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gin and sin
chapter three
swing low, cherry, cherry
yeah it's awful
he's drunk, he tastes like candy, he's so beautiful
he's so deep, like dirty water
god, he's awful
awful - hole
They sat in silence for a good half-hour, Naminé silently watching an old episode of the Simpsons with Roxas pouting to himself beside her. Still, Axel didn’t show himself and Tia with Selphie weren’t due back for the next forty-five minutes. Finally, with a click of her tongue, Naminé spoke. “He might not come back, you know.”
Roxas snorted, crossing his arms across his chest. He hadn’t bothered to change his pants from earlier, and the wet slush had chilled his flesh where it soaked into the fabric. “Good,” stated the blonde boy, quickly receiving a glare from Naminé.
“Roxas, if you got to know him, you’d know that he’s a nice guy. You’re just judging him because he’s gay, but Roxas, that’s not his fault!” protested the younger girl, frowning. “I mean, if I were a lesbian, you wouldn’t beat me up and throw me out of the house, would you?”
Roxas opened his mouth, a little flabbergasted by the question. He wasn’t about to tell Naminé that he thought, like any other guy, that lesbians were hot. She’d point out to him that it was contradictory, and she would quickly win the fight from that particular angle. “…But it’s a different circumstance, Naminé,” Roxas began, slowly. “I mean, you’re family. And besides, Axel lifted a hundred bucks from me to pay for who the hell knows what. He’s probably doing drugs or something, and he was gone all last night. He’s bad news.”
Naminé gave a tired little sigh. “So? You smoke pot! That’s doing drugs. How is that any different?” retorted the girl, fixing Roxas with a combination of puppy-eyes and a pout.
“He could be doing cocaine, Naminé,” Roxas told her, his eyes completely serious. “That’s a lot more serious than occasionally doing weed. You haven’t seen how thin he is. He’s fucking anorexic, and he’s a twitchy little bastard. He’s probably been shooting up or snorting something.”
“Then we can get him help!” pleaded Naminé, sliding the back of her hand under her eyes. Roxas quickly realized that she was crying a bit. “I mean… Tia gave you and me help. You aren’t going to just let him disappear like this, like we could have, are you?” Roxas opened his mouth, and let it fall closed soon after. He pursed his lips, bringing his hand to his head to massage his temples.
“All right,” he finally said, pulling himself back onto his feet. “I’ll go find him, if he even wants to have anything to do with me. I can’t guarantee he’ll come back, though.” Naminé sighed, sliding herself over on the couch, so she was nearly towering over Roxas. Shading most of his body with her quite smaller one, she glared.
“He had better come back, Roxas, or I’m never letting you into the house!” she proclaimed, her stance meaningful. Naminé was a girl who couldn’t hold grudges, so Roxas didn’t really believe her. “I mean it! Never!”
Roxas rolled his eyes, pulling himself off of the couch. He left a rather large wet-spot from his snow-logged pants, and inevitably decided that he should change. Trudging back upstairs, into his room, he quickly maneuvered himself into a pair of dry pants and equally dry socks. Roxas sighed, going back down the stairs. His shoes were soaked, that was for sure, and with his newly dry clothes there would be no way he’d put them back on. His eyes fell onto Sora’s ridiculously yellow snow-boots. “Hey, Naminé? Where’s Sora?”
“At Riku’s house,” called the girl, from the living room. She poked her head over the back-rest, staring at Roxas. “His parents didn’t trust him alone, and since they’re out of town they called Sora to stay with him for the weekend. He must’ve stayed longer, though. When Mom came home to pick up Selphie, this afternoon, she said she’s bringing Sora home too. He should be home by tonight.”
Roxas nodded, throwing a quick glance at the clock as he toed on Sora’s neon yellow boots. It was nearly five o’clock, and judging by that, Tia, Sora and Selphie would be back at five-thirty, as per usual. He ran a hand through his hair, quickly debating the situation. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to find Axel by then. Even if he came home with his tail between his legs, Tia would most likely yell at him for scaring a kid (who was obviously in need of help) away.
He shrugged on his jacket, hand reaching for the doorknob. “I’ll be back in a bit. Er, if Mom comes home, tell her I… took Axel to see a friend,” he stated, receiving a hand-wave over the couch from Naminé. Nodding his head in response, Roxas opened the door, receiving a blast of cool air. It had started snowing again. Fantastic. He growled low in his throat, and with that, Roxas faced the cold.
He shuddered, turning his head away from the wind, ignoring the blonde wisps of hair that scratched at his eyes. He really had no idea what he was doing, or where he was going. Axel could’ve been anywhere, and Roxas knew that. He was quite ready to give up. “This is useless,” he mumbled to himself, teeth chattering noisily. He shook his head, ready to turn around and go back home.
