Chapter Four
Sora was bouncing up and down excitedly on the chair. Roxas put his hands on the kid's shoulders, but he just shook under them. Shrugging, Riku pushed Roxas away and let Sora bounce. It was only three days until Sora's eighteenth birthday and he was already freaking out over it. Wednesday was when Sora was finally going to be an official adult. Then the Wednesday after that was the Fourth of July and the Tuesday before that, Demyx and Zexion were supposed to make their appearance.
"Jesus Sora, how much candy did you eat?" Roxas asked, grabbing his special bottle of water. It was yet another unbearable summer day. He put the bottle on the back of his neck and sighed with relief.
"I actually didn't eat any. Riku has been cutting me off. He's always looking out for me," grinned Sora affectionately. The silver haired boy just smiled and ran a hand through Sora's brown spikes.
"Good idea, don't need to get you fatter," Roxas said, watching his brother's face fall slightly.
"F-fatter? Riku am I fat?" he said, voice trembling. Riku glared and Roxas, who only let the corner of his mouth twist into an evil smile.
"No Sora! You thin and perfect! Don't let Roxas get to you. He's just an ass," Riku said, pulling Sora off the chair and into his arms. The brunette put his hands on his stomach and pursed his lips.
"What the hell? Damn Roxas, I'm really not fat. Leave me alone," Sora said, grabbing Riku.
'I swear, that boy gets weirder and weirder every day. Must be birthday jitters,' thought Roxas.
"Yeah Roxas, leave your baby brother alone," Riku sniggered, getting a glare from Sora. Riku pinched Sora's squishy, rosy cheeks and smiled softly. Sora smiled and turned his head to kiss Riku's hand.
"I knew you can't stay mad long. All you need is a little sugar from Rikki Kins and you're just a lovesick school girl. God damn, the day after your birthday is going to be all smiles and giggles, eh Sora?" Roxas said, putting the bottle back into the freezer. Sora's sapphire eyes bulged and his cheeks turned red. Riku smacked his own forehead with his hand and flipped Roxas the bird.
"Dropping the subject, so where's the ginger?" Riku asked, sitting down at the island. Sora reached his hand across and held onto Riku's. Roxas sat next to his brother and shrugged his shoulders.
"It's three in the afternoon, he better not be sleeping," said Sora, rolling his eyes.
"I went in the room around two to wake up him. He said he was going to take a shower once I woke him. I'll go see if he's asleep or not," Roxas said, getting back up with a sigh. Riku waved to him and the blonde ran up the stairs.
"Ax? You awake?" he called out once he reached the top of the stairs. Roxas heard the shower still running. Axel must've been in there for over an hour, surely the water was ice cold by then. Roxas grumbled to himself and knocked on the bathroom door.
"Time to get out, aren't you freezing?" Roxas didn't get an answer. He knocked once more before he just turned the knob and barged in.
"Didn't you hear me? I said time to get out!" Roxas said, yanking back the shower curtain. Sitting on the floor of the bathtub, sound asleep and snoring away was Axel. The fool fell asleep in the shower! Roxas put his hand over his mouth and tried not to laugh. He put his hand through the water still running and it was somewhat warm. Axel's mouth drooped open and he snored like a bear. Smiling, Roxas turned the hot water all the way off and stood on his tip toes to bend the showerhead so the ice water fell right onto Axel.
"Sweet Jesus! That shit is cold!" screamed Axel as the water woke him up. He sprang from the bathtub and onto the bathroom floor. Roxas was dying of laughter as he grabbed a towel from the shelf. He threw it on Axel, still laughing. Green eyes scanned the room until they locked onto the chuckling blonde. Axel's eyes narrowed as he leapt for Roxas.
"Think it's funny?" Axel said, sitting bare naked on Roxas. He pinned the smaller man's arms by his head and raised an eyebrow.
