In this chapter: Luxord and Xigbar have The Talk with Axel, and Roxas takes one more step towards discovery.
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Ballad
Chapter Ten
"I Can See Your Future"
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A loud pounding at the door made Roxas drift out of his sleep. It was Axel's voice that really woke him up. "IT'S. OPEN." Axel sounded annoyed, as if it wasn't his first time trying to relay the message. Roxas hated being a heavy sleeper. He heard the front door open and decided that he needed to start getting up, but part of him wanted to stay curled up in his nest on the couch forever.
"Yo! What's going on here?" That definitely sounded like Xigbar. Roxas peeked an eye open towards the windows and saw the sunlight glaring in through the blinds. He glanced at the time on Axel's DVR above the television. If it was correct, it was one in the afternoon. Not terrible, but Namine would probably kill him anyway.
"One second, I have to put this on the pan," Axel answered. Almost immediately after he said that, the sleepy blonde heard a sizzling pan go overboard and the most delicious smell in the world escape to the den. Bacon.
Roxas remained on the couch, partly wondering how long he could remain hidden without anyone else knowing he was there. He heard Xigbar walking around the kitchen with a low whistle. "Whoa, what's all this, huh? I didn't even know you owned fresh eggs," he laughed. "And French toast?" Roxas' mouth was watering. He hadn't eaten since lunchtime yesterday.
"A power breakfast?" another voice asked. It took Roxas a moment to pin it down, but he was convinced it was Luxord. "What's the occasion, Axel?" He could almost feel the smile in the inflection of his tone. Roxas peeked his head around the cushions and looked in the kitchen. Axel, Xigbar, and Luxord stood facing the front of the kitchen. The redhead tried to smack Xigbar's hand away from eating any toast. Roxas could feel his stomach quake by just smelling the delicious breakfast.
He rolled off of the couch silently and wobbled over to the kitchen. Leaning against the entryway, he sighed and yawned loud enough so they would know he was there. "G'morning," he muttered, scratching his back. "Or, well, good afternoon, I guess…" The three rockers all turned and stared. Axel seemed indifferent that Roxas was awake, at least in comparison to the horror-stricken faces of the bassist and lead guitarist.
Xigbar, who had managed to steal a slice of toast, spit what he hadn't swallowed yet onto the floor and fell into a fit of uncontrollable coughing. "Dude!" he wheezed between hacks. "What is he-" Xigbar couldn't finish and started barreling through Axel's cabinets trying to find a clean cup for water.
Luxord reacted calmly, but seemed just as upset. Roxas couldn't understand why. "Axel, please tell us you didn't."
'Didn't what?' Roxas wondered, looking to Axel's face for guidance. However, the front man was currently keeping his eyes tattooed to the bacon, and Roxas had a hard time distinguishing his features from the red bangs that were left dangling in his face. Axel gave him a quick glance before turning back towards the stove, and Roxas was able to understand by his look of embarrassment alone.
Roxas had been standing in the kitchen, having just woken up later in the afternoon after a hard night of partying. He was wearing nothing but his boxers and one of Axel's old shirts. Instantly, Roxas felt a need to explain the situation.
"Oh! Axel was walking me home after the show last night," Roxas started. "There's a bunch of freaks on the street on Halloween, y'know?"
Axel turned to Luxord, hoping to contribute. "A-and when we got to his apartment, it was locked."
"Yeah, and I lost my keys. I didn't want to make her even more angry by waking her up…"
"So he agreed to come and spend the night here!"
"Nothing happened," Roxas tacked on quickly at the very end. In a way, he felt guilty. Saying nothing happened after a long night of doing nothing seemed in insinuate that he really wished that something had happened. Their eyes met again before Axel broke the eye lock, turning to the stove to move the sizzling bacon around on the skillet. Roxas sighed and looked to Luxord, who seemed comforted knowing the full story and had decided to turn his attention to Xigbar's retching.
"You know you never told me why for the surprise visit," Axel commented towards his bandmates, sounding more than slightly annoyed. "I didn't make enough food for everyone." He scooped the bacon off the skillet and placed them on a paper towel to soak up grease. In the meantime he took a plate and started layer on toast and eggs. "Rox, d'ya mind pulp in your orange juice?"
Roxas outwardly winced, but Axel had his back turned so he didn't notice. "Nah… no problem." Roxas hated orange juice, but for the sake of thanking the redhead for breakfast he decided to grin and bear it.
"We just wanted to check up on the morning after," Luxord supplied, his partner in crime still not fit enough to speak. Xigbar's eyes were watering and bright red. At first Roxas had thought that the guitarist was just overreacting and joking, but now he supposed he wasn't. "We weren't expecting you to have guests."
"Well, you should've called first. Y'all woke Rox up," Axel mumbled, placing a plate on the counter. Roxas walked to the other side and took a barstool to sit on.
"It's really not a big deal. I should really be heading home anyway," Roxas said between chews of his toast. It was delicious.