A little cat stood in front of him, cowering and shaking. It gave a pathetic mew, slinking forward to brush up against his damp pant legs. Roxas scowled, bending over to pick up the little cat. A calico, it was, but its fur was caked with mud and grime. He could barely tell that it was even a cat. Nevertheless, it gave another pathetic mewl sliding a rough tongue against his cheek. “What, you hungry?” he asked, feeling rather stupid for questioning a cat. Sighing, he zipped his jacket open and shifted the kitten inside, keeping it cradled against his warm chest with only its head poking out.
“I’m not taking you home,” he told the kitten, pointedly. Rolling his eyes, he wondered where in hell he could take a stray kitten. The SPCA was probably closed, already, and he didn’t know anyone who would want a cat. Doing a little 360, he let his eyes wander around the buildings. He was in a pretty run-down section of town, and most of the windows were barred. Briefly, he wondered how far he had walked.
The calico mewed happily, nuzzling its dirty nose against the underside of his chin. Roxas giggled a little, quickly covering it up to push the cat’s face away. “That tickles. Stop it,” he stated, wrapping his arms around his chest and effectively cradling the cat. He began to walk forward again, not really knowing exactly where he was going as he didn’t really know where he was, either.
He continued to wander, wondering if he could even figure out a place to leave an abandoned kitten. As if his feet had minds of their own, he managed to come across a little community church, with broken dry-wall and a slightly caved-in roof. Sighing, Roxas realized that this might be his only opportunity. With all thoughts of finding Axel completely banished from his mind, he opened up the door to the church, peeking his head around the large, wooden entrance.
“Hello?” he asked, a little embarrassed. He had no idea what he was going to say, let alone how to push the little kitten onto the church. Roxas let himself inside, his eyes wandering across the entrance of the building. The wallpaper was peeling, somewhat, and there were water marks on the ceiling where pipes had leaked. The flooring was old, carrying years of dirt even though there was a vacuum lingering in an open closet nearby. “Hey… anybody here?”
With a light mew, the calico in his jacket had started squirming. With the nice, indoor heating it had gotten a little warmer. Roxas unzipped his jacket, kneeling as he carefully placed the kitten onto the floor. It scampered away, and the blonde boy listened to it bounce happily into the main room. He decided to follow, sliding his feet as he walked to get some of the sludge off of the soles of his shoes. Picking up his feet, he walked into the large room. Pews lined each side of the wide walk-way, and the main room was considerably cleaner than the entrance way. A few of the windows were cracked, but the bright tapestries and joyful messages that adorned them brightened up the room significantly. A large cross hung in the front of the room, hiding behind a rather odd looking man wearing priestly robes. Roxas stepped forward, barely behind the man, attempting to formulate a sentence as how to ask the man to take the kitten.
The calico purred, sliding its muddy body against the priest’s robe. The man gave a hearty chuckle, whirling around. Roxas had to dodge the sudden flurry of white, as the man’s waist-long beard followed in his swiveling. “Hello!” stated the priest, fixing the spectacles balanced on his nose. “Come to find yourself?”
“Uh… what?” asked Roxas, cocking his head to the side. The priest chuckled, stooping to pick up the kitten and bouncing away from the podium. With a flurried hand motion, he beckoned Roxas to follow. Cautiously, the blonde did, concerned for the kitten’s well-being. Really, the man looked like he was more likely to put it into a soup than take care of it.
“Come, come now! Don’t be shy!” chided the man, successfully latching a hand onto Roxas, when the boy was too slow. With one arm wrapped around a kitten, and the other extended for a boy, the priest looked rather odd as he walked. He led the blonde into a back room, where a pretty brunette stood, watering a menagerie of flowers.
Upon hearing the commotion, the woman turned and blinked her large blue-green eyes at the two of them. She put down the watering can, and the priest swiftly handed her the kitten. “Oh, Merlin, did you find this one out in the cold?” she asked, her voice filled with concern. She nuzzled the dirty kitten, leaving a rather large mud-stain on her cheek. Pacing off behind another curtain, Roxas looked to Merlin for an explanation.
“Alis volat propris,” stated Merlin, winking an eye and fixing his spectacles once again. Roxas was tempted to ask what he had said, when the woman came back into the room with a half-can of tuna and the kitten still in one arm. She placed the kitten on the floor, bending over to slide the tuna under its mouth. The calico purred as it began to attempt to swallow some of the food. Abruptly, Merlin began talking to the woman. “No, I didn’t find the grubby kitty. This fine young boy did, and he most likely risked his life for the grubby kitty-cat.”
Roxas, slightly befuddled, upon hearing a grown man talk like Selphie, just stood there in wide-mouthed stupor. The woman chuckled, placing her fingers to her chest. “Thank you. We take in stray cats, and we’ll be glad to take care of her,” she stated, passing a glance down towards the cat. “My name is Aerith Gainsborough. I volunteer at this church.”
