"Hey Axel! You're sure walking funny." Xaldin greeted him with a grin as Axel set down his tray at the mess table. "Had a good time?"
"You have no idea." Axel munched on his breakfast, which was egg cakes, pickled herring and what looked like leftover beef stew. Not exactly the breakfast of champions or what he would have chosen, but it was edible and there was a lot of it. The masters only provided replicators for special things, certainly not full meals, so it was all made by neko cooks. "You should see the other guy."
"Yeah, we already did, he was walking like he had a poker shoved up his ass." There was a guffaw around the table and Axel winced, then grinned. He'd tried to be as gentle with Roxas as he could, but in the end the heat had lasted five days. There was only so much you could do. Axel felt incredibly sated and very tired, even after a full nights rest, but he knew it was time to get back in the groove. The arena season would be beginning in earnest soon and he couldn't let a pleasant interlude dampen his edge.
He was vaguely aware of some kind of argument in the lower tables, and flicked his ears in annoyance. What were the children going on about? Then his ears went back with shock as someone dumped a tray on their table right beside him without the barest of civilities. There was a mutter and Xaldin stared, ears pinned back as Axel blinked into bright blue, angry eyes.
This was… a complete violation of custom. The table ranks were ancient and well established, and no one would dare break them. Except for an angry little neko boy, who apparently didn't care that he'd just intruded into a realm that should have been closed to him. Axel couldn't help but smile despite the gross affront to his dignity. He'd never much cared about his dignity anyway.
"Hello Roxas." There was another mutter down the table and Axel knew the other warriors didn't like this. But they were caught in a social conundrum. The change in Roxas' scent clearly announced that he'd caught during the heat and was pregnant. As such, he couldn't be harmed in any way. Not only that, he was carrying Axel's child which meant that any attempt to evict him would mean challenging Axel. No one was ready for that, so as long as Axel didn't mind the little blond being there it was hard for anyone to make him leave. Xaldin looked away, ostentatiously going back to his food and soon everyone else was ignoring them. They might have to put up with Roxas, but that didn't mean they appreciated the violation of custom.
"Hello Axel." Roxas said flatly, and Axel lifted his eyebrows. The little blond was pissed as hell, but why? "Don't you have anything else to say?" Axel blinked, wondering what he wanted. Then he shrugged and smiled.
"You're cute when you're angry." Axel reached out to touch the boys' cheek and wasn't really surprised to find his hands slapped away. The other males at the table were, though. But they hadn't spent almost a week dealing with the crabby blond's heat. Axel stared into those bright blue eyes and thought for a moment. What did Roxas want from him? And did it matter? Axel decided it didn't, and caught soft, rosebud lips in an intimate kiss.
But maybe that was what Roxas wanted all along, because he yielded to the kiss instantly, letting Axel explore his mouth and exploring him right back. It was too soon after the heat for Axel to feel desire towards anyone, but he still felt an undeniable spark as he kissed the little blond. And from the look on Roxas' face when they finally parted, he felt it too. Everyone at the table was staring at them, entranced by the unfolding drama. This sort of thing just wasn't supposed to happen, but it certainly was interesting.
"Come meet me in the park, after training, down by the bridge." Axel whispered in Roxas' ear, and the blond neko swallowed before nodding. He bolted his breakfast and fled the table as quickly as he could, leaving Axel wondering what was wrong with the child. This was all very weird. Then he blinked as he realized that Xaldin was staring at him like he'd just grown a third eye. "What?"
"The park? Right after a five day heat? Are you made of iron?" Axel's ears pointed forward in surprise, then he threw back his head and laughed.
"Xaldin! Lecher. You know, there's a lot of things that can be done in the park that don't involve sex. Like, oh, looking at flowers, cuddling under the stars, bird watching…" Xaldin snorted.
"As if you've cared about a bird in your life except to eat them." Axel grinned, eating some more of his pickled herring. That was true. "But that would make more sense than sex. Good, I was thinking we'd have to take your temperature." Axel shook his head with a grin. He was sure that if the Goddess of Lust appeared before him right now, stark naked and beckoning, he wouldn't be able to get a rise up. Some things were just not possible.