Xigbar muttered, "And since when did we need an invitation to come over?" However Axel was too busy cleaning the grease off of the skillet to notice. Taking a few more vicious gulps of water, he determined his voice decent enough to speak again. "So what gives, Axel? I thought you wanted to hang out today."
"I was gonna," the front man replied, giving Roxas a cautionary glance from the corner of his eye. "Stuff came up, right? I'm really tired from last night anyway, and I promised Pete I'd take his shift later since he covered me for yesterday." Instead of sitting down to eat his breakfast, he stood and picked off of the plates of food near his friends. Roxas felt a little lonely eating by himself on the other side of the counter while the boys discussed plans that didn't involve him. It made him feel like he should be leaving quickly, so he tried to hastily finish his food Axel took so long to prepare.
"Well, great. We wasted a trip, then," Xigbar sighed.
"Don't look at it that way," Axel drawled, trying to sound cheekily optimistic. "At least you get to see me." Cue big grin. Roxas rolled his eyes and smirked. "Besides, Rox and I need rides. I need to get to the lot and I'm sure he needs a ride home."
"No way! We're not giving that little squirt a ride, he can walk!"
"Xigbar," Luxord chastised. He turned to the blonde, who had so far been watching the drama from outside the kitchen. "Don't listen to him," Luxord said kindly. "It's my car. I'll take you home."
"What?"
Roxas grinned and nodded. "Thanks, dude." He decided to just ignore Xigbar's behavior like everyone else was. It seemed like he was just a righteous asshole to everyone, so of course the 'new guy' would be no exception. Roxas was just thankful he wouldn't have to walk anymore. His feet still hurt from all the long-standing toe-crushing excitement from yesterday.
Axel and Roxas finished their breakfast, and the redhead took the plates to clean. Roxas walked back into the den to try and find the pants that came with the costume. His shirt and jacket were lying next to his steel-toed boots, but the black slacks were nowhere to be found. On a quick trip to his bedroom to change clothes, Axel stopped and noticed Roxas curiously digging through the folds of the couch.
"Looking for something, Rox?" Axel asked.
"I can't find my pants." There was something about saying it out loud that made Roxas blush. The longer he paraded around Axel's apartment in his underwear the more he felt like running away. Axel gave a quick glance around the den and shrugged. "Try the bathroom? But hey, I'll give you some pants to borrow. Lux and Xig are probably going to drop the costumes off today. They wouldn't mind taking yours," he commented, turning towards his friends in the kitchen. "Right, guys?" Luxord nodded.
Before Roxas could insist that he could return the costume himself and he'd be much better off in his tuxedo slacks, Axel had already disappeared into his bedroom. He returned a moment later with a pair of old blue jeans. Roxas took them with a quick and embarrassed "thank you" and slipped them on. The jeans were slightly loose and hung haphazardly around his waist. For the most part they stayed put without a threat of creeping below his hips, but the main problem was how long they were. Roxas sat on the chair and rolled the jeans up, putting his boots on shortly thereafter. He couldn't help but notice how quickly a transformation was taking place. He was already wearing a band tee and tattered blue jeans with old steel-toed boots. It felt so wonderfully pedestrian. He meandered over to the coffee table and picked up his cell phone for the first time since waking up.
Thirteen missed calls.
Roxas sighed and pocketed the cell phone, knowing that no good would come from calling back Namine at this point since he would be home in mere minutes. Axel reappeared from his bedroom in a fresh black tee shirt and skinny blue jeans. The afternoon sun warmed up the town since last night so there was no need for jackets. "Thanks," Roxas muttered, pulling slightly at the hem of his shirt of emphasis. "I'll wash these and return them to you soon."
"Think nothing of it!" Axel said happily, clapping Roxas on the back. He turned to Luxord and Xigbar who were eating off the scraps leftover from their breakfast. "Ready to hit the road?"
Roxas sat behind Luxord who was driving an old, dented white Thunderbird. The car still had its original stereo, which included a tape deck, a radio, and nothing else. There was something comedic about Luxord and Xigbar fighting over which cassette tape to listen to. The sound quality was terrible, and the gaps between songs were sometimes ridiculous. If he listened close enough, he could make out one of them talking in the background of the tape while they were assembling these mixes. Most of the music was stuff he had never heard before.
"I like this," Roxas commented, garnering the attention of the two men up front. "Who are they?"
"Los Campesinos," Luxord answered, with a small smile gracing his lips. "You have good taste in music, Roxas. Too bad we can't say the same about your taste in dancing." Roxas had been tossed around like a rag doll last night. He could still feel the bruise on his back and he was sure his eye was a mess.
"Namine's talked about taking lessons," Roxas sighed. "For the wedding. She likes to go out dancing with her friends, but I don't really see the point if you can't drink. I'll be turning twenty-one soon, though."
"Oh, really?" Luxord asked, making eye contact with him through the rearview mirror. "When's your birthday?"
"November fourteenth."
