Ballad

by skinnedkneedmisfit

All Namine wanted was a cover band for her wedding. All Roxas wanted was to make his fiancee happy. All Axel wanted was to be heard.

12. All These Things That I've Done

In this chapter: Axel and Roxas have some (nsfw) birthday fun.

xxxXXXxxx

Ballad
Chapter Twelve
"All These Things That I've Done"

xxxXXXxxx

"How much did you see?"

"Enough. Have some tea and sit down."

Roxas looked at the chipped and stained mug that was forced in his hands. He sniffed it warily, and took a preliminary sip, trying to ignore the grinds that were floating in the bottom of the mug. "Hayner, this looks like tea is from this morning. It's gross."

"I said sit down."

Roxas glowered at him and placed the mug on the lame coffee table, even going out of his way to find a magazine to act as a coaster. "Look, who are you, anyway? Do you always just stand there and look out your little peephole?" Roxas asked, pointing an accusatory finger towards the apartment door.

"Don't change the subject, and for the love of God sit down for a second."

The blond glared at his friend one last time before turning to the couch and sitting down crossly. He picked up the mug again and took another sip, if only to remind himself how truly disgusting it really was. There was no hiding the obvious discomfort in his face.

"Okay, and breathe." Roxas looked up at him questioningly, but did as he was told, taking in a deep breath. He realized that his hands had been shaking and his heartbeat must have been completely erratic. Hayner dragged a creaking wooden chair next to the couch to the opposite side of the coffee table so the two men faced each other. The older sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. "Alright, I wasn't intentionally spying on you. I heard someone shout 'Ow' in the hallway so I checked to make sure it wasn't anything serious… And then I found you." Hayner was talking deliberately slow, trying to calm Roxas' frazzled nerves. "Do you want to explain what was going on out there?"

The blond laughed at him, taking another sip and blanching. "Ha, no."

"I know it's embarrassing, Rox, but c'mon. We've known each other since… How long, since daycare? Fifteen years?"

Roxas laughed and rolled his eyes. "Sixteen."

"There you go," Hayner said with a small smile. "Calm down. This isn't about anyone else. This is about us. Just a little chat." He made a point to place his hand over his chest in a trusting gesture. "I don't get why you can't tell me anything. We've always watched out for each other, y'know?"

Roxas stared at the swirling grinds in his tea, stopping to stare at his distorted reflection on the face of the drink.

"How long?" The blond perked up and looked at Hayner again, unsure of what his friend was asking. Hayner blinked slowly, a pale tinge of red rising up to his cheeks, and averted his eyes to the mess of old newspapers on the coffee table. "How long have you and he…" he purposely trailed off and left the rest for Roxas' imagination.

Roxas caught on quickly and shook his head. "No! Never, it was just that once! I don't- I mean, I-"

"Roxas, it's okay," Hayner said. "It's okay." Roxas stopped trying to think of how to explain, his cheeks already flushed from embarrassment and a small sheen of nervous sweat starting to form on his lips. "You're my friend," he had to explain again. "Not Namine, not Sora, or him, or anybody else. I don't care what they think." He paused for a moment, waiting for Roxas to say something. The blond just continued to stare into his mug, speechless. "…I do care what you think."

Roxas glanced up at him. He had spent a majority of the evening with his head in the clouds and throwing caution into the wind. He ignored his family and Namine just to spend an evening with Axel, which he knew wasn't something that fiancés should ever, ever do. As much as he told himself he loved Namine, a voice in the back of his head echoed back he was lying. If he loved Namine, he wouldn't feel so strongly about Axel.

"I mean, I thought you guys hated each other."

Roxas looked back into his tea. "Hate's sort of a strong word…"

"Okay," Hayner sighed. "Well, when we first met him, remember? He made fun of you in front of everyone! And the second time at the pub he drew all over your face! With a sharpie."

"I got to know him a little better. Axel's really not a bad person," Roxas tried to reason. He put the mug back on the coffee table. "I think there's something wrong with me."

"Don't say that," Hayner growled. "There's nothing wrong with, you know, being that way," he mumbled, and Roxas noticed his face tinged pink once again. "But there could have been… you know, a better time for this."

"Like when? On my honeymoon?" Roxas asked. Thinking about getting married reminded him of Namine and how she'd probably never want to look at his face again if she found out he was sucking face with 13 Hearts' front man. "Oh, God, please don't tell Namine."

"I'm not telling anybody anything. That's all up to you. But sooner rather than later. You have to tell her before the wedding."

Roxas placed his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. "Do I have to tell her? Can't this be one of those dark secrets I keep to my grave?"

"If that's what makes you happy. But how can you possibly enjoy making out with her now that you've kissed… him?" The way Hayner said his name was giving Roxas definite grass-is-greener vibes, but he couldn't tell if that meant everything would be better off leaning towards Namine or Axel. Roxas shook his head free of the thought. As if he had a choice.

"Why'd you have to fucking say that?!" Roxas cried. If he hadn't thought about it then, he was certainly going to start thinking about it now. Axel was a damn good kisser.

Hayner threw up his hands defensively. "Hey, don't say I didn't warn you! Everyone said you were too young for this!"

"You gave me your blessing!"

"Because I'm your friend." Hayner was starting to get louder and more defensive as was Roxas. "I told you what I thought about Namine! She's a cute girl and everything, but you've known her since high school! You've been in a monogamous relationship for years and you've never tried anything else?"

Roxas could feel the hairs on the back of his neck bristle. "What wrong with saving myself for the one I marry?"

"Ah, geez, don't bring sex ed into this. Do you seriously think that Namine is the one for you? Just because she put out after prom you think she's the one you're meant to be with forever?"

Hayner had not only stepped over the line, but ran a marathon past it. Roxas stood quickly and glared. "Shut the fuck up, Hayner. I love Namine and when I marry her next month it's going to be the happiest day of our fucking lives. And you will never talk about tonight ever again."

"Dude, c'mon, just chill," Hayner said, trying to back up to when Roxas started a shouting match. "You can stay here for the night. I don't think you want to be going home just yet," he muttered, walking to his bathroom where the linen closet was. He didn't have much in way of linens, but he kept all of the quilts on a shelf for when the winter got truly tough. It seemed like this winter promised to be no exception.

He returned and gave Roxas a quilt to sleep with for the night. The blond man yawned and accepted the blanket gratefully. "I think you slipped something into my drink… A roofie or something."

Hayner gave him a look. "It's sleepy-time tea. I was making it for myself but I figured you could use it more."

Roxas laid the quilt out on the couch, curled up on top of it, and wrapped himself around the other half. Hayner's apartment was too drafty to be sleeping without any shirt on, so Roxas prepared to sleep in his clothes.

"We can talk about this tomorrow if you want," Hayner supported. "But if you'd rather drop it I'm all for that, too. Whatever you want, buddy." He leaned against the doorframe to his bedroom and crossed his arms while Roxas propped his back on the couch's armrest.

"I don't really know what to do… This wasn't really part of the plan." He sighed and brushed his fingers through his hair, trying to undo the short tangles that had formed throughout the night. "I know that I still want to hang out with him more, though."

Hayner raised a brow. "You do?"

"Yeah, I mean…" Roxas turned to the patterns of the quilt and started boring a hole into it. "…I hope you won't take this the wrong way or anything, but even if I made out with you I'd still want to be your friend, y'know? I wouldn't want anything to come between us."

"Roxas, I hate to break it to you, but if your tongue ever came between us I'd have to do some serious rethinking about our friendship," he said with a chuckle, pausing for a moment. "That… won't be a problem, right?"

Roxas chucked one of the couch pillows at Hayner's face with amazing accuracy. "Don't be a douchebag," he warned.

Hayner caught the pillow and tossed it back to Roxas. "Whatever. What about your party, though? You haven't invited him, have you? It would be kinda awkward to have to take back an invitation…"

Roxas tilted his head. "Who said I didn't want him there?"

"Well, of course you can invite anybody you want, Rox. It's your party. But after what just happened… Look. It's normal for guys to wanna fool around with other girls. I told you everybody gets that itch. But it's not exactly normal for a guy to want it scratched by, y'know, another dude." Roxas made a face that he was about to argue once again, and Hayner tossed his hands up in the air. "It's not the end of the world, Rox. I want whatever makes you happy, but you seem just as confused about it as I am. Does this make you, like- what? Bisexual, now?"

He hadn't really thought about it in terms of labels. Roxas was grateful to have such an amazing person to be his best friend. Hayner had his short moments, but in the end everything he said was the truth. He was always looking out for Roxas' best interests, and the blond had no doubts that he wouldn't be alive if it weren't for his friend's guidance through thick and thin.

"I never really thought of it like that… I'll think about it," Roxas assured, although in his own words he didn't feel very reassured himself. Hayner nodded and wished him good night before turning out the lights and returning to his room.

