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gin and sin
chapter thirteen
help, i have done it again
i have been here many times before
hurt myself again today
and, the worst part is there's no-one else to blame
breathe me - sia
"Roxas! Get up, it's Christmas." It wasn't the usual wake-up call that Roxas got, but with Axel kicking him in the chest the way he was, the blonde couldn't help but roll over and grumble, and try to return to sleep.
Axel forcibly turned him over, leering down into his face. Roxas blinked at him, confused, and glanced over to the clock. "…It's five-thirty in the morning." Screwing his eyes shut, he rolled over again, curled up into a little ball and flopped his pillow over his head. "Go back to sleep."
The red head kicked him in the side. "But it's Christmas, you moron. I have a present for you and everything. Right now, if you'll just wake the fuck up."
Well, the idea of perhaps getting a present woke Roxas up a great deal quicker. Sitting up, he rubbed at his eyes for a moment, ignoring the fact that Axel had a snide grin spreading across his face. "What is it, then?"
Axel rolled onto his stomach, leaning over the edge of the bed for a moment. Digging past the clothes, old books and whatever else Roxas had shoved under there, he came back up after a moment with a plastic bag. "Enough pot to choke a fuckin' dog. Merry Christmas."
Tossing it into the blonde's fumbling hands, Axel almost gloated at the look of amusement that overtook Roxas's features. "That's some of the best shit out there, so no wasting it on just anybody," stated the red head, flopping back onto the bed. "And by that, I mean you're sharing it with me."
Snorting, the blonde wondered just how long that the bag had been hiding under his bed. It had better have been good shit, anyway – it wasn't like he expected any sub-par drugs from Axel. The kid probably had connections all over the place.
"And do tell, Axel, why I should share it with you of all people?" He sounded somewhat sarcastic, but the lazy delivery of the words suggested that he was still half-asleep. Not that Axel minded any – a relatively sleepy Roxas was a docile Roxas.
The red head gave a one-shouldered shrug. "So I can get you totally baked and then try to get my hand down your pants without you killing or castrating me." Roxas rolled his eyes. At least he was honest.
The idea didn't really bother him as much as it did, before. He spent all day yesterday contemplating it, and after what Sora had said in a random burst of insightfulness, Roxas figured that he should stop caring so much about what other people thought. It wasn't even really relevant, after all.
Still, out of habit, he shot Axel down. "Take advantage of me? In that case, I'll just go smoke it with Hayner," he said, a slightly sarcastic edge to his voice. Giving the bag a once-over, he rolled over to the edge of the bed and hid it again. It wouldn't be all too good if his mother went and found his drugs. Then again, he could always say they were Axel's.
Axel rolled over on top of him. "Roxas, that's only half your present you know. There's more stuff downstairs, like, real presents, but I figured it wouldn't be all that great if you unwrapped a bag of weed downstairs in front of your parents," snickered the red head, mouth hovering over his ear.
Elbowing the taller boy in the chest, Roxas pushed him back onto the bed. "Go to sleep. It's still way too early to wake up," he grumbled, pulling at a pillow before flopping it over his head.
"Fucking pussy," snorted Axel, dropping down beside him. They didn't say anything for quite some time, Roxas (unable to sleep now), watching the digital numbers flick by on the clock. "…What time is it, Roxas?"
"A couple seconds after seven," mumbled the blonde, fingers twitching on the bed. He kind of wanted to get up. He wondered if Selphie was awake. If she was, he could go downstairs. Maybe that would give him a plausible reason to jump out of bed like a six year old and run down the stairs screaming for his presents?
Axel raised his head, before letting it flop down onto Roxas's shoulder. "At least entertain me until we can go downstairs. I'm fucking bored." He began punching him, fist periodically prodding him in the upper arm, harder each time. Roxas, apparently not bothered at all, didn't say anything.
So, Axel kept hitting him, until the clock read about seven-twelve. The blonde finally lifted the pillow off of his head, craning his neck around to glare pointedly at the older boy. "What's wrong with you?"
"Entertain me. Do it."
Roxas shrugged him off again. "Go away," he muttered, curling up into a little ball. Why couldn't Axel just fuck off? He wanted to sleep! Well, kind of, but he also kind of wanted to piss Axel off.
"Fine, I'll entertain myself," Axel concluded, digging his hands into Roxas's ribs. The blonde immediately jolted, spasming and flipping onto his front.
The younger boy sent him a glare that could probably kill small animals. "Don't fucking touch me. You tickle me, you die," he said darkly. Axel snickered, not even caring about the warning, and setting back to tickling the fuck out of the kid.
"Fuck—stoppit!"
Axel of course, wouldn't stop his assault, a snide grin spreading on his face. He'd managed to basically show Roxas up again, the blonde kicking him away in vain. It wasn't much longer that Selphie burst into the room looking as if she had hell at her heels, eyes wide with excitement.
