Three years later and now I am finally finishing this fanfic. It doesn't matter to me if 1 or 100 people read this chapter, if no one reviews, if this just slips into the archives of without a sound. I'm extremely grateful to every single one of my readers. You have stuck with me for ages, you have watched me grow from this innocent little one-shot to multi-chapter stories. You helped me develop as a writer, as a person. You gave me a chance. Thank you, guys. Every single one of you. I've read all of your reviews, the messages, the fanart, everything. And i'm so happy that I could reach so many people. I'm sorry it took me so long to finish this fic, as well as the rest, which will also be worked on. I hope that whoever takes the time to come back and read this final chapter will find closure and satisfaction, since good lord, I couldn't help putting in smut.

So in short. Thank you. Just. Thank you.

Onto the last chapter. It's been a long time coming.

"Girls at Seven-Eleven stay up all night (Twenty-four hours a day.)"

It was his last shift at Seven-Eleven. His things were packed, driving instructions to Radiant Garden University all printed out. Come 6:00 AM, he would be clocking out for the final time to go start his freshman year, leaving memories of his summer vacation behind him.

That being said, he still had one small thing left to do. Leaning back in his seat, the young blond sighed, taping a pencil briefly against his pursed lips before pushing up against the counter to fill in a short essay answer. The scratching on paper mingled wonderfully with the radio and the hum of the refrigerators, making him feel productive. Almost.

"The most important theme is the book's exploration of the moral nature of human beings, and their capacity for something, I don't know, yaddayadda, themes and motifs, who gives a shit, Harper Lee is ridiculous, I hate my professor for assigning this."

Almost. He sighed, chewing on his lip and starting to erase. But not quite.

Roxas still needed to finish his To Kill a Mockingbird homework.

"I said, girls at Seven-Eleven stay up all night. (Seven whole days a week.)"

"And I could get a discount." He mumbled distractedly to himself, singing along without much thought, glancing from the worksheet to the book amidst the things he had grown to know very well over the past few weeks. The packets of cigarettes were still amassed around him (105 now, he counted). The small shelves beneath the counter had managed to amass even more useless paraphernalia throughout the month, and the slurpee machine behind the register was still out of order, silent and smug with memories.

Some things had changed. Others had definitely stayed exactly as they were. Roxas most certainly did not belong to the latter group, if his summer-time activities were proof of anything.

The blond idly reached out to turn off the radio, silencing the music, then completely buried his nose in the novel, determined to finish the worksheet before his shift was up.

He tried again. "-of the moral nature of human beings, and their capacity for benevolence, whereas the idiosyncratic-"

Was this English? This couldn't be English. This was obviously another language used only be academic writers who hated everyone.

The door jingled open, bringing in the summer breeze, and the smell of cigarettes. Roxas's pencil shuddered to a halt again, this time out of annoyance. Good lord. It wasn't as if there was a blatant sign on the door that said "No Smoking" or anything. But it was understandable; Roxas knew how difficult it was to read whilst drunk or high. Shoving his abused pencil in-between his teeth, he blindly fished around for the ash tray beneath the counter.

"Listen, you can't smoke in here." He said loudly, fingers finally closing over the small plastic bowl. No sooner had he slammed it down and attempted to go back to his work, slim fingers were pressing a cigarette into his offered tray and pushing forward a pack of lighters (not on sale), condoms (ribbed, for her pleasure), and twinkies. With strawberry filling.

"Ring that up for me, will you, babe?"

Roxas glanced up from his book with an unamused eyebrow raise to see, of all people, Axel cheerily grinning at him, clutching his motorcycle helmet and looking just as cocky and prick-like as he had that fateful 2:00 AM meeting so long ago.

"I don't think I will." Roxas replied dismissively, hardly batting an eyelash at the man's sudden appearance before turning back to Mockingbird to hide the uncontrollable grin he always got around the other these days. "No smoking and no fake gingers allowed."

Axel squawked in protest, setting down his prized helmet onto the counter with a thud. "Ginger? Listen, blondie, the color on the box said cherry red and I'll have you know that that is a completely different color from ginger, fake or not."

Of course, Roxas was teasing. Of course, Roxas was already silently hating all of the butterflies that had erupted in his stomach. Ever since he had admitted his feelings, ever since he had started completely appreciating Axel and how the other treated him, he couldn't ever keep up his annoyed moods up for long.

Not when he wanted to jump over the counter and crawl into Axel's pants.

He shoved aside his book with a snort. "Shut up and kiss me, will you?"

The older red-head obliged with a smile, slipping his fingers under Roxas's chin to gently tug his face closer and plant a soft kiss on his lips. Roxas grinned into the gesture, even if he would not admit that the delightfully tender manner in which Axel had slipped his fingers into his hair made his heart melt. He didn't exactly want to talk about how happy it made him that Axel had shown up and had even bothered to visit him on his last shift. Axel's ego was big enough as is.

That being said, he still couldn't stop himself from leaning over the counter to tuck his arms around Axel's neck and deepen the kiss with a chuckle, tenderly moving his mouth against the other man's. It was hard to resist indulging in the man's warmth, his scent, his very presence. It was hard to resist Axel at all, honestly. And that included keeping his hands off of him.