Alone in the dark, Roxas looked up at the ceiling where the street light from outside shined with the pattern of the blinds. The sounds of the random cars driving around late at night were slowly starting to lull him into sleep when he heard his cell phone vibrate against the coffee table. He reached out and flipped it open. His eyes had to squint from the bright light his screen made, but there were instantly forced open when he saw the contents of the picture text he received from Axel.

The redhead was apparently still on the bus on his way home. He had taken a picture of himself with his sweater vest crumpled in his lap and his hand up his chest, causing his shirt to lose a few buttons in the process and show off his tight stomach. The way Axel's eyes just stared into the camera like he was staring at Roxas, and the way his pink tongue had escaped the confines of his mouth to sensually lick his lips made the blond's jaw drop. He tried to control himself, because drooling over a simple picture on a small phone was just pathetic, but he couldn't help it. Axel was smoking hot. Guy or girl, and appearances be damned, Roxas found himself wishing that he had taken the punk up on his offer to spend the night at his apartment. Below the picture was a message. "Thinking of you tonight. Hope you return the favor."

Roxas' brain leapt out for a moment when he felt himself actually getting excited over a stupid picture. A nervous twitch down south. He quickly snapped his phone shut and gave himself a mental cold shower of nuns in bathing suits. It didn't really help his situation at all that most of the nuns had Namine's face. He reprimanded his subconscious and told himself to quit thinking such thoughts. This was not how a good fiancé should behave.

oooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOooo

Namine didn't ask any questions when Roxas came home the next morning. She had gotten the note he had left her explaining that Hayner was having girl issues again and needed a friend to vent with, so she was in reasonably good spirits.

Since the picture that Axel had sent him, Roxas had heard no news from the redhead. He knew Namine would have gotten suspicious if he snuck out Saturday night to see 13 Heart's regular show at the Organization, so he spent the night in with her and watching a movie. Luckily, for the rest of the week he had school to keep him preoccupied. He couldn't let his grades slip simply because he was getting married, but it wasn't exactly helping his concentration now that Axel was in the picture. Every time his cell phone buzzed he thought it would be him, and every time it wasn't he couldn't help but feel a little let down.

Come Friday, Hayner called Roxas after classes were over with all the details for his birthday. "We're going to start off at the karaoke bar. Pence was able to reserve a room," Hayner explained. "After that it's barhopping for some free birthday shots. Sound like a plan?"

"Sounds great," Roxas commented as he walked back to his apartment from campus.

"Is, uh… You know, Axel going to be there?" he asked, lowering his voice at the mention of the punk's name. Roxas rolled his eyes as he passed by the Twilight Town Café. He had been avoiding the building like the plague, especially on Tuesday. Although he craved to be near the redhead, he simply wasn't ready yet. It was too confusing.

"Of course he's gonna be there," Roxas replied, turning inside the parking area to get to the staircase. "He's a friend, right?"

Hayner sighed. "Okay, just checking. I'll see you tonight, then."

Roxas made his way to his apartment was a greeted with a panicking Namine skittering out of the kitchen. "Roxas! You weren't supposed to be home yet!" she cried. The apartment smelled an awful lot like cake. Roxas smirked and checked his watch.

"I'm home the same time I always am." He looked up at her and grinned. "And what about you? Don't you usually stay at the studio on Fridays?"

She smiled and rushed back into the kitchen. "You know I do, but today's a special occasion!" She returned with a platter of freshly iced cake with twenty-one individual candles lit up. "I know it's a day early, but I figured you wouldn't want any tomorrow if you were going to be hungover…" she muttered. "Happy birthday, Roxas."

Roxas smiled, not really sure what to say. He took a step forward and blew out the candles and giving Namine a kiss on her forehead. "Thanks babe."

"Let me get something to cut it with." She placed the cake on the dining room table and quickly returned with a cutter. Before she could even pierce the frosting, a familiar beeping sound came from their bedroom. Namine looked up, seemingly curious, and placed the cutter down to check her cell phone. "One moment, baby."

Roxas swiped a bit of the frosting with his finger and tasted it quickly before she returned, eavesdropping on her call. "Hey, what's wrong? … Seriously? When?" She sounded very flustered. Roxas hoped everything was okay. "But he wasn't supposed to come by until next week. Tonight's Roxas' birthday and I was- … Yes, I know. … Okay, I'll see…"

There was a beep for the finished call and Namine returned back into the room looking very flustered. "I'm so sorry Roxas, that was Larxene. There's this man that owns this garden and studio downtown that likes to showcase student work and I thought he was supposed to be here next weekend but he's coming in today. I have to be there to showcase my work tonight." She quickly turned her attention back to the cake and cut a healthy slice for Roxas, taking a small piece for herself. She rushed over to the couch and picked up her purse and coat. "I'll be home late, but… Well, I guess you'll probably be spending the night at Hayner's anyway."

She wrapped her hands around Roxas' face and pulled him into a short kiss. "I want you to stay very safe tonight. You know how I feel about this…"

Roxas reached up and covered Namine's hands with his, giving her a comforting grin. "It's okay, Namine. It's just a boy's night out. I'll see you tomorrow."

She pouted as he kissed her on the forehead again. "I wish you were spending it with me instead."

"Aw, but I don't wanna disappoint the guys. And besides, you don't even like drinking," he reminded as if she would forget. "Everything will be fine. Hurry back up to the studio before the guy shows up."

She nodded and planted one last kiss on his lips before rushing out the door. Having the apartment suddenly to himself was unexpected, but not unwelcome. He eyed the cake yearningly and decided to divulge in just one more slice. Roxas took his cake and sat himself in front of the television, deciding the easiest way to pass the time would be with a little Mike Nichols action.

Halfway through the opening credits to The Graduate and his second slice of cake, there was a knock at the door. Roxas stood up, distracted by the movie for a moment and walked to the door, opening it without bothering to check through the peephole. "Can I hel-" He quickly choked on his cake and tried his best not to embarrass himself when he saw who was at the door. "Axel!"

"Uh… Hey, Rox." The redhead nervously lowered his hand he had used to knock on the door with. "I was just in the neighborhood," he stated, coughing anxiously. "…Thought I'd stop by since I was around…"

Roxas placed his slice of cake on the small table by the door. "What are you doing here?" he asked seriously. Not that he minded that Axel had stopped by. The redhead was looking handsome as usual, still deciding to tone down his wardrobe as he wore pressed black slacks with a maroon button-up shirt. Axel was definitely a sight for sore eyes. Roxas had actually wanted to see him very badly since last Friday, but his apartment wasn't exactly the safest place to meet.

"I just told you," Axel said, not wanting to repeat himself. "I don't want to sound stalkerish, but when I got off the bus I noticed Namine leaving the apartment with her art bag so I figured she'd be gone for a while." Roxas frowned at this revelation. Axel knew that Namine wasn't home and yet he came over anyway. He should know that Roxas wasn't going to fall for any sort of sensuous plot to gain his affections. The blond may have wanted the redhead's attention but he was really trying rather hard to avoid any sort of feelings that may have arisen from past meetings. The idea that Axel came to his apartment while his fiancée was gone wasn't very settling.

"What do you want?" Roxas asked shortly. Wondering what he was even doing here to begin with, he checked the digital clock on the DVD player and looked even more cross. "Don't you have a show? Please don't tell me you're going to be late because of me."

"It was called off. Can I come in?" he requested awkwardly, not wanting to stay outside. Roxas glanced up and down the punk's body again, not entirely sure he wanted the front man in his home, for personal reasons more than anything else. Putting his better judgment aside, he stepped away from the door so Axel could have room to enter.

The first thing Axel noticed as he closed the door was the cake resting on the table. "Oh! Is that for your birthday?" Like a child he rushed towards the dining room table and grabbed a plate before stopping himself. "Oh… Um, is it alright if I have some?"

Despite himself, Roxas started chuckling in response. "Yes, go ahead." The blond took his own half-eaten slice from the table by the door and returned to the couch to continue watching his movie. From behind him he could hear Axel released a muffled gasp, presumably caused by a mouth full of cake.

"Are you watching The Graduate?" he cried, surprising Roxas as he clenched the back of the couch and hopped over to sit on the opposite side. "Badass! I love this movie." They sat in a companionable silence enjoying the raw awesomeness of a soundtrack that only Simon and Garfunkel could provide. They were so caught up in the film it didn't even occur to Roxas that he was sharing a couch with the redhead he had frenched just a week ago until the very end of the film. It was the scene when Ben was banging against the windows of the church to get Elaine's attention. All the way to the shot where the bus was driving away and the new couple frowned, Axel and Roxas were kept in rapt attention. Axel was the first to break the silence.

"Don't get any ideas, Rox," he said with a gentle laugh.