Still, he was thinking of the blond as he trained. He wondered what Roxas wanted. Surely not sex, the little neko could hardly walk. So what? Roxas was such a puzzle to him, he had no idea what the blond was thinking. They day went by too slowly, but eventually he was free to go down to the park.
He found the little neko precisely where he'd asked the boy to meet him. Pausing, Axel admired the spiky blond hair, the big blue eyes and reflected on how good he looked in his chosen clothing. It was a stylish outfit in white and black. Axel grinned, amused. His own clothing looked like he'd made it himself out of sacking, but then, he rarely went shopping so he went for durability.
"Hey Roxas." Axel stepped up beside him and frowned slightly as the blond flinched. What was the problem now?
"Axel." Roxas looked down and seemed embarrassed. "You-you know this isn't… I mean, I just can't…" Axel snorted and Roxas looked up, surprised.
"You too? Do I have some kind of reputation as the god of love? Roxas, you could be the hottest whore this side of Farrien and I don't think I could get a lift up." Roxas looked very relieved. "And I know how sore your ass is. Even if I were that unbelievably randy, I'd never ask you for it." Without the heat, it could only be painful until Roxas fully recovered.
"Oh, good. I-I didn't actually think so but one of my friends said that's what walks in the park are for." Axel nodded.
"They are really, but sometimes you can just take a walk to be together." Roxas' ears flicked, and Axel knew he'd hit on something. Roxas just wanted to be with him? Not really an uncommon feeling for a virgin after their first heat. But the strange part was that… Axel felt the same way. The crabby little blond had a strange attraction that seemed to be pulling him in like a moth to a flame. Axel smiled, putting an arm around the blond and ducking his face against his neck to take in his new scent. It was mellow, sweet, intoxicating in an entirely different way from the heat. The scent advertised his pregnancy and announced to the world that the baby was Axel's, if a neko sniffing him had a keen nose and knew Axel's scent. To Axel, it was plain as day. In ancient days that had been a survival mechanism for females, letting the males know who needed to stay and protect.
"Stop that." Roxas muttered. "I know what you're doing." Axel lifted his head, meeting the blond's eyes and feeling a bit puzzled. "Why do you care? It's nothing but another notch in the belt for you." Axel's eyes darkened with sadness.
"You're right." He admitted, to Roxas surprise, and the blond frowned up at him. "I won't even see our child. But that's why I want to sniff you… that's all I can have of our babe." Roxas stiffened, then looked down as he heard the quiet sadness in Axel's voice.
"I-I thought warriors weren't supposed to care about things like that. Except for the numbers." Roxas knew all about that, since he'd been raised in that culture. For a long time that was what he'd thought he was going to be doing, siring dozens of kittens and going into the arena to fight. He'd only realized that it wouldn't be like that recently. Roxas shivered as he felt Axel's arms around him, the older neko resting his chin on the top of his head.
"They're not." Axel said quietly. "But I'm not a normal warrior. You threw it in my face, remember?" Roxas winced as he remembered what he'd said to Axel during the heat. "It was true though. I'm clanless and I was raised by a poor but loving family in the baltaargh." That was the nickname for the worst part of town. The literal translation was obscene. "I took the tests at ten to join as a spear carrier." That was the lowest warrior rank possible. They were the ones who fought in groups against beasts, or in formations for battle games. They tended to die fairly often. "Then I aced everything and, well, you know the rest I'm sure." Roxas nodded. He knew that Axel's talents had been noticed and he'd been taken into advanced classes, where he'd quickly shown immense promise. Promise that had been fulfilled in every way. "The point is, I'm not like you. I wasn't raised in a crèche with dozens of other children; I was raised by a mother and a father who loved me. And sometimes, I wish I could have that. I wish I could know what our child will look like, I wish I could hold him and play with him the way a papa should." Roxas swallowed, tears biting his eyes. It was probably the pregnancy hormones starting, but he suddenly wanted that too. Wanted to know what his child would look like. Would it look like him, or Axel? Would it have that beautiful red hair, his blond shade or something in between? Axel sighed, then lifted his head, looking down at him with a smile. "It's stupid really. I'd be a lot smarter to just put a notch on my belt rather than worry about things that can't change."
