A/N: This one's for the wifey.
Axel flipped his phone shut, rolling his eyes at the tiny device. Of course, Yuffie picked the first free Friday night he'd had in weeks to call and demand he hit the clubs with her. She had to have some sort of evil scheme running through her head. But two could play that game… if he figured out whatever her plan was before she put it in motion, he wouldn't get sucked into another escapade that would serve as blackmail material for years to come. He winced as he thought back to their senior year… especially the Men in Tights incident. Overall, avoiding further humiliation sounded like a fairly excellent idea.
Pulling out of the apartment complex's parking lot, Axel realized he was going to end up meeting Yuffie in full biker gear… including the leather pants. She was going to have a fucking field day.
Roxas looked up at the club's exterior and groaned. "A3? Olette, you've got to be kidding me. You've taken me to a club that ripped off its name from a cancelled series for pre-teen girls."
"Hey, Charmed was good. Besides, their music is good and they usually don't card, so who cares about the name?"
"Sorry I'm late…" Hayner's voice sounded from behind the pair. "Parking around here is difficult to say the least." The blonde snaked an arm around Olette's waist, planting a kiss on her glossed lips.
Roxas rolled his eyes and turned away from the pair. "God, can't you two be around each other for ten seconds without physical contact?"
"Awww, Rox, don't be jealous…" Hayner teased, slinging an arm around Roxas' shoulders and giving the shorter boy a quick kiss on the cheek. "You know you missed me."
"Like a hole in the head," Roxas retorted as he rubbed his cheek furiously. "Come on, let's get a spot in line."
Axel nodded to the bouncer as he passed, stopping for a moment. "Hey, Lex." The orange-haired man returned his nod, folding his arms over his chest. "Anyone performing tonight?"
"Demyx's band managed to get a slot for tomorrow night, but tonight it's just Kairi. She's not until midnight, though."
"Huh. Okay then. Guess you'll probably see me again tomorrow night, then." Axel walked into the darkened club. He could hear the disgruntled complaints of those who were still waiting for a chance to get in, but he didn't really care too much… getting in quickly was just one of the perks afforded to those who knew the bouncer and half the staff.
Roxas slumped against the wall, slamming his head back on the concrete. Not only had he been dragged away from a perfectly good round of video games but he'd now been dragged into the lineup for some stupid club. He didn't even like dancing. And annoyingly good-looking people were getting in without so much as a glance at the line—a girl in a tiny white shift dress, a redheaded man in a biker ensemble, even some kid from his old school. This day couldn't get much worse.
"Okay, you two can go on in." The bouncer gestured at Hayner and Olette. Roxas' mouth dropped open, and the couple looked back and forth between the orange-haired man and their blonde best friend.
"Well, if you don't want to…" The burly man gestured at another couple who jumped forward.
"Uh…" Olette said hesitantly. "Roxas, we'll meet you inside, okay?" Not bothering to wait for a response, the pair sprinted through the door without a glance back at the blonde boy.
"Axel!" Yuffie squealed before launching herself at the redhead. "You actually showed! I like the pants, by the way." Axel rolled his eyes, ruffling Yuffie's hair as the ninja rambled on about her new job.
"So this is… what, the sixth job in as many weeks?"
"Seventh. But I really like this one!"
"You really liked walking dogs, being a secretary, landscaping, working as a props master, as a delivery girl, and whatever the other one was too."
Yuffie thought for a moment, then raised a finger triumphantly. "Barista. But that one only lasted a day. I swear, though, I really like being a grease monkey!"
"I'll give it two weeks, then." Axel muttered, shaking his head.
"Hey, Olette!" Yuffie exclaimed as she tackled a girl who was walking by.
"Yuffie?" The brunette's eyes widened in recognition as she was glomped by the short-haired girl. "Oh my god, I haven't seen you since you graduated! How are you?"
Axel leaned back against the bar, chuckling to himself. Yuffie was never going to grow up, no matter how much time passed. The two girls continued to chatter for a few moments more, and then suddenly Yuffie was talking at Axel again. "Axel, go get Roxas, would you?" The redhead jumped slightly, then settled back against the bar.
"Who?"
"Roxas." Olette said. "He's still stuck in the line outside, and we don't know when he's going to get in. Yuffie said you know the bouncer?" Olette pleaded, eyes wide.
"Yeah, sure. What's he look like?" Axel stood up straight once more, smoothing a nonexistent fold out of his sleeve.