"It's Christmas!" squealed Selphie, a little ball of joy. She rushed into the room, before pouncing the two boys and joining in the bizarre tickling mix. It would've been horribly ordinary if not for the fact that Axel had his typical strung-out-junkie shake going on, and his eyelid was twitching a little bit. Roxas didn't say anything about it, though, as the red head pulled his hands away. "C'mon, let's go wake up everybody else 'cuz it's Christmas and… yeah!"
The little girl bounded off of the bed yet again, springing out of the bedroom – Roxas heard the sound of her feet beating a path across the hall. They weren't the only sounds heard; Tia, Sora and Naminé were probably waking up, as well.
Glancing back to the red head, Roxas raised an eyebrow as the older boy pulled on his clothes. "C'mon, Roxas, you're gonna miss out," he said, pulling his usual baggy sweater over his head.
Pulling himself out from under the covers, Roxas yawned and planted his feet on the floor. He debated about getting clothed, but decided that pajamas were fine for Christmas morning. Axel glanced at him over his shoulder, eyebrow raised, before exiting the room, making his way quickly down the stairs, with Roxas following behind.
Selphie was practically jumping out of her skin, she was so excited. Bouncing about, leering down at the presents. "Can we please open them before daddy comes home? Please!" Kurt had taken the red-eye back the previous night, but they still had to go get him from the airport – his flight was to be arriving at around eight in the morning. Tia had sworn to everyone that they'd open presents as soon as he got home.
"I'll make sure to give him extra kisses!" whined Selphie, tugging on Tia's customary Christmas pajama pants. "Please let me open at least one!" The older woman shook her head, receiving a pout for her efforts.
Axel playfully tapped her on the head, yawning as he dragged himself into the living room. "Give it a rest," he muttered, flopping down onto the couch. Roxas wandered into the kitchen, most likely attempting to find something to eat.
Tia clapped her hands together, alerting everyone's attention. "Okay, kids. As per usual, we're picking Kurt up from the airport, and then we'll come home and open presents. We're not opening any until he's here, too."
Selphie kept the pout on her face. "That's not fair!" she whined, pulling herself up onto the couch beside Axel. She leaned against him, crossed her arms and made a point to look horribly angry.
Rolling his eyes, the red head yawned again. "I think I'm gonna just stay here until you guys get back. Roxas, too." The blonde in question blinked, looking over to Axel, who gave him a somewhat scheming look.
"Well, if that's what you two want to do, I suppose," said Tia, placing her hand on her hip. She had slight bags under her eyes, probably from lack of sleep. Or maybe she was just as excited as Selphie and didn't sleep any. "You two are old enough to decide for yourselves. But, no peeking at your presents."
"Scout's honor," said the red head, sarcastically. All he wanted to do was maybe get Roxas high, and see if he could get his own 'Christmas present' out of the inebriated blonde.
Naminé made her appearance, dressed now, her hair slung back into a low ponytail. "Mm, what are we talking about?" she mumbled, miss-stepping the final stair. She stumbled slightly, catching her hand on the guardrail before she fell.
"Good to see you up and dressed," said Tia, warm smile fixed in place. There honestly wasn't a hair out of place on this woman. She seemed like she was capable of going through anything, really. "Naminé, honey, we're just about to head out to go get Kurt."
Rubbing at her eyes, Naminé yawned, and nodded. "Okay," she said, walking around the couch to flop down. She wasn't really awake quite yet. "Is Sora up yet?"
Tia shrugged. "Probably. He's just slow," she said, before dodging into the kitchen to look for her purse. Roxas joined his siblings on the couch for now, picking somewhat at the cereal he'd found. Axel stole his spoon to shovel some of the sugary Holiday Rice Krispies into his own mouth. He looked like he was eating a Christmas tree. Roxas could practically imagine the star sparkling in his mouth.
What the fuck am I doing?
His brain felt like it didn't exist anymore. His fingers were cold, so were Axel's, and he didn't know if he could feel his toes anymore. Smoking pot in the backyard on Christmas morning. He wondered how much time they had left before the rest of the family got home. Probably long enough? He didn't know anymore.
"What…" He forgot what he was going to ask. Axel was laying haphazardly over a deck chair, legs sprawled over the arm. He looked up at the blonde, evidently less baked than him. He'd built up more of a tolerance to it, anyway.
Lips curling, Axel gave a lazy blink. "Hm?" he inquired, toying with the zipper on Roxas's jeans. The blonde gave a lackluster attempt at batting his wandering fingers away.
Blue eyes glassy, Roxas laughed for no real reason. "Time. What's the time." Axel shrugged in response. He didn't know what fucking time it was. He didn't really care. It would be kind of funny to let Tia catch Roxas getting totally stoned out of his mind.
Axel laughed out loud and went back to fumbling the zipper on Roxas's pants. He'd managed to get the button undone, at least. The blonde looked down dumbly for a moment, before swatting his fingers away yet again. "Don't do that."
"Why not?" said Axel, playfully. "I'm your boyfriend now. I should get free groping rights, at least." Roxas made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat.
