Chapter Seven
"Hey sweetie! I'm so glad I was able to call you! Your father just left for work, they called him in. I felt just awful about not being able to wish you a happy birthday. Even though it's a day early, happy birthday my darling baby," cooed their mom. Roxas could see tears building up in Sora's eyes.
"Oh mommy! I miss you so much! Soon we get to see each other," Sora smiled. Roxas looked at Axel and he had a feeling the topic of why they were there would come up. He reached for Axel's hand and pulled him inside. Roxas knew Riku was keeping a watchful eye on him and a knot formed in his stomach. A certain blonde was going to be questioned later on.
"Come on Axel, let's give Sora this moment," Roxas said, dragging the red head. Sora waved them off and he and Riku moved off the porch and over by the empty fire pit.
"Aw, I wanted to say hi to your mom! I haven't talked to her since graduation!" Axel whined as Roxas closed the door.
"Sorry Axel, Sora didn't get a chance to talk to mom last time," Roxas said, pulling him into the kitchen. They sat at the island and Axel pouted.
"Why doesn't she just come up here for Sora's birthday? Your dad can even come! Riku and I will just keep our hands to ourselves. According to him we are just friends," said Axel, adding a wink at the end. Roxas chewed on the inside of his lip and tried to keep steady.
"Right, he doesn't know. Well, they probably have to work. Not to mention, I'm sure they don't want to take the long drive up here," Roxas said, trying to move on from his father.
"It's only an hour! Well, alright, I guess a phone call will do. Sweet, that means I won't have to keep my hands behind my back for a day," Axel snickered. Roxas punched his shoulder and rolled his eyes and smiled.
"You're such a creep," Roxas smiled. Axel leaned in and kissed Roxas on the cheek, making him blush.
"Red's a nice color on you! Have you ever thought about dying it to match mine?" Axel joked, brushing away some of Roxas' hair from his face. Blue eyes rolled and Axel chuckled.
"I doubt your hair color is really natural," said Roxas. Axel held up a finger and his eyes lit up.
"The curtains match the carpet, true and true. Want to see?" he said. Roxas' jaw dropped and he turned away, shocked at Axel. It really wasn't something new, but it still managed to annoy Roxas.
"No thanks, I'll just take your word for it," Roxas grinned. Axel sighed and grabbed Roxas' hand. He traced circles into his palm and poked at the blonde's skinny fingers. Roxas watched him play with his hand and waited for Sora to return his phone. Hopefully the ditz wouldn't hang up before Roxas could get a chance to say hello to his mom.
"Your hands are extremely small, mine are huge," Axel noted, bringing Roxas hand up and placing his on his. It was true, Axel's hand towered over Roxas'.
"That's because everything on you is huge, hell, even your hair is huge," Roxas laughed, patting Axel's hair. Axel pursed his lips and snatched Roxas' hand back. Blue eyes stared back at Axel and the red head brought the hand to his mouth. He kissed each finger softly and turned Roxas' hand over and over.
"The silence isn't so bad, 'til I look at my hands and feel sad. 'Cause the spaces between my fingers are right where yours fit perfectly," Axel sang quietly in his deep voice. Roxas really had to try and listen carefully to even hear him. He thought about where he heard the song before, with it sounding kind of familiar.
"You sound nice Ax, what song is that anyway?"
"It's just a song I listen to every time I miss you or think about you," he said simply, looking away. Seeing as how he had a whole part memorized, Roxas knew Axel missed him a lot. After they graduated, Roxas didn't talk or see much of Axel. That is, until that night. He just hung out with Riku and Sora and he felt really bad.
"Do you know the whole song or something?" Roxas asked gently, trying to get Axel to look at him again. Sad green eyes looked back. Roxas frowned and scooted closer to Axel.
"Yeah I kind have the whole thing committed to memory," Axel smiled, but it didn't match his eyes.
"You'll have to sing for me one day. Your voice, it sounds good," Roxas said, trying to cheer him up and alter the subject.
"Demyx can help me; he's a guitar player and all. Zexion doesn't like all the loud noise, but when Demyx plays all sweet and stuff the little shrimp lightens up. Man, I really can't wait for you to meet them!" said Axel. Roxas let out a sigh of relief and was glad the subject moved on.