“Oh,” said the blonde boy, quickly re-accumulating himself. “Er, yeah. I thought it would be a good idea to bring the cat here. Because, you know, my mom doesn’t exactly want a cat around.” Realizing that he was rambling, Roxas quickly shut his mouth, blushing upon the calm gaze of Aerith.
“It’s quite all right,” she said, nodding her head. “We’ll keep her. I think I’ll call her… Figaro.” The little kitten mewed between a bite of tuna, probably rushing herself because she was in such a hurry to eat. Merlin chuckled.
“Coram populo you are named Figaro,” stated the priest, staring down at the kitten. “To me, you are still just a grubby kitty.” Figaro mewed, pawing at the can of tuna. Aerith shook her head, pointing a finger at Merlin.
She smiled, nevertheless, before saying, “I’ll give her a bath once she’s eaten some.” Aerith picked up her watering can, once again, gliding over towards the disarray of chrysanthemums. “I love the November flower. It’s so pretty.” She sighed dramatically, doing a half-twirl with her watering can.
“Aerith!”
Both Roxas and Aerith turned abruptly, the former coming face-to-face with what looked like an older clone of himself. With mild shock, Roxas stepped out of the way for the man to successfully storm in. Merlin chuckled from where he stood, backing himself away, closer to Roxas. It was then that Roxas noticed a little boy clinging to the back of the blonde man’s jacket.
“Oh, Cloudy!” sang Aerith, her eyes twinkling. “What’s the problem?” Roxas could pretty much see every vein in Cloud’s neck as the man struggled to contain his anger. Another man who sort of reminded Roxas of a porcupine lingered at the doorway, head in his hands as he struggled to contain laughter.
Cloud scowled, reaching behind his back to successfully pull the ten year old boy off of himself. “This is my problem,” he stated, hanging onto the squirming boy by his collar. He dropped the black-haired boy onto the floor. “The thing damn near set our house on fire!”
“I’m a real boy!” protested the self-proclaimed boy, waving his arms. He scampered over to Aerith, hiding behind her skirt and sticking his tongue out at Cloud. “Cloudy, you’re just mean.”
The man at the door ambled into the large room, his walk rather lazy but his posture impeccable. He grinned down at Roxas for a moment, and clapped a hand onto Cloud’s shoulder. Only then did Roxas realize that Cloud was a whole lot shorter than he seemed. With such an imposing presence, he seemed gigantic, but really he was a little bit shorter than Roxas himself. “Chill, Spike,” said the man, “He didn’t set your house on fire. It was a good thing you had that fire extinguisher handy, though.”
Cloud turned a glare to the man with the slate-coloured hair. “With no help from you, Zack!” he claimed, poking a finger at the taller man’s chest. “You sat on my couch watching Looney Toons while I put out the goddamn fire!”
“Language!” interrupted Aerith, pulling the boy up into a hug even as she held her stern look on Cloud. The little boy prodded at the blood-red flowers, giggling happily and ignoring the conversation. Roxas stood back, feeling utterly out of place, before he felt something brush up against his leg. He turned his vision downwards, quickly finding Figaro purring at his feet.
Cautiously, Roxas bent down to pick the kitten up. Hugging it against his chest, he watched the exchange between Zack and Cloud with mild amusement. Though, he couldn’t really help but feel that Zack was reminding him of something. Long, spiked hair. He couldn’t help but feel he was forgetting something.
“Oh shit! Axel!” shouted Roxas, abruptly. All eyes turned to him, and Roxas could feel his face heating up with embarrassment. Zack broke out into a laugh, Cloud continued to glare in Zack’s general direction, the ten year old boy picked the petals off of the flowers, and Aerith gave him a stern look.
“Discipuli nostrum bardissimi sunt!” shouted Merlin, a grin on his face as he threw his hands into the air. Zack was apparently the only one who got it, and broke into a smile.
Crossing his muscular arms, Zack cocked his head. “Axel Erickson, by any chance?” he asked, rather mildly. Stunned, Roxas could only nod. “What the hell has he done, this time?” Zack’s smile faded, a little bit, and something akin to concern dashed his distinguished features.
“Er…” mumbled Roxas, wondering how in hell Zack knew Axel.
As if reading his mind, Zack stated, “I’m a cousin of his.” Roxas’s left eye twitched at the confession, but it really wasn’t all that odd to hear. They bore something of a resemblance with their hair, though it wasn’t glaringly obvious. While Axel was a natural red-head (which many people didn’t believe, but Roxas did since he had known him for so long), Zack had a musty black mane.
Turning his eyes around the room, everyone else was listening with rapt attention, save for the black haired boy who simply played with the flowers. Merlin adjusted his spectacles, once again, and gestured for Roxas to continue. “He kind of ran off. He’s… well, he’s staying at my house right now, and I think I scared him away,” said the blonde, a slight blush coming to his cheeks.