"No. Not yet," he said, leaning heavily against the plastic backing of his deck chair. His body felt completely boneless. He wondered if his brain had been vacuumed out of his skull while he wasn't paying attention.
Axel sat up straight, reaching for the still rather full plastic bag of pot. This kid was so fucking weak – smashed so easily. It was kind of funny, actually. Setting to work on rolling another joint for the blonde, he figured that getting him a little more baked might help his conquest.
…Shit, my foot is numb.
"So how long do I have to wait? It's not like you're some virgin," said the red head, shaky fingers working their magic. His lips were slowly turning blue. It was damn cold outside.
Roxas shrugged. "So? I don't want it yet," he said, words slow and syrupy. He could barely wrap his lips around the syllables, head too fuzzy to even think properly.
"Oh come on," Axel complained, handing Roxas the joint he'd finished rolling. "You don't even have to do anything. I'll give you a free fucking blowjob, and I can guarantee it'll be the best one you'll ever get."
The blonde laughed again. "No," he said, dragging the word on until the sound made Axel want to throw something at him. "You pro'lly have a mouth infection. Or something."
Axel chose to drop the subject. His mouth kept dipping into a frown, and Roxas ignored it. Oh well. At least he was choosing not to be a manipulative bastard, for the time being. The blonde didn't know how long that would last, anyway.
Fumbling in vain with a lighter, Roxas managed to finally light up, sweet smoke pooling around the two of them. Axel breathed it in. "This reminds me of the times I used to do this kind of thing with Demyx," said the red head, moving his legs up to flatten against his chest. He pulled the sleeves of his sweatshirt over his hands, as well.
"I don't like him," said Roxas, taking a long drag. "Don't talk about that guy." Axel grinned, amused at the idea that maybe Roxas was a little bit jealous. Maybe he could push this a little bit more?
Pretending to distract himself by looking at the cracked skin on his hands, Axel carried on. "We used to just sit around and get stoned. When I was high enough to not even notice anymore, he'd feel me up, and we'd end up fucking. It was kind of funny."
Frowning, the younger boy looked at his options. Axel was probably never going to shut the fuck up unless he got what he wanted, and Roxas didn't want to hear the red head blather on about how he and Demyx fucked like rabbits all of the time. Resolve somewhat stunted, Roxas sighed heavily.
"Fine, then. Go ahead."
Axel glanced at him, a scrutinizing look written across his face. For a moment, Roxas wondered if the red head was going to question his sincerity, but he knew that if Axel second-guessed him, Roxas's answer would've changed.
"Sweet," snorted Axel, reaching over to cup the blonde's soft cock through his pants. Roxas didn't budge, reflexes too slow to even really register what was happening to his body. The only thing even audible was a little gasp from the back of his throat.
The snow was nice. It was nice outside. It was a nice snowy day outside, and Axel was undoing his top button, and his mother was going to be home soon.
What am I doing…?
He took a deep breath, cold air freezing his nose, the scent of pot heavy in the air around him. Axel was leaning forward, razor grin on his face, a self-satisfied gleam in his eyes.
However, Roxas couldn't help but jerk away when he heard a car zoom by on the street outside. Axel snorted. "Pussy," he muttered, slowly peeling down the boy's zipper.
"Stop – we can't, Tia'll be home soon," said Roxas, attempting again to push Axel away. "Fuck, you asshole—"
And then, the doorbell rang, sounding through the fractionally opened sliding door.
Roxas still had to push the older boy away, to stumble to his feet. His hand missed the door handle on the first try, but by the time he made it into the house, the person was knocking on the door. "J-just a minute," called Roxas, quickly swinging to catch his reflection in the microwave, hoping that he didn't look too stoned. Axel was laughing behind him, knowing that the blonde smelled horribly of pot.
Prodding once at the bags under his eyes for good measure, Roxas opened the door, keeping his eyes squinted shut so that whoever was at the door couldn't see how impossibly dilated his pupils were. He realized that he'd probably just end up looking worse, but his brain wasn't totally focused. Roxas couldn't really help the look of shock when he found Olette standing there.
"What are you doing here?" he said, rather bluntly, all-too-prepared to slam the door in her face. She had some nerve showing up, and with a saran-wrap covered plate of what looked to be cookies. Cheery and shit, with Santa iced onto the tops. Roxas wanted to step on them.
Faking a smile, Olette stood there awkwardly. "Um, I'm on my way to my grandmother's house. My dad wanted me to give Tia and you something for Christmas…" She trailed off and blinked at him for a moment, watching the blonde hover awkwardly in the doorway, door pulled halfway shut. "…Are you high?"
He tried to say something, but all Roxas could do was something between a dry-heave and a laugh.
"Roxas, get the fuck back in here!" Axel's barking voice in the background. Olette looked a little more than concerned, eyebrows creeping closer to her hairline. The red head barged his way through the door, sticking his head out over the top of Roxas's. "…Who's this bitch?"