Roxas turned to him and grinned. "I was about to say the same thing." He turned his head back to the television as the credits started to roll. "It would have been bittersweet anyway," he sighed. "This is one of my favorite movies of all time." The credits finally finished and the channel they were watching started to advertise the next film that would be airing. During the commercial break, Axel shifted uncomfortably on his side of the couch and brought his feet down from resting on the coffee table. He started to speak, but it came out softly and Roxas had to mute the television to hear him better.

"What?"

"I said I'm sorry," Axel repeated louder, turning up and looking into Roxas' eyes. "About last week…"

Roxas let out and pathetic moan and let his head fall back on the couch. "You seriously didn't have to bring that up," Roxas explained. "Just pretend it never happened."

"…No."

Roxas blinked and returned his gaze to Axel, who was staring at him steadfast. "…Why not?" Roxas seriously had no intention of treating Axel as 'the one that got away.' Perhaps the best way to go on with his life would be to pretend that the kiss never happened. However, the redhead seemed unwilling.

"I'll apologize for my behavior, but I don't want to forget it ever happened. I can believe it must've been traumatic for you or something."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "You have no idea."

"But you gotta believe that… that it wasn't just some kiss to me."

Blue eyes widened when he felt a warm hand rest upon his. Roxas bit his lip and clenched his hand into a fist, creating a tight hold on two of the punk's fingers. He felt like there was a surge of electricity traveling from their hands and reaching to the pit of his stomach and starting a fire. As soon as the touch started, Axel pulled away and it was gone. Roxas assumed that the empty feeling in his chest was totally normal and would go away soon. It had absolutely nothing to do with the pouting redhead next to him.

"I think that there's something here that shouldn't be," Axel continued. "I knew it… from the moment I first saw you."

Roxas thought back to his first trip to the Organization. Roxas had wanted to ask Axel about playing his reception, but the front man had thought he was asking for his autograph. Roxas bitterly remembered the harsh words that were exchanged that night. "You terrified me the first time I saw you," Roxas commented, remembering the quaking effect those green eyes had on his knees. Only now that he thought about it deeper, perhaps they were growing weak with desire instead of fear.

"Really?" Axel asked with a hint of dejection in his voice. He sat up straighter and turned so he was facing Roxas. "I didn't mean to, I did it just to get a reaction out of you. It's just I'm really bad at these sorts of things," he mumbled, whispering to himself at the end, "Obviously." Axel clenched and unclenched his fist, unsure of what to do about Roxas, who was sitting on the couch staring in deep thought into the middle distance. So far the blond hadn't noticed that Axel had gravitated slowly down the couch and now his arm was resting almost entirely on the cushions behind Roxas' shoulders. He would have given anything to reach down and curl his arms around him.

"Axel," Roxas sighed, leaning forward so his elbows were resting on his knees, "I can't have an affair. What about Namine?"

Axel gulped. "You can't, or you won't?"

Roxas' jaw dropped as he turned a stabbing, icy glare towards the musician. "What? How can you ask that?" Even though the redhead seemed to suddenly find the thread count in the seat cushions very interesting, Roxas refused to break eye contact even if the favor wasn't being returned. "Namine is my fiancée, Axel. She's going to be my wife."

"Men have affairs all the time," Axel stated, keeping his voice low. "It's not like it's never happened before. It's not like I'm telling you not to marry her or anything." It was difficult, talking to Roxas trying to convince him this was a good idea. His words were failing him and this was something that only seemed to happen when this short blond boy was around. "All I want is for you to be with me…"

"Why am I that important?" Roxas cried back, deciding to stand. "Why me? You could have had Hayner! You could have had any other boy in the crowd! So why me?"

Axel didn't answer right away. His eyes slowly traveled from Roxas' face all the way down to his shoes. "…Do you really want me to answer that?"

"I just need some answers!" Roxas pleaded.

Axel looked back up at him, their eyes meeting and staying connected as he rose to his feet. Once he finally gained the courage to talk, his focus shifted to the blond's hands peeking out from his long sleeved shirt. "Your skin," Axel answered. He noticed the uncertain shift in Roxas' stance, and decided to continue. "When I first met you, I noticed you didn't have any scars or bruises, not even acne scars. You were so clean and perfect compared to all the other punks who come into the bars and clubs. When I saw you without your shirt at my apartment, it looked like that bruise on your back was the first sign of physical pain you ever had to endure in your life. And I felt so fucking sadistic when I thought to myself 'Wow, I'm his first.' I introduced you to this."

Roxas' face heated at the connotation behind his now-healed welts. Axel noticed as he looked up to catch the blond's reaction and he smiled, in a moment of boldness reaching forward and taking Roxas' hands in his own. "Your attitude, your personality when we first met. You wouldn't take any of my shit. I was acting like a complete douchebag to you and I couldn't even understand why. I wanted to impress you and make you think I was someone really awesome and different than anything you had ever seen, because it was obvious you'd never dealt with someone like me before. Everyone puts me on a pedestal and treats me like a living legend." Axel couldn't help but smile when Roxas rolled his eyes at this. "But I'm really not, and it's been amazing having you around to prove to me I'm not the king I think I am."

Roxas scoffed. "Then who do you think you are? Expecting me to throw out everything I care about…"

"I'm not a king," Axel muttered, still holding on to Roxas' hands and relishing in the fact that he hadn't pulled away in disgust yet. He took a small step closer and his words became softer. "I'm a servant. If you want me to bring you the moon, or just a cup of coffee from downstairs, I'll do it. I'll write you songs, I'll sing you a story, and I'll give you your ballad. …I'll leave, if that's what you really want."

Roxas frowned in the face of the sorrowful musician. "You're being awfully poetic," he stated, hoping to break the looming atmosphere and crack Axel out of whatever hypnosis he was under. However, he continued to stare listlessly into Roxas' eyes. Those beautiful green orbs that were usually so full of life were dense and heavy. There was so much meaning behind such a simple gaze that Roxas couldn't bear it anymore. He tried to avert his eyes by looking down, but he only saw his hands encased in Axel's. "God dammit, Axel."

He didn't say anything, but instead increased his grip on Roxas' hands.

Today, I woke up alone wishing you were here with me. I want us to be something that we'd probably never be. Today you called me up and said you'd see me at the show, but now I'm stuck debating if I even want to go.

Roxas looked to his cell phone vibrating on the coffee table. Even Axel was distracted for a moment when the song started play, and he laughed ironically. Roxas' frown deepened when he broke away from Axel and flipped open his phone.

"Hello?"

"Heeeey buddy. The party car's on the way! Designated D included. You ready to party?" Hayner announced happily. Roxas' eyes widened and he looked at the clock. It was almost eleven o'clock already.

"I, uh…" Roxas glanced towards Axel before starting to pace around the room nervously like he would do. "…Yeah. Yes. I'm ready. Who all's coming?"

"Well, I got Pence to be the driver." Roxas could hear the phone shift a bit between hands. "Dude, say hi!"

"What's up, Roxas!" Pence shouted from Hayner's phone. A rare nostalgic smile found its way on the blond's face. It had been months since he had talked to one of his best high school friends. He hated the idea of college tearing them apart.

"Pence," he replied warmly while roaming laps around the dining table. "How's it going?"

Axel continued watching as Roxas spoke on the phone, wondering just who the hell Pence was. Roxas seemed happy talking to him while he just frowned and cursed with Axel.

"Are we leaving right now?" Roxas asked, breaching the trampled carpet caused from his constant walking to meander into his bedroom. Axel turned to watch his little mystery walk to a small closet on what he assumed to be his side of the bed.

This was only his second time in Roxas' apartment, but it was the first time he got a good sense of the bedroom. It should go unsaid that he was disappointed in what he saw. The walls were the same stark white as the rest of the living space. The only decoration was the loosely printed periwinkle curtains in front of the window over the bed. Both of the bedside tables were the same, complete with matching desk lamps and alarm clocks. He was about to question why Roxas had his own closet, because perhaps Axel was under the misconception that couples shared closet space, but that was about the time that Roxas, while clenching the phone against his ear with his shoulder, used his free hands to unbuckle his pants and drop trou.

"How many people are riding with Pence?" he asked. Roxas jumped out of his pants and started sifting through all if his clothes, which Axel would have noted were all kept pressed and on hangers, had the blond not been standing there in his skivvies. "Put Hayner on the phone, I don't want you talking while you're driving."

Axel felt like a voyeur. Roxas was treating him like he wasn't even in the apartment. He wondered if he should even bother staying. It seemed like the blond had already given him the answer. Even though he was being ignored, he couldn't turn away. Roxas had found a pair of dark dark wash jeans and pulled them on, and was now questing for a decent shirt.

"Hey. How many people are going?" Roxas asked again as he started pulling his shirt off. Axel's breath hitched as the blond turned to walk towards the door. Their eyes met for only a brief instant before Axel had the good sense to move out of the way before Roxas mowed him down. "Do you think there's room for one more?" He made a bee-line towards the kitchen, and he heard him rustle through one of the drawers before coming at him with a pair of scissors.