They had seen each other only two days beforehand: Axel had dragged Roxas out to dinner, insisting on a "real" date before college. A week had passed since he had even confessed that he loved Axel. In his defense, Roxas liked to think he had already made enough progress in terms of emotions and feelings towards the other to say that he was going a good job as a boyfriend, but everything leading up to the confession had been such a stressing ordeal that he had even called Naminè as soon as Axel had left the next morning.

"Naminè. Naminè, I fell in love with that guy I told you about. The rapist at my job. I told him I loved him last night. What do I do?"

Of course, he had had to deal with a moment of gleeful laughter before finally getting a response.

"Well, that's wonderful! Why are you so nervous about it?"

"I haven't been in love with anyone… since you. What if I can't be in a relationship with a guy? What if I mess up?"

Naminè easily cut in before the blond got even further into hysterics. "Roxas, you'll be fine. Whatever happens, I know you'll make the right decision. You know why?"

"Because I'll have you to give me advice?"

"Because you've been in love with Axel from the very beginning."

Roxas had to think a moment, shocked into silence, then frowned. "… There is no way you knew that."

"Well, that and pictures of you two from Otakon have started popping up on 4chan and you just look so cute."

Girl never missed a thing, did she? Still, the fact remained. Roxas had probably been doomed to end up with Axel from the start.

The Seven-Eleven employee now pulled away, feeling Axel's hand slide down his cheek before leaving his personal space altogether. With a small laugh at the lingering warmth, he began ringing the other up, barely even hearing the small beeps of the scanner, too distracted by the warmth swelling in his chest. Damnit. He was such a sap.

"How are you?" Axel asked softly, smiling in a way that showed that he suspected how Roxas was feeling. He leaned against the counter, watching his blond carefully while his fingers traced over the curve of his motorcycle helmet.

"Tired. I've still got about four more hours left here. What're you here for?" Shoving the three items back towards the red-head, Roxas waved off his preferred bill of cash and paid for the condoms, lighters, and twinkies himself. "Aside from this."

"Oh, you mean, aside from Demyx, Zexion, and Larxene sending me off for this shit to give me a reason to see you?" Axel replied airily, grabbing the three items and shoving them into his upturned helmet. It was blissfully late and quiet; the chances of someone else showing up were slim at this dead time of night. Roxas let himself relax. And with relaxing came the inevitable:

Oh, there it was, he was smiling again. Damnit. Roxas propped his elbows up on the counter, struggling to keep the grin off his lips, "Yeah, aside from that."

Axel let the beat of a second tick by, grinning at the blond, then shrugged and leaned in closer to press their noses together.

"I missed you."

Admittedly, Roxas had missed Axel as well, but he could at least acknowledge that they were acting like love-sick fools. Only a month ago, he would have hated this entire encounter, but with this whole troublesome idea of love now in the picture, a variety of other options had opened up. Like being pleased with Axel's softly spoken words. He shook his head with a snort, inadvertently prolonging their affection with an eskimo kiss. "We just had dinner a few nights ago."

"Right. Yes. And after that, I think I had more than enough time to start missing you again, cutie."

"You are being disgusting." Roxas said flatly, though still looking pleased, "Is that all you came to do? Because I have this homework I need to do and I really shouldn't be getting distracted by every red-head with a motorcycle that strolls in."

Axel's eyebrows rose at the sudden teasing, "Oh? I'm sorry, how many other red-heads have strolled in here before me?"

"Tons. So many. They just kept coming in. Droves of them. All these hot guys with motorcycles. Really, Axel, your style's kinda getting old."

"Mm. I'll have to switch it up, then, you're right, I don't wanna be boring." Axel hummed, eyes narrowing slightly in a predatory sort of amusement. "Though, tell me, did they all do this when they came in?"

With a smooth motion, Axel was reaching out to drag his fingers through Roxas's hair, finding a firm hold in the blond tufts that helped him drag Roxas forward until he could latch his teeth into the tanned flesh of his neck, nibbling and sucking heatedly. Roxas's eyes immediately glazed over and he swallowed hard, hands gripping the edge of the counter for balance.

Cheating. That was cheating. Goddamnit.

"Y-yeah," He stuttered, wincing at how he was already fumbling with his words. Axel's presence still had some powerful sort of effect like that, "Been there, done that."

"Shame." Axel didn't sound deterred as he gave Roxas's neck one last lick then moved up to start molesting his ear, purring into it, "What about this?"

Roxas hated how easily Axel could switch from cute to hot, from adoring to lustful. He hated that he had this much control over him. At the drop of a hat, Axel could have easily had him panting and moaning under his touch. Which, if the red-head kept it up, seemed very likely to happen. At least his groin and obvious discomfort was hidden from view. Even if his face, which had already become colored with a flush, was evidence enough of Axel's many effects on him.

He shivered, angling his head to give Axel better access to his ear, "You're late to that party, too. Old news."

Warm breath skittered over the wet, abused skin. Axel thoughtfully scraped his teeth down the outer shell, then nipped at Roxas's earlobe. At the same time, his gaze slowly slid around the blond in his grasp to the slushie machine behind him. He sighed, sending more heated air into Roxas's air and making him shiver.

"Shame the slurpee thing's broken. Could've relived old memories."

Roxas chuckled, rolling his eyes, "Yeah. This other ginge came by a few weeks ago and broke it."

