Suspicious Minds

The Destiny Island Fall Festival was big news. Venders of all kinds opened up their booths, offering whatever they sold to the public. There were various contests going on—talent shows, whoever had the biggest pumpkin, etc. Almost anyone who was anyone went. Plus, it did help that the school let the kids have a week off so they could enjoy the festival. There were haunted houses set up, and a carnival that opened up when it got dark.

One booth in particular was focused on face painting, mainly for children. The two teenage boys had only gotten three costumers, and each was a disaster in its own way. The first girl wanted a flower on her face. The design didn't stick right, so it turned out horrible. The second boy wanted the Flash symbol on his hand; it turned out crooked. And the last little girl wanted a fake tattoo on her cheek. She broke out in hives, and the mother was definitely not pleased.

So, since kids stopped coming to their booth, they had a little extra time on their hands. Too much time.

"Will you just hold still?"

"What are you doing, Axel?"

"I'm gonna draw something—"

"—no! We're supposed to attract kids; not repel them. If you make me look scary then we'll scare them away. They'll think we're holding a haunted house."

The redheaded pouted, still holding the face painting crayon in his hand. His blazing green eyes pleaded with the other boy. "We've only had one costumer. This place is going to close down really soon. Please?"

Roxas Strife scooted back on the table. "No."

Axel moved closer in between the blonde's legs, trapping him there. "Oh yes."

"No!" Roxas started wiggling, but the redhead grinned evilly and caged him in with his arms, pressing them on both sides of his head. Roxas was stuck.

"Just hold still," Axel ordered, gripping Roxas's cheeks to hold him in place. "Just one second."

Roxas thought about kicking his legs, but that wouldn't help much. Deciding the whole thing was already lost; he obeyed Axel and stayed still. The redhead was currently drawing something around his eyes with a black crayon for face paints.

All the while, Roxas felt his cheeks burning. This position was definitely suggestive. Did he like it?

Yes.

"There." Axel said, pulling away a little. He reached across the table to grab another crayon, winking at Roxas. "Now your other eye."

"What are you doing?" Roxas reached for his phone, hoping to see his reflection.

"No!" Axel snatched his phone from him, sliding it to the other side of the table. He shook his finger, "Wait 'till I'm done. Patience is a virtue that'll never hurt you."

"Hypocrite. You can't even wait in lines." Roxas felt Axel move closer again, and the feeling of a crayon marking his face.

"Lines are my mortal enemy. There's a difference." Axel murmured.

Roxas rolled his eyes, seeing a girl walk by. She looked at his face and her mouth fell open, in what looked like either shock or horror. Roxas narrowed his normally wide, ocean-blue eyes up at Axel. What the hell was he doing to his face?

"Okay, I'm giving you cartoon eyes." Axel admitted casually. "But I'm not telling you what else I've done. It looks awesome."

Roxas looked up at Axel's face. The redhead had lean, angular features; tight cheekbones and a skinny neck. His eyes, however, were always full of mischief and very sly. It was hard to know what the redhead was thinking, or how he felt. Axel was also very tall, and very, very skinny. He towered over Roxas, which was predictable since Roxas himself was considered short. But underneath his eyes were two marks that Roxas still had to find out what they were—either tattoos, or burnt marks. That's all he figured out so far. They looked like upside-down tears.

It was then Roxas had an idea.

"Since you're doing this," Roxas said, "then you're letting me do your face."

Axel pulled his crayon away, admiring his work. "All done."

"Did you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah. You can do me." He leaned closer to Roxas and breathed, "I honestly don't mind."

Roxas felt himself laugh when Axel's breath tickled his ear. He pressed against the taller boy's chest, trying to move him away. That, however, had the opposite effect; instead of moving away, Axel moved closer, his smile turning into a sly, cunning smirk.

"My, my little Roxy," Axel whispered, closing in on Roxas with a soft kiss. Roxas began to kiss back, grabbing a hold of Axel's shoulders to balance himself. Just as Roxas kissed back; however, a voice interrupted them.

"Can I have my face painted?"

