499Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story. At all.
Warning: Shounen-ai, homosexual relationships, etc, etc.
Author's Note: Chapter story.
Well, a short chapter story. Don't expect a twenty-something chapter story. You can expect long chapters, but just not many of them.
AxelxRoxas centric, but it's not limited to just them. I'm going to try and incorporate Demyx, Marluxia, etc. because I should probably expand my horizons a bit.
This story kind of pokes fun at fairy tales and fables and the stereotypes that seem to plague stories. But you probably already knew that because it's about Axel reworking Aesop's Fables.
I'm sure this will turn smutty at some point.
Actually, I know this will turn smutty at some point.
Forewarned.
Summary: Axel thinks Aesop taught decent lessons in his fables, but the redhead is willing to bet he could do better. What good are fables that teach things like "attempt not impossibilities" or "little friends may prove great friends" anyway? Times are different from when Aesop lived and Axel thinks it's time for a new set of fables. All of which will be authored by himself, of course, because he's an expert on love, life, and what truly matters.
That, and Roxas Badcock promised to marry him provided he gets a book published.
Axel's Fables
•••
•••
By: Freekiwi
I – The Origin of his Fables
Once there was a dreamer who was absolutely full of himself. A combination that worked to his advantage in most scenarios provided he kept the sarcasm and teasing to a minimum. He was a tall, handsome boy with natural red locks and he was a heartbreaking troublemaker who held a certain je ne sais quoi that allowed him to escape punishment many times. Axel was a god in human's clothing. He believed himself to be a gift to all people and everyone absolutely loved him despite his conceited arrogance. The question was never 'why don't you like Axel?' it was always 'you don't like Axel?' and then a rapid list of reasons as to why the redhead was completely likeable.
But there were always haters. And like in all stories the haters were the kind of important set of people that have to like the hero or the story won't continue and the happy ending can't be achieved. Like in all stories the haters hated the hero exactly for the reasons people loved him and like in all stories someone in the group of haters was also the love interest.
The haters were a set of quadruplets who were generally referred to as the Badcock Quadruplets because they usually traveled in a set pack. It was odd to see one of the quadruplets on their own and if they weren't all together, it was Sora and Roxas or Kairi and Naminé and it had been like that since the first grade. They interacted with other people, but they interacted as a set. If you knew one quadruplet, you knew them all. When it was time to go away for college the quadruplets all applied to the same school and they were all accepted.
Roxas and Sora lived in a duplex near campus. Their sisters, Kairi and Naminé, had opted for on-campus housing in the dorms to avoid paying rent and while the boys had weathered through their first year all right, they realized they had to rent out the upper part of the duplex if they wanted to keep it.
And Naminé and Kairi wanted nothing to do with their duplex.
The story really begins with a phone call. Axel's fables, the bet for Roxas's hand in marriage, the indecent exposures, multiple arrests, and life lessons all started after the redhead found the ad for the duplex on a bulletin board and decided to give the number a call.
•••••••••••••••
"Wow," Axel stood in the foyer of the duplex and craned his neck this way and that way to get a better look at the place. "How do you guys afford this place?"
"Is that any of your business?" the youngest quadruplet – and he was the youngest because he came out four minutes apart from the rest of his siblings – grumbled.
"Obviously we can't," the second quadruplet frowned, "that's why we need someone to move in upstairs."
"Far be it from me to question fate," Axel shrugged his shoulders and made his way up the stairs. Roxas, the youngest, and Sora followed right behind him. They were always right on top of each other and they often made social situations very awkward for themselves. But what did anyone expect? They had literally spent their whole lives together and now they were back to sharing a room provided someone moved in upstairs.
Sora worked the key out of his pocket and unlocked the door upstairs, "you can look around if you want. The rent is a thousand a month plus utilities. You pay five hundred and we pay five hundred… There are two rooms up here so you can have a roommate if you want."
"Wow," Axel looked around the upper part of the duplex with interest. It was way nicer than where he and Riku were currently living. They were slumming it on Line Street and their apartment building was presently condemned. They were in the process of moving their things out but that was the problem with having nowhere to live. They had nowhere to move their things.
"How soon can we move in?" the redhead called from inside. Roxas and Sora were being introverts and were standing next to each other outside the door.
"Uh, we have to discuss whether or not we actually want you living with us," Roxas looked completely indignant and the look only worsened when his quadruplet elbowed his ribs and gave him a look.
"Stop, Roxy," Sora whispered, "we need a roommate. Beggars can't be choosers."
"Bullshit," Roxas whispered back, "I can't stand him. And neither can you! You know what he's like. You know how –"
"Look, I'll leave in a moment," Axel leaned against the doorway, brow raised at the two boys. "So, you know, you guys can speak freely," he mumbled sarcastically, "but if we can't move in today then we have to find somewhere else."
"Who's 'we'?"
Sora elbowed his twin in the ribs again, "You guys can move in today. There's a kitchen downstairs, but your bathroom is up here and you can use our washer and dryer for your laundry."
"Excellent," Axel leaned off the doorframe, "pleasure doing business," his eyes lingered on Roxas momentarily, "I'll be back in a few hours with Riku, he's my roommate, and we'll start moving our shit in."