"I guess that's true." Roxas suddenly regretted bringing up the whole thing and abruptly changed the subject. "Why don't you get some better clothes? Those are awful." Axel grinned at the blunt question.
"I like them. What, you don't think they suit me?" Axel gently teased him and Roxas snorted.
"They wouldn't suit anyone. As soon as I can walk properly I'm taking you shopping." Axel laughed as Roxas flicked his ears.
"Roxas, I'm down for anything as long as you're paying." Roxas blinked at that. "I'm dead broke. I send most of my money to my family." That was the main reason his clothing wasn't better. What did he need good clothing for anyway? All that mattered was weapons and armor and those were supplied for him.
"Oh. Alright." Roxas was getting a slightly larger allowance now that he was pregnant, and it had been generous to start with. It would probably stretch to getting Axel some new clothes, although he would have to be careful since he would be needing clothes himself soon. Maternity clothes. Roxas grimaced at the thought. Then he blinked as strong fingers slid through his hair, finding his ears and giving them a scratch. He sighed, leaning into that pleasant feeling, his tail twitching slightly. It was very comforting, and Roxas was vaguely aware that part of the attraction between them was instinctive. His scent was calling on Axel to protect, and Axel's scent matched his own. But as he looked up into beautiful green eyes, Roxas didn't care.
He wanted this to last forever.
"I-I oh Roxas I am so nervous!" Roxas rolled his eyes and had to resist the urge to slap his younger brother. They only knew they were full brothers because someone at the crèche had accidentally let it slip when she mentioned how cute they were together. Not that it was a big secret, who was related to whom, but the children weren't encouraged to form family bonds.
"He's just a man, Sora, not the god of war. Get a grip on yourself. Riku isn't spasming." The slightly older boy was staring away blankly.
"That's because he's petrified!" Sora snapped at him and Roxas glanced at the silver hair, sighing as he realized Sora was right.
The three of them were, frankly, children. Sora and Roxas both had active pouches, although Sora was only ten and a few years away from his first heat. Riku was Roxas' age, but he was developing slowly and still several years away from his first time in the arena. His lineage was old and distinguished, so he wouldn't be hurried into his first combat. The trainers would want to make sure he was good and ready for it so he didn't do something stupid and die early. All three of them had no ranking whatsoever, so it was almost absurd that they would be meeting the grand champion and taking him clothes shopping. But Axel hadn't minded when Roxas had asked if his friends could come, so here they were. Although…
"If you two can't get your acts together, you should just go back." Roxas snapped. "I'm trying to get to know him, not make him uncomfortable!" Riku suddenly came out of his trance, blinking.
"You talk like he's your mate or something." Roxas glared at the silver hair, who blushed. "Sorry. But… that's not right Roxas." Roxas looked away. He knew Riku was right. They couldn't have families like normal neko.
"There's no reason we can't be permanent lovers if he likes me." Roxas said sullenly. Riku and Sora exchanged a glance, but didn't disagree. It was possible. Females were only brought into the training centre when they were in heat, so plenty of males had relationships.
"You're going to be hurting in the end if you do that." Sora had to point out. "He's the grand champion. He has to meet challengers every year." And while a few grand champions got to retire, most died on the sands when age started to take away their edge. That was true of all warriors, in fact. That was why they were given so many chances to breed. Regular neko used heat suppressing potions and operations to end the heats entirely, when they were done with children, but not the warrior castes. They died too often.
"While that is true, I'm not planning on dying anytime soon." The amused voice interrupted them and all three children started, Riku almost flinching as Sora sidled behind him. Roxas gave them both a sneer before turning to Axel, meeting beautiful green eyes. Axel seemed amused by what he was seeing.
"Good, because I'd have to kill you." Axel looked even more amused as Roxas took his hand and Riku blinked.
"Wait, that made no sense, you can't kill him if he's dead- ow!" The silver hair rubbed his head where Roxas had smacked him and growled at his friend, who growled right back.
"It's a phrase! Stop being so relentlessly logical, you sound like your father." They didn't actually know that one of their trainers, a silver haired man named Afri was Riku's father. But the resemblance was so uncanny that everyone had decided he must be. Axel looked a little surprised then peered at Riku closely for a moment.
