Chapter 4: Cake with Xion
"Do you agree to the terms?"
Roxas sat for the second time in just as many days in Xemnas' office, in front of the lacquered desk with papers spread out. Xemnas just got through explaining things to Roxas about him staying in the House: how until he was of legal age, he was the responsibility of everyone else in the house and that he was living in the House of his own choice. Roxas had never felt so liberated about being a free resident, but at the same time, he had his own responsibilities while staying at the house, chores, as Axel added when Xemnas talked about the subject. That didn't sound like it would be hard, Roxas thought, he was good about doing that sort of thing.
"Yes," Roxas said, answering the question. Xemnas laid the contract on the desk in front of Roxas, sliding a pen over to him.
"Then sign here," Xemnas pointed to the line with the X on the side. Roxas took up the pen and signed.
"Didn't know you were left-handed," Axel said behind him. Roxas signed his name, in a handwriting that seemed rough and unrefined. It was a signature nonetheless, and all Xemnas needed, taking up the contract and inspecting it. He nodded approvingly, and looked again at Roxas.
"Perhaps I was too presumptuous to say before," he said smiling, "but now, with full confidence, I can proudly say welcome home, Roxas."
Roxas' chest swelled with a feeling of pride.
"I'm… home," he repeated, his mind lingered on the word for a long moment. Axel from behind clapped a hand to his shoulder.
"Sounds good, doesn't it?"
Roxas nodded. Xemnas smiled in turn, and straightened up his desk of the papers, opening a drawer and filing them away neatly.
"You're dismissed, Roxas," Xemnas said finally. "Dinner will be served soon, but if you do not wish to join us…"
"No, it's fine, I'll be there," Roxas said quickly, interrupting Xemnas. Xemnas smiled and nodded, gesturing Roxas and Axel to go.
"You're strutting."
"I am not," Roxas argued, chuckling lightly. The two had only just reached the second floor after leaving Xemnas's office. It was an observation Axel made as the two of them got off the stairs. Axel was about to disagree, when Larxene's apartment door flung open and the two were interrupted.
"Get out you little bitch, get the fuck out!" Larxene screamed shrilly from within, Xion seemingly thrown from the door into the hallway in front of the two. Xion scrambled to her feet clumsily, bringing her arms to cover her head and leaned against a wall opposite of the door and crouched down to make herself look small. The moment sobered Axel and Roxas instantaneously.
"I'll talk to her," Axel said going to the closing door and slipped inside. Axel and Larxene's voices became muffled behind it. Roxas was left standing in the hallway with Xion. Roxas hesitated a moment longer and took a step toward her. In that step, it was like his senses became sharper, and he could audibly hear her frightened sobbing. For a moment, it felt like he was watching himself, curled up in the hallway, sobbing in loneliness.
"Uh, h-hey," he said, uncertain how to proceed from there. Xion gasped at his voice, looking up and staring at him, as if she had just now noticed him. Despite her cheek stinging bright red and the tears streaming down her face, Roxas was surprised how very pretty she was with such deep blue eyes. Roxas reached out for her to offer a hand. He opened his mouth to ask and she let out a frightened sound, scrambling away from him.
"Hey, I just want to see if you're alright," Roxas said quickly, easing off to show he meant no harm. Xion looked up at him, as if registering his words. Apartment X's door down the hall behind Xion opened and Luxord's head appeared from within.
"What's all this then?" he asked, spotting Roxas and Xion in the hall. Roxas looked up at the older man stepping out.
"Larxene was screaming at her," he explained, "practically threw her out." Luxord exhaled, his posture deflated at the same time.
"Again?" he said unfazed, as if it was a common occurrence. Axel's voice came from Larxene's apartment, and a sound of bursting glass crashed against the door. Roxas flinched and Xion balled herself up smaller at the sound. Luxord stared down at Xion and bent over, offering a hand.
"It's alright love, come along, then," he said kindly. Xion looked up at him, uncovering her head and face and took his hand. Roxas was in such disbelief, how she just lightened at Luxord's presence. Roxas moved to say something and Luxord looked over at him to ease his frustrations.
"Don't worry about her, lad," he said, "you'll meet her when she's ready. It's just that she's not comfortable around new people at first. You'll get your chance." Xion walked hand in hand with Luxord to his apartment, clinging like a frightened, small child. The door to his apartment closed behind them. Axel poked his own head out of Larxene's apartment a moment or so later.
