One Wish

Chapter 9 – Interrogation

xXx

"I wanna meet him. I mean, I should be allowed to, shouldn't I? I am your bestest brother, after all."

"Sora, you're my only brother. And you should be getting back to Riku's place. It's late."

Roxas pushed his broom with an extra bit of energy, sending fake hay flying, causing Sora to sneeze from the dust. Hayner managed to wander over after hearing Axel's name mentioned, pushing his own pile of litter.

"Axel's coming? I wanna see him again. Please? I should get to, ya know! I wanna meet this psycho for realsies this time!"

"He's a psycho? Roxas! You didn't tell me that! I thought you said that he was nice!"

Roxas could only shake his head at the onslaught of words, wishing that he could just go snuggle up in that bed that he had adopted as his own and leave the two flies buzzing around him. "Who even said that he came here? I don't remember ever saying that. So just give me some breathing room."

Sora moved back to sit up in the manger scene, knocking his boots against the wooden side. "I didn't mean tonight. I just mean in general. Tomorrow maybe? I don't have any school. Maybe I could drop by?"

"He works all night, so he's gotta sleep tomorrow."

Sora pouted but gave up for a moment, turning instead to Hayner. "Why would you get to meet him before me?"

Hayner smirked, pulling one gloved hand up to prod his chest with his thumb in a show of pride. "Because I'm his best friend."

Roxas snorted, rolling his eyes. "When did this happen?"

Hayner didn't get the chance to answer as his eyes grew wide in fright, gaping at something just behind Roxas' back. The elder blonde didn't have enough time to turn around as he felt a warm, bare hand covering his mouth, the other wrapping around his chest to hold him still. His body was rigid with fright, horror pumping through his entire body. He started to writhe in those entrapping arms, a scream building in his throat.

"Why are they not allowed to see me?"

Roxas stilled, his heart continuing to hammer in his chest. Axel let the hand covering the blonde's mouth drop as he laughed, obviously enjoying Roxas' reaction. Trying to turn in that one constricting arm, Roxas found he couldn't. So instead he dropped his broom and started to pry those long, strong fingers off of him.

Sora and Hayner were petrified, frozen in their tracks. They sensed that things weren't that bad, as Roxas wasn't screaming though they hadn't heard the words that Axel had whispered into Roxas' ear.

"Axel, frig, let me go. Fuck. You scared the shit outta me! Don't do that!"

"Axel?" was hissed in unison, shock more than fear now on the two younger teen's features. The redhead smirked, letting Roxas win, watching the blonde slip from his embrace.

"You sound like you're not happy to see me, Roxas." Axel mused, crossing his arms over his chest, not shivering even though he only wore a thin jacket. Roxas glared at the man, righting himself and looking him over.

"You don't do that to people! Jeez ... And come here." Roxas gestured for the taller man to lean down, eyeing a new smudge on the elder's cheek. He felt sick when he realized what it was, hardly noticeable in the dim lighting. Wiping the smudge away with his thumb, Roxas brought it up to his eyes to make sure he had been correct, cleaning the digit on his pants leg after a small gag.

"What?"

"Blood." The word was hissed, too quiet for the two others to hear. Axel rubbed at that spot on his cheek with the heel of his hand in case there was any more that he may have missed. "Anyway, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be ... working?" Roxas couldn't help but hesitate on the word.

Sora jumped off the stage, moving to his brother's side, looking the intruder up and down, his face set in a contemplative scowl, clearly distrusting the man that had horrified them all.

"I am." Axel watched the brunette with curiosity as Sora circled him, scrutinizing him. Noticing how Roxas instantly grew defensive, Axel continued. "There's a job that needs doing on the next block, so I just thought that I would drop in and say hi. I can leave if you want me to."

Roxas relaxed slightly, trying to get the thought of just what that 'job' entailed out of his head. "No, it's fine. You can stay, I guess. You're not hurting anybody here." He didn't mean to add the accusation but there was no taking it back, even as Axel's face fell, obviously hurt.