Holy Shit. Roxas was going to kill him and use his buddy's car to dispose of him in a dumpster.

However, the blond just walked by the punk again, ignoring him completely. He only gave Axel one short glance over his shoulder. "…Who do you think?" Roxas sat on the bed and took the scissors to his pants and started carving holes into the knees. Once there were holes, he took the sharpened edge of the scissors and used them to roughen up the edges to make them look worn. "Okay, we'll be out in a minute."

When he clapped his phone shut, he used his hand that was holding the scissors to point at Axel. "You're still coming tonight, right?" he asked him, brow raised. "You promised."

Axel was stunned, watching as the young man stood back up towards his closet and chose a ratty white exercise shirt with a black button-up thrown on top. Using his normal vanilla wardrobe, Roxas was able to make himself look presentable.

"…You still want me?" Axel questioned in reply, his lips quirking up into a faint smirk.

Roxas didn't know how to exactly answer that. Was Axel referring to Roxas wanting him to go to the party, or wanting him as in… wanting him?

"Of course."

Axel smiled. "Okay, Rox. Let's go."

oooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOooo

Introductions were a bit difficult. Hayner had promised everyone would be able to fit if they 'squeezed real tight,' but three back seats just aren't enough to fit four full-grown men. Axel found himself squished nicely against Roxas and rather uncomfortably against one of Roxas' friends. Axel glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and noticed the guy was glaring at him. And the dude had the biggest nostrils he had ever seen.

"Roxas… Who's your little… transient friend, here?" And he had an accent, just like Luxord. Why do all the assholes have to have accents?

Roxas coughed nervously. "Uh, this is my friend, Axel," Roxas stated. Axel rolled his eyes at the way Roxas almost shouted 'friend' unnecessarily loud. "Axel, this is Edward," he motioned towards the man sitting next to him, and then the man who was sitting against the opposite window, "and that's Eric. I shared a chemistry class with them last semester."

Axel didn't like how Eric's eyes seemed to constantly navigate towards his lip ring. "Charmed." The redhead didn't like how handsome Roxas' friends were. Even though Pence was fat he still had the neo-nerd look going for him. In Axel's circle of friends, there was Demyx who looked like a crack child, Xigbar who was hit by a stick of ugly, and even though Marluxia was handsome he wore too much blue eyeshadow and rouge to be a threat. Being surrounded by this much pretty was somewhat intimidating.

"So, um, Axel," Edward started, "you seemed like an interesting, unique individual. What exactly is it that you do?"

"I'm a tram driver." Axel had decided that Roxas' friends could have whatever impression of him that they wanted. Of course, there was some fun to be had by fanning the flames. He reveled in the look of disbelief that was etched onto their face. Even Eric's jaw dropped slightly.

"During the day," Roxas finished for him. "By night he's in a band!" Axel loved the sound of excitement in the blond's voice. It sounded like he wasn't even pretending to be excited for him and selling Axel to his friends. They seemed like the types that wouldn't care either way.

"Oh, a band?" Eric asked. "I'm into music. What is it like? The Police or Journey? I love their music…"

Axel laughed. "That's not mu-" He was interrupted by Roxas grabbing his wrist and digging his nails into Axel's skin. The redhead hissed and turned to the younger man who was glaring at him and quickly shook his head. Axel caught on very quickly and laughed nervously. "I mean, no, that's not music that we sound like… Have you ever heard of The Damned? The Ramones, Dead Kennedys, Black flag?" The blank look on their faces was expected, but no less disconcerting. "C'mon, guys, I'm listing textbook basics here! Punk rock 101."

Edward's mouth loosely fell open. "You're in a punk band?" Edward must have been the dumb one of the group, because even Eric looked at him like he was an idiot. It shouldn't have been a big surprise based on Axel's appearance alone about what type of band he was in.

"I- I've heard of the Dead Kennedys," Pence spoke up from the driver's seat, not liking the awkward silence that was starting to form. "Well, I don't want to sound like I'm an expert, but I know some of the words to Holiday in Cambodia, but not much else. Cool sound, though."

"Thank you. There's hope for you yet. Remind me to pass some albums down to Roxas and he can give you. Maybe you can hide them on your iPod under Neil Diamond or Elton John." The jab was taken good naturedly by Pence and he just laughed, pulling into parking lot of the first club they were scheduled to visit that night.

Axel and Roxas got out from their side while Edward and Eric filed out from the other side. "Do not embarrass me, okay?" Roxas hissed as he slammed the door.

"Your friends are douchebags."

"My friends are fine. Just because they don't like your music doesn't make them bad people."

"My music is my life," Axel commented as he started walking towards the karaoke bar entrance. "If people don't like it, then they don't like me. It's simple." He smiled and started moving close to Roxas. "You like my music, don't you?"

Roxas playfully shoved Axel away. "You're acting like a little kid."

Hayner and Pence walked a few yards behind Axel and Roxas. The larger man turned slightly to his friend and hummed. "They seem to get along well. Where on Earth did Roxas pick up someone like Axel?"

Hayner watched their interactions closely. It didn't go unnoticed the way Roxas' hands would linger on Axel every time he tried to push him away, unconsciously pulling him back in. He saw Axel's hand constantly reach out wanting to touch Roxas, be it to grab his hand or wrap his arm around him, before he would quickly jerk his arm away and remember where they were.

"It's a weird situation, kind of," Hayner answered. "I'm thinking I should have handled it differently."

"Well, he seems like fun either way. Hopefully he can add some color to the night," Pence murmured, glancing over his shoulder to Eric and Edward who were bringing up the rear, discussing the current ranking of Bastion University's football team in the playoffs.

Once Pence was finished talking to the hostess at the front of the bar, she showed them to their private room where they could sing and drink and not morbidly embarrass themselves in front of strangers. The room was about the size of a small bedroom, with a large couch taking up the entirety of the wall with small televisions displayed around the walls that would show the lyrics.

The men ordered a round of drinks, of course abstaining Roxas from enjoying anything until midnight. The blond would have to wait a good half hour. When the drinks arrived, Roxas watched as everyone took their drinks from the waitress, his eyes following Axel's in particular. The punk drank a short glass of a deep red beverage. "What'd you get?" he asked him while everyone else watched as Edward knocked back a jager bomb.

Axel took a small sip and smacked his lips loudly. "Good ol' fashioned cranberry juice," he answered, much to Roxas' surprise.

"Really? Nothing mixed in?" Axel answered by shaking his head. "Why?"

"It's not any fun staying sober around wasted people. Drunk people are literally the worst. Nothing kills a night faster than watching a bunch of men slur their words and getting all touchy-feely." Axel paused for a moment, puckering his lips in thought and glancing up at the ceiling. "Actually, that last part doesn't seem half bad…"

"Well, no holding back once midnight hits, alright? I don't wanna embarrass myself in front of you."

"More than you already have?" Axel asked, smirking.

Roxas playfully nudged Axel in the ribs. Pence, who was drinking water, grabbed a binder filled with songs and started flipping through it. "Let's start it off roulette-style. Okay, Roxas, since it's your birthday why don't you start us off and pick a number?"

"Okay…" Roxas sighed. "Two hundred twenty-three."

Pence grabbed the remote and punched the numbers, which showed up on the main screen. As soon as the song was finished loading the title scrolled across all the monitors in the room. "The Beatles – Hey Jude."

After everyone made comments on how much they adored The Beatles, except for Axel who explained their excellence went without saying, Roxas took the microphone off a stand next to the prominent speaker display and coughed nervously. "This is my first time doing karaoke," he confessed as the song started playing. "And I don't even know the lyrics that well…"

"It's not that hard," Hayner laughed. "The words are right on the monitor!"

Roxas rolled his eyes and cleared his throat again. His singing was soft and quiet, Axel noted, and nothing like the loud and exasperating tone he usually spoke with.

"Hey, Jude, don't make it bad. Take a sad song, and make it better. Remember to let her into your heart, then you can start to make it better…"

This was one of Axel's most favorite Beatles songs, and Roxas did it more than its justice. He would have never thought that the short blond had a decent set of pipes on him. His voice rung clearly even through the karaoke bar's jaded speakers. Axel felt that he could get lost in this song forever.

"Hey, Jude, don't be afraid. You were made to go out and get her. The minute you let her under your skin, then you begin to make it better."

"It's rhyming better with better, that's not a real song," Eric laughed. Axel tried his best to ignore him and hone in on Roxas' voice.

"And anytime you feel the pain, hey, Jude, refrain. Don't carry the world upon your shoulders. Well don't you know that it's a fool who plays it cool by making his world a little colder…"

When he got to the 'na-nas' Axel got a taste of Roxas' true vocals. Just a taste, and then it was lost in the next verse. The redhead was in a state of mild confusion, because Roxas had never come out as someone particularly well-versed in music before, especially since he was having to teach him basic notes and chords on the guitar. He was shocked that he was holding out on him, and stunned that everyone else seemed used to this talent and kept talking over him in a bid of who got to pick the next song. When Axel returned his gaze to Roxas, those pure blue eyes were already on him.