"Man, what an asshole." With a tut and a grin, Axel slowed his pace, fingers lazily combing through Roxas's spikes with his lips tracing along his jawline.

"Tried to stick his hands down my pants and everything." Roxas added, extending his neck to give Axel more room to maneuver.

It was impossible not to relax under such comforting touches, though. Even with an entire counter between them, Axel was making this sort of thing look all too easy. Child's play, really, to make Roxas's breath catch in his throat, his hands to shake, and his adrenaline to start pumping through his entire body a mile a minute. It was these sorts of things that often ended with Roxas doing something ridiculously moronic and cringe-worthy in retrospect. Like saying "I love you."

Or like moaning out some same words into the darkness of a bedroom, wrapped in sweat and emotion.

The vibration of laughter running along his cheeks brought Roxas back to attention. Axel was suddenly very occupied in planting tender kisses along every surface on the blond's face, except for his lips.

"Tried? I was under the impression that he succeeded."

Roxas shut his eyes as Axel traced more affection over the lids. "Well, yes. More importantly, though, he left without paying the full amount."

It was an off-hand sort of comment. Roxas just slid it in for amusement, remembering that five dollars definitely hadn't been enough for a pack of twinkies, cigarettes, and condoms. Nothing big, he had paid for the difference himself at the time, too distracted by the sexual events of the evening anyway. Unimportant in the long run.

Apparently, Axel did not share his sentiments.

"Wait. Wait, what?"

And there went the mood. Evaporated on contact. The distinct wall of counter was suddenly back and Axel was staring directly at him, brow furrowed.

"I gave you five bucks then, how did that possibly not cover everything?"

The blond sighed, releasing a breath of heated and mildly aroused tension from his chest until he felt empty. Damn him. Axel probably didn't even realize the full extent of just how much he drove his boyfriend up the wall with his tendency to switch gears so quickly. One second, he was horny. The next, he was the epitome of concern and sobriety. Roxas couldn't keep up.

With a shrug, the Seven-Eleven worker nonchalantly rubbed at his cheek to dispel some of the warmth while Axel allowed his outrage to distract him. The other man didn't have to know about how much he had wound Roxas up. Thank god for the counters of censorship. "Twinkies are expensive these days, Axel."

The look of actual appall on Axel's face created the impression that made him look as if all of his favorite toys had been taken away and promptly burned. "So that whole time I was trying to be cool, the whole 'phone number on the dollar bill' thing… I actually looked like an asshole who didn't even pay? I owe you?"

It was difficult not to smile, despite Axel's serious tone. "I… well, yeah. That's about right."

"I shouldn't have reminded you about the slurpee thing. This is payback, isn't it? You've been waiting all summer for this." No time like the present to jump to conclusions. If Roxas didn't know any better, he would have bristled as the red-head's accusatory gestures and scowl. As it so happened, though, he simply smiled.

"Don't be ridiculous. While it did take me hours to get all that stuff out of my hair, no, I'm not getting back at you. Kinda assumed we were past that."

Axel was having none of it.

"No, y'know what?" He glowered, pointing firmly at the blonde. "No."

Turning on his heel, the older man stomped straight to the condom shelf and began tugging them off, grumbling under his breath and shoving boxes into his arms. By the time he was done, Roxas could only manage a raised eyebrow of befuddlement at the packs of Magnums Axel had brought back and shoved into his face.

"There. Here. I know you won't take just money, so I'm gonna buy back what I owe you." A fifty was thrust into Roxas's hand, "We're even."

Truly, Roxas didn't know anyone who lost his cool better than Axel. Frowning bemusedly, he glanced up cautiously at the fireball of a man across from him. "You didn't owe me fifty dollars worth of sex protection."

"What? What? Not enough?"

There were at least fifteen boxes splayed out before him. "Are, uh, these all for you?"

"Yeah." Axel huffed defensively, "Got a problem?"

"No, no, not at all." There was a goddamn year's supply of the stuff, "It's just that, well, one, in the few times we've had sex, you never used a condom and I don't see why you'd start now. And I hate to break it to you, but you're not extra-large."

Axel stared, debating how to handle the fact that Roxas had just down-sized his girth, as it were. Roxas blinked. Axel looked down blankly at the condom army he had amassed.

"… you pose a fairly good point and I'm not sure how to refute that."

"I'm pretty sure you only owed me a dollar or so. Why are you getting so upset about this?" A fair question, considering that Axel had just attempted to buy out a hefty amount of products that were about as useful to him as dental dams.

Deflated, Axel pouted, "I just want to put that behind us. It's one thing to joke about it, but it's honestly not something I'm proud of. The whole bet thing, putting you through all that…"

Roxas looked from the condoms to Axel's sober expression, "I thought that was my line. Wasn't I the one with money in my waistband?"

"That's exactly my point. I don't want to leave these loose ends. I want to move on from how I acted like an idiot. College, fresh relationship, fresh start, y'know?"

Evidently, their untraditional way of meeting had been sitting on Axel's mind and stewing just as much as it had for Roxas. The younger man chewed on his lip, surprised at Axel's grave statement, confused on how they had gotten to this point so quickly. Biting on the soft flesh, he debated the proper words while studying the other's serious frown.