Yuffie flapped her hands at Axel impatiently. "Cute blonde, huge blue eyes. Now, go!"
Cute blonde, huh? Axel mused as he walked out to the main entrance once again. Maybe I can have some fun with this one.
Roxas watched glumly as the bouncer allowed countless people who weren't him into the club. It seemed to be completely arbitrary, who was let in and who wasn't. The door opened from the inside for once, and Roxas glanced up in hope that Hayner or Olette had come out to join him. Unfortunately, it was just another one of the annoyingly good-looking guys who'd gotten in before… the redhead. Damn him. He was probably just coming out to gloat, anyway.
The biker's eyes scanned the crowed, then narrowed as they came to rest on the blonde's. "Roxas." The blonde jumped to his feet at his name before realizing that the redhead had been the one to utter it. "Why didn't you tell me you were here already?" He advanced on the shorter boy, corners of his mouth twitching slightly as if he could barely keep from smiling.
"Uhhh…" Roxas said confusedly. "Sorry?"
"Don't be sorry, just… make up for it." Green eyes held Roxas' own, and the redhead licked his lips suggestively.
Roxas began to utter some noise suggesting confusion, but was quickly silenced by soft lips pressing against his own. His mouth was still open, trying to form some coherent thought, and a hot tongue slipped past his lips and into the warm cavern within. Roxas closed his eyes, slipping his tongue around the older boy's. He had no idea what was going on, but this guy was a really good kisser. Knowing what was going on was slightly overrated anyway.
Just as Roxas was starting to really enjoy being stranded outside A3, the kiss was broken off. He opened his eyes in time to see the redhead wink mischievously as he pulled away. "Well, I missed you too," he purred. "Come on inside, then." He placed a hand possessively on Roxas' shoulder, guiding the smaller boy into the club. "Later, Lexaeus."
As soon as the door closed behind them, Roxas shook the hand on his shoulder off. "So, what the hell was that?" the blonde said indignantly. He was more mad about ending the kiss than the kiss itself, but he was still slightly confused. "Who are you, anyway?"
"The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"
"I hardly think it's going to be difficult to memorize two syllables." Roxas retorted. "And you didn't answer my first question. What was that?"
"That, my dear Roxas, got you in here. Yuffie sent me out for you, actually."
Roxas blinked. He had no idea what was going on, a crazy redheaded biker had just kissed him—at someone else's suggestion—and he didn't know where Hayner and Olette were. And now said crazy redhead had his arm draped casually across Roxas' shoulders.
This was shaping up to be a very interesting night.
"Yuffie, there you are." Axel said, pulling Roxas with him as he strode over to the bar. "I brought Roxas. He's very… cooperative."
"Roxas!" Olette exclaimed, popping out from behind the dark-haired girl—Yuffie?—and smiling in relief. "There you are! Sorry about that… we would have stayed with you, but, well…"
"Lex doesn't let people in if he's already looked over them before, and I can't go rescuing more than one of Yuffie's friends at a time with my method." Axel said with a smirk. Besides, not many of Yuffie's friends were as cute as Roxas. Of course, very few of them needed rescuing, but that was beside the point.
Olette laughed nervously. "Well, we're all here now, so… let's dance!" She grabbed Hayner's hand, pulling him out onto the floor. Roxas lost sight of them as they mingled with the crowd, quickly finding the beat of the song and losing themselves in the rhythm. Roxas lingered at the bar for a moment more, then followed them out to the center of the floor. By the time he caught up to them they were already grinding away at each other –like freaking pole dancers, for god's sake—and he didn't really feel like interrupting them.
Actually, he didn't know if interrupting them would be possible. He stood awkwardly by them for a moment, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, then wandered back to the edges of the floor. Axel was still at the bar, watching Roxas with a slightly condescending smirk.
"Dancing too much for you, blondie?"
"No." Roxas muttered as he sat a few seats down from Axel, turning his back to the crowd.
"Now, that's no way to treat your rescuer, now, is it?" The barest hint of a smile played across Roxas' lips as Axel drained the last few drops from his drink, but by the time his emerald eyes focused on Roxas' face again it was gone.
"Hey, Dem, one more, would you?"
The fauxhawked boy behind the counter rolled his eyes, but complied."You know, this really isn't fair." He complained. "I mean, this is one of the best songs of the year, probably Utada's best yet, and you're not even dancing. You're just… sitting."
This time Roxas really did smile—the disbelief in the bartender's voice was quite comical.
"Demyx, you're being rude." Axel chided. "You haven't even introduced yourself yet."