"Hey, Jude! Don't let her down. You have found her, now go and get her. Remember, to let her into your heart, then you can start to make it better."

The meaning wasn't lost on either of them, and Roxas looked like he was about to cry. Axel sat on the couch, mouth agape, wondering if anyone in the room could see the tears starting to form in their friend's eyes. He wanted nothing more than to rescue the blond before the next verse and kiss the tears away. A nervous energy in his knees told Axel to stand up and take Roxas away someplace where no one would care for him except for his ragged, pierced, skinned-kneed self.

Did no one else feel the tension in the room right now? Axel glanced over to the guys again, and while everyone still had their noses in the music binder, Hayner was staring right at him. Taking a moment to study his face, there wasn't any hint of loathing or animosity that Axel was used to seeing from Roxas' friends, but there was something there that proved that he knew something going on between them.

Hayner stood up quickly, breaking the contact and walking over to Roxas and patting him on the back. "That was fucking sick, dude. You're amazing," he said with a grin. "Sit down and I'm gonna give you all a real treat."

It was astounding how quickly Roxas was able to blink away the redness in his eyes before he took his seat again between Axel and Edward. The redhead just stared at him slack-jawed. "You never… How come you didn't… Roxas, you can sing," Axel stated, as if the birthday boy didn't know. Roxas turned to Axel, smiling and giving him a plaintive shrug.

"I used to be in the boy's choir at school," he answered simply. He turned his attention back to Hayner at the front of the room who was telling Pence his song choice number.

"But why didn't you tell me! We could make an arrangement or something. D'ya wanna sing a song for 13 Hearts some night? It's fun hearing our sound with a different voice." Axel was getting really antsy in his seat thinking about future plans. Roxas thought there was something sweetly sincere about it.

"I don't think your friends really care for me that much."

Hayner chose The Eagles' Hotel California. Edward and Eric and laughed and clapped him along as he sang terribly off key.

"What would make you say that? Xigbar can be a pain but he's a good guy. He'll warm up to anyone when given the change… And Marly can be a little distant but you just gotta get to know him. Luxord…" Axel paused and remembered what Luxord had said in the car after Roxas' night over. Although the idea of a relationship was strictly off-limits, he had never said anything specifically about how Axel should just get over it and pretend the feelings didn't exist. "He thinks you're cool."

Roxas laughed and shook his head. "They must be feeding you shit. They've got no reason to like me. You don't even have a reason either…" Roxas looked down at the skin of his hand and blushed. Was it possible for such simple reasons to be the motive to like someone? It made him think about what constantly drew him to Axel.

It wasn't the red hair or the piercings or the tattoos, because those weren't traits that Roxas found innately attractive, but Axel was beautiful. He would laugh when everybody frowned. He would jump when everyone was sitting. He would sing in moments of silence. There was something to be said about people like Axel.

"I have every reason to like anybody," Axel responded, wrapping his arm around the couch behind Roxas, but trying to make the motion look casual to his friends. They turned their attention back to Hayner as he practically screamed the final verse to his song.

"Thank you everybody," Hayner spoke into the mic, taking an overdramatic bow. "Next up is Edward. What do you want, guy?"

Edward stood and announced his choice, song number one hundred. Hayner stole Edward's seat instead of returning to his old spot at the opposite end of the couch next to Pence. He sat next to Roxas now and slowly nudged the side of the blond's arm when the guitar for Boston's More Than A Feeling started searing in.

"Hey, Rox, are you doing alright?" Hayner asked lowly so Axel wouldn't hear. The redhead seemed too distracted by the brutal slaughter of a favorite classic rock song. "You just seem a little distant."

Roxas shook his head. "I'm fine," he insisted, but it didn't even take a child to see past his sour demeanor and short tone. "I could really use a drink right about now," he admitted. Hayner turned towards the coffee table and took his drink off his coaster, offering it to the blond.

"Fine, I'll help you break the rules," he said with a laugh. Roxas rolled his eyes and drank the rest of Hayner's beverage in three large gulps, not even bothering to take the time out to savor it. When the glass made a clinking sound on the table in front of them, Axel took notice and finally pulled away from the hypnotic way Edward hit those high notes in the song.

"Hey, Roxas, how're you feeling?" he asked amicably in front of Hayner. He pulled the sleeve back of his black shirt and checked his watched. "The good news is that you'll be twenty-one as soon as this song's over. You won't have to take much more of this torture sober."

"Music to my ears," Roxas said with a weary grin, watching like a ticking clock as Edward slowly, mercilessly, continued his reckless path towards the end of the song. Everyone's conception of time is different, and it was common sense to Roxas to tell himself in times of hardship that 'This, too, shall pass.' A second is still a second, no matter what situation. But Edward was certainly making his belief in this conception difficult.

"It's more than a feeling, when I hear that old song they used to play it's more than a feeling. I begin dreaming, it's more than a feeling! 'Till I see Marianne walk away. I see my Marianne walkin' away!"

The song continued its slow fade-out. Roxas uncovered his ears from the horror. It was over, it was finally fucking over. Hayner nearly jumped when the waitress came back to their room to check up on everyone. "Hello ma'am, my friend here just turned twenty one and we need shots. Lots and lots of shots."

She took out a pad of paper and readied herself to right some choices down. "Okay. What do you want?"

Roxas looked up at pathetically from his crouched position on the couch. "Does it look like I'm choosey?" he pleaded. The waitress smiled and pocketed her notebook.

"I'll be back in two seconds." Being so close to the bar she returned with three stout glasses of booze and a tall cup of water. "Okay, boys, I'm guessing your evening starts now. Play it safe, 'aight?"

Axel gave her a mock salute and she told them to call on her if they needed anything else. "Okay, Roxas, are you ready? Chug!" the punk said with a laugh.

"Wait a second," Hayner said towards Axel. "Three shots in a row? I don't wanna play PSA or nothing, but shouldn't he take it slow?"

"It's not like Rox's a virgin drinker or anything," Axel stated as the little blond eyed the colorful shots in front of him like a kid in a candy store. "A twenty-one-shot salute would kill him. Three to start the night is nothing."

"If it makes you worry," Roxas said to Hayner, passing off one of his shots to Axel. "There. On the count of three…"

"Three!" Axel shouted, both of them gulping down the shots quick. When they were done Roxas coughed and Axel laughed while slapping him on the back. "Atta boy."

Hayner didn't particularly like how Axel seemed to be feeding him awful influences. However it wasn't like he didn't do the same things to Roxas, making him go out and party and drink booze even though the blond had stated at times that he didn't want to. Instead of taking a hesitant stance, he would just be happy for his friend that he would be enjoying a night he'd never remember.

When Hayner was snapped out of his train of thought, he realized that Roxas had already the finished the other shot and was enjoying the initial buzz it gave him before it settled into his stream. Everyone cheered Roxas and sang a jumbled version of Happy Birthday before they faded out and stopped caring. "Pence! We haven't heard you sing yet!" Roxas egged on. Pence laughed and flipped through the binder to find the song he wanted. Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas.

"Do all classic rock bands have to be named after a city?" Roxas asked, taking an ice cube from his water and munching on it while watching Pence make a fool of himself.

"Kansas is a state," Axel reminded.

"Whatever," Roxas decided, taking up one of the shot glasses and trying to salvage some of the last drops from it. "What's a guy gotta do to get a drink around here?"

"Just a second, Roxas," Hayner laughed, watching as Pence did a dramatic jump before making sounds like a guitar with his vocals during a solo. Everyone joined in for the very last chorus before Pence finished dramatically. One reason why Pence was such a breath of fresh air to have around was that he could be a blast without the alcohol. Even people like Hayner and Roxas were able to see it, and Axel was able to respect him for it.

They continued for over an hour. Everyone except Axel had picked several songs to sing, and Roxas had gotten several more drinks, but soon it was getting close the end of the reserved time for the room.

"Okay, this was a great start!" Hayner announced. "But I gotta take a piss before we head out."

"Same here," Edward added, getting up with Hayner and heading out the small room.

"Axel! I haven't heard you sing yet!" Roxas stated, motioning for Axel to pick a song. The punk laughed and started flipping through the binder.

"Fine, I'll choose one more before we leave," he conceded. While Roxas and Axel were busy with their noses in the binder trying to find a decent song, Pence stood and started reaching for his wallet.

"I have to pay off the room and the drinks," he told Eric. "I'll be back in a second."

"Oh, let me pay for our drinks," he commented, speaking on behalf of Edward. He followed Pence out the room.

"That's cool of you," Pence said thankfully.