"Actually Ax, it's priceless. You should've seen your face. Now, would you kindly get the fuck off me and put on some clothes?" Roxas said, trying to get out of Axel's grip. The red head grinned and kissed the blonde's cheek before he got up and wrapped a towel around him. Roxas stood up, frowning and holding his shirt from his body. His shirt was soaked and while it felt good on his heated skin, wet shirts just felt gross on him. Roxas stripped of the shirt and tossed it in the dirty clothes hamper. He put his hands on his hips and glared at Axel.
"Well Roxas, don't you look stunning?" Axel said, reaching for his grumpy boyfriend. Roxas pushed him away and trudged into their room. He dug around in his dresser drawer, looking for a shirt. Not caring anymore and just wanting to put on a shirt, Roxas snatched up a random shirt. He slipped it on and turned around to see Axel, trying to pose seductively against the door frame. Axel winked at Roxas, who shoved Axel out of his way.
"You're such a loving boyfriend," sighed Axel. Roxas flinched at the slight sound of hurt in Axel's tone and walked back down the stairs. Riku and Sora waited by the foot of the stairs. Sora looked like he truly wanted to know if Axel died or something and Riku looked uninterested.
"What happened to him? I heard him talking now, but did he really take a shower for that long?" Sora asked. Roxas snorted and Riku poked Roxas, wonder what the hell the noise was for.
"He fell asleep while taking a shower. I found him snoring really loudly do I turned the water onto cold and woke his tired ass up," said Roxas squeezing his way through them.
"Maybe you should stop keeping him up all night, right Rox?" Riku said sarcastically. Everyone knew nothing like that went on between Roxas and Axel. Hell, Roxas was still a virgin. God only knows if Axel is. Roxas punched Riku in the shoulder as he opened the front door. Hoping for a little gust of wind to hit him, Roxas was disappointed.
"It's too damn hot, can't it just rain already? I prefer that over blistering heat," he said grumpily.
"I actually love the sunshine. You just a constant downer, huh Roxy?" Sora said, breaking through Roxas. He spun around on the porch, arms out in the air. Sora took in a deep whiff of the fresh air and Roxas sighed. His brother was too perky for the life they had. With being thrown out of their house, forced to find a new place to live within that night, you'd think he'd be at least a little upset.
"Cheer up Rox, Ax and I have a surprise for tonight anyway. You think camping was fun?" Riku said, walking outside and grabbing Sora's waist from the behind. He rested his chin on the shorter one's shoulder and watched the lake glisten.
"Camping sucked, other than me scaring the hell out of Sora and Axel I was bored," Roxas mumbled, not leaving the slightly cooler house.
"Don't ruin this Roxy," Sora frowned. Roxas just huffed out a sigh and decided not to piss off his brother until after Sora's birthday. It was fair enough at the least.
"Fine, so then what's the surprise Riku?" asked Roxas. Riku turned around and shook his head.
"That ruins the surprise dumbass," Riku chuckled. Roxas stuck his tongue out at Riku childishly and stepped backwards. He closed the door and turned around to come face to, well, chest.
"Hello princess, fancy meeting you here. Look, I'm wearing clothes this time. Unless you don't want me to be fully clothed. That can be changed quickly."
Axel bent down to Roxas' height and grinned cockily. Roxas pursed his lips and had the urge to just smack the smug look right off his cute face. But the blonde shrugged, smiled back and kissed the red head quickly. Axel's hand found the small of Roxas' back as he pulled him in closer. Roxas allowed himself to be brought close to Axel as he pulled away.
"So I get a kiss for calling you princess? Do you like it better than Roxy?" said Axel, putting his other hand on Roxas' back.
"Don't call me princess and don't call me Roxy. The name's Roxas. Remember that," Roxas said, grabbing Axel's shoulders.