"Sounds like Zexion's the killjoy type," Roxas joked.
"Actually, Zex can be the life of the party. Usually Dem stirs him up, but still!"
"Well, then we can see at the Fourth of July party! Oh, I decided that I'll make pudding for the party along with my famous-only-to-family-and-friends pasta salad, sound good?"
"Sounds great, you know I love your cooking! You and Sora have a gift for baking and cooking and all that. Glad I got you babe!"
"Oh, so you're dating me for my cooking skills? That's real sweet of you Axel! Ha, well how about you help me with the cake? It's box cake, so nothing special."
Axel sprang up from his seat, knowing it was going to be a chocolate cake and he knew of he helped he got to have left over batter. Roxas knew that put him right back into a good mood. He grinned and went to go help Axel who was already grabbing things from the cupboards.
"At least preheat the oven, let me do all the mixing and measuring. You set and grab," Roxas said, bringing the giant mixing bowl and the box of cake close to him. Before he could really do anything, he ran to the kitchen sink and washed his hands. Axel slammed things onto the table and ran to the oven, just excited for chocolate.
"Sora's going to love it! Hey, you got him a present, right? Let me repay you half at least!" Axel said, waiting for Roxas to move so he could wash his hands.
"No Axel, I got the present covered. I have so much cash leftover from graduation," Roxas said, drying his hands.
"I'm still going to pay you back. It's the respectable thing to do and that's how my momma raised me," Axel chuckled.
"And what a respectable gentleman you turned out to be," Roxas snorted, ripping open the box and the packaging inside.
"Now what the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I'll just let it sink in Axel. Hey did you grab the vegetable oil? I'm going to need that."
"Vegetable oil, on it."
Roxas rolled his eyes with a smile and dumped the brown powder into the bowl. He grabbed two eggs from the carton and Axel watched him swiftly crack both on the bowl, without getting a single shell in. If Axel did it, someone was going to be getting crunchy cake. He was astounded at how fast and easy Roxas made it look. In Axel's eyes, Roxas looked like some kind of fancy baker you'd see on those television shows, all trying to win some big cash prize. All Roxas needed was that silly white apron with his name stitched in red writing.
"I get to lick the spoon, right?" Axel said, eyeing the bowl greedily. Roxas set the measuring cup full of the thick liquid on the table and got down to eye level. He had to make sure his measurements were perfect.
"No Axel, I get that privilege. You can have the joy of watching me lick chocolate," Roxas said, pouring the oil into the bowl. Axel stomped his foot on the ground and pouted. Roxas ignored him as he walked by with the smaller measuring cup for the water.
"But that's not fair! You know cake batter is my favorite part in the cake!" he whined, ready to throw out a fake temper tantrum. Roxas took his spoon and whacked Axel's hand as he already tried to get some of the unbaked cake. The red shrieked and jerked his hand away. Roxas sure was mean when it came to baking.
"Come here, I'm going to need big muscles," Roxas said, putting in the water as he started to stir. Axel shuffled over, head hung in defeat, and took the spoon and bowl from him. Roxas left him to stir the mixture and bent down to get to the lower cabinets where the pots and pans were. He dug around in there, knowing Axel was checking out his butt.
"Nice set of buns, was your dad a baker?"
"Very funny Ax, just keep mixing. God damn, where is the cake pan? Do you ever organize anything? I'm having Sora come in and reorganizing this kitchen, top to bottom," Roxas grumbled, finally finding it.
"But I like everything disorganized. It's how I find everything. Before you say anything, it does make sense," Axel defended, not wanting the controlling brother to do a sweep of his unorganized kitchen. He liked it the way it was.
"Sometimes I just wish I could hit you. But that's a form of relationship abuse or something, right?"
"And to add to that, you love me too much to hurt me!"
Roxas let that one slide, choosing to ignore it. When was Roxas ever going to say he loved Axel? Could he will himself to fall for the cocky redhead? Axel had good qualities that Roxas actually liked. He was strong, someone to depend on, funny, and obviously loved him back. But there was just one variable he couldn't find the answer to. It was an equation he couldn't solve. What was holding Roxas back?