The bassist started strumming his fingers on the steering wheel while he was thinking. "The fourteenth… We have a show that night, don't we?" he asked towards Xigbar. The snarky black haired man shrugged and made a noncommittal grunt. "Yeah, we have a show," Luxord confirmed. "Are you going to come see us?"
Roxas shrugged. Between the open hostility Marluxia and Xigbar sometimes showed, it was nice for another member of the band to be a little civil. "Only if you'll have me."
"Geez, don't be that way Roxas. I enjoy your company." Luxord really seemed like a nice guy. Roxas concluded that even though he seemed rather pensive onstage and when he kept quiet, he was actually very friendly, if not perhaps slightly introverted at the same time.
For the entire ride thus far, Axel had been sitting in the back seat next to Roxas, keeping very silent. His head was leaning against the window and he looked like he was about to fall asleep. Perhaps he didn't get enough sleep earlier.
"Are you okay?" Roxas asked in a hushed whispered. He didn't want to worry Luxord or Xigbar if their lead singer did get ill. The redhead glanced towards Roxas, smirking and reaching over to muss his hair. Since the car was so small Roxas couldn't escape when his giant hand came over his head and ran through his blonde hair.
"I told yah you'd make me sick," he said, but too quietly for the others to hear over the radio. When it became apparent that Axel wasn't going to remove his hand anytime soon, Roxas reached up to try and tug it away. It was a half-hearted attempt, and the blonde realized that once his palms touched the back of Axel's hand and his fingers slowly rubbed up against the rough calluses that came from years of guitar playing, that he didn't really want to let go. Roxas' eyes widened slightly when Axel's hand slowly traipsed away from Roxas' hair and started skimming the pale skin of his cheek. His rough thumb gently grazed over the growing bruise from his black eye.
Roxas was terrified at what the front man must be feeling. The blonde's cheeks flared and there was no way that Axel's palm wasn't suffering from burns by now. What was he thinking? However the more Roxas thought about it, he had to reverse the question. What was he thinking?
"Roxas… I-"
"-Need to know where you live."
Instantly Axel's hand zipped back to his side of the car and the redhead continued with a disconcerted stare out the window. While a steady blush was still keeping his face warm, Roxas couldn't help but notice that without the hand there it seemed cold. He turned to Luxord and noticed his steady gaze from the rearview mirror. Had he seen everything? "Oh! Uh, turn left here," Roxas stated, motioning towards the intersection the car was idling in.
The car slowed in front of his apartment complex. Xigbar pressed up against the window and whistled. "Wow, nice digs. What's the rent on a place like this?"
"About twenty-four hundred," Roxas sighed, willing to make a jump while the car was still moving just to avoid Luxord. Xigbar balked at the price, complaining that it wasn't worth it. It probably wasn't, but it was close to campus and Roxas and Namine had their parents to help them out.
The car finally slowed to a stop long enough for Roxas to duck out. He turned before shutting the door and turned to Luxord. "Thanks for the ride," he said with a genuine smile. He turned to Axel, where his grin faltered. "And thank you for… everything." It came out all wrong, and he was sure his voice cracked like a little teenager. Before his face could possibly look any more humiliated, he quickly slammed the door and walked away praying that Luxord hadn't seen anything, and that maybe the mirror was at an angle where it didn't seem like Axel's hand was totally rubbing against his cheek.
But judging from the sounds of Luxord and Xigbar screaming at Axel as they drove away, it wasn't the case. Roxas clenched his eyes shut and placed his hand softly over the same cheek Axel had, rubbing it in a zen motion before having to meet with Namine. He gave one last glance at the white Thunderbird as it turned the corner and out of sight, wishing Axel the best.
"WHAT. WAS. THAT." Luxord was shouting, and it definitely wasn't posed as a question. Axel flinched from the backseat and continued to focus his gaze out the window.
"That was none of your damn business," he replied bluntly, hoping and praying that the issue would be dropped.
"What the fuck are you thinking, dude? You can't do that shit! He's getting married!" Xigbar added, with an emphasis on marriage.
"So? It's not like it's ever stopped any of us before," Axel stated. It wasn't argumentative, but rather blasé acknowledgement.
"Dude, fuck that! I thought you didn't even go for charity cases," Xigbar growled. Luxord took his eyes off the road to glance back at his lovesick guitarist.
"We can't do this, Axel," he sighed. "We were supportive before, but knowing the full consequence I can't condone any of this. I can't tell you to just stop, but…" Luxord trailed off and nervously tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.
Xigbar picked up the conversation for him. "Oh HELL naw! I'll tell him for you- STOP. He's getting married!" Xigbar repeated. "He's straight! He's a fucking whiney prick!"
"Hey," Axel raised his voice in a warning. "Quit being such a fucking dick, Xig. It was nothing. Okay? Just drop it."
"Nooo no, no," Luxord drawled, waving a finger in the air. "Not this time. Not after what happened last time. I am not picking everything up again for this stupid band. I'm going to move back to Vegas if you keep this shit up. And I'm serious this time." Of course he was. Luxord always made these threats, but 13 Hearts was his only decent support in this world and Axel knew that he would never just leave.