Elbowing him in the stomach, Roxas glanced over Olette, finding that her father was waiting in an idling car. The blonde could tell that he was most likely unimpressed. I wonder if she even told him that we broke up.
"Excuse me?" said Olette, in disbelief. "I should be asking who you are." She didn't look quite impressed, actually, rather irritated. It wasn't everyday that somebody called her a bitch.
One skinny hand rested on Roxas's shoulder, Axel ran his pointy tongue over his teeth. "I'm Axel." He didn't say anything more, entertained with the idea that his name was known everywhere. He felt a little bit like a rock star, standing here in front of the homely little bitch, anyway.
Frowning, Olette tried to be polite. She felt horribly awkward standing there, but didn't quite know what to do. "…Nice to meet you. I'm Olette," she said, attempting to give a little bit of a smile.
Axel returned it with a mocking, antagonistic look. Roxas had mentioned her breaking up with him, so it was time to be a nasty asshole. "Okay, Olette, it's time for you to leave now," he said, voice a little bit harsh, "since you pretty much pissed me off the second you rang the fucking doorbell."
Offended, Olette placed a hand on her chest in disbelief. "What's wrong with you?" An exasperated Roxas attempted to get a word in, but Axel quickly cut him off.
"Well, considering you pretty much killed any chance of me getting into this little prude's pants for the next few weeks, I have a right to be pissed off," said Axel, lowering himself to look her dead in the eyes. A look of realization overcame Olette's face, and her mouth widened ever-so-slightly.
She snapped her face towards Roxas. "You mean you stopped paying attention to me because of this… person?" Flabbergasted and utterly brain-dead, Roxas opened and closed his mouth like some sort of deranged goldfish.
"It would seem so. It's not like he had much to pay attention to," said Axel, giving the girl a once-over. "You don't have any tits or anything." He felt like being mean to her. Olette's expression of chagrin only increased.
"Well, you look like an anorexic. And you're filthy, and you smell like dead, rotting roadkill," snapped the smaller brunette. She wasn't about to put up with anyone's bullshit. "When was the last time you even saw a hairbrush?"
Axel snorted, ready to spike back another comment, but he was finally obstructed by Roxas. The blonde reached for the door handle, pulling the door closed behind him, effectively closing it on Axel's fingers. He could hear the startled noise of the red head from behind him, but he didn't pay attention to it.
Giving Olette the most sympathetic looks he could manage, he struggled for something to say. She looked truly upset, tears prickling the back of her eyes. "…I'm sor—" No, that wouldn't work. "…You should go."
Shaking her head in exasperation, she shoved the plate of cookies into his hands and turned sharply, storming down the front walk. Turning halfway down, she yelled; "I should've listen to the other girls when they told me you were a big faggot!"
Roxas could hear Axel laughing behind the door.
Present opening was over for now, Kurt and Selphie putting together a model train, Naminé having her own little fashion show, Sora practically drooling over his new CD's, and Axel stretched out on the couch beside him. Tia had gone camera happy, snapping many pictures of the distraught blonde boy with icing on his lips.
"So how does this one look?" said Naminé, doing a little spin in front of her older brother. More white. Naminé always wore white. Every outfit looked exactly the same to Roxas, but he simply gave it a thumbs up. The blonde girl offered her usual soft smile, and swayed off to try on something else.
Axel sat upright, glancing over to Tia. He was about to say something when she decided to snap a picture of the two oldest boys together. Axel made a stupid face, and Roxas refrained from fingering the camera. Once the laughing woman had lowered the little device, Axel said, "Hey, I've got some people I wanna see today. Gonna haul Roxas off with me to visit them in a bit, okay?"
"Do you two boys want a ride? It's rather chilly out there," said Kurt, trying to pry a super-glued piece of railroad track from his finger. "Where are you intending to go, Axel?"
The red head shrugged. "Here and there. I have a few friends I wanna see. Demyx, maybe some other people." The blonde frowned upon the mention of the musician's name. There was no way he wanted to see that guy. Not in a million years.
Tia gave her typical 'I don't really approve but I'll pretend' kind of smile, and inquired; "Are you sure you don't want a ride?" Again, Axel shook his head.
"Naw. Besides, fatty here will need the workout after eating all the fucki—the cookies," said Axel, quickly correcting himself. He was pretty sure that Tia would kill him if he swore on such a day as Christmas. Birthday of the Lord and all that. He believed it once, but now, it was just bedtime story bullshit.
Raising an eyebrow at Axel's comment, Kurt murmured, "All right, then," and set back to work on Selphie's train set. Naminé came from upstairs to show off her newest skirt, and after that, the morning just seemed to mull on. Breakfast and such other Christmas occurrences took place, Roxas upset and quiet through the entirety of the festive occasion. However, when the afternoon rolled around, Axel was all but urging him out the door.
Completely bundled up, and feeling a little bit like Frosty from Hell, Roxas made his way down the front step, behind the older boy. Tia watched from the doorway. "Just make sure you aren't back too late," she said, a concerned look on her face. She still thought that it was too cold outside to walk to wherever they were going.