"Hey, is this good?" Axel said, shoving the bowl into Roxas' hands. The blonde skimmed through the batter, looking for any unmixed powder. Axel did a pretty good job with mixing.
"Found the cake pan! Got the cooking spray? There it is!" Axel said, setting the pan onto the table. Roxas let Axel spray the pan so he could pour it in as soon as possible. He felt like taking a nap before dinner.
Axel watched Roxas dump in the chocolate batter, licking his lips hungrily. He had such a problem with cake batter. They say you shouldn't eat it when it's not cooked because you got sick, but that won't stop Axel.
The oven dinged and Roxas got the last bit of batter into the pan as he tanked open the door, heat filling up the already overheated room. He threw the pan in there and closed the door. Axel was eyeing the spoon and bowl when Roxas looked back.
"Oh just go ahead! You're drooling for Christ's sake," Roxas sighed, plopping down at the island. Axel's jaw dropped and he immediately dived into the very small bit of batter. He licked the chocolate off the spoon first and scooped up more into his mouth.
'Maybe I wanted the chocolate! Oh well, god why is it so hot? Maybe after dinner we can all go for a swim. I know Riku will go with me, when doesn't he do what I want? Wow, that sounded a bit bitchy,' Roxas thought, watching Axel clean the bowl with a spoon and his mouth. Roxas' eyes began to droop when he saw Axel move to him.
"Hey Princess!" Axel yelled as he smeared chocolate onto Roxas' face. Roxas shot up and his hand dipped into the bowl, getting chocolate on it. Grinning wildly, he wiped it all over Axel's face. Axel licked away the chocolate on his lips and put his hand back into the bowl. Roxas was ready for another attack. He wasn't strong enough to go against Axel. Giant hands rubbed Roxas' face and he knew he was going to feel so sticky soon. Axel stuck his tongue out and pinched Roxas' cheek.
"You suck! I'm going to be so sticky," Roxas groaned. Axel put a finger under his chin and Roxas had a feeling he knew what was going to happen. The redhead leaned in so close, his hair tickling Roxas' chocolate smeared cheeks.
"Let me clean you up then," he whispered seductively. Roxas closed his eyes, ready for a kiss from Axel. But, he wasn't expecting what came next. Axel scooped him up into his arms bridal style and made a mad dash for the door. Roxas had to piece together what was going to happen.
"No! Don't you dare! I'll kill you!"
"Love you too Princess! But it is the fastest way to clean your face!"
Roxas could see Riku and Sora watching them with confused looks on their faces. Axel was laughing crazily as he ran past them and Roxas wished he was stronger than Axel. The water was approaching fast and Roxas knew he didn't have a chance.
"Riku! Sora! Help!" he squeaked, watching the water grow deeper and deeper. He clung to Axel's shirt and when Axel would release him, Roxas wasn't going down until Axel went with him.
"Throw him Ax!" Sora shouted, giggling as he watched them pass. The phone was still pressed to his ear, so his mom was getting a play by play.
"Axel, don't let go of me," Roxas pleaded. Axel kissed his chocolate covered nose and smiled.
"Sorry Princess I got to. You need to be cleaned, right? On three. Ok? Alright, three!" Axel yelled, pulling Roxas off his shirt and throwing him down into the chill water. Roxas screamed as he fell, landing on his back. It was shallower than he thought and it kind of hurt when he hit the water. Rubbing his back, Roxas gave up and sat in the water. Everyone was in a chorus of laughter. Roxas splashed Axel angrily, which only made the redhead kick water at him. Thank god Sora had his phone. Axel would've been dead times two.
Axel squatted down to his height, cocky grin displayed on his face, jade eyes shining in the sunlight. Roxas pushed him back, causing him to fall in the water too. Axel was more lighthearted about it and sat with Roxas. The blonde continuously splashed Axel until he had enough. Riku and Sora were making their way to them and Roxas was sure there was still chocolate on his face. Axel sure as hell was covered still.
"You guys have chocolate on your faces," Riku stated, as if they didn't already know.
"No shit Sherlock, I blame Axel. We were baking Sora's cake when he started smearing leftover cake batter on my face. I got him back and then he got me again. So, I said I wanted to be clean and look at where we are," snarled Roxas, kicking water at Riku. Sora leapt back and squeezed onto the phone, holding it for dear life.