"Wait," the redhead had begun walking down the stairs and Sora was right on his heels, "Riku? Riku Cheseborough?"
"Cheeseburger? Yea," Axel shrugged and glanced over his shoulder at the quadruplet as he opened the front door. "Why?"
"Oh," the brunet shrugged, "I just knew him from high school."
"Well hot damn," Axel smiled, "it's like a high school reunion then."
Roxas mumbled something like "except with ugly people" under his breath and earned another elbow in the ribcage from his brother.
"I'll be back later, Crotchfelt boys."
And before either boy could correct the redhead on their last name, he was out the door and climbing onto his bicycle. He didn't have a car anymore. Not since he had his license suspended for doing sixty in a twenty-five.
"You know," Roxas glared, "this isn't good for you either. You recall what happened between you and Cheeseburger, right?"
"Cheseborough," Sora corrected. A red flare had ignited itself in his cheeks, "and yes, I remember, but it was almost four years ago. I doubt he remembers."
"Doubt he remembers? Really?" Roxas pushed, "you think he won't remember?" arms crossed defensively over his chest. It was clear he didn't want Axel living with them and he was attempting to use Riku as a deterrent for his brother.
"It's not the end of the world," Sora reassured him, "besides, if I've forgiven you, I think I can forgive him."
Roxas ignored the guilt that washed over him and he didn't mention his displeasure about Axel moving in for the rest of the day.
•••••••••••••••
"It's free to look, but it'll cost you if you wanna touch."
Roxas jerked his head away from Axel and pretended to be inspecting something along the stairway. He didn't say anything to the redhead, but his cheeks burned when he heard the older boy snicker. It was hot out and Riku and Axel were both shirtless and lugging their things up the stairs. Sora had conveniently realized they needed groceries when Riku's car pulled up into the driveway and he had taken off and left Roxas to play the part of the landlord.
"Hey, Roxas," Riku was coming down the steps behind his roommate, "is Sora around?" he had dropped his voice to a near whisper.
"No," the blond said sourly, "what's it to you anyway?"
"I see you're just as charming as always…" he mumbled sarcastically. He ignored the rebuttal the quadruplet offered and followed the redhead outside to grab more of their things.
It didn't take long for them to move in. They had little furniture and even less stuff because they had been living in a much smaller place. They had a couch, a television, their beds and bedroom things, and a pool table they had purchased for cheap at a Good Will during their freshman year of college. Axel considered it luck that the kitchen was downstairs because they didn't own a proper table or proper chairs or a fridge. He was also grateful to finally have a washer and dryer to use for free. Feeding ten dollars worth of quarters into a machine that often ate his money at the Laundr-O-Mat had become considerably awful.
"You know what we need?" Axel eyed the living area of the upper part of the duplex and stroked his chin thoughtfully, "we need a strobe light. Or a disco ball. Or a disco ball that functions as a strobe light."
Riku gave the redhead a look, "Yea, and maybe we can purchase some bellbottoms that are made out of ecstasy tablets."
"See?" Axel slung an arm around his roommate's shoulders, "now you're thinking out of the box."
Riku rolled his eyes and walked over to the pool table they had positioned behind the couch. The living area was long and wide and the wood flooring made it ideal for parties. The upper part of the duplex wasn't as open as the bottom and it gave the area a cozy feeling. It reminded Axel of a hamster's cage because the living room had archways that lead off into other rooms, like tunnels. One the right side of the duplex there were two doors for each of their bedrooms and on the left side there was a doorway that lead to a large balcony that overlooked much of campus.
"We should invest in a hammock," Riku grabbed a pool stick and examined it, "and you're right. We should invest in some kind of light, but not a strobe light or a disco ball."
There were overhead lights, but their area of the duplex was looking very spacious and it needed filling. Their couch sat in the center of the living room with their pool table a few feet behind it and their television sat next to the door that lead to the stairs and foyer.
Axel shrugged and threw himself down on the couch, "It's only July. I'll just drive to my house before September and get some of my shit from home."
"You'll drive?" Riku set the pool balls on the table, "with your imaginary car and your non-suspended license?"
Axel made a sound, "Okay, fine. Will you PLEASE drive me to my house so we can work on making this place not boring?"
"Oh, is that what you meant?" Riku teased as he lined up the cue ball, "by 'I'll drive' you meant 'Riku will drive,'" he smirked and took a shot, "sorry. I guess I misunderstood."
"Look, will you drive me or not?" Axel sat up on the couch and gave his roommate a look.
"Would if I could," he lined up his stick with the cue ball, "but I have to work. Ask Sora or Roxas. One of them drives a pick-up. It'd be better for moving anyway."
Axel gave Riku the most indignant look he could muster. His jaw slackened the slightest bit and he looked absolutely put out. Obviously his roommate was unaware of the apparent hatred the quadruplets seemed to have for Axel. He hadn't known any of them very well in high school, but he had obviously done something to piss them off. God knows what though – Axel knew himself and he knew it could've been anything from pleasant teasing to lewd suggestions that they should all star in a porno together.
"Okay, I'll bite," Riku sighed and leaned against his pool stick. "What's the look for?"