Roxas pushed Axel away, despite the redhead's protests. Namine stood in front of the booth, a white little purse held in front of her. She was one of Roxas's closest friends. Over the summer, there was a little drama between them. She liked him, but he realized he was gay so a little charade went on. After all the drama, Roxas realized that Namine was a great friend.

She was a beautiful girl; one of the prettiest Roxas knew of. Her personality matched her beauty.

"Hey, Namine." Roxas scowled at Axel, finally able to push him off of him fully. Roxas jumped off the table, offering his friend a smile.

Namine smiled in return. "Looks like you two are working hard."

Roxas blushed while Axel grinned crookedly, throwing his arm lazily over Roxas's shoulder. "Oh you know us, two hard-working boys. We always get the job done."

"If you need any help, I'd be happy to give some assistance." Namine was also a very talented artist. She'd be perfect to do face painting. Roxas wondered why he hadn't thought of asking her sooner.

"Well, you see," Roxas replied, "we're just holding this booth for Sora. He had to go get more paint."

"Oh. So you're just holding it for him?"

"Yeah. Sora and Riku were both face painting for kids. We were just here to take over until they got back."

Namine smiled, twirling a lock of hair around with her finger. "Oh. I almost forgot what I came to tell you in the first place."

Axel asked bluntly, "So you're not getting your face painted?"

Namine stared at Roxas's face. "Well, no."

"Are you trying to say something? You don't think I'm a good face painter?" Axel probed.

"I never said that."

"I did Roxy's face very well, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did." Namine quickly changed the subject. "I've never told anyone this, but my twin sister is moving in with me next week."

"You have a twin sister?" Axel exclaimed.

"Yes. My parents split up awhile back, and they've gotten back together." Namine was obviously happy with the subject. "And my sister's moving in with me and my mom, along with my dad."

"That's great!" Roxas said, happy for Namine. He always thought Namine was an only child—guess he was wrong.

"I'm excited." Namine admitted shyly. "I haven't seen my sister in a long time. From what I remember, we looked exactly the same. We both had blonde hair, had the same eyes, but she was always…a little different than me."

"Hey Namine!" Sora suddenly hugged Namine from behind, preparing to pick her up. Roxas knew for a fact that his fraternal twin had no muscle strength, so when Sora started to heave Namine up, he couldn't do it.

"Hello, Sora." Namine greeted with a smile. Sora was the opposite of Roxas in many ways—he was a hyper boy that was always "bouncing" around. Literally. Roxas swore Sora had ADHD.

Riku, Sora's boyfriend, stepped up beside Namine. "What happened to you, Roxas?"

"I painted his face." Axel said proudly.

"I noticed that." Riku said, giving Roxas an odd look. "Are those fake eyebrows?"

"Sure are. They're cartoon eyebrows."

"Why'd you draw a red eye on his forehead?"

"Why not?" Axel shot back.

"I still have to do your face." Roxas cut in. "Where's that crayon?"

"OH MY GOD ROXAS WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE?" Sora shouted loudly, suddenly noticing his brother's face. Several people turned to look, wondering why the boy shouted something so suddenly.

"Axel drew on him." Riku said, shrugging.

"Oh." Sora looked relieved. "I thought they your eyebrows suddenly turned black."

Roxas gave Sora a look. "By magic?"

"Anyway, we'll take back our booth now." Riku said, stepping into the booth. He checked the cash register. "What the hell? You guys didn't get any costumers?"

"Well, we did." Roxas grumbled, scratching the back of his head.

Axel added, "But we didn't make them pay us."

"Why not?" Riku asked, counting the money.

"Because we didn't do very well." Axel admitted.

"It was a disaster." Roxas said.

"Disaster with a capital D." Axel grumbled.

"You two get out of here." Riku said with a grin. "You're scaring away the costumers."

"I didn't have this before you guys got here!" Roxas protested. "He drew this, like, a few minutes ago."

"Sure, okay."

"I'm hungry! Are you hungry, Roxy? Well I am." Axel said quickly. "I say we find some food."

"Food? But we just—"

"—now!" Axel grabbed Roxas's hand and took off running down the street. They ran down another street, followed by a jagged corner. Soon, Axel stopped, with Roxas looking around.

"Axel. We're nowhere around food. In fact, we're on the edge of the market."