"Oh, Afri. You've got the look of him." Axel suddenly peered at Roxas and blinked. "I think I know who your father is too." Roxas tensed as Sora stared. They'd often wondered who had sired them, since Riku's paternity was so obvious. "The last grand champion, Terra. He was very good. You both look a bit like him and Ventus." Axel seemed a little sad, and they didn't ask what had happened to them. It was obvious what had happened to Terra. Very few grand champions got to retire. "Anyway. We were going shopping?"
"Oh right!" Recalled to the present, Roxas set off purposefully, certain the other three would follow him. Halfway to the mall, he flicked his ears as he heard laughter behind him. Axel was telling them a story?
"…And just when we were making the approach Xaldin farted. And not a silent but deadly one, nooo, it was a big rolling fart. The kind of fart you can hear a mile off. Totally blew our cover so I shoved him out of the bushes right at them and ran for it." Axel grinned happily as the two younger neko laughed at the picture. Axel was referring to the large scale military exercises the neko sometimes engaged in and the masters recorded. "He surrendered immediately of course and told them where I was, the bastard. I got caught too. It was so humiliating when they tied us both up and decided to doll us up like a pair of females." Axel scratched his ear thoughtfully. "Xaldin makes the ugliest girl you could imagine."
"I can't wait to participate in one of those." Riku said eagerly and Axel laughed. The large scale exercises were the one thing they did that most warriors had a decent chance of surviving. The weapons were blunted and a lot of the warriors regarded it as light entertainment, although they still took their duties seriously. Once in a while things could get heated but mostly there was a spirit of fun about the whole thing. Trackers their masters had given them registered who was 'dead' from their wounds and they were forced to leave the battle. It was all very civilized compared to the arena, and Axel wondered sometimes why their masters seemed to like it.
"You'll like it, they're fun. Especially when you're the guy who gets to try and assassinate the enemy leaders. What fun! Of course, its suicide but it's a fun way to go." Roxas grinned at that. He knew for a fact that Axel had done that more than once. People were laying for him now, though, so he hadn't succeeded in that tactic for a while.
"We're here." Roxas announced as they reached the mall. It was a good mall with plenty of department stores and boutiques. Riku made a bee-line for his favorite until Roxas grabbed his tail and yanked him back. "Riku, doorknob, we're here for Axel. I don't think Zute-Zoo is his style." Axel laughed at the thought as Riku looked mortified. It was a children's store, really.
"Why don't we try one of the department stores? I'm not picky." Axel suggested and Roxas nodded. They were cheaper anyway, and would have something better than what Axel was wearing.
The children did most of the picking, as it turned out. Axel was completely indifferent to fashion and kept going for things that glittered, which was a little appalling. Roxas privately thought it might be a good thing that he gave his family his money, or he'd probably be wearing a sequined vest and gold pantaloons. They finally managed to get him a few good outfits, one in black with just enough red trim to satisfy Axel's magpie instincts and another in brown with a bit of gold embroidery. Axel changed into the black outfit before they left, and Roxas swallowed at the change it made. Axel looked very good in black.
"Why don't we go to the food court and get some sea salt ice cream?" Sora suggested and Axel blinked.
"Sea salt ice cream? What's that?" The three children exchanged wide eyed glances. How could someone not know about sea salt ice cream?
"You've never tried it? It's the best stuff ever! C'mon, we'll get you some!" Sora grabbed Axel's hand and dragged the bemused neko after him. Roxas had to suppress a quick flash of jealousy at seeing someone else touch his… mate. Soon thought, they all had ice cream bars and were perched on the edge of a windowsill, looking out over the activity in the food court. It was a bit weird, seeing all the happy families going about their business. So different from their lives at the training centre.
"Hey, you have a bit of ice cream on your cheek." Roxas blinked and turned his head, then blushed as Axel licked his cheek. "There, all gone." Roxas felt a bit faint as he stared into bright green eyes. The redhead was just so… sexy.
"Thanks." He managed to say, and thought he caught an answering flash of desire in those green eyes. Roxas was uneasily aware that he had made a decision.
He wanted to make Axel his.
