Secrets
Chapter 5: The Kiss

Axel unlocked the door to his apartment and held the door open for me. I took a look around as he started looking for something to clean my wound with.

"I'll be right back. Make yourself at home." I stood there as he went into another room, the sound of the door closing making me jump just a little.

His apartment was exactly like I imagined... but a little messier. There were tons of music and movie posters all over the walls and stacks upon stacks of video games along side his entertainment center. The kitchen was cleaner then I had thought, though; it was almost spotless except for a few dishes piled in the sink.

"What're you doing? Take a seat." Axel walked back out into the main room and gestured toward the couch. I obliged and sat down, moving a few shirts out of the way. He walked over to the kitchen sink and ran a clean washcloth under warm water, quickly turning it off and walking over to me. He took a seat, facing me, and began patting the area around my eye and cheekbone.

"Ow..." My hands clenched into fists as he wiped the area clean. "God, I fuckin' hate that guy."

"Yeah, well... you're not the only one." He finished cleaning it up and smiled at me. "That should do it. Why don't you take a shower and I'll order us some food? I'll go borrow a first aid kit from a buddy of mine down the hall and fix you up after you wash the cut a little better."

"Alright, I guess a shower couldn't hurt." He stood up and I followed suit. "Is it pretty bad?" He grabbed my chin and softly turned my face to the left as he examined the cut. His face was just inches from mine and for some reason, my heart began to race.

"Nah, it could be worse." He pulled away from me slowly and smiled, his emerald eyes seemed to glow in the dim light of his apartment. "The bathroom is right through that door over there. Take your time."

"Thanks." I swallowed hard as he turned away from me. I couldn't stop myself from thinking about how he made me feel. It was almost sickening. His voice was so soothing, his touch warming and his eyes... when he laid eyes on me, I felt like I was right where I needed to be.

I walked out of the bathroom wearing the same clothes I had on before. I used the towel to dry my hair a bit as Axel walked in the front door. He smiled at me and held up some food in his hands.

"I got us some Chinese take-out. Is that ok?" I nodded as he sat the food down on his coffee table and ran back out the door. "I'm going to get the first-aid kit really fast. I'll be right back." I walked back into the bathroom and looked into the mirror.

It wasn't too bad at all. There was a small cut on my cheek bone and a little bruising around my eye, but nothing horrible. I dropped the towel into his laundry basket and headed back in the living room, taking a seat on his couch and opening up the small take-out boxes.

God, was I hungry. I grabbed a pair of plastic chopsticks that came with the food and dug in. I found the remote to his t.v. and turned it on, flipping through the channels until I found something decent to watch. Axel walked back in, a white box in his hand.

"Well, I'm glad you're making yourself at home!" He laughed a little and took a seat beside of me. "Let's fix you up before you get too comfortable." I put the food down and turned to face him. He opened the box and pulled out a small bottle of ointment. He applied it to my cut and chuckled a little.

"What's so funny?" I frowned as he applied a bandage over the wound.

"Nothing really. It's just..." He put the bandages and ointment back in the box and closed it. "I keep running into you and keep having to save your ass. I feel like a fucking babysitter."

"What? You didn't save me today! Xemnas did." He slowly stopped laughing and stared at the t.v. for a moment before looking at me through the corner of his eye.

"Speaking of which. Why didn't you tell me you were a member of the Organization?" He looked back at the t.v. and frowned. "Nobody can hide something like that. You can't turn your back on them... they'll destroy you." I stared at him for a moment before turning away to face the floor.

"I never turned my cloak in." He quickly turned to face me, his eyes wide with shock.

"You what?!" He tried to look into my eyes, but I averted my gaze. "How'd you manage something like that?!" I took in a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"I joined the Organization when I was still in high school. My mom had cancer and I needed an escape, something to keep my mind off of it. She was dying and my dad had decided to take his anger out on me. I ran into Xemnas at a club that I had snuck my way into. He offered me a job and I took it." I bit my lip and let another sigh escape. "After things had eased up, and mom started to go into remission... I didn't want to live that life anymore. I had gotten addicted to some really hard drugs and, I just didn't need to live like that. I wanted to go to college, I wanted to be happy again."

Axel scooted closer to me, his hand landing on my leg.

"I was never really initiated into the Organization... otherwise, all of you would have known about me. So when I asked Xemnas if I could leave, he didn't say no. But it's like selling your soul to the devil. Once you join, you can never truly leave." I stared down at his hand on my knee and smiled softly. "He still calls on me now and then to work. I do what I can to keep on his good side."

"Fuck, Roxas. I never imagined you to have done something like that. You don't seem the type at all." I nodded in agreement, laughing slightly.

"Yeah, I know. But I was young. I thought I was going to lose my mom and my dad was going crazy. My friends didn't know what to do in a crisis like that, so I had no where else to go and no one to turn to." I ran a hand through my blond spikes and swallowed hard, trying to hold back tears. "Xemnas listened to my troubles, gave me advice and helped me get through some shitty parts of my life. The jobs he gave me might have led me to drugs, but I don't blame him entirely. He's cold-hearted and stern, but he was there for me when nobody else was."

"I've never heard someone talk about him like that..."

The sound of a key entering the doorknob shocked us both. Axel looked over at the door, then turned to me, winking before pushing me down against the couch and kissing me. I tried to push him off, but I couldn't. His slender fingers gently held my face as he leaned deeper into the kiss. I closed my eyes and just went with it.

"What the fuck?" I could barely hear the voice as he continued to kiss me, his teeth nibbling on my lower lip. "Excuse me? Axel?!" A breath escaped my lips as the red-head was pulled off of me. I looked up and saw who it was.

Larxene.

"Oh, hey Larxene. I didn't hear you come in." A cocky smiled played upon his lips as she stared down at the two of us.

"Yeah, right." She turned around and took a few steps toward the door, but stopped. She turned back around and quickly walked up to Axel, pulling her hand back and slapping him hard across the face. "Fuck you, Axel." I watched her walk away, the door slamming behind her. Axel turned to me, his cocky smile still lingering.

"What the hell just happened?" He snickered and grabbed a box of Chinese food from the table, taking it with him as he walked over to the kitchen to get some silverware.

"Ah, nothing. I've been trying to get her off my ass for weeks now. She just doesn't seem to get the hint." He leaned against the counter and took a bite from the container.

"So you thought that kissing me would help set her straight?" He shrugged and glanced over at me for a minute, then opened the fridge to grab a beer.

"You want a beer?" I stared at him for a moment, then got up.

"I think I'm going to head home." I slipped my shoes on and walked to the door. "Thanks for letting me clean up here. And thanks for the food. I owe ya one."

"Are you fucking kidding me? You can't just walk home. We're in the middle of downtown and..." He checked the time. "It's almost midnight!" I paused, my hand on the doorknob.

"I've had a hell of a night, Axel. I'd really just like to go home." I opened the door, but he ran over and closed it. He stared into my eyes.

"Is this because of the kiss? Look, I'm sorry. I just thought... Larxene needed to back off, y'know? I was tired of her shit." I shook my head and tried to grab for the door. "I'm not letting you go. It's not safe out there for a kid like you."

"I'm not a kid, Axel. I'm twenty-three years old. I can take care of myself." He leaned against the door, his emerald eyes staring into my soul.

"If you really need to go home, at least let me call you a cab."

I sat back down and waited on the cab.

Although he always wound up saving the day, it seemed like he always brought trouble with him, too.

Written By: FembotAxel