a really nice restaurant in downtown LA. People come from all over to eat there and they make a ton of cash. Zexion's parents own a small book store chain here in Southern California. It's pretty popular. And Lexaeus, well…" Axel shrugged. "Nobody knows what his dad does. He works for the government and gets paid a lot of money and that answer is good enough for his family so it has to be good enough for everyone else too."

Roxas nodded slowly. "I see. So everybody comes from a rich family. Well, then why wear torn up clothes and stuff?"

Axel snickered. "Now that's the interesting part. It's not a whole lot more than a fashion statement anymore, but back when punk first got started it was a political statement. Punks weren't going to conform to what society deemed fashionable or cool. Long hair was in so most punks chopped their locks and started dressing different to make a point. But the look caught on and became sort of a fashion trend. Nobody really has the same punk ideals anymore that they did when they first started. Sure, there are a couple of hardcore punks still around somewhere, but they're idiots. I mean, who really wants to live on the streets trying to get by on what they can? Its stupid. Anarchy can never work so why bother trying to make a statement about it?"

Roxas nodded slowly. "So then why do you dress like that? I mean, you seem to look down on it but you still do it?"

"It's a vicious cycle." Axel sighed and took a jumbo bite out of his breakfast. "See, by dressing like this others view me as a non-conformist; my friends and strangers alike. If I dressed normal by society's standards I would be a conformist. But the very fact that I strive to appear different makes me a conformist to the hundreds of others that try to look different as well. So I'm a conformist either way. But better to wear clothes that I feel comfortable in than dressing like…" Axel chuckled and winked at Roxas. "You."

Roxas huffed and scowled. "Yeah, well it's not my fault. My parents have picked out my clothes for me since the day I was born."

Axel chuckled at the look on Roxas' face. "Relax. I was just teasing you. What you wear is fine. Its part of who you are and there's no shame in that."

"But that's just it! I don't know if this is who I am. I mean, my whole life my parents have been on my case pressuring me to be better and to try harder and always be the son they wanted. I didn't want all of that! I wanted to have friends and play around and just be a kid. I didn't want to work so hard in school. I didn't want to come to California to go to college! I don't even really want to go to college!" Roxas furrowed his brow, growing angrier and angrier by the minute. "And my religion! It's always repent for this, ask for forgiveness for that! Say ten Hail Marys and be on your way…" He clenched his fists and growled angrily. "But I don't want forgiveness because I haven't done anything wrong! I've been a good kid and shouldn't God just accept me for how I am? It's so stupid! My whole life I've lived for my parents and for God and not once have I been truly happy. It's the same monotonous routine day in and day out!"

Axel nodded. "I can see how that can be frustrating."

"And you know what else? I think I want to wear torn up jeans and clunky boots and a dingy t-shirt with crude words on it! I want to try something new! I need to see what works for me. Maybe…" Roxas stood up clenching his fists. "Well, maybe this is just the start of a completely new me. No! The real me. The me that lives for myself and does what I want and fuck all the others! Right?"

"That's the spirit kid! Fuck 'em. Live your life how you want to!" Axel stood and gripped Roxas' shoulder. "You live the way that makes you happy!"

"I will! Fuck the colleges! Fuck my parents! And fuck Catholicism!" Roxas gripped the low hanging crucifix necklace that had been tucked inside the shirt he wore and yanked. The chain broke and he tossed the emblem to the floor. "Fuck everything!"

Axel looked to Roxas and chuckled. "There ya go! Time for some independence!"

Roxas looked up at Axel, his hands trembling. "For the first time I feel…" He smiled excitedly and began pacing the room. "Happy! Oh my God, I just realized! This is so great Axel! I don't have to worry about anything anymore. I don't have to do what my parents want! I don't have to go to church! Nothing!" He laughed and grabbed Axel's arms. "Do you know what this feels like?"