The blonde's shoulders slumped, and he went to speak. Axel cut him off before he could utter a word. "Roxas, meet Demyx. Crazy sitar player, meet blondie."
"Uh, hi." Roxas muttered, waving awkwardly.
"Hey!" Demyx responded. The two smiled shyly at each other for a moment, then Demyx finished mixing a pair of drinks and placed them on the bar next to Axel. "There you go… one for you, and one for your date. He's cute, by the way." Demyx said with a wink at Roxas.
Roxas' mouth fell open as Demyx dashed over to the other side of the bar to fill another order. He looked from the drink to Axel to Demyx and back again. "You've got to be kidding me. Date?"
"Well, if you'll let a boy French you before you've even learnt his name, I'm definitely looking forward to our first date." Axel said smugly.
Roxas stuttered slightly, then took a sip of his drink to avoid having to say anything. It tasted rather excellent… whether or not Demyx could recognize a date or not had no affect on his bartending skills.
"It's good, isn't it?" The blonde nodded silently, then finished the drink in one gulp. Getting up from the bar, he wandered out onto the dance floor without another word. Axel's eyes followed him until he was lost in the sea of bodies, and the redhead smiled to himself. This night was getting better by the minute.
Roxas made his way out onto the floor, looking for his friends amongst the crowd of dancers. He couldn't see very well in the dim light, but the sheer size of the club was overwhelming. It was shaped like a huge cone, with a circular dance floor at the center. The bar was over to the left side of the club, a semicircle that stuck out onto the floor slightly. Smaller balconies were placed at random throughout the club, and he could just make out the dim forms of other dancers on the upper tiers.
He didn't know where exactly Hayner & Olette had gone after he'd left them, but he expected that the pair would be somewhere central where everyone could see them. Sure enough, as he moved through the crowd he found them on a raised platform at the center of the floor, hips gyrating against one another in time with the music.
"Hayner, Olette!" Roxas yelled, but their eyes stayed firmly fixed on each other. Grumbling to himself, he climbed awkwardly up onto the platform, which was a good metre off the floor. He tapped Olette's shoulder, breaking her out of the music-induced trance.
"Oh, Roxas, hi!" Olette exclaimed, grinning broadly. "Don't you love it here?"
"Yeah, it's great." Roxas said hurriedly. "What do you know about that Axel guy?"
Olette bit her lip in thought, still moving in time with the beat. "He's a year older than Yuffie, so he's 3 years older than we are. I think he's in his last year at the university right now, but I'm not sure. Why do you ask?"
The blonde avoided her gaze, glancing fixedly at his feet. "Uh, no reason."
"Oh, you like him!" Olette exclaimed. "Oh, that's cute. You two look good together, too. Ask him to dance!"
"No way." Roxas said dismissively, though he was really trying to hide a good deal of nervousness.
Hayner leaned over and whispered something in Olette's ear, and she nodded vigorously. "A drink would be great, thanks."
Roxas watched jealously as the taller boy somersaulted—backwards—off the platform, landing in a space that was miraculously clear of dancers. Damn Hayner for being so cool.
"You really like Axel, don't you?" Olette said as she began to dance with one of the girls near her.
"I just met him, 'lette." Roxas muttered, biting his lip in thought.
Olette stuck out her tongue. "So?"
"So I have no idea if I like him or not!" He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"You like Axel." Olette glanced behind him and grinned deviously, and as Roxas turned to see who she was grinning at she casually shoved him off the edge of the platform.
The blonde flailed wildly, attempting to keep himself upright, but he was already too unbalanced to do so. He realized that he could probably have somehow salvaged the situation if he'd pushed off and tried to copy Hayner's somersault move from before, but now he was just going to land on some random dancers and piss them off.
Bracing himself for the impact, Roxas closed his eyes. He didn't hit the floor, though, as he'd half expected. Nor did he hear any angry voices. Instead all he heard was the beat of the music and a low chuckle. Opening one eye carefully, Roxas saw a really excessive amount of black leather and some spiky red hair.
Only one person that could be.
"I guess I'm really your knight in shining armor tonight, aren't I?" Axel said, smiling down at Roxas. He'd caught the younger boy in a very typical manner, with one arm underneath his shoulders and another beneath his knees. Roxas rolled his eyes, but didn't bother to struggle. It wasn't like Axel was going to put him down until he was ready to, anyway… asshole.