Finally, the blond exhaled slowly, shoved the $50 into his pocket, and began stacking the condoms to take back to the shelf. "Consider the loose ties cut. Fresh slate."

As Axel was about to protest, the Seven-Eleven employee lifted a hand, "Let me finish."

"Not a chance, you're not gonna change my mind. I am buying these." They tussled a moment over the condoms, Axel trying to take them back and Roxas finally smacking his hands in an authoritative manner that eventually got the man to back off.

"Listen. Whatever you think you owe me, whatever favors you think you still need to pay, forget about it. After all that's happened, I'm probably the one that owes you."

"Rox, you don't owe me anything."

"I do, though."

Roxas chuckled, grabbing all of the Magnums and stepping around his protective barrier of a counter to go put the products back. Axel watched him but didn't make any moves to stop him. Which was for the best, really, considering that Roxas was now having a bit of trouble meeting the red-head's eyes for what he was about to say next.

His voice fell to an embarrassed murmur. "You're the one who stubbornly didn't give up on me. Even after all I put you through. After everything I did."

Had he ever really thanked him for everything? For sticking with him? For being patient? The Magnum box Roxas was attempting to put back on the shelf shuddered in his twitching fingers.

"Are you saying you owe me because I still love you after all this time?"

"Something like that, yeah. I'm counting the cross-dressing at Otakon, too." Roxas muttered. He risked a glance up at Axel to find him grinning softly, arms crossed over his chest. It took another minute or so for the blond to return all of the condoms to their rightful place, which allowed the two of them to their own embarrassed thoughts. Eventually, however, the red-head broke the quiet.

"You're being adorable again, kid. I can't stand it. Alright, alright. You've convinced me. Clean slate. No condoms. But just because it's you."

"… Oh, shut up."

Their relaxed moment was rudely interrupted with the sound of tires scraping along asphalt. Another late-night junkie. Axel and Roxas's private rendezvous was over. In a way, Roxas was relieved that they had gotten the chance to clear the air. Axel hadn't been completely wrong when he had said that they still had loose ties. But the prospect of a completely clear plate was comforting.

Axel grabbed his helmet and cleared his throat, "I should go."

"Yeah." Roxas nodded distractedly, heading back to his counter haven, "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Right. Tomorrow. They were heading up to Radiant Garden University together. The reminder of it seemed to cheer Axel up, because he leaned forward to ruffle his blond's hair more affectionately than usual. "Yeah. Bright and early."

"Oh, one more thing before you go." Motioning for the other to get closer, Roxas glanced past him to the double glass doors, ignoring the way Axel's smile had widened with amusement. Regardless, he still had about 20 seconds before they would be interrupted.

"Are you being cute again?" At a look from Roxas that clearly said 'If you don't come here, you won't get anything at all,' however, Axel finally got closer. Roxas wasted no time in tucking his arms around the taller man's neck to push forward and kiss him again. He could feel Axel's chuckle in-between their lips and couldn't help smiling as well when he felt hands go straight to his ass, teasingly squeezing.

It was brief, but Roxas's initiation of it made it sweet. The blond's lips were wet when he finally retreated, voice dropping to a low murmur, "… 'till tomorrow, then."

"Bye, cutie." With a huge grin on his face, Axel dared a quick kiss on Roxas's nose before turning to go. Of course. He could never leave first without heaving the last word.

"I'm keeping the $50, by the way!"

With a laugh, the motorcyclist spun around briefly at the doors to blow his blond a kiss, then walked out and away. The roar of Axel's Kawasaki Ninja still run in Roxas's ears while he rung up the unwelcome other customer's purchases of donuts.

And then it was peaceful and quiet, as if no one had ever come in at all. Looking around the empty convenience store and glancing at the condom rack, Roxas sat down again and pulled his homework towards him.

Where had he left off?

"The most important theme is the book's exploration of the moral nature of human beings-"

Ah yeah. With a tired scowl, Roxas kicked the radio back on with his foot and settled in.

"Girls at Seven-Eleven…"

It was going to be a long night.

It was a strange sensation to pack up one's entire life. Pick out the essentials, stuff them in a box, pile up the boxes in the back of a car. Then go. Just go.

Said car was now rattling down the highway, jostling Roxas's boxed-up life gently and simultaneously lulling the blond into a daze while his head bumped against the passenger seat window.

"You sure you didn't forget anything?"

Roxas stared out at the endless patch of asphalt that was whipping underneath them at 65 miles an hour. He considered the entire shelf of his precious anime and manga left to collect dust with the lingering memories of summer. He thought of all that was staying behind. Of unsuspecting Mickey, who had happily mewled as Roxas walking out the door, certain he'd be back soon. Of Hayner and Seifer, off to their own respective college, of Sora, who would also be heading out to RGU in an hour or so. Of his teary-eyed parents, seeing him off for the first time and promising to call five times a day. Of the pool, of Seven-Eleven, of home.

Roxas smiled slightly, "I'm sure."

"Good," Axel grunted, slouched in his seat with one hand on the steering wheel, "'Cos I'm sure as hell that this heap of junk wouldn't make the journey back, anyway."

Axel, being the motorcycle buff that he was, had been forced to borrow his brother's car to ferry up all of Roxas's possessions. Reno had proudly sworn that "his baby" would get them there safely, but the way the Impala growled in protest if they went over 65 made Axel and Roxas think otherwise.