"Sorry, Roxas, it's looking like I won't make it to have dinner with you," he said. "Larxene needs my… attention." Roxas looked at Axel and nodded in acknowledgement, deciding to keep silent about the smear of lipstick on his lips and neck. He decided to feign his understanding of the situation instead of expressing his confusion and disappointment in front of his new friend. Axel disappeared again into Larxene's apartment, and Roxas was alone in the hallway once more. He sulked down the corridor to his apartment.
Roxas flicked the lights to his apartment on, greeted only by the loneliness of its vacancy. He crossed to the coffee table, his eye catching sight of a small white box sitting there. He picked up the envelope on top, opened and read the card inside.
Consider this our token of welcome to the House.
The only indication of a signature on the card were the numerals I, III, V, IX, X and XI, but no names. Roxas snorted slight displeasure in the lack of knowing who any of them were, but surmised three of them to be Xemnas, Xaldin and Luxord. He set the card aside and opened the medium-sized box. Inside it was a small cake covered elegantly with white frosting, strawberries rimmed the edge of it and icing that read, "Welcome XIII" in graceful cursive. Roxas swiped a finger across the side of the cake and tasted; Vanilla frosting. Roxas bubbled with emotions at the suddenness of it and replaced the box lid on his cake. He'll have to eat that afterward.
Roxas went to his bathroom, turned the water on and stripped down while it warmed. The water ran through his hair and down his back, along several healed scars, the longest and deepest were the oldest. Roxas's back tensed as the water ran through the grooves of his skin, dark feelings springing to mind once more.
I'm in a safe place, I can't be hurt here, I'm safe from harm, he can't hurt me here, he thought to himself, repeating it like a mantra. Once thoroughly rinsed and feeling fresh, Roxas turned off the shower and toweled off. He rubbed the towel across his head a few times, shaking the last of the water from it, before his spikes stood again on end of their own accord. He wrapped the towel around his waist before going to his bedroom to dress.
Roxas walked back down the hall once more, passing room XII. Within, muffled, he could hear heavy breathing and grunting. Whatever was being said was indistinct, but Roxas felt it was better he not know.
He took the stairwell to the ground floor, and the smell of cooking food hit him almost instantly. He followed its scent down the hallway Xigbar previously appeared from to a corridor, the door at the end opened and alive with sound. The door on his left was closed and one to his right was open and the source of all things that smelled good. He was drawn to the sounds from the room at the end of the corridor and peered in at a long room with a table set and several people seated and talking, at the end, of course, being Xemnas. He looked up at Roxas and smiled warmly.
"Roxas, good of you to join us," he said, "come, have a seat, won't you?" A man with long pink feathery hair rushed around the table, smiling brightly at him.
"You must be Roxas," the new man said excitedly. "Xemnas was just talking about you. Come, have a seat!" As if he had no say in the matter, Roxas simply allowed being guided toward the table, and took a seat near the end. Across from Roxas sat the slimmer, blonde boy from earlier who played that instrument in the lobby. Left of Roxas sat Luxord and on Luxord's left sat Xigbar. Vexen and Lexaeus sat on either side of the boy across from Roxas, and Xaldin sitting on Vexen's right. At the end of the table on Roxas' were four empty seats.
"Saïx won't be joining us, it seems," Xemnas observed.
"Nor Xion for that matter," Luxord added.
"A pity," Xemnas replied. "Perhaps some other time."
"And I worked so hard," Marluxia pouted disappointedly.
"Do people miss dinners often?" Roxas asked.
"Every other night," said the blonde. "Saïx hardly ever leaves his room, he's always working on something. He's like a bigger genius than Vexen."
"Don't speak of me like I'm not here, Demyx," Vexen snarled. Demyx shrugged wistfully.
"The point is, lad, if someone chooses not to come to dinner, that's their decision," said Luxord. "We can't force them into it."
"Hungry now," Lexaeus said, staring at his empty plate and seeming to contemplate gnawing on it.
"It just seems unfair that we're all eating down here while those who choose not to join us starve," Roxas voiced his concern. Xion looked terribly underfed to him in the hallway.
"As if," Xigbar retorted. "Marluxia makes enough for all of us we keep leftovers in the kitchen. If someone's hungry, they just come down and eat in their own time."