Zack shook his head. “Ugh. And here I thought he was still staying with that idiot, Demyx. Anyway—“
“Wait!” shrieked the ten year old, squirming in Aerith’s hold. “I saw him! I saw him!” Roxas blinked, while Cloud scowled at the boy.
“No, you haven’t, liar. You were with us the whole time, and we didn’t see him,” snarled Cloud, crossing his arms. Zack shook his head, smile returning once again, as he leaned on Cloud’s shoulder.
“You never know, Spike. Pinocchio has an eagle-eye,” said the taller man, winking to the boy. Pinocchio grinned, giving Zack a thumbs-up.
Roxas looked, confusedly, between all of the people in the room. “So, you guys all… know him?” he asked, with mild curiosity. There was a synchronized nod between all of them in agreement.
“He comes here, a lot,” said Aerith, her voice soft. Her lashes grazed her cheeks, and she carefully looked up at Roxas. “He likes the cats.” Cloud gave a silent nod, turning his head towards the floor.
“Well… do any of you have any idea where he is?” asked Roxas, feeling somewhat out of the circle. Around them all, he felt like a complete stranger, which he was despite their kindness. Aerith shook her head. She opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly, Cloud gave a furious cry.
“Get your son away from my boots!” shrieked Cloud, attempting to kick at Pinocchio as the boy went for his shoe-laces. Roxas was slightly amazed that this kid was Aerith’s son. Really, the woman didn’t look a day over twenty. It didn’t make any sense as to why she had a child. Figaro mewed in his hold, and he suddenly remembered that he still had the cat.
Zack swiveled over to pick Pinocchio up, flicking his nose once the boy was successfully trapped in his strong arms. “You, kiddo, are a brat,” he stated, grinning. Cloud just scowled, crossing his arms and pouting to the side. Merlin chuckled, giving the boy a look of content.
“Illegitimi non carborundum,” Merlin said, enthused at Pinocchio’s giggle. Of course, only Zack and Pinocchio seemed to know what Merlin had said, and Roxas felt completely out of the circle once again.
Aerith shook her head, striding over to Roxas. “Come on. Let’s leave these bone-heads to chatter, and we’ll go give Figaro a bath in the kitchen sink,” said the woman, smiling.
Roxas nodded, feeling awkward, but nevertheless followed her.
Unlike most cats, Figaro didn’t bolt. Quite the contrary, it seemed to actually like the warm water. The kitten splashed and mewled, and Aerith gave a light chuckle. “So… uh, aside from that Zack guy, how in hel—er, how do you know Axel?” inquired Roxas, adjusting his grammar. They were in a church, after all.
“Axel comes here a lot,” said Aerith, her voice rather quiet. She poured a little bit of the fluorescent green shampoo into the palm of her hand, bringing it to a lather with quick movements. She rubbed it into Figaro’s fur, her hands gentle as she did so, and the cat purred at the attention he received. “He used to sleep in the pews, sometimes. Over the summer. He’d talk to me sometimes, but he didn’t tell me much.” She gave a slightly nostalgic smile, and Roxas merely observed, waiting for her to continue.
“He’s not religious,” she said, and Roxas snorted in agreement, banging the back of his feet against the wooden cupboards. They made a loud clatter with each fall, and Aerith didn’t show a sign of disagreement to his fidgeting. “We all know of his… problems. But God is a forgiving being, and all sins can be atoned for eventually.
“Either way, we all accept Axel for who he is,” Aerith said, softly. “He’s just a troubled boy. Zack’s tried, countless times, to talk some sense into him. He never talks; we don’t even know where he’s been living for the past three years.” She inclined her head towards Roxas, questioning him with her eyes.
“He hasn’t told me hardly anything about his past,” said the blonde boy, eyeing the cracked tile beneath Aerith’s brown-booted feet. “Apparently, he was staying with a friend. He didn’t say who, though.”
Aerith sighed, shaking the slightly brown-stained soap suds off of her fingers. She went back for another palm-full of the shampoo, setting back to work and massaging it into the kitten’s fur. “It’s so strange to think about,” voiced Aerith, her eyes downcast. “I mean, I remember coming over to visit Zack and Axel would be over. He was such a normal little kid. Extremely spoiled, but he lived a good life.”
Roxas cocked his head, a little interested to hear about Axel’s home-life. The kid was, indeed, spoiled like Aerith had said. The blonde firmly remembered Axel coming to school every day with something new to brag about. Instantly, he was intrigued to find out why in the world Axel got kicked out of his house. Really, his mother always seemed to love him so much. Roxas scowled, turning his head back to Aerith. “So, nobody knows exactly where he’s been staying for three, almost four whole years?” inquired the boy.