"Exactly." Roxas didn't have time before Axel threw him behind a tree, pinning him up against it, and their faces mere inches from each other.

Green eyes observed blue ones.

"Hey." Axel whispered.

"Hi." Roxas replied, seeing his own reflection in the green eyes before him. How green can eyes get? Axel had to have the greenest eyes ever known to man.

Roxas felt Axel's hands slide around his waist, and Roxas smiled, moving closer.

"You have blue eyes." Axel breathed matter-of-factly.

"I know."

"That's," Axel leaned closer, his eyes making Roxas go limp, "my favorite color."

"It is?" Roxas felt his cheeks blush.

Axel answered with a kiss. The arms around Roxas's waist tightened as the redhead gently kissed the blonde, hoisting Roxas closer to him. Roxas, after staring at the redhead through wide eyes, slowly closed his eyes, easing into the moment. Axel was a damned good kisser. Almost too good. He always made Roxas forget anything on his mind—and never failed to make him feel light-headed.

Axel pulled away, only to crush Roxas in a tight-gripping hug that made him nearly lose his breath. Roxas grinned, hugging Axel back as tightly as he could.

And then they kissed again. This time; however, Axel's hands touched Roxas's bare skin—his waist. Roxas stiffened, and just as he felt Axel's hands descend the slightest bit, he jerked away as if the redhead was on fire.

Axel blinked, confused. Roxas backed into the tree, tugging his shirt back down.

"Did I go too fast?" Axel asked innocently.

Roxas glared at him. That was the 3rd time the redhead's did that, and each time Roxas drew away. Did he not get the hint? They've been dating for 3 months now, which is a long time. But Roxas tended to take things slow. He wasn't quite ready to do skin-to-skin yet.

Roxas just shook his head, too flustered to even talk. His cheeks felt like they were going to explode, and his legs were shaking.

"We've been dating for 3 months now." Axel protested. "Can ya blame me for getting a little impatient?"

"Yes. Yes I can." Roxas snapped.

"But your skin is so soft—"

"—no, Axel." Roxas's voice was sharp. Good. He had to get his point across. "Try to remember that a few months ago, I was straight. I've never done stuff like this. Yes I've kissed and all that, but the skin-to-skin? No. It's new to me."

Axel hung his head limply. "Fine, fine. I'll wait awhile longer. I…you're just so hard to resist, Roxy. I do admit that I get a little carried away, but can you really blame me?" He raised his face, an intense, solemn expression showing. "You drive me crazy.

"I drive you crazy? How?"

"Don't act like you don't know." Axel snapped, running his hands through his hair. "I like you. A lot."

You love me?

Roxas sighed, understanding Axel's dilemma. "I know, I'm sorry. I just…I get a little nervous."

"Of what?" Axel quirked an eyebrow, resting a hand on his slender hips. "Me? Do I look like the big bad wolf to you?"

"…no."

"Ugh. Sometimes I wish…"

"You wish what?"

"I wish I drove you crazy as much as you drive me crazy." Axel said darkly. "Just so you can see what it's like."

"You do drive me crazy!" Roxas protested. "Trust me; you do. Axel…I'm sorry." Great. Now he felt like shit.

Axel took a moment to look over Roxas, and he broke into a soft grin. "No, no. I suppose you're right. You are new to this. I'll just have to remember my own saying: patience is a virtue that will never hurt you. It'll all pay off in the big run, right?"

"Hopefully." Roxas smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Axel."

"Stop apologizing."

"Thanks for understanding."

"Okay, enough of this bullshit, I'm really hungry now. I say we go eat a sandwich."

As the two walked off, trying to erase the awkward moment, someone stepped out from behind a tree.

She watched them leave, with a sly grin.

"Axel, baby, guess who's back in town. This time, you're mine."

A/N:

Yes, this is the sequel to "Paper Gangsta". :) Like it? I sure hope you do! I'm very, VERY excited to get this started. It's going to be awesome, trust me. Since this is the first chapter, it's going to be the shortest :0 I always stink at starting a story.

Anyway, I won't be putting Author notes on every single chapter. Of course I shall reply to ever single review to thank you, but I do get lazy at times -.- anyway, let me know what you think!

:)SmilinForYa(: