Hey you guys! Sorry for the long wait! I've been super busy with work! Whew... =w= Work has been a bit crazy since we got all of the seasonal stuff in! Yay for fall and halloweeny stuff!

Welp, here you go! Thanks to all of you who have read this far! I appreciate each and every one of you who continue to support me! Please feel free to tell me what you think! :D Happy reading, friends!

CHAPTER SIX: Oreos and OJ

He was warm. Warm in every sense of the word, with his voice lingering in the darkness, the touch of his shaking fingers as they clutched at Axel's left arm. It was still black as pitch in the fucking house and the storm had only let up enough to dull the sound of thunder from a deafening roar to a muffled murmur in the distance. But if that rain didn't let up soon, he was sure they might just drown. He would live at the bottom of a proverbial sea. This tiny town would become the next Atlantis. Only without-

"Axel, Zexion says he can't get out of the office. He wants to wait until the rain lets up a little before chancing another trip back here." Uncertain peridot optics glanced nervously at the trembling blonde clutching at Axel's chest like a newborn baby monkey. "I mean I understand, but… Do you think the kid will be, ah, alright?"

"Fuck if I know." The redhead mumbled dragging a hand over his face. Rubbing the sleep away wasn't working for him like he thought it would. He had been sitting on the floor with this kid for about an hour and a half since the little fiasco earlier that nearly gave him a goddamn heart attack. His ass went numb a while ago, and his legs soon followed. The need to get up and stretch was almost overwhelming. And yet… "Hey, kid. You ganna be okay?"

"…" there was a muffled whimper, but nothing more. The kid might as well have been a mute at this point. ('Roxas.' Zexion had scolded them over the phone. 'That kid's name is Roxas. Stop being rude and call him by his name or he'll wind up thinking everyone in your house is a neanderthall. Not that his assumption would be wrong.' That guy. It was a wonder he even tolerated him). They couldn't get a response from him, and he wouldn't let go of Axel's arm. So they just settled for sloppily wrapping him up in the comforter that he had dragged with him off the bed and trying to coax him into letting the blood flow back into the lower half of Axel's now circulation deprived legs.

"Let's just settle for something hot to drink and nap or some shit. I cannot take any more surprises for the night. I'm gettin' too old for this, Dem." He groaned.

"You say that like it was my idea to bring a little runaway into the house." Demyx muttered.

"Correction: Kidnapee." Axel raised his hand and pointed, the kid- Roxas'- hands still firmly glued to it, "He didn't run away. I apparently kidnapped him, according to the good and faithful doctor."

"You know he hates it when you call him that." His best friend set the phone down on the dresser, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Says it reminds him of Vexen. You know, since he was considered the ultimate quack in the business."

He had to laugh at that. The guy truly was some sort of psychotic. Couldn't seem to tell the difference between people and guinea pigs. He even took to experimenting on a poor dog that wandered around in his neighborhood once. The reporters were all over that the second they found the poor mangled corpse in an alley. Nobody wants to cross paths with that guy if they wanted to keep their body parts in their proper place. Man, the things that guy did. He was constantly mocked in the office whether he was or wasn't there. Poor fucked up old man.
"The guy must have inhaled too many fumes from all those chemicals back in med school."

"Wouldn't be the first I heard of it." Demyx snorted. "Probably huffed kryptonite for all we know." Another bark of laughter filled the air, followed by a giggle-snort on his best friend's part. It eased the atmosphere a bit. Enough for Axel to momentarily forget the touch of warm, fragile fingers along his arm. But only for a moment. The more he thought about it, the more prominent that sensation became in his mind, until he found himself looking down at those pale fingers clutching at him desperately. Gods above they were so thin. When was the last time this kid ate something that didn't involve medicated horse pills? The nails were bitten to the quick, tiny scars along the curve of his index finger. Probably from his teeth pulling at the fragile skin out of a nervous habit. Thin wrists and a slender forearm riddles with even more angry looking scars…

"Ax? You okay?"

"Hm?" Startled out of his thoughts, he heaved a deep sigh, closing his eyes. "Yeah. Yeah I'm good. Just thinking."

"About?"

"About how I'm hungrier than the hippos on that shitty as board game of yours that you've kept in your closet since we were in grade school-"

"It had sentimental value!"

"- and how I would REALLY love to get up and stretch out before my legs fall right off of my body."

"…c…happen."

Two pairs of eyes whipped to the shivering bundle of blankets in Axel's lap, wide with surprise. Either Roxas had actually spoken to them, or blankets were finally enlightened enough to become a sentient being. They waited, each holding their breath and exchanging vapid looks of frantic uncertainty. After a beat, Demyx cleared his throat and decided to ask the talking blanket to repeat that. Said talking blanket bundle shifted slightly, one deep blue eye peeking out at the sandy blonde.

