This one is based more on my reaction to listening to this song over the lyrics and meaning of it. I always have to sing along when it comes on and I think Roxas would too.
We Didn't Start the Fire - Billy Joel
Roxas had never been an outgoing kind of guy. He was pretty quiet when he met new people, getting the feel for the new person before he chose to speak his mind in front of them. He hung back in group situations, letting other people take the lead, only adding in his remarks when he deemed necessary. Axel had always been the voice for him for the most part. He would throw out a sarcastic remark here and there, but let Axel run the conversation. It had been that way for as long as Roxas could remember; ever since they were little and Axel chased away Roxas' bullies.
Because Roxas wasn't outgoing, very few people even knew he had a singing voice. Some of his closer friends had guessed, but never got to hear it. Singing was something he only did when he was alone and no one could hear him. That is, until he moved in with Axel after their second year of dating. Axel walked into their apartment after a long day of work to Roxas dancing around their little kitchen, singing into the sauce-covered wooden spoon he was using to cook their dinner. When he spun around and spotted Axel, who was rooted to the spot in surprise, his words dropped off and he froze. They simply stared at each other for a while before Axel broke into that wide, crooked smile that Roxas loved and informed Roxas of how good he sounded.
After that day, Axel would come home to Roxas' voice singing anything from the top hit on the radio, to oldies their parents always listened to more and more often. It started out as once or twice a week, with his singing stopping after the end of the song Axel walked in on. It started to become more often, and his singing would last beyond that one song. Before long Roxas would start singing when Axel was already there. He found that Roxas liked to sing most when he was doing menial tasks around the house. He would shake his hips and sing into the kitchen utensils as he made their meals, or dance around in circles with the broom while he cleaned the house. But his favorite place to sing seemed to be the shower, his voice echoing off walls. Axel had even bought him a shower speaker that hooked up his ipod so he could sing to his favorite songs without getting anything wet.
But today was not an ordinary day. They had been together for years, gotten a little house not far from the elementary school they met at and were now hoping to add to their family. Today was the day the social worker was coming over to get to know them and see their home to decide if they would make good parents for some little boy or girl. Axel had meet with the woman on his way home from work, leading her to their little home. As they walked up the little path to their home, the two chatted lightly. She complimented their choice in neighborhood and their cute house. Axel thanked her as he pulled his keys out to open the door. Roxas knew who was coming today. He had taken the day off of work – despite working from home he still had to check in with his boss often throughout the day – so he could clean up the house and make dinner for them all. Because of this Axel was not expecting when he opened their front door to hear-
"BRITISH POLITICIAN SEX! JFK blown away! What else do I have to saaaayyy?!"
Roxas belting out the words to We Didn't Start the Fire. And of course it had to be that part of the song that they walked in on. Axel froze, hoping that the social worker hadn't heard Roxas singing for all to hear. He slowly turned to look at her, taking in the surprised look on the woman's face. They started at each other for a moment, the sound of Roxas singing still in the background, before a smile broke out on the woman's face and she laughed. Axel relaxed a little and couldn't help but chuckle himself. Axel straightened up and nervously scratched the back of his head. He could hear the shower running, now that Roxas' voice had quieted some.
"I should uh… go make sure he has clothes." Axel laughed nervously. "He must have lost track of time." Axel waved her inside and instructed her to take a seat in their living room while he checked on Roxas. He quickly made his way over to the bathroom in the hall off the living room, opening the door without hesitation and slipping inside. Roxas was standing by the shower/bath, rubbing a towel over his head to dry off his hair some, and Axel was relieved to see a stack of fresh clothes on the counter beside the sink.
"Axel!" Roxas nearly squeaked when he saw his boyfriend standing by the door while he stood stark naked and dripping on the bathroom floor. "What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be meeting with that social worker to show her over here."
"Do you know what time it is?" Axel asked calmly, trying not to freak out. "The social worker is already here, we got here just as you were belting out 'British politician sex' into the shower head."
Roxas jaw dropped. "You have to be kidding me." He whispered quickly. "Oh god…" He quickly finished drying himself off, rushing to pull his clothes on. "What are you doing standing there?! Get back in there and make us look awesome!"
Axel shook himself out of the stupor he was in and quickly slipped back out of the room. When he got back to the living room, he found the social worker flipping through the portfolio of Roxas' work that they had planned to show her when they explained his job. She looked up from it as Axel entered the room, a smile still on her face. "Roxas should be out in a few minutes. Why don't I give you a quick tour while he gets ready?"
"That sounds lovely." Axel lead her around the home, showing her the bedroom, the room they planned to turn into their future son or daughters room, the study that Roxas did his work in, the back yard with the little garden Marluxia had insisted they have, and finally the kitchen and dinning room where Roxas was finishing up dinner, now fully dressed, although his hair was still dripping a little and not styled to his usual perfection.
Roxas greeted the woman kindly before waving them over to the table and bringing the meal over for them to eat. After chatting about their jobs and how much time they will be able to spend with a child to take care of them, Roxas finally couldn't hold it in anymore. "I'm really sorry about losing track of time and not being ready when you got here. I'm not usually like that." Roxas looked down at his half eaten food nervously before he heard her laugh lightly.
"I actually quite enjoyed it. You have a great voice, and honestly, as nice as it is to see you and your home at your best, I like getting a glimpse of what a real day is like for you. What you will be like when no one is here to observe you like I am right now." She gave them both a soft smile.
"It's just really embarrassing for me. I think Axel is the only person I have willingly sung around." Roxas ground out, looking back at his plate.
"Well I am glad I had the privilege of hearing it. Even muffled by the wall and the shower." She laughed. "But," She started, looking between the two men. "It let me know that the little girl or boy you adopt will have beautiful songs sung to it at night."
"You mean-?" Axel said, quickly gripping Roxas' hand as he looked at the woman.
"Yes. I am approving you for adoption." Her smile widened as Roxas basically threw himself at Axel, wrapping his arms around him tightly.
"Oh my god, Axe." Roxas breathed into Axel shoulder.
"Thank you… so much." Axel said, unable to put his gratitude into better words as he wrapped his arm around Roxas.
She laughed and shook her head a bit. "No, thank you. We need more people like you to adopt children that can't be taken care of by their own parents for one reason or another." Roxas couldn't help it, he detached himself from Axel and gave the social worker a hug as well before finally settling himself back in his seat. He was still shifting back and forth in his seat, too excited by this news to sit still. "Also, I understand that you already found a little girl you were interested in adopting? Xion?"
"Yes. She was one of the first we saw when we started looking into it and we just sort of… kept going back to her." Axel explained.
"Well then, how about I start this process and set up a meeting for you two to see her?"
"That would be amazing." Roxas told her, practically bouncing in his seat from excitement.
"That settles it then. Tomorrow I will start filling out the paper work and set up a meeting for you. Before you know, you will have a little two year old daughter named Xion." Axel and Roxas looked at each other with the same excitement and happiness over this new, huge step in their lives together. And oh, how they looked forward to it.
So this was originally going to end right after the woman laughed at Roxas singing, and she was originally going to be Axel boss coming to talk to him about a promotion and what not. But then I started wondering if anyone even did that anymore and it morphed into this. I think I like it better this way.
For sequels check out Chapter 8: Lullaby and Chapter 20: Dear Roxas.