"Cheeseburger –"
"Cheseborough!" he glared, "say it with me! Chehs Ber-oh," the words were spoken very slowly. "C-H-E-S –"
"Cheeseburger," Axel ignored his roommate, "neither of them like me."
"Oh, please…" Riku hung his pool stick up on the wall, "everyone loves you."
"I know," the redhead stood up and the indignant look only increased. "But I don't think we'd even be living here if they hadn't needed someone to move in like… ASAP."
"Just go ask," Riku insisted, "I'm sure one of them will drive you."
"I don't –"
"Just ask," his roommate pushed, "you don't know until you ask."
"But I don't think –"
"'Don't make much ado about nothing,'" Riku placed his hands on Axel's shoulders, "you don't know until you ask."
"Thanks, Aesop," the redhead rolled his eyes, "anything else?"
"Yea," Riku smirked, "'we can easily represent things as we wish them to be.'"
Axel didn't think so. Aesop was a dope anyway.
And so it went.
Axel and Riku had lived in the upper story of the duplex for nearly a month and a half without much interaction with the two quadruplets. It was never said but it was well understood that Sora and Riku were doing their best to avoid each other. As far as Axel knew the two had yet to talk and when he questioned his roommate as to why, Riku would shrug and say "I don't know. He's weird" and that would be the end of the conversation.
Roxas was a different story. It seemed that any time was a bad time for Roxas and Axel learned this very quickly. If he was too loud in the kitchen, the blond complained. If he was too loud coming down the stairs, the blond complained. If he was breathing too loudly, the blond would complain. He complained for the sake of complaining and he complained to make himself irritable.
And the more irritable Roxas became, the more irresistible Axel found him. He supposed that made him some kind of masochist, but he also factored in the idea of wanting something he obviously couldn't have. Things always appeared thirteen times more appealing when they were out of reach and Roxas was no different. The more he pushed the redhead away, the more the redhead wanted him.
One morning Riku woke up early and left the duplex before anyone was even awake. He worked at a bakery that opened up at seven and he usually had to go into work around four or five in the morning. He didn't mind getting up. He was working toward his Masters in culinary arts with a minor in business. After graduation he planned to open up his own bakery or restaurant, but for now he was just an apprentice.
Axel, on the other hand, worked odd jobs that he never gave full, or even half, a description for. But he was paid exceptionally well and his roommate often wondered what, exactly, the redhead was up too. Sometimes he came back smelling like cologne and wearing a suit and other times he came back totally drunk counting a wad of cash in his hand.
Riku liked to think it wasn't prostitution but he couldn't be sure.
On this particular morning Axel had managed to gather his courage to ask for a ride to his house. He and Riku were becoming very sick of pool and summer reruns on television didn't catch their attention. They wanted to party – they wanted to party in their portion of the duplex – but there simply wasn't enough to do to keep people entertained. If they didn't distract people with four hours of a repeated bass line and a Wii, everyone would just get completely shitfaced and Riku and Axel would spend the next two days scrubbing vomit off the floor and the next four days finding it in places like the air ducts or under their beds.
"Roxas?"
"Sora," the brunet was rooting through the fridge and labeling the items that belonged to him and his brother. He was also taking inventory of each item and this was not uncommon. Sora always took inventory of the perishable items he purchased.
"Where's Roxas?" Axel rubbed his eyes. It was noon and he had just bothered to roll out of bed. His red hair looked absolutely wild and he was sporting nothing but a bear of black boxers that had flames around the crotch. "I have to ask him something," he yawned and then eyed Sora charily, "what are you doing?"
"Labeling," the brunet wrote "BADCOCK" across a gallon of milk, "just so you guys know what belongs to us," he marked something on a piece of paper, "and feel free to help yourself, but you have to replace what you take."
Axel stared with his mouth slightly opened, "wait, what? What if I drink like… a quarter glass of milk?"
"Then I guess you'll have to replace it with a quarter glass of milk."
Axel stared, "What? You can't replace a quarter glass of milk. They only sell them in half gallons or gallons."
"Well, I don't know what to tell you," Sora huffed, "I guess you just won't be partaking in the food that belongs to Roxas and I," he said irritably.
The redhead sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It was way too early for this. Sure, yea, he and Riku had had multiple arguments regarding food consumption, but neither of them had really cared enough to label what was their own. Eventually they just paid for half of the groceries every time someone went to the store.
"Look, where's Roxas at?" Axel rubbed his face, "I need to ask him a question."
"He's sleeping," Sora's brow was lined and he looked thoroughly harassed, "just go through the living room and take the door on the left."
The redhead ambled out of the kitchen and toward the main bedroom. The downstairs portion of the duplex was absolutely gorgeous and Axel knew it had something to do with Sora and Roxas. They had taste and he got the impression they came from a well-off family. There was a very beautiful area rug that was placed in the center of their living room and their furniture was all dark, pretty wood. There were actual paintings on the walls and they only seemed to add to the tallness of the ceilings in the bottom portion of the duplex.
The high ceilings made sense, Axel supposed, because the upper part of the duplex wasn't sat directly on top of the bottom part, hence the balcony on the upper floor. He liked the tall ceilings in the living room though. Definitely something he'd have in his own house one day.