Aerith shook her head, draining the sink, keeping the kitten in place with one hand. Soap was still clinging to Figaro’s fur, and when the woman started running water again, Roxas realized that she had to rinse him. “Well, Kairi seems to know something, but she won’t tell,” said Aerith, shaking her head. “And Zack has no idea, either. Axel hardly tells him anything.”
Roxas nodded, understanding that Axel was apparently a very secretive person. He snorted at his own thought, realizing how blatantly obvious that fact was. Axel was like Pandora’s Box, just begging to be opened and Roxas’s fingers were getting a little itchy. “So, what are we supposed to do? I mean, if Axel won’t tell us and nobody knows what’s up with him…” Roxas sighed, running his fingers through his hair, snagging slightly when the white knuckle-ring that Olette bought him caught against his hair.
“Then we’ll just have to let him be. Until he’s ready to tell,” said the brunette, calmly smiling. With the kitten properly rinsed, she instructed Roxas to get her a tea-towel, and the boy obliged. She dried the kitten’s fur as best she could, with the towel, but quickly found herself grumbling. “Merlin needs to spring for a hair-dryer.” She smiled, pulling the kitten against her chest. “All clean!”
Roxas found a little smile pulling at his own lips. Aerith spun on her heel, bending over to put Figaro back down onto the ground. Roxas let his eyes wander the kitchen, and his eyes fell upon the clock. “…Is that clock correct?” he asked, his tone a little bit deadpan.
Aerith straightened her back, giving him a slightly confused look. “Why, yes it is,” she stated, “Why? Are you late for something, Roxas?” The blonde’s head flicked around nervously, and he gave an uneasy half-laugh.
“Er, well, I should’ve found Axel by now. Naminé wanted me back home, because of mom and—“ Roxas released a heavy sigh, shaking his head. “Anyway, I’d better go find Axel again or Naminé will beat me.” Aerith shook her head, giving a chaste laugh.
Her laughter faded into something of a nostalgic smile. “Well, you’d better go find him. Axel is good at losing people,” she said, her voice the very definition of serene. “He always won against Zack and me at hide-and-seek.” Roxas quirked a brow, before Aerith’s hands were pushing at his shoulders. “Go! He’s probably getting cold, anyway.”
Roxas took this comment into consideration. Really, Axel only had that hoodie, right? So he’d probably be freezing, and judging by a look out the window, it was also snowing. The blonde made sure his jacket was zipped up to his chin. “And don’t be a stranger. I’m sure Pinocchio would love to have you around, and Zack’ll probably want to hear about Axel more,” said the brunette, ushering him to the back-door.
“Is Pinocchio really your kid?” blurted Roxas. It was really something he had wanted to ask all night. The little boy didn’t look like he had any relation to Aerith whatsoever, and the woman herself looked far too young to bear a child of that age.
Aerith laughed, pulling open the door for him. “No. I adopted him,” she stated, backing away from the snowflakes that fell into the door. Glancing out into the darkening, Edmonton atmosphere, she addressed Roxas, “It’s getting dark out. Hurry home, okay?”
Roxas nodded in affirmation, feeling a little bit awkward. He didn’t know how he was going to find Axel, as the teen was probably long-gone by now. His lip curled at the thought of having to face him again; nevertheless he gave Aerith a friendly wave and a call of farewell as he headed out into the snow.
Well, it was certainly a lot cooler out than it had been before. Roxas shivered at the first gust of chilled wind against his face, and pulled the collar of his tan jacket up a little further. Hands in his pockets, he stalked out of the street, heading to the nearest alcove where he’d be sheltered from the wind.
He continued walking, judging his directions by the street signs, finding them hard to read when they were so thoroughly caked with snow. He ducked under an overhanging shop sign as a blanket of snow tumbled down from the roof. Roxas realized that he hated winter, quickly, and found himself grumbling like an antagonized old lady.
Shuffling, he ducked into an alleyway he knew as a shortcut— and a shield from the teasing wind, which was good as well. Pulling down his collar ever so slightly, he dodged his eyes around. He’d never seen so many cats in once place. The alleyway was just crawling with kittens, their irritating mews of need filling his ears.
He ignored them, trudging through the alley as fast as he could. What was with all of the cats, lately? His pace driven, he quickly made it out of the alley, tugging his collar back up to cover his lips as he came back out into the white void, which was the back parking-lot of a seemingly deserted family restaurant.
Okay, he recognized this. Roxas’s eyes dodged around, and he was rather thrilled that he only had a few blocks left to go. Huddling his arms closer to himself, he stalked out of the parking lot, nearly missing a flicker of crimson as he passed the back-steps.
“Yo.”
Roxas flicked his head backwards so fast he heard the bones grate against each other. He found himself staring into angry, tired green eyes against a backdrop of pale skin and black clothes. Roxas idly watched the smoke curl from Axel’s mouth, creating a sort of mock halo around his head.