"Wait, there's a cake be made for me? Can I get a piece tonight?" Sora asked, trying to look and sound cutesy. Riku turned to glare at Sora, who tried to give him puppy dog eyes.
"No, I'd actually like to sleep so I'm fully awake for your birthday," said Riku.
"Oh? What do you got planned for our innocent little Sora?" Axel teased. Riku kneed Axel's shoulder and Roxas tossed his head back in laughter.
"Innocent? My brother innocent? He's as innocent as Axel," Roxas said. Axel gasped and crossed his arms over his chest, staring Roxas down.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Axel asked, narrowing his eyes.
"I'll just let it sink in Ax, Riku can explain it more later. I'm too tired right now," Roxas said, lying back on his hands. Axel growled and splashed Roxas, which just got everyone to laugh. Roxas could even hear the wonderful sound of his mother's giggles from the phone. Oh how he missed that sound.
O~o~O
Sora's fingers drummed on the table as he watched Roxas paced back and forth. Riku and Axel were absentmindedly chatting away. The little brunette was eager to get a peek at the delicious cake he could smell baking. Roxas snatched away the mixing bowl before Sora could even get a sample. He was hoping he could snag a bite out of the cake before Roxas hid it away. On a high shelf. Why did Sora have to be so short?
"Can't I just please have a nibble? You know chocolate cake is my favorite!" whimpered Sora. Roxas thumped him in the back of the head and waggled a finger at him. Sora knew if he touched it he'd be dead. Roxas was just so mean sometimes.
"I'm going to have Axel guard it with his dear life. And if he eats it, both of you are getting an ass whopping. By Rikki Kins and me," Roxas threatened. The oven dinged and threw on some oven mitts he found under the sink. Sora and Axel sniffed the air hungrily and licked their lips. Roxas could smell the over powering aroma of chocolate start to fill the kitchen quickly. He pulled the burning hot pan out and set it on the counter by the stove.
"Don't call me Rikki Kins you little Princess," Riku snapped, whipping his head to Roxas.
"Then you can't call me Princess. Only Axel can and even then I still don't like it," Roxas said, throwing the mitts onto the island. Sora couldn't keep his eyes off the cake and Roxas noticed Axel couldn't either. Roxas shook his head and joined his friends at the table.
"Cake, must have cake. Sora eat cake now," Sora said, not even forming a full sentence. Roxas hit him in the head again and the brown spikes shook violently. He frowned and turned away from the cake. Riku laughed and reached across the table for his hand.
"Sora, use proper English and maybe I'll let you have some for your birthday tomorrow," Roxas smiled. Sora muttered something to himself and rested his head in his hands, propping his elbows on the table.
"Tomorrow my baby becomes an official adult, even if he'll still act like he's twelve," Riku said, squeezing Sora's hand.
"I don't act like I'm twelve! I'm mature!" Sora defended, sounding hurt. Riku laughed and shook his head at Sora, getting him to shut up for once.
"No honey, you are not. You're so lucky I love you," Riku snickered. "Otherwise I'd dump your childish ass."
Sora threw Riku's hand away and looked away. Riku's jaw dropped and Roxas and Axel turned to look at each other and laugh. The lovesick puppies were finally having a fight, even if it was small. Sora and Riku never fought, they were just so compatible. Riku shot the two laughers a dirty look and tried to get Sora's attention.
"Aw, Sora, don't be sad. I was only kidding babe," Riku said, reaching for Sora. Sora jerked away from Riku's touch and slid off his seat. The small brunette stormed out of the room and Riku growled at himself. He went and pissed Sora off the day before his big day. Roxas and Axel were still laughing to each other as they heard Sora stomp angrily up the stairs.
"This is all your fault, do you know that?" Riku said, getting up to chase after Sora. He called out his name and Roxas and Axel stopped laughing to think about it.
"Who was he talking to?" they said in unison. Axel shrugged and relaxed back in his seat. There was a ringing coming from the living room and Axel got up to go grab his cell phone. Roxas yawned and put his head down. He could hear Axel talking and faint screams came coming down the stairs. Yet again Sora was turning a small thing into such a big deal. Riku was going to be sleeping on the couch that night. Roxas couldn't help but grin at his friend's misfortune.