"No, I guess I'm not." The redhead put on a smile, going back to watching the brunette. "Well, am I worthy?"

Sora jumped but glared up at the elder man. "Answer a few questions and I might let you stay."

Roxas groaned at his brother's tough-guy act. "Sor, really? Don't, man."

"No, no, I'm curious now. Fire away, kid." Axel gave Roxas a wink. Somehow, the action that was meant to reassure the blonde only made him more anxious.

xXx

"What was Roxas doing when you first met him?" Sora asked, looking between his brother and the redhead. Axel snickered, exchanging a knowing glance with the blonde. Even in the semi-darkness, Axel could see the blush dusting Roxas cheeks as he went back to work, leaving the two to their own devices.

"Accusing me of being a pedophile when I came here on my own." Axel smirked at the memory, laughing when he saw Roxas curl in on his broom-handle out of embarrassment. Sora's skeptical gaze forced the redhead to sober up, though he couldn't wipe the smirk away.

"You aren't, are you?"

"Of course not. That's my brother." A wink, another laugh and a shake of the head. "No, I really hate kids. Can't stand them."

"You're always calling me a kid," Roxas spoke up from a few displays away, proving to the duo that he was still paying attention.

"That's different."

"What's your relation with my brother now?" Sora cut in before Roxas could reply, more interested in the interrogation than anything that his brother could say.

Axel thought about the answer for a moment. "I would consider him a friend. I'm not sure what he thinks of me, but I would say that he's my friend."

"You wanna bang him?" Hayner piped up, gaining a startled look from the redhead, a disgusted one from Roxas and Sora urging him on, wanting to know the answer to the question himself.

"I ... never considered that before?" Axel's brows knitted together, his gaze now taking in the younger blonde that was leaning on his own broom. Hayner's lip curled from his smirk.

"And why not?"

"Drop it, Hayner. Don't be so ..." Roxas stopped, glaring at the younger blonde. He seemed to have trouble finding the right word to chastise the younger with. Axel took it upon himself to change the subject, for once not enjoying the red dusting Roxas' cheeks.

"Any other questions, Sora?"

"I've got another one." Hayner spoke up again, moving closer to the redhead, forcing Roxas to groan and Axel to suspect him of being up to something. He didn't have to have known Hayner all that long to figure him out. Something was up. "Are you really the Anti-Clause?" The blonde took a deep breath in through his nose. "You don't smell bad and you don't look that scary."

Axel noticed Roxas stiffen and whip around, eyes wide in horror. But Axel wasn't dumb. He'd already learned his lesson. People never reacted very well to his secret, calling him a liar, saying that such myths were just stories to scare the kids. "You actually believed that? Wow, Roxas. You need to choose less gullible friends. That's ... just a myth to scare the kiddies. He ... doesn't exist." It hurt him to lie like that but he knew better. Roxas had taken the news surprisingly well. He wasn't so sure that Hayner would, too.

"Then why did Roxas say that you said you were?"

"He was just being a douche, Hayner. Just drop it. And Axel, you've got to get to work. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

Axel knew that Roxas was uncomfortable with the way that the conversation had turned, so he didn't argue. Neither Hayner nor Sora seemed too happy to see him go, but they didn't bother putting up a fight either.

"I'm sorry I scared you earlier," Axel whispered into the blonde's ear as he brushed by. Roxas grabbed his wrist, shaking his head.

"It's okay. Thanks, though. I feel bad you had to lie but ..."

"But I'm a monster and you don't want it getting out that you fraternize with one. I understand."

"No! Axel, that's not it at all! Get back here! I'm not done with you!"

Disappearing in the darkness, Axel ignored the blonde's pleads, his chest aching with the knowledge that everything he was working for would all be for nothing, that it was all a fool's dream.

"Stop trying to kid yourself. You're a monster. I'm a monster, aren't I? That's right, nod your head." Axel forced the man that he held by the throat to nod before snapping his neck.

xXx

To Be Continued

xXx

Well, that was a ... gruesome way to end a chapter.

~xbuttonsx~