"But who has his drinks?" Eric asked, casting a wary glance towards Axel before the door closed. Pence shrugged, making his way to the front counter.

"He didn't really drink anything."

Back in the room, Axel punched in the number for his song with the remote and stood in the front of the room. "This is stupid," he commented. "You're the only person in here…"

"Oh, like that's a bad thing," Roxas laughed. It was almost amazing how loose he got after just a few drinks. "What song didja pick?"

The song began and Roxas regretted asking. He knew almost immediately and anyone who's been paying attention would know as well.

"And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson, Jesus loves you more than you will know. Woah, woah, woah! God bless you, please Mrs. Robinson. Heaven holds a place for those who pray. Hey, hey, hey!"

Roxas just loved how Axel put his own spin on classic songs. It wasn't just a cover, it was an anthem. His voice was tastefully harsh with the gentle melody that warmed Roxas' ears like every song he had ever heard him sing. It didn't work with the simple mellow guitar that Simon and Garfunkel were infamous for.

"We'd like to know a little bit about you for our files. We'd like to help you learn to help yourself. Look around you all you see are sympathetic eyes, stroll around the grounds until you feel at home."

Axel smiled at Roxas' warm reception to the song choice. He motioned for the blond to run up to the mic with him. "C'mon, Rox!" The birthday boy giggled maniacally and launched out of his seat to stand across from Axel. He wrapped his hands around Axel's and pulled the mic down so they could both sing into it. They leaned forward so their foreheads touched.

"And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson, Jesus loves you more than you will know. God bless you, please Mrs. Robinson. Heaven holds a place for those who pray. Hey, hey, hey!"

The punk was able to match his voice to Roxas' so they sang in perfect harmony. Roxas grinned widely and looked into Axel's eyes. It was one of those perfect Hollywood romantic moments. They smiled. They held hands. The only thing they needed was a bus and for Roxas to be wearing a wedding dress. Axel snorted and broke away.

"What's wrong?" Roxas asked, his eyes blurry and faded. Axel shook his head.

"Nothing." He should stop while he was ahead. A drunken kiss from Roxas may not be the best way to declare affections, or at least get on the good side of his friends. Even if his kisses felt fantastic. Axel took a step away from Roxas, and tried to stay if he knew what was good for him. Roxas took a step closer and stood in front of him.

"Yanno I've been thinking," Roxas stated, leaning so close towards Axel that the punk could smell every cranberry, every cherry, every lime and drop of alcohol mixed in with his breath. The saddest part was that even in the fluorescent lighting of the private karaoke room with a cheap version of Simon and Garfunkel playing in the background there was something so beautiful about this moment.

"What's that?" Axel asked, humoring the drunken love of his life. Despite knowing better he wrapped his arms around Roxas' waist and folded his hands to let them rest on the small of the blond's back.

"I don't have to marry Namine."

Well, this certainly got his attention. "You don't?" he asked in a flat, very non-believing way. Of course Roxas was going to marry Namine, there wasn't a question to it. It was like a ritual, it was fate.

"Because I want us to have an open relationship, yanno what that means Axel?"

The punk grinned and decided to humor the thought. "What's that mean?"

"'Means I can still be with Namine but I can be with you as much as I want," he answered simply. Axel wanted to roll his eyes at the stereotypical selfish remark.

"But what if I want you all to myself?" he asked, absolutely willing to acknowledge that he was taking advantage of Roxas' drunken behavior by asking questions the blond would never answer sober.

Then Roxas started giggling. A side effect from the almost-four drinks he had just had, Axel assumed. Until the blond wrapped his arms around Axel's neck and forced their lips to crash together unexpectedly. While Axel wasn't prepared for this, nearly crying out when Roxas' teeth scraped up against his own, Roxas was already going to work. He used his hands on the back of Axel's neck to massage and try to get the redhead to open up. Axel was terrified and playing dead in hopes that no one would catch on, but it was awfully hard when, not just someone, but Roxas was kissing him.

"What're you waiting for?" Roxas asked, pulling away from the kiss just far enough that he could get a breath in. His lips still rubbed up against Axel's when he spoke, and the redhead found something insatiable about this. "You can have me."

Have him? Now? Yes. Axel moved his hands so there were planted on Roxas' hips. He quickly steered the shorter male so that his knees buckled against the edge of the coffee table. Before he could successfully sit down, Roxas blindly shoved all of the glasses on the table out of the way, most of them falling onto the floor and spilling ice. For a moment Axel thought he heard the door open and he panicked, having to tear himself away from Roxas to check, but the door was still shut steadfast as it was before.

"Rox, this isn't a good idea," Axel muttered, knowing so much better than to take advantage of the blond when his friends would be returning any moment. How long could it possibly take to take a leak anyway? It was hard to get his times straight when Roxas started attacking his neck. The young man was a beast when he was buzzed. "We should hold off, okay? Or… maybe find someplace more private?"

"We're in a private room right now," Roxas stated, trying really hard to pry open the top button on Axel's shirt. The redhead reached up and stopped Roxas' hands from continuing. "What?"

"Not that I'm not totally loving this, but you only turn twenty-one once. We should go party." The fact that Roxas was so annoyed with the idea that he groaned and rested his head into Axel's shoulder was a perk. "You don't want to party?" Axel laughed.

"No, I want to, I guess. But they're gonna take me to all their taverns and bars and shit and I want to go out and…"

"A show?"

"You told me that at every moment there's ten good bands playing in Bastion."

Axel stood up and held his hand out for Roxas. The blond took the offering and stood on his two wobbling feet. "You want a show? Okay. Let's go."

Roxas raised a brow and smiled. "But what about the others?"

Pence stood with his back against the wall outside the private room of the karaoke bar. He had forcefully pulled Eric away from the door by the collar of his shirt, and the sullen raven-haired man was rubbing his neck angrily.

"What is your problem? We need to get Roxas so we can leave."

He made another motion to walk towards the door and Pence stopped him. "Do not go in there," he said loudly, his voice shaking.

"What? Why?"

"Because… I have to use the bathroom," he explained quickly. "And… I don't know where it is." He started shoving Eric as far in the opposite direction of the door as possible. "Let's find it! I'm sure two sets of eyes are better than one…"

Eric slid away so Pence wasn't pushing him anymore. "Dude, stop it. I think I left my house keys in the room. I just wanna make sure…"

"Look! There it is! Come with me please," he nearly whined, leading Eric towards the bathroom door. They crashed through it and saw Hayner at one of the urinals, still in mid-stream. The young man turned around at the commotion of seeing a flustered Pence and a rather cross Eric in the bathroom with him.

"Guys…" Hayner said slowly, a stitch of confusion on his brow. He turned his attention back to his business shook off, tucked in, and zipped up. He punched the button to flush before turning back towards the others. "…What's wrong?"

"It's Roxas," Pence explained. Eric seemed to be a little less angry and more worried.

"Roxas? What's wrong with him?"

Hayner took a step closer to his old friend. "What happened?"

Pence glanced over to Eric, wishing that he wasn't there but knowing he couldn't just leave him to his own devices after what he saw. "It was Roxas and Axel," Pence whispered so the others wouldn't be able to hear over the thumping bass coming from the other rooms. Hayner's eyes narrowed. "Eric and I left after you guys to pay the tab. I came through the door and they were…" At that moment Edward, who had since been in the bathroom stall, flushed and distracted Eric long enough for Pence to bump his knuckles together to make a very suggestive gesture.

Hayner sidestep around Pence to get to the door. He stormed across the bar to their private room and flung the door open. Glasses were in disarray on the floor, suggesting that something happened, but Axel and Roxas were nowhere to be found. "Dammit," he sighed under his breath. Pence came up behind him, panting for breath after the unusual amount of running around.

"They're gone?" Pence asked, turning to Hayner. "What's going on? I walk back into the room and find them making out on the coffee table! Who exactly is Axel, anyway?" Hayner grumbled to himself and pinched the bridge of his nose, leaning against the frame of the door.

"What do you think of Namine?" Hayner asked, moving his hand from between his eyes to cup his chin in thought. The larger man stood, not exactly sure how to answer his question.

"Well… She's Roxas' fiancée, I guess," he muttered, not exactly sure what to believe anymore. Roxas and Namine had been a couple for as long as he could remember. He never really assumed Roxas as being gay or straight. On all accounts, he had seemed completely asexual towards anyone until he met her. "She makes him happy, so I should be happy for her in return, right?"

"That's a question, not a statement," Hayner mused.

"It's kind of alarming that you're not half as worried about this as I am," Pence said, a hint of aggression in his tone.

"Hm. What if I told you that Roxas found someone else that made him happy? What would you think?" Knowing that the staff would clean the room, he closed the door behind him and started heading towards the exit.

"Are you talking about Axel?" Pence asked, receiving a nod in response from his friend. "Does this mean Roxas is…"

"I don't really know what it means, but I think we were both on the same page when we thought Roxas getting married was a little too early." Pence nodded. Away from Roxas' ears, the debate of his engagement had always been a hot button topic amongst his high school friends.

