11A/N: Hello readers! Welcome to my first multichapter fic that I actually intend to complete! (Technically second, but the first was three years old and I deleted it because it sucked).
I don't know yet if this will be updated regularly or irregularly. I do know, however, that this is a present for my fantabulous friend, Lunar! So, I hope you like it so far. :D
This is a modern AU set in Twilight Town. It might end up being Riku/Roxas, and it might not. Simply put, it was supposed to be Riku/Roxas since before I planned the fic, but now I'm not sure if I can do it.
Credit for this story idea goes to my awesome sister. She came up with the bulk of the story; I offered a few suggestions and filled in plot holes.
Enjoy!
EDIT: Typos fixed. Thank you, Lunar. You know I'm a fail self-editor lololol.
Chapter One - Monday
Roxas stared blankly at the open textbook sitting open in front of him, frowning in annoyance as the words failed to sink in even as he read them. Somehow, Roxas just knew that he wouldn't be getting an A or B on the test tomorrow like he'd hoped.
"Forget this," he muttered, slamming the book shut frustratedly and stowing it away in his backpack. He could study again before school tomorrow.
Leaning against the countertop, Roxas let out a long, ddawn-out sigh. Business at the ice cream shop where he worked part-time was slow today. Actually, it was almost always slow, except for right after school on hot or warmer days. The fact that the shop offered only one flavor—sea salt—did little to help matters, but Roxas wasn't complaining. A job was a job and, this way, he could do homework with little interruption.
From his position, he had a clear view of the analog clock on the opposite wall, and Roxas delighted in the fact that his work hours were almost over for the day. After all, no one liked working on a Monday on top of going to school.
"Five," he whispered, counting down the last seconds to himself, "four, three, two, one." He hopped down from his stool and picked up his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. "Hey, Scrooge McDuck!" he called into the back room. "I'm leaving now!"
"Yes, very good," said Scrooge distractedly. The elderly shop owner was always busy trying to invent new flavors of ice cream—though they were all deemed failures in his eyes—and didn't often pay attention to anyone else.
Opening the freezer door, Roxas added, "I'm taking a couple of ice creams if you don't mind." Free ice cream of the sea salt variety. Yet another reason why Roxas loved his job.
"That's fine, that's fine. Do your homework, mind."
"I already did," Roxas replied. Well, it wasn't exactly a lie; he'd completed his work and just needed to study. He grabbed two plastic packets of ice cream and, pausing only to stoop and pick up his skateboard, left the shop.
Roxas dropped his skateboard and hopped on it, riding smoothly down the streets with practiced ease, heading for Station Plaza's clock tower, his favorite place to hang out. Skateboard and ice cream in hand, Roxas hiked up the stairs to the top of the tower, setting down his skateboard and backpack with a sigh of relief—backpacks, particularly those laden with several textbooks, were heavy—when he finally reached the top. He sat down, shifting until he got comfortable, legs dangling over the tower's edge, and ripped open the plastic packaging for one of his popsicle-style sea salt ice creams.
"Nothing ends the day like a nice sea salt ice cream!" he said happily to himself.
"I'll say. I hope you're planning on giving me that other one."
Roas turned at the voice, although he didn't need to. Only one other person came up here, and he had recognized the voice immediately. "Oh. It's you."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" demanded the spiky-haired redhead.
Roxas grinned. "Nothing. Hey, Axel."
"'Sup? You giving me that ice cream?" Axel asked, sitting beside his friend.
The smile vanished instantly and was replaced by a scowl. "No. Go buy your own."
"Aww, come on, Roxas!"
"You're the one with an actual job," Roxas pointed out with a huff. "Speaking of which, shouldn't you still be working?"
Axel waved his hand dismissively. "Nope, it's all good!"
Roxas raised a dubious eyebrow as he chomped on his ice cream. "You're still on duty as long as you're still in uniform, I say," he replied after a moment.
Axel glanced down at his policeman's uniform and grinned. "But doesn't this make me look dashing and handsome?"
"No," Roxas said flatly, turning away from Axel and wondering, not for the first time, why and how they were best friends. "Your girlfriend won't appreciate you hitting on me," he added as an afterthought.
Axel made a face. "Please don't say nasty things like that. I used to be your freaking babysitter."
"Yeah, you're a bit of an old fart," Roxas agreed.
"Not that old," Axel argued, reaching for the unopened ice cream laying beside Roxas. "You're just young."
"You're twenty-eight. That's absolutely ancient," replied Roxas, grabbing the ice cream and holding it out of Axel's reach. "And that is mine, thank you very much."
Axel looking briefly around the top of the tower, didn't reply. Instead, he reached over to pick up Roxas's skateboard and said, "I'll drop your pride and joy off the tower if you don't give it to me."
"Two things," Roxas said. "One, though I am very fond of that skateboard, it is not my pride and joy. My future Xbox is, once I can afford it."
"You can just play at my house, you know."
"It's not the same as owning it yourself!" Roxas insisted. "Why do you think I got a job?"
"I don't know, to earn your own living instead of leeching off your parents' funds the rest of your life?" Axel suggested.
Roxas gave him a withering glare. "That was a rhetorical question," he said shortly.
"Whatever. Anyways, you said 'two things.' What's the second?"