"You must think you're pretty fucking special thinking you could get away with that in the backseat," Xigbar scoffed. "So tell me, honestly, how far did y'all get last night? Is he a screamer? I bet he's a screamer."
Axel lunged at Xigbar in the seat in front of him and wrapped his arm around his neck. He didn't pull back enough to choke him, but just the right amount for Xigbar to know his place. "You'd better shut up right now, asshole!"
"WHOA! Axel!" Luxord shouted, thankful that they were approaching a stop sign. He screeched to a halt and started smacking Axel's arm off of Xigbar's neck. Axel finally let go, but Xigbar reached immediately for his seat belt and recliner lever, unbuckling himself and forcing the seat back so Axel was trapped.
"You little sunova-" He reached out and gripped Axel's shoulder harshly, wanting so much to just punch the pretty boy in the mouth. However, in a rare moment of clarity, he calmed down. The guitarist knew from personal experience that punching anybody wouldn't solve anything, so he loosened his grip around Axel's collar. "You do realize what you're getting yourself into, right?" he asked, looking into Axel's eyes and forcing him to return the favor.
Without wavering, Axel replied. "Yes."
"And you do realize who he'll choose in the end, right?" he pushed, making sure his acid umber eyes never strayed from bitter green.
Axel broke the heavy contact by glancing down. "…Yes."
Xigbar leaned back in his seat and sighed, combing his hands through his long black hair. "And you realize what you're, like, doing to us, right? This is like watching a train charging down a dead end."
Axel returned his eyes to Xigbar's. "I know. I'm really sorry, but…"
"We know," Luxord sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We can't choose these things, but we wish you'd be a little more…"
"Smart," Xigbar completed.
"Yes, smart," Luxord agreed with a nod. "And just so we're all clear on this, I'm going to tell Marluxia what's going on."
"Hey," Axel stated with a hint of nervous tension. "He doesn't need to know, okay? He's already sketchy around Roxas enough as it is. I don't want to make things worse."
"It's a little late to be making things worse," Xigbar deadpanned.
"And Marluxia has every right to know what's going on. This is a very big deal, Axel. I'm going to give you a list of basic rules to follow, even though you probably won't listen to me anyway." Axel rolled his eyes once Xigbar finally pulled up his seat. Once he was sitting back down and buckled, Luxord continued to drive. "Number one, don't invite him to your house anymore. Number two, don't invite him to our shows anymore."
"But he's-"
"He can come of his own volition if he chooses, but he needs to know where he stands in this arrangement. In the big picture, he is the commissioner and we are the laborers. It's good to make nice with the people hiring us, but this just ridiculous."
"But he's supposed to be our roadie while Seifer's away," Axel explained, but this just made Luxord more livid.
"Like in last night's show where you passed down the specific rule to 'have fun?' I should've fekking known that this was happening! He's not doing anything that Squall couldn't handle on his own, and you know Seifer would come up to Bastion to help us with a show if we really needed him." Luxord sighed and held up a third finger. "Number three, don't even speak to him anymore."
When Axel seemed like he was about to argue, Luxord cut him off. "This is serious. If you know the consequences and if you really cared about your life right now you'd stop this schoolboy foolishness right now and turn your dedication back to where it belongs. We can still play Roxas' wedding," Luxord stated with a sour emphasis on the word, "but that doesn't require you having to see him everyday. This wedding is just as much of a professional performance like any of our other shows, and I expect you to be in top condition when the bride and groom share their first dance. Got it?"
Axel didn't answer.
oooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOooo
Roxas stood in front of his apartment door, hand poised steady over the spotless, white slab of wood. He couldn't believe he was afraid of knocking on his own door. His keys were still, he prayed, tucked safely into a lost and found bin at the Organization, and he was sure that the door was locked.
Sucking in a breath and making one last ditch grab at his dignity, Roxas knocked. Almost sooner than he would have liked, the door flew open and caused a sucking wind to threaten to draw him in. Namine stood in front of him, eyes wide and red. "Roxas!" she cried, about to lunge forth to hug him. Roxas opened his arms to her, but as she was about to fall into his arms and get lost into his eyes, she held up her hands and stopped herself from getting too close.
"What happened to your eye?" she asked, the worried and sleepless tone in her voice more than evident. Her bloodshot eyes traveled down to the shirt that her hands currently rested on. She withdrew as if it were contaminated. "And where did you get that shirt, and… those pants?" She eyed the holes in the thighs warily. "And those… shoes?"
Regardless of this greeting, Roxas wrapped his arms around Namine and forced her into a tight embrace. It felt comforting to hold her again. This wasn't nearly as confusing as the last twelve hours of his life had been. "Hi Namine. I lost my keys."
Without any further questions, Namine quickly ushered her fiancé inside and closed the door. She placed him on their white couch, but not before laying a blanket down over where he was to sit. Quickly and quietly she rushed into the kitchen and put a kettle on for tea. Namine nervously returned to the living room and sat on the opposite end of the couch. "Roxas…" she said sternly, "where were you last night?"