"Piece of shit." Axel venomously muttered under his breath, scowling at the dash. The matters were made significantly worse by the fact that the old car's air conditioning was busted, forcing the pair to sit in a sunny, sweaty, sticky metal box on wheels in the middle of one of the hotter days of August.

The make-shift prison made Axel testy and irritable; he had already stripped down to a thin tank top and wrenched open the window with the manual controls. In drastic contrast, Roxas was surprisingly content and thoughtful. Perhaps because he was on the verge of starting a new chapter of his life; a cliché but exciting process nonetheless. Axel was just going back to college, without any of the frills and ribbons that Roxas still had.

"Aren't you excited at all about getting back to living away from home and your brother?" Roxas wiped his sweaty hands down on his shorts, leaning his head back on the seat,

Axel laughed briefly, "I guess. I dunno. I don't really have that much to look forward to. At least everything is shiny and new for you."

"I don't really know what to expect," Roxas admitted, "All I know is that it's not going to be like high school."

"Don't worry about it. You'll be fine. It'll be fun. Or. That's what I'm supposed to say."

"So you're not looking forward to anything at all?"

The wind blew through the car briefly before the red-head finally responded, "Guess I can't wait to start getting drunk every night so I can forget about the massive amounts of homework I'll have every night."

That wasn't the answer Roxas had been anticipating. Lazily, his head turned from the window to Axel, "You seem tense."

The wind lashed Axel's spikes about as he glanced over at the blond next to him, then gestured at the car, which was starting to ominously grumble again. "Gee, I wonder why."

Shortly afterwards, the wind proceeded to guide a large chunk of crimson hair into Axel's eyes, which resulted in a variety of foul words and a tortured minute of the window being rolled up again intermixed with painful eye rubbing. The lack of rushing air made the car's atmosphere abruptly more subdued and warm, especially with the blond trying to hold back laughter.

"Maybe you should relax a little." Roxas felt blood pumping in his ears, no doubt a result of the sudden lack of fresh air in the car. He licked his lips, dry from the heat, and cleared his throat. "Don't want you going into road rage or anything."

Axel glanced out at the almost empty highway and snorted, combing his hair back with his hand, "What do you want me to do? Take calming breaths? Look at the scenery?"

"Or maybe you could just pay more attention to the scenery." Boldly, Roxas reached out to slowly slide his fingers along the red-head's thigh.

Finally, Axel actually smiled, rather than forcing a sort of pained grimace. He looked down at the mischievous hand, but did nothing to deter its movement. "What're you up to, kid?"

"I'm trying to cheer you up before you blow a gasket." Fingers moved down along Axel's jeans, to the knee, before making a slow journey back, keeping a safe pasture along the top of the thigh.

"By feeling me up?"

Roxas grinned slightly, feeling Axel's leg twitch. "Would you prefer a knock-knock joke?"

The car groaned in protest as Axel's involuntarily jerked the acceleration. Roxas's hand had dipped past safe boundaries, squeezing the inside of his thigh teasingly. The blond had no idea what had spurned this on, aside from perhaps the insatiable heat that had abruptly brought out restlessness and an itch to do something like this. Yeah, blaming it on the heat was good. A glance up at Axel, who was starting to sweat a little more, was evidence enough.

Besides, this honestly was a certified way to get Axel's spirits up. Sex always made Axel happy.

The squeezing pressure lightly moved up, frisking easily over Axel's crotch before the driver could do anything about it. The response was a shudder and another grunt from the car as Axel eased them over 65 mph. "You're gonna be the death of me, Rox. What do you want me to do, pull over?"

Enthralled with his own audacious actions, Roxas could only nod distractedly, lips pursed as he traced a line over Axel's groin, amused with the reactions he was getting. "Sure."

This forced Axel to wait a tense few minutes before they reached a part of the road that had an accessible shoulder. Roxas backed off for that, sitting back in his chair and watching the other with an amused smile. Putting Axel into a position of weakness was such a rare occurrence that he wanted to savor it. Making him sweat was very satisfying.

As soon as the hum of the engine died down and a startling quiet settled in the vehicle, Axel turned impatiently towards the blond.

"I don't know what you're planning, but-oh."

Thankfully, Roxas managed to move faster over to the driver's seat before Axel could get the majority of his sentence out. He scrambled to straddle the red-head's lap, going in for the jugular. Or, in this case, the mouth, planting his lips firmly over Axel's while his hands curled around his neck. There was a soft 'hmm' of surprise on Axel's part, but he quickly recovered to pull Roxas in against him, eagerly pushing into the kiss despite the heat.

"You're uncharacteristically horny." Axel murmured between their lips smashing together, amused and mildly out of breath. "People will see, y'know."

Roxas considered this a moment, licking his lips while Axel occupied himself with exploring his neck, nipping gently at the tan skin. This was true, though, their less than innocent activities could be seen clearly by any passing car. The solution, however, wasn't too far off.

"Hold still." He purred, thinking quickly and pushing one hand hard into the back of Axel's seat, the other reaching down to tug on the knob that controlled the chair's reclining angle. In a smooth motion, the pair of them gently lowered down until they were almost vertical, driven by their combined weight.

Even Axel looked impressed, now forced to blink up at Roxas with a twitching sort of smile, "You look pretty good up there."