Axel laughed and nodded. "Yeah Roxas. It's called freedom and as long as you don't go too overboard with it, it can be a good thing."

Roxas smiled widely. "What am I going to do next?"

"I think the question is, what are you not gonna do next?" Axel plopped back down on the couch and returned Roxas' smile with an equally wide grin. "And the answer, my friend, is nothing that you don't wanna do!"

"Right." Roxas regained his seat beside Axel and sighed. "It is so strange. A simple decision I made and I feel worlds different. Axel, do you think it is the right choice?"

"Who gives a fuck what I think? I think that if it makes you happy then it is right but there is never really a right or wrong answer to anything and you shouldn't be concerned about what anybody else has to say about it. It's your life and nobody has to live it but you." Axel shrugged and smiled. "So how are you going to live your new life?"

"Gee, I don't know." Roxas ruffled his hair and stared at the floor in thought. "Right now I'm just content hanging out with you and the others. Not having any responsibility is nice. Just knowing that there is nothing I have to do is awesome. I suppose I just want to keep hanging out with you all. Maybe get a job. I know I definitely want to go to more concerts and really just let loose like Marluxia does."

"Whoa now." Axel snickered and gripped Roxas' shoulder. "Let's not get too out of hand! Marluxia is a professional psychopath. It takes years of chemical imbalance and alcohol abuse to obtain that level of blatant disregard for one's own safety. Just take it one step at a time. What else would you like to do?"

Roxas gaze flew to Axel and he stared at him seriously. "I'd like to get to know you better. I mean, on a much more personal level. I'd like to find out why looking at you gives me this strange feeling. I want to find out why my heart pounds when I think about yesterday. I'm curious as to why, when I look at your eyes, I have this urge to just… "

Axel swallowed hard. His heart was pounding and he could see the pulse in Roxas' throat beating wildly as well. "To just what?"

"I don't know. I don't know how to describe it." Roxas looked away from Axel shyly. "I get these flashes in my head but I don't know if it would be ok to act upon them and I wouldn't even really know how to."

Axel cupped Roxas' cheek in his hand and turned the teen's gaze to him. "I can teach you. Those things you're feeling and those flashes you're seeing, they're called instinct. And I can show you how to act upon them."

Roxas stared at Axel longingly. "Show me then. Right here, right now."

Axel bit his bottom lip and looked down at Roxas. The boy was entirely serious and he was more than willing to comply. There was, however, one minor detail that stood in his way. "I can't. I promised your cousin that I would wait until you turned eighteen."

"Fuck Demyx!" Roxas scowled and crossed his arms. "Like you said, this is my life and nobody else has to live it but me! I want to understand what is happening here with you and me and I don't care what Demyx has to say! Neither should you!"

Axel sighed and let his hand fall from the blond's cheek. "It's different than that. It isn't that I care what he thinks because I don't. I like you Rox, a lot. I think you know that. And nobody could change my mind about that. But I made a promise to Demyx that I would hold off on any advances until you turn eighteen. I wasn't even supposed to let you know how I feel. I suppose we have Marluxia to thank for that."

Roxas shook his head. "That shouldn't matter! Its stupid!"

"No, its not." Axel smiled softly. "Dem has been my best friend for a long time. He's always looking out for me and in a way he is looking out for you too. Do you think he cares who I'm fucking? He doesn't. All he cares about is, am I going to get hurt? He's always been that way. Protective. He just has a funny way of showing it. Kinda like an overbearing mother who lectures her kids out of love. He knows I won't hurt you. And he hardly knows you but I think deep down he knows you won't hurt me either. He's just concerned for both of us and instead of outright saying it he just nags and dramatizes everything. Making me promise to wait until you're eighteen is just a method of making sure we get to know each other first before things get out of hand. He'll chill out eventually though, you'll see."

Roxas nodded slowly but a thought occurred to him. There was a moment the night before where they were talking about what it was like to fall in love and Axel had grown sad and quiet. Demyx's want to protect Axel only supplied another piece to the puzzle. "You've been hurt before, haven't you Axel?"