"But this is adultery!" Pence cried out. "Well, they aren't married so I guess that term's a little strong, but still. They're in a monogamous relationship, I thought. I mean, they're engaged. The wedding's next month. Is he saying anything? Are you saying anything?"

"I don't know," Hayner replied. "I just found out last week, and he hasn't really wanted to talk about it since. He said that he was going to follow through with marrying Namine, but…"

Hayner paused for a moment, and Pence joined in on the collective silence between them.

"…Wow. So Roxas is having an affair with a punk like him. A man."

"Axel's not all that bad," Hayner said with a shrug. "He's in a band. Does pretty well for himself. Has his own apartment and everything. Good friends…" He paused for a moment and remembered Fuu, smiling. "…Cute friends."

"Are you actually okay with all this?" Pence asked.

"It could be a lot worse. I like Axel. He has a way about him."

"So you don't like Namine."

"I didn't say that." Hayner glanced over Pence's shoulder and noticed Eric and Edward coming towards them, Eric holding his keys in his hand.

"So it turned out they were in my p- What on earth is going on?" he cried out. "The room's a wreck!"

Hayner shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Where to next?"

Edward shrugged his shoulders. "Shouldn't we let the birthday boy decide?"

"He got sick from the shots he drank. Told him to take it slow, but he wouldn't listen," Hayner said with a laugh. "But he started feeling like he was gonna spew so Axel's taking him to his place to calm down a bit."

"Wow," Eric said, feeling sorry for his friend. "I hope he'll be okay. Where does Axel live? We should check on him."

Hayner rolled his eyes. "Check on him? To what, ask him what color his puke is? He'll be fine. C'mon. We got a DD for the night and no birthday boy to buy drinks for. Let's live a little!" Edward and Eric agreed and decided to walk down the street to the next pub. The issue about Roxas amongst them was dropped for the evening.

oooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOooo

"Y'know," Roxas chuckled, trying really hard to walk to the stairwell, "that was pretty awesome."

Axel leaned into the front passenger window of the cab, clumsily reaching into his back pocket and probably spilling more than enough cash onto the seat to cover the ride. "Keep the change," he grunted, massaging the pressure point between his brows and turning back to Roxas, who was waiting for him on the top of the first stairwell. The punk followed him, valiantly only tripping four times. Finally they somehow made it to the third floor and didn't break any ribs in the process. Roxas was getting along better than Axel, at least. That kid could hold his own and the redhead was both in shock and awe at how much liquor the blond was able to kick back.

"Have your keys?" Roxas asked, chuckling as Axel patted himself down.

"Of course," Axel assured, numbly searching through every pocket until he found them in his jacket. Roxas was still laughing as Axel went through every single key on his keyring like a custodian. Once inside, Roxas leaned against the couch and moaned loudly.

"Holy shit I've never – ever – drank this much in, like, my life." He held his hands in front of him. "I'm surprised I'm not, like, seeing triple right now."

"Yeah, birthday shots are great," Axel sighed, never wanting to repeat to repeat the barmat challenge ever, ever again. "You'll never get plastered like this for free again as long as you live."

They stood in the living room in silence. Axel swayed back and forth for a moment before glancing into the kitchen. "Wanna nightcap?"

"Mister Axel William Bruce Rose Jr," Roxas stated, taking a breath. "You're trying to seduce me."

"…So no nightcap?"

"You'll find this hard to believe, but… I think I've had enough." Roxas shook his head and turned around, looking down at the couch. It seemed too small and too unpleasant a place to spend the night. The cracked open door to Axel's bedroom seemed much more appealing. He traipsed across the den to the bedroom door and pushed it open, not being able to see anything because of the darkness.

"Wait- wait- wait!" Axel cried. "Rox!" Roxas didn't listen and instead tripped over a pile of clothes and fell into a heap of dirty laundry. In a moment Axel came in and turned the light on, making Roxas wince. While his eyes were getting adjusted to the light, he heard Axel laugh. "Told you. My room's a heap, you'd do better sleeping on the couch."

Once the disoriented blond was able to focus long enough to roll over on his back, he looked up at Axel and smiled. "Like hell am I sleeping on the couch tonight," he stated, looking around. Every single wall was covered from top to base with posters, flyers, photographs, and notes. The floor, where there wasn't laundry, seemed to be covered in sheet music with markings, scratches, or simply wadded up. In the corner there was a stereo system, complete with a turntable for all of the records stored in milk crates like he had seen earlier. "It's amazing."

"You think?" he asked, taking a step over the laundry to avoid tripping. It didn't matter, because as soon as he was close enough Roxas reached out and grabbed the hem of his shirt, causing the redhead to topple down on the clothes beneath them. "Ugh! Rox, this is gross! And smelly!"

"It's like you," Roxas stated, tilting his head awkwardly to let their lips touch briefly.

"Whaddya tryin' to say?" Axel asked with a crooked smile, readjusting himself so he was leaning over Roxas' head. "I'm just some skuzzy punk?"

"You're my skuzzy punk."

Axel's smirk turned into a full-fledged grin. Taking this as a cue he leaned down and kissed Roxas upside-down. It wasn't as romantic as Spider-Man, but it came close. Moving their lips for a moment to breathe, Roxas took this chance to turn in the pile of laundry so he was face-to-face with Axel. The redhead planted his lips back on the blond's and didn't hesitate to release a moan when Roxas deemed it fit to use his tongue.

Axel closed his eyes and sighed. It continued like this for minutes, occasionally taking simple breaks to breathe. At one point Roxas' hands started working their way up and down Axel's sides. The action caused molten heat to pool in the pit of his stomach. "Roxas," he murmured while he was able to break away from the young man's roaming lips. "Maybe we shouldn't do this on the laundry…"

Barely able to understand a word the leading man was saying, Roxas let out a muffled "'Kay" as he went back to work assaulting Axel's lips. Axel's hand reached behind Roxas' back and pulled the blond up to a sitting position. In a momentary feat of strength, Axel was able to lift him long enough to place him on the bed next to them. They had to break their kiss once more, and this time Axel got a good, feathered rose-tinted look at the willing man in front of him. Roxas smiled and reached out for the collar of Axel's shirt, using it as leverage to sit up. Without being stopped this time, he was successfully able to un-pop the first button, then the second. An image of Axel that was all too familiar was slowly sinking back in.

"Remember that pic you sent me last week?" Roxas asked. Axel sat on his haunches and started messing with the opened button-up shirt Roxas was wearing.

"Yeah," he muttered while Roxas' hands took a break long enough for Axel to help him get his first shirt off. He wore his simple white undershirt now. His nimble fingers caught up with the third button and continued their trek down.

With each passing button left undone, Roxas continued more with his statement. "Do you have any idea…" Pop. "…How many times…" Pop. "…In the shower…" Pop. "…I screamed your name…" He was finally at the last button. Pop. And now at last he had the close-up view of Axel's body he had been dying to see. His chest and torso were like a canvas, more so than he vaguely remembered from Halloween. Words in all different kinds of script were sprawled across his skin. Some he could understand and some were left unknown. In the midst of it all would be symbolic images of stars, clouds, epic ships sailing with the wind on their side, mythological fishes and creatures of the sea that used the words as their ocean. "…Because of that stupid picture?"

Roxas' hand hesitantly touched the tattooed skin. Axel smiled and pulled off the shirt, gifting Roxas with a kiss on the forehead. The simple gesture caused Roxas to look up from Axel's markings and receive a more formal kiss on the lips. Axel quickly deepened the action and started pushing forward slowly, putting Roxas on his back again. The blond's hands never left his stomach and the heat was getting much, much worse. Axel could feel it, and he hoped severely that Roxas wouldn't be too horrified. He hazily set a barrier for himself and kept himself propped up on his elbows, his back at an angle, and it was killing him.

Roxas made no signs of stopping into the kiss. His fingers followed the familiar trail from the punk's front to his sides. Axel's breath hitched as Roxas' hands slowly started sliding up and down the side of his body, where he was most sensitive. Roxas grinned at the reaction he was getting and pulled away for a moment. "Axel," he stated rather evenly, given the current situation, "what're you waiting for?" His fingers reached down a little further, brushing over the sides of Axel's jeans and hooking his fingers through the belt loops, pulling him down. Axel grunted when his knees let out from under him and their bodies were pressed flush against each other.

Roxas started kissing him again, but all Axel really wanted to do was scream. It was too much and his mind was sending him mixed signals. Then Roxas released a small, nervous, timid thrust with his hips. Then it was obvious. Axel had been trying so hard to hide his anxious erection from Roxas that he had been completely ignoring the man in front of him, his needs.