"Hey, Roxas?" Axel knocked on the door and when he didn't get a response, he poked his head in. The youngest quadruplet was tangled in his sheets and the sun was pouring in through a large window that was set over his bed. He looked cute, the redhead mused, drooling and snoring a little but cute nonetheless.
"Hey, Roxy," he walked across the hardwood floor and admired how pretty the room was. It also sported the same high ceilings and along the wall were three or four built-in shelves that were filled with books. In the corner, Axel noted a guitar and wondered if either quadruplet actually played. He didn't know their majors. He barely knew their names.
"Roxas," he reached out and shook the blonde's shoulder, "hey, I got a question."
He grumbled and yanked the sheet over his head, "Too early," he paused, "and you have a question. You don't 'got' a question, you have one."
Axel rolled his eyes, "fine, whatever, I have a question," he shook the blond with both hands like a child would do in order to coax their parent out of bed, "come on. It's noon. And I would just ask Sora for the favor but he's already pissed off about something."
"It's because you're in our direct vicinity," Roxas growled from under the sheets, "we're much more pleasant when you're not around."
The redhead narrowed his eyes and mumbled, "Yea, and I'm invisible when no one's looking…"
"I heard that," Roxas threw the sheet off himself and looked up at Axel, "God – what? What do you want?"
"Whose pick-up truck is that in your driveway?"
"Mine," the blond sat up and rubbed his eyes, "why?"
"I need a favor…"
"No," Roxas slipped out of bed and began making it, "you can't borrow it, you can't drive it, you can't sit in it, you can't listen to music in it, you can't look at it, you can't touch it – do I need to go on?" the blond tossed the pillows onto the floor and pulled the sheet up and tucked the sides under the mattress.
"Nah," Axel watched the blond, "but will you drive me somewhere?"
The blond sighed loudly, "Why can't you drive yourself?"
"Suspended license," he shrugged.
"Big surprise," Roxas mumbled, "why can't stupid Riku take you?"
"I don't know anyone named Stupid Riku," Axel glared coldly at Roxas, "I know a Riku, but not a Stupid Riku."
"Axel," the blond tossed the pillows back onto his bed. He was clearly agitated, "If I drive you, will you promise to just leave me alone?"
"Yea," the redhead perked up, "Just a two hour drive to my house and back and I'll leave you alone for as long as you want."
Some of the color drained from Roxas's face and he narrowed his eyes at Axel, "Four hours in a car with you? God, being crushed to death sounds kinder than that…"
The redhead walked over to the blond and slung an arm over his shoulders, "Careful what you say, Roxy. God forbid your upstairs tenants "accidentally" drop a cement block on you."
•••••••••••••••
"So why are we going to your house?" Roxas pulled on a pair of well-fitted jeans and brushed his hair into less of a mess with his hand.
"Pick stuff up," Axel was eating sea salt ice cream. He had rooted through the fridge once Sora had left the duplex and he had found a box of sea salt pops marked with Riku's last name. They would really need to go shopping before the day ended. They were either going to starve or have to figure out ways to replace measurements of food that just didn't exist.
"Oh," Roxas laced up his shoe, "because you don't have enough shit upstairs to annoy the piss out of me? I'm so tired of hearing pool balls clacking…" he hunted through his dresser drawer for a shirt. He could feel Axel's eyes on him, but he was doing his best to ignore the redhead. "And what the fuck do you guys do up there? It sounds like you're always stomping around and slamming doors."
"Oh," Axel stretched his arms above his head and a smirk grew on his face, "sorry about that. That's just Riku and me having sex."
Roxas yanked a shirt from the drawer and hurriedly threw it over his head. He didn't respond and he pretended to examine something in his dresser drawer until the blush in his cheeks died down. He didn't know if Axel was joking, but it left him feeling uncomfortable. It was weird to think about them doing it right above him seeing as how his room was right under Axel's. It was also weird to imagine the two of them together because they were… They were both dominant.
Well, Roxas knew for a fact Riku was dominant. He could only infer with Axel.
"Whatever," the blond mumbled irritably.
He walked out of his bedroom with Axel right on his heels. Both boys checked their pockets for their wallets, keys, and phones, and then they walked out the front door of the duplex. Roxas locked the door behind himself and headed for his blue pick-up truck. He had received the Ford truck the day after he got his license and it had required a bit of fixing up. The blond had sunk lots of money into his car and he rightfully babied it.
Roxas opened the driver's side door of the truck and got in. It was obviously cleaned by someone very anal – possibly Sora, but Axel wouldn't rule out Roxas as a suspect – to the point where the car smelled new even though it very clearly wasn't. Axel noticed the truck bed didn't even have dirt or any kind of garbage in it and he wasn't sure if he wanted to smile or question which quadruplet was the obsessive-compulsive one.
"Where do you live?" keys were in the ignition and Axel buckled his seatbelt once he was in the car.
"Carmine," he watched as Roxas put the car in reverse and pulled out of the driveway, "you know how to get there?"
"Yea," Roxas put the car in drive, "I know how to get to your little hick-town."
Axel laughed lightly because he couldn't agree more. Carmine was a little hick-town. His parents had moved there during his last year of high school and the redhead seldom went home. There was nothing wrong with his parents – aside from his dad being just like him – but he preferred living on his own. He liked to put himself and his needs first and it just wasn't possible when he lived at home.