Axel was already moving fast. Roxas could keep up rather easily, but his face was still fucking cold. Where the hell is he taking me anyway?
Total and complete silence was awkward, especially around Axel, who always talked so damn much. Frowning, he decided to start up a conversation – something that wasn't very likely for him. Still, he couldn't stand the silence that hung between them. "…You really think I'm a prude?"
"Yep. You basically freaked out the second I touched you, even when you were high. Usually that lowers people's inhibitions enough, but you're too convinced that you're straight to even let me do anything," said the red head, with a flat, deadpan tone. He was pissed that Olette had to barge in, when he was finally getting somewhere.
Roxas shrugged. "Sorry. Still not completely used to this whole 'gay' thing," he said, glancing at the icy sidewalk. Glancing at him over his shoulder, Axel scoffed. He didn't give him a real answer, though, so Roxas tactfully switched the subject. "So, where are we going?"
"Marluxia told me to come by sometime today," explained Axel, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. He was a little happier to finally receive a fucking winter coat, for Christmas. It wasn't too nice to be wandering around in a thin sweater all of the time. "Knowing him, my 'present' will probably be a free high. Snort some rails with him or something, probably."
"You're not doing that around me, I hope you know," said Roxas, slightly on edge. He had absolutely no desire to see the red head get high. The idea, frankly, disgusted him.
The red head laughed. "Course not. If Marluxia feels generous enough, maybe I can get you fucked on coke, too. Get your mind off of your slutty ex-girlfriend." The blonde's mouth went open in horror, and Axel could only cackle in delight. "Oh, fuck off, I'm just kidding. I'm not gonna get high or anything, so pull the stick out of your ass, and lighten up a little bit."
The younger boy damn near pouted. "Fine," he muttered. While pleased with the idea that Axel was going to refrain from doing any drugs, he didn't know what to think of Marluxia. The guy was creepy as all fuck. Even when he'd met him before, drunk off his ass and upset, he could tell that the older man was bad news.
Axel turned around, walking backwards, facing the younger boy. "But you know, I have been kind of craving it," he admitted, a slightly troubled look cast across his face. "Like, not unbearably badly, but I think it's gonna get worse soon. Like it always does."
The blonde blinked. He didn't understand, really, what an addiction was. He didn't feel it like Axel did, the constant hungering, the need for blind satisfaction. To him, drugs were something that could be used for leisure, from time to time. They weren't seared into his veins, they weren't candy-coated inside of his nose, they weren't sprinkled like powdered sugar over his brain. He didn't understand how a person could be driven by something as trivial like that.
Snapping his fingers once, remembering, Axel went back to walking normally, beside the blonde boy. Giving him a hard look, he said, "And listen – we're going to Marluxia's house. I trust you enough to know that you're not going to go off to the cops with his address or anything."
Roxas still couldn't get over the fact that Axel trusted him. Roxas didn't trust Axel. Roxas didn't trust anybody. He didn't quite understand it. After all, it would be all too easy to walk straight to the cops, and squeal on the stupid drug-dealer, child-whorer. It was all too fucking easy.
But Axel trusted him. Roxas didn't want to break that trust by screwing him over completely. Tapping his fingers together in thought, Roxas asked, "Hey, are any other people gonna be there? I mean, I don't want to seem like… out of place, or something."
"Well, the bitch-queen should be there. She's always there," said Axel, smirking. His face seemed to be frozen in that expression. Maybe he was just too damn cold.
Quirking an eyebrow, Roxas inquired, "Bitch queen? Who's that?"
"Her name is Larxene. She's married to Marluxia, or some shit. She's on so many antidepressants and shit that she doesn't even realize I'm there most of the time." So, Marluxia was married? Roxas honestly couldn't imagine the kind of person who would marry a monster like him.
"Oh. That's kind of… sad," said the blonde, tugging his collar up over his lips. They were already chapped, he didn't need to get frost-bite on top of it.
Axel shrugged. "Nah, she's a bitch anyway. She always whines whenever I come over, because he doesn't pay attention to her at all when I'm around." Turning on a corner, he glanced at the road sign once for good measure. The walk seemed shorter than it really was, mostly because they'd managed to keep the conversation constant. "I swear, that man is like, in love with me or something."
Roxas blinked. It was possible. Then again, Marluxia didn't seem like the loving type. But then again, I've only seen the horrible side of him… Fuck that shit. There was no nice side to the red head's arrogant 'friend', and Roxas would stick to that viewpoint forever.
"Maybe he is in love with me," snorted Axel, not bothering to look both ways before he pulled the smaller boy across the street with him. The crosswalk was caked with a fresh layer of snow, crunching beneath their feet. It wasn't like there were very many cars around, anyway. "That would be actually really fucking funny. Can you imagine that? Rich little Marluxia falling in love with the nastiest of his cokewhores."
Roxas punched the taller boy in the arm. "Don't talk about yourself like that." Delighted that he could barely feel anything through the thick layers of his coat, Axel grinned smugly.