"Fine, well I still love you, Roxas," Axel said, forcing out 'Roxas'. Roxas' blue eyes actually matched his smile that time. His stretched up to kiss Axel's nose before he broke free of his grip. He casually walked into the living room and plopped down onto the sofa. Axel shook his head and slowly followed Roxas. Just sometimes he wished Roxas would say he loved him back. Not once did the blonde ever say those words. Axel wasn't even sure Roxas could pronounce the word love. He sat next to Roxas and pulled him close. Roxas rested his head on Axel's shoulder and yawned.
"I recommend sleep, you're going to need it," winked Axel.
"Aw c'mon, why won't you guys tell Sora and I what you have in mind?"
"You'll just have to wait and see Roxas!"
O~o~O
"Midnight bowling? You've got to be kidding me! This will sure as hell be interesting. I'm pretty sure none of you can bowl to save your lives," Roxas snorted, crossing his arms over his chest as Axel pulled up to the bowling alley. Bright, luminescent, neon lights glowed down on the car. Axel turned off the car and glared at Axel.
"Hush up and enjoy yourself. Who knows, you might like it!" he said, opening his door. Roxas rolled his eyes and got out after Axel. Sora and Riku got out just as Axel locked the doors. He twirled the keys around his fingers once and put them in his pocket.
"Ready to go bowl? I'm pretty sure I'll be the winner!" Axel said smugly.
"You're on ginger," Riku challenged, taking his boyfriend's hand.
"Let's actually make this interesting. Since I'm being dragged along, why not turn this into a competition? The winner gets the gloating rights and the losers have to do what the winner says for a whole week. But, the ultimate loser, the one with the lowest score, has to run through the house and outside the house butt naked with a finishing jump into the lake," grinned Roxas. All heads snapped up at the suggestion and evil smiles spread.
"Deal," all four said in unison. Axel walked over and wove his arm through Roxas' and they all walked towards the building.
"Wait Rox, where did you get that idea from?" Axel asked, peering down at the blonde.
"Oh, it's just a little something that happened years ago. Ask Riku and Sora, Riku was the loser that time. The lake thing I came up with though. Remember that Rikki Kins? Sora was so red when he saw you like that. Wasn't that his first time seeing you naked? Such a funny night," chuckled Roxas. Riku threw Roxas a death glare over his shoulder and Sora's giggles could be heard shaking from his body.
"Roxy, why do you like to bring up the most embarrassing moments of my life?" questioned Riku.
"Because Riku fool, this was the summer before Axel and I got together so I'm sure he's curious to know a little more about one of his best friends. I would be, but that's just my opinion!"
"All these stories are funnier than hell, so Roxas can tell as many as he wants. Suck it up Rikki Kins!" Axel laughed thumping the back of Riku's head lightly. Riku snarled under his breath and once inside, Axel left the group and motioned them to wait for a second. He went up to the shoe rental counter and spoke with the man.
"I actually think Axel's going to lose," whispered Sora. He blinked his bright blue eyes and smiled. Obviously he just got an image of Axel that he did not want and tried to get rid of it.
"Alright, c'mon guys. Axel's calling us over, this begins now," Riku said, pulling Sora along. Roxas put his hands in his shorts' pockets and followed behind, head looking at the ground.
They gave their sizes to the poor fellow behind the counter and grabbed the ugly and colorful bowling shoes that always made Roxas feeling uncomfortable. Axel led them to a table and everyone was already trying to squeeze their feet into the stiff bowling shoes. Roxas made a face of disgust as he slid his second shoe on. Never once in his life had he ever liked bowling shoes, but not wanting to be the automatic loser, he decided to suffer. Rox was confident he could beat one of them at the least.
"Alright, I'm going first, then Riku, then Sora and then Roxas. Is that cool?" Axel said, already sitting at the screen. The three of them mumbled yes and Axel quickly entered in their names. There weren't too many people around. Roxas sighed and hoped no one watched him bowl at all. He tended to be very graceful and ballerina like when it came to bowling, but only a bit. Not to mention his tongue sticks out of the side of his mouth like a panting dog.