The blonde felt rage crawl into his lungs, but he attempted to suppress it. “I’ve been looking for you,” he said, managing to keep his voice calm.
Axel snorted, flicking his finished cigarette into the snow-slush melting around his feet. Keeping his spot on the stairs under the overhanging roof, he stared up at Roxas. “What the hell do you want?” he asked, sounding utterly angered.
Roxas stiffened. “Look, you’re coming back home with me,” he stated, firmly. He didn’t want to start begging— it wasn’t his style. But he was going to have Axel come back with him, regardless if he wanted to or not.
Axel’s lips turned into a slight smirk. “Aww, Naminé still pissed at you? That’s what you get for going all homophobic,” he muttered, leaning backwards with his weight propped up by an arm. His entire frame was shaking furiously, and Roxas decided he was definitely cold. His lips were nearly blue. “Jackass.”
“I’m not gonna say I’m sorry or that I really want you to come back,” started Roxas, clenching his fists as his sides. His hands felt utterly numb from the cold. “But you can’t just keep running from everything.”
The red head broke into dry laughter, his eyes practically leaking cruelty. Roxas was a little confused, wondering where the ‘lost puppy dog’ Axel had gone. “Who says I’m running?” snarled the older boy, his eyes intense on Roxas’s frame. “Maybe you’re just assuming. Didn’t anyone tell you, moron, that assuming makes an ass of you and I?”
Piecing the words together, Roxas arched an eyebrow, his teeth grinding in his mouth. He attempted to keep his composure, but he was furious because Axel somehow kept everything so impersonal. “You’ll die out here in the cold,” growled Roxas. “You need to come back.”
Axel clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, raising himself to his feet. He advanced on Roxas, and the boy backed away, feeling a little bit intimidated. This ‘new’ Axel was a little bit more threatening, a little bit less of the weak persona he had emitted before. This Axel was a little frightening.
Nearly nose to nose, Axel gave Roxas a condescending grin. “Who said I wasn’t coming back?” he said, his voice nearly a whisper. At this, the rage in Roxas’s chest all threatened to flood out of his throat like vomit. So, he’d just spent who the hell knows how long wandering out in the cold for fear that Axel wasn’t going to come back, to find the kid was just out goofing around in the snow? “Hey, man. It’s free room and board. There’s no way in hell I’m giving that up.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” flared Roxas, yelling in exasperation. Axel’s composure remained the same, as the blonde stalked off towards the street. He attempted to ignore his surroundings, keeping his eyes glued to the snow-covered pavement even while he blocked out the sound of wet footsteps behind him.
Axel caught up, quickly, falling into step with Roxas. “What, you really thought I would just leave?” he said, laughing. The younger didn’t even look at him, continuing to trudge forward. “I mean, come on Roxas. It was so easy to convince Mommy-dearest to let me stay. Most foster moms don’t break as easily as her, but I pulled the puppy-eyes, and she’s putty in my hands.”
“So that wimpy druggy thing was all an act?” snapped Roxas, throwing a loose punch at Axel. It barely brushed the older boy, due to the inaccuracy, but it made Roxas’s point very clear. “Who the hell are you really, Axel?”
The red head pulled a large smile, looking utterly malevolent as he did so. “Whoever I want to be,” stated the boy. Axel was obviously an actor. He could pull any angle he wanted to, and it was all glaringly obvious to Roxas now.
“So, you being all nice to Naminé and Selphie was just a way to get into my family? So they wouldn’t kick you out?” demanded Roxas, his voice dripping with anger. Axel rolled his eyes at these questions, waving his hand.
“Eh, I actually like those two,” Axel confirmed with a nod of his head. “Selphie’s sweet and Naminé’s so mild, it’s hard not to like her.” Roxas scowled, crossing his arms and feeling completely pissed off. He stopped on the sidewalk, turning to face Axel.
“In other words, you invaded my home, stole some of my money—“
“I’ll pay that back eventually.”
“—manipulated my mother and you expect me not to tell you to stay the fuck away from my family?” Roxas gave Axel a hard look, receiving a harsh glare paired with a little sneer in return.
“Well, my original plan was to let you fuck me and stay with you, that way,” said the red head, getting only a look of wide-eyed stupor from the blonde. “But after all original assumptions were removed, you’re actually straight. So, I had to suck up to your mommy. And that proved to work better.”
“I don’t look gay!” shouted Roxas, throwing his arms into the air. Axel just laughed, turning on his heel and continuing to walk even as he shook his head in defiance. Roxas scowled, storming after Axel. “I do not look gay!”
“And I’m Santa,” retorted Axel, waving a hand over his shoulder.
The blonde boy gave a huff of anger, screwing his face up into a grimace as he stalked after the taller boy. “And here I thought you were just attempting to be my friend or maybe trying to get some help for your fucked up problems. What a load of bullshit,” mumbled the younger, deciding that it would probably be best to shut up.