"Why not? It's the truth," stated the red head. Roxas scowled up at him, punching him once again for good measure, even if Axel didn't even seem to register any of the feeling.
Okay, so the walk turned out to be longer than Roxas thought. By the time they'd finally reached Marluxia's quaint little house in the suburbs (which was an incredibly far cry from the dump that Roxas had seen before), the blonde's feet were soaked and numb. He swore that Axel's hair was frozen on the ends.
Axel didn't even bother knocking, or anything. He had a damn key. What kind of pimp gave his whore a key? Oh, right, Marluxia loved him, or something. Roxas's already bad mood went down another few notches. Peachy.
Once inside the house, Roxas's fingers and toes came quickly and painfully back to life. Tingling, he almost groaned. It always sucked to come out of the freezing cold and into an overly warm house. And holy shit, what a house. It was hardwood floor everywhere, expensive furniture, paintings, and the general fixings of an expensive house. Pity it was probably the home of some kind of ogre.
Marluxia walked over, re-arranging the collar of his shirt. He didn't even really seem to realize, for a moment, that he even had guests. He looked a little bedraggled, dark circles under his eyes, hair more mussed than it probably usually was. He didn't look all that good. Evidently, Axel noticed it as well, and typically, he was unsympathetic. "Aww, Larxene keep you up with her bitching all last night, or something?"
Self-consciously prodding at the dark skin under his eyes, Marluxia frowned. "Actually, yes, she did," he said, soft-spoken tone sounding less dangerous than it had when Roxas had first met him. "But I'd rather not talk about it right now. Come." He glanced over his shoulder, purposely giving the blonde a demeaning look. "You can go into the kitchen, I suppose."
"Thanks," muttered Roxas, slipping out of his coat. He hung it next to Axel's, frowning for a moment, before moving forward. Marluxia pointed him in the right direction, even as he lead the red head into a different room. Roxas didn't miss the way that Marluxia's hand was rested on Axel's lower back.
Struggling to keep his jealousy in check, Roxas dragged his way into the kitchen. The entire room was bathed in silver, pots and pans hanging above an island reflecting the window light onto the entire room. Wondering for a moment if sunglasses were necessary, the blonde spotted a lone woman sitting at the kitchen table. "Uh, hey."
She looked up, an un-amused expression on her haggard face. "Who the fuck are you?" she said, tone not even angry, just a little bit tired. She reached for a tall glass of what Roxas thought was straight up vodka for a moment, but he quickly realized she was just drinking water.
Moving closer to the table, he took a seat opposite her. "My name's Roxas. I'm one of Axel's friends," he said, with a shrug. "He brought me here for some reason." The woman shook her head, muttering something under her breath.
"Beware. The kid could be trying to recruit you. He's an underhanded slut, that one," she said, running a hand through her hair. Roxas almost laughed, but decided to keep his mouth closed. Like Axel would share him with anybody. He had gotten so incredibly pissed when Olette had showed up, he doubted that the red head would even contemplate it. "I'm Larxene."
Shrugging, Roxas leaned back in the slightly uncomfortable chair, the metal backing pressing into his shoulder blades. He looked around, wondering what to say to her, before his eyes landed on a tilted picture on the wall. "Who's that?" he said, before he could even think about it.
"Somebody I used to know," she said, wrapping her hands around her water glass. She seemed more depressed than Axel had initially described her. Tired like Marluxia.
Not really all that concerned, but curious anyway, Roxas chanced the question, "Are you okay?" She shook her head, sipping at her water.
"No," she said, simply, "and I don't want to talk about it." She wasn't in the mood to talk to some snot-nosed punk who probably thought he was better than she was. Roxas sighed, elbows on the tabletop, chin balanced in his hands. His mouth was pulled into a deep frown, much because he didn't know what else to do.
She looked like she should've been smoking, or drinking, or something. The image would've fit, a cigarette balanced between two skinny fingers, an open bottle of something held loosely in the other hand.
Roxas spoke up, again. "So, uh, I take it you don't really like Axel." He mentally slapped himself – that was a stupid fucking question.
"He's not the worst of them," said Larxene, turning to look at the younger blonde. Her eyes were red rimmed – she'd probably been crying. "But I don't like him, anyway."
"I didn't at first, either, really," said Roxas, "but if you give him a chance, he's okay, I guess." Larxene snorted, pushing her chair back, getting to her feet. She made her way to one of the cupboards, opening it, glancing around inside for a bit before making her way over to the fridge.
"Do you want anything?" she asked. Larxene was used to having dozens of people over, so being a prim and proper little hostess was basically in her job description. Roxas shook his head, telling her that he was fine.
Coming back to the table with an apple and a small paring knife, Larxene sat down at her chair, crossing her legs beneath the table. "The point is that I choose not to associate with any of Marluxia's 'employees'. He keeps his business to himself because I prefer not to hear about it, and that's all there is to it."