"I told you," he explained. "I had to help Axel out with the show. We just got out really late, we were tired, and Axel lived nearby and offered me to crash at his place for the night when we realized I lost my keys somewhere." He decided to leave out the little indiscretion that he had pondered outside his apartment at two-thirty in the morning debating whether or not he should knock.
"Is that his real name?" she asked quickly, catching Roxas off guard.
"I- uh… I don't know. I never bothered asking," he replied with a wavering smile. He always assumed without anyone needing to tell him that 'Axel Rose' wasn't his real name. She gave him a harshly accusing stare, which only fueled him to be more skittish. "Why? Did you run a background check or something?"
"Not exactly," she replied. Her answer was just a little too quick for his liking.
"Namine, what's going on?"
Her eyes widened as the kettle whistled loudly in the background. "Do you really need to ask?" she replied crossly, getting up to take the pot off the stove. While she puttered around the kitchen finding a tray and cups, she continued speaking loudly so Roxas would hear. "First you just leave before I even get back." Roxas was a little put off by this, but she was speaking to quickly to intervene. He had to leave for the show he was obligated to be at, he didn't have time to wait up for her. "You use my makeup!" He winced at this. He was in such a hurry, he wasn't sure if he put her eyeliner and shadow away. He cursed inwardly. "You stay out all night and don't bother calling me once. You don't come back until…" There was a slight pause while Roxas assumed she was checking the time on the microwave. "Two in afternoon! And on top of that you've been beaten up!"
She returned with a tray of clattering cups, each with its own tea strainer resting inside. "Did Axel do this to you?" she asked, honestly concerned.
"Do what?"
"That!" she said, pointing to his eye. "Did he beat you?"
Roxas paled at the idea. "No!" Axel had been nothing but kind to him, but Namine obviously had a different first impression. "What on earth gave you that idea?"
"Well, it's just…" She paused, taking a moment to think, and folded her hands politely in her lap. Roxas didn't like where this was going at all. "I'm not saying Axel's a bad person," she said finally, although through the tone in her voice Roxas found it obvious she was being extremely generous in this assessment. "However, I think the people he hangs out with might be a bad influence on him, and in return he may be becoming a bad influence on you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Roxas asked, taking the offensive.
"It's just this, Roxas," Namine cried, holding her hand out as if to display Roxas' body. "You're gone all the time on weekends suddenly. Between our school schedules we hardly get any time to see each other anymore. I thought I would have been able to handle the planning of the wedding better with you keeping busy, but I don't think I can sit idly by and watch this happen." It seemed like she was about to cry, and Roxas broke. He couldn't stand seeing her this way. Her cheeks started to redden and her lips began to pull back and tighten around her teeth. Her eyes squinted as she looked away when the first tear fell. "You start coming home late, then you start coming home even later with black eyes and bruises, dressed like one of them. You won't ever return my calls…" She hiccupped and started all-out sobbing. "I don't even know who you are anymore!"
"Namine…" Roxas stated, trying to gather his words. It was so hard to talk with her curled up like this. Her head was hanging down so he couldn't see her face, and her arms were wrapped around the opposite elbows as she appeared in a sort of fetal position. "I haven't changed. I'm still the same Roxas…" He wished he could get to her, but the visual aspect was too overwhelming. He sighed as he pulled off Axel's Iron Maiden tee shirt. Quickly, he disposed of the boots as well and knelt down in front of her. Softly placing his fingers under her chin, he brought her face up so he could get a good look at her. "Namine, it's just me. There's nothing to be afraid of." He gave her a dazzling smile. "How long have you been worrying about this?"
Apparently, a very long time. Namine fell from her curled position on the chair and into Roxas' arms, allowing herself to be held. After minutes, which seemed like centuries, of the blonde woman crying in his arms, she finally took initiative and returned the embrace. As soon as her hands touched Roxas' back, just under his shoulder blades, he released a small hiss that caused her eyes to flash open. "Are you okay?" she asked, her voice still shaking from crying, although she seemed to be getting over it. Roxas didn't want to worry her more about his petty injuries and continued to smile.
"Everything's fine," he cooed, bringing her back. She rested her head on his shoulder and noticed the scathing purple bruise coming from Roxas' back.
"Oh, my gosh!" she cried, covering her mouth. "I didn't realize you were this hurt! Oh, baby, where did this come from?" Roxas was relieved that she seemed to skip her angry mode and went straight on into mother hen. Honestly, the blonde wasn't sure where this particular battle scar came from. He figured it was sometime after he blacked out. It was his best guess that after he collapsed to the floor someone had stepped on him before he was pulled to safety. Inciting a riot was harder than it looked.
"You should go lay down and rest," Namine insisted, standing up off the floor and taking Roxas' hand with her. He stood up and used his free arm to nervously scratch the back of his head.
"That's not necessary," he claimed. "I mean, I just woke up not too long ago, and I rushed straight back here to be with you."