"…" There was a shaky breathe and a muffled reply, "That can't happen." It had a slight rasp and was almost too quiet to hear, but still there. "Your legs can't fall off because of that."

"Well yeah I know that. But try telling that to this guy." He thumbed in the direction of the redhead before leaning forward and talking quietly behind his hand. "He once thought his arm would fly off into outer space if he attached enough rockets to it when we were kids-"

SMACK.

"OW!" Demyx rubbed at the back of his head, seething as he rubbed it.

"That is NOT what I said! Don't go spreading shit like that to people! I'll wind up with a bad reputation because of you!" Axel fumed.

"Or one worse than the one you already have." He raised his hands in surrender when he saw the abusive palm coming for the back of his head again. "Mercy! I won't say another word! I swear on Lady!"

"On your sitar? That old thing? It can barely have a string plucked without letting out multiple dying garbles of god only know what." But he lowered his hand all the same, opting to flick his friend on the nose instead. "Get that thing fixed already."

Demyx chuckled. "Soon, soon. But putting that aside," he turned his attention to the questioning sapphire hues blinking back at him from beneath the comforter. "Your name is Roxas, right?" the boy nodded. "Do you, uh, know where you are?" A pause before a small shake of the head. "Right, so um. I'm Demyx, and the guy you're sitting on is named Axel, and this is his house and the lights went out and um," he looked to Axel as if asking for more input knowing he was floundering for something to say.

He sighed deeply, carefully pushing the blonde off of his lap and gingerly stretching his cramped muscles. "And I'm starving. I'll bet you are too. So as soon as I get some decent circulation back, we are going to get some grub. How 'bout it, blondie? What re you feeling in the mood for?"

The blankets slipped from the small form, the round and pensive face finally revealed in the dimming beam of the flashlight that stood on the dresser, pointing at the ceiling. At first, neither of them expected an answer since all Roxas was doing was shifting around until he was leaning against the wooden bed post. But then he nodded, as if to confirm his decision and mumbled,

"Oreos and Orange juice."

o0o0o0o0o

He had never seen such looks on a human face before. The mullet headed one looked like he ate something sour enough to make him constipated while the other looked like his eyebrows were just about ready to make lift off. They looked so utterly confused, Roxas almost laughed. Almost. He was still in some stranger's house with little to no information on just where said house might be on the map. He could be three skips away from Bermuda for all he knew. That, and he had a pounding headache and a gummy feeling in his mouth. There wasn't much to laugh about considering. So he kept his face locked in a neutral expression while he waited for their response.

"Excuse me?"

"Can you repeat that?"

Roxas' eye twitched in slight aggravation. It was always the same response when he asked for it. Even Sora had reacted the same way when they used to pick out snacks as kids. "Oreos and orange juice." he mumbled. "If you don't have it, then-"

"Oh, no, no. We have it alright. But people in this household eat oreos with MILK, like the non-aliens that we are."

"Axel!"

"What, Dem? It's fucking weird! That's fucking UNNATURAL. They're OREOS. Not bacon." (Roxas didn't point out that bacon wasn't dipped in orange juice either). The redheaded asshole made a grande gesture, spreading his arms wide and then bringing them together to point directly at him. "Who in the everlasting fuck eats an OREO with ORANGE JUICE? How is that even NATURAL?"

"Why are you making a big deal out of this? Out of all things?" Demyx sighed.

"Maybe because I got my libido back after the promise of food."

"Is that even a proper word to use at a time like this?" Roxas retorted, raising a slim eyebrow.

"More proper than oreos and fucking OJ, I can tell you that much." The asshole shot back. Roxas really was starting not to like this guy.

"AXEL." The tone in the mullet head's voice had a warning in it. He turned to Roxas, nodding at him. "We'll get you something to eat. I was in the middle of making something before the power went out. So until it comes back on, there's kind of a limit as to what we can and cannot eat at the moment."

Roxas nodded and shifted his position on the floor so his legs were outstretched between the mullet head and the flaming asshole. (How appropriate, he thought, amused). But was momentarily startled by the way the man had quickly jerked his leg away from his, as if he had been burned by something. With narrowed eyes, he regarded the stranger. This guy... "What did you say your name was again?"

His question was met with a disinterested scoff. "Axel." He then proceeded to draw his name out in the air, "A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?"

"I probably don't. Your callous personality is enough to wipe that from mind." Roxas responded.

The sandy blonde- Dum-something- snorted loudly and covered his mouth. But it didn't hide the wide smile that hid beneath those long fingers. Asshole-Axel-blinked before scowling heavily. "I preferred you comatose, you little shit. Your attitude problem makes you look like a brat with no manners."