"So…" Axel mumbled after an hour of driving in complete silence. "Tell me about yourself."
"No," Roxas opened the middle console in his truck and grabbed out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. He took one out and lit it up. "I like to drive in silence."
"You smoke?" the redhead watched the blond carefully. He looked good smoking. It didn't make him look quite so… feminine. He looked good, though, with his lips wrapped around a cigarette. It matched him in regard to the whole "I don't care. I do whatever I want" aspect the blond seemed so delighted to share with everyone.
"No," sarcasm laced Roxas's words, "this is a trick of the eyes."
Axel sighed in an obnoxious manner. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked out his window. It was a nice day outside. Too bad it was icy in the pick-up truck.
"Do you smoke?" he mumbled.
"Depends," the redhead shrugged and appreciated the fact that his duplex-mate was at least trying, "not cigarettes usually… not unless I've been drinking," he had a bad habit of bumming cigarettes off people when he was wasted. Axel never had the urge to smoke otherwise. He wasn't sure what it was about alcohol that made him crave nicotine.
"Right, so you're a drug user," Roxas pressed his cigarette to his lips and inhaled deeply.
"Yea," Axel laughed, "I'm a drug user. You caught me."
"If you don't smoke cigarettes," he exhaled, "what do you smoke?"
"Maybe I smoke a pipe," the redhead argued, "or maybe I enjoy smoking cigars."
"Do you?" the blond glanced over at the redhead. A small smile had made itself evident on his usually hardened features.
"No," Axel mumbled, "but you make me sound like I smoke crack-cocaine or something…"
Roxas laughed, "Does it matter? You're still a drug user either way."
The redhead shrugged, "I guess, but… I don't know. Pot seems a lot more harmless than cocaine. Or meth. Or opium or whatever other drugs you smoke…" he settled against his seat and his green eyes watched Roxas very carefully. He was quite attractive in Axel's opinion. His personality was off-putting, but he definitely had genetics on his side. So did his brother. Axel was willing to bet his sisters were both really good looking too.
He finished his cigarette and tossed the end out the window. Tongue came out to wet his lips and he gripped the steering wheel with one hand. The road was mostly clear. It had only been an hour and twenty minutes and they were almost to Carmine.
"So why don't you like me?" Axel mused.
"What's there to like?" Roxas was completely expressionless. He stared straight ahead at the road and every now and then he would glance at the clock to see what time it was.
"I'm gorgeous," he thought for a moment, "and I throw killer parties. I'm super charismatic and I'm witty and I'm fun. And I don't make people feel badly about themselves because their lives suck. I don't get jealous. And I'm not hateful. Not like you and your brother."
Axel figured a snarky question deserved a snarky answer. He was offended by Roxas's answer because it wasn't a real answer. It was just rude and the redhead found that Roxas was pushing his buttons a little bit and he didn't like it. He was wild like fire – didn't his duplex-mate get that? He didn't have to control himself. People got hurt when they played with fire after all.
"Okay, see…" Roxas shook his head, "you're a pompous douche bag who thinks way too much of himself. You walk around like you're some kind of gift to mankind when you're really just another obnoxious college kid who thinks he's got the whole world figured out," the blond glared at nothing in particular, "when you don't. At all. You don't have shit figured out because you don't think beyond the next three hours of your life. You waste your time surrounding yourself with people who probably don't even really like you but put up with you because you throw cool parties and you'll provide them with drugs and alcohol. You're actually super alone in this world and the only good friend you'll ever have will end up hating you because you'll turn suspicious and think that he's somehow out to get you. You attempt to self-medicate and fill the loneliness you feel with sex and you'll probably wind up dead and alone when you try to sexually asphyxiate yourself on your fortieth-something birthday in a shitty hotel room in Carmine."
Axel stared, jaw slackened, and he didn't say anything. Roxas had the exact same expressionless look, minus the slight glint of a glare in his blue eyes, and he stared straight ahead at the road. They passed a sign for Carmine and neither of them said anything. Axel couldn't compose himself and Roxas didn't appear to have anything more to say.
"Fine," the redhead finally said after seven or eight minutes of silence, "I'm sorry you feel that way…" He crossed his arms over his chest and looked out the window.
Roxas's brow furrowed, "you're sorry I feel that way? Really?" he looked annoyed, "you don't care that that's what I think about you? You're not even disturbed that I might have you all figured out?"
Axel shrugged, "I guess I'm just comfortable enough with myself to not care. Besides," he put his feet on the dash and smirked at the irritable look on his duplex-mate's face, "now it's a challenge. Now I have to prove you wrong."
That, and make Roxas his. Wasn't it obvious?
Roxas absolutely loved him.
•••••••••••••••
Axel stretched as he hopped out of the pick-up truck. The rest of the ride had been in complete silence minus the redhead's occasional "your face might get stuck like that" comment whenever the blond was making a particularly ugly face. They got along well, Axel thought, and at least now they were talking.
"Most of my shit is in the garage," he walked over to the keypad on the garage door and punched in the code. The door slowly opened and Roxas sighed gently when he saw the piles and piles of packed boxes. How much shit did Axel have? His parents' house wasn't exactly huge. It was probably slightly bigger than their duplex.
