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Chapter Five
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"So… should I just follow you home or something?" Roxas lingered in the doorway of Axel's dressing room as he cleaned up and got dressed. Seeing Axel butt-naked no longer phased him in the least… even he had to admit that it was a pretty wonderful sight to see.
"You can just ride with me if you want… We're coming back to the same place in the morning anyways," Axel shrugged, pulling on a pair of black boxers and some dark denim jeans.
The blond cracked a smile, "I don't think I could turn down a chance to ride in a Ferrari."
"Honestly, I'd love to take a ride in that truck of yours sometime. I've never been in one before."
"Oh, it's awesome. You sit up so high, you feel like you can take on the world. In the country, people don't fuck with trucks like mine. In the city… everyone fucks with everyone. That's half the reason I started smoking again, you know. It's so stressful trying to drive out here."
Axel looked up at him and frowned, "So you had quit previously?"
"Yeah, my last year of college I'd finally kicked it. But it's no big deal… the damage is already done, and there's not much I could do to make it worse."
"Your voice sounds different since you started again… it's more rough."
Roxas smirked, "You should hear me sing. I almost sound like Van."
"I… I can not picture that," Axel laughed, pulling an emerald green t-shirt over his head. "C'mon, I'm ready to go when you are."
"Sure," Roxas followed him out to the parking lot, noticing that he hadn't used his spot again. "Axel, why haven't you been using your own spot? I mean, it's kind of got your name on it…"
The redhead shrugged, "I wanted the exercise?"
"R…right…" he trailed off, spotting the red Ferrari parked only a couple spaces away from his truck. He was certainly flattered that the actor seemed to be so interested in him, but… Vanitas held his heart, even in his manic state.
It was strange to him to have to duck down to get into a car rather than hopping up, and he immediately felt claustrophobic in the small vehicle. He wasn't even sure how Axel fit in the damn thing… he must have easily been 6'4".
"So Axel… are you dating anybody?"
The elder let out a bark of laughter, "You're funny."
"I guess… it'd be hard to maintain a relationship in this line of work… I mean, I've only worked here for two weeks and that Riku guy has been in here yelling about something three times already."
"Yeah… I don't know how they came to be married. I've never seen two people more wrong for each other. You can't star in pornos and marry a jealous idiot. It just doesn't work."
Roxas nodded, "Is it weird that I actually think she'd be happier with Xigbar? I mean, it's a little disturbing because he looks easily 20 years older than her or more, but… He seems to put up with her shit pretty well."
"She's got the poor guy wrapped around her little finger. He's clearly in love with her, but she refuses to leave her husband for him."
"So… how did he get that big scar anyways?" the blond wondered, referring to the dark red scar running up his left cheek.
Axel sighed, "Riku again… it was back when he first found out about them… he was drunk off his ass and came after Xigbar with a knife. Blinded the poor bastard in his right eye and left that big scar on him."
"I didn't know he was blind in one eye…"
The redhead chuckled, "That's because you're too afraid to look in his eyes. He used to wear an eyepatch all the time, but it finally healed to the point where it just looks kind of murky."
"Wow… that's intense. And Xigbar still wants to be with her?"
"For some reason, yeah… I don't really understand it. But maybe screaming banshee is what turns him on. God knows why."
Roxas had to laugh at that. From what he'd seen of Xion, screaming banshee was pretty accurate. She seemed like the typical spoiled brat… but then, Xigbar seemed like the type to spoil his girl.
"So yeah, no partner for me… I went on a date with this chick and when I told her what I did for a living, she threw a glass of wine in my face and stormed out in the middle of the restaurant."
"Damn, that's harsh…" Roxas stared out the window as Axel drove. The Ferrari really did ride smoothly… but it was just too small for his liking. "So you're… bisexual?"
He nodded, "Yepp… I don't want to shut out any possibilities. Of course, I'll probably just die alone anyways…"
"Why did you get into the industry? I mean… surely you could have found another job?"
"I was young… I'd failed out of college and I had absolutely nothing. I decided that I'd just do one… some amateur video that could make a few quick bucks… Turns out, I was really good at it. Apparently having a pretty face and a nice body isn't all it takes. My …libido… shocked them, and they were begging me to do more movies for them. Xigbar saw my work and offered me a job doing some higher-end films and… I never got out of it. Now here I am in my mid-thirties stuck in a job I never wanted in the first place."
Roxas shifted a little in his seat, wishing he could stretch his legs out more, "So… why don't you just quit?"
"Eh, I don't mind it so much anymore. It's easy and I make a lot of money. If I were to quit, I'd lose everything. My parents were piss poor and I have no other family… And it's not like I have a college degree. The best I could do is some crappy minimum wage job."
"Oh… well, that makes sense. And hey, I guess you could do a lot worse than being famous and rich, right?"
Axel laughed, "You know what's really funny about it though? When people see me and start to stare like they know me from something and can't place what it's from. It's even funnier when they realize that it's from porn and then they get all embarrassed and try to act like they haven't seen me before."
"Oh my God, that would be hilarious…" Roxas trailed off as Axel pulled into the driveway of a huge house. "Holy shit… is this where you live?!"
"Well… yeah. It's just a house, Roxas. It's not even that big."
The blond slumped down in his seat a little, "Van and I live in a mobile home…"
"…Really? I thought he was a famous musician…"
"Well yeah… he is now. We've been together for so long that I guess we just never thought about moving into anything bigger… it's home to us."
The two of them crawled out of the small car and headed inside, Roxas ignoring another call from Vanitas as he felt his phone vibrating like mad in his pocket.
"So… Did you wanna order pizza or something?" Axel wondered, hanging up his keys and turning to face the blond.
"Yeah I guess… pepperoni?"
Axel grinned, "My favorite too. I'll call it in. You can hang out in the living room if you want. I'll join you after I order. It's just around the corner here."
Roxas wandered into the living room, gawking at the size of the room. His home was gorgeous… yet still oddly comforting.
He couldn't resist the urge to check his phone… it'd been constantly vibrating in his pocket.
What the hell is that supposed to mean? What friend? Just come home, Roxas.
Roxas, where the hell are you? Who are you with?
Damn it, Roxas, if you're cheating on me…
Just come home, baby… I took my meds. I promise.
Don't make me come find you, Roxas…
Fucking hell, just answer me!
Roxy, baby… I miss you. Come home. It's all better now.
I'm sorry, okay? Is that what you want? Now come home.
I made us dinner. Don't make me eat alone, Rox…
ROXAS, YOU NEED TO COME HOME. NOW.
I'm going to call the fucking police, Rox.
Answer your damned phone, Roxas.
Who are you with? Are you fucking someone else?
Just tell me who you're with. Is it Hayner? Pence?
Roxas, I'm begging you… just call me…
The messages just kept coming in. Roxas didn't know what to do… He just watched as the messages continued to fill his screen.
Is this it? Are you leaving me?
I'm trying to get better, and you're leaving me…
Just tell me… who is he? Please…
Roxas…
I can't believe this… you're just going to leave me like this…
Roxas was going to let him vent until he tired himself out and fell asleep, but then he saw one text that he couldn't ignore.
Fuck this. I'm just going to end it all.
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A/N: Nooo, Vanitas! It's not the answer! …Anyways, I think I cleared up some things in this chapter, hopefully answered any questions you guys might have had. Finally touched into Axel's past a little, explained the Riku/Xion thing a little more…
I'm so happy that I've been able to pump out these updates! Thanks to everyone who's following now!
Until next time,
Simply Rexene