Namine appeared to take the confession to heart and she smiled softly. "I'm glad you were able to get a good rest at Axel's," she replied, trying to make it clear that she was happy that her fiancé was in good health after a night of excitement, but if anything a bit bitter about his choice of going to the band member's house instead of returning home. "But unlike you, I didn't get any sleep last night. Will you at least lay with me?"
How could he say no? He followed her into the bedroom, understanding that for how much Namine wanted to make Roxas comfortable with his scrapes in bruises, her sleep was more important at the time. After she was tucked into her side, he kissed her on the forehead and pulled away.
"Where are you going?" she said softly with a hint of worry.
"The shower. I feel gross," he answered, still hammering an innocent smile into the conversation. Namine reached out and rubbed her hand on Roxas' cheek, slowly letting the soft pad of her thumb stroke the outer edges of the black eye. Without either of them saying another word, Roxas withdrew and left the bathroom door open a crack before turning the water on.
A shower felt heavenly, Roxas agreed. All of last night's sweat and dirt was washed away and all the crusty dried gel was removed from his hair. It was a complete cleansing, involving more soap, more body wash, and more pro-strength hair conditioner than he had ever used before. Once he stepped out of the shower, he moved to the counter and wiped his hand across the foggy mirror to get a better look at his face.
This was his first time since last night seeing his reflection. His hair, which he usually preferred to keep relatively short, was pulled down in front of his face from the water. He pulled all of the bangs to one side so that it covered half of his face, wondering if he looked like some of those kids he usually ran into at the club. The style seemed to work, especially with someone with such a straight and serious face as Roxas, but he knew that Namine liked his hair kept short and manageable, so he made a mental note to call a salon later. He leaned forward and inspected his eye, glad to see that nothing damaging seemed to have happened to his actual eyeball, and the skin around it had lightened up a few shades and stopped swelling. The bruise on his back still stung like a bitch, but Roxas saw this as his metaphorical cross to bear.
After blowing his mop of blonde hair dry, he wrapped a towel around his waist and ventured back out into the bedroom. With the lights out the blinds to the windows closed, it seemed darker and later in the afternoon that it really was. Namine was lying in the bed, still in almost the same position he had left her. Figuring she was asleep, he crept to the other side of the room where his clothes were and slipped on a pair of clean boxers. He half expected Namine to wake up and tell him to hang his towel up properly as he flung it over his closet door.
Lying in a bed and being clean for the first time in what felt like ages made Roxas feel more tired than he thought he should. He rolled closer to Namine and was surprised when she turned around and snuggled closer to him. "Roxas," she muttered, more than half asleep. "What's Axel like?"
The question was proving to be difficult to answer as Roxas paused to think about it for a moment. "He's… a little wild, but easy to keep up with. A lot smarter than he looks and quick on his feet. He's just a friendly, popular guy."
"What about Riku?" she mumbled. Roxas froze, and prayed that she didn't feel his body stiffing up.
"Um," he drawled out. "I'm not so sure yet." Namine had a very valuable resource to Roxas in her partnership with Tifa. Axel could have explained some things about Riku to his cousin, who could have then dropped some hints to Namine.
"Kairi told me some things… He's a manipulative person, and I don't really want you hanging around friends of his, y'know?" Roxas understood that 'friends of Riku' meant Axel, but did he really want to cut off all relations just because she said so? Namine rested for a moment, but then he noticed her eyes pop open and she glanced up at him. "Don't you know about him?"
He didn't have to answer. The blank look in his eyes did all the talking. Her pretty blueberry eyes widened and she covered her mouth. "I figured it was some sort of family secret, but… Oh, Roxas, forget I said anything!"
The man didn't know how to respond. "Forget…?" His inner voice was telling him to stay calm and not get angry. Namine knew something and was holding out. The important thing was that she knew, and she wasn't stupid enough to keep a secret this huge forever. "It's okay, Namine," he insisted, kissing her softly on the forehead. "Go to sleep." His fiancée glanced up at him, thankful for him seemingly lifting this huge stone of guilt from her shoulders. In minutes she was out cold.
After a half hour of lying next to her, her breathing started to slow down and regulate and her body lost all tension. He slowly backed away from her and crawled off the bed. Slipping into the kitchen, Roxas leaned against the counter and rubbed his head. This was crazy, and the worst part was that he didn't know whom he could talk to about this. He was still wary about going to his brother after how awkward he got when he talked about Demyx. Kairi, although she was the source of this information, couldn't be trusted because she would relay Namine and Sora anything that he would ask. Briefly, he considered calling his parents and seeing just how deep this 'family secret' burrowed, but quickly decided against it.
He opened the refrigerator, really craving a simple bowl of cereal at the moment, only to discover there was no milk. Sighing, he crept back into the bedroom and put on a pair of khaki slacks and a deep green collared shirt. While Namine was sleeping, he hid Axel's clothes and the boots in the back of his closet behind that old skull study print that Namine wouldn't let him hang up.