"What, on top of you?" Roxas began picking at the last layer of clothing on the red-head's torso. It was quickly tossed to the passenger seat as soon as Axel obliged to tug it off.

There was no need to reply, as the blonde was already tugging off his own t-shirt and letting Axel shove his hands down the back of his pants to grab his ass. The touched thrilled him, even more so than usual. Admittedly, Roxas had planned some of his during the night, after Axel had left him with a craving for friction and fingers pushing into flesh. It had just taken the right moment while on the ride. It was also going far better than expected. He had initiated this himself, sober and eager, and it made the sensations all that more satisfying.

"Impatient." He muttered in amusement, arching his spine as their chests slid together. Their groins could have just as easily pushed into each other, but Roxas, deliciously in control, held off. Instead, he lightly scratched his nails down Axel's side while copying the red-head's actions from before. His teeth went to the sensitive flesh of the neck. Except his bites weren't so gentle; Roxas went straight for hard bites, intent on leaving marks. Biting, licking, sucking hard at the skin as addicting, especially with each shuddering moan they drew out of the man beneath him.

"Hypocrite." The fingers on his ass dug in as Axel groaned, tugging his head back to give Roxas more skin to abuse. He tugged his blond harder against himself, urging him on, though Roxas hardly needed it. The younger man was already traveling, giving the bruise on Axel's neck a satisfied lick before going to collarbones, to lanky shoulders, slowing his pace. Chest gently heaving, Axel watched. It was incredibly arousing to watch the smaller blond splayed on top of him, leaving heated kisses over his torso.

Without really thinking, Axel's fingers were suddenly sliding to the front of Roxas's shorts, pulling down to stroke at the clothed erection. Roxas choked, almost melting in response. The idea of drawing it out, of making a tease sort of foreplay fell from his mind.

"Ch-cheater, don't go so fast." His voice definitely came out in a soft whine. He couldn't help it.

Axel brought his lips to Roxas's ear, smirking, "Try to keep up, blondie." He sighed huskily, reaching past boxers at that statement to firmly grab hardened flesh, thumb skittering over the slit teasingly.

"Nnngh…" As Axel started jerking him off, squeezing from the base, Roxas's breathing turned harsh, eyes shutting while his hips began to rock to the set pace. The heat swirled in around them, in his skin, on his limbs. With a moan, his head fell to rest on the red-head's shoulder as he helplessly writhed on top of him, gripping the edges of the car seat for stability.

Axel's fingers were surprisingly cool against his incredibly hot organ, squeezing in all the right places, caressing and teasing the head with practiced ease. As the smooth strokes picked up speed, though, they created such an unbearable sensation that Roxas's mouth dropped open, no noise escaping his mouth because of the breath caught in his throat. It was too intense. It was scorching him. He didn't want it to end simply like this; this would be defeating the purpose of the entire seduction in the first place. This had been to cheer Axel up, not to get him off five minutes into the game.

"Stop." He grit out, weakly reaching down to halt the man's actions, then thinking better of it and digging a hand into Axel's hair instead. Their slick chests rubbed together, sliding slightly from the sweat that had developed. The situation felt even more desperate, sloppy, messy, and erotic as a result. And it still wasn't enough.

"Fingers. Y-your fingers."

Again, with the gravelly tone that reached into Axel's lowest baritones, sending the appropriate vibrations into Roxas's ear that made him shiver.

"What about my fingers, Roxas?"

There was something to be said about how the growling voice swept over his ear, how the other's breath made it all the more intimate and sexual. How Axel's particular word choice sent thrills of electricity right along his spine. Considerable amounts of energy were needed to get the next words out of Roxas's mouth. "I want them instead."

For his effort, Roxas got a chuckle from Axel and a re-direction of the man's talented fingers. Granted, one hand stayed behind to continue gently stroking the blond's attention, but as per orders, the other detached.

"Lube in my back pocket." Roxas hurriedly added, panting and finally managed to sit up without tipping back over. The brief respite helped him catch his breath, assess the situation and adjust himself into a better position. As an afterthought, he also cracked open the back window a fraction, allowing some of the sex-mussed air to escape and fresher air to come in. The heated atmosphere, after all, was welcome, but suffocating was not.

With a raised eyebrow, Axel retrieved the lubricant and easily began applying it to his hand, "You were expecting this?"

The knowing but amused glance his way made Roxas flush, "I was planning it."

"Oh, you are bold today. I like it. C'mere." The blond was tugged back into Axel's lap, bent over on his knees and completely vulnerable. Power had been transferred to Axel and Roxas could do nothing about it. Nor was he about to complain.

There was a small pause that included Axel circling the tight ring of muscles while watching every single change of expression on Roxas's face. He chuckled.

"I think I like having you on top of me."

Every one of Roxas's limbs shook with effort, tense with the teasing. "Why's that?" The blond grit, daring to look down at the older man beneath him. He immediately shuddered and shut his eyes again. Seeing the familiar smirk and gleaming eyes was too much. It was bad enough that Axel was already in control, he didn't need to see the aroused amusement the red-head had of being able to manipulate him in such a way.

"Well, it's better than having your face in the pillows like last time."