"I just need boxes fifty through sixty-two..." the redhead stepped into the garage and began to search. "And then we need to bring that," he pointed to a coffee table, "and then we can go."
Roxas shrugged his shoulders, "Where are your parents?" he grabbed box number fifty-four from the floor of the garage, "found out you were coming and ran for the hills?"
Axel laughed, "nah. They're on a cruise in the Bahamas." He grabbed box sixty from a tall stack of boxes and walked it over to the bed of the truck with Roxas, "it was a present for my mom and dad's birthdays. I went half in with my brother for it…"
"Ugh," Roxas set the box down and slid it toward the back of the truck bed, "there's someone else like you who's walking around?"
Axel ruffled his duplex-mate's hair and thoroughly annoyed the spastic movements Roxas made in response to being touched. "Unfortunately," he walked back toward the garage, "but you know… I think you'd like my brother a lot more than you like me."
"Why is that?" Roxas followed, "is he a mute?" they went on each side of the coffee table and lifted it. It wasn't particularly heavy, but it was round in shape and therefore slightly awkward.
"No," Axel walked it toward the truck, "but you two have something in common…"
"What's that?" they flipped the coffee table onto its top and slid it into the truck bed.
"You both hate my guts."
They gathered the rest of the boxes from the garage and loaded up Roxas's truck. By the time they finished they had both taken off their shirts and were sweaty from the labor. It was four in the afternoon by the time they climbed back into the truck and pulled out of Axel's driveway. He would've shown his duplex-mate his room if he had one. His parents had taken his going away to school as him moving out forever.
"You hungry?" Axel wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
"I guess…" Roxas had the window rolled down and was reaching for his cigarettes, "why? Did you want to get something to eat?"
The redhead held back from saying something sarcastic, "Yea," he slid down against his seat slightly. It was really hot out and he was sure he had the beginnings of sunburn on his back. "What are you in the mood for?"
Roxas had lit up a cigarette and was inhaling it deeply. He blew out the smoke through his nose and didn't answer for a while. He didn't know. He never really had an opinion one way or the other because Sora usually decided something or Naminé and Kairi would show up with dinner. Besides, wasn't food just food?
"You're such a zombie," Axel mumbled, "maybe try showing some emotion. Even when you grilled me about how shitty I am you were pretty expressionless."
Roxas shrugged, "I guess."
"Come on, Crotchfelt, what do you feel like eating?" he pushed.
"Why do you keep calling me Crotchfelt?" his brow furrowed. "My last name is Badcock."
"Like that's so much better?"
Well, Roxas thought so but maybe not. He took a puff of his cigarette and he glanced over at the redhead. He had a nice set of abdominal muscles on him and his chest was nicely toned. Axel wasn't ugly, Roxas would admit, but he just wasn't attractive to the blond. Eyes lowered toward the redhead's crotch and he noted that his happy trail was the same red color as his hair.
"Do you dye it?"
"Do what?" Axel arched a brow.
"You're hair. Do you dye it?"
"No," Axel ran a hand through his red locks, "why?"
"Your happy trail is the same color. So I guess your pubes are too?"
"Why don't you find out, zombie?" he teased lightly.
"No thanks," he placed the cigarette between his lips, "firecrotches really turn me off."
•••••••••••••••
They eventually stopped at a truck stop diner about an hour from the duplex. Axel had his shirt slung over his shoulder and every now and then he caught Roxas's eyes lingering just a little too long. He caught those blue eyes staring at his happy trail and whether firecrotches turned him off or not, Axel couldn't help but smirk every time his duplex-mate eyed the red-colored hair under his belly button.
"Do you have to wear your pants that low?" Roxas grumbled as he yanked his shirt back over his body. His pants went up to his belly button and while he did own hip-hugging jeans he didn't often wear them. Not unless he was really trying to get someone's attention and more often than not, Roxas was just trying to be blend in.
"Does it turn you on?" Axel teased.
"It makes me want to vomit and then rub the vomit in my eyes so I don't have to look."
"So you are looking at me," the redhead couldn't hide the excitement behind his green eyes and when the blond said something derogatory under his breath and got out of the truck, Axel couldn't have been more pleased with himself or his antics.
They got a table fairly quick in the diner. It was mostly empty, save for a few truckers, and no one seemed to mind Axel being shirtless. He wasn't hot anymore and there really was no reason for it, but he had the feeling Roxas had some odd curiosity regarding his body hair. His hair was fire-engine red everywhere and every time the blond saw the red hair somewhere on Axel, his eyes would linger and he would stare.
"So… if you grew a beard…"
Axel laughed, "Just stop yourself there," he flipped through his menu, "you'll never see me with a beard. Or anything close to facial hair except maybe stubble…"
Roxas looked through his menu, "oh…" a frown creased his features and when the waitress came to take their drink order, they both ordered black coffee with no creamer and glasses of water.
"You ever read Aesop's fables when you were a kid?" Axel looked out the window and noticed the sun was at the very beginning stages of setting.