"I don't have an attitude problem. You have a problem with my attitude. And that's not my problem."

Demyx, probably sensing the tension in the air, clapped his hands loudly and leaned forward to grab at Roxas' hand and stood up. "Well then! Now that our little introductions are done, let's get some food!" He swiped the standing flashlight from the dresser. "Come on, you. Let's go. I'm pretty sure you had enough time to recover. I'm done sitting in this creepy ass room!"

Axel didn't respond. Only fixed those deep green eyes on Roxas before slowly standing up... Jesus fucking christ this guy was so goddamn tall. Holy fuck. He looked like a walking twig bug but the muscle in his body was clearly visible beneath the creamy skin. Wait, what? He shook his head. The redhead regarded him with curiousity, looking him up and down before moving to snatch the flashlight out of his friend's hands and stalking off down the hall, leaving the two of them left in the darkness of the guest room.

"He can be a bit rough, at first." the male whispered to him. "Don't count him as a bad guy, he can just be a bit abrasive sometimes. He'll come around, I promise."

"Oi! Get a move on or I'm leaving you to grope walls until the lights come back on!"

0o0o0o0o

"This is weird." Axel mumbled for the tenth time since they arrived in the kitchen. "This just ain't natural."

They couldn't open the fridge since they didn't want the food to spoil faster without the cold air, and everything else required some form of electricity to cook food. Roxas wasn't in the mood for junk food even though they had a substantial amount of it in this place for some odd reason, and the only thing they had were a few kitchen tools and a bag of marshmallows that immediately caught Roxas' attention. A few kabob skewers later and here they were; a small fire lit on the old gas stove his father had kept, roasting marshmallows on the small open flame. While the redhead seemed distressed and disgruntled, the guy named Demyx seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. Roxas himself was content, a small smile alight on his face as he chewed the fluffy, gooey goodness. It wasn't oreos and orange juice, but it was the next best thing in his opinion.

"This was a great idea, Roxas! This is so fun!" Demyx beamed, pinching his marmallow to test it before putting it back over the flame. "I'll bet we could take something out of the freezer and do this too!"

"No, we aren't letting out any of the cold air." Axel said sternly.

"Oh, right, I forgot. Oh well. Marshmallows are good too." He shrugged. "Just until the power comes back. Then, we can make some real food!"

They each sat on a tall wooden stool, ones that were normally used for an island bar in the kitchen, leaning near the small flame. There was no real conversation, but for some reason it still felt comfortable. Roxas had forgotten what it was like to have a room feel so full with the presence of another, their voice filling the air in a way that his alone could not. It was something so utterly comforting despite the fact that these two were complete strangers who had somehow taken him to this place. He couldn't say he minded much at all, not that he could. What was strange was the utter lack of discomfort he felt as the two friends spoke boisterously to eachother while he watched them, chewing a marshmallow thoughtfully. Stranger still was the growing sense of familiarity that began to grow in his chest the longer he stared at their faces. There was something there that just made him think that maybe...

"-and I'm tellin' you that that isn't true! Right, Roxas?"

He dropped the skewer he was holding, frozen. Those emerald optics bore into him, with a burning familiarity that was almost crippling. Catlike and narrow, utterly hypnotizing. What was it? This sensation? Axel's face went from mildly annoyed to concerned almost instantly.

"Oi. Roxas. You good?"

No, it was just his imagination. It had to be. There was just no way he knew this guy or his doofy little sidekick. Besides, he would surely have remembered a pair of eyes like that if he did. Especially with hair like that. I mean seriously, was that even natural or was the guy just a hair color junkie? He probably got his affects from his fashion friend over there. Roxas shook his head and leaned to pick the skewer back up.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just thought I saw a bug on your shoulder." he shrugged as Axel swatted at himself quickly, trying to hid a grin. "Must have been my imagination." he said innocently. That earned him a scowl and a few muttered profanities along with a confused look from Demyx.

He wouldn't think about it now. It wasn't worth the headache and it had been a long, long day for him. His head still hurt like a bitch and his arms ached painfully. It was one day he was sure he would always remember, but for now, it was one he just wanted to forget. So he drowned it all out with the warm sweetness of the toasted marshmallows and the idle banter that broke out between the three of them every now and then. For now, even if it was only temporary, he just wanted to ignore the details that lead up to this moment and just enjoy it for what it was worth. Because he knew once the 'good doctor' came, he would have more than enough reality slapped onto his plate. The questions could wait. Roxas was content to just forget for the time being.

I'm kind of surprised I was able to get this out when I did, to be honest. Life sure can be unpredictable... But having people to talk to and help support you does wonders, I tell you.

By the way, the marshmallow thing was something my mother would do with me when I was a child. It's a fond memory of mine!

How have you all been this week? Have you been enjoying the season so far?