At this, Axel spun around to face Roxas once more, his expression horribly serious. Roxas back-stepped a little bit, raising his arms up in defense. “Look, Blondie,” snarled Axel, “I don’t want your sympathy. I don’t want to be friends unless you’re looking for a fuckbuddy. I don’t like you at all, and you don’t like me, but I’m looking for a place to stay so we’re going to act all happy and buddy-buddy for mommy-dearest or else I send one of my ‘friends’ on your ass to fuckin’ splatter your brains all over the wall!”
Roxas blinked, his expression blank for a moment before he immediately became infuriated once more. “Wait, are you threatening me?” alleged Roxas, his voice raising an octave. Axel’s face spread into a wide grin, his eyes glinting with malice.
“Course I am,” he said, his voice implying hidden malevolence. Roxas stiffened a little bit, arms rigid at his sides. “But seriously. If you’re going to go all disobedient on me, and get me kicked out of your house, I’ll send Lexy to beat the shit out of you.”
Roxas swallowed, hard. Well, he’d gotten his affirmation. Axel was part of a gang, or something, obviously; if he had connections like this, it uncovered the fact that he might have killed someone.
Axel shrugged, his murderous front disappearing a little bit. He looked more relaxed now. “And besides, I don’t think I’ll have to kill you, so long as I stay in Tia’s good books. I mean, it’s her house, after all,” stated the red head.
Oh, great. There’s a could be murderer living in my house, Roxas thought dryly. He scowled, attempting to gain a sense of conclusion. “So, we have to be friends?” he murmured, staring at his shoes. Axel smirked, sliding a finger under Roxas’s chin to make the shorter boy face him.
“Nope. We get to pretend. I don’t want to be saved, and you’re not my friend. Got it memorized?”
And sadly, with threats in place, Roxas got it.
Oh fuck.
Said boy shucked off his boots, scowling at the short brunette who occupied the stairway in front of him. “Whatcha doin’? Why you here so late?” inquired the boy, raising himself to his full height. Roxas nearly slammed the door on Axel, who along the way had converted himself back into the quiet, injured puppy-dog from before.
Upon seeing Axel, Sora blinked and sputtered uselessly. “What’s he doing here? Who is he?" queried the youngest of the three boys, pointing up at Axel. The red head raised a thin eyebrow, and Sora immediately shut himself up.
“Sora, you’re a dumb ass,” mumbled Roxas, really not in the mood for any of this. He stalked off towards the kitchen, utterly famished. He really hadn’t eaten anything earlier, and it was around 9’o’clock, already. “What did mom make for dinner?”
“She made ‘Baked Selphie’,” stated Sora, a wide grin on his face. Axel avoided the boy at all costs, edging by him into the kitchen, “because a certain little girl wouldn’t go to bed.”
“Is everybody asleep?” said Axel, quietly. Sora tossed a glance at the red head, wondering how someone with such an odd appearance could be so… quiet. Nevertheless, Sora nodded his head with such speed it made Axel a little bit dizzy.
“Yep. Naminé was really tired and so was mom because Selphie was hyper and bored because nobody knew where you guys were and oh, by the way, my name is Sora,” blurted the brunette, bouncing on the back of his heels. Roxas cast him a disapproving look over his shoulder, as he scoured the fridge for something remotely edible. Axel gave an uneasy laugh, stumbling over to the fridge and peering meekly over Roxas’s shoulder. “Er, sorry. I’m a little bit, er, happy. Uh, Riku likes to give me lots of sugar.”
Roxas emitted a short bark of laughter. “He just likes to do that so he can ditch you on us,” said the blonde, his tone teasing, “and we have to deal with your stupidity.” Sora’s lower lip stuck out in a pout, and he crossed his arms, looking very much like Selphie instead of the 15 year old he really was.
“Oh, shut up, Roxas. Remember last summer, and how I was scarred by your stupidity?” jested the brunette, watching Roxas’s entire posture stiffen. The blonde bolted upright, spinning around to face Sora, his face utterly red. Axel was a little taken aback, wondering what the boy was so angry about.
“I told you never to mention that summer! Ever!” shrieked the boy, his tone dropping as soon as he realized that everyone else in the house was asleep. Sora giggled through his hand, attempting to stifle any laughter.
Axel gazed over at Sora, attempting to dig a little deeper for answers. “Why? What happened last summer?” asked the red head, as Sora’s impossibly wide grin grew even more extensive.
“Don’t say another word or I’ll kill y—“
“Well, it involved Roxas, a couple cases of beer and his buddy, Hayner,” said the youngest boy, gleefully, “and a whole lot of tongue!” Roxas blushed furiously, and Axel couldn’t contain laughter.