With barely time to exhale, to relax, to realize that they were about to do terrible things in a parked car on the side of a freeway… a finger was pushed into his entrance, cool and slick from the lube. The sensation of being stretched and filled at the same time engrossed Roxas as he buckled slightly, chest knocking against the other's.

At the same time, Axel started jerking at his cock again, setting an intoxicating rhythm that Roxas immediately fell into, panting. The finger was easily joined by two, thanks to their sexual activities over the past week. As they probed, prodded, slid in and out, Roxas whined, rocking his hips to encourage the actions until the stretching digits hit his prostate head-on. It didn't matter what they had been talking about, where they were doing this, he just needed it. Immediately.

"Right there," He whimpered, his entire body racked in shudders of pleasure, "H-hold on."

Cracking open his eyes, Roxas slithered a hand down to gently but quickly tug at Axel's pants. Thank god they had both decided to wear gym shorts, it made the process far more expedient. The red-head waited patiently, occasionally wiggling his fingers to make Roxas yelp while his own hardened organ was tugged out.

"You're cute when you want it." Axel noted with a grin, growling slightly as Roxas's hand wrapped around his cock and stroked hard. In response, he began his own forceful ministrations on the younger man again.

"You're cute when you're… ngh… moaning underneath me."

The cheeky response came out shortly before the two of them moaned in unison, Roxas burying his face in the crook of Axel's neck while the red-head threw his head back. The competition escalated then, the pair both trying to get the other off quicker. Granted, it was an unfair race, considering that Axel had the upper hand, in a sense, which doomed Roxas to lose from the get-go.

The desperate pants and groans mingled in the overheating car as the two rocked against each other, movements made slippery with sweat. The even pace soon turned erratic. Roxas was simply pushing his hips back into Axel's fingers, three now, while he tried not to get too distracted to continue stroking away. He lost touch of the rhythm when the satisfying friction was lost with his wet palm. His moans escalated into desperate whines and garbled gibberish.

Axel, arching into Roxas's touch, wasn't doing much better. His legs abruptly lashed out as Roxas squeezed from the base to the tip extra hard, one fit smacking into the dashboard with an ominous clunk that went unnoticed by the pair.

"Fuck." The red-head unknowingly pushed in deeper into Roxas, his three fingers digging in.

Within seconds, Roxas came first, hitting the peak with a choked inhale, his free hand burying into the seat cushion. He saw stars, felt the sensation of happiness and satisfaction spreading through him body sluggishly until even the tips of his fingers felt blissfully numb.

Axel wasn't too far behind, jerking violently for an instant, then falling limp with a purr-like sigh.

"I can't get up."

"No problem." Releasing Roxas from all of his bonds, Axel instead went looking for tissues without getting up, sticky fingers poking under the seat and on the back seats until he finally hit the small cardboard box. Pushing up the blond that had turned into a ragdoll, he set about cleaning them up diligently.

"You're the best." Roxas smiled up at Axel, following the motion as the other mopped up the mess, then tossed into a bag of trash. "Screw college, we should nap here."

"Oh yeah, napping on the side of the highway seems like a great idea, Roxie, why didn't I think of that?" Grinning, Axel tugged his blond into his arms and nuzzled his hair fondly, disregarding their lingering sweat and the heat. Roxas grunted, burrowing into the embrace.

"It's a brilliant idea, shut up."

He could practically feel Axel's lips pull into a smile, though his mouth was burrowed in his blond spikes, "We should at least put our shirts back on."

Unfortunately, Axel was very correct on that matter. Already, the euphoria was wearing off, being replaced with sleepiness, and even the comfortable quiet of the car cabin was notably disrupted now wit the occasional truck passing. Still, Roxas didn't want to give up. He was so utterly at ease. Content. Happy.

He was happy to be lying shirtless on top of Axel, in an old car, on the hottest day of summer, on the side of the I-90, sweaty, sticky, and absolutely smitten.

"… love you." He mumbled into Axel's chest, idly reaching up to curl a hand around the other's neck.

Two more cars passed by, rushes of air and speed, before Axel replied, stroking Roxas's hair gently.

"I love you, too, blondie."

Fifteen minutes later, they were back on the road, shirts back on and, to their utter disbelief, air conditioner running. As soon as Axel had turned the key in the ignition, the old mechanism had roared into life. Or, really, it coughed and sputtered stubbornly into life, as if complaining about who would dare demand that it function properly.

The violent kick to the dash of Axel reaching orgasm was to blame, though the pair was completely unaware and simply pleased with their good luck.

"Well, at least one good thing happened today." Axel turned the AC to maximum, allowing the cold air to sweep over his face. It rattled and growled, but still managed to function.

"… what do you mean, one? Excuse me, do I need to come onto you again, or did you just entirely forget the last half hour of your life?"

Axel grinned and shrugged, feigning innocence as Roxas sputtered in the passenger seat, "I dunno, I might need a reminder or two. Just in case."

The rest of the journey consisted of Roxas's unbridled annoyance Axel's suggestive fingers sliding over various parts of Roxas's body, and almost missing two exits because their squabbling had taken precedence over watching the road.

Half an hour more of bustling in the hot sun and Roxas was moved in to his two-person dorm room, sweating and exhausted.