Axel looked to Roxas and gave a sad smile. "Ha! Can't get anything by you, can I?" He sighed and stared ahead. "Yeah, I got hurt really bad. A couple of times actually. And that's not including what happened with my mom." The redhead put a hand on Roxas' knee and squeezed lightly. "You got time for a long story?"

Roxas smiled softly and nodded. "I have all the time in the world."

Axel returned his companion's smile and took a deep breath. "It was my Junior year in high school when things in my life had gotten really fucked up. I was just a punk hanging out with friends and doing well enough in class to get by. For a long time I suppressed my homosexuality and tried to ignore it altogether but that all changed when I met him." Axel let out a hefty sigh and stared at his feet. "His name was Luxord. He was a foreign exchange student from London and I thought he was so cool. He was a punk too, but strangely different somehow. I was drawn to him, I wanted to hang out with him all the time. But he was too cool to hang out with the lower classmen like Zexion and Demyx. Me though, he liked me. I started ditching the others to hang out with him and I really fell head over heels for him very quickly. I suddenly didn't care about suppressing my homosexuality. I became open about who I was with everyone, including my disapproving mother…"

Roxas looked to Axel sadly as the man paused to inhale a shuddering breath. "That was when she kicked you out, wasn't it?"

Axel nodded. "She wanted me out of her home and away from my little brother. I had nowhere else to go, my dad had moved to Las Vegas and I really had no other family here. I stayed with Demyx for a couple of days before Luxord invited me to come stay with him. He had his own little apartment the government was letting him stay in because he was an eighteen year old exchange student so there was no reason to worry about parents or authority figures kicking me out because I was gay." He clenched his fists as he continued, the memories becoming painful now. "I really fell in love with Luxord. Hard. He was the first person I was ever sexual with and every bit of it was powerful and beautiful to me. But not to Luxord. He wasn't just into men. He liked women too and he was always bringing women in and out of the place. It hurt, but not nearly as bad as…"

Roxas put a hand on Axel's shoulder as he trailed off. "It's alright, you don't have to finish."

"No." Axel gripped Roxas' hand and smiled. "No, it's fine. I'll finish." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Luxord was a Senior. Now, I don't know how school is over in the UK but he was graduating here. And that meant that once he graduated he no longer had government funding to stay here in the US. Sure, he could have applied for a green card and stayed. But he didn't want to stay. In fact he just up and disappeared in the middle of the night. The only thing he left was a note that said "Thanks for the good times, love." and then I never heard from him. I was crushed. I could hardly function. And once again I had nowhere to go. Demyx took me in again. Your aunt is a really great lady and she was always happy to have me around. But I knew I couldn't stay there forever. I got a job at an auto repair shop. It was just about the only thing I was good at. I worked all summer and saved up enough money to make a down payment on an apartment in Arcadia so I could finish high school but as soon as my mom got word I was still around she made sure to let everyone know that I was a bad seed. So I decided to just move to Hollywood. Couldn't quite afford it though so West Hollywood it is. Same general area only a lot less glamorous."

Roxas nodded slowly. "No wonder Demyx is afraid of you getting hurt."

"Yeah, there've been a few others that were a lot like Luxord. Only interested in sex and not necessarily in me. Demyx once beat the shit out of a guy I had fallen for because he heard the guy talking shit about me as soon as I left the room." Axel chuckled. "Your cousin man…" He shook his head and grinned. "For all his faults, he's one hell of a good friend. That's for sure."

"Yeah. It sounds like it." Roxas smiled but was still a little disheartened. "Alright, so you made this promise and you're going to keep it. I guess I have to respect that. But…" Roxas smirked at Axel. "On my birthday that promise to Demyx is null and void."

"Yes sir." Axel smiled and nudged the boy playfully. "When is your birthday again?"