"Show us how it's done ginger!" Riku teased, kicking back and placing an arm over Sora's shoulders. Roxas could just feel Axel rolling his eyes. The pins slowly came down and Axel picked up brilliant neon orange bowling ball. Axel weighed it in his hands and nodded to himself. Lining up oh-so-perfectly, just to mess with Riku, Axel stuck his butt out and wiggled his hips. Snickering, the red head pulled the ball back as he moved for the line. The ball flew from his hand so fast that Roxas wasn't even sure it ever touched the ground. Axel bit on his index finger and watched the pins fall, well all except one. It just wobbled and wobbled, but it never fell down. In the far left corner it stood, mocking Axel.
"Damn, it's like it's taunting me! Of course I miss just one pin! Did you see how it moved? That sucker should've fallen!" Axel said, stamping his foot. Roxas laughed at Axel, but inside he was worried. The chance that Axel would be the victor and Roxas would have to do whatever he wanted for a week made his stomach flutter. Roxas should've clarified the rules better. If Axel won, all hell would break loose.
'Aw, shit. I've got to beat this ass!' Roxas thought, chewing on his bottom lip. The bowling ball was already down the lane as Roxas thought about what could happen. It barely skimmed the side of the pin and by some miracle, the pin actually fell. Roxas gulped loudly and he could see Sora and Riku exchange nervous glances.
A wide grin was plastered on Axel's face as he turned to face his friends. Roxas' blue eyes widened as he imagined himself running around naked because he lost. No way in hell was he going to let that happen.
"Read it and weep ladies! I'm a damn good bowler. Guess I should've mentioned it! Okay, so first game decides our bet's winner and after we just play for fun. Sound good?" Axel said, sitting right back behind the screen. Riku cleared his throat and got up and reached for a black ball. Sora blew him a kiss for luck and Riku winked back at the brunette.
"My turn Axel. I'm not going to let Roxas see me naked again. Might make you and Sora jealous since he'd be all over me afterwards," said Riku as he cracked his neck. Roxas felt sick to his stomach from the sound and the idea of Riku running around in the nude again.
"You wish I came onto you! Just roll the damn ball!" growled Roxas. Sora pouted a little bit and crossed his arms over his chest. Axel attempted to trip Riku as he walked by. The silver haired man merely laughed and bowled. Axel watched anxiously as the ball rolled down the lane in a perfect straight line. Riku relaxed, not caring about what the ball did.
"Strike baby," he said simply. All of the pins went down with ease and Axel and Roxas were awestruck. Riku walked back to Sora who just high fived him. The brunette smiled cheerily which made his brother flinch in fear. Something was going on. Roxas knew Riku could not bowl for shit, where did that strike come from?
"Riku, how did you do that? You've never bowled a strike once in your life before. Obviously it's rigged!" Axel gasped. Riku shrugged with a sly smile and stretched out his legs, watching Sora get up for his turn. The smallest of the group grabbed a shiny blue ball and took in a deep breath. Roxas sat up straighter to see if his brother had any tricks up his sleeve. One thing Roxas did notice though, Sora had his tongue out just like Roxas did. This made Roxas smile to know he wasn't alone. With the pins all ready, Sora ran up to the line and let go of the ball. It didn't go as fast as Riku's or Axel's ball because Sora didn't have that much strength in his arms. Yet, the ball went pretty fast for something Roxas would expect Sora to roll. The ball knocked down the right side of the pins, only getting four pins down.
"Shoot, I was hoping to get more! Well, that's somewhat okay, I guess," said Sora, grabbing his ball again. As the pins fixed themselves, Sora got ready to go again. This time he managed to hit two more pins with a grand total of six. Roxas felt much better about the whole bet then. All eyes were on him then as Roxas stood up awkwardly for his turn.
His eyes scanned the set of bowling balls. He saw a nice color green ball, but it wasn't as pretty of a green as Axel's eyes. Roxas half smiled and weighed the ball in his hand. It was kind of light and not too heavy. It would work just well for him. Keeping in mind he hadn't bowled in years, Roxas just hoped he didn't suck ass.