"Maybe if you hadn't been busy trying to tug down my shorts, we could have avoided almost hitting that poor lady and her van full of disabled children." Roxas dumped the last box of his possessions on his bed in his brand new dorm. Naturally, of the thirty minutes of unpacking, the majority had been spent in argument with occasional butt-slaps on Axel's part.

Following Roxas in, then closing the door, Axel frowned slightly as he glanced around. It was a bleak, jail-cell sort of white, but Roxas already planned on covering the walls in posters and distributing all of his possessions neatly to make sure that he saw as little of the white as possible.

"Huh. They seem to get smaller every year. Anyway." Axel flopped down on the bed with a roll of his eyes. "Stop exaggerating, I didn't hit her, did I? All's well that ends well!"

"You made her swerve! Almost off the road!"

"She had it coming, lady obviously had some road rage issues going." Axel shrugged in a dismissive sort of way, lying back and patting some of the empty space beside him invitingly. Changing the topic, as always. "C'mon, freshman, take a load off already."

It was a temptation that was impossible to resist. Hauling boxes and blowing hot air amidst the already sweltering summer heat had taken its toll. With a final grumble, he stomped over and sat down beside the red-head, who immediately tugged him into his lap.

"Stop complaining. You should be getting excited. First year of college and all that."

Slender fingers began gently combing through Roxas's bright spikes. The last of his grumbles spent and gone, he tried relaxing instead, lying back to put his head on Axel's thighs and stare up at the ceiling. "Hmm. What was the first day of college for you like?"

Axel considered the question. Roxas's gaze drifted from the open window, where the cheap brown curtain that came in every single dorm room fluttered listlessly. The breeze swept into the room, cool and light thanks to his room being up on the seventh floor of his hall. According to Axel, it was the one that didn't have cockroaches, so he had no reason to complain.

A glance back up at Axel showed that the other man was smiling. He scratched gently at the back of Roxas's neck, twining the hair between his fingers idly.

"It was pretty good. Drove up here with Reno. It was pouring sheets. Man." Leaning back, Axel whistled softly, "Feels like ages ago. I still hadn't started dying my hair then, too. Black hair. Tons of piercings. Punk-ass kid. My roommate hated me."

"Mmm. Wish I could've seen that."

"Nah, don't, I looked like a dick."

"As opposed to-"

"Shush." Roxas got a rough ruffle of hair and a teasing poke in the side for his trouble, "Anyway, why are you asking? You said you weren't worried."

"I'm not." To his own surprise, he truly found no familiar knot of anxiety in his gut. The hair stroking was probably helping. "I'm not. I mean, I have you here with me. And Sora'll be here soon. My classes are fine. My dorm is fine."

"And you'll have me to make sure you get your full college experience." Axel added thoughtfully, "Which would be me taking you to a frat, getting you completely drunk again, and then you making an extremely poor life decision to round everything out. Once you get that out of the way, you'll be fine. College experience complete."

"I am so glad I have you here to guide me on the right path to success, Axel." Roxas quipped sardonically, swatting away the comforting hand now to appropriately shake his head in disbelief.

"You're welcome. And now, you should unpack some more, I need to get to my own room and make sure this Saix guy hasn't trashed my stuff." Gently, the pair disentangled. Roxas stood with a yawn, seeing Axel to the door.

"You'll come back later tonight?" The hopeful tone in his voice was so obvious, the blond almost winced, but Axel just chuckled, leaning in to kiss his forehead.

"You gonna miss me?"

A mock-disinterested shrug came with his reply, "Might get bored, need some distraction or entertainment. Don't even have a TV until Sora brings it."

They exchanged glances, knowing very well what Axel intended to do when he come back later. Roxas leaned against the doorframe of his room, watching Axel slowly begin taking backwards steps down the hall.

"How about I show you around later first, then we can find some way to get rid of your boredom?"

"Sounds good to me." He was already waving, ready to shut the door and dive into his boxes, when Axel abruptly pointed at him.

"Oh hey, question. Did you ever finish that To Kill a Mockingbird homework? I seem to recall you spent the entire summer on it."

"Finished it last night." Barely, with minutes in his shift to spare. "After you and all my other suitors in Seven-Eleven left." Roxas added wryly.

"Right, yeah." Axel snorted, shoving his hands in his pockets, "You mention that Atticus Finch in the man, right? Kinda super important."

Vague recollections briefly flickered back of their first meeting and Axel's bold proclamation concerning the fictional character. How could Roxas not include that?

"Of course."

"Good kid. Anyway, I'll see you around. Oh, and Rox? Welcome to college."

With a rueful shake of his head, Roxas stepped back into his room. Welcome to college indeed. He glanced around at the mass disorganization. The night before, he had spent hours packing. Now it was time to do it in reverse. Without hesitation, he went to first set up his laptop and get his music collection going. If he was about to spend time unraveling the important pieces of himself and shoving it into various cabinets and shelves, he would need musical distraction.

New year of college. Newly turned page on his life. Newfound red-head who wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. New everything.

"Girls at Seven-Eleven…"

Roxas looked up from his box, frozen and frowning, then sighed and continued tugging out piles of clothing.

Okay. Well. Maybe not new everything. Some things could stay. Like the memories of the past summer, some things would stay. And his memory of meeting a man by the name of Axel at 2:00 in the morning to pay for a discounted pack of lighters, condoms, and a box of Twinkies was surely one of them.