Obviously the woman was intelligent. Really, Roxas more expected for Marluxia to be married to some dough-headed former hooker who would never think he was some kind of drug lord. He didn't really expect his wife to be keeping his secrets.
"Oh. I guess that makes sense," said Roxas, with a shrug. He half wanted to ask her if it bothered her that he slept with other people. Did it even faze her that he was fucking underage boys?
Scoffing, Larxene sliced off a section of the apple. "No it doesn't. I should be outraged," she stated, putting the slice up to her lips. "It's alright, though, I suppose. I've cheated on him enough times to guarantee my own section of hell."
Larxene couldn't really be mad if she'd done exactly the same thing, somewhat. "Uh, so, it's all fair then, right?" said Roxas, not really knowing what the hell he was talking about.
"Nothing is fair," said Larxene, slicing another section off. She offered the piece to Roxas, and out of respect, he accepted it. Some kind of green apple. It was juicy enough.
Oddly enough, Roxas didn't find Larxene to be quite the bitch that Axel seemed to think she was. She was oddly polite, pretty, and subdued. It all may have been an act, but Roxas found himself enjoying her company.
"So, how did a kid like you meet Axel?" Larxene inquired, raising a thin blonde eyebrow. "You don't seem the type to hang around somebody like him."
It was kind of nice to have somebody interested in talking to him. She seemed interested in hearing, and wasn't asking just for the sake of conversation. She was the kind of person that Roxas could see himself visiting again. "Well, uh, I've known him since I was a little kid. We just met up again out of nowhere in like… October? Or was it November. I can't really remember.
"Anyways, he's living with me and my family right now," finished Roxas, with a bored expression on his face. The story didn't really seem all that interesting to him, or probably to her.
Smirking, she cocked her head, sizing him up. "Your parents let him stay there? Surely they've noticed the fact that he's not exactly a good influence on a budding teenage mind."
"Nh, my dad's out on business trips a lot, and my mother is sending him to a therapist. I live in a foster home, we get kids like him sometimes," he said, with a shrug. Though, nobody quite as notorious as Axel had ever lived with him. Tia, despite the fact that she considered herself almost saintly, had never taken in someone to quite his extreme before. She didn't like the influence that 'his type' had on other children.
Larxene clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth in understanding. "Oh. I see," she said, setting the knife down onto the table, "Foster home? You seem more… well adjusted than I was."
Roxas's eyes widened. "You were a foster kid, too?"
She laughed almost sadly, nodding her head. Blonde strands of hair fell out of place, and she quickly swiped them back again. "Yes. My mother abandoned me, and I lived there. She came back eventually, after I was older and I was taking care of myself, only to tell me I had lived my life wrong."
"That… blows," said Roxas, blankly.
"You have no idea," said the woman, glancing up at the condescending eyes of her portrait-mother. She kept that there as a little reminder to not fuck up her life even more – she knew that the bitch would just laugh at her for it.
It was that point that Axel all but stormed into the kitchen, an expression of pure hatred on his face. "So, slut, you're knocked up?" he demanded outright, glaring at the blonde woman. "You sure Marluxia's even the father?" She bolted right out of her chair, and hell, she looked really scary standing there with her fists at her sides.
"Funny, I honestly expected you not to care," she snorted, placing a hand on her hip. After a moment, her lips twisted up into a little smile. "You have cum in your hair."
Axel laughed. Roxas stared blankly, not really knowing what the hell was going on. Larxene was pregnant? What in the world…? He half expected the argument to break out into an all-out fist fight, but (un)luckily, Marluxia appeared to intervene.
"Would everyone just calm down?" he asked, monotonously. He didn't show a sliver of expression on his face as he stood just in front of Axel. "There's no need to fight about anything, really." If anything, he seemed a little bit agitated.
Roxas got to his feet as well. "Axel, let's just go." The red head made a sound of annoyance, leaning against the kitchen wall.
"I don't want to leave. I want to snort coke and ride Marluxia, but I don't want to leave," he said. Larxene visibly stiffened, fake nails digging into her palms. Marluxia didn't do so much as shrug, instead choosing to just walk back into the hallway, pulling Axel along with him, apparently taking the red head up on his offer.
Larxene took her seat at the table again. There were tears in her eyes, but with grit teeth, she did her best not to show it. "…Do you need a ride home? They're not going to be done for quite some time, I think."
"…Yeah," said Roxas, choosing to stay standing. His legs were shaking a little bit. "Yeah."
"Hello Chickenwuss!"
Zell was practically foaming at the mouth. The only thing holding him back from beating the shit out of his older cousin was the fact that Ma Dincht had just announced Christmas dinner was ready. Zell couldn't resist food, even if it meant also resisting an opportunity to shit-kick his cousin.
They didn't have an awfully large family like some other people, mostly because a large half of it lived somewhere in California, but every year Eiko insisted on spending Christmas with Aunt Dincht, even though Seifer liked to piss off her son.