"Well Riku, maybe you should watch what you say! I told you I'm not a child!" Sora shrieked. Roxas rolled his eyes and decided to listen in on their conversation.
"Sora, lower your god damn voice, the door's open and Rox and Ax are probably listening to us," Riku yelled back, trying to get his voice out.
"Good, let them listen! I don't care! Fuck you Riku. It's the day before my birthday, why do you have to be so mean?"
"I said I was joking. Can't you take a freaking joke? Calm down Sora. You're turning this into something it's not."
Roxas chuckled because that's just exactly what he was thinking. Quickly the quarreling lovebirds bored him, so he tried to listen to Axel's conversation, but Ax knew how to keep it quiet. Sighing, he just waited for someone to finish so they could entertain him.
Footsteps were heard soon after and Axel came back into the room, grimacing. Roxas looked up and waited for him to speak. Someone was coming down the stairs, probably someone sick of the yelling. And that someone probably got kicked out of the room.
"Well, my aunt came into town and my mom wants me to at least come stay the night. I'll be back tomorrow in time for Sora's party. I plan on leaving before dinner because the aunt wants to cook for the family," Axel sighed, plopping down, looking sad.
"You're going back to your parents' place for the night? Can I come? I really liked your dog and right now I just want to get out of the house," Sora said, wandering into the kitchen. Axel's emerald eyes flicked to Sora and back to Roxas. Roxas nodded, saying it was alright. Like Sora really needed his permission anymore.
"Yeah sure little buddy, just go pack an overnight bag. We're going to be leaving soon. Tell Riku if you want. Be ready in a half hour," Axel said, getting up to go walk upstairs with Sora.
Roxas had to think over the situation. With Sora and Axel both gone for the night, Riku was sure to question Roxas about earlier. He really didn't feel like being interrogated. Then again, he really didn't want to go to Axel's house. His parents didn't think highly of Roxas. They preferred he ended up with some rich scumbag like them. Not to mention, Roxas met the aunt he knew Axel was referring to. She was a cheek pincher and Roxas didn't mean on the face.
Well, he was going to be sore no matter what he decided to do.
Author's Note:
Well hell beautiful people! It's good to hear from all of you! I wasn't expecting that many reviews XD
Maybe it was the hint of RikuRoku? ;D
Naw, it totally was the Vanilla Twilight contest c:
Well, chapter seven took me a little while. Lots of rewrites due to major sucking. It's not the best, but I still like the outcome.
Ooh, Sora and Rikki Kins were in their first fight? THEY'RE LIKE AN OLD MARRIED COUPLE NOW.
Anyway, expect chapter eight within a few days because I've got major plans for the next chapter. Big stuff.
Axel and Sora are going away for the night, leaving Roxas and Riku home alone. We already saw what Roxas tries when the two of them are alone, what's to happen?
As stated last chapter, the song was going to be used. Meaning, I do not own the song Vanilla Twilight by Owl City. It belongs to the genius who made it.
Oh, I don't own Kingdom Hearts because if I did... a certain person would've been killed off. Actually, two certain people would've.
THIS MEANS SOMETHING. OH YEAH. THIS UPDATE'S COOKIE CONTEST.
This update's question... If I, Riley AKA DanceHaleyDance, owned KH, what two characters would be killed off as soon as possible?
If you read my story Whisked Away, this will be a no brainer. Good luck!
Speaking of cookie contest, I have a whole bunch of names to list for the winning of the Vanilla Twilight contest.
Last Update Cookie Winners:
Vekarot
xFallenSpirit13x
g4stly
A girl with no account [You should get an account. Just saying c=]
The Hungry Writer
ScarletKnight [You should make an account too :D]
This is also the last cookie contest, so if you haven't won a cookie, here's your last shot!
So, to wrap this up... Chapter Eight up in a few days. I don't own anything. Good luck. And I think that's it!
Oh my squash, I also noticed I haven't really self advertised for this whole story! And if you read WA you'd understand how this is super amazing for me XD
Sooo... bye for now!
Review & Favourite =3