"Yea," he shrugged, "I never read all of them, but my mom used to read them to my brother and sisters when we were little... It was usually associated with something that had happened during the day. My mom loved throwing out Aesop's life-lessons," the blond played with his silverware, "her favorite was 'whatever you do, do with all your might.' She had a really weird love affair with those fables…"
Axel eyed the dreamy look on his duplex-mate's face.
"I don't know," Roxas leaned against his chair, "I kind of thought Aesop was a dope. Most of his life-lessons were common sense."
The redhead laughed. He couldn't agree more.
The waitress came by and delivered their drinks and took their orders. Dinner went relatively fast and they had only been in the diner a total of forty minutes before they had paid the check and left. Roxas seemed softer, somehow, less vicious than before and Axel reasoned it had something to do with the conversation they had about his mom and Aesop's fables. They walked in silence to the pick-up truck and Axel yanked his shirt over his head before they got in. It was getting cooler out now and the blond seemed to be done inspecting his body.
"Is your mom dead?" Axel buckled his seat belt and heard the rumble of the engine as Roxas put the keys into the ignition and started the car.
"Yea," he shrugged, "she died a few years ago. I didn't really give a shit about Aesop's fables until she died. But, you know…" Roxas pulled out of the parking lot and proceeded down the road, "someone dies and then you feel like maybe if you collect enough of the shit they liked or shit they owned you can fill the gap they made when they left."
Axel stared out ahead at the road. No one had ever died on him before. Not counting distant family members whom he had never met or even spoken too. His parents, his brother, and all the members of his family that he knew so well were still alive. His great-grandmother was turning 104 this fall. Axel suspected he just might live forever.
"I have all of her books," Roxas sighed, "all of those books in mine and Sora's room – those were her books. A lot of them are different versions of Aesop's fables and then there's this huge anthology of all his fables," he rolled his window down but didn't pull out his cigarettes or lighter. He leaned his arm out the window and chewed his lower lip briefly.
"How did she die?" Axel rolled his own window down, "if you don't mind me asking, I mean…" he quickly added. He didn't want to have witty banter with Roxas right now. He wanted them to become friends. He liked Roxas. He actually liked him a lot. There was definitely something endearing about his deep-seated dislike for Axel and there was something cute about his zombie-like nature.
"No," he shook his head, "plane crash. They found the plane but they never found her body. She wasn't the only one. There were seven or eight people they never found."
"So she could –"
"Don't," Roxas looked at Axel critically, "it's like exposing Santa Clause as a fraud to a seven year old and then saying 'but no one knows for sure if he's real or not.' It just perpetuates a hope that will eventually come crashing down around you like a million little pieces."
The redhead looked at Roxas for a long time. He was a bit of a cynical boy. He certainly had his opinions about people and Axel doubted his opinions often changed. If anyone was arrogant here, it was Roxas. If anyone thought they understood the world, it was Roxas. He was only nineteen and already jaded.
"You're a pessimist," Axel half-teased, "anything else, Debby Downer?"
"You asked," Roxas frowned, "besides, don't you think I spent a majority of my high school time trying to figure out where she could've gone? She was my mom, Axel. I wasn't just going to give up."
The redhead shrugged, "No, I get it," he put his feet on the dash, "I get that you're jaded."
"I'm not jaded," Roxas looked rather sour and Axel found this fitting and delightful.
"You are. Listen to yourself. You're nineteen and a pessimist. Have you ever even been on a date, Roxy?"
"What does that –"
"Have you?" Axel pressed.
"W-well… no, but…"
"Right, and why haven't you ever been on a date?"
Roxas was silent. He stared at the road ahead and when he reached for the middle console to get his cigarettes, Axel put his elbows on the console and refused to move. He couldn't sit there in partial silence and smoke. He couldn't just smoke away all of his problems. He couldn't take excessively long puffs on his cigarette while he tried to think of reasons to either not answer the question or deliver an untrue answer.
"Axel, move," the blond whined.
"Just tell me why you haven't ever been on a date and I will light up a cigarette for you," he was enjoying himself. He was enjoying making Roxas squirm like this.
"Because I don't like anyone," he grumbled. "There, happy?"
"That's not why," Axel felt the corners of his lips pull into a smile, "do you think maybe it's because you're cynical and you think everything is doomed from the start?"
"Ugh," Roxas opened his mouth to add more, but didn't. He glared at the road ahead and then his eyes narrowed and he sighed in a very irritable manner. Lips were licked and he watched as Axel grabbed his smokes and lit up a cigarette for him. The redhead placed the white stick between his duplex-mate's lips and felt heat rise in his cheeks when his finger brushed a soft, moist lower lip.
"Why do you care?" Roxas was frowning, "what's it to you if I don't date?"
"I just think it's a waste," Axel put the cigarettes back into the middle console. He played with the flame on the lighter as he spoke, "you're grumpy and you're mean, but I bet you have nice attributes too…"
Those pretty blue eyes rolled.
"See? I don't know anyone who can roll their eyes better than you, zombie." Axel teased.
"Shut up, firecrotch…" he exhaled the smoke from his cigarette and felt a little relieved when they passed a road sign for their college campus. Only fifteen more minutes and they'd be back at the duplex.
"Go on a date with me," Axel looked at Roxas with the slightest hint of troublemaking evident in his features.