"Speaking of the kitchen," said Marluxia, finally getting up from his chair, "Demyx, Luxord, Xigbar, your turn to do the dishes tonight."
"Yes, mom," Demyx answered sassily.
Within several minutes and a few trips back and forth, Marluxia had filled the table with multiple dishes of steaming hot food that filled Roxas's senses. Feelings of safety and comfort and old memories washed back to him through all the smells. He piled his plate with several cuts of roast meat, glazed vegetables, mashed potatoes and baked fish. The food was incredible. Roxas filled his mouth and the flavors brought tears to his eyes. This concerned the others present, but he assured them of otherwise.
"I wish Xion was here to eat with us," he said after a drink of milk.
"Poor dear," said Marluxia, "She only comes around when Larxene kicks her out of the apartment for whatever reason."
"But her presence is not so neglected," Zexion added. "We give her attention when she seeks it out."
"Which isn't that often, but I admire her willingness to talk with someone," Luxord put in.
Roxas sat back in his seat, patting his full stomach nearly unable to move.
"How'd you like your first dinner here in the house, Roxas?" Marluxia asked as he and Demyx (after a great deal of badgering from Marluxia) began to clear the table.
"If I'm going to eat more of your food, I may need to start buying bigger pants," Roxas said. Marluxia laughed at the compliment.
"As a rule, we never let the newest resident of the house to help clean up," said Xemnas. "Consider yourself excused, Roxas." The blonde got to his feet tiredly.
"Thank you for the meal," he said graciously, putting his plate in the bin Demyx brought out to collect the other plates.
Roxas had to be grateful that the stairs helped to work off the dinner before he got to his floor. Chances are good if he went up and down this stairwell enough times, he'd be thinner than Demyx. Larxene's apartment was unsettlingly quiet, which making Roxas wonder if Axel had left. He passed Luxord's apartment, looking behind him at Luxord approaching.
"So, that was a good first dinner, huh, Roxas?" he asked smiling.
"Very good," Roxas nodded in response. He paused a moment as Luxord opened his apartment door. "Hey, mind if I come back in a minute, Luxord?" The man regarded his request a moment and nodded in welcoming.
"Of course, I always welcome company."
Roxas quickly walked to his apartment, thoughts from the dinner tumbled in his mind. He searched the apartment quickly, finding the cake where he left it on the coffee table. He picked it up and carried it out into the hall back to Luxord's. He held the door open for Roxas, catching on to Roxas's intention and made around his kitchen picking up plates and forks and a knife. Xion sat with her back to the door, twisted in her seat to watch them curiously. Roxas locked eyes with hers, and for a moment his confidence wavered. He set the cake box on the table and opened it to reveal its contents to her. Luxord was last to join them, setting plates and forks on the table. Xion looked up form the cake confused at Roxas.
"You didn't get to have dinner downstairs," he said, "And, well, I can't eat a whole cake by myself." Luxord cut it up and served them slices. Xion's eyes went wide at her first bite and devoured her slice voraciously. Roxas was the same with the first taste, overcome with how sweet and delicious it really was.
Roxas sat back on Luxord's couch, thinking he may have overdone it with that third slice. There was still at least a quarter of the cake left, Xion polishing off her piece finally and seemingly too tired to have another. Roxas sighed happily, ready to slip into a food coma at long last.
"Thank you for bringing your cake around, Roxas," Luxord said, pulling him back to consciousness.
Roxas nodded. "Anytime," he said. "I just felt it the right thing to share it." He packed up the cake as Luxord took the plates and utensils away from the table. "I'm going to go slip into a food coma now." Luxord laughed heartily and smiled.
"Roxas?"
He spun around to face Xion watching him head to the door. Her cheeks flushed momentarily, "Um... thank you... for the cake." Roxas nodded at her.
"You're welcome," he replied, opening the door and closing it behind him.
Author's Commentary: This was a hard chapter to write. Not only due to the fact I had to rewrite this entirely, but taking it in a direction where it helped progress the plot. I REALLY liked how I had it written before I lost the original document, and it was painstaking to have to write it again. I feel like it was a lot shorter than this chapter, because I don't like chapters to drag on. One could argue a longer chapter allows more character development and things to happen, which is an understandable standpoint, but at the same time I don't want to bore the reader with all the details that go on in between crucial events. I don't know. Point is, I liked the original draft I had better than this, but because that was as far as I had the story, the next chapters will probably not be as bad.