"C'mon, let me just beat Sora," Roxas whispered to the ball. The pins were down again and out came Roxas' tongue. He inhaled deeply through his nose and closed his eyes. As he exhaled, those blue eyes snapped to alert. He started his move for the line. Already he could feel the ballerina movements creep to him. Roxas let the ball fly from his hands and his right leg up in an arabesque, included with an almost perfect pointed toe. His hand even looked soft and light, fingers looking elegant. He held this pose right up until the ball making contact. Roxas eyed the rolling ball carefully as he watched it only hit two back pins before it was out of sight. He landed back on his feet, slumping over. Already his outlook was grim and to add on, they were all laughing at him.
"Jesus Roxy! I don't remember our parents letting you take dance!" giggled Sora.
"Damn, I remember you're Little Mister Ballerina! Should've remembered you in gym class!" snorted Riku.
"Seriously Roxas, I really should call you princess or you're just my little ballerina!" chuckled Axel, who was wiping away the water from his eyes. Roxas blushed a deep red and his hands went into his pockets. The laughter was slowly dying down, that is, until they realized Roxas had to finish his turn. The green ball rolled back and Roxas picked it up unwillingly. He looked at it sadly and sighed as he faced the fixed pins. He tried to control his ballerina poses, but as soon as he let go of the ball, he was in coupe and the chorus of laughter continued. Roxas really had to work on control that weird ballet thing he did. Blushing, he didn't even watch his ball go. Roxas ran for his seat, embarrassed.
"Gutter ball! Well Princess, keeping bowling like that and you're going to put on a nice little show for us," winked Axel mischievously. Roxas placed his face in his hands and groaned. He thought he just ditched Roxy, but here comes a new nickname for him. So close he was and Roxas just ruined it. Maybe instead of running track for that little amount of time he should've just taken up dance.
Axel was getting up for his turn when Roxas peeked through his hands. He saw Riku hand Sora a couple of bills and the little brunette ran for the snack stand. Axel's amazingly swift ball flew down the lane and Roxas didn't care to watch. He had a good feeling it would be just between Riku and Axel as the winners. Two people he definitely did not want to win.
Sora was back quickly, two large containers of soda at hand. Riku took one and Sora set the other on the table. The brunette snuggled up against Riku and sipped the drink. Axel cracked his fingers as he grabbed the ball, ready for his next go. He had only missed two pins that time.
"Rox, that one's for you and Axel. Don't drink it all on him," Sora said, pointing to the other cup. Roxas already figured it would be his. Axel snatched it up and high fived Riku as he walked by. The red head plopped down to his angry boyfriend and gulped down a bunch of soda. Axe rubbed Roxas' back soothingly. The blonde looked up at him and took the cup, drinking a bunch of it himself. Grumbling, he handed it back to Axel when he was done.
"Aw, Princess, what's the matter? Grumpy about losing? Maybe you shouldn't have turned this into a bet before you knew what you were getting into," asked Axel with a cocky smile. Roxas leaned against Axel. Biting his lip, Axel put a finger under his chin and lifted the smaller man's head up. Roxas' soft, pink lips were already dipping into a frown. Axel kissed Roxas' nose and continued to rub his back.
"I can't do it Axel. If I lose, I'll have to streak, but I can't. It was already so much of a trouble just to even take my shirt off. You have no idea how shy and self conscious I am. Sora's a bold and confident, but I'm weak. I-I can't do it," Roxas sighed. Axel pursed his lips and leaned close to his ear. His warm breath tickled the blonde. He hoped Sora and Riku were well out of earshot. Axel was always an awful whisperer.
"I'll help you win babe. If something makes you that upset, I won't let you do it. And Rox, you can tell me anything. You can always count on me," he whispered. Roxas could feel a smile creep on his face and he hugged his boyfriend. Maybe he could see himself falling for the adorable fire head. But that was only a maybe.