This time, he wrote a note to Namine stating the specific reason why he wasn't there when she woke up. So she wouldn't panic as soon as she realized Roxas wasn't in bed with her, he placed the note on his pillow so she'd hopefully see it first thing if she happened to wake up while he was out. He slipped on his jacket from the coat closet and borrowed Namine's keys to lock himself out.
The closest convenience store was four blocks down the street, closer to campus. Roxas stuck his hands in his pockets and started the journey. The closer he got to campus, the more worried he was about how deserted the streets were. Granted, it was a Sunday afternoon and it was the day after Halloween (and there were, most likely, midterms the following Monday).
He waltzed into the nearest store and grabbed a basket by the front entrance. It had been too long since the last time he and Namine went food shopping, so he decided to pick up all the items they needed until they found the time to go to a big chain grocery store. After standing in front of the meager bread selection, he finally found a loaf with a decent expiration date and moved on. They were having a half-off sale on the shampoo Namine used. They had bulk family sized boxes of the biscuits she ate all the time with her tea. He slowly made his way to the refrigerated section and took some frozen TV dinners on his trip to the milk. After obtaining the jewel of this adventure, he turned to head back to the checkout lines, but stopped short at the candy section. Namine did love her Baby Ruth's. Maybe one would count as a peace offering after what happened last night. Better yet, maybe two. As he turned to head to the front of the store, he noticed a familiar figure standing with her back towards him, looking at the candy on the other side of the aisle. Even though he couldn't see her face, she was wearing an unmistakable purple and black striped hoodie and skinny black jeans.
"…Fuu?"
The girl gave a visible tremor in surprise as she turned around quickly. Her single visible eye looked furious before she realized it was Roxas and calmed down. The man wondered if she always treated people who call out her name that way. "What are you doing here? Do you live nearby?"
"Dorm," she said nervously, taking a bag of chocolate covered pretzels from the rack. Roxas, not wanting to snoop, gave just a quick glance at her basket. Along with the sweet pretzels, there were chocolate granola bars, Jolly Ranchers, and a blue book.
"I guess you're studying?" he asked with a small smile.
"History," she sighed, brushing past Roxas to head to the office supplies aisle. Roxas hated the class and realized he probably had some studying to do himself. He followed her as she grabbed a package of mechanical pencils and a tub of eraser toppers. "Boring."
"I'll bet. I'm taking a world history class right now. I already had my midterm, though." He paused while picking up some pens for himself. "So did you have fun last night?"
She looked up at him with her eye and he saw a sliver of a smirk. "Yes." She reached out and poked the black shadow under his black eye. Even though it wasn't nearly as painful as last night, it still stung faintly. "You?"
"Oh, yeah, yeah. I had a blast," Roxas replied very mellow. "I ended up staying with Axel for the night because I lost the keys to my apartment. I didn't get back home until two." He laughed nervously and pretended to read the print on the back of the package of pens, missing Fuu's critical gaze. She studied his face that millisecond as it changed from cherry nostalgia to something a little more melancholy. "Fuu… your brother…" The girl frowned and started heading towards the checkout herself. "I-I'm sorry," he stammered, "but Namine brought him up and she sounded distraught. You've been giving me these zines for a reason. I'm supposed to be finding out something about Riku, right?"
She turned to him as she found out there was a line and sighed. "Not me. Sora."
Roxas let out an annoyed grunt and turned his eyes to the ceiling. "I don't want to talk to him about this. If he wanted to talk about it he would have told me by now. He told Kairi and everything, but I can accept that because she's his wife." He paused and tried to rewind to what he had previously thought. "Wait… So… this is something between Sora and Riku?"
Fuu's expression turned dark and she turned back around to the counter as the next available cashier called her up. Obviously avoiding him as she emptied her basket to the woman in front of her, Roxas glared and waited at his point in line. Fuu was such a tight-lipped young lady that he was sure that he wouldn't get any more information from her. The idea made him infinitely frustrated, but he tried not to show this outwardly. Fuu was an invaluable source, and he was starting to pick up that she knew this. It felt like he was being extorted. After she finished her transaction she turned around towards Roxas, plastic bag held tightly in a fist in her right hand. She dug into the pocket of her hoodie and pulled out a crumbled zine.
Roxas held up his hand and stopped her from coming closer. "You know what? No. I don't need your little newspaper, okay? I was just fine with my life before I started reading into 13 Hearts," he stated angrily. "If Sora has anything he wants to tell me, he'll say it. So you can just keep these to yourself from now on."
He waved a hand dismissively at her, but she grabbed his wrist and forced his fingers to spread with one hand. Roxas was surprised at how overpowering her grip was. Without a grunt or a sign of strain, she overpowered Roxas and shoved the small zine into his hand. She turned quickly and rushed to the automatic doors at the front. "Jerk!" she shouted angrily, loud enough for the whole store to hear. Roxas crumbled the rag up in his hand and shoved it in his jacket pocket. He realized that most of the cashiers and people waiting in line were staring at him like he was some sort of heartless bastard. Glaring at each and every one of them, he walked up to the counter and emptied his basket. His cashier didn't speak to him except for telling him his total, after which he swiped his card and grabbed the receipt before anything else could be silently accused. By the time he got out to the street, Fuu was out of sight.