"Two, you wouldn't dare to drop that skateboard."
Axel waved said skateboard around over the edge of the tower. "And why not?"
"Because you gave it to me for my birthday," Roxas informed him. "And you even got a custom order to have my name engraved in it."
Axel looked at the top of the skateboard, where Roxas's name was burned into the surface. "Um, yeah," he said. "But that still won't stop me."
"You wouldn't dare," Roxas repeated confidently.
Axel raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to give me that ice cream?"
In answer, Roxas set down the popsicle stick of his (now finished) first ice cream, pulled open the packaging of the second, and took a large bite out of it.
Shrugging, Axel said, "I warned you." He promptly released his grip on the skateboard.
Time seemed to slow as Roxas dropped his second ice cream, gaping in shock. He reached out in vain for his skateboard, out of his reach, and let out a very long, very overdramatic, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Axel whacked his friend upside the head and time resumed passing at its regular speed. "Drama queen. And now look. Neither of us get the ice cream." He scowled at the sea salt ice cream laying wasted on the far-below ground beside the broken skateboard.
"Axel..." Roxas stood up, trembling in rage. "That. Was my skateboard."
"Hey, don't cry over it," Axel said nervously, probably already regretting his impulsive action. "It's just a skateboard."
"I'm not crying, you jerk!" yelled Roxas angrily. "I'm freaking furious! That was my skateboard and you just dropped it off the clock tower!"
"You didn't give me the ice cream," Axel said accusingly.
"So it's my fault?" asked Roxas shrilly. "I swear, Axel, I am going to sue you. I am going to hire Larxene to prosecute you, I am going to bribe Xemnas to deem you guilty, and after all is said and done, I am going to borrow Demyx's Coast Guard boat, take you out into the sea, and drown you!"
"You shouldn't have connections to so many adults," grumbled Axel under his breath. "You're only eighteen."
"And I am going to tell Larxene that you tried to hit on me."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Roxas shrugged. "In case she doesn't want to prosecute her boyfriend, though I don't see why not. But at least I'll have something to piss her off. Now." He pointed down to the far-off ground, still glaring daggers at Axel. "Go and collect the remains of my poor, dear skateboard."
Axel glanced at the ground, then back to Roxas. "Um," he said awkwardly, "I can't."
"What do you mean, you can't?" Roxas demanded. "Axel, I will go into your house. I will steal all of your matches and all your fifteen lighters—"
"Sixteen. I just got a new one yesterday."
"Whatever. I will burn your house—"
"Okay, I get it," said Axel, holding up his hands. "Enough with the threats already. But I really can't get your skateboard, because it's...well, it's gone."
"Gone?" laughed Roxas. "What do you mean, 'gone'? Skateboards don't just up and off, you..." Roxas trailed off as he peered down at the ground, mouth hanging open in shock. All that remained of his skateboard were some small, scattered pieces. He was certain there had been at least two three large chunks left after the fall. "Axel...where did my skateboard go?" he asked, voice dangerously low.
Axel could only shrug his shoulders helplessly. "You're asking me?"
Roxas snorted. "Right. I forgot; you never know anything. Let's go investigate, then, policeman."
Final Fantasy: Crisis Core was fun, but it could also be annoying. Still, all good games had their frustrating parts, Riku knew. He pushed the buttons on his Playstation Portable, grinning to himself as he worked on defeating a particularly difficult boss. As he was about to deal the killing blow, the loud sound of something impacting on the ground made Riku nearly drop his PSP and jump about a foot in the air from where he was sitting on the steps of the Station Plaza.
What the fudge was that? he thought, searching for the source of the noise. It wasn't a hard task; he could see the skateboard the moment he looked up, lying on the ground in several broken pieces.
A noise sounded from his handheld game, and Riku glanced at the screen, groaning. The distraction had caused him to die and lose the battle. Cursing under his breath, Riku wondered what god of video games had deemed him unworthy enough to warrant dropping a skateboard from the sky. Then logic caught up to Riku and it occurred to him that, rather than some unknown deity, a living human had probably been the one to drop it, likely the owner of the skateboard. But from where? Riku looked up. The top of the clock tower?
Riku tried to remember if he had seen anyone pass him and enter the building behind him, knowing that it was possible to reach the top of the tower from a flight of stairs located inside. But his attention had been held by the game, and if he had noticed anyone walking past him, it was only a vague memory of footsteps and a faint whoosh of air.
Still, who did it didn't quite matter right now. He just knew that someone must have dropped a skateboard off of the clock tower and made Riku die in his game. They also nearly split Riku's skull in the process, but that detail was irrelevant. Regardless, the owner of said skateboard was going to face Riku's wrath. He turned, ready to run up to the top of the tower and find the culprit, when a train whistle sounded. The last train to Sunset Terrace, where Riku lived, had arrived. Which meant that he couldn't bring the perpetrator to justice. Not yet, anyways. He spun around and grabbed the few large pieces of the smashed skateboard as evidence before hurrying to catch the train.
Once he was safely on the train, he looked mournfully at his PSP. Well, there's my first death on this game file, which means it's time to start over. Again. As a new Crisis Core game loaded, Riku narrowed his eyes at the remains of the skateboard and frowned. Whoever had done this to him was going to pay.