O~o~O
Tenth frame. Roxas' last chance at winning… or at least beating Sora. His hand quivered as he held the ball, taking a look at the score. Riku had lost to Axel by a mere few points. Sora was beating Roxas by eight points. If only Roxas could just knock down one more pin than Sora. He already rolled once and managed to hit three pins. Six to go and he would be the one to keep their clothes on.
"You can do it my Princess!" shouted Axel from behind him. Roxas gritted his teeth and made a mental post-it note to kick Axel for that nickname. Riku and Sora were talking about what Axel was going to make them do. Sora would slip in about how he was glad it wasn't going to be him running around in the nude. That only made Roxas even angrier. Axel said he would help and so far he was doing a very good job.
"Hurry up and bowl twinkle toes!" Riku groaned, wanting to just rub it in Roxas' face already. Riku already lost that stupid bet to Roxas and he just wanted to gloat. Sora really wanted to go play in the arcade and Riku promised to let him go after they watched Roxas lose.
"Wait, don't go yet Rox!" Axel said, leaping off his chair. He went to Roxas and grabbed the blonde's arms. Axel was sure Roxas could use some aim and power. Roxas froze up as Axel held onto him, steadying the hand holding onto the bowling ball. Riku started to protest, but Axel yelled at him to shut up. Axel had his chin on Roxas' shoulder and Roxas shivered.
"I said I'd help, right? Well here I am helping. Let's do this together. It'll be tricky and you might feel weird, but it should work. On three, start running. Okay? One, two, tree!" Axel said, pushing Roxas forward and pulling his arm back. Roxas' feet skidded on the floor and he shrieked in surprise, but he felt right. Axel's sweet cologne smelled wonderful and Roxas loved the way that even though he was forceful, Axel was very careful of Roxas.
He could feel the ball leave his hand and the extra push from Axel made it go faster than what Roxas usually bowled. It went straighter too! Axel wrapped his arms around Roxas before he could do yet another freaky ballet move and they watched the ball roll down, heading right for the front pin.
The four of them got quiet as the ball seemed to move in slow motion, knocking down the front three pins. They fell and slid into three of the back ones and Roxas turned to hide in Axel's chest. He hoped that they would just fall and he would be safe. Everything went silent for Roxas.
"You've got to be shitting me. No way in hell," said a voice too high to be Riku's or Axel's. And it sounded pissed.
Author's Note:
Ohmygosh. Hey guys! It's been so long since I've updated! But I'm back!
This chapter is so long, but I kind of like it!
Aw, I kind of gave Axel a softer side! I like softie Axel :3
Ha, the whole Roxas as a ballerina thing is based off me!
Whenever I play any sport... my coach always ends up calling me Ballerina, Princess, or Little Fairy by the end of the season. I guess I'm graceful...?
Anyway, the ending is a little rushed in my opinion. I just wanted to get this chapter up. Originally, it was to stoped before they went midnight bowling, but then it'd be too short. So I continued on and then I was going to stop right after Roxas' bowled the first time. Of course that's changed too.
And now it stops right as our little Roxy beats Sora! :3
But will I make Sora run naked?
It doesn't sound as interesting as Axel or Riku, but whatever.
Hmm, maybe I'm going to have to up the rating. JUST IN CASE. But I'll decide when I write the next chapter :D
I hope I didn't lose any faithful readers D:
Remember, you can ask any questions, add a comment, or predict what may happen! I'll more than likely reply to you!
Oh, and bonus points if you can name the show I got 'Twinkle Toes' off of ;D
That's this updates challenge!
Past Winners: [because I'm going to start announcing them now :D]
Cosplay Group Cookie Award: ADeadBlackRose & xFallenSpirit13x
YOU GUYS GET A COOKIE :D
So who will be our new winners? Find out next update c:
Review & favourite :]