He considered waiting for the tram, but he remembered the one that drove down his street was on Axel's usual route and decided against the risk. Walking was better for him, anyway. It took more time for him to sort his thoughts out. By the time he got home, he was still incensed. Luckily, Namine was still asleep, and the sight of her resting peacefully in bed had a calming effect on his nerves. It made him try to be extra quiet and a little more patient. He softly placed everything away, pouring himself a bowl of cereal. There was something so satisfying about eating pure sugar on a Sunday afternoon with nothing better to do.
When he was finished he dared to venture back into the bedroom where Namine continued to catch up on all the sleep she missed last night. Television sounded boring, Hayner was probably studying, and if he wanted to hang out with Sora, Roxas would want to talk about Demyx and Destiny Harbor. It was too soon after he had dedicated himself to no more questions, but he was so curious… and so bored.
Even if Axel was supposedly a bad influence, he was a little more fun that watching people sleep. Roxas sighed and looked towards the guitar lying in the corner. Figuring now was as good of a time as any, he unplugged it and brought it into the living room, shutting the bedroom door as silently as possible. He strummed one of the power chords that Axel had taught him, and then plucked particular notes. Jamming was a lot more fun when there was something else playing with him. He tried to remember the song that they had written last night, but came up fruitless.
It started with a b-note, he recalled, as he meandered around the living room strumming the note repeatedly. "Bee, beeee," he sounded out, taking a moment to tune one of the strings. "Bee."
Three hours later, Roxas felt like he was going to die in his own apartment. Death by boredom. After he noticed his fingers were starting to bleed, which was gross, he decided to cure his boredom by getting his reading assignment for literature class out of the way. Now there was nothing left to do, idly flipping through the channels on the television. Namine would castrate him if he left the house, but staying inside and watching her sleep was only so amusing. He couldn't remember in recent memory ever being bored in this apartment, but he also never remembered staying up until four in the morning and ruining any sort of a sleep system he had.
Just being with that psychotic redheaded punk was so beyond the routine that it was almost desirable. There a slightly longer pause as Roxas thought for a moment, finger poised over the button on the remote. Well, fuck.
xxxXXXxxxXXXxxx
Alright! So, we're heading towards some pretty pivotal moments! I'm excited for you guys to read it. The focus on the story is (obviously) on Roxas, so there isn't a lot of story that develops when Roxas isn't around, but Luxord's talk with Axel is one of my favorites. Each character sort of has their little quirks. Marluxia is tight-lipped when you'd think he wouldn't be, Luxord is two-faced and acts nice to people if he feels like he can use them later, and Xigbar is hot-headed and often goes out of his way to make others hurt (which often doubles as a sign that he's really close to someone, in a "it's only okay if I do it" sort of way.)
And in Birth By Sleep news, totally stuck on Terranort. Seriously, fuck that guy. I read a tutorial that said that it's another blocking-heavy battle, which is the woooooorst. I still haven't gone through and 100% all the worlds and gotten all the finishing moves, so I guess I should do that. Does anybody have a good recommendation for a good, easy-to-use manual for melding attacks and how to get certain abilities? I've seen a couple online but they're all really clunky and hard to follow (it probably doesn't help that I'm looking them up from my phone…) Did anybody buy the strat guide? Is it worth it?
So I was supposed to go on a big trip to Italy this year but it was canceled, which sucks, but now I have all this money that I was going to spend there to burn, and I've been burning it on Kingdom Hearts merch out the fucking loop. I bought the 7-disc OST series, a KH:3D Riku playarts toy, just bought the Mark of Mastery edition of 3D too. I'm POOR NOW. UGH. (Originally I'd bought the game used from Game Stop, but it didn't come with the case. I asked my friend if I could borrow her copy so I could scan the cover art and make a printout of it to stick into the case Game Stop gave me. My boss was like "You should check out eBay and see if someone's selling just the case. Stuff like that pops up every once in a while." So I go to eBay and found someone selling a sealed copy of the Mark of Mastery edition for like 80$ less than the cheapest seller on Amazon… so, y'know, treat yo self.)
ALSO! I MADE A TUMBLR! It's a baby tumblr. Not much on it yet (like three posts as of rightnow). Username is skinnedkneedmisfit because I gotta stay on-brand. There's a link in my profile! I like to draw fanart too, so go there if you wanna see some Ballad-theme or general KH fanart! (unfortunately it's a secondary account so I can't fav anything from that account, only reblog. I'm using the tag "#kh ballad" for anything related to the story and… if any of you guys… make a post or something… about Ballad… feelfreetousethattagtoo!).
AND AS ALWAYS - I cherish your reviews so, so much. I'm so glad more people are finding their way back to this story and the more reviews I get of people being so psyched that it's back the worse I feel about deleting it in the first play. Thanks so much for putting up with me, and please continue to show your support by reviewing and follow/faving!