Axel treated the deprived blond with a harsh pelvic grind, letting him know just how much he needed this as well. "Ah-Axel!" Roxas moaned at the sudden contact. Moving away from Roxas' lips, he attacked a perfectly clean neck. Roxas didn't mind anything Axel did as long as he didn't stop moving. He hugged Axel's back and continued to grind up into him, hating the feeling of being so utterly restricted. Axel's fingers started touching him through his shirt, and it was suddenly much too hot in that bedroom.

The sweaty white undershirt was soon lost, and Roxas was starting to struggle with the belt on his torn jeans. Axel had moved himself to an angle where he couldn't thrust into him anymore and he needed some sort of release. The punk placed his hand over Roxas' in a bid to make him stop. "Axel," he grunted. "You sadistic fuck." Perhaps he was, the way he grinned at the weeping sound in his voice. The cruel musician leaned forward and kissed Roxas again, moving his hands away so he could undo the belt himself. The metal on the buckle felt white-hot and it singed, but Axel soldiered through. The belt was out of the way, and all that was left was the fly. The punk broke his kiss with Roxas, affectionately licked the mark on his neck, and continued on a painstakingly slow pace down his chest.

Roxas released agonizing moans without a pair of lips keeping his mouth busy. The feeling of Axel's hands brushing softly over his obvious bulge was torturous. He gasped in some relief once Axel finally pulled the fly down. The damned punk kept kissing him and licking a trail down to his belly button. Suddenly, it stopped. Roxas groaned pathetically and looked down at the redhead hovering over his crotch with that damned crooked smirk.

"D'ya want me to keep going, Rox?"

Roxas was about to faint over the effects of alcohol-riddled blood escaping his brain and draining south. "Axel," he moaned loudly, biting into his fist to stop any more noise from breaking through. "Fuck you." He cried out when Axel started touching him through his tented boxers.

"Just lemme do this Rox," Axel was practically begging, as if the blond wasn't weeping for the front man to continue. "I promise it'll be reeeaaaally good."

He pulled back the boxers and set Roxas' trapped erection free. The blond choked at the sudden coldness from the bedroom. Axel was quick to rectify this.

"You're so amazing, Roxas," he cooed right next to the man's cock, his hot breath sending shivers down the blond's spine. "You come into my life and shake things up and drop me down, down…" He kissed the base of Roxas' erection and languidly dragged his tongue up to the tip. "D'ya like it when I go down on you?" he slurred.

"Ah-ah-" Roxas was breathily calling out his name and Axel sort of loved that. He kissed the very tip of Roxas' cock before opening his mouth and encasing half and dragging his tongue across it again. Roxas couldn't even breathe his name anymore. His eyes clenched, sudden bright spots forming under his eyes were becoming too strong for him to see anymore.

Axel moved deeper, allowing his lips to pucker around the erection, as he kept moving slowly down. Roxas bucked his hips into Axel's mouth, causing too much too soon. He tried not to gag, and ended up having to hold Roxas' hips down to prevent any further trouble. Roxas blindly grabbed for Axel's hair and buried his fingers into his scalp. The blond taking initiative did crazy things to Axel, and he found he had to let go of his hips so he could unfasten his jeans to relieve the pressure. Roxas looked down and saw Axel with his dick in his mouth, using his free hand to palm himself through his boxers. Soon he was completely gone. Axel's miracle tongue slid up and down his cock and combined with the white-hot heat…

"Axel," Roxas exhaled, not knowing what to do with his hands. He wanted Axel to keep going, but at the same time he was almost spent. "I- I'm…" Axel understood and pulled away quickly, and to not disappoint the blond he quickly replaced his mouth with his hand. While not anywhere near the same, it was enough to drive the writhing man to orgasm. "Yes."

"Roxas," the redhead groaned, feeling like he was enjoying this almost as much as Roxas was. The blond was gone almost immediately, losing himself to quaking spasms as he craned his neck back. With cum caught between his hand and Roxas' stomach, Axel was sure he'd peak at that very moment. Axel took the opportunity to place a few kisses across his collarbone.

In his exhausted state, he laughed when he realized he still had a boner the size of the Eiffel Tower to deal with. Roxas moaned, coming out of his orgasm and looking into Axel's eyes. "Do you need help with that?"

Axel simply smirked. "Well. If you're offering…" Without any extra encouragement, Roxas rolled him over on his side and pressed against him. He left him with a searing kiss and trailed around to start nibbling just under his jaw. He could feel the musician's pulse quake.

"I'm sorry I'm not really good at this yet," Roxas apologized breathlessly, although Axel had no idea why because this was only the greatest thing ever. The young man let his hands roam over the tattooed body, as if he could read every marking with his fingertips. He reached down to Axel's erection still trapped in his boxers. Roxas was trying incredibly hard not to lose the moment in panic. He could feel himself sobering up as he rubbed against Axel's dick, hoping he was doing this right. The older man's moans were encouraging as Axel buried his face in the crook of Roxas' shoulder, breathing heavily.

Roxas closed his eyes and reached behind the elastic of the boxers and felt the heated flesh underneath. Still relatively clueless, he knew what he liked so he tried to perform the same for Axel. With amazing results. After a few quick strokes the redhead was gone. Roxas gasped in surprise when he started to shake and breath heavily, spurting onto the bed and both their tummies. Like a magnet Axel's lips were on Roxas' and he kissed away any worry the blond might have. "You're amazing."

The blond hummed in amusement, not entirely sure if he believed him. He could feel himself getting incredibly tired, and moaned in a groggy way expressing he'd be asleep soon. Axel let him lie down and he reached around trying to find a cloth to clean them off with. He found Roxas' undershirt and started wiping down Roxas' hand and stomach, noticing the blond was already breathing slowly with his eyes closed. Axel smiled and gave him a kiss on the temple and laid down beside him.

"Best. Night. Ever."

xxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxx

aaauuuuUUUGHHHH. I THOUGHT THIS CHAPTER WAS NEXT WEEK. There was so much I wanted to edit in this chapter and I thought I had so much time. Luckily it's been slow at work, but I'm trying to separate my time by working on the new chapters while I'm at work and editing Ballad while I'm at home.

The big thing I always wanted to do with Ballad is that there are no bad guys in this story. Nobody is really evil, nobody's really trying to go out of their way to make the lives of people worse, the entire backbone of the story revolves around decent people making just - really - poor decisions. Everybody has their flaws, but that doesn't make them villains of the story (to quote Zangief, "This does not mean you are bad guy"). So, keep in mind when you're reading this, Namine is not a bad person for being worried for Roxas and not wanting him to hang out with Axel. She has every right to especially as Roxas came home beaten and bruised after a night out with him. Namine keeping Roxas on a tight leash at times is a character flaw, but she's not a villain. Roxas lying to her and going behind her back to spend more time with Axel is far more harsh than anything we've seen her do so far.

Some notes on this chapter:
- If you haven't seen The Graduate, I strongly recommend it. It's a classic and I like the soundtrack. Lots of sweet, sweet infidelity.
- Forgot if it's mentioned in other chapters or if this was its first appearance, but Roxas' ringtone on his phone is from "San Dimas High School Football Rules" by The Ataris, also one of my most fav songs of all time. The Ataris play a huge part in the undertones of the B-Side chapters, which start in a couple weeks!
- The other guys at Roxas' birthday are Prince Edward from Enchanted and Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid. (Originally the role of Eric was played by Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty, but I had plans for him in the new chapters I'm writing and wanted him more there than in this chapter).
- In the original chapter Roxas and Axel were a lot drunker when they had sex and it made me incredibly uncomfortable in every readthrough I did later on. I chipped away at editing it on multiple occasions so it's more to the point that they're about to be hungover rather that just sloppy-ass drunk. They are both sober enough to know they fucked up and will both remember this in the morning.
- The chapter title is "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers. It used to play on the radio a lot when I was in high school…

In game news, I finally beat Terranort. Holy jeez that took forever. I mean it's not like I can play for hours every day, but it took like weeks to find the time and energy to level up and beat him. Started playing as Ven now and he's just a precious angel baby dumplin jesus christ.

SPECIAL NOTE - So, I bought a used copy of KH:3d a little over a month ago that doesn't have a case. I don't need it now that I have the Mark of Mastery edition, and I can't return it since I waited too long. So special offer for people who don't have the game, does anybody want it? I will ship it to you and you'll only have to pay for shipping ($7, US addresses only please). All it comes with is the game cartridge (plus the blank case that gamestop sold it to me in), and nothing else. If you're interested send me a PM and we'll talk about shipping. It's first come first served. If I get multiple people asking for it, I'll keep all the PMs in case payment for shipping falls through with the first person and I'll go to the next one down the list. My friends suggested that I just resell it back to gamestop but like I know I'll only get a few bucks for it so I figure it'd be better this way… If you can help me get rid of this game that'd be great! I'll even throw in some other goodies!

AND PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! FOLLOW/FAV! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!