Attempting to take off Eiko's coat while the girl squirmed in an attempt to run over to her favorite cousin, Penelo, Seifer eventually gave up and let the girl take off running to see her. Waiting for a moment in quiet, Seifer eventually heard the exclamation of, "Your hair is blue!" Snorting quietly to himself, he made his grand enterance into the kitchen.
"The cavalry has arrived," he announced, before being immediately attacked in a hug, courtesy of Grandma Merryweather.
"Ooh, you've grown up to be such a handsome man!" she said, patting his chest. "You look very good in blue!" Even with her waning eyesight, she always had something to say about the way he looked. Apparently very fetching, or something. It only added weight to Seifer's already gargantuan ego.
Penelo giggled upon seeing him. "Oh, don't mind her," she said, before helping the elderly woman into her chair. "Nice to see you again. You should show up more often!"
"Can we eat?" complained Zell, practically bouncing over on his chair. "I'm starvin'!" It was amazing that the kid wasn't fucking humongous. He piled away about as much as a sumo wrestler did at a meal.
Pulling Eiko up into her chair, Seifer felt comfortable at the small family affair. He usually liked bigger crowds, but for now, this was fine. Even if his own parents weren't there (hell, they were probably drunk off their asses at some party down in California for all he cared), it was enjoyable enough.
Even as Ma Dincht set the turkey down onto the table, Zell's eyes looked like they were about to bug out of his head. Even Seifer had to admit that it did look fucking delicious, and he didn't even really like meat that much.
Ma Dincht sat down, clasping her hands together. "All right! Everybody dig in." Eiko was about to reach for a spoon but was quickly cut off as Zell's arm flew by.
"Er, better let him dish up first," said Seifer, patting her head. "Wouldn't want to get in the way of the hungry, ferocious chicken, huh." A wide-eyed Eiko nodded in agreement, choosing to wait until Zell was finished.
"It's snowing again," said Penelo, into her mittens. She had them pressed up against her face, absorbing most of the cold. She looked a little silly in a hat that was far too big on her head, but it was nice to be mostly protected from the chill.
Seifer lightly pushed her. "No shit," he said, shaking his head to get some of the snowflakes off of his eyelashes. Eiko tromped along ahead of them, bent on getting closer to the playground. It was only a few footsteps away.
Heading straight for the slide, Eiko tugged Penelo along with her, shouting a mantra of; "Come on, play with me!" Seifer wasn't really up for entertaining his daughter in the freezing fucking cold, so he chose to wander over to the swing set and maybe just sit down for a little bit. One swing was already occupied by a dim shadow, and while Seifer found that rather odd, he went over to the contraption anyway.
Only more surprising, was that he knew the slim figure sitting on the swing.
"Leonhart, is that you?" he asked in disbelief. The smaller brunet looked up, frowning deeply upon catching sight of the blonde's face. Seifer took him in liberally, analyzing every little feature on his former rival's face. The kid had piercings under his eyes. How weird. "What the fuck are you doing out here? Where the hell have you been for the last… how many years?"
A shrug. "I've been around," he stated, simply, getting to his feet. "I'm going now." He went to walk away, but Seifer tugged him back into the swing before parking himself in the one beside him.
"Talk. I haven't seen you since fucking high school," he said. Squall didn't look all that much older than he had when he was only seventeen. Judging by what Seifer had seen of his father, the family probably aged rather well.
"I don't have anything to tell you about," said Squall, blankly. He was apparently the same blank slate as he'd been all those years ago, as well.
Seifer rolled his eyes, deciding to be a little more forward. "Oh come on. Something must have happened over the years. I thought a smart little nerdy kid like you would've gone to university or something. Fucking anybody or something? Just say anything."
"Seifer, you called me a cocksucker in high school, and then you fucked my girlfriend at a party and then she broke up with me. What am I supposed to say to you?" he asked, tone as icy as the weather.
"Hi!" said Eiko, appearing out of virtually nowhere. Squall looked down at her, eyebrows furrowed, a little bit perplexed. He estimated her age was around six or seven, so…
Seifer picked Eiko up. "This is Rinoa's and my kid. Eiko," he said, introducing the little girl. He stood up, placing her down onto the swing instead. "Want a push?"
"Yay! Make me go really high, okay?" chirped the blue haired girl, waving to Penelo as the exhausted girl approached. Seifer did as Eiko wished, using his strength to send her as high as she wanted to go.
Penelo glanced to her older cousin, and to the sullen brunet seated on the swing. "Hi, I'm Penelo," she said, reaching a hand out for him to shake. Squall simply stood up and walked away, with a sigh.
"Where you goin', Puberty Boy?" called Seifer, over his shoulder. Squall frowned back at him, pausing momentarily.
"My employer wanted to see me," he said, voice slightly rough in the cold air. "Marluxia hates it if I'm late." He turned around and walked away as fast as his legs could take him, not wanting to have to relive any bad memories. Seeing the spawn of his dead girlfriend and his old rival was about the final nail in the coffin.
Seifer just cocked an eyebrow, the name 'Marluxia' spiking all kinds of interest. "Employer, huh?"
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