"I guess so." A quirky half-smile appeared on the blonde's face, but it was replaced by confusion as the music shuddered to a halt. Protests rose from every level of the club, then fell silent as a voice came over the loudspeakers.
"And now, everyone, it's your favorite part of the night!" Demyx's voice was, if possible, even more cheerful than before. A sappy slow song began to play, and Demyx continued. "Yeah, that's right, it's the part where we find the cutest couple and declare them the Couple of the Night! And now, without further ado…" A drum roll sounded as searchlights began to rove across the crowd, and a few whoops echoed from the crowd.
"I give you A3's couple of the night… Axel and Roxas!"
Roxas blanched as the searchlights trained on the pair, effectively blinding him, and Axel couldn't help but smile at the look on the blonde's face.
"Aren't they cute?" Demyx's voice was as effusive as ever.
Roxas blinked to clear his eyes, then looked up at Axel. "We are pretty darn cute, you know."
"You think so?"
"Yeah."
A collective 'Awwww!' arose from the crowd as the blonde wrapped his arms around Axel's neck and leaned up to kiss him. The redhead nearly dropped Roxas in surprise, but instead set him down on the platform he'd so recently fallen from. The few people who were left standing on the raised circle hopped off hurriedly, eyes never leaving the pair. As the remaining searchlights focused in on the pair, Roxas' legs wrapped around Axel's waist and he pulled the redhead even closer.
A few catcalls echoed from the upper tiers of the club as Axel lowered himself onto the platform on top of the blonde, Roxas' fingers intertwining with his hair. Demyx cleared his throat into the mike, but the pair continued their… activities, oblivious to the world around them.
The blonde bartender motioned furiously at the people controlling the searchlights, trying to get the lights pulled off the pair. He swung himself over the guardrails as the other workers complied, hopping down from level to level. Coming up behind the pair, he tapped Axel on the shoulder. The redhead was fairly busy nibbling on Roxas' collarbone, but he managed to turn towards Demyx for a second.
"You can thank me for spiking his drink later." Demyx said with a wide grin, and Axel nodded vigorously before leaning back down to the blonde beneath him.
Demyx chuckled to himself as he walked back behind the bar, tossing a few utensils into the sink and strolling over to where Yuffie was sitting next to Olette. "You two are really dastardly, you know."
"We know." They chorused, then burst into fits of giggles.
Demyx pulled his sitar out from beneath the counter and sat down, "How long do you think it's going to take them to figure out that you two completely set them up?"
"I doubt they ever will." Yuffie said as she leaned over the counter to mix herself another drink. "They're going to be way too happy together to ever question what brought them together."
"And too hungover." Olette said, pulling out her cell phone. "The Couple of the Night thing was a nice touch, though. Did you just make that up?"
"Nah, that tradition began a few years back, but there's never been a couple on my watch who were cute enough to really deserve it." Demyx strummed a few chords in time with the music, closing his eyes contentedly.
"Well, you have now." Yuffie said decisively. "But you and Zexion were the ones who inspired the whole Couple of the Night thing, weren't you?"
Demyx's eyes lit up at the mention of the slate-haired boy. "Yeah… he's never liked dancing, but I made him take me here for our first date."
"He must have been really drunk if he agreed to see you again after that!" Yuffie quipped.
Olette snapped her phone shut as Hayner emerged from the crowd, then got up from the barstool. "Not as drunk as Roxas." The brunette added as she walked off. "I'll see you guys later, okay?" She didn't bother to wait for a response, but simply took Hayner by the hand and disappeared back out onto the floor, leaving Demyx and Yuffie at the bar.
"So, where is everyone's favorite emo boy tonight?"
"He's not emo!" Demyx protested. "And he had a late lecture at the U tonight. He'll be here tomorrow when we're playing, of course."
"Of course." Yuffie drawled. "Ah, young love… how cute."
Demyx ignored the petite ninja, still playing along with the techno-trance song in the background. After a moment of silence Yuffie got up and wandered out onto the floor, and Demyx was left alone. The notes his fingers elicited from the sitar began to differ from the current track until they took on a melody of their own. Demyx's voice accompanied the catchy tune after a few moments, though no one was near enough to hear him.
"They're in love, and it's all right…
They're the couple of the night."
Demyx waited until the last chord had died down, then smiled to himself.
"Nah... way too cheesy."
A/N: For those of you who don't know the wifey, she's otherwise known as Blue Funk on here. I swear to god, her fic Special Discount is my reason for living. Well, that and all the smooches she owes me. Dude.
Happy birthday, dearest darlingest Lera of mine.