"No," Roxas laughed, "that's… not gonna happen, Axel. You're not my type."
"I'm everyone's type," he insisted.
"Yea…" he shrugged, "that's just it. I don't like that… I don't want someone that's everyone's type. I want someone that's my type."
"What's your type?" Axel frowned. "Do you even know?"
"Yes," Roxas said indignantly, "I do, thanks. If I was going to go for someone, I'd go for an intellectual. Maybe an English major because I'd want someone who has a way with words. And I think guys in glasses are attractive. Maybe he'd have some sideburns or something…"
"Mhm," Axel purred, a smirk on his lips, "so, in other words, the exact opposite of me?"
"Not the exact opposite," Roxas frowned and tossed his finished cigarette out the window, "but yea. Someone who is… different from you…"
"You're not even going to give me a shot?" the redhead raised an eyebrow, "I don't even get a chance to try and impress you? I mean, I'd have my work cut out for me seeing that you're practically a zombie…"
"It's just a bad idea," he sighed, "I don't want to go out on a date. Stop making me reject you…"
Axel was quiet for a long time and Roxas was uncomfortable with the situation. He didn't mind the infatuation but he didn't like having to reject Axel, especially because they lived together and had to see each other all the time. He also felt like the redhead was silently accusing him of making excuses when he wasn't. Axel really wasn't his type and he would never even consider him anywhere in the realm of possibility. That boy was… too forward and too outgoing and too friendly. Roxas needed someone quiet, someone who didn't say much and someone a little more serious.
"What if we make a deal?"
Roxas sighed, "Axel…"
"No, just hear me out…" they were pulling onto their street, "will you go out with me if I can do something amazing to prove to you I'm your type?"
He sighed, "Like what? Be serious for once?"
"I don't know," he eyed Roxas, "you tell me."
They pulled into the driveway of the duplex behind Riku's car. He had gotten off work a few hours ago and brought home leftovers from the bakery. Definitely a perk of living with an aspiring chef who spent most of his time at a bakery.
"I…" Roxas turned the car off, "I don't know, Axel."
"What if I wrote a book?"
Roxas suddenly laughed because the idea sounded so absurd. Surely the redhead had to be joking. He couldn't be serious. Wasn't Axel a science major or a math major or something to that degree? It certainly didn't mean he was crap at English but the blond couldn't see him writing a book. Roxas couldn't seem him writing even half a page. He laughed for a good while and when he finally stopped he had to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes.
"I'm serious!" Axel yelled, "what if I wrote a book? That would prove I have a way with words and I can be serious! I can't help you with the whole glasses and sideburns thing…" he reached up to touch along his jaw line, "but I could shave my junk for you."
Roxas laughed again.
"Stop laughing!" Axel whined and shoved Roxas.
"Okay, okay…" the blond chuckled, "you know what, Axel? If you can write a book – an actual book, not a children's story or a short story, but a legit book – and you can get it published, then I'll marry you."
Axel looked at Roxas very seriously, "Really?" he breathed. There was no hint of a smirk or laughter. He was stone cold serious.
"Yea," Roxas rolled his eyes and his lips curved into a smile. "Yea. Write a book, get it published, and I'll marry you. I swear to God, I'll marry you."
He knew this was ridiculous. He knew the possibility of Axel actually writing a whole book was slim and he knew getting the book published was even slimmer. Roxas wasn't making a fool's bet and he knew it. Axel didn't take anything seriously. He was a slacker and he was forgetful and he talked his way out of most situations. Maybe Axel had forgotten but Roxas knew him in high school.
He knew exactly the kind of person he was. Axel wasn't any kind of author and he didn't have any kind of way with words.
"The book doesn't have to sell?"
"Nope," Roxas shook his head, "you don't have to sell one copy. I just want to see your book, with your name on the cover, in a bookstore and then I'll marry you."
"And if I do this, you're not going to take it all back?"
"Nope," Roxas crossed his arms over his chest. There was a smug look on his face, "nope. And if you want, we can make a legally binding contract and I'll sign it."
Axel searched the other's blue eyes for something, but he wasn't sure what. All he saw was laughter. All he saw was smugness. All he saw was Roxas not taking him seriously. Axel could do it. He could write a book and he could find a publisher. Writing wasn't that hard to begin with and nowadays anyone could get published.
"Okay," Axel smiled, his green eyes lighting up. He held out his hand and Roxas took it, "you've agreed to marry me if I can write a book – a legit book that has chapters and a plot and themes and shit – and get it published."
"Yep," Roxas shook Axel's hand. "You have my word, firecrotch."
"Mm, just remember to wear something nice at our reception, zombie."
Author's Note: First chapter done. It's a decent length and I'm hoping the other chapters will be longer. I guess it's really up to you guys on chapter length though. This is about 8500 words (according to fanfiction it's 9400). I wanted it to be around 12,000 but it's the first chapter and I don't even know if anyone is going to be interested in this story.
Anyway – feedback is great. Really, really great. Tell me how you feel about the story, the idea, the length of the chapter(s), the characters, whatever.
I'll try and update as regularly as possible if people show interest. If people don't show interest, I'll probably take the story down. Feedback is mucho importante.
Anyway – hope it was enjoyable.