“And you told me you weren’t gay!” stammered Axel, through muffled snickers. Roxas looked like he wanted to throttle Sora, but instead decided to take out his rage on an innocent bag of potato chips, instead.
Tearing open the bag, Roxas managed, through a mouth of salt and vinegar potato chips, to snarl; “M’not gay! I was drunk! And Sora, you’re dead.” The youngest squealed, ducking a thrown potato chip and bolting up the stairs. For a kid with such big feet, he didn’t make a whole lot of sound aside from the slight jangle of a crown pendant hitting his collar bone.
“Oh, shuddup, Roxas!” giggled Sora, from where he stood on the stairs. “Hayner was more drunk than you, anyway!” At this, Sora bolted into his room, shutting the door, and most likely intending to go to sleep or bounce on his bed or something.
It was awkward for Axel and Roxas, after that. They stood in silence, Axel staring at Roxas and the latter drowning his sorrows in potato chips. The air reeked of salt and the pungent scent of vinegar, and the legs of Axel’s pants clung to his ankles. He wanted to go get changed, but he didn’t want to risk going upstairs.
But still, he wanted to find out more about this summer incident. “So… you really made out with a guy?” questioned Axel, trying to appear casual as his smirk returned on his face. Roxas continued to scowl, not really wanting to answer the question.
Still, he was trapped. “Yeah,” he admitted, his face going a little redder. Axel’s entire stance brightened considerably, and he couldn’t stop the smile on his face.
“Maybe I have a chance, yet,” stated the red head, “I mean, you’re hot. And with that all that rage, you look like you’d be kinky in bed.” Roxas’s mouth hung open at the other boy’s bluntness. What the hell was he saying?
There were a few moments of silence, where the air was pregnant with awkwardness. Roxas didn’t want to say anything to make himself sound or look like a fag, and Axel was too busy feeling delightful to say anything else.
But, it was Roxas’s curiosity that broke the silence. “So, you’ve really slept with another guy?” he blurted, immediately shutting himself up. He felt entirely unintelligent for asking a question like that, but it really had been itching at his mind for a while.
“What, you really think I’m a virgin?” snorted Axel, padding his way over to Roxas to steal a handful of chips. He hated salt and vinegar, but seeing as it was the only available food, he’d live.
Roxas sucked in air through his teeth, nearly dropping the chip bag as Axel walked by. He was really curious about it, only because the entire idea was totally foreign. A little sickened by the images, he pressed on despite his obvious discomfort; “So… like… sex with guys… uh…”
“Up the ass?” finished Axel, razor-sharp grin making Roxas shudder. Even with Axel still visibly shaking, Roxas’s entire body quaked twice as hard as any of Axel’s involuntary motions.
But after a few more moments of quiet, Roxas spoke up again. “…Doesn’t it hurt, though?” He was blushing furiously by then, his hands both white-knuckled fists as nervous tension held him steady.
“Sometimes. Depends if they’re rough,” mused Axel, his voice calm as if they were talking about something as simple as a math test. “I like a little bit of pain, though, so it’s okay.”
Roxas could feel his left eye twitching madly, but with this new angle, he might be able to figure more out about Axel. Using this opportunity, he steeled his nerves and asked; “So, how many guys have you, uh, done it… with…?”
Axel laughed, crossing his arms. In this light, he looked a lot surer of himself, as if he knew what he was doing. “I don’t know,” he said, offhandedly. Roxas blinked.
“But what about all those STDs and stuff,” he mumbled, and Axel again brushed it off. His smile was a little less malevolent than before, though, and his posture relaxed considerably.
With a one-shouldered shrug, Axel supplied his answer. “Yeah, I know it’s all a risk and stuff, but if you’re generally careful and get tests and shit done every once in a while, you’re okay,” he muttered, before releasing something of a yawn. “Anyways, Shorty, I need to get some sleep. I’m leaving again later tonight, so I’m gonna hit the sack.”
Roxas was about to say something about the nick-name (he wasn’t that short!), before Axel shut him up with a flick on the nose. Axel padded his way into the living room, where his familiar ‘bed’ on the couch sat, along with the messenger bag he had casually left behind from before. Roxas rolled up the top of the slightly greasy bag of chips, throwing it back onto the counter and casually wiping his salty fingers on his jeans. “You’d better not wind up in my room again,” said the blonde, feeling a little wary. “Assmuncher.”
He could hear Axel chuckle in the dark. “Right-o, Blondie.”
“Fairy.”
“Britney.”
“Pillow biter.”
“In denial.”
“I’m not gay!”
“Turn off the light and go to bed.”
“…Goodnight.”
“That’s right, Stumpy.”
“…I hate you. So much.”
Hearing the top stair creak and the light switch click upstairs, Axel smiled in the dark.
paragraph 31 “to the people you are named Figaro”
paragraph 43 “our students are stupid!”
paragraph 57 “don’t let the bastards grind you down!”
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