Chapter Twelve: Intervene
Another week had gone by with Axel basically held up in his apartment, refusing to leave unless forcefully dragged out by Demyx, Zexion, and now even Sora for God's sake. Roxas had still yet to come into any contact with him, using his younger brother as a bridge to get messages across to Axel. Obviously it angered the younger Strife brother that these two numbskulls were still unable to properly talk to each other, but he didn't bother to intervene.
At least, that's what Axel assumed. But seeing Roxas at his front door late that week was a surprise and he had a feeling Sora was behind it. "My brother threatened to kick me out for good if I didn't come and talk to you in person."
Bingo.
Axel let out a nervous chuckle as he let the blond boy into his apartment, gently closing the door behind him. There was an awkward silence between them, and it only worsened when Roxas finally sat himself down on Axel's couch. The two hadn't even spared each other a glance. "I'm sorry," Roxas began carefully. "What I did that night was very uncalled for. And I'm also sorry for ignoring you for this long."
"I mean," Axel rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to make his blond friend feel better, "if it was me, I'd probably act the same way that you did. Besides, we were both drunk and couldn't control our actions."
Roxas chuckled. "I should have listened to you when you said that you had a reason for not drinking."
"I should have told you beforehand that I've never drank before."
The blond pat the seat next to him on the couch, and Axel planted himself next to Roxas comfortably, resting an arm on the back of the couch behind Roxas' head. "You've never had a drop of alcohol in your life, yet you're twenty one?"
The redhead shrugged. "It's never really been something that nagged at me. Remember, according to Demyx I live under a mountain or something like that."
Roxas smiled absentmindedly. "Well, if you never lived under that mountain, I'd have never met you." His blue eyes met Axel's emerald. "Let's agree to never talk about this again. You're a great friend and I'd hate to lose you."
Axel smiled back, feeling his face heat up a bit. "Same here."
And he couldn't suppress the sudden quick beat of his heart.
I'm sorry for the lateness, but between the thirty parties I've had to attend and my laziness (and my shitty keyboard) I haven't been able to get anything typed out. Sorry!
-Eternal White Rose